Page 31 of Begin Again, Part 2

"But Mr Anderson—" James tried to reason with him, but Liam waved him off.

"Don't worry, I've got this," he assured him as he stepped into the elevator and smiled at the young mom bouncing a screaming toddler on her hip.

"How old is she?" he asked as he grabbed the little girl's fist.

Looking very close to tears herself, the woman replied. "She's turning two next month. Do you have any?"

Liam shook his head and pulled out his handkerchief. He gave it to the screaming baby to distract her. She immediately quietened down as she waved the cloth in front of her, giggling when he snatched it back from her and placed it on her little face.

"Thank you." The woman threw him a grateful smile.

Liam nodded and smiled back, but his mind was on Aiden McBride, and it stayed on him for the rest of the drive to the office.

Chapter

Twelve

BUCKLE UP PRINCESS

Mathew called Eden into his office as soon as she came in and gently broke the news. She was being reassigned back to the CEO's office. Reeling from the announcement, she asked, "why? Did I do something wrong?"

"Of course not," her boss was quick to assure her. "If I could keep you, I would. But you were hired to work in Liam's area."

"Until he got rid of me," she reminded him. "I don't want to go."

Matthew touched her shoulders gently. "Liam means well. You'll learn a lot in his space."

"I don't see how," Eden said stubbornly. "He sits in meetings the whole day. There are only so many minutes and reports and presentations I can take. At least in your area, I can work with the UX and marketing teams—"

Matthew brushed off her rant. "Eden, don't make this difficult. He's already on the way to get you. We both know why he wants you back. He needs you close to him. He's not comfortable when he doesn't see you."

"I am not his plaything," she whispered, shaking her head at him. "I'm not something he picks up when he's happy and throws away when he's tired."

The door flew open, and in came Liam, dressed in one of his famous black suits and a white shirt.

"Give us the room," he told his cousin.

"You'll be fine." Mathew gave her a small smile and left them alone.

"You are coming back to my area," Liam announced as he walked over to Matthew's desk and sat down.

Eden crossed her arms, refusing to budge. "As I said to my boss, you can't just throw me away and demand to have me back when it suits you!"

"I temporarily reassigned you, and I can do whatever I want!" he said, his glare matching hers. "I have the power to hire and fire anyone I see fit. Now, go out there, pack your little box, and report to my office. And get rid of all those damn flowers. This place is not a funeral home!"

"I won't throw them away; they were gifts."

"I'm aware of that," Liam replied as he stood up and held out his hand to her. "You'll no longer accept gifts from anyone, and all your fans, including that lawyer, had better stay away. Tell them you're officially off the market!"

"At your say so?" Eden ignored his hand and headed for the door.

"I told you last night, Princess, you are mine and mine alone—"

She quickly rounded on him. "Don't talk about that here!"

It was bad enough she'd become a cliche and was now sleeping with the boss. The last thing she wanted was for everyone to know her business. She stormed off to her office and furiously stuffed her meagre possessions in a small filing box, adding a few bouquets just for good measure.

Liam glared at the flowers, but didn't say anything as he took the box from her, and they made their way to his office.

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