Chapter 20 - Ive Got It, Maam
Monday started with a missing box.
Not missing-missing.
Just—
not where Bea thought it was.
Which, in a workspace full of paper, packaging, finished orders, and three people confidently saying—
"Dito lang 'yon."
—was almost worse.
I walked in at 8:12.
Claire was checking shelves.
Bea was checking under the packing table.
Abigail had the inventory sheet open.
"What happened?"
Bea looked at me.
"Yung labels po for Evelyn."
"How many?"
"Five hundred."
"Printed?"
"Yes."
"Packed?"
"Supposedly."
Excellent.
Monday.
I put my bag down.
Before I could start searching, Abigail said—
"Ma'am, ako na po."
I looked at her.
"What?"
"I'll trace it."
She pointed at the job ticket.
"Last recorded po yesterday, finishing. So either nailipat sa completed shelf or nasama sa ibang branch."
Good.
Logical.
"I'll check."
She shook her head.
"Ma'am."
I stopped.
"Ako na po."
There was nothing dramatic in how she said it.
No speech.
No—
Trust me.
Just—
I've got it.
I stared at her for a second.
Then sat down.
"Okay."
Abigail blinked.
Maybe she expected resistance.
Honestly, so did I.
Seven minutes later—
"Found."
Bea looked up.
"Where?"
"Branch Two shelf."
Claire frowned.
"Bakit?"
Abigail showed us the label.
Wrong shelf tag.
Same color.
Similar branch code.
Not employee stupidity.
System stupidity.
Good.
My favorite kind.
Fixable.
I stood.
"Change branch labels."
Abigail nodded immediately.
"Different colors?"
"Yes. And full branch name, not just B1, B2, B3."
Bea:
"Mas malaki?"
"Yes."
Claire:
"Para hindi magkamali ulit."
"Exactly."
Abigail was already editing the template.
No one waited for me to tell them which font.
Progress.
By ten, Evelyn's order was out.
Correct.
On time.
No crisis.
I was reviewing quotations when Mama messaged.
daan ka grocery mamaya
I stared.
Old Lia would have replied—
late ako ma
Or—
tomorrow nalang
Or forgotten completely.
Current Lia checked the time.
Monday.
Nothing urgent after five.
ano bibilhin
Mama sent a list.
Rice.
Coffee.
Dishwashing liquid.
Papa's toothpaste.
Sofia's shampoo.
Eggs.
Normal things.
I added them to my notes.
Then went back to work.
Around eleven, a customer called.
School event.
Certificates.
Programs.
Name cards.
Not Julia.
Different client.
They wanted a quotation.
I listened.
Quantities.
Deadline.
Specifications.
Then glanced at Abigail.
She was beside Claire, explaining how to check final names against the approved list.
Clear.
Patient.
No hovering.
Interesting.
After the call, I said—
"Abigail."
"Yes, Ma'am?"
"Come here."
She walked over.
I showed her the inquiry.
"Quote this."
Her eyes widened.
"Me?"
"Yes."
"Pricing?"
"You have the current rate sheet."
"Yes."
"Materials?"
"I know."
"Labor estimate?"
She paused.
"Mostly."
"Then do it."
She stared at the screen.
"What if mali?"
"I'll review before sending."
"Oh."
"I'm not throwing you into traffic."
She laughed.
"Okay."
Twenty minutes later, she handed me the draft.
I checked.
Materials.
Labor.
Markup.
Finishing.
Deadline.
Delivery.
She had forgotten one thing.
"Revisions."
She frowned.
"Oh."
"How many included?"
"Two?"
"Why two?"
She thought.
"One major, two minor?"
Better.
"Write it clearly."
She nodded.
Then—
"Everything else?"
"Good."
Her face changed immediately.
Tiny smile.
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Pwede send?"
"You send it from the business account."
She froze.
"Ma'am."
"What?"
"Me?"
"Yes."
"Sure?"
I stared.
"No, Abigail. I enjoy giving instructions I don't mean."
She laughed.
"Okay."
Then sent it.
Five minutes later, she looked at me.
"Seen."
"Good."
Ten minutes.
"Ma'am."
"What?"
"They replied."
"And?"
"Proceed daw."
I smiled.
