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How many employees does it take to sell a light bulb? Six. It takes six employees. And no, I don't mean the people who ordered the product, or received it or stocked it on your shelves. I mean these employees. The one who meets you and brings you to the person who will hand it to you. That person will bring you to the counter were the invoice is prepared by employee three. Then you take your paperwork to the payment counter and employee four, when the second employee you met, takes your light bulb to the clearance counter and employee five. Once you have a receipt in your hand, you go to the clearance counter. There you will meet employee number two again who will marry the receipt to the light bulb help by employee number five at the clearance counter. The item will be placed in a plastic bag and the receipt will be stapled to the bag. As you exit the building you present the bag containing the light bulb with attached receipt to the guard, employee six, who inspects all this before you exit the building. … OK Jonathan, now tell me, do you think you made any money on the sale of that item?

Sir, the bulb cost me 80 peso, and I sell it for 96. I made sixteen pesos.

No, Jonathan, based on the salary you pay to five of these individuals, I am ignoring the guard here, each of whom took time to process the bulb, between all five even though the average pay per person is only 43 peso per hour, once I aggregate the time, all took, waiting on the customer, labor costs you 25 peso. You lost 9 peso on the sale. And before you tell me that you make it up on volume, I noted that the time your staff takes, and the number of staff involved, grows considerably longer and larger, as more items of merchandise from different areas of your store are purchased. You are only making money on the large ticket items. Further, large customers who warrant a discount, have to get evaluated on each sale by your accounts manager on duty. This means your customers never know what to expect, are going to get angry on occasion, and you are going to lose business. You have no system to assign automatic discounts to specific customers. And discounts are only provided for cash sales, which indicates that you are not reporting these sales for tax purposes but, it also means that customers are forced to spend a ridiculous amount of time at a bank, to withdraw cash only to hand it over here. You are paying salaries you just don't need to pay. You are ticking off your best customers at the same time, as they have to select the items, find out the cost, go to a bank, stand in line to get the cash before returning here and waiting a long time again for you to process the sale.

Sir, you make me feel bad! Is there any good thing?

Yes. Jonathan, if you fix this mess, you will get wealthy, even if you have to pay some more taxes.

§ § §

That's how it starts. I become an unpaid consultant to Bayan Na. I have no office, no title. I am just walking around, looking, asking questions, taking notes and running a small calculator on occasion.

I am here because Jonathan does call. It is the week following the fun and games we had at the store. And so I kiss my wife at the door this morning, as Jana rolls her eyes and says, So much for retirement!

Oh, hon, it's only for another day or two. Jonathan will listen, decide he really doesn't want to change and it will be all over.

We will see.

§ § §

The staff is quietly freaking out at my presence. By the time I sit down with Jonathan this afternoon, I have watched, run a stop watch on dozens of customer experiences, hung out in the back room for an entire day, sat behind the sales write-up desk, the cashier's desk, the clearance table (that's not a mark-down/sale table, it's where the items and the receipt are married and cleared before you walk out the door,) and have just been all over the entire store.

I know enough to know that there is nothing worth saving in the business practices I have observed. On top of everything else, there are other warehouses and stores. There is a parent company which has its own balance sheet and management, which this operation is beholden to in many regards. Purchasing and scheduling appears to be a challenge. There is also overlap between the parent and this operation. I have not even begun to tease that out yet.

Jonathan is clearly frustrated. He is doing things the way they have always been done and the way this dynastic family operates. I have just told him that all of it sucks. I am expecting to be shown the door. There are many, many wonderful things about the Philippines but, respect for tradition has its downside as well as the upside. This is a clear case of the downside.

Can you fix this?

You really want me to fix it, Jonathan? It will mean changing how you do business. It will mean letting some folks go, investing in some technology, spending time learning how to run your business in a very different way, managing staff who are scared, confused, resistant to change and at times unable to adjust. Are you sure? I don't want to invest a lot of time on this, only to find out that you can't commit to the changes that need to be made.

I have to find a way to fix this. I must be honest with you. The business is not doing well and the family says my wife and I must be replaced by someone else unless I can make it work. I am scared we will lose it and don't know where to start. But we do not have money for a salary to pay you.

