Chapter 8- Cash Cycle, Zero Chill
The weight of the week crashed into Lizzie the moment she got home.
Exhausted and drained, she craved nothing more than a warm bath to soak the stress away.
She warmed up the leftovers Abuela had left before heading to her aunt’s, then sat down to eat.
Lidia burst in, dressed to kill—blown-out hair, slinky blue silk dress, large hoop earrings.
Lizzie felt even more tired just looking at the effort.
“Oh, hey, Lizzie,” Lidia said, startled. “Long week, huh?”
“The longest.”
“You didn’t want to go out, did you?”
“Well, when you say it like that, how can I resist?” Lizzie teased.
Lidia suddenly looked nervous. “It’s just—I assumed you’d be tired, so I didn’t think to ask if you minded.”
“Mind what?” Lizzie said, not wanting to be rude but not wanting to chit-chat with Lidia right now.
“I’m going out with George.”
Lizzie froze, fork halfway to her mouth. “Are you mad?” Lidia asked, puppy-dog eyes wide.
Lizzie’s gaze darted to her phone. No text. “No, not mad—just surprised.” She checked again. Nothing. “Is it a date?”
“No!” Lidia said emphatically. “Just meeting a group of friends. Nothing like that.”
“Either way’s fine, Lid. Have fun. Be safe. I have a date with a tub.”
Lidia’s face flushed with relief. “Cool. I’ll text you later!” Bottle of water in hand, Lidia strode to the door.
Lizzie felt a flicker of annoyance—George taking her sister out without a word—but not enough to stir real emotion.
She shrugged, thinking about their last interaction, the awkwardness, the confusion.
She really shouldn’t be surprised. At this moment, the only thing that could break her heart was if the hot water stopped working.
The next few weeks, Lizzie’s focus shifted to accounting: It was rigid, uncreative work that involved spreadsheet after spreadsheet, and the savings were in pennies and in days-of-cash-on-hand conversations, not boombox fixes or treasure hunts.
But at Pemberley, the head of accounting was Carlota—a firecracker who called Will El Tenso and Carolina La Bruja. That alone was enough to endear her to Lizzie. Carlota and Lizzie became fast friends, and made Lizzie look forward to coming in every day, even though she was stuck in numbers jail.
Carlota was a bit older than Lizzie, but of similar backgrounds, and the first time she saw Lizzie’s protein bar lunch, she was having none of it.
“Nina!” She exclaimed. “That is not food!” From that day on, Carlota insisted on having lunch together, where they talked about the latest plot twists of Orgullo y Dolores, gossip about people they worked with, or Carlota would spend time describing some distant relation of hers who she thought would be perfect for Lizzie to date.
In the second week, Lizzie came across a situation that made her pause. At first, she thought maybe she was seeing a creative solution where there wasn’t one, due to the long days of penny-pinching. So she brought it up to Carlota for a sanity check.
“So when Pemberley imports, they pay for the goods up front, correct? Then it moves on a steamship for at least a month. Then they sell it, and customers have thirty days to pay?”
“Yeah, that’s how it works.”
“Carlota, that’s a cash cycle of sixty days minimum. That’s insane! How much is that costing Pemberley Pharmaceuticals?”
Carlota shrugged. “Yeah, it’s difficult, but what else can we do?”
“What if they flew the goods in? You could cut the cash cycle in half at least.”
“Yeah, but that costs what? Double?”
“More like three to four times more,” Lizzie confirmed. “But how much is the interest you pay on goods for an extra thirty days? The cost of warehouse space? The time to market?”
“You think you’re going to convince El Tenso to pay four times more for shipping for perceived savings?”
Lizzie was only half listening, her mind formulating a plot. “Plus, they could position the faster time to market as a value to their customers.”
“You can suggest it, but these people love their money. They’re not going to let you experiment with it.”
Lizzie knew Carlota was right, of course, but she still wanted to show them. “What if I just do it and then show them?”
“Mi amiga, I think it’s a bad idea.” Carlota’s face was serious.
“I say you forget about that. Hey, have I told you about my nephew Pepito? But first, how do you feel about hairless cats?” Lizzie laughed and listened to Carlota’s sales pitch for her nephew, but Lizzie couldn’t stop thinking about the cash cycle gamble she was concocting.
An order came up that Friday that fit the bill. It was from a regular supplier, with inventory that turned quickly—a perfect chance to show the cost benefit of spending more on shipping. She knew it was a risk, but Lizzie was convinced it would work.
“Have them ship it air,” she told the procurement team.
She was fairly confident in the decision, but she could feel a knot forming in her stomach. She’d barely heard from the executive team; what if they were suddenly on a stricter budget, or no longer as accepting of her changes? Maybe she should have asked first; she may not need a live example.
Just then, her phone dinged—a message from Lidia.
Officially gone viral ??
Attached was a video her sister had done about attending the opening of some new club; it had over a million views in just over twenty-four hours. The title: “The Risk Paid Off.”
It’s a sign, Lizzie thought. Feeling reassured and proud of her sister, she sent a celebratory emoji and packed up for the week.
The weekend was another blur. Lidia celebrated by spending more time with George, while Lizzie caught up on sleep and prepared for upcoming projects.
She wondered if she’d be able to see the benefits of her little gamble, but before she could check on Monday morning, Carlota told Lizzie she’d been summoned to Will’s office.
