Regardless of how quickly Ash tried to complete his tasks, the day proved to be lengthy and demanding as new work continually piled up. In order to leave work early and pick up Ava, he went as far as canceling certain non-essential meetings.
Despite his efforts, Ash was unable to successfully complete all the urgent tasks by the end of the day. He found himself needing to extend his work hours in order to address logistical issues involving their imported raw materials being held at the port.
The initially planned short extension of Ash's work hours stretched to three hours, leaving Ava waiting for him at his home for approximately five hours. The previous night, Ash had been filled with excitement about going to work early to surprise Ava with a gift as a token of appreciation for her assistance with Amy's case.