Chapter 247: Two Firms

In the middle of the night, Gray sat on the edge of his bed. His room was already dark, with the only light available coming from the lamp at his bedside table.In his hand, he held it. The thing Conrad had given him.

The black sleek black card.

It wasn’t a calling card but just a simple card with Conrad’s name written on the side. Gray turned it between his fingers, looking at it under the lamps.

He had seen plenty of business cards before, but this was built differently.

This looked like... a key. It looks like an access cards from hotels. But that was what made him wonder. To what?

Gray’s brows furrowed as he stared at it longer.

"What the hell is this, old man?" he muttered under his breath. It was his first time really looking at it closely. The last time, he just dismissed and kept it, not really thinking that much.

But now, with what Conrad said, he felt like this card has so much value. It felt as if it wasn’t something he could just toss aside now. Conrad hadn’t said much earlier aside from his word, ’Use that. You’ll know when.’

But right now, he didn’t know when to use it.

’This is so complicated,’ he sighed before leaning back to the headboard of his bed. The card was still in between his fingers. His other hand rubbed over his face slowly.

’Hays...’ He closed his eyes for a moment, taking in a deep breath.

’What kind of man just gives out something like this?’A small laugh escaped his lips.

He really was doomed to get pulled deeper into this man’s world. It was just too big for someone small like him.

Gray’s week passed slowly, yet busily.

From Monday onward, Gray found himself in between meetings. It was something he hadn’t experienced before. He had meetings, calls, proposals, just everything.

Every morning, after handling the grocery’s daily updates with Joel, Gray would go back in looking for construction firms that Conrad’s secretary had given him.

Conrad instructed him to give everyone a call and know everyone’s offer so he could choose wisely. And so Gray did exactly that.

They gave a call to everyone, asked for their offers, terms and conditions, and how long they would be able to complete the construction process.

It wasn’t just him either. Mara was right there with him in the office. She had taken her seat at her desk, her laptop open, her hair tied back, and her sleeves rolled up like she was ready for battle.

"Okay, this one quoted us $2.8 million for the full project," Mara mutteredtapping her screen. "But look at the fine print. They’ll charge extra if materials go up."

Gray leaned closer at his own monitor and squinted his eyes to look a the words that Mara was pointing to. When he saw it, he sighed and shook his head.

"So basically, they can just charge me more whenever they feel like it?"

"Exactly." Mara sighed. "That’s not stable. You need something fixed."

Gray groaned, dragging a hand through his hair.

"This is really harder than I initially thought.

And that was how their days went. Back and forth, they read through documents, called people, asked questions, sometimes even pretending they understood technical jargon when, in truth, they didn’t.

By the time Friday arrived, both of them were already exhausted. Still, they had finally narrowed it down. Out of the dozen firms they had contacted, only two had stood out. They were the only ones who gave clear proposals, answered their questions directly, and weren’t that expensive.

"We have two left standing," Mara said that morning, flipping her notebook where she had listed down things. "We’ll meet the first one at 10 am., the second one at 2 pm. After today, I hope you’ll finally know who’s building your store because I’m stressed as fuck already."

Gray chuckled at it.

"Don’t worry, I’m feeling the same. It’s not only you." Gray leaned back in his chair, sighing out loud.

"Damn, I feel like I’ve aged ten years in four days."

Mara laughed out loud.

"Welcome to the real world, Gray."

And so just like that, their first meeting was held in a simple but modern office nearby. The firm’s name was Stoneworks Construction.

Stoneworks Construction had a good reputation in the industry. It was behind different medium-sized to large-scale restaurants in the area. They also have built large skyscrapers and towers, but their forte was really commercial buildings.

Their lobby was clean and not flashy. Their receptionist greeted them politely, and within minutes, they were led into a glass-walled conference room.

Inside, three men were waiting. The one in the middle stood and extended his hand.

"Mr. Adams? It’s an honor. I’m Dante Reuz, project manager for Stoneworks."

"Thank you for meeting with us." Gray shook his hand firmly.

Mara followed him as his secretary. She lightly bowed her head and gave the three men a polite nod.

"Let’s start then."

The meeting began smoothly. Dante pulled out a folder and a tablet, showing slides of their previous works—commercial complexes, small malls, and even a few large supermarkets.

"We specialize in projects like yours," Dante said confidently. "A mid-sized grocery store, ground-up construction. We estimate about 1,000 square meters total area, correct?"

"Yes. Something that can hold enough sections but not too overwhelming." Gray nodded.

"Perfect. For that scale, our proposal is straightforward. Full construction: foundation, structure, interiors, utilities. The total cost would be $2.6 million. Timeline is 4 months from groundbreaking to opening."

Gray’s brows lifted slightly. "5 months?"

"Yes, sir. We pride ourselves on efficiency. We work with a streamlined team, so there are no delays. Of course, this means the cost is a bit higher than average, but we guarantee delivery. We can even include penalty clauses if we fail to meet the deadline."

"What about the terms of payment?" Mara scribbled notes quickly.

Dante nodded. "Forty percent upfront, thirty percent halfway through, and the last thirty percent upon completion. It’s a fixed price unless we encounter issues, but overall, we’ll be transparent and inform you first."

Gray sat back on the chair. The offer was clear. Their offer might be on the higher side, but it was fast.

"Thank you for the offer, we’ll think about it first."

"Sure, Sir." When the meeting ended, Dante shook his hand again. "We’d be proud to build your store, Mr. Adams. Think of us not just as contractors, but as partners in growth."

"We’ll let you know." Gray only smiled faintly.

After a quick lunch break, Gray and Mara headed to the second meeting.

This one was held in a smaller office, their team might be small, but they were still professional.

The firm was called Ironclad Builders.

From what Gray learned, they weren’t the biggest company out there, but they had a solid reputation. People said they were reliable. However, they don’t take on too many projects at once because of their small team size.

However, when they do take projects, you can be assured that they will deliver. Most of their clients were mid-sized businesses. They do grocery stores, retail outlets, and warehouses. However, from time to time, they also do large-scale business.

One of Conrad’s restaurants was even made by them.

The project manager here was a man named Victor. He was older, in his forties. He was a direct but sweet man. As they met each other, Victor shook Gray’s hand with a firm grip.

"Mr. Adams. Please, sit."

Their meeting room wasn’t that big. It was moderate in size with just a long table, a whiteboard on the front, and a small pantry on the side with coffee and water available.

When they sat, Victor wasted no time. He opened a folder and slid it across to Gray.

"We’ve reviewed your requirements. For a mid-sized grocery store, our full construction package will cost $2.4 million. Timeline for this scale can range from 5 to 7 months."

"That’s a lot longer than the other proposal." Gray raised his eyebrows

Victor nodded calmly. "It is, but I assure you that we don’t cut corners. We take our time to make sure everything is durable and built to the best quality. And because we’re slower, we can offer lower costs. But I’ll be honest, we don’t know the set time when it will be done because we’re only a small team."

"How about your payment terms?"

"Thirty percent upfront," Victor answered, "thirty percent during mid-construction, and forty percent at handover. It’s also fixed, unless we encounter problems, of course. You’ll know exactly what you’re paying for."

Gray glanced at the papers. They were less expensive than Stoneworks’, but everything was laid out in plain terms.

"If you’re looking for something grand and fast, we may be the one for you. But I can say to you that all our works were of high quality." Victor looked him in the eye.

"I see. I’ll look at this again and contact you for my decision." That was the only thing that Gray answered.

"I’ll look forward to it then, Sir Adams."

"Thank you," Gray muttered.