Suddenly, I Am Rich

Gray sat alone in his office that afternoon. The sunlight from the window spilled across his desk as if giving light to the folder Chloe had given him earlier.

He hadn’t opened it again yet. Instead, his gaze just stayed on it. He sighed and shook his head as he recalled what they had last talked about before leaving.

”Mr. Lancaster wants to talk to me again...” he murmured under his breath.

He leaned back in his chair. The thought had been looping in his head since he left the Lancaster Building.

It wasn’t that he was nervous. It was more of curiosity and maybe a hint of caution.

The last time he met Chloe’s father was when the man introduced him to the board members of the company. It has been so long since then. They have not talked ever since that day.

All Gray knew was that the man was doing well and was still busy with his business.

’I wonder why now?’

Gray tapped his fingers lightly on the armrest, his brows furrowing slightly. ”It’s probably about the recent expansion of the grocery store,” he muttered. Gray nodded to himself as he leaned back in his chair.

”Yeah... that should be it,” he murmured. ”It’s probably about the store.”

After all, the grocery store had been doing well lately. Her father probably wanted to check up on how things were going now.

The thought of meeting Mr. Lancaster again made Gray’s chest feel oddly light.

”I can’t wait to meet him again,” he muttered quietly, smiling to himself. ”Last time, he was actually kind. It was also thanks to him that I’m here today.”

Maybe this time, Mr. Lancaster would have new insights to share. Gray had learned a lot since their first meeting, but he knew that there was still so much he wanted to improve.

He straightened in his seat, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. ”If it’s about business,” he said, ”then it’s going to be an interesting talk.”

Gray exhaled softly and finally looked back at the folder sitting in front of him. It was the one Chloe had handed over earlier. His expression softened a little.

”Still,” he murmured, ”I should take care of this first.”

After a while, Gray opened the folder. Inside were the same documents Chloe had mentioned earlier. It was now more complete with the addition of expense reports, payment confirmations, and transaction logs.

He flipped through them carefully, scanning each line as his eyes traced the numbers on them. Fortunately, he has not had much work since Joel was still finalizing the list of employees, so he can focus on this one for the meantime.

”Let’s see...” he muttered under his breath as his eyes traced a line of transactions. The same vendors, recurring payment amounts, same timelines yet when he compared them to the other report Chloe mentioned, some numbers didn’t match.

”These don’t add up.” He frowned slightly.

He reached for a pen and began marking certain entries with light strokes. After a few pages, a pattern started to appear. The mismatched payments weren’t random — they happened every few weeks, and each one involved the same vendor name appearing across different departments.

”Davenport Supplies...” he read quietly, remembering the unfamiliar name.

He flipped through more pages, his focus deepening the more he read. The folder wasn’t small. Chloe had clearly spent hours getting and sorting everything. There are like hundreds of receipts, ledgers, and summaries right before him.

And with each new page, Gray realized just how tangled the numbers really were.

She wasn’t kidding,” he murmured. ”This might take a few days.” No wonder Chloe was having a hard time on this one.

The issue wasn’t just finding where the money went. It was connecting all the dots. Some amounts were too small to notice that there were discrepancies unless you looked closely at them. While others stood out like missing puzzle pieces.

The way they were scattered across reports made it clear that whoever did this knew how to hide it.

Gray flipped back to the first report, then to another set of payment logs. He compared dates and supplier codes side by side, jotting small notes on a scrap of paper beside him.

Each entry seemed innocent at first. There are small purchases for ”promotional materials,” ”supplier fees,” or ”event costs.” But several of them didn’t have any corresponding invoice or proof of purchase.

The amounts had been approved and released, so even if it’s just small, over time, the number adds up.

”I guess Chloe was right...” Gray sighed softly, rubbing his temple.

It was the kind of problem that couldn’t be solved in one sitting. Even for him, it would take time, maybe a few days to review everything properly. He needed to track each missing record, cross-check the payments, and verify where they went and that’s a whole long process.

After some time, he flipped through another page and paused when he saw a signature at the bottom of one of the authorizations. It wasn’t Chloe’s as it dated months ago.

”Mr. Wilkins,” he muttered, recognizing the name.

The same name appeared on several other approvals. Each one was tied to payments that seemed to go nowhere. Gray’s eyes narrowed slightly.

”Interesting...”

He closed the folder for a moment and leaned back, letting out a deep sigh.

”This is going to be a long one,” he quietly said, glancing at the stack of papers again.

He reached for his mug of coffee and took a small sip, then he reopened another folder and started sorting the documents by date so it would be easier for him to look through them.

He was about to read again, but before he could start, his phone buzzed softly on his desk. The screen lit up with a new message.

It was from Selina.

Selina: Don’t work too late again, okay? You promised to meet me tonight.

Gray blinked, then chuckled quietly to himself.

”Right...”