Greg Hawthorne stepped into the consultation room, adjusting his glasses as he glanced between Ethan and Emily. He gave a polite nod. "I'm Greg, the owner and manager. Emily mentioned you wanted to speak with me directly."
Greg sat down across from Ethan, folding his hands together. He was in his late forties, with strands of grey threading through his black hair, and a subtle weariness behind his eyes that no sleep could fix.
"So…" Greg began cautiously, "If it's about the house, I assure you we'll do our best to make things smooth."
Ethan didn't respond right away.
He leaned back in his chair, his gaze sweeping across the office—the cheap air conditioner that coughed more than cooled, the old ledger stacked on a shelf, the cracked leather on Greg's office chair. It was clear this business had seen better days.
"You and your employees," Ethan said calmly, "you're doing your best. But let's not pretend things are going well."
Greg's polite expression stiffened. "Pardon?"
"This company…" Ethan said slowly, "hasn't been doing well, has it?"
"The wear and tear. The silence in the lobby. The lack of brochures. The fact that no one else walked in today but me." Ethan glanced toward Emily, who visibly tensed. "You're barely holding on."
Greg tensed slightly. Emily's smile was thinner now.
Greg folded his arms. "Why does that matter to you?"
Ethan tilted his head, smiling faintly. "Before I tell you why, I just want to confirm, do you own the whole business?"
Greg paused. Emily's brows lifted. She looked at Greg,
After a moment, Greg sighed.
"Yes," he said. "This company, Maple Nest Properties, is fully ours. No investors. No banks holding equity. No board. Just me and my wife" He gestured briefly toward Emily. "We started it together, from scratch."
Ethan nodded, leaning back in his chair."I'm going to give you a good offer."
Greg's eyebrows shot up. Emily, who stood near the wall, blinked in confusion.
"A… good offer?"
"Yes," Ethan said, his voice steady. "I want to buy forty-nine percent of this company."
Silence fell like a curtain.
"I'll put in five million for that stake," Ethan said. "And an additional three million as an investment into your operations. That's eight million dollars. You'll remain in control.You'll run everything. But I'll be your sole investor. I won't interfere with your day-to-day operations unless something involves me directly."
Both of them froze.
Greg looked at him like he had just dropped a nuclear bomb on the desk. Emily's mouth parted slightly in disbelief.
"That's…" Greg began, his mouth dry, "that's a serious amount of money."
"I know
Greg was stunned. "Why would a young man like you want to invest in a struggling company like ours? We've failed hard, Mr. Ethan. We've taken out loan after loan, and nothing worked."
"Our cashflow's been terrible," Emily added. "Some months, we didn't even cover salaries. There's nothing special about us. You shouldn't invest in us, sir."
" I know what i'm doing, you just answer me, do you want it or not?" Ethan said.
They stared at him, bewildered.
"Give us a minute," Greg said.
Ethan nodded. He stood up, stepping aside as the couple walked out to the hallway.
Outside the room, Greg and Emily spoke in hushed, intense tones.
"He's insane."
"It doesn't make sense. Eight million? For this?" Greg hissed.
"But why us?" Emily spoke.
"I don't know," Greg whispered. "But when an opportunity like this comes to your doorstep, you don't slam the door shut.That kind of money… we could pay off the loans. Rebuild. Maybe even move to a better location."
" But we know nothing about him." Emily said.
" This offer is too generous for us Emily, I understand your concern, he gave us the full authority to run our company, with this much money, we can achieve our dream."
For a full minute, murmurs passed between them. Confused. Worried. Hopeful. And deeply cautious.
When they returned, their expressions were more composed, but the disbelief still lingered in their eyes.
Emily sat down first. "We just have one question."
Greg followed. "Why us?"
Ethan paused. He looked at both of them, calm and unreadable. Then he simply said, "That's a secret."
Emily's brow furrowed. Greg sighed. "You understand this offer is incredibly generous. You may never see a return."
"That's fine," Ethan said. "I know what I'm doing."
They exchanged one final glance. Then nodded.
"We accept."
The next few minutes were a blur: documents were signed. Ethan paid the entire amount with his card.
When the paperwork was done, Greg looked dazed, like someone had just handed him a winning lottery ticket he didn't apply for. All their worries were gone when they saw their account.
"Now," Ethan said, standing up. "Call your employees. All of them."
Emily nodded and hurried to gather the staff.
In less than five minutes, the three employees, two women and one man who drove Ethan to the house. They sat in the small meeting room, glancing at each other in confusion. They hadn't seen their bosses this serious in a long time.
Greg stood in front of them, chest tight.
"We… have something important to announce," he said. "Mr. Ethan here is now a 49% partner in our company. He has also invested an additional three million into the business."
The three employees went wide-eyed. One of the women nearly dropped her pen.
Emily continued, voice shaking slightly, "This means we're rebuilding. Restarting. Everything changes from today."
Marco raised his hand nervously. "Wait… that young guy invested eight million in us?"
Greg nodded. "Yes."
Ethan stepped forward now. His presence was calm—but the air changed the moment he spoke.
"Sit. All of you."
They obeyed without hesitation.
"I'm going to be honest," Ethan said. "This company has potential—but only if you don't waste the chance I just gave you."
They nodded quickly.
"Tomorrow, you're going to run a lottery campaign. A hundred tickets. Make posters, online posts, anything. Get people talking."
The three looked confused. "A lottery… for what?"
Ethan explained, "There will be three prizes. Third place gets 5% off a property. Second place gets 10% off. First place wins the house I bought today."
Another round of stunned silence.
"But sir that is your house" Greg said, confused.
"Let me finish," Ethan said. "You'll give me the number one ticket. I will win the house."
"…Huh?"
Greg raised an eyebrow. "So you're giving away a house… to yourself?"
Now they were truly confused.
"Why rig it?" one whispered.
"It's about marketing," Ethan replied. "People will talk. News will spread. Social media, word of mouth—'This agency gave away a house!' It doesn't matter that I win it. What matters is that everyone else believes they had a chance."
Emily's eyes widened as she realized. "That will bring people in… lots of them."
"Exactly."
Ethan's tone sharpened.
"Don't waste the money I gave you. Upgrade this office. Hire new people. Bring in customers. If you make profit—don't send me my share. Reinvest it.Keep growing. I'll tell you when I need something."
They all nodded, overwhelmed.
"And one more thing," Ethan said, his voice cold now. "If you disappoint me—I won't forgive you."
Everyone straightened up instantly. The employees all swallowed hard.
But something had shifted in their eyes.
Determination.
Respect.
"Yes, sir!"
"Understood!"
"We won't let you down!"
Ethan gave them a small smile.
"Good. Then let's build something great."
Ding!!
New Skill: Perfect Investment sense(passive)
A/n— This book is new; I don't know if you all like it or not. But I hope you take it easy on me and give some reviews and stones, which will help the book. Thank you for reading.