Begin Again novel Chapter 45

The door was wide open, but Eden knocked anyway. She didn't think she can walk into Liam's office willy nilly, and since she hasn't had a chance to go through the Company Protocol document, she'd rather err on the side of good manners.

"Come in and shut the door," Liam said from behind his desk.

"Yes, Mr Anderson." Eden complied, noting the bareness of his office.

He'd taken minimalism way too far in her opinion. But then again, what does she know about decor? She's just a children's book illustrator now moonlighting as a personal assistant. An inexperienced, ill-equipped and painfully underprepared assistant.

Besides the mid-century black leather couch, her other two bosses currently occupied, the only other visitor's seat in the room was the Hawker egg chair in front of the floor to ceiling bookcase.

Business Insider magazines lined the glass coffee table, and a bold-patterned rug served as the room's centrepiece.

A few impressionist paintings hung on either side of the humungous TV screen facing the millions of books, shiny accolades and little knick-knacks Liam had collected over the years, lining the shelves on the opposite wall.

The prints were nothing to write home about but had no doubt cost an arm and a leg.

Everything in this room, overwhelming in its masculinity, looked and smelled expensive.

What Liam lacked in the way of furniture, he more than made up for in alcohol. There were tons of bottles, some still full and others almost empty—cognac, whiskey, bourbon and spirits—spread out on the marble top bar to the left of the stately black door Eden assumed led to his private bathroom.

But it's the view of Castle Bridge behind him she fell in love with and the tons of skyscrapers dotting the city skyline. She could only imagine how gorgeous it is at night, with the stars and city lights illuminating the sky.

She was so tempted to run to the telescope propped in front of the window and peek through even though the sun was still inching its way up the clear sky and no stars were in sight.

"If you're done gawking at the view—" Liam cleared his throat and leaned forward in his seat as he planted his elbows on the desk. He'd rolled up his sleeves and thrown his lounge jacket over the headrest of his chair, his black tie, though, was still firmly in place around his neck. "—I need a detailed report on influencers not currently sponsored by logistics companies."

"But Gibby said I should—" Eden began, but the rest of her explanation died a slow death in her throat when she caught the annoyed glint in his eyes.

"Does Gibby pay your salary?" He demanded, drumming his fingers lightly on the smooth surface of his desk.

Eden shook her head and clasped her hands in front of her.

"Then what made you think I care about what Gibby said?"

"My apologies, Mr Anderson, I'll get on it right away," she said, plastering the biggest, brightest smile on her face, to suppress the spurt of anger surging up her tummy to her throat threatening to cut off her air supply. She gets it, he despises her, but there's no reason for him to talk down to her.

Liam pointed at the door, and she dutifully saw herself out.

"Oh, bring in refreshments and the day's newspapers," he called after her as she slipped out of his office.

Ten minutes later, Eden was back with a cart of refreshments, hot and cold, because he didn't specify what he wants—and a mountain of newspapers.

She was surprised there were still so many in circulation when she picked them up from reception.

With the world going paperless, she'd assumed all the major editorials were now hiding behind paywalls, and an innovative company like Anderson Logistics would have a premium subscription.

But clearly, the powers that be were still very much old school and preferred the smell of ink on freshly printed newspapers.

Julian and Matthew smiled at her sweetly as she served them their coffees and biscuits, making small talk with her and asking her all sorts of questions.

Eden answered them all with a smile and questions of her own.

By the time she turned to serve Liam his second cup of coffee for the day, she wasn't so anxious around the brothers.

She liked them.

They were nice.

What could have been an okay first day of work for Eden, turned into a nightmare she'd have a hard time forgetting for a very long time, starting with her simple act of placing Liam's espresso and a side plate of biscuits on his desk.

He took a small bite of one of the chocolate cookies and spat it into the paper bin at his feet. Cursing furiously under his breath, he pushed the plate away from him with such force it slid off the table and smashed to the ground, shattering into jagged pieces all over the floor.

Startled, Eden gasped at the fragile mess, unable to register the last thirty seconds.