Jonathan you couldn't afford me anyway. My take home salary based on what I earned in the USA would be almost six hundred thousand pesos a month¹.

Oh my God! No! We cannot afford this!

Relax! Don't pay me anything. Give me an office, an assistant, a phone, a regular time to meet with you each day and let's see what we can do.

Maybe we can pay you in things for your new house?

Sure, talk to Jana about that but, I don't expect any salary. Are you sure you are willing to change?

Yes, yes, no choice. There is an office you can have upstairs. You need a phone? You have a cell phone, I see it.

Yes, I want a landline, and an Internet connection.

OK. We will do that. You want an assistant?

Yes. Someone fluent in Cebuano, Ilonggo, Maguindanao² and English as well as Tagalog, of course. The person should have some computer skills and a college education. I am less worried about the type of degree. The person should probably be single as we will be working long hours and often late at night when we have to work with Europe and North America. What I described may be hard to find, and you should get as close as you can. I understand that no one you find may fit the description exactly.

Please Sir, write that down for me. I will do my best. I will try to have everything ready for you in the morning.

Jonathan has my written requirements in hand as I leave Bayan Na that evening.

§ § §

You spent a long time there again! This is the fourth long day. What is happening?

I got hired, sorta.

Ha! I knew it. What you mean, 'sorta'?

They aren't paying me.

That not right!

Yes, well, they can't afford me. You know that, Jana. But, we will get stuff for the house I guess. So in a small way, we will get some payment.

What we get?

I don't know. I told Jonathan to work that out with you.

Good! Yes, that is good. When this job start?

Tomorrow morning.

What you do for them?

I think we should start with inventory control. That upsets the fewest number of people and allows for us to put the core technology in, which we will need before all the other parts that do affect staff and procedures. You know, Jana, barcodes, RFID tagging, tag readers at all portals, barcode scanners, software, and training staff on how to program in the right settings for re-order routines. It's mostly back office and receiving docks work. We will need to train the sales invoice counter to use barcoding and/or computer lookup tables containing that information, to generate the invoices. It's not where we want to end up but, it will be a first step. We have a long way to go! We have to integrate all their inventory locations. That's not going to happen overnight.

Gordon! This will take years!

Oh, Jana, it won't take that long and anyway they will get tired of this and call it quits long before I will call it done. You know, even with businesses in the USA, we find resistance to real change. This change will be seismic. Babe, it takes five staff members to sell one light bulb at Bayan Na!

§ § §

The next morning I wait until 10AM before appearing at Bayan Na. My best guess is that they will not really be ready for me. I am wrong.

Not only is Jonathan ready and waiting; not only is there an office set up but, the Dynasty is there in full force and regalia. I apologize for my tardiness, only to be met with laughs. I am asked if I do not know about 'Filipino time.'³ Yes of course I know but, it is not good for me to keep such important people waiting! I am told to relax. They had just arrived a minute before me. The upshot is that I am told by all that, if I can make changes to turn Bayan Na around and get it really profitable, they will all be very pleased and I will be rewarded as best they can. I honestly tell them that I am not looking for such a thing but, if they do it, I will certainly appreciate it.

And then, they are gone and I am in my new office, with a new desk, a new chair, a phone, a note about the WiFi in the building and a young woman who is just standing there.

What is your name?

Sir?

What is your name?

Everly, Sir Gordon.

And why are you standing here, Everly?

Sir Jonathan say I to be your assistant.

OK. Tell me about yourself.

Sir, Sir Jonathan say I meet every requirement you give him.

Really? You speak Muslim?

Yes, Sir!

You are a college graduate?

Yes, Sir. I just graduate last month from MSU⁴. My degree is Bsc. in Business Administration – Management.

Are you impressed by how things are done at this company?

No, Sir, but it how things are done here. I think we can find a better way to track the invoices. I talk to Sir Jonathan about that this morning.

OK, stop calling me Sir. I am Gordon, or 'hey you,' but please no more, Sir's. OK?

OK, OK Sir Gordon!

How old are you, Everly?

Twenty, Sir. Sorry, sorry, I mean Gordon.

Are you single?

Yes, Sir. Oh! I am sorry.

It's OK, I guess just go ahead and call me Sir.

Yes, Sir.

With whom do you live?

Sir?

