CHAPTER 169: THE PLAN

As much as Gray enjoyed the lightness of the night before, things became serious again now that Tuesday morning began.

Sunlight filtered in through the tall windows of their condo unit. Gray was standing near the kitchen counter with a mug of coffee in his hand. He took a slow sip, his eyes still a little heavy as he had just woken up.

On the other hand, Lily was at the dining table, quietly eating the breakfast that Gray cooked for them.

He had a meeting today. Fortunately, it was before lunch so he still had the time to accompany Lily to her school.

For the meeting, Eliot had asked to sit down with him to discuss their current progress, specifically, the state of the company and where they were headed next.

After the past few weeks of chaos, setbacks, and quiet rebuilding, it was finally time to think about their long-term state.

By 9 a.m., Gray and Lily were already walking through the front gate of her school.

The morning air was warm but gentle, with a few clouds scattered across the sky. A soft breeze passed through, causing the trees to rustle out loud.

It was still an hour early but students were already starting to arrive. Some arrived in small groups, while others were with their parents. Most were still chatting sleepily, with backpacks swinging over their shoulders.

Gray walked beside Lily, a hand gently resting on her back as they made their way toward her building. She wore her uniform neatly with pressed skirt, a light cardigan over her blouse, and her usual ponytail bouncing with every step.

"Why do we have to be this early, brother?" she muttered, stifling a yawn. "School starts at ten..."

"We need to talk to your adviser first," Gray replied, glancing down at her. "Don’t worry. It won’t take long."

Lily scrunched her nose but didn’t argue. She pouted her lips and just nodded.

They climbed the short staircase leading into the administrative wing. A receptionist greeted them politely, then made a quick call upstairs to let the adviser know they’d arrived.

A few minutes later, they were ushered into a small faculty room, where the same woman whom he talked to a few days ago, greeted them.

"Mr. Adams," Ms. Reyes greeted them warmly, offering a handshake. "And Lily. Look at you. How are you feeling now?"

"I’m fine, Miss," Lily replied politely, though her eyes were already wandering toward the classroom windows down the hall.

Gray offered a small smile and passed over the folder he brought. "We just wanted to check in before she officially comes back. Here’s the medical certificate from the hospital."

Ms. Reyes took it and nodded, quickly scanning through the details.

"I’m glad you came early. This is perfect, thank you. We just need it for our records."

Gray nodded and smiled.

"No problem."

The teacher sat down again and gestured for them to take a seat as well.

"She’s cleared to return, right?" Gray asked.

"Yes, of course," Ms. Reyes said, glancing toward Lily with a smile. "Honestly, we’re just happy it wasn’t anything too serious. I heard it was food-related?"

Lily nodded sheepishly.

"Yes, Miss. It was because of an Ice cream..."

Gray gave her a side glance. "From a random new shop outside the school."

"I didn’t know it would give me a stomachache," Lily said under her breath.

Ms. Reyes chuckled. "Well, I’m sure you’ll be more careful next time."

Gray nodded in agreement, then turned back to the teacher. "She’ll take it slow today, just to ease back in. But I’ll pick her up early in case she gets tired."

"That’s fine," the adviser said. "Her classmates missed her, so I’m sure she’ll feel welcomed."

They chatted briefly about assignments Lily had missed and what the class had been up to. Ms. Reyes reassured Gray that they’d help Lily catch up gradually. It wasn’t anything urgent.

After ten more minutes, the conversation wrapped up, and Ms. Reyes stood to walk them out.

"I’ll let her other teachers know she’s officially back," she said, patting Lily gently on the shoulder. "Welcome back, my dear."

"Thank you, Miss," Lily said with a small smile.

Once they were back outside the faculty room, Gray glanced at the time. It was still only a quarter past nine.

"Are you going to be okay from here, Lily?" he asked, bending slightly to meet her eyes.

"Yes, brother. I’m okay," Lily replied before smiling even wider. "Thank you for coming with me."

He gave her a small grin and straightened up.

"Of course, my dear. Just don’t eat anything weird again, okay?"

She stuck her tongue out. "No promises."

Gray let out a short laugh and ruffled her hair gently.

"Goodbye. I’ll see you home later."

