Page 103 of Begin Again, Part 2

He, in turn, snatched the piece of paper and glared at it. "What is this?"

"It's a receipt for the car wash. How do you plan to pay? EFT or Credit Card?" his cousin smirked as they all sat down at the breakfast counter and waited for Dave to warm them up for the board meeting with his strongest coffee.

A comfortable hush fell over the trio while they watched the butler potter about the kitchen.

"There you go, gentlemen," Dave smiled proudly as he placed the steaming cups and a plate of freshly baked muffins in front of the brothers before hurrying off to resolve a housekeeping squabble between Mrs Stone and Ruth.

"So, where are they?" Julian asked again between mouthfuls of his carrot muffin, irritating the shit out of Liam with his lack of basic manners.

"They're still sleeping," he replied, his gaze on Splish-Splash's website, a water world venue claiming to be home to the largest aquarium in Rock Union. They also guaranteed joy and good old fun for all with their water slides and daily dolphin shows. Liam figured it would make a memorable outing since Aiden was obsessed with all things aquatic. Better than the zoo or the botanical gardens any day.

"I take it things are on track now with you and Eden?" Matthew bumped his shoulder, nodding at the screen. "I mean, if you're planning a family picnic and shit."

"Wouldn't you love to know?" Liam smiled and opened MS Teams to access the meeting.

"Anywho, how long will this take?" Julian asked. "I have a hot date later, and if I play my cards right, I might have a bedmate."

"And I have a private cooking class," Matthew added, looking chuffed with himself as he stood up and rocked on the balls of his feet, his arms swinging lightly at his sides.

"With?" Liam asked, but he had his suspicions.

Before Matthew could reply, a notification popped up on the screen announcing Clara had started the meeting. They all huddled around the laptop and joined the session.

"Goodness, Liam, this is serious. What did you do?" Julian asked as they all took in the mosaic of faces on the screen. This was the first time in a long time that all board members were present for a meeting, and those who couldn't make it had sent a representative.

Matthew looked as anxious as his brother, his knuckles turning ashen the longer he clenched his fists. "I don't think it's just the stuff with the tabloids."

"It's not," Liam replied.

Questions and demands came at him as soon as he turned on his camera and mic. Everyone felt wronged, and they wanted answers—no, they deserved answers, explanations, and apologies—their voices growing shriller.

"Who is this woman? Couldn't you be a little more discreet? What happened to Laura? Why are you seeing a therapist? Are you even mentally strong to be in such a high-pressure position? Do you have any idea how much our share prices have fallen? And what the hell is this thing with the mob? I thought LUSSO is a clean deal?"

Liam listened for a while, feeling his sanity slip away the longer he remained mum.

"We have to release a statement and distance ourselves from this! Tell the media she threw herself at you! They always throw themselves at you! Yeah, she's just another whore!"

His nostrils flared, his eyes glinting with unbridled rage. Liam looked up, glared straight at the camera, and said icily as he leaned forward, his elbows on the counter, "That is fucking unacceptable! You can say whatever you want about me, but I won't tolerate that kind of disrespect when it comes to her!"

A tense hush fell over the meeting, bringing everyone back to their senses. Liam took that moment of reprieve to fire instructions at the crisis management team. There'd be no press release about the identity of the woman in the photo, no statements and certainly no comment.

"My personal life has nothing to do with my ability to lead this company," he said, making his stance on the tabloid saga known.

"You should have been discreet!" An aunt by marriage Liam only saw at funerals and weddings, added her unwanted opinion. She had no shares in the company and was only sitting in today because her husband couldn't make it. "Why do we have company protocols if they're never followed?"

Liam pinched his nose and prayed for patience. He was sorely tempted to tell her to shut up because her husband's one-percent stake had little impact on the day's proceedings. But she was right, and it was for that reason that he forced himself to eat humble pie and own his mistakes. He'd allowed his emotions and ego to get in the way of common sense.

"You still haven't told us what your relationship with that woman is. Who is she?" Bill, a burly man with thinning hair and tobacco-stained teeth, and one of the few people in the meeting not related to the Andersons, demanded.

"She's the future Mrs Anderson," Liam said, stunning everyone with his announcement.

Barefooted and dressed in one of his white button-down shirts tucked into the front of her distressed jeans, her luscious hair all over the place, her mouth pouty from all his hungry kisses last night, the future Mrs Anderson stumbled into the kitchen with their son bouncing on her hip, shocking everyone watching from the comfort of their homes with her wild appearance when she walked into the camera's view. Liam scrammed out of his seat before things could descend further into the bowels of hell and turned to Eden.

"Why aren't you on a plane? Aren't you going to be late for your first inspection?" she asked, confusion flickering in her eyes.

"The trip's cancelled. I'll explain later. I'm in a board meeting right now."

"I'm sorry, we'll go back upstairs," she whispered as she tiptoed out of the room. She paused when she reached the stairs and squinted at him. "Do you need me in the meeting? And I can't find my glasses."

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