Gray learned a lot from his visit to the store.
They shared a mont together during lunchti. It was fun and, honestly, refreshing.
It reminded Gray of monts he used to have with his co-workers in the past.
The air in the staff room had beco noticeably lighter now compared to when he first entered a few hours ago.
Empty pizza boxes were stacked in one corner of the room, and opened boxes of chicken sat between paper plates and half-finished drinks. The scent of garlic and cheese still lingered faintly in the air.
As the workers ate, they shared mories they had in the company.
Soone cracked a joke about how one of the guys got caught sleeping in the storage room once by Will, of all people, and everyone erupted into laughter.
Gray also nearly choked on his drink.
"You actually did that?" he asked, half laughing, half shocked.
"I was exhausted, Sir! It was my break, and it was only ten minutes!" the guy defended himself with both hands raised. "I set an alarm and everything!"
The group laughed again.
"You know the guy doesn’t like it!" another chid in.
"Exactly!" soone else added, pointing.
Even Gray couldn’t stop grinning now. He leaned forward, resting his elbows lightly on the table as he listened.
What they have right now doesn’t feel like a forced gathering. He was glad that no one was putting up a front. Currently, they were just people—eating together, laughing over the absurdities of the boss they used to have.
As ti passed and the minutes stretched lazily past afternoon, Gray found himself staying longer than he planned.
He moved from table to table, joining in casual conversations, asking small questions here and there. He wanted to check on them, and at the sa ti, he genuinely wanted to know the people who worked under his roof.
He learned that the guy who fell asleep in the storage room was actually the fastest stocker on the shift. There was even a university student working part-ti to pay for her thesis among the workers.
It was small stuff. But it was more than enough.
Still, Gray only t half the team that day because of the shift rotation.
By the ti the clock’s hand hit 5 in the afternoon, Gray stood from his seat with a final stretch. The room had thinned out by then. So of the employees he t at the start had already gone ho, too, while others had returned to work outside.
"I should probably get going, guys," Gray said as he reached for his notepad and phone. "It’s past office hours, and I don’t want to bother anyone anymore."
Thanks for spending ti with us, sir," one of the employees said with a warm smile. "It really ans a lot."
Gray returned the smile. "Thanks for letting crash your break."
He bid goodbye to them casually and made his way to the door.
As he stepped back out onto the store floor, a few employees on shift looked up. So were behind cash registers, others were standing between the aisles. They recognized him imdiately.
One gave a small nod to him, and another waved quietly.
Gray returned each gesture. He nodded, gave faint smiles, and also lifted his hand here and there as he made his way to the exit. He pushed through the glass doors and stepped back out into the light; the afternoon sun was already moving down by that ti.
And just before the door closed behind him, he heard a faint voice call out from sowhere inside—
"Thanks again for lunch, sir!"
Gray let out a breath of laughter through his nose and shook his head.
"Anyti," he muttered, just under his breath.
As Gray stepped fully outside, he imdiately saw the car waiting for him at the side. Daniel was already outside, standing by the open rear door. He straightened the mont he saw Gray approaching.
"Welco back, sir," Daniel greeted with a nod and the faintest smile.
Gray gave a small smile in return.
"Hey. Have you been waiting here for long?"
"Not at all, Sir. I just got here a minute ago."
"Oh. That’s perfect timing, then." Gray uttered. He settled into the passenger’s seat as Daniel closed the door so he could also move to the driver’s side.
As the vehicle pulled away from the store, the city stretched lazily outside the tinted window. There were rows of moving cars, trees, and people walking on the sidewalk.
He was looking at the view for a mont before his eyes drifted to the notepad resting beside him.
Without a word, he picked it up and flipped it open.
The pages were filled with small notes, hastily scribbled observations from him, and nas he didn’t want to forget. But most of all, written there were the things the staff had asked for.
A working and new microwave.
More lockers.
A better couch that they could rest on.
Better chairs.
A shelf to hold things.
A working and colder air conditioning unit.
A mini fridge, if possible.
And if there was enough, maybe even a coffee machine or just a water heater so they could make their own coffee.
Gray scanned the list slowly.
They didn’t ask for anything extravagant.
Just the bare minimum comforts that they could have.
Those were the things that should’ve already been there. Things that could’ve been done long ago if not for Will skimming every cent he could.
Gray exhaled and leaned back slightly in the seat.
Tomorrow was supposed to be his rest day. He had planned to sleep in. Maybe spend ti with Lily and get so stock for their condo.
However, as he flipped the notepad gently and looked out the window again, he figured he had to give his full attention to this first.
Before he could implent everything, he had to do his research first.
He had to check item costs and choose the best for the price. He also had to call supply vendors to see if he could ask for any discounts and review the company’s discretionary budget line.
Even if he could cover so of the cost from his pocket to avoid the work, that wouldn’t be good in the long run.
After all, this was still a business.
And he was still a businessman.
User Comments
0 comments from readers