Suddenly, I Am Rich

”Holy crap...”

Gray chuckled under his breath and set his clipboard down.

”So, how was it, everyone?” He turned his head to the employees who were all gathered at the door. ”Did you like it?”

There was a second of silence before the room erupted all over again.

”Like it? Sir, this is insane!” one of the girls laughed, stepping fully into the room with both hands raised in disbelief. ”I thought you were just being nice that day when you visited, but this...? This is too much.”

”Yes, Sir! This is too much!” someone else muttered under their breath with widened eyes.

”Woah! Everything on the list is here!” Another one said out loud. Her voice was filled with a mixture of surprise and gratitude. ”Even the fridge... the sofa... the chairs... You actually bought them, Sir!”

”You all deserved better.” Gray said simply.

The employees exchanged glances, almost like they were waiting for someone else to say something. Eventually, Jen took a small step forward, clutching the strap of her bag over her shoulder.

”Thank you, sir. For real.” She gave a bow. It was short but sincere. ”It’s been years since someone in your position did something like this. Not just listening to us, but actually doing something.”

”Same here,” another employee said. ”It feels good knowing we have someone who sees us now.”

”Yeah,” someone added from the back. ”I used to dread coming into this room before. It was always stuffy and cramped... and we weren’t even allowed to do anything.”

”Now look at it,” one guy said, as he pointed at the new couch in the corner. ”It’s like a real staff room now!”

Laughter followed that comment. Even Gray couldn’t help but let out a short laugh as he scratched the back of his neck.

”I just did what I could,” he said. ”You all keep this store running every single day. The least I can do is make sure you have a decent place to rest in between.”

One of the guys in the corner raised a cup of fresh coffee and grinned.

”If this is your ’least,’ sir, I can’t wait to see what you do on a good day.”

More laughter filled the space again.

The excitement didn’t die down. Instead, as the employees began to walk around the room, and after seeing all the new things, they became much more excited.

A few of the workers naturally moved toward the half-unopened boxes near the walls. No one told them to unpack it, but they did.

”Hey, this one’s got the rest of the chairs!” someone called out from the corner.

”Pass the box cutter!”

”Let’s move the things first!”

Gray was caught off guard at first.

He hadn’t expected them to start unpacking everything right away, let alone do it together. But when he looked around and saw the smiles on their faces and the energy in their hands as they moved—he knew better than to stop them.

”Sir, can we move some of this furniture?”

”Anywhere you think works,” Gray answered kindly, stepping forward. ”You guys will be the ones using all this, after all.”

He slipped off his blazer and placed it over the back of a chair before crouching beside one of the unopened boxes.

”Here—give me that one.”

The girl next to him blinked.

”Sir, you’re gonna help?”

”Why not?” Gray shrugged his shoulders. He was already slicing the tape open with a spare key from his pocket. ”I’m also working right now.”

”Still, it’s rare to see the boss lifting stuff.”

”Oh well. Looks like I’m rare then.”

Gray just smiled and opened the box.

The next few minutes passed comfortably for everyone.

Despite the things being chaotic, the people around weren’t.

A group of people were replacing the monoblock chairs with the newly bought ones. Two of the boys lifted the microwave onto its new spot on the counter, while someone else filled the fridge with the extra creamer Gray brought in.

There was still plastic wrapping and carton boxes around. It was a whole mess. People bumped into each other occasionally, but no one complained.

They laughed through it. Teased each other. Shared short stories in between adjusting chairs and setting up the new lockers.

No one even minded that they were losing minutes of rest before their shift started. That part didn’t seem to matter anymore.

They had been waiting months, or even years, for this.

Gray found himself in the center of it all. With his sleeves rolled up and hands dusty from cardboard, he quietly moved from one end of the room to another to lend a hand where he could.

”This couch is heavy,” someone groaned.

”Let’s lift from the sides—don’t drag it. On three.” Gray stepped in to help them.

Together, they shifted the sofa closer to the wall, finally settling it beside the lockers. Someone tossed a few clean pillows over it for, then stepped back to admire it.

”That looks way too comfortable for a break room.”

”And yet I will absolutely sleep here.”

”Better not let the new boss catch you,” someone joked.

”Maybe he’ll just pretend not to see me.”

Gray smiled at that, quietly sipping the last of his coffee as he leaned against the wall to rest for a moment. Around him, the room was beginning to feel full. It was not just with furniture, but with something else.

There was warmth.

Community.

Relief.

And most of all, respect.

Even if it took years to get here, they were here now.

And Gray was glad he was here to witness it.

Once everything was finally set, one of the guys stepped back, wiped his forehead with the edge of his sleeve, and let out a loud breath.

”We did it.”

The entire room looked around in unison.

The lockers were lined up neatly against the far wall, and the new chairs were all in place, replacing the old, scratched-up ones. The fridge and microwave were plugged in and humming quietly. The coffee machine sat proudly on the counter, with paper cups stacked beside it.

”Woooh! We did it!”

”Our Staffroom looks pretty nice now!”

”Hell Yeah!”

”Thanks again, sir!”

”Yeah—this was awesome!”

”We’ll take care of it. Promise!”

Gray nodded and smiled. ”I trust you all.”

[You have successfully strengthened your connection with your employees, Host!]

[Mission Reminder!]

[Mission: Put Your Business Back in Order – Part II]

Objective:

- Strengthen your connection with the employees.

- Find a suitable replacement for the recently terminated manager.

[Remaining Time: 10 days.]