After a few more hours, the gala was finally over.
He didn’t know how long it had been going through. All he knew was that by the end of it, he was dead tired on the inside.
He couldn’t even ponder how the rest could still stay in the venue for light drinking and more talks.
For Gray, as soon as the host announced the end of the gala, he bounced and said goodbye to Selina.
Fortunately, Selina understood that he was tired, so she let him go.
That was also the reason why, for Gray, the weekend that followed was the exact opposite of what he did all week.
On Saturday and Sunday, he didn’t go out.
He also didn’t check his emails and calls unless Marcus, Eliot, or Joel forwarded sothing important to him.
Aside from that, he didn’t check on anything. He didn’t even bother to check his social dia account or news alerts, even though he was sure so whisper of the Everett Gala was probably floating out there.
Gray spent most of Saturday morning in silence. He was wearing his old T-shirt that he always slept in.
After waking up, he made coffee because he wanted to be awake.
By the ti afternoon arrived, he had barely spoken a word. He didn’t realize how tired he was until everything finally slowed down.
It was also because Lily slept in longer than usual. It was nice, though. He could have his own free ti because once Lily woke up, he knew she would ask a lot of questions about what had happened last night.
"Damn, I am so tired." Gray whispered in the air as he rolled over on his bed.
It was already past noon, but the curtains in his room stayed drawn, making his room dark. His phone buzzed once on the bedside table, but he didn’t even look.
If it wasn’t Marcus, Eliot, or Joel, it could wait. And even if it was, they could still wait five more minutes.
He closed his eyes again.
The afterimages of chandeliers and polished marble still lingered behind his eyes. The weight of the suit. The music. Selina’s hand in his. The quiet murmurs that followed their steps like shadows.
It had been a long week.
And if he was being honest, he wasn’t even sure what the gala had done to him yet.
The complints, the stares, the hidden questions people were too polite to ask outright.
After a mont, he pressed a palm to his face.
"I need to reset."
From the other side of the apartnt, he could hear a soft shuffle. Then the sound of Lily’s bedroom door creaking open.
He didn’t move, just listened.
Tiny footsteps pattered against the hardwood floor.
Then silence.
A mont later, his door eased open.
"Brother?"
Her voice was still hoarse from sleep.
Gray blinked and turned his head just enough to see her standing in oversized pajamas. Lily looked in daze, and as she rubbed her eyes, she was still deciding if she was awake or not.
"Good morning, Brother."
"Good morning," he said quietly. "Or afternoon."
Lily stepped inside without asking and climbed onto the bed next to him. She didn’t say anything at first, just flopped face-down beside him with a long, drawn-out groan.
"Are you tired?" Gray glanced at her.
"No, Brother. I just had a weird dream," she mumbled into the blanket.
"Wanna talk about it?"
"No," she said quickly, rolling over to face the ceiling. "I forgot most of it already."
"Probably for the best," he said, reaching out to ss up her already ssy hair.
She smacked his hand away with no real force. "You didn’t co ho until super late."
"Yeah." Gray sighed. "The party lasted longer than I expected."
"What kind of party was it?" she asked. "Did you et anyone famous?"
He chuckled softly. "Define famous."
She stared at him, waiting.
"I t a few big-na investors. So politicians. And a few fashion people that Selina recognized. But honestly..." He shrugged. "I didn’t know half of them."
"But you danced!" Lily said.
Gray turned his head.
"How do you know that?"
"I saw your phone," she said. "There are pictures already. You and Sister Selina were trending last night!"
That made him sit up slightly. "What?"
Lily teasingly laughed like it was obvious.
He let out a tired sigh and rubbed his forehead.
"I told you not to touch my phone."
"I didn’t do anything!"
Gray sank back into the mattress, arm flopping over his eyes.
Of course, people were curious. He should’ve expected that. Everett Gala or not, the mont he’d stepped onto that ballroom floor with Selina, it had stopped being about just them.
Especially after the way they danced. Especially with the way Selina had smiled at him like they shared sothing just out of reach for the rest of the room.
