Chapter 105 - Easier on Purpose
The first thing I bought in Reset Five was not a machine.
This was important.
Historically, twenty-three-year-old Lia saw money and immediately thought—
Equipment.
Better printer.
Better cutter.
Better press.
Something louder.
Something heavier.
Something that required delivery men and a conversation about electrical load.
Sixty-eight-year-old Lia looked at the same money and thought—
Chair.
I stared at the online listing.
Adjustable height.
Lumbar support.
Armrests that actually moved.
Mesh back.
Proper seat depth.
Expensive enough that twenty-three-year-old me would've immediately closed the tab.
I added it to cart.
Then stared.
"This is ridiculous."
The old chair behind me creaked.
I turned.
Plastic back.
Thin cushion.
One armrest slightly lower than the other because apparently symmetry was a luxury.
I had spent years sitting in chairs like this.
Then office chairs.
Then executive chairs.
Then hospital chairs.
Then chairs with doctors explaining things I didn't want explained.
I looked back at the listing.
Add to cart.
Checkout.
Done.
There.
First major strategic investment of Reset Five:
My ass.
Beautiful.
Mama noticed when it arrived.
Obviously.
Everything entering the house eventually became family intelligence.
The delivery guys carried the box inside.
Mama looked at it.
"Ano yan?"
"Chair."
She stared at the box.
Then at me.
"Chair?"
"Yes."
"Magkano?"
Dangerous question.
I told her.
Her face changed.
"CHAIR?"
I closed my eyes.
"It's ergonomic."
"Ano?"
"Good for the back."
"May upuan ka naman."
"Bad for the back."
Mama looked toward my old chair.
"It's fine."
"It has been trying to kill me."
"Lia."
"Ma."
She stared.
I stared back.
Then Sofia appeared.
"What happened?"
Mama pointed dramatically.
"Binili niya chair."
Sofia looked at the box.
"Okay?"
Mama told her the price.
Sofia's eyebrows went up.
Then she looked at me.
"Chair?"
"Ergonomic."
"Oh."
Thank God.
Someone educated.
Then—
"Ang mahal."
Traitor.
I pointed at both of them.
"I am protecting long-term productivity."
Mama:
"Maglakad-lakad ka kasi."
I paused.
That was also correct.
Annoying.
"I can do both."
"Then do both."
Free consulting.
Again.
The chair was excellent.
I hated that I had denied myself this for years.
My feet actually reached the floor properly after adjustment.
My back had support.
My shoulders weren't forced upward by badly positioned armrests.
I sat.
Adjusted.
Sat again.
Then whispered—
"Oh."
Comfort.
Dangerous concept.
I opened my notebook.
RESET 5
Under the growing list, I added:
Comfort that prevents pain is infrastructure.
Then underneath:
Do not wait until something hurts before fixing it.
I looked at the chair.
"You're staying."
The old chair sat in the corner.
Judging me.
I ignored it.
The second thing I changed was accounting.
Not eventually.
Not when revenue became "serious."
Not when tax season scared me.
Not after money started disappearing into the beautiful black hole called—
I KNOW WE MADE SALES, SO WHERE THE FUCK IS THE CASH?
Now.
I asked Ate Bianca for the contact of an accountant she'd used for consultation.
Not someone to become full-time CFO of my tiny bedroom kingdom.
Obviously.
Just a professional.
Actual professional.
Not spreadsheet vibes.
The accountant arrived on a Wednesday afternoon.
She looked around the workspace.
Small.
Two assistants.
Materials.
Printers.
My suspiciously expensive chair.
Then at me.
"So what exactly do you need?"
"Bookkeeping structure."
She nodded.
"Tax compliance."
Another nod.
"Separation of personal and business transactions."
"Good."
"Cash-flow monitoring."
She looked at me.
"For this size?"
"Yes."
"Most small businesses don't do that this early."
"I know."
She smiled slightly.
"Okay."
I liked her already.
We sat.
I showed her my files.
She looked through them.
"You're organized."
"Trying."
"Your categories make sense."
"Thank you."
"Some are unnecessarily detailed."
I stared.
She pointed at one.
"You don't need six separate categories for packaging tape."
I looked at the screen.
"Different widths."
She looked at me.
I looked at her.
Then—
"Fine."
She merged them.
I watched.
It physically hurt.
Growth.
Her name was not the accountant from R4.
That was deliberate.
I could've searched.
Could've found people I'd worked with before.
Could've approached them early.
Could've said the right things.
Offered the right salary.
Built the same team.
No.
Not a museum.
Current people.
Current choice.
This accountant had responded to a current referral.
She was competent now.
That was enough.
When we finished, she gave me the monthly fee.
Twenty-three-year-old Lia would've immediately thought—
I can do this myself.
Current Lia thought—
Good.
I agreed.
She blinked.
"Okay agad?"
"Should I negotiate?"
She laughed.
"Usually people do."
"Is the fee fair?"
