I gathered the assignment into my hands, grabbed my bag, and locked the car before heading towards my office.

"You're almost late," Daniel's famous voice said from behind, and I groaned, not wanting to start a long talk with him this morning about how or why I was almost late.

"Good morning, Daniel." I tried a calm tone, and luckily, it worked.

"Let me help you with that," he offered, but unlike other times, I shook my head. It wasn't his job to lessen my burden, and I ...