"So, what do I do now?"
The next morning, Gray sat in his office, barely moving.
The monitor in front of him was open, but he hadn’t touched anything for the last hour. Instead, his eyes were fixed on the invitation on his table.
The invitation for the gala.
He didn’t know how Conrad managed to make him say yes.
He just rembered that at the end of that night, he reluctantly agreed to it as he knew that it was also beneficial on his side.
"That mission too..."
Gray leaned back in his chair and let out a long breath. His fingers drumd softly against the desk before falling still again.
"...thirty days," he muttered. "Can I do that in thirty days?"
Gray tilted his head back, staring at the ceiling as if it had the answers he was looking for.
He just experienced a brief mont of rest, and now, he has a few things lined up again.
There’s a gala he didn’t know how to dress for. A mission he didn’t know how to accomplish. Aside from that, the daily occurrence in his store.
"What the hell did I agree to?" he murmured.
*Knock *Knock
Just as he was in the middle of thinking, a soft knock ca from the door. He barely straightened his posture when the door creaked open.
In there, Marcus stepped in.
"Gray, soone’s looking for you."
"Huh?" Gray blinked. "Soone’s looking for ?"
"Yeah," Marcus said. "The staff just inford . The guy’s already downstairs. He says he’s here to et you."
"But I didn’t set anything today." Gray frowned. "I don’t have any etings scheduled."
"That’s what I thought," Marcus nodded. "But the floor team said you were expecting him."
"...Huh?"
That just made him more confused.
Gray stared at the air for a second, thinking. He went depths into his mory, afraid that he had forgotten sothing important.
But then...
"Oh."
The mory hit him.
Gray eyes widened in an instant.
"Oh shit."
He pushed his chair back and stood up imdiately, checking his shirt and straightening the edge of his collar without thinking.
"Let him in," Gray said. "Bring him up."
Marcus raised an eyebrow. "So, you have an appointnt?"
"Yeah, yeah," he quickly answered, almost panicking. "I just... forgot. It’s fine."
"I’ll tell them then."
Gray’s heart skipped a beat.
’That old man works fast, doesn’t he?’
He hadn’t even had ti to digest every word from the dinner last night, and yet, Conrad’s guy was already here.
There was no warning, or even a heads-up
Gray ran a hand through his hair and looked around the office.
He had no ti to prepare. It was already too late, so there was no point in panicking.
’Fuck...’
Gray took a breath and turned toward the door.
"All right," he muttered under his breath. "Let’s see who he sent."
Gray’s waiting didn’t take long.
Barely two minutes passed before Marcus returned, holding the door open for soone behind him.
Gray stood in place. His posture was straighter now, but his fingers still curled loosely at his sides to not appear stiff. He didn’t know what kind of person to expect.
’Will he be old? Or maybe soone stiff and cold?’
But the man who stepped in wasn’t what he imagined at all.
He looked young. Maybe late twenties or early thirties. He was tall, had an aura, and was wearing a navy button-down tucked into charcoal trousers. He had no tie, no jacket, but he still looked effortlessly polished.
"Mr. Adams?" the man greeted him with a smile on his face as he extended a hand.
His voice was smooth and calm. It was even friendly.
Gray blinked and stepped forward to shake it.
"Uh, yeah. That’s ."
This wasn’t what he was expecting at all.
"It’s a pleasure to et you." The man’s grip on his hand was firm but not overpowering. It just felt as if he was used to this.
"I’m Owen. Owen Tan. Mr. Everett sent ."
’So this was really the guy Conrad promised.’
Gray nodded once, his mind scrambling to rearrange the rest of his day.
"Right. Yeah, of course." He motioned to the chair across his table.
"Have a seat. Do you want anything? Water? Coffee?"
"It’s fine. I’m good, thank you," Owen said politely as he sat down, setting his slim leather folder on the table.
Marcus gave Gray a subtle glance from the side, as if asking if he was fine. When Gray nodded, Marcuse excused himself and left the room.
Once the door shut behind them, the silence felt a little heavier.
Gray sat across from Owen, trying to maintain his posture.
"Uh... you got here fast," Gray uttered, trying not to sound too suspicious.
"I was already in the city," Owen said with a light shrug. "Mr. Everett gave the go signal last night. So, I packed up early and ca here first thing."
"I see..." Gray leaned back slightly.
"He works fast."
"Mr. Everett doesn’t believe in wasting ti." Owen chuckled.
"I can see that."
Owen just chuckled before putting a folder on the table. He opened it and scanned sothing. The smile on his face dropped almost instantly.
"I’ve been briefed about your store. Well, Mr. Everett told just a few details. Anyway, I’ll be working with you for the next four weeks. My goal’s not just to analyze your sales, but to also help streamline your operations, such as to find growth opportunities, suggest improvents, and if we’re lucky, help improve your sales."
Gray blinked.
"Yeah..." Gray’s voice trailed off, unsure of what to say next. He scratched the back of his head.
"So," Gray started slowly, "what exactly are we starting with? Like, do you want to review the books first? Talk to the team? Tour the floor?"
Owen looked up from the folder and gave a reassuring nod.
"We’ll do all of that, don’t worry," he said. "But today, I just want to understand how you see this place."
Gray tilted his head slightly.
"Alright. Let’s start then."
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