"Good morning, everyone," Gray began, his voice steady but not loud as they walked into the middle of the room. All eyes were on him—curious gaze, wondering looks, questioning stares.
"I’m Gray Adams, and starting today, I’ll be managing the Riverside Branch."
A few people exchanged glances. Some gave polite nods. Others leaned in, getting more curious.
"I won’t take up too much of your time," he continued with a kind smile. "I know you all have a lot to do this morning before the store opens."
Gray paused for a moment, letting his eyes scan the room. He met others’ eyes, staring at them. He knew that in their minds, they had a lot of questions. One of it, most probably, was what to expect from him.
"I’m not here to change things up overnight," Gray said. "This branch has been running long before I came along. You all know how this place works better than I do."
A whisper of agreement moved through the room. He could feel some of the tension beginning to ease.
"With that being said..." Gray smiled slightly. "My job is to help this place run better. And I can’t do that without getting to know all of you, and understanding what works and what doesn’t."
Another round of whispers echoed. As Gray was talking, more people were coming into the room.
"I’m not the kind of person who hides behind an office door," Gray added. "If something’s wrong, tell me. If something can be improved, I want to hear it. I’m open to hearing anything as long as it would help this store."
That seemed to strike the employees
Several people smiled now. One of the younger employees whispered something to the person next to her, and they both chuckled quietly.
"I’m looking forward to working with all of you," Gray said, finishing his words simply. "Thank you for having me."
A light round of clapping followed.
Gray nodded once more and stepped aside. He looked around and could see the hope in people’s eyes. It put his heart at ease.
Marcus, who was ever efficient, stepped forward again. "We’ll begin with department introductions and a brief tour before the store opens. Mr. Adams will be shadowing operations for half of the day, so feel free to approach him directly if you’d like to share any insights."
The employees nodded in understanding.
He looked at Gray. "Shall we, Mr. Adams?"
Gray gave a small nod.
"Lead the way."
As they exited the break room and began making their rounds, one of the staff members a tall guy in a stockroom uniform, leaned toward another and whispered to his co-worker.
"He seems alright."
The other abruptly nodded. "Yeah... he’s better than—"
"Oi. You two." A sharp voice cut through their whispering.
The two employees stiffened immediately as the store’s manager stepped forward from the back. He was a middle-aged man in his late forties, dressed in the standard company uniform but with a manager’s badge clipped prominently to his chest.
His name tag read: Mr. Will.
From a glance, Mr. Will looked friendly enough. His smile was wide, and his eyes had that soft droop that made him look approachable. But there was a certain edge in his tone when he called out the two.
"What are you chatting about back there?" he asked, still smiling as he walked past them. "The CEO’s talking. Follow properly. This isn’t break time."
"Y-yes, sir," both workers replied in sync, straightening up their backs. Their eyes looked wary.
Mr. Will gave them a nod, then turned toward Gray. The smile on his face even widening.
"Mr. Adams," he said, bowing slightly. "It’s an honor to have you here. I must say, it’s a breath of fresh air to finally have someone with your credentials leading this branch."
’Credentials?" Gray blinked. As far as he could remember, he didn’t have any of that.
"Uh, thank you. I still have a lot to learn, though."
"Of course, of course," Mr. Will said quickly, walking slightly ahead now as if he were the one to lead the group. "But I can already tell you’re a natural. The way you spoke earlier? It was very inspiring. The staff will love you."
"I hope so." Gray gave a small, polite smile.
He didn’t really know what to say to that. Compliments were nice, but the way they were being said felt... excessive.
As they continued through the aisles, Mr. Will continued chatting nonstop.
"I’ve been with Riverside for three years now, Sir," Mr. Will said, clasping his hands behind his back as he walked a step ahead of Gray and Marcus.
"You know I managed the floor, trained half the current staff myself. The employees here respect me a lot. You’ll see, if there’s anything worth knowing about this store, I know it."
Gray gave a nod, the corners of his mouth tightening politely.
"That’s good to hear."
"Oh, they love me," Mr. Will went on, laughing softly as if he was just talking to himself. "Anytime someone’s got a problem? I’m the first one they go to. Even the vendors, there’s not a single supplier that walks through that loading dock I don’t recognize."
"I see," Gray muttered, trying his best not to sound too dry.
Mr. Will didn’t catch it and just continued on talking.
"In fact," he added with a proud little puff of his chest, "if you ever need help figuring things out like the systems, staffing, deliveries—don’t hesitate to ask me. I’m basically the backbone here. If you’ve got orders, I’ll get them done. Heh heh."
Gray kept his expression still. Inside, though, he couldn’t help but roll his eyes.
"Sure, sure," Gray said with a faint smile, trying to look as professional as he was. "Thank you for your efforts. I’ll keep that in mind."
’Hah, this is how easy it is to butter the rich.’ Mr. Will grinned even wider at that, clearly mistaking Gray’s polite tone.
"Yes, Sir. If you have any questions at all," Mr. Will continued, his voice was low but persistent, "just ask me."
Gray gave another small nod, already thinking of a way to get a little space.
"In that case..." A small idea crossed his mind. "Can you check the back for me? Just make sure the rest of the employees are following us closely. I want everyone to be part of the walkthrough."
Mr. Will blinked, surprised for a second.
’See how fast he was to depend on me,’ He quickly nodded.
"Of course! Right away, Mr. Adams," he said, turning on his heel with sharp enthusiasm.
As the man walked briskly toward the back of the line, Gray let out the smallest breath of relief.
"Damn, he got a lot to say, doesn’t he?"