Chapter 221 - Company Uniform (1)

Sofia glanced at her phone and took notice of the time. "It's almost nine. Perhaps, the tailoring shop is already open? Let's meet the tailor."

"Yes, they are open now," Danny said in a respectful tone. The three of them stood together and the two men let Sofia walk ahead of them.

"I hope they can rush the uniforms. I have not considered it earlier. But I realized that this is part of the company's identity," Sofia spoke openly. 

"This tailor is quite capable, Miss Sofia," Danny assured her. 

As they stepped outside the establishment, Sofia made sure to lock the doors before they left.

They walked along the side of the road while observing the place. Most of the establishments in the area had a poster in front of their offices that stated that they were out of operation. 

"Aside from your group, are there other gangs that make trouble in this location?" Sofia asked.

"No other group. This is the double sigma territory," Derek replied. He noticed that Sofia was staring at one office and wondered what she was thinking.

Soon after, Sofia made a follow-up query, "This office is not closed the last time I came here. But now, their notice says they are out of operation."

"Ohh... that building... Miss Sofia, the closure of this establishment has nothing to do with us. We are no longer causing trouble since you offered us the job. I heard that the owner died of illness and no one from her family wants to continue her business," Derek replied.

Sofia nodded her head and the three continued to walk towards the next block. The place has more people staying on the corner. And when they saw Derek and Danny, most of them immediately ran away.

Sofia raised her eyebrows and stared at the retreating figures of the civilians.

Upon sensing Sofia's thoughts, Danny obliged to tell her of the situation. "In the past, we extort these people for money. Now, when they see us, they just want to run and escape."

"Oh," Sofia blinked a couple of times.

"Will this affect your business?" Danny asked. Of course, the answer would be yes! The worker's attitude would reflect the image of the company.

Sofia did not respond right away. She only looked straight ahead of them. She pursed her lips and thought of the situation.

Her silence made the two feel extremely tense. They were aware of the answer. Hence, the anxiety that they felt was very strong.

They have faced dangers and life and death situations together. But none of it made them feel so worried. Will Sofia change her mind? What if she will cancel their employment after learning their extortion.

Somehow, Danny regretted telling her about what he had done in the past. There was also part of him that blamed those people for staying on the streets. If they did not stay there, they would not be able to extort money from them. 

But, in his mind, he was also compelled to show honesty to her. Since she will be their boss, there is no point on telling their lied. Anyway, their meeting was already a bad image for their group. 

Derek secretly tugged the shirt of his brother. He also felt the same anxiety as Danny. 

Danny gave him a side glance. 'This time, it's better to keep real.'

Sofia's expression turned serious. She opened her mouth but hesitated for a few more seconds of what to say. 

"J-just don't extort money anymore. What you have done in the past must have been your means to survive. I am not the law so, I can't judge you on your past actions. But---" she paused. A gust of wind swept her hair and she raised her hand to tuck it back to her ears. 

On the other side, the two men waited for her to continue. The last word that she spoke sounde more scary than the death threats that they have dealt in the past.

Derek gulped and sheepishly smiled at Sofia. Danny also forced a small smile. They were secretly praying that this young lady would not change their mind. The members of their group were already looking forward to this job and a stable future ahead of them. If they lost their job offer, they will have no choice but to return to what they were doing in the past.

"But, once you work in the Chronos, your actions will impact our reputation. As the owner of the company, I won't show mercy to those who will ruin it. I will protect you as my employee. But, I won't forgive those who would bear malice and sabotage the company," Sofia finished.

The two almost felt the stinging of their eyes after hearing Sofia's response. At that point, not only that they decided to follow her lead, they also secretly vowed a lifetime of loyalty to her.

"We will remember your words, Ms. Sofia. Thank you for being so magnanimous!" Danny and Derek bowed their heads to her.

"We can no longer change the past actions that you have done," Sofia mumbled. Then she secretly thought, 'Unless you are like me who had a chance to transmigrate!' Along with this thought, her lips curled in a smile and she looked at the two with a smile.

"So, you have to look forward and do great things. In the future, maybe you can compensate those people that you have taken advantage of. Work hard and be a better person." Sofia added.

Derek and Danny nodded their heads too many times in a row. They suddenly felt the mix of emotions bubbled on their chest. "Miss Sofia, we will do our best! We will work hard! We will not slack off!"

"That's good to hear. Remember, if you can't control your emotions, it's better to stay silent. People around here might provoke you while working.  They might seek revenge. I will handle them personally. Stay calm and composed, I won't tolerate a bad attitude," Sofia muttered to warn them of the possibility of someone seeking trouble for them.

"We understood. We will instruct our members to stay calm all the time," Derek stated.

The three finally reached the third block and a small tailoring shop was indeed open. There was no sign of the business name but there were displays of different articles on the glass window.

"This is the place, Miss Sofia," Danny stated and pointed his index fingers to the shop. 

"Okay, I'll go inside," Sofia pushed the door open and was greeted by the old man.

"Welcome!" the old man spoke softly.

Sofia offered a customary bow and greeted the old man, "Good morning, grandpa."

"Little girl, why are you here?" the old man asked. 

Sofia did not mind how the old man addressed her. She could roughly guessed that this tailor is about 70 years old. If her guess was right, her age was indeed a little girl for him!

"Grandpa, do you have available time to make 35 uniforms for a company?" Sofia asked the old man directly.

"When do you need the uniforms? Hehe, you are lucky! We have lots of tailors on duty," the old man responded with a bright smile on his face. Even though, he had a lacking front teeth, he did not mind showing a big grin to her.

"I need it before Saturday. The design is not that big. I need a plain white polo shirt with our company logo on the left chest," Sofia replied.

"Saturday? Do you have the polo shirts or would you like me to provide you all the materials too?" the old man asked excitedly. 

The number of uniforms were not really that many but, it was already enough for him to feel lucky that morning.

"Grandpa, can you give me a discount if I buy your polo shirts for the uniform?" Sofia bargained. She did not intend to ask for a discount in consideration that the old man was actually making a living despite his age. However, their money will also run out soon if she does not negotiate the prize. They had spent almost all of their cash in hand. She needed to save some digits if there's opportunity.

"Yes, I'll give you five percent discount for thirty five pieces of polo shirts," the grandpa quickly agreed.

"Then, I thank you for this generosity, grandpa. I will surely remember this discount!" Sofia replied.

"Hehe, let me count your bill!" the grandpa responded. He then turned around and called one of his employees, "Nate!"

Sofia watched as the other man walked next to the old man. Then, the old man instantly instructed the man.

"Nate, come! This is our client. She will order 35 white polo shirts and requests us to embroider the logo of their company. Take the logo design from her. Quick!"

The man shifted his eyes and faced Sofia. "May I have your logo design ma'am?"

Sofia took her phone and showed a design of a golden brooch with an hourglass at the middle. There was also a crescent shaped beside the hourglass. It could be seen as a moon or just a letter 'C' that signifies the word Chronos.

The man stared at the screen for a while. Then, he looked at Sofia's face for a long time.

"This logo is great. Now that you show me this golden brooch design, I remember where I've seen you.. Aren't you the squad leader of the champion team during the e-sports district tournament? The Chronos squad, right?" the man suddenly beamed with a wide grin on his face.