Suddenly, I Am Rich

Three days quickly passed after it. Gray took it as an opportunity to think about it. And when Friday arrived, he finally made his decision.

Inside the office, Gray stopped typing on his computer. He sighed and looked at Mara.

”You know what?” He closed his eyes and leaned back. ”Let’s just get it over with.”

Across from him, Mara looked up from her table. Her forehead creased as if she were confused by it.

”What gets over with?”

Gray opened his eyes and looked at her. He raised his brow but didn’t say anything more.

Mara blinked. She looked visibly confused at first. Then, all of a sudden, her eyes slightly widened.

”Oh!” Her voice shot up a little as realization finally landed. ”You’re agreeing to it?”

”Yeah.” Gray exhaled through his nose.

Mara immediately pressed her lips together. She was trying to hide the big smile that was already forming on her lips. However, she failed anyway.

”Okay. Good! Don’t worry, I’ll sort everything out.”

Mara showed a victorious smile. Gray couldn’t help but just shake his head. It seemed like Mara was waiting for his answer of.

”I honestly thought you were going to be stupid and decline it,” she said casually.

Gray’s head snapped toward her. ”Hey! I’m not stupid.” He shot a glare at her.

”Right, right,” Mara said immediately before shrugging her shoulders. ”Of course not. Our very smart, very logical Gray.”

Gray squinted at her. ”You don’t sound convincing.”

Mara held back her laughter. Her lips twitched upwards because of it. ”I am convincing. Super convincing. I’m just, you know, relieved you used your brain today.”

”Wow,” Gray deadpanned. ”I’m very touched because of that. ”

”Thanks, I know right,” she smiled sweetly at that.

Gray let out a sigh. He forgot that it was impossible to defeat her on these kinds of things.

Mara laughed when she heard that sigh. She even did a small fist pump before turning back to her laptop like nothing happened.

”Anyway,” she said, already typing at rapid speed. ”I’ll handle the coordination. Just sit there and relax.”

Gray clicked his tongue but didn’t bother replying. There was no point. She will just keep talking if he replies.

- - -

A few days passed by after that. After confirming, they were able to schedule a date. And with everyone’s agreement, they decided to do it on monday.

Everyone showed up earlier than usual that day. Even the employees were already standing outside the store by the time Gray and Mara got off Daniel’s car.

There was a sort of nervous excitement in the air that didn’t usually exist on a normal workday.

Gray could already see it from a distance.

A large black truck was parked on the side of the building, the bold GNN logo printed along the side of it. Some of the people who were walking around slowed down just to stare at it. A few even took pictures.

It was as if everyone was amazed to see the logo of the most well-known news channel in the world.

”Wow. They really sent a big one.” Mara let out a small whistle beside him.

Gray rubbed the back of his neck. ”Yeah.”

He wasn’t sure if he was impressed... or stressed.

As they stepped closer, the scene became clearer. Crew members were already unloading equipment from the truck. There were coiled cables, mic stands, boxes of lighting panels, tripods, a huge silver reflector board, and a portable backdrop.

Another group was already talking to Joel and two shift leaders by the storefront.

It was barely 7 AM, and yet it felt like the store was preparing for a grand opening all over again.

Gray exhaled slowly.

”Remember to make the interview interesting,” Mara whispered, nudging him lightly, ”After all, you asked them for an in-store interview. They originally wanted to take you to their office in the city.”

”I know,” Gray muttered. ”But at least this feels more comfortable than sitting in a studio.”

As they reached the entrance, one of the GNN staff, who was probably a coordinator, approached them. She was holding a clipboard, and she was wearing a headset on her head.

”Good morning! You must be Mr. Gray?” she asked, her eyes bright and professional.

”Yes,” Gray said with a polite nod.

”Perfect. The team is setting up inside as you requested. The interviewer will arrive in fifteen minutes, and the camera crew will start arranging the lights and audio before the store opens.” She flipped through a page.

”We’re aiming to start filming an hour after opening, just so the foot traffic looks natural.”

”That’s fine.” Gray nodded again.

”We’ll brief you in a moment. For now, feel free to look around or prepare.” The coordinator smiled.

After informing Gray of all those things, she left quickly. She was already calling someone on her headset.

Gray followed her movement for a second. Just like what she said, several crew members were already starting to set up everything.

At the same time, could faintly hear the employees talking among themselves.

”Is that the main camera? It’s huge.”

”Look at that light, bro, I feel like we’re filming a movie.”

”Our store is going to be on international TV!”

”Yeah, I told my mom about it and she was too happy!”

Gray chuckled when he heard their conversation.

Mara side-eyed him, amusement clear on her face. ”You still have time to run away, you know.”

”Please shut up.” He gave her a deadpan look.

She laughed quietly and motioned toward the door.

”Come on. Let’s not delay their setup.”

With it, they walked inside.

However, just as they stepped inside, a man with a cap and headset approached them. He introduced himself as part of the camera team.

”Good morning, Mr. Gray. Just a quick briefing.”

Gray straightened slightly. ”Sure.”

”So the interview will be short,” the man explained. ”Three, maybe four minutes. We’re keeping the questions light. Just a little bit about your store, and that incident. Nothing too deep.” He pointed at the door where Gray just entered.

”We’ll have one interviewer, two cameramen, and one audio operator. You don’t need to worry about angles or anything. Just be natural. We’ll also be taking some shots of the store’s exterior right now.”

”Yeah, sure,” Gray said. ”I understand.”

”Great. We’ll let you prep. If you need anything, just call any of us.”