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She made her way to the bread on the kitchen counter, her heart skittering as Liam stood to join her.

“Hey,” he said softly, glancing over his shoulder at his mom. She still sat at the table, her eyes trained on her phone. “We still need to finish our conversation from last night.”

Claire placed the bread in the toaster. “Yeah, we do.”

“Maybe we could go on a walk later today?”

Excitement flourished in her chest. “That sounds great.”

“Perfect. Then—”

“Liam,” Tasha interrupted, “is that your phone going off?”

Liam and Claire turned to the table, his phone lighting up with an incoming call. He narrowed his eyes at the screen before a frown marked his brow.

“Anything wrong?” Tasha asked, having caught his scowl, too.

He shook his head, walking to the table and reaching for the phone. “No. I just need to take this.”

He clicked the green button on the screen, then held the phone to his ear and walked down the hallway.

As he disappeared from her view, an uneasiness crept over Claire. She hadn’t seen his frown that intense since the airport.

She didn’t know who was behind the call, but based on Liam’s reaction, she didn’t think it was someone he wanted to speak with.

* * *

Seeing his boss’s name emblazoned across the phone’s screen had sent dread straight through Liam’s limbs. For a split second, he’d considered not answering, knowing this was going to be the phone call that ended his job. Then he’d reminded himself that he had every right to find happiness in his career, so he picked up the phone anyway.

Still, hearing Garrett’s voice on the other end did nothing but rattle Liam’s nerves.

“So,” Garrett said. “I’m sure you know why I’m calling you, Liam.”

“I’ve an idea.”

“I have to say, your email came as quite a shock. I still can’t understand why you’d wish to change to part-time.”

“I explained my reasoning.” Liam knew he was being short with his boss, the man who held his future in his hands. But honestly, the worst he could do was sack Liam from Peregrine Productions, and right about now, that didn’t sound too bad.

“Mmm, yes. I was also surprised to learn that you were interested in becoming an executive producer.”

Liam’s jaw shifted as he shook his head in disbelief. “Garrett, you know full-well I’d been promised that position by you for years.”

Silence met him. Would the dismissal occur now?

Garrett cleared his throat. “Either way, I’m concerned, Liam. I would never wish to think that any of our employees, you especially, would accuse Peregrine Productions of not valuing those who work for us.”

Liam grimaced. Garrett sounded just like he was pitching to a potential client. “I used to think I was valued, but things change.”

“Indeed.”

When he said nothing further, Liam sighed. He couldn’t take it any longer. For years, he’d dealt with this sort of rubbish. He was over it. “Look, Garrett. I’ll be frank with you. You either offer me the part-time position, or I’ll be handing in my weeks’ notice.”

Liam nearly fell over at his own words, but the moment they left his tongue, a weight lifted from his shoulders. He drew a deep breath, as if for the first time in years.

This. This was what he wanted. To be free of the company that had been holding him back for far too long. To be free of—

“What would you say to becoming an executive producer instead?”