Starting Over {S.S}

23

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I walk into work this morning with my head down and quietly sit down at my desk. I look at my watch and realize how early I am but I admire the silence I'm in and decide to get a head start on my work. There was two other employees in the office but neither one of them made noise or bothered to question my early arrival. I look to my right and frown as I see Rob's empty desk. I missed him already and it was only my first day back without him.

I made a mental note to go visit Miss Bourgeois when she arrives to tell her about Rob. I grab a hold of my coffee and take a slow sip from the steaming hot cup as I sigh. Maybe coming to work earlier than usual wouldn't be so bad. It was quiet and it would give me a chance to start my work earlier and concentrate better.

The silence quickly turned into obnoxious chatter as Jen makes her presence known. It was now the time that Rob and I would usually get here, so she thankfully didn't question me being here already. "Is your little friend late today?", she points at Robert's desk. I ignore her and continue to do my work. I wasn't in the mood to deal with her today. "Hello?", she hums impatiently behind me. "I'm busy", I say curtly. "But you just started working-"

"I said I'm busy, Jen", I say coldly as I continue to type. "Why isn't Robert here?", she asks again. I close my eyes and clench my jaw as I try and keep my heartbeat at a normal pace. "I don't think that's any of your business"

"I work with him!", she says as I turn my chair around. I raise my eyebrows at her, "So? That doesn't give you any reason to know his business. And it's not my place to be telling you anything. Now please, let me do my work", I snap back. "You're a little snappy this morning", she sasses back. "Don't care, Jen", I wave her off as I huff. I hear her mumble under her breath but I don't care enough to know what it is that she said. I wait at least two hours before I turn off my computer and walk to Miss Bourgeois' office. I knock on the door and wait to be called in. I hear her muffled voice and suspect that I'm allowed to come in so I carefully open the door and peek my head in. She looks up at me and nods her head. I slip into her office and shut the door behind me.

"This won't take much of your time, Miss Bourgeois, however I just wanted to inform you that Robert will not be coming to work for a while as he's been in an accident and is currently in the hospital. I, however, would like to take on his work, but I will not expect any additional pay for it and I would ask that Robert continues to get paid daily in light of his absence", I breathe out as I look at her. She purses her lips and takes off her glasses as she nods her head. "Will do. Send him my well wishes on his recovery. Good work, Daniella".

"Thank you!", I gasp. Not wanting to upset her or waste any more of her time I bid her goodbye and leave her office, heading back to my desk. "What was that about?", Jen asks when I sit down at my desk. I shake my head, "Jen, seriously, it's none of your business"

"I'm just asking", she huffs. I turn my chair around and narrow my eyes at her. "No, you're not just asking. You're snooping. You're nosy, Jen, and it's unprofessional", I tell her as nicely as possible. She glares at me and turns her chair back around and I smile to myself, satisfied. I continue to type out my work and then when I'm done, I start doing Robert's work for today.

I make a mental note to actually come to work early every morning now, so that I can do both of our jobs and get it done faster. His work wasn't any different than mine so it didn't take me long to do it, because before I knew it, it was time to go home. I log off my computer and close it and move to grab my bag. I head for the elevator and take it all the way down to the main floor. I bid goodbye to the security guard, offering him a kind smile, before heading to my car in the parking lot. I look over at the empty parking spot beside me and frown. Usually Robert parked beside me.

I get into my car and just as I'm about to pull out of the parking lot I see my phone light up. I pick it up and realize that I have an email from Miss Bourgeois addressed to my work email. I close my phone and decide it would be best to open the email once I'm at home, so I pull out of the parking lot and make my way home to Sebastian.

When I arrive at home, Sebastian is in the kitchen cooking dinner, and I walk up behind him, wrapping my arms around his waist and pressing a light kiss on his back, and then I stand up on my tiptoes to place a kiss on his cheek. "I missed you", he says as he turns around. "I missed you too. I'm exhausted, it's been a long day", I say as I lean into him. He laughs as he holds onto me. "Well dinner is almost ready, and then I'll prepare a nice, warm bath for you", he hums in my ear. "I love you", I say into his chest.

"I love you more"

"Any news on Rob?", I ask him as he turns off the stove and places a cover on the pot. He follows me to our room and I walk into the bathroom to remove my makeup and put my hair up. I remove my
shoes and put my slippers on before heading back downstairs. "Gemma called to say that they're keeping him in the hospital for at least two weeks, but it could be prolonged depending on how his body responds to the medication they're giving him and the physiotherapy he has to do"

"Oh. Well I'd rather have him at the hospital for two weeks where there's doctors and nurses all around him to make sure he's okay then have him home too soon", I say as I sit down at the dinner table. The table had already been set by Sebastian and I can't help but smile. He places the steaming pot on a wooden plank and sits down in front of me. "Spaghetti?", I ask him.

"Spaghetti", he nods with a wide smile. "You know the way to my heart, Stan, you really do", I smile as he fills up my plate. "I knew you'd say that", he smirks as he twirls his pasta. "Mmh", I say as I put one finger up. I grab my phone and unlock it. "I almost forgot!", I say as I swallow my pasta. Sebastian raises his eyebrows at me questioningly. "I received an email from my boss when I was in the parking lot at work on my way home, but I didn't open it"

I open the email and I feel my heart pounding as I wait for the email to load. I read aloud what is typed and the creases on my forehead appear to be prominent as I look up at Sebastian, "I would like you to meet me in my office first thing tomorrow morning. It's urgent"

"I'm sure everything is fine", Seb tries to reassure me as he reaches for my hand. I shake my head, "I don't have a good feeling about this, Seb". Something wasn't right.