Suddenly, I Am Rich

The tension finally eased the moment the door shut behind Anton and his assistant.

Gray let out a long breath. He dragged a hand down his face before glancing at the two people in the room with him.

”Well,” he said, his voice finally less formal now. ”That was exhausting.”

Mara collapsed into the nearest chair, too, her arms flopping over the backrest dramatically.

”That was intense. He looked so serious! Even his assistant was working seriously on my side.” My legs hurt. My soul hurts.”

Joel chuckled quietly, setting down his clipboard. ”At least he didn’t look disappointed. That’s usually a good sign.”

”He wasn’t,” Gray said, leaning against the table now. ”He asked all the right questions, too. By the looks of it, he liked what he saw.”

There was a pause after. Mara and Joel nodded at his words. As they thought about it, they became relieved. They guess they would have lighter days, now that the work with Jet2 was done.

After a minute. Gray straightened his back and stood up.

”Come on, you two. Let’s eat.”

”What?” Mara blinked.

”We survive this deal,” Gray said as he shrugged his shoulders. ”I say that calls for dinner. My treat.”

”Are you serious, Boss?” Joel raised a brow, but happiness was evident on his face.

Gray nodded and chuckled lightly.

”Completely. You guys have been killing yourselves these past weeks. That was the final boss. We cleared it. So... Let’s take the win.”

”Wait. Are you actually being a kind human being right now?”Mara narrowed her eyes.

”Don’t make me take it back.” He rolled his eyes.

”No, no, no—I’m in. Let’s go before you change your mind.” She stood up almost immediately.

”I know a good place nearby. It’s casual, not too noisy.” Joel laughed with them, but he already started grabbing his things too.

”Perfect,” Gray said. ”Lead the way.”

- - -

The restaurant they ended up at was a cozy Japanese place tucked into a quiet side street. It was not too fancy, but it was clean, warm, and quiet enough for conversation. The wooden interiors gave it a relaxed atmosphere, and the low hum of ambient music helped ease whatever stress was still clinging to them.

They were seated near the window. A few lanterns hung above their heads, casting soft light onto the table.

Mara was the first to relax, already flipping open the menu with bright eyes.

”I’m ordering everything, Gray.”

Gray gave her a side glance. ”You’re really a piggy one, aren’t you?”

”It’s free food.” Mara gave him a sweet smile.

Joel just chuckled as he poured himself water. ”I’ll keep it reasonable. Maybe.”

Gray shook his head, but still smiled at the two.

”Oh well, order anything you want as long as you will eat it.”

Because of his words. They ordered a lot.

The two were restless when it came to ordering. They ordered gyudon, tempura, miso soup, grilled fish, and a few side dishes. It was more than enough, but no one complained.

As the plates of food arrived one after the other, the table quickly turned into a feast. Mara was already reaching for a piece of tempura before the waiter could even finish placing the last dish down.

They all dug in with quiet appreciation, the fatigue in their bodies slowly being replaced by full stomachs and warm bellies.

”So,” Gray said in between bites, wiping his mouth with a napkin. ”Now that we’re not in work... How’s life been?”

Joel leaned back in his seat, resting an elbow on the table and sipping his tea.

”Honestly? I’ve been good. The work’s stable and your employees were solid, Sir. My wife’s happy I’m not working graveyard shifts anymore too. I get to go home on time most days.”

”That’s good!” Mara smiled, genuinely pleased.

Gray nodded along. ”You’ve been doing your work without complaint. I noticed.”

Joel gave a small shrug, but the pride was there. ”Thanks, Sir. I really like this work so that means a lot.”

Mara leaned her chin on her hand as she spoke.

”I mean, we all kind of got swallowed by how busy everything’s been. The past week and days felt like months.”

”No kidding,” Joel muttered. ”We were running on caffeine and sheer panic.”

”And now that we’ve closed this deal, we get a few days to breathe before the next storm hits.” Gray let out a low chuckle, reaching for his bowl.

”Great,” Mara deadpanned, raising her chopsticks like it was a prayer stick. ”At least we have a break. A micro break.”

”Let’s not jinx it,” Joel added with a small laugh.

Gray shook his head, ”I give us two, maybe three days. Then it starts again.”

They all laughed at that, and for a while, the table was filled with only the sounds of chopsticks, soft clinking, and quiet satisfaction.

By the time they finished eating, the sky outside had gone fully dark. The once-busy restaurant was now quieter, with only a few other customers lingering over tea.

Joel glanced at his phone and blinked.

”Damn. We’ve been here for hours?”

Because of it, Gray checked the time and raised his brows. ”Almost three.”

”No wonder my stomach hurts. I ate too much.” Mara blinked.

Joel chuckled and stood, brushing off his pants.

”I’d better head out, Sir. My wife’s already texting me. She thought I got abducted.”

”You might have,” Mara joked. ”By tempura.”

”Tell her we’ll return you safe and full,” Gray said as he stood up too and gave Joel a friendly nod.

”Thanks for the dinner, boss. Really,” Joel said sincerely. ”It meant a lot.”

”You earned it.” Gray clapped him lightly on the shoulder.

Joel waved as he left the restaurant, disappearing into the warm glow of the street lamps outside.

Gray stepped up to the counter and paid the bill while Mara waited by the door, arms crossed and still looking content. After a moment, she turned to him with a half-smile.

When he returned to her side, she tilted her head slightly.

”Do you want to drink?”