"Good evening, dad." Claire welcomed her father as soon as she stepped in.
"Claire, how lovely to see you. Did you have dinner yet?"
"I'm alright, dad." Claire smiled knowing full well that her dad will worry if she admits that she barely ate today. "Have you eaten?"
"Yes, we did."
"I've brought some shopping. I'll put it away for you." Claire hurried into the kitchen, putting the groceries away, as her dad followed her. "Is mum asleep?"
"Yes, she's been sleeping most of today."
"How is she?"
"The doctor did say that she's still deteriorating. But she's okay. She's been resting a lot."
"That's good. I'm not going to bother her tonight. I'll come by a little earlier tomorrow and check on her then." Claire decided as she started doing her parents' dirty dishes in the sink.
"How was your day?"
"It was good. I do have some news to share but I might wait for mum and tell you both tomorrow."
"Oh, is there a boy in sight?"
"Dad! No, it's a job thing."
"That's good! I'm so proud of you." He tapped her on her back.
"Thank you."
Claire hurriedly helped tidy up her parent's house and she said her goodbyes to her dad.
On the way back to her small apartment she grabbed some snacks and instant noodles from the corner shop as her stomach rumbled.
She was truly exhausted when she finally got home at nearly midnight.
The next day, Claire was in as early as she could again. Her eyes were particularly hard to keep open but she was happy to find a freshly brewed coffee pot in the kitchen.
As soon as she sat down, Gary walked up to her desk with a wide grin.
"I have an important question for you."
"Yes, Gary?"
"What kind of furniture would you like for your office?"
"What do you mean?"
"We have a budget to re-arrange and redesign the office to your liking."
"What a waste of resources," Claire mumbled. "I'll just use whatever is already available."
"You sure? I do have a catalogue with fancy desks."
"I'm sure," Claire said sternly.
"Good. The office is ready."
"Already?"
"Come on, let's move your stuff across." Gary urged her. "All the handbooks are on the desk as well."
"Now?"
"Why not? Let's get you all ready for your take over." Gary grabbed with pots off Claire's desk. Claire hesitated but she followed him with her notebooks and sketchbooks in her hands.
As soon as she moved her things with Gary's help and turned the computer on, the phone rang.
"Come on, it's your job now," Gary said encouragingly.
"Good morning, how may I help you?" Claire answered it on the loudspeaker.
"It's the finance team. We are looking for approval for the invoice to go-ahead for project number 7876."
"Yeah, sure. Can you email it across or fax it? I'll get it sorted ASAP."
"Thank you, it has been emailed now."
"I've just opened it." Claire started scanning through the document. "While you're on the line, there seems to be a discrepancy between pages 2 and 6. One of the quotes is in euros and another in dollars, but they do not equate to each other."
"Oh, let's have a look. Yeah, I'll double-check the values." The person on the other side disconnected.
"See, you were born for this." Gary smiled. "I do have a fairly busy day so don't contact me unless the place is on fire."
"How lovely," Claire replied sarcastically.
"All of the formalities have been sorted. Your new contract has been drafted and should be with you this morning. You will also get a name plaque sometime today."
"Thank you, Gary."
"Are you still upset at me?"
"Yes, but I'll live, hopefully."
"That's good." Gary left Claire alone in the office as the phone rang again.
"Claire Thompson, Contracts and Services Department."
Claire adapted to her new role well, as Gary predicted. She was already aware of most of the processes as she have done them whilst being a team lead.
After work, she managed to visit her parents again and she was keen to share that she was promoted with both of them. As usual, she helped tidy their parents flat as her mum fell asleep from exhaustion. She managed to chat with her dad in the kitchen over the cup of tea, listening to all his worries and concerns.
Then she made her way back to her small apartment, not even bothering with her instant noodles dinner.