Chapter 16 - Trial Run
Monday morning, the three-branch account officially started.
Which sounded much more dramatic than it actually was.
There was no ribbon.
No handshake photo.
No giant check.
Just an email from Evelyn at 8:17 AM containing three folders, six product variations, two menu updates, one promo card layout, and a spreadsheet that had clearly been edited by several people who did not believe in consistent file naming.
I stared at it.
Abigail leaned over.
"Ma'am?"
"Hm?"
"Okay lang kayo?"
"Yes."
"You look angry."
"I'm looking at filenames."
She looked at the screen.
FINAL_MENU_NEW
FINAL_MENU_NEW2
FINAL_MENU_NEW2_USETHIS
brANCH2_FINAL_FINAL
Abigail slowly nodded.
"Valid."
Bea looked over from the cutting table.
"May FINAL_FINAL?"
"Yes."
"Professional."
"Very."
I opened Evelyn's original scope.
Compared quantities.
Compared approved prices.
Compared schedule.
Good.
Nothing unexpected yet.
The trial was supposed to be simple.
Monday—
branch one materials.
Tuesday—
branch two.
Wednesday—
branch three.
Thursday for reprints or adjustments.
Friday buffer.
Not because we could not print everything in one day.
We could.
But I wanted to see how the account behaved before letting it occupy half the workspace.
Original Lia would have been impressed by volume.
Current Lia wanted to know whether the client knew what they wanted.
Different concern.
Much more useful.
"Abigail."
"Yes, Ma'am?"
"You handle layout checks."
She nodded.
"Compare each file with the approved version. Text, prices, branch names, contact numbers."
"Okay."
"Don't assume same template means same details."
"Okay."
"Bea."
"Opo."
"Production only after Abigail marks approved."
"Okay."
"If something looks wrong, stop."
"Even if na-print na po iba?"
"Especially then."
She nodded.
Good.
At 9:04, Abigail called me.
"Ma'am."
I walked over.
"What?"
She pointed.
Branch Two menu.
One price differed from Evelyn's approved sheet.
Not by much.
Ten pesos.
Still wrong.
"Good catch."
Abigail smiled.
"What do we do?"
"Ask."
I messaged Evelyn.
Hi Evelyn, confirming Branch 2 chicken meal price. Your approved sheet says 159, but the final artwork says 169. Which one should we follow?
She replied twelve minutes later.
159. Good catch. Please revise.
There.
Ten pesos saved from becoming three hundred wrong menus.
I looked at Abigail.
"That's why."
She smiled wider.
"Okay."
By noon, Branch One was finished.
Clean.
Counted.
Packed.
No rush.
No panic.
No one eating lunch while standing over a cutter.
Beautiful.
I sat with Abigail and Bea while we ate.
Bea opened her rice.
"So ganito na po kadami lagi?"
"Hopefully not."
She looked confused.
Abigail laughed.
I clarified.
"Hopefully steady. Not chaotic."
"Ah."
"If every day feels like emergency, something is wrong."
Bea nodded.
Then—
"Unless actual emergency."
"Yes."
"Fire?"
"Yes."
"Printer explosion?"
"Also yes."
Abigail:
"Client saying urgent?"
"No."
Both laughed.
Good.
They were learning.
Tuesday started smooth too.
Which should have made me suspicious.
It didn't.
My mistake.
At 2:11 PM, Evelyn called.
Not messaged.
Called.
I answered.
"Hi, Evelyn."
"Lia, sorry, may change."
There it was.
"What changed?"
"One branch moved their promo date."
"How much?"
"Tomorrow."
I closed my eyes.
Of course.
"What materials?"
"Promo cards and labels."
"Quantity?"
"Six hundred cards. Three hundred labels."
I looked toward the production table.
Current queue.
Confirmed orders.
Scheduled jobs.
Existing branch two materials.
Then at the clock.
2:12 PM.
"Tomorrow what time?"
"Opening."
"No."
Silence.
Not angry.
Just surprised.
"No?"
"We can't finish all of that tonight without pushing confirmed jobs and keeping everyone late."
"I can pay rush."
Not the point.
"I know."
"Can you do anything?"
There.
Better question.
"Yes."
I pulled up our output estimate.
"If artwork is final in the next thirty minutes, I can give you two hundred promo cards and one hundred fifty labels tonight."
"And the rest?"
"Tomorrow afternoon."
"Can you make it three hundred cards?"
I checked again.
"Two-fifty."
Pause.
"Okay."
"And labels?"
"One-fifty tonight. Balance tomorrow."
"Could you push the balance to lunchtime?"
"Probably, but I won't promise until I check morning capacity."
Another pause.
Then—
"Okay."
Good.
No disaster.
No client explosion.
Just negotiation.
I called Abigail and Bea over.
"Change."
Bea sighed dramatically.
"Fire?"
"No."
"Sayang."
I stared.
"Client moved promo."
I showed them quantities.
Abigail frowned.
"Tonight?"
"Partial only."