Do you live with your family?

Ah, no. I live with my tita⁵, my aunt, I mean.

Do you understand that we will be working very very late hours many days?

Sir Jonathan tell me that. Sir, may I ask, are you married?

Why do you want to know?

Sir, if you are married, your wife will think we are having an affair if we are together at night.

Yes, she will and maybe she will be right. But there is no other option. There is no way to do this job without the late hours.

Sir? You intend to have an affair with me?

No, Everly I have not exactly intended it. But if we are going to be accused of it anyway, why not?

Sir, you don't know me. I don't know you. Why you say this? What will people say when we spend an evening together and go home at 7AM?

They will say we have an affair. And how will you explain to your boyfriend that you only work all night long?

No way. I can't.

So will you have a boyfriend?

I will be unable to have that, Sir.

Even after you stop working for me for a few years, that's what people will say.

That I am your mistress?

Yes, and so, ask yourself. If everyone will believe that we are lovers and you will be unable to convince anyone that you are not, what is the best thing to do? I can only see two options. The first is to not take the job. The second one is to do exactly what people are assuming anyway. So if you do not want to have a relationship with me, decline to take the position of my assistant.

You would want me as your lover?

I don't know you at all Everly but, neither of us has a choice in this. If I take you as my assistant, all will assume sexual attachment.

But your wife, Sir. What will she do?

Everly, that's my problem, not yours.

No, Sir, she will be angry with me.

Maybe, but, you will work with her to get the things for our house that Jonathan has offered. She will have some reason to get along with you.

I see. How we start what you want to do? I need to know how to organize my day. I will need to bring changes of clothing here and some other things. And Sir, there is no shower here.

Ha! It didn't take long for you to decide.

No, Sir. I hear what the family say to you. I want to learn.

OK, first, go find Jonathan and tell him, I say, you need a desk, chair and computer. We will share the phone. I will talk to him about the shower. Once you talk to him go home and get your clothing. You can bring it now or later but, we begin working here at 8PM.

Sir, I will have to clock out.

Everly, you are no longer on the clock. Your hours are now far too many and too irregular for any clock. I will speak with Jonathan about that too.

And that is how my day has started. I am getting organized. That's all. Tonight I need to make some phone calls to the States. I need Everly to be up to speed on everything I am doing. In the end, all I am doing, will be her job, as I move on to other tasks. It is easier to train someone for a job, if they see how the job gets put together, rather than just parachute in at the end. Of course she doesn't know this, and I am not telling her. The only person who will know is Jana. As a twenty-year-old, Jonathan would not agree right now to put her in charge of a complete division. Later he will have no choice. Jana has seen me do this, albeit, not with crazy evening hours, many times in the past. She is used to me training folks this way. It works and that much she knows. She also knows, or should know, that much of what I will need to do, will be during the wee hours of the late night and early morning for some time. There is no choice. So exactly what Jana will make of Everly, is beyond me right now.

Everly is a cutie. Taller than Jana and lighter complected, her breasts appear to be a bit smaller but, her hips are better defined. She looks good in the company mandated blue dress and sensible heels. Her hair is pulled back as are all the female staff here at Bayan Na. I wonder how she will dress after hours.

I find Jonathan and tell him that for the next few weeks, most of my time will be here late night. I will sleep during the day time. I suggest that on top of a shower, a small cot might be useful, until I am used to working completely through the night. He just nods his head before I go home.

§ § §

It's not noon when I walk in the door and Jana is a bit surprised. They fire you already?

Nope. But I am going to nap. I have to get on the phones tonight and call the States. I need leads on who to work with over here to put an inventory control system in place that can work with metric measures, pesos, and has support in the Philippines. I also will need to track down hardware manufacturers that provide what I need to integrate with the software. Later we will be able to work during day time hours but, for a while, I am burning the midnight oil.

And so I get a kiss good night an hour after lunch. It isn't a great nap but, I do get five hours before awakening, showering, having a supper meal and heading off to the office at 8PM.

§ § §

I am not the first to arrive. That honor belongs to Everly. She is no longer in the company dress. It is still a dress but, far more attractive. A little off the shoulder, coming down to mid-thigh. The heels are a bit higher. She has a bit more makeup on and some perfume. Her hair is down and it seems like the ends are a little curled.

