Touch The Sky | ✓

Twenty-Eight

The next day, it's just gone three o'clock, when a knock on my office door makes me look up from my computer.

To my surprise, it's Mr Garth leaning against the doorframe, his crisp white shirt rolled up to his sleeves.

Honestly, I don't know why it surprises me every time I see my boss somewhere in the building that's not his office or the conference room. He owns the building, after all, and can definitely do what he pleases.

'Hello,' I say, smiling at him. 'Please come in.'

'Hello, Cora,' he greets me, crossing the room and sitting in the chair on the opposite side of my desk. 'I hope you don't mind me coming in to see you like this.'

It's not like I could say anything to him anyway, even if I did mind.

I laugh a little, shaking my head. 'Certainly not. What can I do for you?'

He leans back in the chair, looking fairly relaxed. Given the stress of his job, this surprises me, but maybe this particular Monday morning hasn't been too stressful for him.

I can't say that it's been particularly stressful for me, either. After such an exciting weekend, it's certainly been nice to have a bit of a slower day, today.

After brunch on Sunday, Katie and Stephen had to get a flight back to San Francisco. Later on, in the day, Mom and Dad left, too.

I'd just got home, exhausted, when Rose returned. We sat in the living room for quite a long time, catching up with our different family weekends. Rose's had certainly been a lot calmer than mine.

Mr Garth's voice brings me back to the present.

'Well, I was mostly just coming in to check up on how you are doing,' he tells me. 'I wanted to see how things are now that we've sent Naomi away with my brother. How is your new intern settling in?'

I smile, relaxing when I realise this isn't a particularly serious meeting we're having. 'Yes, Lorena seems to be settling in well.'

Lorena is a wonderfully enthusiastic intern, who just seems happy to be anywhere. She never fails to make others in the department smile. She and Juan, one of the others on the design team, have been bonding fairly well over their shared Columbian background.

'I think we're really going to benefit from having her with us,' I tell him. 'She's been a great asset to the team so far.'

I only just manage to refrain myself from telling him that I love that she's not a straight white man. Diversity is really important everywhere, but the variety of backgrounds in the design team is so beneficial for when we are brainstorming ideas. Everyone's different nationalities, cultures and upbringings always bring a wide range of things to the table.

Mr Garth breaks out into a grin. 'I'm so glad. I've spoken to Xander, who says that he and Naomi are getting on well, so that is really good.'

He crosses his arm over his chest and fixes me with a kind look, then. 'It is good to see that things are well in your department, Cora. I also wanted to see how you are doing. I'm aware we haven't had much of a chance to talk since you were away in San Francisco.'

He doesn't say anything else and I realise that he's giving me the space to tell him how it's all going.

I laugh a little awkwardly. I'm not really sure what to say to him, to be honest. It's not like I really want to spill everything that's been going on.

'It's okay, thank you. It was really kind of you to give me the time off,' I eventually settle on, smiling. 'I really appreciate it.'

Mr Garth nods in acknowledgement. 'Of course. Do you think you'll be wanting to take any more personal leave? Please feel free to do so. I do hope you weren't overwhelmed with work when you came back.'