Begin Again novel Chapter 171

Their cold war lasted three days.

It would have carried on longer if Eden didn't decide to grow a pair and confront Liam.

After wearing the tiles thin with all her pacing outside his office, she finally plucked up the courage and knocked on his door.

She knew he was free. He'd cancelled his 11:00 AM and offered no reason. Of course, since he's the boss, she never asked because she was already skating on thin ice as it was.

She waited exactly two minutes to be invited inside.

Liam's disembodied voice drifting from the other side of the door sent an exhilarated spark up her spine, and she closed her eyes, remembering all the blissful moments he'd said her name, the way he'd touched and kissed her. God, she craved his kisses as much as she missed the way he called her 'Princess'.

"Keep it together," she told herself. Getting distracted when she was so close to an important negotiation wasn't the smartest of ideas. She needed all her wits about her for their chat.

Eden took one long breath before she flung the door open and stepped inside.

Liam sat behind his messy desk, his tie carelessly strewn beside his thick stack of files. His rolled-up sleeves showed off the light smattering of reddish hairs on his forearms, but she'd drool over that another day. The beard, goodness—no—the stubble, was doing things to her she had never imagined were possible.

She always thought she hated facial hair. Boy, was she wrong!

The three-day stubble on Liam's face made him all the more dangerous for her sanity, and when he looked up from the report in his hand, and their eyes collided, Eden thought she'd faint right there in front of him just from missing him.

Other than a terse text message the morning after their fight, demanding all the photos and videos of his son, there'd been no further communication from him. No attempt to see Aiden either and no explanations.

"You wanted to see me?" His face was impassive, his voice, though, had an edge she hadn't heard in a while, and she knew then and there, she had an uphill battle on her hands. Liam hadn't even begun forgiving her, and as she stood there, staring back at him with apprehension and sadness, she wondered if he ever would.

"So?" He leaned back in his seat, laced his hands together behind his head and brought his long legs up on the desk.

"I wanted to talk about the custody agreement." She smiled, or at least she tried to. But it never made it to her face. His death glare shot it down very quickly.

"Did you get a chance to think about it?" She forged on even though she was a little unnerved by the tiny muscle twitching on his jaw the longer she remained in his presence.

His face hardened as he gritted his teeth. "I told you, you'd hear from my attorneys soon."

"I was hoping we could settle this without involving third parties," she murmured, her breath evaporating in her chest at the fury burning hot in his eyes.

"It's a little too late for that, don't you think? You've already consulted your attorney. It's only fair you afford me that same privilege."

"Isaac is not my attorney. He just helped me—"

"Don't you ever mention him in my presence again!" Liam snapped as he swiftly got on his feet, startling her with the sudden movements.

Convinced he'd come around and throttle her, Eden took a few steps back. Surprisingly, though, he stayed behind his desk, his fists planted firmly on the surface.

"He knows about my son," he growled. The inhuman sound rumbling in his throat chilled her as much as the accusations swimming in his eyes. "Isaac Jones knew about my son before I did! He had fucking play dates with my son. He took him to the park, and God knows where. How the hell does that make sense in your head?"

The calm, adult conversation Eden had hoped for descended into thirty minutes of harsh accusations from him and sniffled apologies from her.

"I'm so sorry, Liam." She cried in her hands, her tears breaking through, at last. Three days was the longest she could pretend she was okay. "I know I'm wrong. I made a terrible mistake, and I'm trying to fix it. Please give me a chance to fix this."

"You could have ended this shit show at any time, Princess, and you chose not to."

"I'm sorry." Eden bowed her head in shame.

Eden smiled sadly.

Four days.

In four days, Liam would fly out of the country after a charity benefit she didn't even know about because he hadn't said anything to her, and he'd be gone for three weeks. Clearly, she was still sitting with his old schedule because, in her copy, there was no mention of a benefit anywhere. If it wasn't for Clara, she wouldn't even know about the event.

"Are you his plus one?" Eden asked and held her breath. She doubted her friend was. She never attended work events with Liam. That was her job. But she was fishing and trying to figure out if he had already replaced her.

The chief assistant shook her head. "No, I thought you are?"

"Nope. He didn't ask me," Eden said, relieved and sad at the same time.

"I'm sure he will," Clara said and excused herself to go chase after the legal team for the finalised Lusso contract.

Alone again, Eden looked through her stationery box and fished out Gibby's journal. For fifteen minutes straight, she pored over the former assistant's detailed notes, familiarising herself with Liam's travel protocols and procedures. This would be her first time managing his travel plans, and she couldn't help but be grateful to his former assistant for her notes because failure to execute her one job was not an option, especially when she was still in the dog box.

She was still reading the notes when her inbox chimed, alerting her of an email from Thomas Blaine Inc., a powerhouse law firm representing only the ultra-wealthy.

She read the brief instructions over and over, shaking her head in disbelief.

Her presence was required tomorrow at 07:00 AM sharp. A George Whitman strongly urged her to bring her legal team for what he assured her would be a mutually beneficial discussion.

Eden slammed her laptop shut and burst into maniacal laughter. She didn't have even have an attorney, so how then was she supposed to come up with a whole team in less than—she checked the time on her phone—in less than 24 hours?

She looked up and smiled sadly when her gaze clashed with Liam's through the glass wall, wishing with all her heart he hadn't done this.