Page 104 of Begin Again, Part 2

Liam shook his head at her question and smiled. "I'm okay, and your glasses are upstairs in your handbag. I'll text Dave to find it for you."

"No need, I'll help her." Julian quickly grabbed the shopping bags and left his seat. They were about to dash up the stairs when chaos ensued.

"Wait, isn't that the influencer's friend and your assistant?" Someone screeched. "And why does that little boy look like you?"

"That's the woman you plan to marry? Is that the same woman in the photo? For heaven's sake, Liam, of all the women in this town, why go for one who can't handle her alcohol?"

Eden whipped around so fast she almost stumbled as she flew back into the kitchen, anger clouding her eyes. Matthew and Julian quickly bundled her out of the room before she could implode, leaving Liam alone to clean up his own mess.

Clarke took a few minutes to get everyone to settle down, and Liam addressed the board again. "Yes, that's Eden McBride, my assistant and the influencer's friend, the same woman in the photo circulating in all the tabloids. That little boy is my son."

His confession almost sent everyone into cardiac arrest. A few touched their hearts, while others held their heads. But he knew one thing was on all their minds: their share prices crashing at the news of a love child he'd fathered with his assistant.

An affronted maternal uncle stood up and slammed his palms on his dining table, sending his agenda notes flying in the air. "You all still think he's our best choice? I've had it with Liam's insolence. Since he took over, he's treated this company like his racetrack. He's made one reckless decision after another, and on top of all his shit, we've just learned he hired his lover as his assistant. Am I the only one who thinks there's something seriously wrong with this picture? He needs to be fired right now!"

"Since I took over, your profits have doubled year on year, staff retention is at its highest, and Anderson Logistics now ranks in the top three in the country. I'm sorry, but when did my personal life affect my ability to perform?" Liam snarled right back at him.

"Fire him right now!" The outraged uncle bellowed.

"Let's vote on it," Liam said, stunning everyone with his suggestion. He was done with this constant fighting for the seat at the head of the table and trying to prove himself. He'd made enough money to retire comfortably, and could easily look after his family.

"If I lose the vote, I'll resign immediately," he continued. "But if I survive, none of you can ever question my leadership again."

"No one is firing anyone!" Clarke ranted from his study in Glen Eagles.

"Of course, you won't fire him because he's your son," the aunt by marriage joined the fray.

"That's preposterous!" Clarke rubbished the claims. "Think about the optics, people! If we fire him, what message will it send to the world? Everyone will think we're insensitive to—"

"You know damn well his visits to the shrink have very little to do with why we want him gone!"

"Do you want our share prices to take a beating? I'm not an analyst, but something tells me that's exactly what will happen if Liam resigns now amidst this therapy scandal," Clarke growled, took off his glasses, and gazed at the ceiling.

Silence fell over multiple living rooms and home offices as all the attendees mulled over his words for some time before Clara announced a fifteen-minute break.

The first hour of the board meeting would go down in history as one of the longest Liam had ever sat through. He couldn't race upstairs fast enough to tell his cousins exactly what he thought of them for deserting him in his hour of need.

Eden was on the phone, pacing outside the nursery while his cousins fussed over Aiden. It was only a little over forty minutes since they met him, but his son had them wrapped around his little finger already.

"How's it going out there?" Matthew asked as he looked up from one of the tallest LEGO® towers Liam had seen in a while. If Aiden had his way and kept adding to it, the Leaning Tower of Pisa would have nothing on it.

"So?" Julian prodded and placed one more piece on the structure at Aiden's encouragement. Liam closed his eyes, convinced that the whole thing would collapse any moment now. He was right. Not even a second later, all his son's hard work came tumbling down. To his surprise, it wasn't the force of gravity that had brought down the tower. Aiden himself had smashed it to pieces, and he looked thrilled with the mess as he clapped his hands and chuckled, demanding 'more' from his uncles. His laugh was too infectious. Liam found himself chuckling along, amazed by his appetite for destruction.

"Did they finally agree on something, at least?" Matthew stood up and dusted his palms on the front of his jeans.

"Yep," Liam nodded. "They all want me gone."

"I'm so sorry," Eden said as she stepped into the room and gave him a back hug. "It's all my fault."

"Hey," he pulled her in front of him and held her face in his hands as he kissed her slowly. "This isn't your fault. They're just bitter old men and women with too much time on their hands."

"But—"

"No buts," he pecked her forehead quickly. "I'll be okay, even if they give me the pink slip. I'll still support you and Aiden, so you don't have to sell your paintings on the side of the road yet."

"You!" Eden looked up and poked his cleft with her index finger. "You doubt my talent!"

"Not at all. I believe in your talent," he laughed and laced his arm around her neck, amazed at how soft her hair felt on his skin. It smelled divine too.

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