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19 | Gift

Laura's Pov

"John!"

"Laura! How's the best manager this branch has ever had?" he smiled, shaking my hand.

I'd been three days since I'd left Ross in that hospital, and for the time being, I was doing everything on my own.

It was freeing, really. It was what I'd always wanted, even though now I had twice the weight on me.

I think being authoritative went a long way- as people no longer treated me like they did when I was an employee. It sure took a while to get them used to taking orders from me, but it seemed everyone was settled, which I was grateful for.

I tried to be considerate of everything and everyone, but.. I was in a time crunch.

The plan was that Ross and a couple of main office employees would leave for Edinburgh for the marketing campaign, and I had to look over every detail about that to make sure it went smoothly.

Every paperwork that needed to be signed, emails to be looked over, or the people to call- all of it, needed to be done by friday.

Which.. hopefully, Ross would be healed by then, as I wouldn't be able to take them anyway.

The office felt a bit empty without him, I'd admit. Issues were harder to sort- they still took him more seriously, but I guess that was just the difference between man and woman in the workplace.

But apart from work related reasons, perhaps, his presence truly did fill the room.

It felt weird not seeing him there every day, even if it was just for a bit.

He wasn't even showing up around Louie's with those men, which I guess was good. He wasn't supposed to leave the house anyway.

And they.. gave me a sickly vibe.

We hadn't talked a crazy lot, but Ross had updated me after he got out of the hospital with his family.

We talked a bit about that on the phone, and every time I'd come to a bump on the road, or had a question about something- he made me feel safe to call.

He was obviously bored in the house, so he picked up my calls pretty quickly. I didn't feel like I was bothering him- which was important, as most of the time in all the years working here, I did feel like I was a bother to everyone if I dared ask a question, even work related.

He even called me once, truly, and honestly, just because he felt 'I needed his company'.

His audacity was impressively attractive.

Either way, John was scheduled to come in today, and without Ross here, I felt a bit nervous- scared I wouldn't do a good job at presenting the proof that our company was indeed doing well.

I wasn't going to lie about it either- since Ross' enjoyment and my promotion, things had been updated, and sells had started improving.

We were heading in a good direction- I just needed to make sure to show that.

Because despite all of that.. I still didn't feel enough.

I felt like I crumbled under pressure- and Ross aced at it. I felt like I no longer could do it all on my own.

The realization was terrifying.

"Well, he seems to be looking well" I weaved a hand as in to return the compliment his way, making him grin.

No, John actually sucked at this position.

But I knew better than to not lie when it came to people of his age, position and ego.