Suddenly, I Am Rich

”So what happened?” After what felt like an eternity, Mara was finally back in the office. She didn’t know how long she was out in the cafeteria. All she knew was that it had been a few hours already.

”It took you a while, and also, she sounded so hurt earlier.” Mara raised a brow. There was a slight concern in her eyes as she closed the door behind her.

”Yeah...” Gray sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. He didn’t know comforting someone could actually be tiring.

”She just left like minutes ago,” he muttered. ”But yeah... she’s not okay.”

”I already figured that. I’ve never seen her cry like that.” Mara crossed her arms. She walked towards Gray’s table and sat in the chair in front of it. ”So what really happened?”

Gray hesitated for a second, then sighed.

”Yesterday,” he began, ”her dad wanted her to meet his new girlfriend.”

”Huh?!” Mara’s eyes widened immediately. Her eyeballs looked as if they would jump out of their socket.

”What are you saying? A girlfriend? Huh?” Mara blinked repeatedly as if she were in disbelief.

”A... girlfriend?” she repeated again, as if testing whether the words she heard were right.

Gray let out a quiet, tired huff of a laugh. ”Yeah.”

Mara leaned back in her chair. For a second, she looked genuinely stunned.

”No, hold on,” she said, lifting a hand after a second. ”You’re telling me her dad just casually went, ’Hey Chloe, meet my girlfriend,’ like that’s a normal thing to drop out of nowhere?”

”Yup,” Gray nodded. ”That was pretty much what happened if you summarized it.”

Mara stared at him, then dragged both hands down her face. ”Oh my god...”

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Gray felt a small smile appear at his lips. He found it funny because Mara’s expression mirrored his own disbelief a little too well.

”I swear,” he said, shaking his head, ”it was actually bad.”

Mara groaned softly and leaned forward, resting her elbows on the desk. ”Gosh. That’s already bad enough. Please tell me that’s not the worst part.”

Gray’s smile faded. ”Unfortunately, it isn’t.”

Mara straightened immediately. ”Oh gosh,” she said, waving a hand impatiently. ”Just tell me what happened. Start from the beginning.”

Gray leaned back against his desk and crossed his arms loosely. He took a short breath, as if choosing the part on where to start.

”So the girl’s 21,” he said.

”Wait. What?” Mara froze.

”Yeah,” Gray nodded. ”She’s 21. Chloe said they met at a casino.”

Mara’s jaw slowly dropped. ”A casino?”

”That’s what she told me,” Gray replied. ”Apparently, they ran into each other there. They talked, and then dinner happened. Eventually, it led to them having dinner almost every day.” Gray shrugged his shoulder.

”And now they’ve been seeing each other regularly.”

”That’s... wow.” Mara stared at the table, clearly trying to process it.

”And it gets worse,” Gray added calmly.

”Of course it does.” Mara looked back up at him and rolled her eyes jokingly.

Gray sighed and shook his head.

”Based on Chloe’s words, Jonathan spoils her. A lot. He took her to expensive dinners. Gave luxurious gifts. She said he’s completely wrapped around her finger.”

”Damn...” Mara clicked her tongue. ”That explains a lot already.”

”And the reason he brought her to the company yesterday,” Gray continued, ”is because the girl wants to work here.”

”Work? Here?” Mara frowned at that.

”Yeah,” Gray confirmed. ”She wants a position in the company. So Jonathan brought her in and introduced her to a few important people.”

”No wonder Chloe lost it.” Mara’s brows furrowed further.

”Because of it, Chloe felt pushed aside,” Gray said quietly. ”It’s also her first time knowing everything yesterday from her father and sister, so she felt betrayed by it.

”That’s so messed up.” Mara leaned back in her chair before shaking her head slowly. She could only imagine Chloe’s reaction that time. It must have been so hard for her.

”Chloe also said her dad looks completely heads over heels completely for her.”

Mara let out a dry laugh. ”Yeah, I can already see that from what you told me.”

”And apparently...” Gray went on. He was not yet finished. After all, Chloe had shared a lot with him. He couldn’t even remember some details about it. He just tried to remember the most important parts of it.

”He’s even thinking about investing in a movie. Just so the girl could be cast in it.”

”...” A little silence surrounded the room.

Mara squinted her eyes as she looked at him. ”You’re kidding...”

”I wish I were,” Gray replied.

Mara pressed her lips together and shook her head.

”That’s awful. Poor Chloe. If I were her, I’d feel the same way.” She shook her head once more.

”What they did to her wasn’t just hurtful. It’s also cruel.”

Gray looked down at his desk and let out a deep breath.

”Yeah. It really is.”

”So...” Mara said carefully, tilting her head. ”What does Chloe want to do now?”

Gray’s shoulders dropped the moment she asked that question. He let out a slow sigh and rubbed his temples.

”That’s the problem.”

”What problem?”

Gray lifted his head and looked at her. His expression was conflicted.

”She wants me to talk to her dad.”

”Huh?” Mara blinked.

”Yeah. That was my reaction too.”

”Wait, hold on,” Mara frowned further, ”Talk to Jonathan? About this?”

”She wants me to convince him to stop it,” Gray said quietly. ”To end things with the girl.”

Mara stared at him for a full second.

”Gray,” she said slowly, ”that’s... not something you can do.”

”I know,” he replied, his jaw tightening. ”And she knows it too. She kept saying she didn’t know who else to ask.”

”But you talking to him could also make things worse. For you and for her.”

”I already know that...”

The room fell quiet again.

”So... what are you going to do?”

”I haven’t decided yet,” Gray answered, ”But I can’t just ignore her either.”

Mara sighed. ”Are you really planning on talking to Jonathan about it?”

”Of course not,” Gray shook his head. ”But maybe I can talk to Emily about it.”