Suddenly, I Am Rich

Gray arrived at the first branch of his store soon after. Just at the entrance, he saw how customers came in and out.

A small smile appeared on his face when he saw that. He paused for a second before slowly nodding his head.

”Not bad,” he muttered under his breath.

There was a small sense of satisfaction that settled in his chest when he saw that view. He stayed for a few more before eventually walking in.

The moment he entered the store, he was greeted by the staff’s excited reaction.

”Sir!”

”Sir Gray!”

Gray barely had time to look up before two of the staff members near the entrance ran to him with a light expression.

”You’re here, Sir!” one of them said in amusement, clearly not expecting him.

Gray let out a small chuckle at their reaction.

”Yeah,” he nodded casually. ”I’m just dropping by.”

When others heard a small commotion at the entrance, their heads turned. Some of the staff farther inside the store noticed Gray and immediately greeted him. Even the cashiers at the counter gave him a quick smile and nod before they continued.

But there was still a small crowd that went up to Gray.

”Sir, it’s been a while,” one of the employees added as they approached him.

”Mm,” Gray hummed. ”Yeah, things got busy for me.”

”We’re glad you came to visit the store, Sir.”

”Yeah. We’re really glad!”

”Wel—” Before Gray could say anything else, another familiar voice cut in to get his attention.

”Make way, make way—”

Gray turned his head slightly and saw a man weaving his way through the small crowd. There was a grin already on the man’s face. It was Joel who looked excited to see Gray once again.

”Boss,” Joel greeted the moment he got close. ”You should’ve told me you were coming.”

”It’s a surprise visit for a reason, Joel.”

”That’s a fair point, Boss.” Joel laughed at that.

”By the way, it’s been a while,” Joel added.

”Yeah,” Gray nodded. ”Looks like you’ve been doing well.”

Joel scratched the back of his head, clearly pleased and embarrassed at the same time.

”Yeah, the store has been doing well, Boss.” Joel nodded at that as he gave a short update on how they had been doing for the past month.

”That’s nice. So what’s new?” Gray raised his brow as his vision swept around the area.

”We made a few changes here and there,” Joel explained. ”But it’s not too big, Boss. We just made a better arrangement on a few layouts of the store.”

Gray looked back at him and nodded.

”Alright. Can you show me about it?”

Joel didn’t hesitate when he nodded.

”Of course, Boss,” he said, gesturing toward the aisles. ”Come on.”

Joel clapped his hands lightly, drawing the attention of the staff around them.

”Alright, alright,” he said with a small grin. ”Go back to work, everyone. Don’t crowd our boss too much.”

A few of them laughed at that, though they still obliged to leave immediately at the end.

”Yes, sir,” one of them replied.

”Welcome back, Sir Gray!” another added before stepping away.

”Don’t forget about us, Sir.”

Gray couldn’t help but smile faintly at their small comments before leaving.

”I won’t,” he said. ”Now get back to work.”

One by one, the small crowd slowly dispersed. The staff returned to their stations, though a few glanced back at him from time to time.

Gray gave them a small nod before turning his attention back to Joel.

”Looks like they really missed you, Boss,” Joel said with a light chuckle.

”They’re just bored. Go give them more work,” Gray jokingly muttered as he shook his head slightly.

Joel laughed at that.

”Yes, Sir. I will.”

Then he gestured toward the aisle beside them.

”Come on, Boss,” he said. ”Let me show you around. It’s been a while since you last walked through here properly.”

”Lead the way.”

With it, Joel started walking around, and Gray followed just a step behind him.

”As I mentioned earlier, boss,” Joel began explaining things, ”we changed a few things here and there so that the flow of customers will be much better.”

They turned into the first aisle and stopped there for a moment.

”We adjusted the layout here,” Joel continued, pointing lightly. ”Before, customers had to go deeper into the store to find essentials. Now, we placed them closer to the front.”

Gray glanced around, noticing a few customers picking up items without hesitation.

”That way there will be less walking,” Joel added. ”It helped reduce congestion, too.”

”Alright,” Gray nodded, then they moved ahead.

”And over here,” Joel said, guiding him toward another section, ”we expanded this area. It’s the snacks and quick-grab items aisles.”

”Where are the best sellers?” Gray raised a brow slightly.

”They’re at the middle,” Joel answered. ”They’re for people who really want to find the brand, so to balance it out, we put the least selling items at the two ends for impulse buyers.”

”We noticed that some people who are rushing tend to just grab whatever is at the end.”

”Ohhh...” Just then, Gray watched as a rushing customer quickly grabbed 2 packets of chips without even looking at the brand.

”I guess it makes sense,” he muttered.

Slowly, they kept walking deeper into the store with Joel explaining everything they had changed.

Joel pointed out small details as they passed each section. Gray was getting more proud at it, the more they delved into things. It was clear that the store has been getting more confident in how it does things now.

Gray’s eyes moved from one aisle to another. And all he could say was...

”You’ve done well, Joel,” he said.

Joel paused for a second before scratching his head again when he heard that. He became flustered and a bit embarrassed.

”It’s my job, boss... We want to make things lighter for everyone.”

”I really appreciated it, Joel.”

Joel smiled and nodded at that. He also found this as a good opportunity to bring up something that they have been meaning to ask for a few days now.

”Uh, sir, we have something to ask. It’s what all the employees have been thinking...” Joel pressed his lips together as he stood up straight all of a sudden.

Gray raised a brow at that. When he saw the hesitance in Joel’s face, he chuckled.

”Don’t worry, we’re already working on that.”

When he heard the answer, Joel’s face instantly lit up. For sure, they had a good boss!