Begin Again novel Chapter 122

"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 assistants as your date, though?" She asked and immediately regretted it when Liam's eyes darkened in annoyance.

"They have other commitments."

"But I'm not your assistant," she pointed out.

"You are more than an assistant to me, Ms McBride," Liam said as he sat down and opened his MacBook, his voice so soft she thought she didn't hear him correctly.

"Uhm," she licked her lips, hope flickering to life for the first time since their fight over her office renovations.

Could it be? Could she dare? Did this mean he felt a little more strongly for her now?

No, she shook her head quickly, a silly attempt to drive away her muddled up thoughts. Even if he felt the same way, there was still the issue of his role as her boss, and she didn't want any more rumours.

"—For your very high salary, you cannot be just a mere assistant," Liam murmured, squashing all the foolish hopes her greedy little heart was starting to believe in with his words.

"Of course, Mr Anderson," she said, fighting back the sudden rush of tears burning behind her eyes.

"Clara or Gibby will take you shopping. They have one of my cards," he said, turning back to his desk.

"There's no need!" She jutted out her chin stubbornly and glared at him. "I can buy my own clothes. And don't you worry, Sir, I'll make sure not to embarrass you."

"Eden!" Liam gritted his teeth, his head shooting up from his laptop. He stared at her, questions swimming in the ocean in his eyes.

"Also, there's no need to send a car; I'll drive myself to the venue. We'll talk more about it closer to the time," she said quickly.

Liam frowned at her, his jaw clenched. "What's going on? You were happy a second ago, and now you're upset? Mind telling what the problem is?"

"There is no problem!" She straightened her back and held her hands behind her, absently crushing the envelope between her fingers.

"If you don't want to tell me what's wrong, I suggest you return to work," Liam growled under his breath. "I've had an exhausting weekend in Port Alfred; I don't have time for your mood swings."

With that, she was dismissed.

She lingered for a few seconds longer than she should have, seething at him and his abrupt dismissal of her.

"Linda—" She began, but Liam's scowl only darkened.

"I told you, there's no need for you to come with me anymore."

"Then how the hell do you think I feel earning my very high salary, as you keep pointing out if I can't do the job I've been hired to do?"

"Don't you worry, Princess," he slammed his laptop shut so hard, the sound of his anger startled her. "There's plenty of work to go around. I plan to get my money's worth out of you. So make sure you avail yourself whenever and wherever I need you."

Eden glared at him as unbridled fury flooded her veins like molten lava, unable to understand how they got here or why he won't even talk about Linda.

"I thought you want to be fixed," she whispered. "You kept telling me it's my fault. That I broke you, but now, you won't even let me fix you. Why won't you let me fix you?"