MasukShare
Chapter Sixty-Eight: The Crossroads
Terakhir Diperbarui:
2025-07-21 08:00:53Sunday morning arrived over BuyMore like it always did—muted and slow, the kind of morning where even the automatic doors yawned open instead of swishing. The store had only been open for twenty minutes, but the fluorescent lights already buzzed louder than the customers.
Eli stood at register three, scanning items without much thought, barely noticing the barcode beeps. He was here—but his mind was not.It was with Callie.Specifically, with her half-lowered gaze the night before when she told him:“I just don’t like feeling like I’m missing something.”He could still hear her voice. Not angry. Not accusing. Just... disappointed.And somehow, that was worse.He finished scanning a customer’s discounted rice cooker, bagged it mechanically, and thanked them with a forced smile.As they walked away, he leaned against the counter and exhaled slowly.He couldn’t keep doing this.Marcus caught up with hi
Bab terbaru
The Secret Billionaire in Aisle 9 Chapter Seventy-Five: The Penthouse Meeting
Marcus had never been inside a penthouse before, let alone one that overlooked the glittering skyline of downtown Los Angeles. He stood by the enormous floor-to-ceiling windows, momentarily forgetting to breathe as he took in the view—the kind of cinematic sprawl that belonged in movies, not real life.“Is that the Griffith Observatory?” he asked aloud, squinting.“Yup,” Brenda answered from the doorway, still halfway stunned herself. “And that’s the Hollywood sign. And I think I saw three Teslas parked in the garage downstairs.”“Three?” Marcus turned. “Eli, you’re living like Bruce Wayne!”Elijah Dane Whitaker—currently dressed not as a cashier but in a sharply tailored gray sweater and dark trousers—chuckled as he closed the double doors behind them. “I don’t wear capes. Or live in a cave. But I’ll take the compliment.”Brenda blinked around the living room again. “This place is massive. You said you had a ‘place uptown.’ You didn’t me
The Secret Billionaire in Aisle 9 Chapter Seventy-Four: The Countermove
Elijah Dane Whitaker sat alone in his apartment, the faint glow of his laptop screen illuminating the tired lines under his eyes. His inbox was quiet, save for the one message he couldn’t ignore. Subject: Immediate Staff Optimization Plan – Implementation in 5 Days The board’s tone was as clinical as ever. Efficient. Cold. He had known it was coming. The whispers in New York hadn’t exactly been subtle. But now it was real—documented, formal, and only five days away from becoming a reality. Layoffs. And not just in any branch. Pasadena BuyMore was on the list. His list. The store he stocked shelves in. The store where Callie walked with purpose and conviction, where Marcus ran the register with infectious energy, where Brenda rolled her eyes at everyone but somehow kept the place running smoother than anyone gave her credit for. The store he had fallen in love with.
The Secret Billionaire in Aisle 9 Chapter Seventy-Three: The Confrontation
Callie didn’t like mysteries. Especially not ones that unfolded in broad daylight, inside her own store, in plain view of people who acted like they had nothing to hide. She stood behind the counter near the electronics section, a clipboard in one hand and an untouched protein bar in the other. Her eyes, however, weren’t on inventory discrepancies or product placement issues. They were fixed on one person: Eli. Or more accurately—the absence of Eli. Again. It was the third time this week that he’d clocked in late without notifying her. Yesterday, he’d disappeared mid-shift for over an hour with a vague excuse about “errands.” The week before, he’d taken a sudden sick day, conveniently coinciding with what Callie now suspected was something far more strategic than a stomach bug. It wasn’t just that he was unreliable. Eli had never been particularly punctual to begin with. But lately, it wasn’t j
The Secret Billionaire in Aisle 9 Chapter Seventy-Two: The Fight for BuyMore
Elijah locked the breakroom door behind him, the soft click of the latch echoing in the otherwise silent space. It was well past midnight. The rest of the store had long gone dark, except for a dim glow from his laptop screen and the flickering fluorescent bulb above the microwave that buzzed like it resented being left on.He had exactly sixty-eight hours left.Sixty-eight hours to save the Pasadena BuyMore.He rolled his sleeves up and stared at the open spreadsheet in front of him—columns of revenue reports, staff hours, and department performance. To a stranger, it might have looked like a pile of data, but to him, every cell represented a person. A story. A heartbeat in a store that the board had already deemed expendable.Not on my watch.He cracked his knuckles, leaned back, and thought.The next morning, Elijah was the first one in. He didn’t go to the register or take a restocking cart. Instead, he sat in the store’s bac
The Secret Billionaire in Aisle 9 Chapter Seventy-One: The Cost of Secrets
The call came just past six in the morning, jolting Elijah Dane Whitaker out of half-sleep with its shrill tone and urgent vibration on the bedside table. He didn’t recognize the number, but he knew the rhythm. Corporate. Emergency. Non-negotiable. He answered before the second ring ended. “This is Whitaker.” “Mr. Whitaker, the board is convening an emergency meeting in New York. In person. We need you here within the day.” He sat up, rubbing sleep from his eyes. “What happened?” “It’s about the fourth-quarter projections. And the BuyMore 4.0 consolidation strategy. Legal wants your input before the announcements are made.” His jaw clenched. “Which locations?” “The cuts aren’t final, but... several low-to-mid performing stores are under review. One of them is the Pasadena branch.” Silence. The Pasadena branch. His store.
The Secret Billionaire in Aisle 9 Chapter Seventy: Words Unsaid
The following day at BuyMore felt deceptively ordinary.It had the usual rhythm—ringing registers, buzzing intercoms, the occasional confused customer in search of alkaline batteries or a power drill. But for Callie, every beep and footstep came wrapped in tension.Because she wasn’t just managing a shift anymore.She was managing a mystery.And the next piece of that puzzle, she was sure of it now, was named Marcus Bennett.She watched him from the end of aisle five as he helped an elderly couple compare Bluetooth headphones. He laughed easily, nodded thoughtfully, and offered suggestions like someone who had definitely done this job before.Too easily.Callie hadn’t overlooked how Marcus had danced around their last conversation. How he’d gone suspiciously neutral the moment Eli’s name came up. There had been a flicker of something in his eyes. Guilt? Hesitation? It wasn’t just her imagination anymore.He knew something
Anda juga akan menyukai
Trading My Ex for His Uncle
Hello Spring475.5K DibacaThe Three Little Guardian Angels
Ginger Bud3.2M DibacaLet Me Go, Mr. Hill!
Shallow South6.5M DibacaSatisfying Her Darkest Fantasies
Shile908.4K DibacaSurrendered Desires
Jovik156 DibacaThe Billionaire Broken Bride—Married To My Enemy.
Daisy 318 DibacaThe Runaway Heiress:Seven Days of Sin
Aleatha Romig4.0K DibacaLove Affairs with my Stepbrothers
Faithuba207 Dibaca
