Eden felt the other assistants' pitiful stares the whole time she followed Matthew down the hall to his part of the floor, and she wanted to cry all over again.
They'd all heard Liam's very loud meltdown.
She wouldn’t even be surprised if she's already the subject of group chats and chain emails, or the inspiration behind a meme or two floating around.
She'd seen such situations play out at Van Holt Industries, when senior executives would go apeshit on junior staff members over the smallest, sometimes ridiculous mishaps and the whole company would rehash the incident for days.
Eden knew, though, her blunder was far from a ridiculous mishap.
The thought that she almost killed Liam chilled her to the bone every time her mind wandered back to that terrifying moment in his office.
Maybe working so closely with him wasn't such a good idea.
It's becoming more apparent the longer she stayed that they'd kill each other at some point. M
After her morning session with Gibby the next day, Eden returned to her office to find more flowers waiting for her on her desk, and a bunch of curious assistants crowded around her broom closet. "Aren't you quite the smash hit? You haven't been here a full day, but look at the bouquets you've amassed!" Matthew's assistant, Lucy, drawled as she picked up the card from the newest bouquet—peach Calla Lilies this time—and read it aloud. "'Looking forward to coffee with you. I.J.'" Eden sensed the other woman doesn't like her much, and she had no idea why considering they've only just met. When Matthew made the introductions yesterday afternoon, Lucy had brushed her off with a condescending nod and an insincere smile. Eden had thought she was being paranoid and had chalked down the cold reception to her being overly-sensitive from her run-ins with Liam earlier. But now, she wasn't so sure if her still-delicate emotional state had anything to do wi
Despite her thorny start at Anderson Logistics, Eden settled into her new role in Matthew's area with no issues. She'd worried she'd have a hard time getting used to a 9 to 5 desk job, but both her new boss and Brenda made life easy for her. Matthew was a dream boss to work for. He never made any unnecessary demands on her. Never screamed or lost his shit with her even when she fudged crucial reports a few times. He was also kind enough to let her finish work at 4:00 PM every day so she can rush home to be with her son. Brenda was another gem. As her live-in nanny, she not only looked after Aiden but took care of the chores too, something Eden appreciated greatly because all she had to do when she got home was to spend time with her little boy or trudge through her home improvements. By the end of her first week in her new job, Eden had repainted the bathroom and toilet with the help of tons of DIY videos on YouTube, and the guys from the Bathroom Pla
Isaac was as gorgeous—in real life— as his Hot Connexions profile photo. He had smooth russet skin, deep-set hazel eyes and a strong aquiline nose and square jaw, his hair was cropped short in a fade haircut. But it's the dimples that almost made Eden want to change his application from handyman to boyfriend. As a former college fly-half for Rock Union University, he also had the body and the height of a Rugby player. It helped that he was clean shave as well. Eden liked them clean-shaven. Like Liam. Isaac was the perfect gentleman, too; he held the door and chair for her and was attentive to her every need. The more time Eden spent with him, the more convinced she was that something was wrong with him. But thirty minutes in she still hadn't found any serious flaws other than being a once divorced single parent to a three-year-old baby girl. "So did you handle your divorce?" Eden was curious to know when she learned he's a divo
They sat in stony silence for the first ten minutes, with Linda only too happy to observe them and take notes. Eden looked at everything but Liam and his therapist, and his gaze remained firmly on her. For some unfathomable reason, he'd decided to stand by the window even though there was plenty of room on Linda's tan couch. At last, unable to take the silence and suspense any longer, Eden addressed the therapist. "I'm not sure why I'm here." Linda snapped her notebook shut and leaned back in her chair, and for fifteen minutes, she brought her up to speed on the reasons for Liam's weekly sessions with her. Eden sat in numb disbelief, her eyes now constantly shifting between Liam and the therapist, convinced they had both lost their minds or she was stuck in a dream that didn't make any sense at all. He'd obviously lied to Linda about his erectile dysfunction because she'd felt his hard-on when he kissed her in the meeting room that first time,
They left Linda's office with Liam promising to see her at the same time the following week. Eden wanted no part of this screaming match again. She couldn't sit through another round of accusations and blame. Sure, she broke him more than she could have imagined when she left without a word. But, he wasn't the only one whose life changed after that night. She was still dealing with the emotional fallout of her pregnancy. His rage was a little misplaced in her opinion. She skulked to the furthest corner from Liam in the elevator and pressed her back to the cool metal wall, wishing she could melt into it and disappear. "Relax; I won't bite you!" He quickly put her out of her misery, barely glancing at her, his attention on the phone in his hand. "I didn't think you were," Eden replied, raising her chin stubbornly. "I don't want to come back here again." "You don't have to," Liam murmured, his mouth curved into a small smile. "Now that I'
In the twenty minutes it took Liam to follow Eden, he went through every emotion under the sun as he watched her fall apart on the sidewalk, and pick herself up again. His heart ached more than anything imaginable when she burst into tears and broke into gut-wrenching sobs, and it took all of his self-control and lots words of caution from his driver and security detail not to go after her and drag her back to the car. By the time he returned to Anderson Logistics, he was highly pissed and terrified out of his head. What if he pushed her too far, he thought frantically as he paced the length of his office. What if she doesn’t come back? God, he shouldn't have allowed his security team to convince him to return to the office without her. He shouldn't even have taken her to Linda. He thought lashing out at her would give him some relief, some satisfaction. But this—he did not sign up for this heartache. Feelings, especially of worry and sadness,
When Eden walked into the marketing meeting forty-five minutes late, she expected Liam to chew her up and spit her out. But he was surprisingly nice.As she took what felt like a very long walk to one of the few empty seats in the room, Eden wondered if maybe he has an undiagnosed split-personality disorder or something equally severe.The Liam in the front of the room, with his gentle tone and soothing words, was very different from the terrorist in Linda's office just an hour ago. It was almost as if something had shifted in him between the time she left him outside his therapist's office and now—"—Ms McBride?"Eden snapped her attention back to the front and gaped at the man still tormenting her thoughts. He was waiting for something from her, and she had no frigging clue what."Yes, Mr Anderson?" She pushed her glasses up her nose and gave him what she hoped is an earnest, focused look.She's only been at Anderson Logistics
The phone rang a few times before Lydia picked up, and seconds later, her face filled the screen. Dressed in a white bathrobe and her dark hair extensions piled high in a messy bun, she looked flawless as usual. Her face was still bare, though; they'd caught her in the middle of her routine. "St Eden! This had better be good. What the heck is going on? I haven't even put on my face yet!" And that's what earned her the 'Darling' award from the women in the room. The guys too went wild for her. "Hush now, and behave yourself. I'm at work," Eden groaned, hiding her face in her hands. "So what's up?" She asked. "What can I do you for—Oh, hi Liam!" Eden wished the floor would open and swallow her up then. She shook her head frantically at the screen, silently pleading with Lydia to behave herself and not say shit that can blow her cover wide open. Liam barely noticed the silent exchange, though. If he did, he did a great job