Page 96 of Begin Again, Part 2

"Dad!" Liam gritted his teeth.

"You've been seeing a therapist for the last two years to help you cope and ease into your high-pressured job," Clarke said.

"I'm not going to use your illness as an excuse!" Liam barked, stunning his parents with his anger.

After a short burst of tense silence, Clarke continued. "Your role as CEO and my ailing health forced you to seek help. That's the only story we're going out with. No other narrative will be floating out there. The PR team will draft a pretty press release and use creative words to make this shit go away. I don't ever want to hear a word of this again. I don't care what your reasons are for seeing a shrink, and I won't stop you if you want to continue with your sessions. But I won't allow you to tell the whole world how broken you are. You are an Anderson man. We don't break!"

"I am not broken!" Liam breathed in hard and stalked off to the bar in the living room. He grabbed a bottle of vodka, uncapped it, and drank it neat. "I was broken, but not anymore. In any case, they don't know the reasons for my visits."

"Not yet," Lois jerked to life. "But they will soon if that reporter from Dirt keeps digging. Listen to your father, Liam. We have to take control of the narrative and get ahead of this story. Your father's illness and your role as CEO are your only reasons for seeking help. We will not entertain anything else."

"Son, it's not a negotiation," added Clarke. "Get the PR team to draft a glowing press release, and shut this nonsense down before it spins out of control. You don't want to be turned into a mime on that internet you kids love so much."

"Meme," Liam said and took another swig from the bottle.

"What, dear?" Lois asked.

"It's a meme, not mime," Liam explained. "Never mind. Doesn't matter. I have to get ready for the trip."

"There is no trip, Son," Clarke announced. "But there will be a board meeting at 10:00 AM to discuss your public romance with Eden McBride and a new deal that includes the Ivanovs. If we fail to come up with something satisfactory, we'll move on to an exit plan for LUSSO."

"You can't do that!" Liam lost his shit. All the anger he'd felt since he picked up his folks' call bubbled out of control. Hard as he tried to resist the urge, he couldn't. He kicked the barstool and sent it soaring. It rattled to the floor with a loud snap, prompting Dave and the housekeepers to rush in and check on the commotion.

"Mr Anderson, is everything okay?" his butler asked as Mrs Stone and Ruth, the other housekeeper, fretted beside him.

"Everything is fine." Liam shooed them off and returned to the call, his sweaty palm wrapped around the cordless phone.

"Dad," he growled at his father. "That trip was months in the making. I can't afford to miss this inspection period."

"You're a damn CEO, Liam!" Clarke bellowed. "Learn to delegate. Why are you getting involved in something so operational?"

"Because—" Liam began, but his word died off. How did he explain to his father that he, and no one else, could fly to all hundred depots and ensure that all their safety protocols were up to standard because he couldn't afford to have another man's death on his conscience? Where would he even begin to explain the guilt he'd carried since the incident with the trucks had fucked him up so badly, and messed with his insomnia to a point he was lucky if he got two hours of sleep every night?

"As the chairman of the board, I'm cancelling your trip. Your only focus is to stay alive, take care of your family, and stop pissing off the mob. You have to come to a decision about Eden McBride."

"What decision?" Liam demanded. "Eden and I are working things out. When I come back, we'll move in together, and after the appropriate time has passed, we'll get married."

"We get that," Lois sighed on her end. "But the board is not thrilled your love life is back in the spotlight. Since your photo surfaced, share prices have fallen by half a percent. She looked inebriated and incapacitated. Not the image we'd like portrayed to the world of the future Mrs Anderson."

"It doesn't help that Dirt also chose such an inopportune time to break the story about your therapy visits," Clarke chimed in.

"My love life is exactly that—MINE!" Liam groaned. "I've never discussed my relationships with the board, and I'm not about to start now. And the shit with my therapy, I'll handle it."

"This wasn't a request, Son," Clarke said firmly. "The board needs answers. And as soon as the dust settles with your messy personal life, reach out to the crazy Russians and come up with a deal that will benefit everyone involved. I suggest you arrange that meeting urgently."

"Aleksei can suck my balls," Liam snorted, stunning his mom with the language.

"Liam," she gasped. "What has gotten into you?"

"I am not giving Aleksei shit. I worked hard to get the LUSSO deal, and I refuse to hand it to him on a silver platter."

"Then we'll see you at 10:00 AM."

With that, his parents clicked off, leaving him fuming.

Liam called his PR team as soon as he hung up from his parents and summoned them to the penthouse. He'd have to meet with them after the board meeting.

It was still way too early to call Linda. She didn't see patients before eight. But it didn't stop him from calling her cell phone.

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