Chapter 220: Meeting Owen Again

Days had passed since they ate lunch together. That day, even though Mara appeared fine after taking the call, she still seemed anxious. And that anxiousness hadn’t left her, even if she tried so hard to hide it.Now, the two of them were back in the office.

Things at the grocery store had finally stabilized. The chaos and the problems on their online store before were now gone. Gray didn’t have to constantly worry anymore about what was happening in there.

However, instead of feeling relieved, his mind was preoccupied with something heavier.It was nearing the end of the month.

That meant one thing.

Finances.

He had to deal with numbers, sales reports, expenditures, payroll, and supply invoices. Everything had to be tallied and right.

Furthermore, they couldn’t afford to take it lightly, not this time.

"Ugh..." Gray groaned as he leaned back on his chair. He rubbed his temples with one hand while his other hovered over his mouse.

The spreadsheet on his monitor was already filled with numbers, but there were still gaps and inconsistencies that he needed to resolve.

"We need to close everything within three days," Gray muttered, half to himself and half to Mara, who was working diligently at the desk across from him.

"I know," Mara replied, not looking up from the stack of receipts and files she was sorting out on her own. "By then, you’ll be meeting Owen, right?"

Gray’s eyes narrowed at the name. Owen. He was the business analyst Conrad Everett had sent exactly a month ago. His job had been to monitor Gray’s store, track progress, and measure improvement.

And now, with the one-month duration coming to an end soon, the report will soon land in Conrad’s hands. It would be the report that will help Conrad decide whether to invest in his store now.

That was why they couldn’t just take it lightly.

This week would be their last push. Their last chance to make sure the numbers spoke well for them.

"Yeah," Gray exhaled out loud before closing his laptop for a moment. "He’s reporting back to Conrad after this. If we mess this up, everything we’ve done in the past month won’t matter."

Mara finally looked up at him. Her expression was a mixture of seriousness and calmness.

"We can’t mess this up."

Gray met her eyes, then gave a small nod.

"Yes. We can’t."

The office fell quiet again after that small time of conversation. They started working again.

The sound of papers being shuffled and keys tapping against their laptops echoed against the 4 corners of the room.

It was a heavy silence, showing their full focus and unspoken determination that they both shared. The latest_epɪ_sodes are on_the NoveI-Fire.ɴet

Gray clicked back onto the spreadsheet, pulling up the comparative figures from last month. His gaze lingered on the sales tab.

"Wait... look at this," he said suddenly.

Mara raised her head again, brows knitting together as she stood up and walked around to his side of the desk. She leaned slightly, peering at the screen.

Gray pointed at the totals.

"Last month’s gross sales—here. And then here’s this month’s up to yesterday." He clicked to highlight the two numbers.

Mara blinked, running a quick mental calculation. "That’s... higher. A lot higher."

"Exactly." Gray’s voice carried a mix of relief and disbelief. "I don’t know the exact percentage increase yet since we haven’t closed everything, but..." He shook his head slightly. "That’s not small."

Mara rested her hand on the desk, eyes narrowing as she studied the figures. "That feels like a solid jump."

Gray scrolled further, pulling up weekly breakdowns. "The first week with the online delivery service was shaky. Well, it makes sense with all the issues we were dealing with. But after that... it started climbing. Look."

On the chart, the line wavered at the start, then curved steadily upward. It was not a dramatic change, but it was really noticeable.

Mara let out a soft breath. "We actually pulled it off."

"Not yet," Gray reminded her, though a faint smile tugged at his lips. "We still need the final count. But this... this is a good sign."

She nodded, her expression softening just slightly. "It’s better than what we expected, honestly."

"I know," Gray agreed. His shoulders eased back into the chair, though his eyes stayed glued to the monitor. "We were so caught up that we didn’t even realize the numbers were climbing."

Mara gave a small laugh under her breath.

"I guess all that stress we faced for the past few days wasn’t for nothing."

