Begin Again novel Chapter 135

Liam was locked away in back-to-back meetings for a large part of his day, so he didn't get a chance to see Eden. But, he sent her countless reminders about their dinner with Vic Randolph, the founder and CEO of Lusso.

By the time he left Anderson Logistics, after his last meeting with an out of town client had gone on longer than he had wanted, the building was already half empty.

Eden, too, was long gone, even though he'd expressly asked her to stay behind so he could brief her on Randolph's wife.

As he made his way to the car waiting for him at the entrance, Liam asked Clara to contact Eden and make sure she was at the venue at the very least.

His assistant tried a few times, but Eden's phone went unanswered.

"I can't reach her, Sir." Clara wore a frightened expression on her face as she turned to him, her shoulders slumped in defeat.

"I figured as much," Liam drawled and firmly glued his eyes on her, refusing to let her off. He paid her to come up with solutions. So far, all she had given him were tons of problems.

His assistant stared at her feet as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other, doing her best to avoid his gaze.

Liam clapped his hands, demanding her attention once more. "The real question is, how are you going to fix this, Clara? We're supposed to meet Vic Randolph shortly. Do I need to remind you what's at stake here?"

"Let me try La Famiglia, Sir. She might already be there," she said almost too quickly.

She spoke to the hostess while she cast cautious glances in his direction, and when she came back to him, Liam knew her bright plan was a bust.

"She's not at the restaurant. But there's still plenty of time before the meeting, two hours to be exact. I don't think we should panic yet, and Ms McBride could have just gone home, you know, to settle Aiden in for the night or something—" Clara babbled on but quickly shut her mouth when he threw her a death stare.

"I'll handle this shit myself, Clara. Send Ms McBride a text and let her know I'm on my way to pick her up. If she's not ready when I get to her place, don't bother returning to work tomorrow!" He told her as he jumped in the car, not giving her room to protest.

"Are you sure about this, Sir? The missus wasn't very happy with you for showing up at her house unannounced last night. Maybe you should lie low for a while. Let her calm down," James suggested, meeting his gaze in the rearview mirror as they pulled away from the premises and headed to Eden's house.

"She is not the missus," Liam groaned.

"That's beside the point," Steven chimed in from behind the wheel as he negotiated the car through the bustling city centre. "She's still upset, and going there won't help your cause."

Liam ignored both the men and flipped through the dossier on Randolph's trophy wife, but his thoughts were firmly on Eden.

Yes, he fucked up badly last night by drinking himself into a coma and then rocking up at her place uninvited; he's well aware of that. But this wasn't a social call. They had a business engagement, and it was her job to assist him in whichever capacity he deemed necessary.

They were in Forrest Creek in a flash despite the moderate afternoon traffic, and Liam had to look a couple of times at the single-story bungalow to make sure they were at the right place.

He had been there once or twice before. It could have been more. But only at night. So seeing her place in broad daylight was a bit of a shock to his system.

When he called her house 'dinky' back at the penthouse, he'd just assumed it's small. Nothing could have prepared him for this matchbox-sized cottage, and to think he slept here last night.

How did he even fit in there, he wondered as he dialled Eden's number.

It rang for a long time before the voicemail lady picked up. He didn't leave a message. He hated leaving messages.

Liam pushed out of the door with a frustrated sigh but stayed close to the car, not daring to step beyond the boundary line in case something jumped at him from the unkempt rose bushes near the mailbox.