Page 75 of Begin Again, Part 1

King Lydia:Are you nuts? What will I eat? Do you know how much money I lose if my site's down, even for a minute?

Liam sighed loudly in the front.

"Just a second, sir." Eden held up her index finger and returned to her chat.

St. Eden:Liam. Your Page. Aiden. NOW.

She didn't have to convince her friend. Lydia pinged back immediately.

King Lydia:Done. You owe me big for this.

Eden relaxed visibly in her seat, smiling smugly. With disaster averted for the moment, she could finally breathe again.

St. Eden:We're calling you now. Make sure you're decent.

"Ms McBride, I don't have the whole day—" Dr Jekyll or Mr Hyde was back, his brows knitted dangerously, an impatient glint in his eyes, the kindness he'd afforded her earlier gone.

"Of course, Mr Anderson," Eden said as she scrambled to the front to get the ball rolling. She hooked her phone to the screen and called her friend. The phone rang a few times before Lydia's bare face filled the screen. They'd clearly caught her in the middle of her beauty regime, but she still looked flawless in a white bathrobe, her dark hair extensions piled high in a messy bun.

"St. Eden! This had better be good. What the heck is going on? I haven't even put on my face yet!"

And that was what earned her the 'Darling' award from the women in the room. The guys, too, weren't immune to her charm.

"Hush now, I'm at work," Eden made a zipping motion over her lips with her fingers.

"So, what's up?" Lydia asked. "What can I do you for—Oh, hi Liam!"

Eden shook her head at the screen, silently pleading with Lydia to behave and not blow her cover.

Liam barely noticed the silent exchange. If he did, he did a great job of ignoring them as he returned Lydia's excitement with a quick wave of his hand and a polite nod. "Ms Edwards."

"Call me Lydia. I mean, we're practically fam—"

"Okay, that's it!" Eden jumped in before Lydia could send her up shit-creek. "The guys are researching influencers. They'd like to ask you a few questions. Are we good?"

"Okay, is it like a Q&A thing?"

Before Eden could even brief her, the marketing team was already firing questions at her at alarming speeds.

With things under control for the moment, Eden returned to her seat, her mind still racing. She'd escaped. Just barely, though. Next time, she might not be so lucky. She had to come to a decision soon about Aiden. Sure, Liam hated her and might not even want to co-parent with her. Not to mention, a love child would likely ruin his marriage and possibly his whole life. But she had to tell him. It was better than him finding out about his son from a blog—

"Eden?" Matthew pulled her attention back to the room. "Any questions for Lydia?"

"I'm good. I know everything about her," she replied, putting on her biggest smile. A few more of these, and she'd be a pro at pretending to be present in meetings when her mind was miles away.

"Bitch, I can still surprise you!" Lydia yelled at her, sending the team into peals of laughter.

"The language Lydia." Eden face-palmed herself.

"Love you, kid, chat later." Her friend blew her one last kiss and clicked off.

With her job done and still more fires to put out, Eden left her place, grabbed her phone from the front, and turned off the screen.

"Good job, Ms McBride, the chat with Lydia was insightful. Thanks for arranging it," Liam said as she was about to return to her seat, stunning her with the praise. She turned and stared, convinced she'd imagined it. But his slight nod of approval told her she hadn't.

"Thanks," she stammered, hating herself a little for feeling warm and fuzzy inside at the slightest hint of approval from him.

"Right!" Liam quickly reined in the still-excited crowd as Eden returned to her seat. "Who's next on the list?"

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