Page 65 of Begin Again, Part 2

"How did it go, sir?" James and Stephen asked when he slid into the car. "You and the missus made up? Will she and the baby move in?"

"She played me," Liam grunted as he loosened his tie and yanked it off. "She fucking backed me into a corner, and one of those idiots there thought I'd struck gold with a custody agreement I didn't even want. I wanted her to come home! I wanted her and our son home with me. What am I supposed to do now with Aiden on my own?"

"Ask the missus for forgiveness?" Stephen offered his two cents, and James quickly shook his head to shut him up.

"Why should I beg for forgiveness when Eden lied to me and kept my child away from me? When do I get my apology?"

All thoughts of finding a way to move forward were forgotten, as Liam fumed in his seat and racked his brain, trying to understand how their meeting had turned into such a circus.

"She's apologised, sir," James reminded him. "I know it's hard, but you have to untangle the knot in your heart and forgive her. The missus made a mistake."

Liam seethed as he checked his phone, sighing with great disappointment when he saw Eden hadn't called or texted him even though he knew she wouldn't, not after the way she left the meeting.

"How did this happen, James?" he asked.

"You were angry and not thinking straight," his head of security replied.

"That was a rhetorical question!" Liam snorted and stared outside the window, thinking about his uphill battle to win Eden over.

He'd fought many wars in boardrooms and won. He didn't get all his shiny 'Businessman Of The Year' accolades by being nice. If he saw something he liked, he took it, no questions asked and no moment's thought for his opponent's feelings.

Maybe that was his first mistake, treating the custody agreement like a business deal. He should have taken Eden up on her offer to handle this shit themselves. His second and possibly biggest mistake was allowing his anger, pride, and arrogance to fool him into thinking he could back Eden into a corner. He should have factored in her impulsive nature and sheer stubbornness, and he should have known she'd come prepared. Even without legal counsel, Eden managed to flip the tables on him. She'd gone with the extreme choice to force his hand and make him bend to her will. He was silly to even think he was in control. It was clear as day she had the upper hand right from the beginning. But then again, what the hell did he expect from the woman who'd aggressively negotiated her ridiculous salary with Gibby? Now more than ever, Liam was convinced Eden had gone to some fancy business school, or she had a mentor of some sort. There was no way she learned to negotiate by reading Rich Dad, Poor Dad.

Sighing, he pulled out his phone and called Eden, loathing himself for rolling over so quickly like a good puppy. Her phone rang for a while before it went to voicemail, and Liam smouldered, well aware she was playing hard to get. She knew he'd call, and now she was making him sweat. He tried again and called his chief assistant when he got the same result. She answered immediately, "Mr Anderson, how can I help you?"

"Where's Ms McBride?"

Clara sounded a little confused. "I don't know, sir. She hasn't come in yet."

"Tell her to drop everything and meet me at the penthouse as soon as she comes in," Liam said. "And cancel all my appointments for the day, and let Randolph know we'll proceed with the signing when I return in three weeks. If he can't fucking wait that long, he's welcome to jump into bed with the mob."

There was a short pause on Clara's end.

"What is it?" he asked, even though he didn't want to know what got her so rattled.

"I can't use those exact words, sir," she said. "It's six billion. We can't piss Randolph off."

Liam sighed. She was right. He needed Randolph's money, especially after losing half a billion in revenue because of the crazy Russian twins. They were next on his list. Once his house was in order, Aleksei and his brother would feel his wrath.

"Fine," he relented. "Find some pretty words to keep Randolph happy until I return from my trip."

"Yes, sir," Clara replied. "Anything else?"

"That's it for now," Liam said, and clicked off.

Chapter

Twenty-Four

SO FAR OUT

A half-hour trip turned into two hours because of a horrific car crash on the R51. By the time Eden made it to the office, she was hangry and royally pissed off from being caught in bumper-to-bumper traffic for so long.

She'd barely sat down when Clara came to deliver some good news. Liam had taken the day off. Eden smiled, but didn't ask for details. Still reeling at his stunt with his lawyers, she didn't care and wasn't in the least curious about his reasons for the sudden break.

But Clara was intrigued and made it known as she paced in front of Eden's desk. "I wonder what's wrong with the Dragon? Aren't you worried?"

No, Eden wasn't. So, she ignored Clara because she knew she was fishing and trying to sniff out the reason behind Liam's sudden absence. Out of all the women on the 36th floor, Clara's gossip radar was the strongest. At that moment, her suspicion antenna was firmly trained on her as she tried to get her to talk.

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