Chapter 401: Third Location

A few weeks later, the excitement from the company anniversary party still hadn’t completely disappeared. The grand prize winner’s motorcycle became one of the most talked-about topics inside the company.

But still, life gradually returned to normal.

Inside his office, Gray reviewed the latest monthly reports while sipping his coffee. While doing that, a sudden knock appeared. Mara opened the door while Gray simply glanced at it.

When the door opened, he saw that it was one of the managers from his store’s second branch.

"Good morning, Sir."

"Good morning."

The manager handed over a folder to him before smiling.

"These are the reports you requested, Sir. We’ve already compiled it to show the last 3 months of progress."

Gray accepted it before opening the report. As he scanned the pages, his eyebrows slowly rose. The numbers were excellent.

The second branch had continued growing steadily, while the first branch remained strong and stable. Combined together, the company’s performance was significantly ahead of projections.

"Looks like business is doing well." Gray muttered. With it, a certain thought came into his mind.

"Yes, Sir. We are very fortunate." The manager smiled at him.

Gray nodded in satisfaction. With all these numbers maybe a 3rd branch for the store wouldn’t be that bad.

"Good work." He closed the folder and looked at the manager.

The man’s face brightened immediately. "Thank you, Sir."

"Pass my thanks along to the team as well. They’ve done a good job maintaining the momentum."

"I will, Sir." The manager looked genuinely pleased by the praise that Gray gave to him.

"If that’s all, Sir, I’ll return to the branch now."

"Sure," Gray nodded. "Go ahead."

The manager bowed slightly before turning around and leaving the office. When the door closed, Gray leaned back in his chair. He slowly flipped through the report again. The numbers really were impressive.

Eventually, Gray glanced toward Mara. Mara was sitting at her desk, organizing several documents that he asked. Now, their work has gotten lighter, but they still have a lot of things to do.

"Pst. Mara." Gray lightly leaned forward as he called for her.

Mara, who was busy with her own work, frowned before glancing up.

"What?"

Gray tapped the folder lightly against the table before showing a playful smile, "What do you think about opening a third location?"

Mara paused at that question. The question wasn’t entirely unexpected since she already heard Gray talking about it. In fact, she was actually waiting for him to ask that question.

"So are you seriously considering it or is this just like a passing thought?" she rose her brow and looked at him seriously.

"I’m serious..."

"Hmmm..." Mara nodded slowly at that. "Oh well, in my very good opinion, Sir Gray, I think we’re approaching the point where it becomes feasible."

"Really?" Gray’s eyes lit up at that. "Do you really think it’s time."

"Yeah. I think we’re financially capable of doing it now." Mara folded her hands neatly on top of her desk.

Gray couldn’t help but smile slightly at that. When Mara noticed the thoughtful look on his face, she couldn’t help but wonder. "Do you already have a location in mind?"

Gray sighed at it before shaking his head. "Not really."

There were already a few cities floating around in his head, but he really didn’t have a specific location mapped out.

Mara looked at him suspiciously but Gray simply smiled while closing the report folder.

Just as he was about to respond, a familiar mechanical sound suddenly echoed inside his head.

[Ding!]

Gray’s smile immediately froze.

"..."

"What’s wrong?" Mara noticed the change in his expression.

"Nothing."

[New Mission Generated!]

[Mission: Establish the Foundation of your Third Store]

[Description: Your business has successfully expanded beyond its original location. It is now time to take the next step toward having your 3rd branch.]

[Objective: Find and secure a suitable location for the company’s third branch.]

[Mission Completion Reward: $500,000 to help with securing the location.]

"..." Gray stared blankly at the floating blue screen in front of him. Then, very slowly, the corners of his mouth began rising.

’A third branch...’

The system had given him missions before. Every single time it did, it usually meant one thing. The timing was already right.

If the system was willing to issue a mission for it, then even it believed that the company had reached the stage where expansion was possible.

Gray felt a small wave of excitement rise inside him. More than half a year ago, opening a second branch had felt like a gamble to him. And now they were already discussing a third.

The more Gray thought about it, the more excited he became.

He was already thinking that this third store would be the biggest out there. He found it just right, especially with the success of his 2 other stores.

With all the offers he got from the party, he knew that he could count on more people this time. Others would surely jump unto it, once he said that he will open investments for the third store.

His plan was simple. Make this third store a landmark in its location.

"So—"Before Mara could ask a question, Gray suddenly pushed his chair back and stood up.

"Alright." Gray looked at her.

"What?" Mara stared at him in confusion, "Come on where?"

"We have something to do." Gray was already fixing his things when he said that and his words only made Mara completely confused.

"What is happening to you?"

"Nothing." Gray simply chuckled.

"You’re smiling like a lunatic, you know."

"Come on." Gray laughed before walking toward the door.

Mara narrowed her eyes and shook his head. "No."

Gray stopped at it. The two stared at each other for several seconds before Gray eventually let out a sigh.

"Can you just trust me."

"Why are you asking me to come anyway?"

Gray chuckled before a playful grin slowly appeared on his face.

"Because..."

"Because what?"

Gray pointed toward her.

"Because we’re going to find a suitable location for the third store."

"..."