"I’m just saying," Lily added thoughtfully. "You also looked really tall in the pictures, brother!"
"I am tall."
"But like... fancier than usual!"
Gray groaned.
"Thanks, I think."
She rolled over onto her side, propping herself up on one elbow. "Are you gonna get famous now, Brother?"
"No."
"But what if you do?"
"I’ll block your number."
Lily giggled.
They sat in silence again, the soft sound of the ceiling fan returning. Gray’s phone buzzed once more, then again.
This ti, he reached over and checked it.
Ten new emails.
Three missed calls.
One text from Marcus:
"You’re blowing up. The office suddenly got twenty proposals. Look at this"
Gray blinked and looked at the image attached to the ssage.
Lily noticed his face. "Is there sothing wrong, brother?"
"No..." Gray shook his head. Instead, he let out a slow breath and read through the subject lines.
"Proposal for grocery tech expansion"
"Everett Gala Follow-up: Introduction Request"
"Interested in collaboration: distribution chain partnership"
’Fuck...’ He sat up suddenly and ran a hand through his hair.
Lily tilted her head as she watched him curiously.
"Brother?"
"Lily...I think I need another cup of coffee."
And just like that, he walked into the kitchen without bothering to change out of his crumpled T-shirt and pajama pants. He added coffee to the coffee maker.
As he waited, Gray stared at the counter for a few seconds longer than necessary. Then he turned and reached for his laptop.
Might as well get it over with.
He opened the lid and tapped in his password. The screen ca to life, bright and jarring. The Wi-Fi reconnected, and within seconds, notifications flooded in.
Ping.
Ping.
Ping.
More emails than he’d seen in a weekend greeted him.
Gray clicked open his inbox.
And then he froze.
Subject: Proposal: Funding Opportunity – Grocery Infrastructure
Subject: Collaboration Interest – Local Distribution Pilot
Subject: [Private & Confidential] Term Sheet Discussion
Subject: Post-Gala: Following Up on Investnt Interest
There were dozens. More than that. And they were coming from real people. Real firms. With actual money behind them.
Gray recognized so of the nas—big ones.
Others were unfamiliar, but that almost made it worse. Because the ones he didn’t know? They had no reason to reach out unless they’d really, truly heard sothing.
He clicked one of them at random.
A clean, formal ssage filled the screen.
---
Dear Mr. Adams,
It was a pleasure briefly eting you at the Everett Gala. We were impressed by the way you articulated your vision during the event and after reviewing your recent interviews, we believe you are at the forefront of a unique market opportunity.
Our firm is currently allocating a new round of funding specifically for community-forward grocery innovation. We would welco a conversation and hope to schedule a eting this week to discuss alignnt.
Please find our preliminary term sheet attached.
Warm regards,
Nash D. Tiller
Founding Partner – Delta Pointe Capital
---
Gray scrolled slowly.
Attached was a 7-page PDF.
"Whoa," he muttered.
"What?" Lily peeked over him.
Gray didn’t answer right away. He opened another email. Then another.
Each one said the sa thing in different ways: they saw him. They saw the idea. They saw potential.
And they wanted in.
Another email had the subject line:
"Partnership Interest – Through Everett Connections"
He opened it and found a personal ssage from a contact within the Everett business network. It referenced Selina by na. ntioned the gala. ntioned him.
"Brother?" Lily asked again, this ti more cautiously. Her brother looked as if he was turning crazy for a mont.
Gray blinked and leaned back in his chair. The coffee maker beeped behind him/
"I think..." he said slowly, the words still sinking in as he spoke them aloud. "I think the gala changed everything."
"Is that good or bad, Brother?" Lily raised an eyebrow
"It’s still too early to tell." He rubbed his face.
He looked back at the screen. Email after email. Proposal after proposal. So even had eting tis already suggested like the assumption was that of course he’d say yes.
Of course he’d take the next step.
Of course he was ready.
But was he?
Gray glanced down at the list again. His na was in every single email. Not the na of so firm, not a brand.
Just him.
His phone buzzed again.
A second text from Marcus this ti:
"What happened? And why are you connected to the Everett Family?"
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