Suddenly, I Am Rich

It will be too much to say, but something really changed in the store after that broadcast.

Their stream of customers has been stable since the beginning, but now? It was jam-packed!

People came into the store not just to buy groceries, but also because they were curious. They wanted to see the store that had been all over their feeds the past week. However, the reason behind it all was to really see Gray.

Every day, Gray would just walk in the aisles like he usually does. However, the moment someone would see, whispers would spread around like wildfire. And those whispers would usually just be the same every time.

”That’s him… Mr. Gray!”

”Wait, can we take a picture?”

”He really looks the same in person, oh my god—”

”He’s quite good looking and young too…”

The first time it happened, it caught Gray off guard. He had just finished checking the produce section when two college students shyly approached him. One of them was gripping her phone tightly as if she didn’t want to let go of it.

”Um, hello… Sir Gray? Can we… take a picture with you?”

”Huh?” Gray stood frozen for a moment and blinked.

The two college girls looked excited and nervous at the same time.

”Uh… Just-just one picture! Please!”

’What is this situation?’ Gray was taken aback by it. This situation was new. Very new. However, seeing their excitement, he sighed. He couldn’t exactly reject them without looking rude, so he nodded.

”Alright. Maybe we can do just one.”

That ”one” turned into three because the girl’s hands were shaking too much to tap the screen properly. Then another customer noticed, then another, and another.

Before long, Gray found himself standing there for almost ten minutes as people lined up on the side to take a picture with him.

It has gotten attention that Joel had to step in eventually.

”Alright, alright, give Sir Gray some space,” Joel muttered after some time. He even held out his arms like he was a bouncer

”He’s still working, everyone. Also, this is a store. You can’t crowd the walkways.”

Gray couldn’t help but shoot a thankful look at Joel as he saved him from the crowd. Thankfully, the crowd listened to them. One by one, they stepped back. Though there were some who still took a picture of Gray.

The moment the crowd dispersed, Gray let out a long exhale.

”This is getting ridiculous…” he muttered under his breath.

Joel tried not to laugh as he looked at his boss’s reaction.

”You did this to yourself, Sir.”

Gray narrowed his eyes at him.

”After all, you punched someone, had an interview on a national broadcast, and then spoke like a gentleman. That combination is deadly, Boss.”

”Joel..”

”Pft— I’m just saying.”

Even Daniel had started noticing it. Whenever he would drive Gray to the store, he would always glance at the entrance and say things like:

”Sir, aren’t you getting scared of your safety? The crowd of your store was always energized… and enthusiastic?”

Gray didn’t know whether to laugh or complain at that. ”It’s fine. As long as they don’t crowd me too much. Also, I rarely go out of my office now. I don’t want another chaos.”

Gray let out a sigh. This situation was not only affecting him but also his employees. The store’s employees had stopped teasing him now because they were too busy handling the influx of customers.

Sometimes, they would even ask Gray to just stay in his office if there were too many people and they couldn’t handle it.

That’s why, with that, Gray found himself spending more and more time inside his main office instead of roaming around his 2 stores like he used to. Mara also seemed to understand that’s why she hasn’t asked anything.

”So, this is the new normal, huh?” Mara chuckled lightly as she stared at Gray. She was smiling teasingly while sorting the documents into neat piles.

”Yeah, apparently,” Gray glanced at her and wiggled his brows.

He was now sitting at his desk, doing some computer work. They have cleared out all the files that needed to be signed urgently, so they have a lot of free time on their own hands.

”So,” Mara hummed as she slid another folder aside, ”are you going later to the store?”

”Yeah.”

”You’re not hiding now?” Mara lifted an eyebrow, amused.

”Hey, don’t say it like that,” Gray muttered, leaning back in his chair. ”I’m not hiding.”

”You literally hide in here, Gray,” she shot back in a teasing manner. ”For hours.”

Gray clicked his tongue and looked away.

”It’s not hiding. I’m… reducing chaos.”

”Sure. Let’s call it that.” Mara snorted.

Gray just sighed, ”I’ll go for an hour. Like usual.”

”That’s cute, you know,” Mara uttered, letting out light laughter. ”The daily ’Gray Adams Appearance Hour.’ Very celebrity of you.”

”Shut up…” Gray shook his head.

Mara’s laughter grew louder, ”Why? People literally wait for you now. Customers take pictures of you. And then there’s even a kid who cried yesterday because he missed you by two minutes.”

Gray groaned quietly and pressed two fingers to his temple. ”Please don’t remind me.”

Mara’s grin only widened.

”Oh, I will remind you. In fact, look at this, ” She grabbed her phone and tapped rapidly on it. ”Look at your pictures! It’s all over the internet!”

”You even have a fan account!” She lifted her phone to show it to Gray.

”Look its @GrayAdamsUpdates. They post every day!”

Gray’s soul visibly left his body.z ”You’re joking.”

”I wish I were.” She swiped the screen and showed him. ”Look! Someone posted a slow-mo video of you putting canned goods on a shelf.”

Gray stared at her in horror.

”…”

He doesn’t open his social media account for this reason!

Gray exhaled slowly.

”You can keep that now,” he muttered, sounding defeated.

Mara burst out laughing. However, a second later, she quickly hid her phone.

”Anyway,” she said casually, ”someone wants to set a meeting with you later this week.”

Gray looked at her, eyes narrowing slightly. ”Who?”

”The mayor,” Mara’s lips pressed together.