Begin Again novel Chapter 106

They were supposed to meet at the Portuguese restaurant on 8th Street, the same place where Eden had dinner with Liam a few nights ago. But a last-minute appointment with a new client forced Isaac to move their lunch in-house at Hayes & Jones' cafeteria.

"Are you sure you're okay with it? I wanted to take you to a decent place," Isaac asked on his end for the millionth time, and Eden assured him for the millionth time she didn't mind at all. There was no need to splurge over a handyman interview. Besides, the restaurant would always remind her of Liam now.

She didn't tell Isaac this, of course.

They hung up with Eden promising to see him at 11:00 AM.

She normally took her lunch break at midday, but today she had to avail herself for Liam's session with Linda.

Turning to the window, Eden sighed and spent a long time people-watching Isaac's colleagues on the rooftop.

Since her confrontation with Lucy—it was hard to believe it was just yesterday—Matthew's assistant had made a point of sidelining her and keeping her in the dark on the work front, choosing to do everything herself today, even the skivvy tasks like fetching printouts and setting up meeting rooms she'd delegated to her in the past.

Eden had plenty of time on her hands now that she didn't have to fetch newspapers and pack up stationery cupboards.

Time was a dangerous thing to have when your life's a mess.

She spent half her morning thinking about her fight with Liam, wondering if she'd made a mistake and if perhaps she was too rash by drawing a firm line between them.

She wanted him. He wanted her, too. That much was obvious. But in all the weeks she had daydreamed about Liam, all the times she had fantasised about a relationship with him—and there'd been plenty, Eden never thought about how the dynamic of their work relationship would change. She always saw him as a man first and her boss second, and maybe that was her first mistake and the biggest reason the rumours in the chat had thrown her world for a loop.

The stuff written about her had damaged her self esteem as much as Lucy's slap.

Eden never wanted to be that girl—the one people assume only got the job because she was sleeping with the boss, and she never imagined one day she would be a walking cliche and the subject of office gossip.

But on the other hand, she didn't want to give up on Liam. They had just found each other.

She never understood what people meant about being caught between a rock and a hard place until now. She either gives in to Liam and lives with the rumours. Or, she lets him go so she can keep walking with her head held high among her peers.

One thing was certain, though. She couldn't have both.

Tired of working herself into a frenzy over a man she almost had, Eden went into her friends' chat and wasted exactly ten minutes talking nonsense with the girls.