"Good."
Her eyes widened.
"That's it?"
"What do you want?"
"Wala."
"Then work."
She laughed.
But she kept smiling for the next half hour.
Lunch came.
We ate at the workspace.
Claire was talking about school.
Bea complained about transportation.
Abigail was still looking suspiciously pleased with herself.
Then Bea said—
"Ma'am, parang si Abigail na assistant manager."
Abigail almost choked.
"Hoy."
I looked at Bea.
"Why?"
"She answers us before we ask you."
Abigail looked horrified.
"Hindi lahat!"
"Most."
Claire nodded.
"True."
Abigail turned to me.
"Ma'am, sorry."
I frowned.
"For what?"
"Baka parang—"
"Doing your job?"
She stopped.
I continued eating.
"If you can answer correctly, answer."
"Oh."
"If you're unsure, ask."
"Okay."
"If you start inventing policies, then we fight."
Bea laughed.
Abigail:
"Noted."
Good.
That afternoon, Isabella arrived with stock.
She saw Claire.
"Bago?"
Claire nodded.
"Opo."
Isabella looked at me.
"Dumadami tao mo."
"Dumadami work."
"Same thing."
"Not always."
She smiled.
"Good answer."
Abigail checked the delivery against the purchase order before I could.
Quantity.
Paper type.
Size.
Condition.
One box had a dented corner.
She pointed.
"Ate Isabella, ito po."
Isabella checked.
"Paper okay."
Abigail opened it.
Two reams damaged at the edge.
Isabella sighed.
"Palitan ko."
I watched.
Didn't intervene.
Isabella looked at me.
Then at Abigail.
"Good."
Abigail smiled.
After Isabella left, I said—
"Nice catch."
She shrugged.
"Sayang po pag pinasok sa stock."
Exactly.
At four-thirty, Evelyn called.
I answered.
"Hi."
"Lia, may problem."
Of course.
"What?"
"Branch One needs additional labels. Three hundred."
"When?"
"Tomorrow morning."
I checked queue.
Possible.
Barely.
Before I answered, Abigail looked over.
I covered the phone.
"What?"
She quietly said—
"Claire and Bea can finish current packing by five-thirty. Printer free after five. Three hundred labels kaya before six if final artwork same."
I stared at her.
Then checked.
She was right.
I returned to the call.
"Same artwork?"
"Yes."
"No changes?"
"None."
"Send written confirmation now. We can do three hundred by closing."
"Thank you."
Call ended.
I looked at Abigail.
"Good."
She smiled.
"Ma'am."
"What?"
"Ako na po mag-coordinate?"
There it was again.
I almost said—
I'll do it.
Automatic.
Old.
Easy.
Instead—
"Go."
She messaged Evelyn.
Confirmed artwork.
Confirmed branch.
Confirmed quantity.
Printed the job ticket.
Assigned production.
Checked final output.
At 5:32—
done.
No chaos.
No overtime.
No Lia intervention.
I sat at my desk pretending this was completely normal.
It wasn't.
At least not to me.
At 5:45, Abigail approached.
"Ma'am."
"Yes?"
"Tomorrow po, ako na mag-open ng first orders?"
I looked up.
"Why?"
"You said grocery ka today."
I stared.
"How do you know?"
"You wrote it sa sticky note."
I looked.
Right.
GROCERY - MAMA
Very confidential.
She continued—
"Pwede naman ako mauna tomorrow if gusto niyo."
I almost laughed.
"I'm still coming in."
"I know."
"Then?"
"So hindi niyo kailangan magmadali."
Oh.
That.
I leaned back.
"You're volunteering for responsibility?"
She looked nervous.
"Konti."
"Dangerous."
She laughed.
Then—
"Pero kaya ko naman po."
I believed her.
That was new.
"Okay."
Her smile came back.
Six PM.
Shutdown.
Bea left.
Claire left.
Abigail checked the door with me.
Then—
"Ma'am."
"Hm?"
"Go grocery."
I stared at her.
She laughed and left.
My own employee had dismissed me.
Excellent.
I went grocery shopping.
Actually went.
Rice.
Coffee.
Dishwashing liquid.
Toothpaste.
Shampoo.
Eggs.
