2026-05-07 23:08:10
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
Chapter 294: Lights and Cameras
Gray had spent his time trying to find reasons to back out of his promise to Mara. Or more correctly, talk himself out of it.He however couldn't.By Friday morning, he had stopped fighting the idea and started quietly accepting it.He was mid-sentence on a report when he stopped typing, leaned back, and looked at Mara across the office."You know what," he said. "Let's just get it over with."Mara looked up from her laptop. Her forehead creased. "Get what over with?"Gray raised a brow and said nothing.She stared at him for a second. Then her eyes went wide."Oh." Her voice jumped an entire octave. "You're finally agreeing to meet for the interview?""Yes."She pressed her lips together hard, fighting back to hold her smile. It broke through anyway, wide and completely unbothered."Okay. Good. Don't worry, I'll handle everything."Gray shook his head. "You always get way too happy about things like this.""I honestly thought you were going to be stubborn and say no," she said, casua
Chapter 293: Just Three Minutes
Gray had tried to keep things private since the incident.Now his face was on the internet and strangers across the world had opinions about his right hook.Ben was already laughing when Gray walked into the office. He had his phone out, shoulders shaking, clearly not doing anything close to actual work. He looked up, saw Gray's expression, and shoved the phone into his pocket like a kid caught cheating on a test."Right." He cleared his throat and stood up straight. "We're working, boss. Absolutely working."Gray shook his head. "Sure you are.""I'll go check the shelves." Ben was already moving toward the door. "And the employees. Like a good, responsible staff member.""Just leave, Ben."Ben gave him a dramatic bow and walked out.Gray sat down and barely had a second of quiet before Ben's head popped back through the doorway."Mara says she'll call you."Gray exhaled. "Okay."Ben saluted and disappeared for real this time.Gray leaned back in his chair and stared at his phone. The
Chapter 292: Half A Million Views
By the next morning, it was already everywhere.It started with small shaky, low-quality clips uploaded by customers who had been in the store. Blurry footage, shot from phones held at odd angles, most of them catching only fragments of what had happened. But fragments were enough. By the time Gray woke up, the videos had been shared thousands of times.The headlines came shortly after."Grocery Store Owner Steps In to Protect Woman During Domestic Dispute — Is This a New Standard for Leadership?""Public Applauds Young Entrepreneur Who Defended Abused Shopper at Grand Opening""Conrad Everett's Protegé Shows What Real Management Looks Like"The clips had circulated widely despite the poor quality. Some were thirty seconds long. Some were less than ten. People had pieced together the full sequence from the separate clips. The man arriving at the entrance, the escalating confrontation, the slap, Gray's punch, and then the quiet aftermath: Gray kneeling on the floor beside the woman, t
Chapter 292: Gray Throws A Punch
The man scrambled to his feet, face red, mouth already forming another shout.He didn't get far.Two security guards came through from the side and grabbed him before he had taken a full step. He thrashed and roared, but they had him by both arms and they held."Let go of me!""Sir, you need to leave."They walked him out. His voice carried through the entrance as they went , hurling curses, threats, promises of consequences — until the doors closed and the sound cut off entirely.The store held its silence for one more breath.Then someone started clapping.Then another. It spread from the staff first, then the customers, building quickly into a full round of applause that filled the aisles with a different kind of noise than the one that had just left. A few reporters in the corner raised their cameras. Flashes went off in quick succession.Ben exhaled and ran a hand through his hair. "You're about to make a headline, Boss."Gray heard him but wasn't listening. His gaze had already
Chapter 290: The Bastard
"Who's in charge here?!" The man's voice thundered again, louder this time, the bag waving in his hand as he looked around the entrance. His face was flushed, his posture wide and aggressive, filling the doorway with the particular energy of someone who had decided on a confrontation before walking in. Ben stepped forward. "Sir, please—" "Don't tell me to calm down!" The man cut him off with a sharp laugh that held no humor. "You think I'm going to calm down when this store is taking advantage of people?" The store went still. Customers stopped moving. A mother near the produce aisle pulled her child in close. Staff members behind the counters looked at each other, unsure what to do. Gray stepped forward. "Sir." His voice was steady, his expression neutral. "I'm the one in charge. Tell me what happened." The man turned his glare onto Gray. His grip on the bag tightened until the paper began to tear. "What happened?" He held the bag up and shook it. "My wife came home with this
Chapter 289: Better Than I Expected
The moment Ben announced the discount, the crowd outside moved.Excited murmuring turned into exclamations and then into actual footsteps. People who had been watching the ceremony with mild interest were suddenly very interested in the entrance."Twenty percent off? Let's go!""That's a real save.""I'm definitely hurdling a bunch of things with this."The staff pulled the doors open wide. Customers streamed in, and the store received its first crowd with polished floors, full shelves, and staff smiling at the entrance to greet them."Wow," one woman said as she ran her hand along the edge of a shelf. "Everywhere's so clean and shiny.""Yeah. More spacious too," said another, already reaching for a cart.Gray stood near the entrance and watched. The sound of it settled over him — conversations, the squeak of cart wheels on tile, the soft clink of items going into baskets. For the first time in months, the numbers and the planning and the site visits had turned into this: a room full
You may also like
Revenge of the Secret Heir
Belladonna85.2K viewsThe Rise Of The Unknown Zillionaire Heir
Gem Lynne163.0K viewsThe Charismatic Charlie Wade
Lord Leaf64.4M viewsBack From Prison!
KMyay179.1K viewsAscension of the Untouchable Billionaire.
Dandandan1.1K viewsREVENGE OF JASON LUTHER
ULTRA NOVELIST229 viewsThe Silver Sinner
Ashik Singh 228 viewsThe Godfather's Lost Son
Olivia105 views