Gray didn’t react when the mission window appeared before his eyes. He kept his composure, giving only a small blink as the text disappeared again just as fast as it appeared.
But inside, he was quietly relieved. It seemed like he had impressed them with his answers. He was glad that his hard work for the past few days had been paid off.
’Good,’ he thought. ’That’s one less thing to worry about.’
The meeting continued for another thirty minutes. Some of the board members gave suggestions based on their own experience, while others asked minor follow-up questions about operations and leadership approach.
Gray answered them calmly, not pretending to know what he didn’t, but promising that he’d learn what he needed.
That alone earned him more points in their eyes.
Gray showed that he wasn’t arrogant, but he wasn’t timid either.
At the end of it all, Marcus closed his folder and stood again.
"Thank you, everyone, for your presence today," he said. "As of this moment, the Riverside Branch’s management is officially under Mr. Gray Adams. We will proceed with the internal handover of systems and responsibilities over the next few days. If there are no further concerns, this concludes our meeting."
People began to shift in their seats, a soft murmur spreading across the room.
Some stood, others began gathering their materials, and a few came over to shake Gray’s hand personally.
"Well done, Mr. Adams."
"Looking forward to working with you."
"You handled yourself well."
Gray nodded, smiling and shaking their hands one by one. He didn’t try to remember all their names just yet. It was impossible. There were too many, but he took mental notes of the ones who looked like they had a high position in the company.
He would learn them all eventually.
After a while, most of the board had exited the room, leaving only a few people behind. Jonathan remained seated, talking briefly to one of the senior members at the end of the table.
Marcus turned to Gray with a small nod of approval.
"You did good, Sir."
"Thanks," Gray said under his breath, finally allowing himself to relax a little. His shoulders dropped slightly, and he let out a slow breath he didn’t realize he was holding in.
He looked over to Chloe, who had stayed near her father during the meeting. She gave him a discreet thumbs up with a proud smile.
Gray smiled back at her
And just like that, it was over.
The meeting that had kept him up late at night was finally done.
And he survived it.
No, he didn’t just survive it. He did well.
The first step had been taken.
And now, Gray Adams was no longer just someone trying to make ends meet. Someone who was working just to pass by.
Now, he was someone with a title.
Someone with a business.
As Gray stood by the table, still collecting himself, he heard Jonathan’s chair scrape softly against the floor.
The older man approached him with calm and steady steps. It was amusing how his presence commanded respect even without saying a word. Behind him was Chloe, who was walking with her arms crossed loosely. She was still smiling with quiet pride.
Jonathan stopped in front of Gray and gave him a single approving nod.
"Well done, Gray," he said, his voice was low but firm. "You held on your own."
Gray straightened his posture unconsciously.
"Thank you, Sir."
"You don’t need to call me that anymore," Jonathan said with a brief chuckle. "Not after today."
Gray blinked. "Then... Jonathan?" he was unsure what to call him now.
"That works," the man replied with a faint smile. "You’ve made a good first impression in front of the board. That’s no small feat. Especially in front of people who’ve been in this industry longer than you’ve been alive."
"I just answered as honestly as I could. I didn’t want to pretend like I had all the answers." Gray let out a quiet breath. "I was also surprised that it worked."
"That’s exactly why it worked," Jonathan said. "People can smell bullshit from a mile away especially when it comes to business. You spoke like a man who knows where he is, and where he wants to go."
Chloe stepped forward then, lightly bumping Gray’s arm with her elbow.
"I told you, didn’t I?" she said. "You did great."
Gray glanced at her, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
"Thanks."
Jonathan gave one last nod before slipping his hands into his pockets.
"Marcus will walk you through the next few steps. You won’t be alone in this. You’ve earned my support. Now earn the rest of theirs. I can’t help you with that."
"I will, Jonathan." Gray nodded again, more firmly this time. "Thank you for this opportunity."
"No problem." With that, Jonathan turned and walked toward the door, exchanging a few more words with a few lingering executives before stepping out.
On the other hand, Chloe stayed behind. She smiles sweetly at Jonathan.
"See? Told you I’d be here," she said.
"You really enjoy being right, huh?" Gray chuckled
"Extremely," she replied with a grin. Then her tone softened. "But seriously, Gray... I’m proud of you."
He looked at her, and for a moment, he didn’t know what to say. So, he just gave her a quiet nod of thanks.
"By the way... was it you?" Gray asked casually, remembering the gift he had gotten yesterday.
"Huh?" Chloe blinked. "What do you mean?"
"The suit," Gray said, giving a small tug at his sleeve. "The one I wore today. It just showed up in front of my door yesterday. There was no name, so I just wondered."
"That wasn’t me." Chloe tilted her head, genuinely surprised.
"Really?" Gray raised a brow.
"Really," she said. "I would’ve written something like, ’From your favorite student’ if it were me."
Gray stared at her for a second, trying to read her expression. But Chloe didn’t look like she was joking.
"Huh." He looked away, his lips pressing into a thin line. "Weird."
"Wait, someone sent you a designer suit anonymously?" Chloe leaned in a little. "Are you sure it wasn’t Emily?"
"I thought about that, but... I don’t know." Gray shook his head. "There was no message."
"Okay, now I’m curious too." Chloe narrowed her eyes, clearly intrigued.
"Forget it," Gray muttered, brushing it off. "It’s probably nothing."
Chloe didn’t push further. But her expression looked like she’d be thinking about it long after he left the room.
"Still..." Chloe smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes like before. "Whoever sent it, she had a good taste."
Gray shrugged his shoulder, but he couldn’t hide the small smile tugging at his lips.
"Thanks, I guess."