She looked relieved.
"Okay."
"Two-fifty cards. One-fifty labels."
Bea checked the queue.
"Kaya."
"Yes."
"And six?"
"Yes."
She smiled.
I pointed at her.
"Don't sound surprised."
"Hindi po."
"You sounded surprised."
"Konti."
Abigail laughed.
Then came the actual problem.
At 3:06, Evelyn sent the updated promo card.
I opened it.
Different mechanics.
Different dates.
Different discount.
And one line:
Available in all branches.
Except the promo was apparently only for Branch Three.
I called.
"Evelyn."
"Yes?"
"The card says all branches."
Silence.
Then—
"Fuck."
I smiled.
"Exactly."
"Wait."
She messaged someone.
Five minutes.
Ten.
At 3:19:
Branch 3 only. Sorry.
We fixed it.
Again.
No printing before confirmation.
No wasted batch.
Systems were sexy.
Not literally.
But spiritually.
At 4:40, production was moving.
Abigail was checking counts.
Bea was finishing cuts.
I packed the first batch.
Then my phone buzzed again.
Evelyn.
Can we add 100 menu inserts? Same delivery tonight.
I stared.
No.
Not because impossible.
Technically possible.
If we stopped another customer's order.
If Bea stayed late.
If Abigail skipped cleanup.
If I helped print and pack.
If six PM became eight.
Maybe nine.
Original Lia would have said yes before calculating.
Current Lia calculated anyway.
Then still said no.
Not tonight. I can schedule those for tomorrow afternoon.
Three dots.
Even 50?
I looked at the queue.
No.
Tomorrow.
Pause.
Then:
Okay.
That was it.
No catastrophe.
No client lost.
No lightning strike.
I put the phone down.
Abigail looked at me.
"Rush?"
"Yes."
"Tinanggap niyo?"
"No."
She nodded.
Then went back to counting.
Normal.
Good.
At 5:22, the urgent partial batch was done.
We checked everything twice.
Two hundred fifty promo cards.
One hundred fifty labels.
Correct branch.
Correct date.
Correct promo.
Packed separately.
I arranged pickup.
Evelyn messaged:
Thank you. Sorry ulit sa changes.
I replied:
No problem. Just send confirmed details earlier next time so we can plan properly.
Then I added:
We'll send the remaining quantities tomorrow.
She reacted with a thumbs-up.
Business did not require suffering to prove commitment.
Interesting concept.
At 5:41, Abigail was already cleaning her station.
Bea restocked materials.
I checked tomorrow's queue.
The unfinished branch order would fit.
Existing customer deadlines still safe.
No one displaced.
No overtime.
No heroics.
At 5:56, Evelyn called again.
I stared at the screen.
Bea looked over.
"Fire?"
I answered.
"Hi, Evelyn."
"Quick question lang."
"Go."
"Yung balance tomorrow, possible before twelve?"
I looked at tomorrow's scheduled jobs.
Calculated.
"Best commitment is two PM."
"Oh."
"We can try earlier, but I don't want to promise twelve."
"Okay."
Then—
"Lia?"
"Yes?"
"Thanks for not just saying yes."
I paused.
That was unexpected.
She continued.
"Usually kasi suppliers say kaya, then hindi pala. At least alam ko agad."
I smiled.
"Better for both of us."
"Agreed."
"See you tomorrow."
"Thanks."
Call ended.
Bea looked at me.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"Happy kayo."
"Client appreciated honesty."
Abigail nodded.
"Rare."
"Very."
Six PM.
Abigail grabbed her bag.
"Bye, Ma'am."
"Bye."
Bea followed.
"Bye po."
"See you tomorrow."
They left.
I checked the laptop.
One unread inquiry.
One supplier message.
One quotation request.
Nothing urgent.
My hand stayed on the mouse for half a second.
Old habit.
Then—
close.
Shutdown.
Lights.
Door.
6:04.
Acceptable.
Wednesday morning, the remaining Branch Three materials were first in queue.
No drama.
No emergency.
By 11:36, they were finished.
Earlier than promised.
I messaged Evelyn.
Balance ready for pickup.
Immediate reply:
That was fast.
I smiled.
We had capacity this morning.
Not:
See, kaya naman pala.
Because that was the lesson.
Maybe we could finish earlier.
But I did not owe anyone a promise based on best-case conditions.
At 1:10, Isabella, one of my regular suppliers, arrived with paper stock.
She had been supplying us more consistently since the move.
Late thirties, maybe early forties.
Sharp eyes.
Fast math.
Did not enjoy unnecessary conversation.
I liked her immediately.
She looked around.
"New printer?"
"Yes."
"Good."
"You haven't even seen it work."
"I saw your paper orders increase."
Fair.
She checked the boxes.
"Dumadami clients?"
"Yes."
"Then tataas stocks mo."
"Controlled."
She looked at the labeled shelves.
Then at me.
"Twenty-four ka lang?"
I narrowed my eyes.
"Yes."
"Parang hindi."