Liam had just opened his laptop again, about to tackle his emails, when Eden flew into his office and touched down like a mini-tornado on a path of destruction, bewildered and almost in tears.
"You fired Lucy?" She asked, her voice trembling with anger; it could have been from her tears too. Liam wasn't so sure.
As much as he was pissed off at her lack of protocol and waltzing into his space uninvited, he was stunned into silence as he took her in. Her eyes were even more mesmerising when they were not hidden behind her glasses. He guessed she was wearing contacts again.
He hadn't seen her in three days because he'd stayed away from her like he'd promised himself, avoided seeking her out even when his heart screamed at him to go to her.
He was always good at cutting people off. Never needed to think too much about avoiding someone. But with Eden, he'd learned a humbling lesson: avoiding someone took strength, willpower and sheer grit. But avoiding som
Clara was waiting in her office when Eden returned from the marketing meeting. She took one look at her beaming face and immediately wanted to vanish back in the direction she just came from. But it was too late; her friend had already seen her. "Eden McBride, you won't believe the amazing news I have!" She squealed, waving a black corporate card in front of her face. Eden sighed and crashed in her seat. "Do I want to know this amazing news?" "Well, the Dragon gave us his corporate card for the team drinks tomorrow afternoon! He said we could choose any place we want." Clara carried on, ignoring her lack of enthusiasm. "That's great, enjoy!" Eden said, praying and hoping Liam's assistant couldn't see the sadness in her eyes. It's been two weeks since Liam tried to fire Lucy, and she begged him to take back his decision. Two weeks since he last kissed and held her. Two weeks of silence from him. She should have been happy he was
Sometime after lunch Friday afternoon, Eden picked up her phone and called Brenda to remind her she would be home late because of the team outing with the other assistants. As usual, the nanny had no issues watching Aiden after hours, and they spent a few more minutes chatting about their plans for the afternoon. Brenda wanted to hit the rooftop market for some fruit and vegetables, and Eden was more than happy for her to take Aiden. She had meant to take him to the flea market, but somehow her home improvements and playdates with Isaac and Zoe always seemed to eat up her weekends. "Thanks, Brenda. Give him a big smooch for me," Eden smiled and hung up. Now that she knew Aiden had an eventful afternoon planned as well, she could at least pretend to be excited about a drinking fest that didn't include Liam. When she left at 04:30 PM, the other ladies were still dolling themselves up in the bathroom. They tried to get her to join in, but Eden de
White-hot relief surged through Eden's body at the sound of Liam's voice. "Anderson!" Aleksei turned to Liam and held out his hand for a handshake. Liam ignored it and clenched his jaw. "Ivanov." "Fancy seeing you here," Aleksei carried on, sizing Liam up. "Not sure why you seem surprised," Liam drawled softly, but his face hardened, and his eyes stayed on Eden. "Didn't you pick the venue for this month's game?" "Well, you know what I mean," Aleksei shrugged. "No, I don't," Liam said, finally peeling his gaze from her. "What are you doing up here anyway? I thought the game is in the basement?" Eden's head shot up at his words, and she stared at the two men, amazed by this new piece of information. She didn't even know Crush has a basement. What else went on down there besides round-robin poker tournaments for billionaires? She was suddenly curious about Liam's extracurricular activities. "I saw something
"Are you drunk?" Liam clutched the phone tightly in his hand and shook his head in disbelief as he checked his watch. Two hours. That's how long it's been since he left Eden in the VIP booth, and in that short two hours, she had somehow managed to get shitfaced, even when he told her she shouldn't, even after he had begged her not to be reckless. Now more than ever, Liam was convinced Eden's sole purpose on earth was to torture and torment him. "Why don't you like me?" She asked again, her sobs drowning out her words, and at that moment, with his heart aching at the sound of her tears, he forgot all his anger. "Where are you? I'm coming there right now." His voice was much gentler as he sighed into the phone. "Please like me." Eden hiccuped softly on her end. "I like you so much it hurts. So please like me." Her pleas left him stunned for words. How she could think he doesn't like her when
Liam called Eden as he made his way upstairs and was mighty relieved when Clara picked up. "Where is she?" He demanded. "She's right here, sir; I was about to call a cab for her." "No need, I'll take her home," he said. "Meet me outside; I'll bring the car around." Five minutes later, he pulled up in his Lamborghini, parking as close to the entrance as possible where Clara was doing her best to prop up a blind drunk Eden. Liam stormed out of the car and approached them, scowling at his assistant before picking Eden up and placing her in the front seat. He dumped her bag and shoes in the back and returned to the sidewalk to wait with Clara. "Jeff's almost here," she said, a wide, drunken smile flickering on her lips as she held on to the street lamp. "I'll be okay, so you can go ahead and take Ms McBride home, sir." "And leave you on your own? As wasted as you are?" Liam asked, crossing his arms. Trying to talk sense int
Eden had just returned from the breakroom with a steaming cup of tea—her last for the day—ready to wind down for the afternoon when her office phone rang. After listening for a moment or two at the voice on the other end of the line, she placed the phone back on its stand. She took several shaky breaths to calm herself before she dashed out of her office. Their meeting was bound to happen at some point; she didn't expect it to be so soon, though. How could she possibly look at Liam now when she couldn't even remember a large part of Friday night? She knew she had drunk-called him at some point during her alcohol-fueled binge. A quick check of her call records, while she sipped on Brenda's hangover cure sometime after midday on Saturday, had confirmed that much. As she weaved through the hallways, Eden tried yet again to access what seemed to be her permanently deleted memories. But the only things her foggy mind came up with were Aleks
"Did you miss me?" Liam asked. "Only like one percent," Eden mumbled absently. Her attention was now on the envelope, her eyes shining with joy as she stared at it in wonder like it was a golden ticket to Willy Wonka's chocolate factory. Well, in the fashion world, it most certainly was. When Lydia showed off her ticket weeks ago, Eden was insanely envious of her. Since she's now a mom, there are things she had learned she would have to slowly let go of, like attending late-night events. But now, because of a work commitment, she'd get a front-row seat to the best fashion in the country before the general public saw it. Eden was so thrilled she wanted to shout with joy and break into a happy dance. If she wasn't in the CEO's office, she would have. But— She turned to Liam, suspicion clouding her eyes again. Why was she going as his date when he had Clara? "Shouldn't you take Clara or one of the senior as
Dazedly, Eden drifted in front of the screen and watched the news anchor report live from the N1, where three of Anderson Logistics freight trucks, en route to shipping depots in different parts of the country, were engulfed in flames, in what the police had termed a highly sophisticated attack. The reasons for the ambush, though, were still unclear. Within seconds, Liam's office door shot open. Matthew, Julian, and the other senior executives stormed in, along with their PAs, and they all held an impromptu meeting. The room was in stunning chaos for three hours as everyone lost their heads trying to do damage control. Julian was close to tears as they all watched Anderson Logistics' share prices tank on the markets. Matthew had a PR nightmare on his hands. Speculations and rumours about the attack, which was eerily similar to those that had befallen other logistics companies in recent days, were already spreading like wildfire. Every man and