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It was exactly ten minutes later when Sebas arrived at the door to his factory. The distance from his residence in the neighbourhood of O Couto to the small industrial complex in O Vinteún was not even three kilometres, and his car journey was very easy and straightforward: even more so at that hour of the morning.
Sebas got out of the car and looked at his watch: 7:30 on the dot. It wasn’t that he was expecting anybody, or necessarily had to let anybody in at that hour, no, but he liked to arrive at work at exactly 7:30. He had always been an organised person, but since starting up his business he was more so than ever. The success of his business had become a personal goal since the very first day. He maintained that his order and punctuality saved him from having to employ somebody else and, subsequently, allowed him to save more money. That was something indispensible when it came to balancing the books, and as such it was not something he planned on changing.
He opened the blind in the entrance, turned on all of the electrical switches with one movement, and made his way to his office, with some of the biscuits he had taken from home still in his hand. He turned on the coffee machine and chose a strong black coffee. He left the biscuits next to the machine. He then went up to his desk and reviewed the orders that they needed to hand in that day. They would do so without fail, as they never missed a deadline. He also eyed through the list of incoming materials that they were expecting to receive, minus the regulars with it being Holy Week.
Basically, his business involved receiving all types of waste materials and converting them into ground material. In just one year he had attained great notoriety in the province, and they dealt with anything; from waste paper to complex metal structures. It was a business at the height of its success, with limited competition, and that enjoyed great prestige in the province for the seriousness with which it approached its work.
Once he had done this, he went up to the coffee machine and picked up the coffee, which he then carried to his table, along with the biscuits. He could not avoid thinking that it was well worth the pain of eating there in exchange for watching María for a while as she slept. Without a doubt, it was one of the best moments of the day for him. He put one of the biscuits into his mouth and slowly stirred the coffee. When he finished, he stood up and went out to turn on the machines.
Once this was done, he returned to his office.
“Good morning, boss,” José called out to him, appearing in the doorway at the same time that the Sebas’ phone began to ring.
“Good morning. Get changed, then come to the office so I can give you the assignment for today.”
“Is there much work?”
“No, not a lot today,” Sebas replied as he picked up the phone, “it is Holy Week...”
“That’s a new order you have there,” responded Jose, referring to the call as he entered into the changing rooms.
Sebas answered the phone without much enthusiasm. The truth was that he hoped even more than his employees that that early morning call would not bring urgent work. Deep down, he nurtured the hope of being able to go home soon. María would be waiting for him from two o’clock onwards.
“Covelo Recycling, how may I help you?”
“Good morning, could I speak to Mr Sebastián Covelo, please?” asked a female voice, from the other end of the line.
“Yes, that’s me.”
“Good morning. This is Emma Pérez, the insurance office.”
“From finances...?” Sebas thought for a moment, “Ah, yes, about the insurance! You’re from Jaime’s agency, aren’t you?”
“Exactly. I’m just calling because I would like to call in to see you this morning.”
“And Jaime isn’t there?” he asked, whilst he waved good morning to the other employees, who were now arriving.
“No, he’s taken this week as a holiday, taking advantage of the fact that there are only two of us in the office now. The truth is that he needs it.”
That was true. He had always thought that man worked too much.
“Do you work with him?”
“Yes, for a month now. Jaime realised that he ought to attend to his clients better, and has assigned me with visiting the most important ones this week. I have been studying your case personally, and believe that I can offer you a more economic policy without sacrificing any existing coverage or, alternatively, including a better loan as opposed to veritable daylight robbery.”
“That sounds interesting.”
“It is, believe me. That is why I have called you. Anyway, I would like to update your details before organising a new estimate tailor made for you. I shan’t take much of your time.”
“Well, I will be here this morning. You can come by whenever you like.” As she said herself, that meeting should not take very long. His plans for a speedy exit were still on course.
“Well, if it suits you, we can meet within the hour. Today I will take down a few little details, and next week I will visit you for longer, in order to present you with all of the options we can offer you. You will always have the final say.”
“I’ll wait for you then within the hour,” he concluded.
Sebas liked what the woman was proposing, but above all, he liked the determination and professionalism that she demonstrated on the telephone. Jaime, the old dog, he thought; finding such a good, efficient and pleasant team member. He also wondered if she would be pretty along with it. In any case, it was very much in accordance with his business plan if it allowed him to save a few euros.
Once he had hung up the telephone, one by one his employees filed into his office. Barely two minutes later, he had already finished giving them the work schedule for the morning. If everything went according to plan, at one o’clock the three of them could focus on sharing out the orders. He would contact the clients, and attend to the woman.
A perfect plan.