Chapter 391: Work To Do

The following week passed by quickly, and soon after visiting, he also got busy with preparations for the store and the upcoming anniversary..

Gray found himself buried beneath stacks of reports, supplier proposals, promotional plans, inventory forecasts, budget allocations, and event schedules.

His office desk became a battlefield. A battlefield that was making him lose his mind.

"..." Gray stared at the mountain of documents in front of him before glancing at the empty space beside it. A second later, Mara casually placed another folder onto the pile.

Thud.

The loud sound made Gray slowly raise his head.

"Good morning, Sir." Mara smiled playfully at Gray.

Gray looked at the folder and at Mara. He deeply sighed as he shook his head.

"What’s good in the morning if I have all of this?"

Mara chuckled at that.

"Just work, okay? That’s for all our employees. They’re expecting a good party from their boss, so you’d better do it." Mara muttered as the corner of her lips rose to a smile.

Gray’s eyes slowly squinted as he suspiciously looked at Mara. "I can already tell that you’re enjoying this way too much."

"I am." Mara nodded without even trying to deny it.

Gray looked at the towering pile of folders again before letting out another sigh. Paperwork was trying to kill him.

Mara casually sat down across from him and pushed another document forward.

"This one needs your approval as soon as possible."

"Alright," Gray took the document and looked at it. "I’ll check it and sign if it’s already fine."

"Okay. I’ll wait for it," Mara nodded before going back to her chair.

Gray opened the document. The moment he did, his eyes narrowed slightly when he looked at it.

"Venue reservations?"

"Mm." Mara nodded. "I’ve narrowed it down to three options. I already talked to everyone, and I just need your approval."

"Hmm..." Gray flipped through the pages while listening.

The document contained several venue proposals, complete with estimated costs, capacity limits, parking information, catering options, and event packages.

Gray leaned back slightly as he reviewed them one by one.

There were three final choices, just like Mara said.

The first option was a ballroom inside a luxury hotel. Gray’s brows rose slightly as he looked at the projected expenses.

"That’s expensive."

"Very," Mara agreed immediately.

The hotel package included full catering, decorations, sound systems, stage lighting, accommodations for guests if needed, and a dedicated event team.

It was easily the most prestigious option among the three

"But it looks nice, though," Gray admitted.

"It does," Mara nodded. "If we choose that one, it’ll definitely feel grand."

Gray continued reading before turning to the next proposal.

The second option was an established event center. Compared to the hotel, it was significantly cheaper while still offering plenty of space.

The venue was large enough to accommodate all employees, guests, suppliers, and even several activity booths that Mara wanted to add.

"This one seems more practical."

"Yeah. That was my initial first choice," Mara admitted. "It has big space, reasonable cost, and they’re flexible with custom activities."

Gray nodded thoughtfully at it. Mara was really thinking everything through. He flipped to the last proposal to read it. It was a private restaurant venue.

It was meant for smaller and more intimate gatherings, but can still hold a small event if they want.

"This is nice," Gray commented.

"It is," Mara said. "The food is excellent too, but..."

"But?"

"But we’ll probably outgrow the place." Mara shrugged. "We’re inviting employees from both stores. Plus suppliers, business partners, and possibly some special guests."

Gray nodded.

The restaurant would have worked a few months ago. But now, it would be impossible. His gaze drifted toward the employee count listed in another report.

Back then, he could practically recognize every employee by face. But now that there were dozens upon dozens of people working under him across multiple locations, it’s already impossible to do that.

After a few seconds, Gray looked back at the proposals.

The hotel was impressive, and the restaurant was comfortable enough, but he knew that the event center was most likely the right choice.

"How many people can the event center hold?"

"More than enough for us," Mara answered immediately.

"How about the parking?"

"It’s covered."

"Accessibility?"

"It’s in the city, so no problem."

"What about the budget?"

Mara grinned. "You’ll still have plenty of money left for your raffle prizes."

"Now that’s important." That immediately caught Gray’s attention.

"I knew you’d say that." Mara grinned.

Gray laughed before tapping the proposal with his finger.

"Alright, let’s go with this one."

"The event center?"

"Yeah."

"Good choice." Mara nodded in satisfaction.

"It leaves us more room for activities, more budget, and more raffle prizes." Mara playfully grinned.

"Exactly." Gray nodded at it.

The two looked at each other before laughing. Then, Mara stood up to get the approved folder from it.

"Great. I’ll contact them this afternoon."

"Go ahead."

"Then after that, we’ll move on to supplier sponsorships, anniversary discounts, advertising materials, customer promotions, employee awards, and the raffle plans."

Gray’s smile slowly disappeared after hearing all of that list.

"..."

Mara’s grin widened, "What’s wrong, Boss?" she questioned as she looked at him. There was obviously a hint of mischievousness in her eyes as she looked at him.

"Hays..." Gray looked at the mountain of documents waiting on his desk before looking back at Mara.

The pile of documents was something he was not used to now. He was thinking of escaping. Unfortunately, Mara seemed to read his thoughts immediately.

"Don’t even think about leaving me here when there’s a lot of things needs to be done." She sternly scolded him.

When Gray heard it, he chukled.

"I’m the boss, you know," he clicked his tongue.

"Nope not today." Mara shook her head as she pointed at the folders.

"I already arranged everything from the most needed to not so start with the top. Okay?"

"Okay, boss," Gray muttered sarcastically, but he eventually started looking through it, knowing that it was indeed important.