บททั้งหมดของ The Secret Billionaire in Aisle 9 : บทที่ 81 - บทที่ 90

The quiet inside Elijah Dane Whitaker’s penthouse was far more oppressive than any sound.After yesterday’s confession to Callie, he hadn’t returned home immediately. He’d wandered. Drove aimlessly. Parked outside a twenty-four-hour diner and sat in silence for hours, watching people move through the night with purpose—servers, customers, delivery drivers. All of them living their lives without unraveling their own hearts.He hadn’t slept.Not really.Now, the morning sun cut sharp and unforgiving through the tall windows of his apartment, casting long beams across marble floors and untouched furniture. The skyline beyond the glass stretched endless and impersonal, a city too big to care.Elijah, still dressed in yesterday’s button-up and dark jeans, sat slouched on his sleek leather sofa, elbows on knees, staring at the blank TV screen in front of him.There was no distraction big enough.Callie’s face was seared into h

The elevator ride up to the 49th floor of the BuyMore headquarters was painfully slow.Elijah Dane Whitaker stood in silence, flanked by floor-to-ceiling glass and mirrored walls that reflected a version of himself he was barely holding together. His custom-cut charcoal suit felt stiffer than usual, and the stack of reports in his hands weighed heavier than the numbers printed on them.He didn’t glance at his reflection.He didn’t need to.He already knew what he’d see: a man who looked calm, professional, and ready. But underneath the tailored layers, Eli was a storm.Because this meeting wasn’t just about business.It was about people.His people.And the store he’d come to care about far more than he ever expected.Two days earlier, the final notice had landed on his desk.BuyMore’s internal finance team, along with their new risk advisors, had confirmed the early projections: due to sluggis

The BuyMore breakroom was louder than usual for a Thursday. Between Naomi humming a throwback pop song while decorating the whiteboard calendar and Ron from tech support bringing in donuts from the corner bakery, the usual early-morning lull had shifted into something lighter. Warmer. Almost cheerful. Brenda stirred her coffee slowly, eyes on the hallway beyond the breakroom’s open door. She hadn’t said a word in the last five minutes. Marcus, seated beside her with a donut halfway to his mouth, was the first to break the silence. “You’re staring.” Brenda didn’t flinch. “I’m observing.” “You’re sipping like a detective watching a prime suspect from behind a newspaper.” Brenda side-eyed him. “And?” Marcus smirked. “And I take it this has something to do with Callie and Eli?” Brenda finally looked at him fully, her smile just shy of triumphant. “You noticed too?”

The conference room-turned-interview-hub was thick with tension, fluorescent lights humming overhead like an electrical warning. Marcus sat in one of the plastic chairs lined up along the wall, his left foot tapping a steady rhythm that had long passed soothing and drifted toward irritating.He glanced down the hallway where Naomi had disappeared nearly an hour ago. She hadn’t said much when she came back—just gave him a thumbs-up and mouthed something that looked like “weird questions.”Now, Ron was up next. The big guy had been muttering under his breath ever since he was called in. Brenda sat two chairs away, flipping through her phone, but Marcus could tell she wasn’t really reading anything. He wasn’t either. His mind was too full.The rumors had spread like spilled detergent across the store: corporate was conducting individual staff interviews. And not for performance evaluations. Not for training modules.This was about who would stay and

The interview room had been quiet for almost twenty minutes.Callie sat in the breakroom, her foot bouncing beneath the table, clipboard clutched in her lap though she didn’t need it. Across from her, Naomi pretended to read a flyer on employee wellness pinned to the bulletin board, though her eyes kept darting toward the hallway.It was past eleven in the morning, and the second day of interviews had already seen a half-dozen employees called in. Brenda had returned an hour ago looking calm but quiet. Ron had emerged confused and muttering something about “words per minute.” Even Marcus, always steady, had needed a moment to sit alone and breathe after his session the day before.Now, it was Callie’s turn.A clipboard-wielding HR rep in a black skirt suit called her name with polite authority: “Callie Morgan?”Callie stood quickly, smoothing her BuyMore vest. “Yes.”Naomi gave her a tight smile and whispered, “You’ve got this.”