Chapter 249: Satisfied

The next day, the contract arrived at Gray’s office just like Dante promised. It came neatly on their office. It was even sealed in an envelope with Stoneworks’ logo stamped on the corner.Mara was the first one to pick it up. She opened it and flipped through the pages carefully at her desk.

"This contract looks complete," she muttered as she read line by line. "All the terms are here. I skimmed through some parts and saw that the payment schedule, the penalty clause, and even the permit responsibilities are here. Nothing looks out of place."

"Good. Let’s not drag this out. I’ll sign it now." Gray leaned back in his chair as he motioned for Mara to bring the contract closer to him.

"Here."

He took the contract from her and pulled out a pen from his drawer. After briefly reading it, he signed his name at the bottom of each required page. When the last page was signed, Gray let out a long breath.

"Alright. Send this back to Stoneworks. Let’s not have any delays."

"Alright, on it," Mara muttered as she gathered the pages and slid them back into the envelope.

Gray then looked at her with a small smile. "Also, about the payment. That’s going to be your job."

"Me?" Mara blinked as she pointed at herself.

"Yup. You handle the finance side. I’ll trust you on that. The funds from Conrad’s investment were already transferred into the store’s bank account this morning." He reached for a folder from his drawer and slid it across the table.

"Here are the bank details and authorization letters. I trust you with this. Just make sure Stoneworks gets their 40% within the week."

Mara opened the folder, scanning the numbers inside. Her lips pressed into a thin smile before she let out a small laugh.

"You’re really dumping such a big responsibility on me, huh?"

Gray chuckled and leaned back in his chair.

"Well, what can I say, Ms. Secretary? You’re good at your job. Just don’t slack."

"Don’t worry, I won’t," she muttered, shaking her head but smiling anyway.

When Mara left the office to prepare the transfer papers, Gray picked up his phone and scrolled through his contacts. His thumb hovered on the screen for a moment before pressing the call button.

"Hello, Sir?" Joel’s voice came from the other side after a few rings.

"Joel, it’s me," Gray muttered out loud, "I need you to prepare for something."

"Sure, Boss. What’s up?"

Gray rested his elbow on the table, rubbing his temple slowly.

"We’re opening the second branch in a few months. The construction contract’s already signed. By next month, I want you to host a hiring process."

There was a short silence on the other side of the phone before Joel spoke again.

"You mean we want to hire new staff? For the new store?"

"Exactly. We want a whole new set of employees. Cashiers, stockers, supervisors, everything. Also, ask our current employees if any want to be transferred there. I know that a few of them were nearer to that place," Gray sighed and paused for a moment.

"Just remember that we’ll need a full team ready by the time the building finishes. Start spreading the word, post the announcements, and set interview schedules. We need to find good people early so we can train them."

"Whoa! That is such a good announcement, Sir!" Joel’s excitement was evident even though Gay couldn’t see his expression. "I got it, Boss. Leave it to me. I’ll draft the announcements and requirements by the end of this month. We’ll make sure we find the right people!"

"Good, good," Gray chuckled. "I’ll trust you on this. Keep me updated with your every step. If you need extra hands for the hiring process, ask Mara for help. She’ll coordinate with you."

"Will do, Boss," Joel answered confidently. "This is a big step, Boss. Congratulations."

Gray leaned back in his chair again, staring up at the ceiling. His lips curved to a faint smile.

"Thanks, Joel. Let’s make this one bigger than the first."

"Yes, Boss."

When the call ended, Gray set his phone down slowly. For a moment, he just sat there in silence, staring at the empty space of his office.

’Damn... It’s getting real, huh?’ he chuckled under his breath and stood up.

After the contract was sent back, Owen was immediately informed that he could already take care of the permits and paperwork. Of course, he didn’t waste any time.

Gray also worked closely with him, checking in every day to make sure things were moving in the right direction for them.

A week later, Owen already walked into Gray’s office with a wide smile on his face. He was holding a folder in his hands that contained various papers.

"It’s already approved."

"Damn..." Gray raised his brows, leaning forward in his chair. "Already? That fast?"

"Yup. Everything’s cleared. No issues at all from our side. The paperwork from StoneWork was clean and well."

"I don’t know how you did it that fast, but I’m not surprised either. Your connections are ridiculous." Gray let out a small laugh and shook his head.

"Oh well," Owen shrugged his shoulders and only grinned. He didn’t say anything more, because it was true.

It was his connection, or more of Conrad’s connection, that made it happen.

After that, Stoneworks immediately started on their work. Trucks came in on the site. Workers also started working there. And in no time, the whole area was filled with people doing their own things.

They stripped off the tall grasses in the area, shoveled dirt and trash, and leveled the uneven ground properly. Bit by bit, the empty and abandoned lot started looking like a place ready for something new.

Daniel drove them to the site one evening with Mara. From the car window, they could see the cleared soil stretching out like a blank canvas on the land.

"They really don’t waste time, huh?" Mara muttered as she leaned against the glass.

"Yeah. They’re efficient. That’s why I wanted Stoneworks." Gray nodded. "Also, they should be since we’re paying them a higher price."

The following week, thick envelopes arrived at Gray’s office. There were floor plans, floor layouts, ceiling plans, and blueprints carefully rolled up and delivered straight to his desk. Not long after, a USB drive came in too, carrying digital files of rendered models and perspective designs for store.

Gray and Mara spread everything across his office desk. The paper was so wide that it almost covered the entire surface. Mara leaned forward, tracing the lines with her finger, while Gray stood behind her with his arms crossed, quietly studying everything.

"Wow," Mara muttered, eyes scanning over the drawings. "This looks so detailed. They really didn’t hold back at all."

Gray leaned closer, picking up one of the rendered images from the envelope. It was glossy, colored, and almost looked real. The new building stood proud in the design, with modern glass walls at the front, wide entrance doors, and a parking lot that could fit plenty of cars.

"Damn," Gray said under his breath, unable to stop a small smile from creeping up. "It actually looks... big."

Mara chuckled.

"Well, it is big. It’s almost twice the size of our first store. Look here," she tapped on one of the plans, "they even included small details for the cashier counters and stockroom shelves."

Gray shifted the papers around until he found the section that marked the back part of the building. When he saw what was there, he couldn’t help but nod in agreement.

"They’ve even set aside space here," he muttered before pointing at the boxed-in area at the side that was empty.

"We could put on a large staff room here with their own toilet and a small pantry."

Mara glanced at him, nodding slowly.

"You’re right. If we’re hiring that many people, they’ll need a proper lounge. Somewhere to sit, eat, and rest."

"Exactly," Gray said firmly. His hand moved on the paper again, "And another thing. We’ll need a separate office for the managers. Not just one room shoved at the back. At least two, maybe three, depending on how big our management team gets. They’ll be handling a lot."

"Already thinking ahead, huh?" Mara smirked teasingly at him.

"Yeah. If we’re going to do this, I don’t want to repeat the same mistakes that happened on the first one. The first branch worked, but this one... this one has to be better." Gray let out a soft laugh

"Alright, I agree with you on that." She looked over at the layout again and snapped a few photos of the area that Gray was pointing out. "I’ll tell Stoneworks to adjust the back part. Expand the staff room, add more offices. I’ll write it down so we don’t forget."

"Good. Also, make sure the storage is wide enough. We’ll stock more goods here compared to our first branch. The stockroom has to handle that volume." Gray nodded in approval.

Mara scribbled notes on a pad, her pen moving quickly.

"Got it. Anything else?"

"Nope. I’m already satisfied except for that part."

The two of them shared a small laugh at what Gray answered.