Page 57 of Begin Again, Part 2

"Uh—Yes—Mr Anderson." She stammered, nodding her head quickly.

"Good," Liam sighed and impatiently brushed his hair away from his forehead as he began to pace the room. "I'm glad we're on the same page, and I believe in you, Beth. I know you'll come up with the best agreement."

George and his subordinates exchanged looks, shaking their heads as they nudged each other, neither willing to risk getting another tongue lashing.

"People!" Liam paused and glared at them. "Tell me why I pay you a fortune if you can't get this shit done?"

George cleared his throat. Evidently, he'd lost the silent bet with his employees, and he was now the sacrificial lamb walking straight into the lion's den. "Mr Anderson, why don't you chat with Ms McBride and ask her to move in with you?"

Liam threw him a death stare, and for a tense minute or two, nobody dared to breathe.

"I've fucking tried that, George!"

And not just once, but numerous times, and that was before he knew about Aiden. There was no way Eden would move in willingly now, not with the storm of animosity and anger boiling between them.

"Sometimes talking and baring your feelings can get you far better results," George carried on, unaware of the thin ice he was precariously skating on. Liam pinched his nose and said in a dangerously soft voice. "I have a therapist, George, and she's damn good. If I need to hear some sage advice about talking shit out, she's my first point of contact."

"Yes, sir," he nodded quickly and shuffled the documents on his lap, his bushy moustache twitching downward. "But I must warn you. This won't end well. Mediation is usually the right way to go."

The meeting came to a screeching halt when Liam's parents arrived unannounced and sent his advisers scampering.

"Son, we need to talk!" Clarke said as he forced his way into the house, with Lois, Willow, and Holly right behind him.

Chapter

Twenty-One

WITH EVERY BREATH IN ME

"Is it true Aiden McBride is your son?" Lois got straight to the heart of their visit as soon as they were all arranged around the fireplace in Liam's living room.

"How do you know about that?" he grunted, burying his face in his hands, already dreading the unavoidable inquisition from his parents.

"James," Clarke replied. "You forget, he reports to me."

Right, Liam seethed. He should fire the whole lot of them and get his own people.

"So?" Lois leaned forward, her eyes shining with hope and expectation.

"He is," Liam admitted.

"Has it been confirmed?" Clarke asked, a deep frown creasing his forehead.

"Yes, it has."

"Unbelievable!" Lois burst into tears, and Clarke held her while she sniffled. Willow and Holly threw mildly unimpressed looks in Liam's direction.

Her eyes still moist, her nose red and blotchy, Lois stirred to life again with endless questions and demands. "Where is he? I want to see him. I want to hold him. Bring him to me. Is he upstairs?”

She was already on her feet, about to dash up the glass staircase, when Liam stopped her. "He's not here, Mom. He's with Eden in Forrest Creek."

"Why?" she asked in a shrill, thin voice, her face scrunched up in confusion. "I don't understand. Why isn't Aiden here? Why aren't they here with you?"

Liam explained that things with Eden were complicated, assuring them he'd bring Aiden home as soon as possible.

"How could you keep him from us?" Clarke accused, and for a tense fifteen minutes, everybody lost their heads. Overnight Liam became a deadbeat dad who allowed his child to live like a pauper's son.

"Which part of I didn't know about him until today is so hard to understand?"

---