Suddenly, I Am Rich

After lunch, Gray finally leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyes. He’d been staring at spreadsheets and his laptop all morning, and his brain was starting to feel like mashed potatoes.

”Alright,” he muttered, pushing the laptop away slightly from his face. ”It’s finally break time.”

He stood up and walked toward the window of his tenth-floor office. The city stretched out in front of him. He looked there for a few minutes before making some coffee and sitting back again.

[System Notification: Investment Update Available.]

Gray stood up a little as the holographic screen appeared in front of him again.

[Mission: Grow Your Wealth]

[Progress: $32,353.10 / $100,000]

[Remaining Businesses to Invest In: 0]

[Status: Active]

Gray raised an eyebrow.

”They’re rising already?” For a moment, he got excited over it.

”How much did it rise?”

[$3708.2, Host]

”I see...”

Gray nodded. He opened his phone and looked at the broker app. He cof

[Breakdown of Portfolio Gains]

Velmora Tech: +$1,860.00

NexGene Diagnostics: +$16.10 (+0.27%)

Boodle Inc.: +$10.00 (+0.29%)

Atlas Innovations: +$200.00 (+10.00%)

Stratus Net: +$29.00 (+0.64%)

Gray blinked as the numbers settled on his phone screen.

”...Velmora’s doing all the work,” he muttered and sighed.

Still, the lines on the graph for the other investments had been steadily growing. It seemed like he needed to monitor this as frequently as he could.

Gray stared at the numbers on his screen for a few more seconds, then finally shut the broker app and set the phone down with a quiet sigh.

”Well... at least they’re moving,” he muttered.

Velmora was doing most, while the rest were crawling slowly and steady. As long as it remains like that, then it’s fine.

With that out of the way, Gray finally sighed.

”Now it’s time for lunch.”

He looked at the time on his phone. It was already past 1:00 PM. He hadn’t thought about where to eat, and he didn’t exactly know any good places around the building either. He considered ordering something, but just then, a thought crossed his mind.

Don’t buildings like this usually have cafeterias??

’That’s a good one. I should try that.’

A small smile appeared on Gray’s face. Cafeteria food was the best because it was cheap in price and was also good.

”Cafeteria is on the 3rd floor, right?” Gray recalled his memories.

”Yeah, that’s what I saw in the elevator.” He quickly stood up and grabbed his phone and wallet, and stepped out of the office.

As he passed by the hallway, he noticed that the other offices had their lights off. It seemed like everyone had gone to eat lunch except for him.

Gray took the elevator seven floors down, following the small signs that led to the company cafeteria.

When the elevator doors opened, he was surprised by what he saw.

The cafeteria wasn’t a small lounge or just a room. Instead, it was huge. It was pretty massive. It was practically the size of the entire 3rd floor. The floor had tall ceilings, wide windows, and an open layout that felt more like a modern food court than a simple dining hall.

The smell of the food hit him first. Freshly baked bread, grilled meat, and even the sweetness of fruit and pastries drifted through the air.

There were dozens of food stations arranged in neat lines at the side. There were Asian cuisine, Western-style dishes, vegetarian meals, fresh juices, soups, pasta bars, and even a dessert section. Employees came and went with trays in hand, chatting casually as they found seats. Everything was clean, spacious, and brightly lit.

Gray stepped toward the nearest counter, almost awkwardly.

”Uh, how do I... pay?” he asked the lady at the counter.

The woman blinked, then smiled.

”Oh! Are you new? There’s no charge. All meals are free for employees, just grab a tray and enjoy.”

”Wait. What?” Gray paused, almost in the sate of confusion.

”Company benefit,” she added, already scooping rice into a plate for the person behind him. ”It’s part of your perks.”

”...Huh.” He blinked, still a bit stunned. Still, with the people in front of him moving forward, he had to take a step forward too.

Even if he was still in a state of confusion, Gray still grabbed a tray and got himself a plate of grilled chicken, steamed vegetables, and a bowl of soup. He also took a cup of coke and sat at an empty table near the window.

It’s been an hour since lunch started, yet there were still a lot of people eating in the cafeteria.

Gray started eating. The first bite and the food sent him to Heaven. It was a whole amen.

’Damn. This food is fire.” Gray couldn’t help but curse in his mind.

He didn’t know if the food was just really nice or the fact that it was free made it more delicious. Still, the food was good—really fucking good.

’Good companies like this are really different,’ he thought as he ate. As he chewed, he quietly watched the room. People were relaxed. They were smiling, and a few groups of people were chatting as they ate.

After finishing his meal, he brought the tray to the return station and headed back up to his office. He was really full that he felt like sleeping.

The moment he stepped back to his office, his laptop screen was already filled with a few flagged notifications.

”Back to it,” he muttered, sitting down and pulling the reports that Marcus just forwarded to him.

Most were standard updates like supply tracking, incoming restock logs, and internal memos, but one message caught his eye.

Subject: Upcoming Supplier Meeting – Riverside Branch

Date: Tomorrow, 1:00 p.m.

Location: Coastal Restaurant, Conference Room 2B

Attendees: Mr. John Smith, Branch Manager of Westle California, Mr. Gray Adams, CEO of Goodies Grocery.

Gray’s eyebrows lifted slightly.

Apparently, the Riverside Branch had been ordering more products lately because of the higher demand and an increase in customers for the past few months. Because of it, the company was finally in a position to renegotiate the prices for some of its products.

Even a few cents off per product, Gray knew that if it was multiplied across dozens of items and thousands of units, it could save the store thousands each quarter.

And this? This was Gray’s first work as the CEO.

”Alright then,” Gray leaned back in his chair and exhaled slowly.

”Let’s see what I can do.”