Suddenly, I Am Rich

A few days after Joel was hired, the situation in the grocery store had become even better.

The employees looked better, there was harmony among them, and Joel, overall, was a good leader.

It was to the point that Gray had barely any work, except to read some files, sign some important papers, and just observe.

It made his work really, really light that for the first time in his life, he had enjoyed being a CEO.

”It’s just been a few days since you were signed to your post, but the employees’ performance has noticeably greatly improved.”

Inside the store’s office, Gray leaned back on his swivel chair. A small grin tugged at his lips as he scanned the figures again on the report that he was holding. The paper crinkled a bit as he folded it and placed it on the table.

Joel stood nearby, hands behind his back. His sleeves were rolled up, his shirt still neatly tucked despite the busy morning. He looked slightly shy, but proud nonetheless.

”I just followed what we talked about last time, Sir,” Joel said. ”A better rotation schedule, giving people proper breaks, and more transparency... Honestly, Sir, it wasn’t that hard. The employees are nice. They just needed someone to guide them a bit.”

Gray raised a brow and smiled.

”It’s good that you’re learning then. I guess you’re a natural, aren’t you?”

Joel laughed.

”You think highly of me, Sir.”

”Well, it’s you who made this report happen.”

Gray meant what he said. It was thanks to Joel that the store was better now.

”Honestly, with how smooth things are running now, I might forget what stress feels like,” Gray said with a light chuckle. ”It’s weird having this much free time.”

Joel smiled. ”You deserve it, Sir. You did all the work in the beginning.”

Gray hummed at that, then turned his eyes to the open file beside him. It was the weekly inventory list.

His fingers idly flipped through a few pages before turning it to Joel, until his eyes caught something that made his brow crease.

”Anyway...” he leaned in closer. ”Joel, come and look at this for a second.”

”Yes, Sir.” Joel did quickly as he was told. He stepped closer and peered down at the list. Gray tapped one of the entries near the bottom of the sheet.

”These canned mushrooms, these sauces,” Gray started pointing things out one by one. ”And this powdered milk brand... They’ve barely moved in weeks. We’ve had the same number in stock since before you were hired.”

Joel adjusted his stance, reading the figures more closely. ”You’re right, Sir,” he murmured. ”They’re not expired yet, but they’ve been sitting on the shelves for too long.”

”And they’re not exactly our top sellers either...” Gray nodded slowly as if he was thinking of something. He leaned back slightly and turned his gaze to Joel.

”Maybe it’s time we host a sale,” he muttered.

Joel looked up and frowned.

”A sale?”

”Yeah. Like a markdown event,” Gray uttered. ”We can pick a few of the slow-moving items, bundle some of them together and maybe do a ’Buy One, Get One Free’ or a 30% off section for the week. It’ll clear the shelves and make space for better stock.”

Joel’s eyes lit up. He quickly nodded as if agreeing with it.

”That sounds like a good idea, Sir. If we move the older inventory now, it prevents waste too. And maybe we can attract some new customers while we’re at it.”

”Exactly,” Gray said, now flipping to another page to scan more stock numbers.

”It’s just an idea for now. I’ll take a look at what kind of discounting we can afford and see how we can promote it. We’ll need signage, and maybe even a small corner in the store labeled ’Manager’s Picks’ or something.”

”I like that,” Joel said with a grin. ”It’s simple, but eye-catching. And if you want, Sir, I can ask the team if they’ve noticed any other items just sitting there. Sometimes they see things we don’t catch on the reports.”

”Hmm... that’s a good idea,” Gray nodded. ”Come up with a report by the end of the week about it. I’ll also look at the current inventory by then. I’ll let you know once I’ve figured it out, but it might take a few days to prepare.”

”No problem, Sir,” Joel said, straightening up again. ”Just call me when it’s time.”

Gray nodded before closing the folder with a soft thud.

”I will.”

After Joel left the office, Gray was alone once again.

Gray leaned back in his chair, stretching his arms for a moment before letting out a quiet sigh. The room fell into a calm silence.

After a while, he reached out again for the inventory list and flipped to the pages he hadn’t reviewed yet.

Rows of item codes, descriptions, quantities, and dates filled the sheet. Most of it looked normal, but now that he was looking at it with fresher eyes, he started to spot more slow-moving products.

There were cleaning supplies from an older brand. A shelf of dried noodles that hadn’t been touched much. A few seasonal items that had lingered longer than they should.

”Huh... We really do need to clean some of these out,” he muttered to himself, jotting a few notes in the margins of the paper. His pen tapped idly against the desk as he thought.

Then, a small ding interrupted him.

He knew that it wasn’t from the system, so his eyes immediately looked toward his phone lying by the side of his desk. The screen lit up with a familiar name.

[Selina Everett]

His eyebrows lifted slightly in surprise. He reached for the phone and opened the message.

[Selina: Hey. Are you free for dinner later? My grandpa wants to meet you and Lily. I told him about you guys! :)]

Gray blinked, reading the message twice before leaning back again in his chair.

”Huh?” he muttered.

”What does that mean?”