Begin Again novel Chapter 203

James and Steven were not happy with Liam's decision to head to Hayes & Jones. They would have preferred to have at least one uneventful day, and they tried to get him to change his mind about the visit, going on about the optics.

"If the missus finds out, she won't be happy," James warned him. "You know Laura is a sore spot for her."

Liam was well aware of this, and the last thing he wanted was to upset Eden. But he'd never rest until he figured out the source of the leak, and only his ex could give him answers.

They spent the trip to the central business district in relative silence. He was about to send Eden a check-in text to find out how the visit with her parents had gone when his phone buzzed in his hand.

It was Clara, and she didn't sound happy at all. "Aleksei Ivanov responded, Sir. He's happy to meet with you!"

Liam had expected the bastard to give him a hard time. This was too easy, too quick. It could very well be a trap or—

"But on one condition," Clara carried on.

And there we go, Liam thought as he brushed his hair away from his forehead. There were always conditions when dealing with scumbags.

"What does he want?" He asked even though he knew it couldn't be anything good.

Clara paused ever so briefly on her side before she plucked up the courage to rush through her announcement. "He wants Ms McBride present for the meeting as a sign of good faith."

Liam laughed maniacally. "A sign of good faith for what? Tell him I'm not the one who sent him a fucking bullet, Clara. And I will not bring Eden to the meeting."

He didn't wait for her response. He hung up and eased back in his seat, convinced the universe was seriously testing him today.

Clara called back two minutes later. "He's agreed to meet without Ms McBride. But he's choosing the venue."

"Why am I not surprised?" He scoffed bitterly and clicked off from his assistant, already dreading the appointment.

Ten minutes later, Steven pulled up at the entrance of Hayes & Jones, and Liam jumped out, promising the two men he won't take long.

His phone pinged just as he entered the lobby, and he scanned through Clara's very short text—the date, time and a location pin to the meeting spot with Aleksei.

He messaged her back while waiting for the elevator to the 23rd floor and confirmed he was happy with Rock Union's racetrack. Not that he had a choice.

The ride to Laura's office seemed to take forever, or maybe he was just a little on edge. But the elevator doors couldn't open fast enough when they finally reached her floor.

Liam found her hard at work like he knew he would. If there was anything his ex loved more than money, it was her work.

He tapped once on the ajar door.

Laura looked up from the file in her hands, took off her horn-rimmed reading glasses and smiled at him. "Li, what a lovely surprise! Please come in."

He did but didn't take the seat she generously offered. Instead, he crossed the room and gazed at the view of Forrest Creek in the distance and vaguely listened to her potter around behind him.

She joined him moments later and handed him a glass of whiskey.

Liam stared at it suspiciously, and she laughed. "Relax, I didn't poison it."

To prove she didn't, she took a long sip. "See, I'm not dead!"

"Thanks," Liam mumbled and took the drink.

He guzzled it down in one go and held out his glass again.

Laura had a worried look in her eyes as she topped him up. But she knew better than to voice her concern. They were no longer in that kind of relationship.

They turned back to the window and drank their whiskeys in silence until their glasses were empty.

"Why did you do it?"

"It wasn't me." She denied it and touched his arm to reassure him. "I'd never do that to you, Li. I love you."

Liam snorted and gave her a sidelong glance. "I'd hate to be on the receiving end of your hate if that's how you show your love!"

"That's not fair," she said. "I didn't leak anything to Dirt."

"You expect me to believe that? After you threatened me?"

"I know it looks bad, but I didn't do it. Why don't you ask your precious Eden?"

Liam held up his hand to silence her, irritated that Eden kept popping up every time he tried to get to the bottom of the truth. "If you didn't do it, then it can only be your mother."

Laura gasped, took a step back and collapsed in her seat.

He turned and stared at her, surprised by the genuine confusion he saw in her eyes.

"No, my mother wouldn't do that," she whispered, her breath catching in her throat as she reached for a tissue from the box on her desk and blew her nose. "You can't go around accusing people."

"For her sake, I hope I'm wrong, Laura, because once I find proof, I won't hold back. What she did is criminal."