Chapter 248: Stoneworks

"We’re here," Daniel’s voice sounded amidst the silence in the car.With it, Gray immediately looked out at the car’s window. They were parked on the dusty edge of the street.

"Alright. I’ll go down first. You can stay here or join us if you want."

"Yes, Sir."

Outside, he saw that Mara and Owen were already on the site. They were walking to the land with clipboards in their hand. And behind them was the land that Gray had once visited.

The land didn’t change at all since the last time. It’s still empty, with its tall grass dancing with the wind. There were still patches of bush all around that seemed to grow even more as time passed.

"Whoa! This is bigger in person," Mara said out loud as she shade her eyes from the blinding sun. She looked around and measured the area with her hands.

"It’s so big! We can fit everything we need!"

Gray took a breath and chuckled at her words. The air smelled faintly of soil and grass.

"Are you sure about this, Gray?" Owen asked quietly. For this meeting, he was Conrad’s representative. "You said Stoneworks, right?"

"We chose Stoneworks." Gray nodded.

"You sure? They’re more expensive." Owen curiously glanced at him.

"I know." Gray rubbed his thumb over the black card in his pocket. Since then, he hadn’t left it at all. "But they’re timeline was fast. We need to open quickly. If we wait too long, we may lose the foot traffic. We also have good publicity right now. I’d rather pay more and open sooner than save money and sit empty."

Owen looked at him, then at Mara.

"Alright. I’m just making sure you know what you’re doing. Mr. Everett did say speed matters. He wants the grocery’s growth to move."

"Yeah, I also took that into consideration.’ Gray muttered.

The three of them just stood there, scanning the land. It was already fenced, with its boundaries marked with spray paint. There was a narrow access space at the back. Gray crouched at the ground.

He could already imagine the foundations, and the structure being built here.

’Damn, it feels so real now.’ He muttered to himself.

As they were looking a roung, a low rumble came from the road. Mara straightened and raised a hand.

A white van turned into the lot with Stoneworks’ logo on the side. The driver shut off the engine and called out.

"Mr. Adams? It’s Dante from Stoneworks. Good morning!"

Dante looked professional as he left the car. He was wearing a neat shirt, his eyes were clear, and there was a folder tucked under his arm. The van carried a couple of crew members who were carrying a stack of plans rolled up.

They moved quickly to greet Gray.

"Dante. It’s good to see you." Gray stepped forward to meet them.

"You picked a good land, Sir. We checked the area while on the way here. It’s such a nice spot." Dante shook his hand firmly.

"I’m thankful for that."

After the small greetings, they walked on the perimeter together. Dante pointed to the slope near the back. "Our men already inspected the site closely yesterday. In that area, we’ll need a slight grade here for drainage. Nothing major. The ground is good. There are a few spots with soft soil, but standard compaction and foundation work will fix it."

"That’s good then." Gray nodded at him.

On the back, Mara snapped a few photos. Owen also took notes that he could forward to Conrad.

"So what’s the timeline again?" Gray asked.

Dante opened his folder and pulled out a simple schedule.

"We already have a clear plan. If everything goes smoothly: site prep and footings two to three weeks, structure and roof six to eight weeks, envelope and utilities four to five weeks, interiors and fittings four weeks, commissioning two weeks. That puts us at roughly four months from groundbreaking to opening."

Gray’s chest lifted. Four months. That was fast. It would mean money coming sooner.

"And the cost?" Mara asked.

"We didn’t find anything wrong, so it’s the agreed price, $2,600,000. For our payment terms, it’s just the same. 40% upfront so we could start buying materials, 30% at the middle of completion, and 30% on handover." Dante didn’t hesitate.

"We will also include a penalty clause for delays. If we fail to meet the delivery date without a justified cause, we agree to a withholding of $10,000 per week from the final payment."

"You’ll handle permits, right ?" Mara questioned.

"Yup. Don’t worry. We take care of permits. Building permit, utility hookups, and inspections. We have people we work with at the office who’ll file it. But permits can slow things down as they’re typically processed for 6 to 8 weeks. If you want to speed that up, we can try for priority filing, but it costs extra."Dante nodded

Gray glanced at Owen.

Owen stepped closer as if he had already thought of a solution for it. It was also the reason why he was here. To make things smoother in case they encountered some problems.

"Conrad’s network might help. If you need a priority push, I can call in a favor. But that’s up to you, Mr. Adams."

"Alright, do that," Gray said without hesitation. For him, it’s not even worth thinking over.

"We want to start as soon as possible. Prepare the permit applications and send me a draft contract with the penalty clause included. If permit filing can be prioritized, I’ll ask Mr. Everett’s office to assist." He muttered as he glanced at Dante.

"Alright, then. We’ll get drafts to you by Tuesday. If you give the go-ahead and the permit clears, we’ll mobilize within two weeks." Dante smiled.

"Alright. "

After their agreement, the two walked around the land again. Dante pointed out the best place for deliveries, the area for parking, and the spot where a loading bay would fit.

They just talked about the construction all throughout. Everything that was on Gray’s mind had been said out. Every problem and question he had has been asked. And all his worries disappeared with Dante’s reassuring answers.

At one corner, a surveyor from Stoneworks carried a tripod as he marked the boundary of the land. One of Stoneworks’ crew also took measurements while another chatted with Owen about safety rails and scaffolding.

The crew moved with quiet confidence. It was the look that you knew they had done this work a hundred times already.

When the meeting wrapped after a few hours, Dante tapped Gray on the shoulder.

"We’ll do our best to meet the date. And we’ll honor the penalty clause. That’s how we build trust."

"Thank you, Dante. Looking forward to the drafts." Gray shook his hand again.

Dante glanced at his watch before tucking the folder back under his arm.

"We’ll polish everything tonight and send the final contract to your office tomorrow morning. You’ll have time to review it. Once signed, we’ll just need the initial payment within one week so we can begin ordering materials."

"That’s fine. Just send it to my office and I’ll let my assistant handle it." Gray nodded.

"Thank you, Sir." Dante said, giving a small smile. "Once the payment clears, we’ll get moving immediately. You’ll see activity on this land fast."

"So that means after we send the payment, the first steps will already be moving, right?"

"Yes, Sir," Dante confirmed. While we’re waiting for the construction permit, we’ll first start with ground prep and clearing of the grass and trees here."

"Alright then," Gray muttered, the corner of his lips curving up into a big smile.

"Just send me the contract tomorrow. I’ll review it, and we’ll settle the payment within the week."

"We’ll hold you to that, Mr. Adams. And we’ll hold ourselves to our timeline." Dante shook his hand firmly one last time.

With that, Dante and his men packed their things. The rolled-up plans were brought back into the van, the surveyor carefully carried his tripod, and the crew waved and bowed at Gray as they left.

The van’s engine roared to life before slowly driving away from the lot.

The land became quiet again as the three of them were left alone. Gray, Mara, and Owen shared a look to each other.

"Well... that’s it. We’re really doing this." Mara stretched her arms above her head.

Gray rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah." His eyes trailed across the empty land once more.

The next time that he would see this, the grass and dirt would probably be gone. In just a few months, there will already be walls standing in this place.

’Damn, I couldn’t wait for it,’ Gray muttered to himself.

That was when he realized that it was really it. The second branch of their store would be built already.

"By the way, Gray. I’ll inform Mr. Everett of this immediately. He’ll be glad the decision’s settled." He gave Gray an encouraging look. "I will just wait for your heads up, so I can process all the documents and permits needed.

"I look forward to working with you again, Owen." Gray chuckled as he offered his hand to the man.

"Me too," Owen accepted it before the two of them laughed.