Worry was written all over Carlota’s face. “Amiga,” she said as they made their way upstairs. “I wish you hadn’t made that choice. I’m worried they’re not going to listen.”
Lizzie was feeling worried too, but she knew she’d been right to do this.
Carlota brought her to Will’s office, and then Lizzie’s friend left her with an anxious look.
Inside, Will stood behind his desk, a sleek, wood L-shaped piece with two monitors and minimally adorned.
Sitting across from Will were Charles and Carolina, with Carolina not even trying to hide her smug smile.
“Good morning, Lizzie,” Will said, then, as if just noticing there was no place for her to sit, added, “I’ll have a chair brought in.”
“I’d rather stand, thanks,” Lizzie said.
Will nodded and dove right in. “I received a report that you requested a shipment we would’ve moved via ocean to instead ship air freight.
You may not be aware, but the cost to move this ocean is about $4,000.
Instead, since we moved to air freight, it’s costing us over $13,000. I assume this was done in error?”
Lizzie took a deep breath, reminding herself to keep calm and explain clearly. “It was not.”
“There you see!” Carolina snapped triumphantly. “She’s basically admitting that…” Will put up a hand to silence her.
“Can you explain?”
She could try. “Charles, can you tell me what we are using to outlay the purchases, transportation costs, duties, and taxes of the international orders?”
“A line of credit,” Charles answered.
“And the terms?”
“I believe it’s six percent daily from day outlaid.”
Lizzie smiled. She wasn’t certain of the terms before, but had done her calculations with a lower rate, so the savings would be even better than she assumed.
“Will, I’m sure you know Pemberley outlays the cost up front to the suppliers.
That means we pay them on this line about thirty days, if not longer, before it even arrives in the country.
Then, once sold, the customer has thirty days to pay. ”
Will looked over to Charles to confirm. Charles nodded. “If we assume the order is a million dollars, that would mean the interest on that shipment would be almost $10,000 if you get the goods turned as soon as they arrive, and each day is about $164. Is my math right on all this, Charles?”
Charles, who was writing it all down, looked up and gave a thumbs-up. Lizzie smiled. Will put his hand to his head, surprised at the discovery. Carolina hadn’t caught on. “So? I don’t see how this justifies shipping it for three times the cost!”
Will connected the dots for her. “The shipment takes seven days versus thirty minimum. The shipment change saves us about $8,500 in interest.”
Carolina crossed her arms. “But the shipment cost nine thousand more, so it’s not offset.”
“No, but that’s just the interest savings on the credit line.
Shortening your cash cycle has other benefits as well, not to mention insurance is lower on air freight, it’s more secure, less damages—and that’s just on the standard rate.
You could negotiate for lower rates to maximize the savings,” Lizzie added.
“Will, we might even be able to renegotiate our payment terms with the suppliers and the bank. This could be a game-changer,” Charles chimed in, getting excited.
“So what? Can she just spend and make decisions without oversight? She can experiment with our money?!” Carolina was visibly getting upset now; the meeting was obviously not going as she planned.
“I checked—this little adjustment wasn’t part of her plan!
It’s not even an implication that the supply chain would be changed this way! ”
Lizzie was about to speak up to defend herself when there was a knock at the door.
Will called out for them to come in, and his secretary opened the door to let Carlota in, who was holding a paper up as if it were a pardon signed by the governor to save her friend from a terrible fate.
“Mr. Pemberley,” she said breathlessly. Lizzie wondered if she had run here.
“I just got this message from our customer J&N! They say that after receiving the alert that we can fill their order a month early, they’d like to know if this is something we will be implementing moving forward, and if so, they’d make us their preferred provider.
They’d triple their business with us, sir!
” Carlota slapped the paper in front of him.
Will’s jaw clenched again. Lizzie wanted to say told ya so, but she refrained from rubbing it in.
Will’s words didn’t sound thrilled like Lizzie expected. He said, “Lizzie, moving forward, please make sure you run deviations from your plan through me.” Lizzie nodded. And with a grumbled thank you, Carlota and she were dismissed.
Lizzie was annoyed again that when she should have received accolades and congratulations, she received a full tribunal. “That was close!” said Carlota, assuming it was her appearance that made the difference.
“What’s important is that it worked,” Lizzie said, and to herself she thought, and that I keep proving that arrogant man wrong
* * *
From the Desk of William Pemberley
Pemberley HQ — Office, 5:00 p.m
Two weeks.
Two weeks without seeing her.
I threw myself into work. Filled every hour. Almost convinced myself I was over it.
I thought I was safe.
Thought distance fixed it.
Thought I could breathe again.
Then she walked in today.
One look — that green dress hugging every curve, the way her body moved like it knew exactly what it did to me — and it hit worse than before.
Were her hips always that full? Her waist that soft?
She’s brilliant. Fire in every word.
But God, her body.
Soft where I’m hard. Curved where I’m sharp and unyielding. Real in a way I can’t stop imagining.
I imagine that fire burning for me. That body given to me.
She’s an employee.
My rule. Ironclad.
No dating employees.
No exceptions.
I’m ready to burn it down.
I have to say something.
Ask her out.
Make it real.
There is no “getting over” this.
No waiting until after the contract.
I’m under a spell.
And only Lizzie will do.