Stoneworks didn't slow down after the contract was signed.In the days that followed, revised plans arrived at Gray's office almost every morning — thick stacks of paper, sometimes paired with emails and USB files carrying updated layouts and rendered designs. Mara and Gray went through each version carefully, checking every change against what they had asked for.The architects paid attention. Every note Gray had given them showed up in the next round. The staff lounge was widened, two small offices and two larger ones added neatly at the back, and the stockroom stretched to a size that could actually hold the volume they were planning for. Each time Gray spotted a revision done exactly right, something in his chest settled a little more.By the end of the week, the plans were finalized."This is it," he muttered, looking over the last version. Everything was there.Mara glanced up from her own copy. "Satisfied?""Yeah." He nodded. "Tell them to lock this in.""On it." She sent the e

The ceremony wrapped up in another round of handshakes and group photos.Staff handed out water bottles and snacks. People moved around in small clusters, talking. A few reporters stayed near Kyle and the Stoneworks director to ask follow-up questions. Conrad's bodyguards quietly cleared a path as the old man made his way toward his car, the press trailing as far as they could before giving up. Gray drifted to the edge of the lot and watched the crowd thin out.Selina found him after a few minutes."I'll get going too," she said with a smile."Take care."She gave a small wave and followed after her grandfather. When the two of them disappeared from view, the whole atmosphere around the site shifted slightly. As if the air pressure had dropped to something more comfortable.Mara walked over, sipping from a water bottle."That went well," she said. "You spoke like you've b

Over the next few days, things got stranger.Every morning, the follower count on Gray's social media climbed a little higher. Seven hundred. Then a thousand. By the end of the week, it had crossed several thousand, and he had stopped trying to track it.His feed was full of people tagging him, reposting articles, or clipping short videos with his name in the caption. Some were using old photos of him — ones he barely remembered posting."I don't even remember some of these," he muttered, staring at one with a look he hadn't worn since he was younger. He shook his head and set the phone down.But the follower count climbing meant something had triggered.[New Mission Alert!][Mission: Build Your Own Following!][Objective: Gain 50,000 followers.][Reward: +2 Influence | $15,000]Gray stared at it. "Great. Just what I needed."He hadn't asked for any of this. Still, he knew the system wasn't asking for his opinion.He thought back to the skill he had unlocked after completing the last

Gray paused for just a moment, his eyes dropping briefly.Losing the job had been the lowest point in his life, second only to losing his parents. He had never said that out loud before, and he wasn't going to say it now. But the weight of it passed across his face before he could stop it.Then he gave a small shrug."Back then, it felt like the end of the world. I barely had any money, I'd just lost my job, and I was still taking care of my little sister. She was in school, so I couldn't just sit around and wait. I had to figure something out."The audience was completely still. No side conversations. No shifting. Every face pointed toward him.Lexi tilted her head slightly, her expression gentle."That must have been tough. What did you do next?""I started small," Gray said. His voice was steady. "I picked up tutoring work. And honestly, I got lucky. The people I tutored ended up being the ones who gave me the shop." He paused, then chuckled softly. "So I can't exactly take full cr

Gray stood completely still.Lexi stood in the doorway, watching him with a calm smile, and his brain simply refused to move.She tilted her head slightly. "Are you going to let me in, or should we just stand here?"That did it."Ah — right." He stepped aside quickly and gestured into the room. "Please, come in."Her heels clicked lightly as she walked past him. Her presence shifted the room the moment she entered it. Mara, who had been sprawled in her seat, sat up and quietly moved to give her space. Gray closed the door behind him and tried to remember what normal looked like. "Thank you for waiting," Lexi said. Her voice was different without the stage around it — warmer, less formal. She glanced briefly around the room before her eyes came back to him. "I just wanted to talk without all the cameras."Gray put his hands in his pockets, mostly to give them somewhere to be. "Of course. I'll be honest — I didn't think you'd want to."Lexi laughed softly at that."You're underestimat