"Byeee!"

Gray turned around after and made his way back outside.

After being done with his brotherly responsibilities, it was time for him to be a responsible boss.

- - -

By the time Gray reached the office building, it was just a few minutes before ten.

He’d taken a cab straight from Lily’s school. He figured it was faster and more convenient than waiting around for Daniel, who was still away.

Gray leaned back slightly in the cab seat, glancing out the window as the driver pulled into the front entrance of their office building.

He stepped out of the cab, thanked the driver, and adjusted the collar of his button-down shirt. Just as he turned to head toward the main doors, he spotted a familiar figure walking up the other side of the pavement.

It was Eliot.

The man was in his usual formal outfit. He was wearing his dark slacks that was pressed neatly, and his blazer draped cleanly over his frame. He was holding a takeaway coffee cup in one hand and a slim brown folder tucked under the other.

When Eliot noticed Gray, he lifted his coffee slightly in greeting.

"Right on time," he called.

Gray met him halfway, a small grin tugging at the corner of his lips.

"So are you."

They exchanged a quick handshake as they both stepped into the building.

"I heard about what happened to your sister. Is she fine now?" Eliot asked, pressing the elevator button. He was talking to Conrad and Selina a day ago so he was well informed when it comes to these things.

He wasn’t just a normal worker under the Everett family. He was also a trusted aid.

"Yeah," Gray replied with a quiet nod. "She’s officially back in class. I figured I’d swing straight here after."

"Good. I’m glad to hear she’s doing better," Eliot said, glancing over. "And glad you’re here early. It’ll give us more room to talk before the others start piling in."

The elevator dinged open, and they stepped inside.

The ride up to Gray’s office was brief.

Once they entered the floor, he led the way toward his office room at the far end. The lights were already on, and there was a fresh pitcher of water and two glasses waiting at the center of the table.

Gray shrugged off his outer coat and settled into his swivel chair, while Eliot opened the folder and began arranging the notes he brought.

"We’ll keep this simple," Eliot began, pulling out a spreadsheet printout. "I just want to go over the current projections, then talk about next steps."

Gray nodded, leaning slightly forward. "Alright."

Eliot slid one of the pages toward him.

"First, your grocery branch. I’m not gonna sugarcoat it. You were struggling at the start. The numbers may be good but there were a lot of staff complaints... it wasn’t pretty."

"I know," Gray said. "That’s what we’ve been working on."

"Exactly. And now, after everything you’ve implemented the past few weeks, and with Joel’s leadership, the sales events, the customer service retraining, it’s finally turning around."

Gray’s brow lifted slightly.

"This here," Eliot said, tapping one of the printed lines, "is your store’s traffic from last week. And this—" he tapped another line, noticeably higher "—is from just the last two days. You can see the spike for yourself."

Gray took a closer look. The growth was there. It was clearly undeniable.

"We’re not just talking about surviving anymore," Eliot said. "We’re seeing momentum."

Gray let out a breath.

"That’s good to hear."

"Better than good," Eliot said with a short smile. "But we can’t be too chill about it."

"I wasn’t planning to," Gray replied.

Eliot nodded, satisfied.

"Good. So here’s what I’m thinking. Right now, you’ve already got a system in place with regular sales, steady foot traffic, smart staff coordination. But we need to strengthen customer retention and publicity long-term."

Gray leaned in, his attention got piqued.

"Promotions?"

"Exactly. More refined ones. Theme-based events. Limited-time bundles. Referral perks. Things that build a habit for your regulars and attract newcomers who might’ve heard about you online or by their friends."

Gray took that in silently.

"And with that," Eliot continued, "we’re going to invest in minor local advertising. Nothing big. Just targeted flyers, community-based posts, maybe partnerships with nearby businesses. The kind that makes your brand feel familiar to the people."

Gray nodded slowly, processing everything.

"We need to scale it but surely. I’d rather have you grow slow and strong than go viral once and collapse the next week."

Gray couldn’t help but smile faintly at what Eliot said.

"That’s the plan, then," he said.

"It is," Eliot replied. "And we’re backing it. You’ve shown us progress. Now it’s our turn to make sure you have what you need to push further."