"Yeah, what the hell really is that?"
The smile on Peter's face immediately dropped as soon as he parked his car in front of Sunshine Market.
There's no sunshine at the place at all.
The building looked even more tired than him. The paint on the outside was starting to fade and the sign above the entrance was already crooked and faded. Even from the outside, you can see from the glass walls that the shelves were full and the cash registers were dead.
Peter rubbed his eyes and looked again. "Sunshine Market? Really?" he muttered. "This should be a graveyard market or whatsover," he made a face.
He went here straight from the drive. He was thinking of checking out the place to see how good it was, but it was actually the opposite.
"But it's perfect, isn't it?" Suddenly, a smile appeared on his face. He wanted to laugh out loud, but he would look like a weirdo.
"With this, it's easier to lose money! I don't even have to try! Bwahaha." Okay, forget it. He couldn't stop laughing at all.
The excitement filled every fiber of his being. Now that he realized that, this place wasn't that bad at all.
Peter parked his black sports car in the small parking lot of the store. He grabbed his wallet and phone and walked towards the entrance of the place. The door automatically opened as soon as he got near.
Despite the rustic and old look outside, the inside of the store was surprisingly clean and even smelled nice.
Peter's eyes swept across the space. "I can already tell that no one's been here for the past couple of hours," he thought.
Just then, a couple of staff members noticed him. Their tired expressions immediately changed into cheerful smiles.
"Welcome to Sunshine Market, sir!" one of them said cheerfully, bowing slightly.
Peter's lips twitched into an unsure smile. Inside his head, a thought bubbled up, 'Why do these people have such cheerful personalities?' It somehow made him uneasy.
Peter just smiled awkwardly at them. Then, he cleared his throat.
"Uh… where's your manager?"
The staff exchanged glances quickly. They hesitated for a second, but then they quickly regained their polite and cheerful demeanor.
"Of course, sir! Please wait just a moment, I'll call the manager right away," one of them said, bowing slightly.
Peter's lips pressed into a thin line, and he just nodded.
A few minutes later, the office door at the back swung open, and a young man appeared. Peter was surprised to see that the manager of the store looked barely older than a fresh graduate.
The man was wearing neat clothes. You could immediately tell that he was serious about his job, unlike Peter, who was just wearing his joggers and a t-shirt right now.
"Ohohoh, sir! You're the new director, aren't you?" The young man immediately recognized Peter from a distance. A huge smile immediately appeared on his face. "It's nice to meet you, sir."
"You… you know me?" Peter asked as he pointed at himself.
"Of course, sir!" the young man said, nodding eagerly. "We were already informed of your arrival! They even sent us a picture of you!"
"What picture?" Peter froze for a moment.
"Oh, your picture in your office, sir," the young man replied cheerfully again.
Peter's eyes narrowed as he looked at him. "Tell me honestly, do I… look good on it?" he asked the question with so much seriousness in his tone.
"H-Huh? The young manager blinked.
Peter raised a brow.
"U-Uh… yes, sir?" He stuttered. He was confused whether the question was serious or not.
He initially thought that their new director will be serious, cold, and domineering. He looked so clean and formal in that picture, but right now… he was having second thoughts about it.
"Hmm…" Peter stared at him for a long moment… then he suddenly broke into a big smile. He quickly tapped the young man lightly on the shoulder.
"Okay, okay, good. I knew it. You're an honest one!" A big smile appeared on his face right away. "Hahaha, come, come, show me your office."
The young manager's face brightened instantly. Good thing he answered that way.
Peter followed the young manager through the store. He was trying to hide his amusement.
"So there's only a handful of staff here, huh?" he muttered under his breath.
The manager glanced back nervously.
"Yes, sir. We usually only have 6 to 7 staff members per shift. We have been getting fewer customers lately, so we're thinking of reducing more."
"Hmmm…" Peter nodded slowly at that, taking it all in.
Each staff member they passed immediately straightened up and smiled at the two of them.
'6 or 7 people to run this whole store… this is going to be easy…' Peter thought with a sly grin.
Peter just followed the manager into the back of the store. They went through a door that says "staff only." When they arrived inside the manager's small office, Peter couldn't help but ask the question he had been meaning to ask since earlier.
"So… how are our sales so far?" Peter asked casually, tilting his head.
The young manager's smile faltered slightly. He swallowed and glanced at a small notebook on his desk.
"Uh… honestly, sir… we've been losing money every month. It's really bad. At this rate… we could be bankrupt and closed in six months. That's why we really need your help."
Peter's face softened as he listened at that. He nodded and even frowned. "Oh… I see. That's… rough. I can understand how stressful that must be for you guys."
Inside, however, Peter was practically doing a little victory dance.
'Yes… this is perfect! Losing money every month? This is exactly what I want!'
"How much are you losing?"
"Easily thousands of dollars, Sir."
"Really? That's so bad. It's fine… don't worry. I'm here now. I'll make sure this store… becomes successful!"
'Hehehe, I, can already feel the money going to me.'
"Yes, sir! With you here, I'm sure we can turn things around!" The manager's eyes lit up with hope, nodding eagerly.
Peter just kept smiling, but in his mind, he was already imagining all the ways he could "help" the store fail spectacularly while everyone thought he was a hero.
"Of course, of course." This was going to be fun.