"Yes."
"Then okay."
She looked at me for a second.
Then—
"You're unusual."
I stared.
"Please don't tell anyone."
Lawyer came next.
Not because I was being sued.
Beautiful.
Imagine that.
Hiring legal support before disaster.
Revolutionary.
I didn't put a lawyer on payroll.
I wasn't insane.
Retainer arrangement.
Contracts.
Supplier agreements.
Employment templates.
Lease review when needed.
Customer terms for larger projects.
Basic corporate structure questions.
The lawyer looked at my existing order form.
"This is not a contract."
"I know."
"It's a screenshot."
"I know."
"With emojis."
I looked.
Old Lia had been friendly.
Very friendly.
"Can we remove the evidence?"
He laughed.
"Yes."
"Good."
Next—
admin support.
This one hurt my ego more.
Because I could answer messages.
Obviously.
I could send quotations.
Follow up payments.
Schedule pickups.
Confirm names.
Update order sheets.
Answer—
available pa po?
Yes.
Then—
hm po?
The price was directly above the message.
Still—
yes.
I could do it.
Which was exactly why I shouldn't.
I hired someone part-time to handle routine inquiries and order tracking.
I trained her.
Scripts, but not robotic.
Escalation rules.
Pricing boundaries.
What she could approve.
What required me.
Customer complaints.
No promises outside actual capacity.
No discounts because somebody sent—
please po
No free rush service.
No changing agreed specifications without updated costing.
After three days, she asked—
"Ma'am, if customer says regular customer po siya?"
"Check history."
"If regular?"
"Still same policy."
"If asking discount?"
"Depends on actual value and margin. Not emotion."
She nodded.
I paused.
Then—
"Actually, write that down."
She smiled.
"Not emotion?"
"Especially that."
Jane found out before Chloe.
Because apparently Jane could detect operational changes from three messages away.
Jane:
busy?
I looked at the notification.
Then kept reviewing a supplier quote.
My admin replied to two customer inquiries while I worked.
Ten minutes later—
Lia:
a little. why
Jane:
nothing
Lia:
suspicious
Jane:
you replied in 10 minutes
I stared.
Lia:
is that bad
Jane:
usually 4 hours
Rude.
Accurate.
Lia:
character development
Jane:
employee?
I stopped.
Lia:
how
Jane:
because you are still working but somehow answering humans
I laughed.
Lia:
admin support
Pause.
Jane:
wow
Then—
Jane:
growth
I closed my eyes.
Lia:
retire that word
Jane:
no
Chloe found out at lunch.
Not work lunch.
Actual lunch.
With humans.
Again.
I was getting very good at this.
Three weeks into Reset Five and apparently my new superpower was appearing in restaurants.
Chloe looked at me.
"You're early."
"I'm on time."
"Early for Lia."
Jane nodded.
"True."
I sat.
"Both of you are hostile."
Chloe:
"Business okay?"
"Yes."
Jane:
"Then why are you here?"
I stared.
"Friendship?"
Jane immediately—
"Wow."
I pointed.
"Don't."
Chloe laughed.
"She has employees now."
Jane:
"Admin support."
Chloe looked at me.
"How many people do you have?"
I counted mentally.
"Production, admin, accountant external, lawyer external."
Chloe stared.
"At twenty-three?"
"Twenty-four soon."
"Same difference."
Jane:
"CEO na."
"Small business."
Chloe:
"You have a lawyer."
"Retainer."
"Still."
Jane leaned closer.
"Are you doing something illegal?"
"No."
"Then why lawyer?"
"To keep it that way."
Silence.
Chloe nodded.
"Okay. That's annoyingly sensible."
"Thank you."
Jane:
"Did someone teach you all this?"
I picked up my drink.
Here we go.
"Business videos."
"Again?"
"Internet is educational."
Jane narrowed her eyes.
"You're suspicious."
"You're a teacher. You should support self-directed learning."
She laughed.
"Fine."
The next hire took longer.
Operations.
Not because I couldn't find people.
Because I needed to stop myself from hiring someone merely because they reminded me of somebody from R4.
Three candidates.
One had great experience but wanted a role much larger than I currently needed.
One interviewed beautifully and answered every question exactly right.
Too right.
When I asked how she'd handle a delayed order caused by supplier failure, she gave me what sounded like a seminar answer.
Escalate.
Communicate.
Coordinate.
Mitigate.
Beautiful verbs.
No actual steps.
The third candidate was less polished.
When I asked what she'd do if five orders were all tagged urgent—
she frowned.
"First, I'd check if they're actually urgent."
I looked up.
She continued.
"Customer urgent or internal urgent?"
Good.
"Then deadline, current progress, material availability, and consequences if delayed."
Very good.
"What if all five are genuinely urgent?"
"Then someone planned badly."
I stared.
She looked nervous.
"Sorry po."
"No."
I smiled.
"Continue."
She did.
Capacity.
Reallocation.
Customer communication.