Suddenly, I Am Rich

While sleeping, Gray stirred awake all of a sudden. His eyes blinked open slowly, adjusting to the soft glow that filled the room. He lay there for a moment, not quite sure what day or time it was.

But as he realized that, he almost jumped out of his bed. He quickly grabbed his phone and looked at the screen, his eyes shot wide open.

5:03 a.m.

”Shit.” He sat up abruptly, his voice hoarse from sleep. ”Did I just sleep through the night?”

He rubbed his face, trying to recall his memories. The last thing he remembered was telling Lily to wake him up after two hours. Then he went to his room, changed clothes, and immediately lay down.

He was only supposed to nap, not rest like this.

A wave of guilt hit him instantly.

”What did Lily eat for dinner?” he muttered as he threw off the blanket and stepped into his slippers.

He rushed out into the living room. The apartment was quiet now, with only the lamp in their living room opened to give light. What he immediately greeted him was the sight on the table.

On their dining table, there were two empty plates and a glass with water still in it. Over by the sink, another plate had been watered out. However, crumbs were still scattered near the edge of the counter.

Gray walked closer and looked at it.

From the look of it, it seemed like Lily had just reheated some of the leftovers from the past few days. There was also a used sandwich wrapper by the edge of the sink. One of the backup sandwiches he kept stocked in the fridge.

He sighed, his shoulders loosening slightly.

”She just ate a sandwich...” he murmured, placing a hand on the back of his neck. ”Good thing we still have that.”

Still, it bothered him a bit.

Gray opened the refrigerator door and peeked inside. There were a few items left, some vegetables, a few eggs, and on the middle shelf, two neatly packed sandwiches in cling wrap. The ones he had made over the weekend for quick access to eat.

”I need to make more of these,” he said to himself, his eyes still on the shelf. ”I can’t tell how many more nights I’ll end up passing out like that.”

He closed the fridge gently, then leaned against the counter, exhaling.

But what really lingered in his mind wasn’t just the missed dinner. it was Lily.

’That girl...’

By the looks of it, she didn’t wake him up. Of course she didn’t.

Gray chuckled quietly to himself, a mix of amusement and guilt.

”If we’re talking about Lily,” he murmured, shaking his head, ”that little troublemaker probably just looked at me, shrugged, and said, ’Let him sleep.’”

Because if there was one thing Lily was good at—aside from devouring food—it was being completely unstoppable when she set her mind to something.

So he doesn’t believe that he just slept through the night when Lily was there.

”That little fool...” he chuckled and shook his head.

”I guess I should get more sleep. My office hours are not until 8 in the morning.”

Gray let out a long breath as he pushed off the counter. His body still ached from yesterday’s exhaustion, and now that the initial panic was over, the weight of sleep was returning fast.

”I guess I should get more sleep,” he muttered to himself, glancing at the clock. ”My office hours aren’t until eight anyway...”

Without another word, he shuffled back toward his room, pausing by Lily’s door to peek in. She was fast asleep, curled under the blanket with her arm hanging off the side of the bed. The sight made him smile quietly.

”Unstoppable, huh,” he whispered, before slowly closing the door again.

He returned to his room, sank back into the bed, and pulled the covers up with a sigh. And just like that, within seconds, he drifted off to sleep again.

The next time he woke up, the sun was fully up. He looked at the time. And just like earlier, his eyes widened when he saw it.

’Oh shit...’

It was already 7:15.

At the same time, a message from Daniel appeared on his screen.

[Daniel]: I’m already downstairs, Sir.

’Shit... shit...’

Gray ran to the bathroom in the speed of light. He took a shower. So quick that it didn’t feel one. Afterward, he quickly changed. He threw on one of his few formal outfits again and stepped out of the apartment.

As expected, Daniel was waiting downstairs in the black company car, leaning casually against the hood with his usual composed posture.

”Morning Daniel,” Gray said with a smile on his face. He was calm as if he didn’t run out of their apartment earlier just to be on time.

”Good morning, Sir.” Daniel nodded. ”Did you sleep better?”

”Haha.” Gray gave him a tired chuckle. ”Too well, actually.”

”That’s good, Sir.”

Gray unsurely smiled at Daniel opened the door for him.

’Damn. Is he a robot?’ Gray almost thought about it. Daniel sounded too formal and also looked so formal.

Just like yesterday, the ride on the road was smooth and quiet. About thirty minutes later, the car pulled into the company parking lot outside the main building.

Daniel parked near the executive entrance and stepped out first.

As Gray followed him out, Daniel pulled something from his coat’s pocket. It was a slim, black card with a small silver logo on the back.

”Here, Sir,” he respectfully said, handing it over to Gray. ”This is your access keycard. It’ll get you inside the main building, your assigned floors, and your personal office.”

Gray took it and studied the surface.

”My own office, huh?”

”Yes, Sir. It’s standard for department heads, executives, and people under the company. Mr. Marcus made sure everything was arranged yesterday.”

”I see...”

Daniel led him through the main glass doors of the main building, nodding to the security personnel as they passed. They went inside using the access card and took a private elevator up to the tenth floor.

When the doors slid open, Daniel walked out first. They walked for a few more, stopping by other offices too, before they settled on the last door in the hallway.

Gray stepped forward. Just past a glass divider, he found a modern office space with his name already labeled on the frosted glass door:

GRAY ADAMS – CEO