I even remembered the brand Mama wanted without calling.
Very advanced adult behavior.
When I got home, Mama looked at the bags.
"Kompleto?"
"Yes."
She checked anyway.
Naturally.
Papa came home not long after.
I did mano.
Sofia opened one bag.
"My shampoo?"
"Yes."
She looked impressed.
"Wow."
I stared.
"Why does everyone expect failure?"
"Historical data."
Fair.
During dinner, Mama asked—
"Hindi ka bumalik work?"
"No."
"May tao naman?"
"Yes."
"Ayos?"
I thought of Abigail.
Bea.
Claire.
The missing box.
The quotation.
The damaged stock.
Evelyn's rush request.
All the things that happened today without requiring me to personally touch every single decision.
"Yeah."
Papa nodded.
"Good."
Simple.
Tuesday morning, I arrived at 8:27.
Later than usual.
Not late.
Just—
not first.
When I opened the door, the workspace was already moving.
Abigail had the order queue open.
Bea was printing.
Claire was packing yesterday's finished jobs.
"Morning, Ma'am," Abigail said.
"Morning."
I looked around.
"What did I miss?"
"Nothing."
Suspicious.
"Nothing?"
"Two pickups confirmed. One file waiting customer approval. Evelyn's branch order scheduled after lunch."
Bea looked over.
"And Claire spilled coffee."
Claire stared.
"One drop!"
"Operational incident," Bea said.
I laughed.
Then walked to my desk.
No emergency waiting for me.
Again.
Later that week, workload increased.
Not enough for panic.
Enough for another review.
I checked labor hours.
Backlog.
Production time.
Claire's availability.
Bea's capacity.
Abigail's growing admin work.
There was the next bottleneck.
Not today.
Soon.
I opened the staffing draft I'd saved.
Fourth hire.
Production and packing.
Part-time first.
I looked at the numbers.
This time—
yes.
Applications came in.
One name caught my attention.
Ella.
Some warehouse experience.
Online shop packing.
Basic inventory.
Available mornings.
No design experience.
Fine.
We did not need another designer.
We needed someone who could keep production flowing while Abigail moved further into coordination.
I shortlisted her.
Interview first.
Always.
That afternoon, I called Abigail over.
She sat.
"May problem?"
"No."
I showed her the staffing plan.
Her eyes moved to the fourth role.
"Another hire?"
"Yes."
"Busy na?"
"Enough."
She nodded.
Then looked at her own workload column.
"What does this mean?"
"Less packing for you."
Her eyebrows rose.
"More layout?"
"Layout, order checks, client coordination. Eventually scheduling."
She went quiet.
"Promotion?"
"More responsibility first."
She laughed.
"Of course."
"And if it works, yes. Formal role adjustment and pay adjustment."
Her smile disappeared for a second.
Not bad disappeared.
Processing.
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
I frowned.
"Because you're doing more valuable work."
"Oh."
I almost laughed.
"Abigail."
"Sorry. Hindi ko lang inexpect."
"You're good."
She looked down.
Then—
"Thank you."
No joke.
No corporate nonsense.
Just that.
I nodded.
"Don't make me regret it."
There.
Better.
She laughed.
"Yes, Ma'am."
At 5:50, I checked tomorrow's queue.
Everything assigned.
Nothing waiting on me.
Abigail walked past.
"Ma'am."
"What?"
"Six."
"It's 5:50."
"Advance reminder."
I stared.
She smiled.
"I've got it."
There it was.
Again.
This time I didn't hesitate.
I closed the laptop.
"Okay."
At six, I left.
And the strange thing was—
I wasn't worried.
Not much, anyway.
The business was still mine.
The decisions were still mine.
The responsibility was still mine.
But it no longer had to pass through my hands every minute of every day.
Original Lia had built companies full of people and somehow remained the bottleneck anyway.
Current Lia was twenty-four.
Four employees, soon.
One small workspace.
Nothing remotely impressive compared to what I'd once owned.
But when I walked out at six and heard Abigail behind me telling Bea—
"Okay na, ako na dito."
I smiled.
Maybe this was what building something properly felt like.
Not becoming indispensable.
Becoming unnecessary in the places where someone else could already say—
I've got it.