The next morning, Gray arrived at his office a little earlier than usual. The sky was still a little dim when he arrived. He couldn’t sleep well yesterday, so he might as well just come to his office so he could be more productive.

Inside the office, Gray leaned back on his chair. He was alone. He sighed as his fingers tapped lightly against the desk. In there was a freshly brewed coffee he bought just beside his office’s building.

’I still couldn’t believe that the two are brothers,’ he thought as he shook his head.

Gray let out a sigh at that. However, even if he thinks of it, there is no point in dwelling on it now.

So instead, he reached for the documents stacked neatly at the side of his desk and pulled them closer to him. His eyes scanned the number of folders he had to go through. Just by looking at it, he knew he had to focus.

Without a choice, he buried himself in work for the next few hours. He could only rely on his pen as he signed paper after paper. He was just reading, but it was enough to keep his mind occupied

Time passed quietly until a soft knock echoed from the door.

"Come in," Gray said without looking up. He already knew who it would be, since there was only one person who would come to the office this early with him.

The door opened, and as expected, it was Mara who stepped inside. The moment she saw him already seated behind the desk, her brows lifted in surprise.

"Y-You’re already here?" she asked before closing the door behind her. There was a hint of surprise in her voice.

"Yeah." Gray sighed as he answered that.

Mara tilted her head slightly as she walked closer to him. When she saw the folders on his table, she grew more surprised.

"Don’t tell me you’ve been here since earlier...?"

Gray shrugged his shoulders, "What do you think?" he raised a brow.

"Damn..."

"I couldn’t sleep much," he let out a deep breath. "So I just came here instead."

Mara stared at him for a second as if asking if he was serious. When she saw that he was really serious, she couldn’t stop herself. She let out a short chuckle.

"Wow," she said, shaking her head lightly. "How hardworking is my boss?" A small laugh escaped her after that.

Gray couldn’t help but chuckle, too. "Good. You should know how hardworking I am," he replied.

Mara moved to the side and leaned lightly against her desk.

"So," she said, "what time is he arriving?" she asked out of curiosity.

Gray glanced briefly at the clock on the wall to check the time. They had agreed to meet by 10 am and it was still just a little over 8 in the morning.

"He’s probably on the way," he answered. "We agreed to meet at 10."

"Alright," Mara nodded before crossing her arms. "I guess I should work first, then, so I can match my hardworking boss." She wiggled her brows jokingly, which made the two of them laugh.

Mara smiled faintly as she settled in.

"Let’s see if I can keep up," she muttered under her breath.

Gray didn’t reply anymore. He had already returned his gaze back to the documents in front of him.

The light mood of the two of them made working easier.

With that, the office became quiet again. Only the sound of papers being flipped, pens moving across pages, and the occasional keyboard tapping filled the space.

Minutes passed, then an hour.

Neither of them spoke much, but the atmosphere was still nice. Eventually, Gray’s eyes gazed toward the clock.

It was already 9:52 AM.

He placed his pen down for a moment before stretching his fingers slightly.

"He should be here soon," he muttered.

Mara hummed in response to him without looking up.

"Mm. Hopefully, he didn’t back out after last night," she said jokingly.

"Don’t worry," Gray shook his head slightly. "He won’t. He still needs the payment."

They chuckled lightly at that.

A few more minutes passed before they heard what they were looking for since earlier.

*Knock *Knock.

Both of them paused at the same time at that.

Gray’s gaze lifted toward the door, while Mara also straightened slightly in her seat.

"Come in," Gray said.

The door slowly opened, and the man from last night stepped inside.

The moment he entered, his posture was noticeably different from before. He looked more relaxed now, but je still looked awkward.

"G-Good morning, Sir... Ma’am," the man greeted in a shy tone.

"Good morning," Gray replied, gesturing toward the chair in front of his desk. "Have a seat. We’ve been looking for you since earlier."

The man nodded quickly and walked forward. He carefully pulled the chair in front of the table and sat down. He placed his hands on his lap as if unsure what to do next.

He had went to this office 2 times before, before they proceeded with the plan, but he still can’t get used to it.

Gray leaned back slightly as a small friendly smile appeared on his lips.

"Anyway, you did well," Gray applauded the man’s acting yesterday.

"H-Huh?" The man blinked, clearly not expecting that. "R-Really?"

"Yes," Gray nodded. "You followed everything properly and you weren’t suspected at all."

"Thank you, Sir..." The man scratched the back of his head slightly, a bit embarrassed at it.

Gray then reached for the envelope on the drawer of his desk and slid it forward.

"This is your payment," he said.

The man’s eyes widened slightly before he quickly took it.

"T-Thank you, Sir."

Gray gave a small nod at him.

"You’re free to go after this," he added.

"Yes, sir," the man nodded. Just then, he took out the bag he had been carrying since yesterday,

"By the way, Sir.. This is the money from yesterday..."

"Thank you." Gray smiled at the man.

"I-I’ll go then, sir..."