Well, that was what Roy thought.
Because on his 2nd day at the store, something strange happened.
Roy was standing in front of the small office they had given him. He crossed his arms as he stared through the one-way glass wall that was separating the two areas. He was expecting to see the same dead and lifeless store from yesterday.
But his eyes slowly widened at the sight.
"Huh…?" Roy blinked in confusion.
Suddenly, there were customers around. There were not a lot, maybe around 10. But with their 0 customers yesterday, this was already shocking enough.
On top of that, every employee suddenly looked like they had just received some magical energy. The place that once felt gloomy was now filled with energetic smiles.
Roy pressed his hand to the glass wall.
"What is this?" he muttered slowly, unable to believe what his eyes were seeing.
He watched as one mother laughed happily at a joke an employee made. Another customer thanked a stocker who bowed politely and even offered her a basket.
The entire store suddenly looked almost alive.
Roy's mouth dropped open a little.
"Why are there people? Why are my employees working like this?" He felt a chill run down his spine.
This was not part of his plan! Not at all.
Roy stepped out of the office, staring at the scene with complete shock on his face.
"Did… did my double salary move actually motivate them?" he whispered to himself.
While he was talking to himself, Martin suddenly spotted him. The man hurried over to greet Roy with a bright smile on his face.
"Good morning, sir! We have already served 12 customers since opening!"
Roy's face twitched when he heard that.
"And everyone is very motivated!" Martin continued proudly. "Thank you again for the salary increase! The team feels so happy. I think this is the first time in months that the store has had this many customers!"
Roy stared at him.
Customers?
Happy employees?
A store that looked… slightly alive?
Roy felt his eye twitch when he realized what he had done.
"Really?" Roy asked in a low voice.
"Yes, sir! Everyone is so energized!" Martin beamed, clearly proud of the sudden miracle happening in the store.
But Roy didn't return the smile. Instead, he just stood there frozen.
Damn… I was too careless! he muttered to himself internally. Why are they reacting like this? Who gets motivated by double salary? They should leave and find a better job! Not— not this!
And it was also too late already to retrieve his announcement. He couldn't suddenly walk out and say, "Oops, just kidding, no more double pay!" That would be the end of him.
Martin was still talking excitedly about sales numbers and customer compliments, but Roy barely heard anything.
Now what? I need the customers to be gone! I need the store to go back to being the sad, empty desert it was yesterday!
Roy swallowed hard at that.
"So…" Roy said slowly, forcing out the words while trying to hide the panic rising in his chest. "This… increase… really made everyone that happy?"
Martin nodded so eagerly it looked like his head might fall off.
"Absolutely, sir! The employees' morale has never been better!"
Shit. I need to stop this. I need the customers to leave. I need them to never come back. How do I…?
Roy pinched the bridge of his nose, staring at the lively store in horror.
"I… see," that was all that he could reply. He smiled and tapped the man on his back. "You can go back to work now, Martin."
"Yes, sir! I'll update you again later!" Martin said cheerfully before hurrying off to go back to the store. He was practically skipping in excitement as he rejoined the staff in serving the customers.
On the other hand, Roy just stood there, watching him go with a blank expression. He couldn't even smile.
When Martin disappeared behind a shelf, Roy let out the longest sigh of his life.
"Great. Just great…"
If this continued, he feared that customers would keep coming and sales would go up.
That wasn't what he wanted. And so, there was only one thing on his mind. That was he needed to do something.
He needed the customers gone within the next few days. The store had to be empty again so that all he needed to do was spend money and make the store collapse entirely.
His eye narrowed as a spark of an idea flickered in his mind.
"Ha!" Roy suddenly straightened, his fist clenching dramatically. "I have another idea!" he muttered out loud.
If cheerful employees made the customers feel welcome… then he just needed to balance it out!
"That's right! I'll hire people who look the complete opposite," he muttered with growing excitement. "Yes… yes! That's it!"
With that thought, a small smile finally appeared on his lips. This time, it was a genuine smile from a man who was happy.
"Hiring people with huge bodies and intimidating faces will definitely intimidate everyone. With that, customers won't dare step inside!" Roy let out a short and triumphant laugh, thinking that he had already won.
"Yes! That's right. I'll look for big, scary, and tattooed thugs! That'll put everyone off." Roy laughed again, louder this time. It was as if he had solved the only problem he was experiencing in his mind.
This was a stupid plan for others.
But in Roy's mind?
It was utterly genius.