"Yeah," Gray muttered, followed by a short laughter. "It really wasn’t."

They exchanged a look. For the first time in days, maybe even weeks, the atmosphere in the office felt a little lighter.

Still, Gray quickly shook himself out of it and straightened.

"Alright. Let’s not get too comfortable. We need to confirm the actual increase before Owen comes in. Payroll, supplier costs, operating expenses. All of that has to be factored in. If sales went up but our expenses spiked, it won’t look as good."

Mara nodded, already moving back to her desk with a renewed sense of focus. "Got it, Gray. I’ll finish sorting through the supplier invoices. We’ll cross-check them tonight."

Gray’s eyes followed the chart one more time, that upward curve sticking in his mind. It wasn’t perfect, and it wasn’t final. However, he was already feeling the good sign from it.

Because of that, the next few days were spent in constant checking, recalculating, and cross-verifying data into data.

Gray spent long hours hunched over spreadsheets, his fingers running through endless tabs of data. Mara, on the other hand, handled the invoices and supplier records, meticulously going through each receipt to make sure nothing was missed.

There were times they barely exchanged words beyond numbers.

"Payroll for last week was already confirmed."

"Operating expenses was cross-checked. I’ll update the file already."

"Gray, the delivery charges are consistent. No unexpected fees. It’s already good"

It was exhausting, but neither of them complained. Each night ended late, their eyes were red and heavy. However, by morning they were back in the office again, driven by the same urgency.

By the end of the third day, the numbers finally settled. Everything was in place. And with the final tally, the truth was undeniable. The sales for the month had increased.

The exact figure still surprised them. It wasn’t small, not at all.

And so Thursday came.

The atmosphere in the office was different from the past days. The seriousness that filled the air was heavier.

Gray sat at his desk. He was already dressed in a clean button-up shirt and slacks. His tie was neatly knotted, and his jacket hung on the back of his chair. He glanced at the clock on the wall. It was already 9:43 a.m.

Mara was seated across from him. She was also dressed more formally than usual. She was wearing a muted blouse paired with a blazer, while her hair was tied neatly at the back.

Gray tapped his pen lightly against his notepad. The finalized reports sat neatly stacked beside him, ready to be presented. He had gone over them multiple times already that morning, but the urge to check again daunted him.

’No, Gray. You gotta stop yourself.’ He whispered to himself.

"He’ll be here in fifteen minutes." Mara broke the silence first.Gray nodded, his eyes glancing back to the clock. "Alright. Fifteen minutes."

They both fell quiet again. It wasn’t the same kind of silence they shared while working. This one was heavier.

The two of them knew that it wasn’t just about presenting numbers. It was about proving something. That their hard work wasn’t just a desperate scramble, that the store really was growing, and that Conrad’s trust in sending Owen hadn’t been misplaced.

Gray leaned back slightly, inhaling deeply through his nose before exhaling slowly.

"Whatever happens, we’ve done our best to make the numbers clear. That’s all that matters now."

Mara’s lips curved faintly.

"Don’t worry, Gray. You’ll be fine." She was the only one who could speak positively now because Gray looked so tense in her vision.

"I just hope so..."

Gray muttered in a small voice before straightening his posture again. At that exact moment, the ticking of the clock became louder, marking the passing seconds.

9:55 a.m.

The sound of footsteps echoed faintly in the hallway outside.

Both Gray and Mara lifted their heads at the same time, their gazes drifting toward the office door.

It was almost time.

After a few more seconds, the door opened with a soft knock, followed by the sound of it opening.

Just like that, Owen stepped in.

The man had a small smile on his face as he faced Gray and Mara.

"Owen," Gray greeted him immediately. He stood up and extended a hand.

"Hello, Gray. I believe it’s been weeks since we last saw each other." Owen accepted Gray’s hand and shook it firmly.

"Are you ready to present your current sales to me?"