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"Nothing, just curious. I saw them come in and Elvira hadn't mentioned she was expecting visitors."

"Elvira's not much of a talker."

"No, that's true." Laia smiled. "Anyway, I won't keep you."

That afternoon, once she got home, she'd planned to look up information about her boss's sister. She knew perfectly well she was the owner of the stores they manufactured most of their monthly production for, just as she knew Elvira and her sister didn't get along particularly well—she'd overheard Elvira on the phone with her a few times, and both of their tones were always professional and clipped. But when she got home she had to go back out to take her mom grocery shopping, then she helped with dinner, and by the time they were done, she was so exhausted she fell asleep right away.

Laia pushes through the double glass doors and the noise of the floor hits her immediately—it's been running at full speed since six in the morning. Someone who works in the offices like she does could just go straight upstairs, turn the lights on, and get to it. But she never does that. She always leaves her bag on the table by the entrance and goes in to say hello to everyone she passes, but especially to Remei—her number one ally whenever Elvira asks for something she doesn't understand, because that woman has been there longer than anyone and always has every answer. Then she goes to find Irene, usually has a coffee with her, and the plant manager fills her in on everything that's happened in the past two hours. She covers whatever Laia needs to know—whether something broke down, whether there are problems with any orders, whether everything's running smoothly—anything she can use to give Elvira the daily rundown, since her boss asks every morning how things are going.

"The lining supplier just called. He says the shipment we were expecting next Wednesday won't be ready until the following Monday," Irene explains, "and that means the cutting department will be at a standstill and the blazer order won't be delivered on time."

"How much do we need them to send so we don't shut down?" Laia asks.

"Half. That'll keep us going."

"Okay, I'll handle it," she replies, making a note on her phone. "Anything else that might put Elvira in a bad mood?"

Irene laughs.

"No, just that—everything else is where it should be." The plant manager finishes her coffee, tosses the cup in the trash next to the machine, and gets back to work.

Laia wraps up her rounds, grabs her bag from the table, and heads upstairs to get started. The first thing she does is call the supplier and agree to accept half the shipment late, as long as the other half arrives when originally planned. She's used to dealing with this kind of problem—she learned how during the six months she spent shadowing Elvira.

"When you can't fix a problem because it's out of your hands, try to put a bandage on it so we don't bleed out," Elvira said once, and ever since, Laia has become the best there is at putting bandages on things—and that's one of the reasons she never moved into the role she was originally hired for. Because ever since she's been here, the factory owner can breathe a little easier knowing that if she's not around, there's someone capable she can count on.

She's focused on reviewing all this supplier's deliveries to check for other significant delays when the door opens and her boss walks into her small office.

"Good morning, Laia," the woman says, still in her coat. "Finish what you're doing and come to my office, please."

"Of course. Good morning."

Elvira leaves just as quickly as she came in, and Laia stares at the doorway, caught off guard. Her boss never comes to her office first thing in the morning—if she needs her, she calls—so her heart is pounding with nervousness now, and since the suspense won't let her keep focusing, she gets up and heads over to find out what she wants.

"That was fast," Elvira says, still hanging up her coat.

"Yeah." Laia smiles and shrugs.

"Sit down."

The assistant closes the door and sits, notebook open and pen in hand, ready to write down everything she needs to do today.

"You won't need that right now."

Elvira turns on her laptop, sets it aside while it starts up, and picks up a light green folder, which she places in front of her without opening it.

"You're one of the most capable people I have here," she begins, and Laia's jaw drops, "and I know you came in for a position you've never actually been given."

"Yes," Laia says, because maybe this is the moment and she wants to show she's sure of what she wants and that she deserves it. "I like working for you, but I studied to—"

"I know what you studied. I also know you didn't finish your degree."

Laia swallows and looks down. She's always thought that might be one reason her boss didn't fully trust her with an admin role, but her advanced diploma gives her the knowledge she needs—it should be more than enough, not an excuse to keep her as a general-purpose errand runner.

"I'm going to propose something to you, but it comes with quite specific conditions and consequences if you don't meet the goal."

"What goal?" she asks, frowning, thrown off.

"Starting Monday, my niece is going to be working here for six months, and then she'll go back to her position in Barcelona."