Page 106 of Begin Again, Part 2

Aiden squealed with joy when Liam bit his hand playfully, earning them a stern look from Eden as she took the chair he'd occupied moments before and addressed the board. "I'm in the middle of onboarding Lydia Edwards, but I'll leave Anderson Logistics once she's settled in—"

"You are not going anywhere!" Liam growled, startling Aiden with his stern tone. He kissed his forehead quickly to reassure him he wasn't upset with him. "I'll reassign you if I have to, but you are not leaving,"

"No, Liam. I'm doing this." Eden shook her head firmly and turned back to the board. "Please, give me a month. Two at most."

"Give us a minute." Liam barked at the screen. He didn't wait for their response. He switched his mic and camera off and glared at Eden.

"What are you doing? What is this? There's no need for you to leave the company. I'll reassign you if I have to, but you are not resigning."

Eden sighed and wrung her hands on her lap. "Liam, hear me out, please. They're all out for your blood, and you are severely weakened right now. Let's not give them any more reason to come after you."

"But—"

Eden gently placed her finger on his lips. "It's done."

"I did not sign off on this!" he grumbled.

"But you will," she said, taking Aiden from him. "I never planned to stay anyway."

"Then why go through the trouble of an interview and your crazy negotiations with Gibby?"

"Because I missed you, and I wanted you to meet Aiden, and now you have."

"This isn't over. We'll talk about it tonight," he said. "And why the hell are you dressed up? Where are you going? I told you I'd take care of the shit with Mrs Stone."

"I have to see my parents. I've been summoned." Eden smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. She looked so tired, sad, and much older than her twenty-six years, and he wanted nothing but to hold her and rock away all her weariness. So he reached for her and their son and held them. "Is everything okay at home? Do you want me to come with you?"

"I'd like that." Eden nodded. "But you have to stay here and sort this out. So, let's divide and conquer. Yeah?"

"Right, divide and conquer," Liam agreed and kissed her again. "Jace and Aaron will take you to your folks."

"See you later," she waved and headed for the front door.

"Bye-bye, Daddy!" Aiden also waved. "Be good."

"Don't mind him. I say it all the time when I go to work. I guess it's his new thing now," Eden explained over her shoulder.

Liam walked them out, chuckling. "I'm always good, Kool-Aid."

He kissed her and Aiden one more time and pushed them towards the elevator bank, where her security team waited.

When he returned to the call, the meeting had moved on to the Ivanovs. Half the board wanted an exit plan for LUSSO. The other half wanted a coalition deal that involved the Ivanovs. An 80/20 profit split was proposed, with Anderson Logistics taking the lion's share.

"Aleksei is a greedy bastard! He won't go for it," Liam warned them.

"It's your job to sell it to him, and your only focus over the next two weeks," Clarke said. "Get Aleksei and LUSSO on board so we can all stay alive."

With that, the board meeting came to an anti-climactic end.

As soon as his cousins left, Liam headed to his study, where Dave had settled his PR team while he was in his two-hour discussion with the board. The session he'd imagined lasting the whole day only took fifteen minutes because his father had already briefed them, and a glowing statement was in the works.

Liam's fury simmered to life again as he read the draft press release, sipped his long-forgotten coffee, and nibbled on a sandwich Dave had made earlier.

He hated the idea of using his father's illness as a cover-up. But the part of him that wasn't so self-righteous knew it was the only plausible story that would kill the news cycle quickly.

His PR team posted the statement on the company's website and all their social networking sites just after midday. By 3:00 PM, Liam's phone had died from the constant ringing. All the tabloids, major talk show hosts and podcasters suddenly wanted interviews with him. Clara called on his landline with more fantastic news as he was getting ready to head out to Hayes & Jones. The organisers of the Men's Conference would be so honoured to have him as their keynote speaker at this year's event.

Taken aback by their invitation, Liam asked, "Why?"

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