If I didn't know better, I would think you were trying to seduce me.

Since I am to be your mistress, Sir. I think I should really be your mistress and make sure I keep you. Once you take me, I am yours, so I make sure it is for real and good, if I can.

I see. Before we go further, and since you are now officially my mistress, may I ask you some personal questions?

Yes, I guess so. What you want to know?

Are you a virgin?

Yes, of course. Why I not?

OK. Have you ever done any sexual thing with a boy?

No. Well, I kissed a boy once.

Have you ever done any sexual thing with a girl?

Why you ask such a question? You are very rude! Of course no!

Do you know what a penis looks like?

Yes. I see them on my cousins when they are little.

So you have never seen one when it is hard and needing to enter a girl?

No but I see dogs when they are hard and enter a girl dog. That the same thing, Sir?

Yes, I guess so. Do you understand that if you are really my mistress, that you will not be a virgin any longer?

Yes, that why I say I make sure you are the guy forever.

I see.

What if I make you do things you think are rude?

I do it if it means I am yours forever, I think.

I approach Everly. The perfume is entrancing. You do smell very good. May I call you Eve?

She smiles, Yes, puts her arms around my neck and brings me in closer. A kiss is inevitable, and not to be resisted. Her lips are soft, warm, moist. Her hands on either side of my head, fingers wide and intertwined in my hair. My hands are on the small of her back, drawing her in as she is doing to me. Her tongue touches my lips and I give way to the intruder, allowing it to enter a bit and meeting it with my tongue. Eve moans.

I slide my hands down below the hem of Eve's dress and then up, once I have found bare skin. Up the thigh, up over the hips, until I find the top elastic of her panties. Hooking my fingers over the elastic, I pull her panties down until they drop to the ground. Eve, hands still in my hair and lips still attached to mine, steps away from the fallen panties.

My hands are now on the back of Eve's thighs as I lift her in a sitting position on the edge of a desk. This will be Eve's desk, and we are about to initiate it. I open my belt, drop my drawers. My flag is flying. I am rock hard and am likely a little bigger than the little penises Eve has seen. It is not that I am preternaturally large but, I am an adult man.

I want to enter her right now but, she is dry as can be. There is no lubricant here, so I drop to my knees and start taking her orally. This causes some panic on Eve's part. She has never heard of such a thing. Surely it is evil.

I have to stop what I am doing to assure her that it is OK. It sure as hell breaks the mood but, I get back to business, attending to a virgin and cleanly shaved cunt. This is a cunt that has seen a razor and never a tampon. You have to love the Philippines!

She is a little frightened and not really getting into the cunnilingus. Maybe she will lighten up a little, later on. In the meantime I think she is wet enough for me to enter this unexplored territory. I stand up, center my pride on the path to pleasure. But before that can happen, the curtain obscuring that path must be pushed aside. I push in and finally break through. Eve is hurting a bit and uncomfortable. I give her a minute, assuring her that the pain is only momentary.

I kiss her forehead. I stroke her hair. I kiss her neck. I am still inside her, just barely. Just enough to have torn the hymen but, not enough to give her any pleasure. Telling Eve to put her arms around my neck and hold on tight, I now hook my forearms under Eve's legs and push in hard. Eve gasps. I pull out a little and push in hard again. Eve, in a raw voice says, Again!

Eve leans back on her desk, pushing her hips up to me and says, Yes, hard, again. Now!

Eve's cunt is hot and getting very wet. Her breathing is ragged. Her eyes are closed tight. A smile is on her face, as I fuck her, stroking in and out, over and over. I still really do not know what Eve looks like naked. Her dress both displays and hides her beauty.

Eve is grunting as my tool saws in and out of this newly mined cave. And then she gasps, pushing her body up onto my arms, I am being pushed out of her cunt as she seems to experience her first orgasm.

I get back in her, only to have the same thing happen a minute later. By the time her third orgasm hits, my palms are on her hips and I hold her down as I ram deep into her cunt, letting loose the cum that has welled up from inside me.

We stay connected and breathing hard for a few minutes. I slip out of her, bend over her, give her a kiss before saying, Well, that was fun but, now we need to get to work.

§ § §

§ § §

Chapter 2