Arianne’s day started with a contract signing with the supplies partners of the Rochefort Group. After weeks of deliberation and collaboration with various departnts, they had finally compiled a list of partners that t their standards.
She made her way to the conference room at the end of the executive corridor, where everyone was waiting. Her pace was steady, not rushed. The staff who t her in the hallway stepped aside to make way for her, leaving a clear path toward the double doors.
Arianne took a seat nearest to the entrance, positioning herself with the door to her left and the oval table extending toward the windows. The blinds were halfway drawn, muting the morning light across the polished surface. The departnt heads were already seated on both sides. She arrived a little late but did not offer any apologies.
Gio stood slightly behind her right shoulder and placed the contracts directly in front of her. The rest of the departnt heads waited for her signature to finalize them.
"We’ve aligned the clauses according to your inputs, Ms. Sumrs," one of the departnt heads said. "If there are no objections, we can finalize today."
Arianne skimd through each contract, ensuring there were no mistakes before signing the last page. The pen rested parallel to the folder’s edge once she set it down. No one spoke while she read.
Once done, the eting adjourned without issues being raised. The folders were gathered and stacked at the center of the table. Chairs shifted quietly against the floor as people stood and left through the sa door she had entered.
She left the conference room and checked the ti on her watch while walking down the marble-floored corridor. Her heels echoed briefly against the hard surface. The glass partitions lining the hallway reflected her outline as she passed.
She was on her way back to her office when Finn, Franz’s assistant, approached from the adjacent administrative wing.
"Ms. Sumrs, can I have a mont of your ti?" he asked.
Arianne nodded and continued walking. Finn matched her pace as they turned toward her office suite at the end of the hall.
Once inside, Arianne moved behind her desk, which faced the floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the city. Finn remained standing near the visitor’s chair until she sat down.
He handed her a few docunts.
"Ms. Sumrs, I need your input on these docunts. I’ve tried to reach out to Franz to deal with these, but his PA said he won’t be available anyti soon."
Arianne glanced at him and read the contents. These were the quarterly plans of the Rochefort Group. One event caught her attention: a banquet scheduled to celebrate the founding anniversary of the Rochefort Group, due in three months.
She looked up briefly.
"Proceed as drafted," she said. "Flag anything that requires board approval."
Finn hesitated, but nodded.
He left once everything was settled.
Gio waited for the door to close before speaking.
"There’s also an update from the school. They finalized the logistics for the educational trip this morning. They’re asking for confirmation by the end of the day."
Arianne glanced at the ti again.
"I’ll handle it."
She remained seated and opened the school’s ssage on her phone.
Departure ti. Ergency procedures. Assigned supervision. Her na appeared as the Rochefort twins’ contact. Franz’s na did not appear. A checkbox marked "Primary Guardian" sat beside her na.
She confird the assignnt and closed the file.
Another notification appeared. It was unrelated to the Rochefort Group but demanded imdiate attention. The window had already closed. Her subordinate had already dealt with it.
The confirmation that followed logged the update into the system.
Another alert appeared—this ti concerning the Rochefort Group. Arianne quickly composed a reply and confird her cooperation.
More docunts arrived and were placed on her desk as the hours passed. So were rerouted to her office due to Franz’s prolonged absence. Her inbox count rose again before she finished replying to the previous ssage.
The sky was dark outside when she finished reviewing the latest batch. Only a few floors in the neighboring building remained illuminated.
She pressed her fingers briefly against her temple before returning to the docunts. The schedule had shifted again.
Gio arrived and paused at the doorway when he saw her posture—shoulders squared, pen still moving across the page. He was about to place another stack of folders on her desk but hesitated.
Arianne raised her head and saw him standing near the doorfra, holding a stack of folders against his forearm.
"Bring it here," she said, intending to finish as much work as possible before the day of the trip arrived.
Gio stepped forward and placed the folders neatly to the right side of her desk before adjusting the desk lamp closer to her working area.
"Should I bring you so snacks? You barely touched your lunch earlier," he asked.
Arianne flipped another page and humd.
"Please," she said. "Bring so dicine for headaches too."
Gio left the room quietly.
She signed the forms, replied to the emails awaiting her response, and forwarded the signed proposals to the relevant departnts.
When Gio returned, he carried a tray with a small pitcher of cold fruit tea, a slice of chocolate cake, and a bottle of over-the-counter dicine. He placed the tray on the low table beside the sitting area. By then, Arianne had already finished half of the folders he had brought earlier.
"Take a break, Aria," he said.
Arianne didn’t argue and moved to the small sitting area near the window. The office she now occupied had once belonged to Alex.
Gio remained standing near the desk, tablet in hand.
"You’ve already delayed three etings this week. Are you sure you want to delegate the other tasks for the coming weeks?"
"It can’t be helped," Arianne said as she took a bite of her cake. "The Rochefort Group needed . The other party could still function without ."
Gio looked at her but didn’t refute her words.
The more she handled, the more arrived. The routine they once kept no longer held.
Her mornings now began at the office and ended there as well.
Gio checked his tablet out of habit. Her schedule for Saturday had been cleared to accommodate the twins’ educational trip. The Saturday block appeared under her na alone.
He glanced at his sister’s posture on the couch, tea untouched on the table beside her.
The Rochefort Group was stable. Another matter had gone unanswered longer than intended.
Gio noted the frequency of the adjustnts and said nothing.
His tablet refreshed automatically. The Saturday block remained unchanged on her calendar.
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