The next day, Gray had already signed the NDA and sent a scanned copy back to Owen. True to his word, Owen responded within minutes, thanking him and scheduling a short follow-up call to confirm.
"Thanks for sending everything," Owen’s voice ca through the phone. He had the sa calm tone as yesterday. "I’ll dive into the files tonight. Expect a progress update by the end of the week."
"I got it," Gray replied solemnly. The phone was pressed to his ear as he leaned against the side of his desk. "If you need anything else, just let know."
"I will. Don’t worry."
"Thanks." Gray let out a quiet breath.
"That’s all for now. I’ll talk to you soon."
After that, the call ended with a soft beep.
Gray set the phone down on his desk and exhaled again. There was a stack of folders on his desk. Those were the things he scanned and sent to Owen.
It was a tiring process, but thankfully, he was now done.
Now, he just got to wait for Owen’s response.
"So... am I done for the day?"
It was already past lunchti, and Gray had done most of his work.\"I guess I am done." He sighed and shook his head.
He had been alone in the office since morning.
Marcus hadn’t said anything since yesterday.
’He didn’t bring it up again, but...’ Gray leaned his head back with a soft sigh.
He thought that Marcus had been acting weird after their conversation yesterday.
He stared at the ceiling for a mont, then slowly shook his head.
"Nah," he muttered to himself. "I’m probably just overthinking."
It wasn’t like Marcus had sothing against him. Maybe the guy just had other things on his mind. Either way, Gray didn’t want to make it a bigger deal than it was.
He turned back toward his desk and blinked when his eyes landed on the one thing he’d almost forgotten was still sitting there.
The invitation.
It was still where he left it. The thick, elegant paper with the gold seal practically glowed under the light of his office.
Gray reached for it and picked it up.
There was no mistaking it, the date was printed in bold, serif font right under the event details.
October 17th.
Gray’s eyes narrowed as he processed the number again.
"Oh, shit." He sat up straighter. "A week?"
Gray groaned and slumped back in his seat, the invitation still in his hand.
"A week?" he repeated to himself, louder this ti. "I haven’t even thought about what to wear. Or—shit, do I even have anything that fits a gala?"
He placed the invitation flat on his desk, then dragged a hand through his hair. He hadn’t realized the gala was just a week away.
"Gala, huh?" he muttered. "That ans I need to have fancy suits. Then there will be speeches and caras. Probably so drinks too."
Different thoughts suddenly flooded his brain.
Should he rent a tux? Maybe go to a designer store? Did he need to get his hair fixed, too?
Fuck, what even was a gala dress code?
It wasn’t even in the invitation!
Gray reached for his phone without thinking. He was about to open the browser and search, when a ssage notification popped up at the top of the screen.
[Selina:] Hey. Are you free tomorrow after work? I was thinking we could do a fitting together. Grandpa wants us to be presentable, so we might as well use his tailor and his money.
Gray blinked at the ssage.
His mouth opened slightly.
Then he let out a breathless chuckle.
"You’ve got to be kidding ."
It was like an angel had descended from the sky just as he was beginning to think of this gala as a problem.
He read the ssage again.
The way Selina worded it was casual, even almost making fun of her grandpa. But he could see through the words.
Selina probably reached out to offer a hand to him, knowing he was clueless about these things.
He was really grateful for it.
And also, now that he thought of it, she was right.
Conrad did drag them into this together. The least the old man could do was take care of their bill.
Gray quickly typed back.
[Gray:] Yeah, I’m free. I was just panicking about it, to be honest. Thanks for the timing. You saved . Just tell where to et you. I’ll be there.
He hit send. The tension in his chest loosened slightly.
At least that was one thing he didn’t have to figure out alone.
A few seconds after he sent the ssage, a reply ca in almost imdiately.
[Selina:] Great. I’ll check with the tailor and let you know the details soon. Just be ready to try on a lot of stuff.
Gray stared at the screen and couldn’t help but smile. Her tone had that usual mix of teasing and ease.
"Alright," he murmured. "At least that’s covered."
He locked his phone and let his head fall back against the chair. For a brief second, it actually felt like things were finally lining up. Owen had the files, the store was quiet today, and the preparation for the gala has been solved.
However, before he could even celebrate, his phone vibrated on the side. A new ssage popped up at the top of the screen.
[Joel:] Good afternoon, sir. Just checking. Are the docunts for the sale you ntioned days ago, now ready? You ntioned you’d finalize them this week.
Gray stared at the ssage.
"...Shit." His eyes widened as those words crashed down.
"That’s right," he muttered, sitting up straight. "I still need to do that."
He opened his drawer and pulled out another folder. It was one that had been sitting there for days, waiting for his review.
"Damn it," he groaned, flipping the folder open. It was still half-filled with notes he hadn’t organized.
He grabbed his pen and let out a quiet sigh.
"Guess we’re back to work."
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