Suddenly, I Am Rich

Mara's first day at work was better than Gray had expected.

She complained, of course, when Gray handed her a fat stack of files first thing in the morning.

"Really? You're giving me this on day one?" Mara's jaw fell to the ground as she pointed at the stack of folders on her desk.

"I just got here, Gray. What happened to easing me into the job? Orientation? Coffee?"

"You said this job is not that bad." Gray just gave her a look.

"Yeah, I said that, but it doesn't mean I'm suicidal."

But despite the complaints, she got to work. Her complaints were more of a bark than a bite. Gray also knew her well enough not to take them seriously.

Mara settled into the vacant desk they had cleared out for her near his office. With a coffee on her desk, she started flipping through the pages with focus.

She thought that since it was her first work, then might as well be good.

However, for Gray, he would occasionally hear her mutter some curses under her breath when she got stuck on something. Though still, he had to applaud her because she didn't stop moving.

By noon, she had already written up notes on three investment reports, flagged two promising leads, and ruthlessly annotated a budget draft that Gray had half-written last week.

After that, they ended up eating lunch together at the building's small cafeteria. They sat by the wide windows overlooking the inner garden.

"Look at this. I'm surprised at how fast you work." Mara pulled her new company ID from the lanyard around her neck and dangled it in front of him with a smirk.

"I figured if I didn't, you'd guilt-trip me until I gave you one."

"You're not wrong." Mara pouted her lips as she stabbed a piece of chicken with her fork.

"You know what? I'm surprised. This is better than I thought. I haven't felt this useful in months." She leaned back with a satisfied sigh.

"That's so stupid. Why would I hire you if I don't have any work to give you?" Gray looked at her and shook his head.

"Damn right." She pointed her fork at him. "But seriously. Thanks for pulling me in, Gray. It feels weird working and talking with you again. But it's a good kind of weird."

"Yeah. It does." He nodded slowly, his gaze softening.

It was really weird as he thought of it. Three days ago, and they barely spoke to each other.

But now, suddenly, Mara was his secretary?

Thinking about it, Gray couldn't help but silently chuckle.

Silence befell them afterward as they took their time finishing lunch. He would just glance at Mara from time to time.

Even if the woman didn't say it out loud, it was noticeable how she was finding everything to be good. She would look around here and there and would say words in amusement whenever she found something cool.

And after a good few minutes, they finally headed back upstairs. It was still lunchtime, so the office felt quieter now. Most of the staff were still on break or catching up on afternoon drowsiness after eating a meal.

Gray trailed slightly behind her as they walked down the hall. He had to admit it, but it was actually nice to see Mara here. It felt as if he was no longer alone in his office, which was true.

Back at their desks, Mara didn't waste time. She dropped into her chair and picked up right where she left off. She was more energetic than ever because of the food.

Gray, on the other hand, leaned back in his seat and stretched. He wasn't even pretending to work anymore.

His inbox was open. But he barely glanced at them. Mara was doing half his workload at this point, and he wasn't ashamed to admit it.

He did send her half of the proposals he hadn't read yet and also told her to reply to some of them.

And even if Mara was complaining about it, she still did it.

She groaned once or twice, maybe threw a sarcastic jab in his direction, but never really said no.

The rest of the afternoon blurred past like that. Gray checked a few documents. Answered a call. Mostly watched Mara flip through pages like her life depended on it.

By the time the clock started inching closer to the end of the workday, he spun lazily in his chair and looked over the short partition between them.

"So," Gray said, voice casual, "how was the proposal with Jet2?"

"It's handled already." Mara didn't even look up.

"Handled?" Gray blinked.

"Yep," she said, finally glancing up. She stretched her arms over her head, eyes flicking toward the wall clock.

"You have a meeting with them in two days. Friday, 2:30 PM. I replied to the proposal, clarified the deliverables, and confirmed the appointment."

"…Huh?" Gray sat upright now, eyebrows raised. He didn't even see her making a call.

"I know right," Mara just smirked and tilted her head."

Gray leaned forward slightly now, the lazy haze from earlier fading off his face. His eyes narrowed, not in suspicion, but in curiosity.

"That fast?"

Mara finally looked at him fully. She smiled and nodded.

"Don't worry," she said, her voice lighter again, "I got you."

Before he could respond, Mara turned her laptop screen toward him.

"Look."

Gray pushed off his chair and leaned across to see.

On Mara's laptop screen was a presentation that was still half-done, but clean.

Jet2 Proposal Meeting

Below that, slides on logistics, delivery window options, projected margins, and even a visual roadmap with potential launch cities and phased rollouts.

"You made this?" Gray blinked, stunned.

"I already started it," she said with a shrug. "It's just the basic ones from the proposal. I was gonna ask you for some numbers later."

She scrolled a bit further. Each slide had clear notes in the sidebar.

"You read through the contract draft?"

"Yep."

"You checked their previous partnerships?"

"Of course," Mara scoffed.

"Out of all the proposals you dumped on me today?" She pulled her laptop back and spun it around again, returning it to herself. "This one's the only one worth your time. The others are trash. They're either too vague or trying to milk you with shady clauses."

Gray leaned back in his chair, brows lifted.

"I didn't even see half of them yet."

"Exactly," Mara grinned. "You don't need to see them anymore because you have me."