Chapter 16 - Trial Run #2
Abigail looked down very quickly.
Trying not to laugh.
I stared at Isabella.
"Thank you?"
"Hindi compliment."
"Still taking it."
She laughed.
Good.
Potentially dangerous woman.
We reviewed paper quantities.
I asked about lead times.
Price changes.
Which sizes were becoming harder to source.
Alternative brands.
She answered without overselling.
Then—
"May cheaper nito."
She showed me one.
I touched the paper.
"No."
"Cheaper."
"Thinner."
"Konti."
"Still no."
She smiled.
"Good."
"What?"
"Maraming bagong business, presyo lang tinitingnan."
"I've suffered enough."
She stared.
I smiled.
"From mistakes."
Safer.
She nodded.
"Order mo same?"
"For now."
"Okay."
Then—
"Pag tumaas volume mo, sabihin mo. May better rate."
There.
Useful.
Not prophecy.
Relationship.
Current life.
By Thursday, the three-branch trial had settled.
Not perfectly.
But enough.
We had learned:
Evelyn was reasonable.
Her staff liked last-minute changes.
Branch managers sometimes sent conflicting information.
Promo materials changed more often than menus.
Labels were the highest recurring volume.
And if we demanded written confirmation before production—
everyone survived.
I added a simple client-specific checklist.
brANCH NAME
VERSION DATE
QUANTITY
APPROVER
DELIVERY DATE
FINAL CONFIRMATION
Abigail saw it.
"New system?"
"Tiny system."
"Useful?"
"Hopefully."
"Color-coded?"
"No."
She looked disappointed.
I sighed.
"Fine. Status only."
Her face brightened.
"Thank you."
I had created a monster.
Friday afternoon, Evelyn came by herself.
No meeting scheduled.
She carried drinks.
I looked at them.
"Bribe?"
"Peace offering."
"For?"
"My staff."
I laughed.
"Accepted."
She handed drinks to Abigail and Bea too.
Then sat across from me.
"Okay yung first week."
"Mostly."
"Mostly?"
"Too many late changes."
She nodded.
"I know."
"Not fatal. Just expensive if unchecked."
She smiled.
"You really don't sugarcoat."
"I print on paper, not feelings."
Abigail made a choking sound behind me.
I ignored her.
Evelyn laughed.
"Fair."
Then she slid a paper toward me.
Updated monthly estimate.
Higher than initial trial.
Not insane.
But enough that I immediately saw the next bottleneck.
Labor.
Not printer.
Not cutter.
People.
Interesting.
"Can you handle this?" Evelyn asked.
I looked at the numbers.
"Yes."
Then paused.
"With one condition."
"What?"
"Forecasts by branch every week."
She nodded.
"Done."
"And final changes have cutoff."
"What cutoff?"
"We'll set one based on delivery days."
"Okay."
"Rush requests subject to capacity."
"Obviously."
I looked at her.
"Not obvious to everyone."
She laughed.
"Fair."
Then—
"If this works, we'll probably keep you after the trial."
I smiled.
"Good."
No fireworks.
No fantasy projections.
Just—
good.
After Evelyn left, I opened labor hours.
Abigail.
Bea.
Current workload.
Projected account volume.
Other customers.
I ran the numbers twice.
Then a third time.
There.
The next hire was justified.
Not because the room looked fuller with more people.
Because the hours said so.
I opened the draft job post.
Part-time production support.
Potential regular hours if volume held.
I looked at Abigail.
"Ready to train someone?"
She froze.
"Me?"
"Yes."
"Like actually?"
"Yes."
Her expression shifted.
Pride first.
Then panic.
"Ma'am, what if mali turo ko?"
"Then we fix it."
"What if mas magaling sila sakin?"
"Good."
She stared.
"Good?"
"Then everyone benefits."
Bea nodded from the other table.
"True."
Abigail looked unconvinced.
I smiled.
"You don't need to know everything. You need to teach what you know properly."
She thought about it.
Then—
"Okay."
Good.
I posted the role.
Within two hours, applications started coming in.
One stood out.
Claire.
No printing experience.
Some packing and school org work.
Flexible schedule.
Good written answers.
No ridiculous claims.
No "expert in everything."
Promising.
I shortlisted her.
Not hired.
Yet.
Memory was not prophecy.
Resumes definitely weren't.
Interview first.
At 5:58, my phone buzzed.
Group chat.
Chloe:
sunday?
Jane:
game
Then another message from Jane.
celeste posted
I stared.
Of course.
I did not open it.
Not yet.
I typed:
we are discussing sunday
Jane:
multitasking
Chloe:
very nice legs?
I closed my eyes.
Abigail looked up.
"Ma'am?"
"Nothing."
She smiled.
"Excellent nose?"
I pointed at the door.
"Go home."
Bea started laughing.
6:00 PM.
Correct timing.
I shut the laptop.
Tomorrow, I would interview Claire.
Next week, Evelyn's account would get another round.
Isabella would send updated supplier rates.
The printers would keep running.
The business would keep growing.
And for the first time, I was starting to understand something Original Lia had learned far too late.
Growth did not always need me to move faster.
Sometimes growth meant making the business strong enough that I didn't have to.