Begin Again novel Chapter 180

Eden was thoroughly engrossed in her marketing presentation when Matthew knocked on her door. Barely looking up from her screen, she beckoned him inside with a quick wave of her hand.

"I wanted—" Her former boss began, but she held up a finger to stop him.

"Give me a sec, Mr Anderson. I'm almost done." She smiled and pushed up her glasses. They were too loose on her face now, sliding down every so often, and it wasn't just because of Lucy's hot claps. She'd lost a considerable amount of weight recently and in all the wrong places.

"Eden," Matthew snapped his fingers, demanding her attention.

She blinked at him, her mouth curling into a slow smile. "I'm sorry, I'm trying to finish Lydia's media proposal."

"That's not why I'm here." He leaned forward and placed his elbows on the table, steepling his fingers together as he spoke. "There's a charity benefit tomorrow evening at the Convention Centre. I'd like you to come as my date?"

"Me?" Eden asked, hoping she didn't look as shocked as she thought she sounded. But to say she was stunned by the unexpected invitation was an understatement. After all, Lucy always tagged along as his date.

She wondered now why the other woman was always his date.

With his black hair, ice-blue gaze, and a body of a god, Matthew was easily one of the most sought after men at the company and the subject of many group chats before Liam shut them all down. It made no sense that he was still single.

"—Great. So you should be ready around five." He carried on as he pushed away from the desk and leaned back in his seat.

Eden only got the tail end of his announcement, but it sounded like the date she hadn't agreed to yet, was a go.

"And, I'll pick you up at 6:00 PM? Sounds good?" He asked.

Not really. But since Liam still hadn't asked her to be his plus-one, Eden figured it was okay to go with Matthew, and she couldn't exactly refuse since technically, he was also her boss.

"That's okay. I'll meet you at the venue," she replied. "You are closer to the Convention Centre, and it doesn't make sense for you to drive to Forrest Creek just to pick me up."

"Okay, great!" Matthew agreed as he scrammed out of his seat and dropped a black corporate card on her desk, throwing her one of his killer smiles. "It's a black-tie event, so get yourself something fancy to wear. It's going to be an awesome night!"

Eden sighed in defeat as she watched him leave; she didn't share his sentiment. She'd attended a few such benefits with her parents in the past, and they were always a bore, with people trying to outshine each other with their donations.

She had nothing against being charitable. Her issue was when the giving wasn't done from a good place. It was always a show of power, status and wealth at these events.

"Ugh!" She picked up the corporate card and stared at it glumly. "Do I have to go?"

"Yes, you do," Clara laughed as she knocked on the doorframe. "Matthew asked me to take you shopping."

"Okay!" Eden made a face but locked her laptop anyway before grabbing her handbag and throwing the company card inside.

They spent two hours on the long strip of boutiques on 9th Street, with Eden rejecting every single dress the sales reps brought out. Everything she tried on was too much. Too short. Too long. Too revealing. Too tight.

Eventually, Clara lost her patience.

"You are the worst shopper ever! Are you even a woman?" She scolded her as she grabbed her hand, and they walked to the last store on their list.

"I promise I'll find something this time," Eden said quickly before her friend could go off at her.

They wasted another twenty minutes before the sales clerk brought out a dress from the back. She explained a client had reserved it months ago but never came to pick it up.

"What do you think?" She asked as she held it out to her.

Eden could only gawk at the one-shoulder split thigh cutout floor-length gown. It was easily one of the most elegant dresses she had ever seen.

She doubted she could pull it off, though, with her short height. But, as she stood in front of the mirror exactly seven minutes later, Clara made it known she was killing it!

"Hot! Hot! hot!" Her friend shrieked as she fanned her face with her hand, unable to contain her excitement. "Goodness, they'd better have fire extinguishers ready because you are smoking hot, baby!"

"You don't think it's too much?" She asked, turning a bright pink at the compliment.

"Too much?" Clara scoffed. "Are you kidding me? Sometimes more is less!"

"You mean less is more?" Eden laughed and walked around the room, trying out the dress. She loved that it was black, and she could pair it up with just about anything. The cotton-polyester blend fabric wouldn't irritate her sensitive skin, too, as nylon would.

Feeling terrible for acting like a real diva, Eden took her hand and squeezed it. "No. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have snapped at you. But the stuff with Liam, I can't talk about it."

"Sure," Clara smiled and nodded as if she understood, but the wary look in her eyes didn't go away. "We should head back."

Eden's phone rang as they left the restaurant and took a leisurely walk back to the office.

It was Isaac; he wanted to know if they were still on for drinks later. He had something important to tell her.

"I'm sorry, I have a thing tomorrow evening, and I want to spend some time with Aiden tonight. Can I take a rain check?" She asked.

"No stress," Isaac assured her. "I also have a thing tomorrow night."

They both chuckled and chatted for a bit before they hung up, promising to see each other at the weekend.

"So the lawyer's still in the picture?" Clara nodded knowingly.

"Don't start," she made a face at her.

"Well, he's hot. I'd bang him if I were you," Clara carried on. "But then again, I don't think the Dragon would like that at all, not when you have a baby Dragon with him."

"Clara!" Eden buried her face in her hands. "His name is Aiden, and quit calling Liam that."

"Right," Clara laughed and carried on walking, her stilettos echoing loudly on the glistening floors. "I'm just saying, it's good to have options, you know."

"Isaac's just a good friend," Eden said, hoping to shut her up.

"A good friend who keeps sending you flowers," Clara rolled her eyes. "He clearly wants to be more than just a good friend!"

Eden knew this, of course, and since she had nothing else to add to this line of conversation, she firmly kept her mouth shut.

They parted ways on their floor. The other woman dashed to an afternoon meeting with Liam, and Eden returned to her office to finish up her presentation.