Chapter 131: Trust Me On This One
Chapter 131 of "Suddenly, I Am Rich" starts with unexpected events: Chapter 131: Trust Me On This OneThe room fell into a moment of silence once... Find out more!
Chapter 131: Trust Me On This OneThe room fell into a moment of silence once the door closed.
For the first time all morning, there were no more applicants waiting outside.
Now, it was just the four of themâGray, Marcus, and Caesar, along with Ms. Lopez, who was still standing by the side with her clipboard held firmly to her chest.
Gray leaned back in his chair, finally letting out the breath he hadnât realized heâd been holding.
"Thatâs all five," Marcus said, uncapping his pen again and tapping it gently against his notepad. "Now comes the hard part."
Caesar chuckled under his breath. "I agree with you, Marcus."
Gray chuckled at it. He knew Caesar wasnât wrong.
Ms. Lopez stepped forward from her place and placed the finalized scoring sheet on the table.
"They all performed well," she said softly. "But youâll need to pick one at the end."
The table fell silent again.
Marcus flipped his notepad closed and leaned forward, elbows resting on the wood.
"Alright. I think we can all agree Lionelâs out," he started. "He was too rehearsed. It felt like he came here to deliver lines, not hold a conversation."
"Agreed," Caesar nodded. "He had good answers, but there was no sense of authenticity in the way he said it. I donât want to see someone who spends more time trying to sound correct than actually doing the work."
"I agree with that," Gray glanced briefly at his own notes.
"How about Ando?" Caesar asked, tilting his head to the side.
"He was steady and consistent," Marcus said. "But too reserved. If weâre looking for someone to grow into a leadership role eventually, I donât see him stepping up without a nudge."
"Heâs reliable," Gray added. "But not what I need right now."
"Alright." Caesar crossed both Lionel and Ando off his own list. "That leaves Diana, Clarisse, and Joel."
Ms. Lopez spoke next, surprising all three.
"Diana is exceptional," she said. "Professional, composed, and the most prepared, in my opinion."
"She was sharp," Marcus agreed. "But her experience... Iâm not quite sure about it. On paper, yes, sheâs good but in person, I donât know. I wasnât that impressed by her answers compared to the others."
"I see..." Gray mentally took notes of everything they were saying so far.
He might have the final say on everything, but he also had to consider their words and opinions. After all, they were much more experienced than him.
"Sheâs a perfectionist," Ms. Lopez added. "Which can be good. But for the current team, I donât think itâs what they need right now."
Caesar scratched his chin, his expression thoughtful.
"Fair enough. Iâll admit, I liked her clarity. But if the goal is to bring in someone who will blend well with an existing team, then youâre right."
"So that leaves us with two," Marcus said, flipping back to his notes. "Clarisse and Joel."
Gray remained silent, waiting for them to say something.
Caesar leaned back into his seat, exhaling slowly. "Clarisse had something. It wasnât impressive in the typical way, but I liked her answers."
"Sheâs honest," Marcus said. "And she works hard. You could tell. She didnât sugarcoat anything either. Her answers werenât perfect, but they were real."
Gray stayed quiet for a moment longer. He opened Clarisseâs folder, looked through her notes, then reached for Joelâs file beside it.
"And Joel?" he asked.
Marcus shrugged lightly. "Heâs good. Heâs not the most experienced in large environments, but the way he handled those situational questions? He didnât need training on how to react. Itâs built into him."
"I could also see that," Ms. Lopez said. "Even in the way he sat and answered. He paid attention. He also appeared to be friendly."
Gray nodded slowly. He agreed with every word. But that was the problem. He agreed with what they said about both of them.
Clarisse was soft but solid. Joel was raw but commendable.
"Between the two of them," Marcus said, "Iâd be happy with either. But weâve got to make a call."
Gray ran a hand across his chin and leaned back again, staring at the ceiling light above the table.
Caesar gave him a side glance. "Youâre still not decided, are you?"
"Not yet," Gray admitted. "Because I see value in both of them. Clarisse has the work ethic, the humility, and the loyalty. Sheâd grow fast. Joel has the experience, the judgment, and something else I canât quite define. Iâm sure heâd be ready now."
"Then we need to decide what weâre hiring for," Marcus said. "Growth or immediate strength."
"That is whatâs hard..." Gray sighed. He needed both of those now.
The three stared at Gray as they waited for his decision. Their stares placed a great burden on his shoulders.
Not knowing what to do, Gray could only think of one thing now.
"I want to call them both in again."
Caesar blinked. "What?"
Ms. Lopez looked up from her clipboard. "Sir?"
"Call Clarisse and Joel," Gray said again. "Ask if they can return before the end of the day. I want to speak to them one last time. Not for a formal interview, just to... have a conversation."
It would be weird if he said he would like to look at them, right?
"Itâs already almost three," Marcus said, frowning. "Office hours are closing soon. Do we really need to do that?"
"We do," Gray said firmly.
Caesar raised a brow.
"You seriously want to bring them back now? What are you hoping to get out of this?"
Gray looked at both of them, then at Ms. Lopez.
"I just need to see something," he said.
Marcus leaned back in his chair and exchanged a glance with Caesar.
"Youâre going to make your decision based on a gut feeling?" Caesar asked.
Gray smiled faintly.
"No," he said. "Iâm going to make it based on the right one. So can we call them?"
Ms. Lopez didnât wait. She nodded once and turned to step out of the room, her phone already in hand.
Marcus chuckled under his breath and muttered, "This is either brilliant or completely unnecessary."
"Letâs hope itâs the first one," Caesar said.
Gray looked at them and smiled.
"Just trust me on this one."