"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 as

Eden raced back inside the building, planning to sneak in and out of Liam's office to grab her phone. She knocked once and eased inside when she didn't get an answer. Her heart splintered in two when she found Liam on the couch, cradling his face in his hands, his shoulders sagged in defeat. He turned when he heard the door close softly behind her, his gaze darkening when their eyes locked. "I forgot my phone," Eden explained, lingering just inside, feeling like she'd intruded on a private moment. "It's here." Liam held it up in the air, and she dashed over to grab it. When she tried to reach for it, though, he grabbed her instead, and she clumsily fell on his lap. "Mr Anderson," she cried breathlessly, startled by his swift move. "Liam," he groaned, his lips hovering so close to hers she could smell the bourbon on his breath. "Liam," she said, matching his quiet tone. "I don't think I should be here." "

Over the next few weeks following the burning of the trucks, Liam threw himself into his work with newfound vigour and determination, spurred on by his unyielding guilt and grief over losing three of his drivers. When he wasn't hounding the detectives about the lack of progress on the case, he was permanently on the second floor with the security team, monitoring all their freight trucks all over the country in real-time over a satellite feed. Ellie, the head of the area, was happy to have him on board for the first week but nicely asked him not to return the following week. Her guys worked far better when they were at ease. They couldn't relax with him constantly hovering over their shoulders, barking and growling instructions. With too many fires to put out, Liam didn't want to waste energy arguing with her. There were many ways to skin a cat. He demanded the technology team set up a live feed on his laptop where he could tap in at any time from the comfort

Eden stared at her phone, unable to believe the last five minutes. "What the hell?" She fumed as she dumped it on the table and picked up her glass of water. "Is everything okay?" Cassandra asked. They were at Heat, an Asian fusion eatery in downtown Rock Castle, celebrating Sienna's 26th birthday. To say Liam's call was unexpected was an understatement. "Three weeks without a word from him, and when he finally calls, he has the nerve to make demands on me!" Eden fumed and seethed and fussed as she replayed her phone conversation to her friends. They all listened and sipped their saké and nibbled on their sushi. "Can you believe him?" She asked for the millionth time as she picked up her chopsticks, twirled them in her fingers and dumped them on the table again. "What did he want?" Sienna asked. "To go with him to see his—" She stopped herself before she could let the cat out of the bag. Her friends still didn't

Eden snatched her phone from the kitchen counter and called Clara. "What's going on?" Liam's assistant sounded sleepy and confused, not surprising since most people usually are at this time of the night. Eden fumed anew. She should be sleepy and confused as well instead of trying to get Liam home. "Mr Anderson is passed out on my couch. What do I do?" "What do you mean the Dragon is passed out on your couch?" "Exactly that, Clara," Eden snapped, well aware she was a little unreasonable at the moment, and it wasn't her friend's fault. "Now, what's the company protocol in such situations? Do you come over to pick him up?" "Why me?" "You are his assistant," Eden sighed and glared at her friends still keeping vigil beside Liam, like he was some saint or a deity, and just by being in his presence, they could all absorb his powers. "Wait, let me call Gibby. Maybe she'll know what to do." "She doesn't work for Anderson