Chapter 2 I'm Living a Nightmare

Fernando I'm living a nightmare! I just graduated and took over one of the family businesses. My father is the powerful Hugo Freitas, owner of the largest pharmacy chain in the country. As his only son, he also runs Freitas Nic Transport - Medicine and Cosmetics - and Nic Cosmetics, named after my grandmother and my sister, Nic. My grandfather is very ill; he handed the business over to Dad, who became overwhelmed and hired an executive to manage the transport division. Within five years, that man nearly drove the company into bankruptcy. Dad decided to put me in charge as president, and now he holds me to high standards every single day. This morning, I woke up late! I have a crucial meeting at 7:30 a.m. with suppliers. On my way to the office, I call Andrey, my assistant - once, twice, three times - and he doesn't answer. Before I know it, I'm swerving to avoid hitting some reckless student who didn't look both ways! Worse yet, she had a sharp tongue and talked right back at me, making me even angrier than I already was. I was furious! She's lucky I'm in a rush! I speed off; I can't be late for this meeting. I walk into the building, greet my secretary Aline at the front desk, and head straight to my office. She follows right behind me carrying a stack of documents for me to review and sign. Aline says: - Andrey's already in the conference room. He got in early - there's been an issue with the disposable supplies vendor! I head to the meeting. Andrey is so nervous he won't even look at me. I think to myself: why did I have to inherit this mess? As if I didn't have enough problems of my own! The suppliers arrive and the meeting begins - we can't come to any agreement! They want an 80% profit margin. Have they lost their minds? I also had to listen to them say the previous manager had agreed to it. No wonder the company was nearly bankrupt! I end the meeting and dismiss them. Andrey says: - What do we do now? The disposable goods suppliers won't accept our percentage either! I go into my office, Andrey right behind me, letting me know I have two more meetings scheduled for the afternoon. Before I can reply, my phone rings - it's Vitória, my girlfriend. We had a terrible fight last night; she wants to get married. I answer, already remembering our argument. Before I can even say "hello," she bombards me with questions, asking if I've decided about marriage, saying I have one week to make up my mind! I'm furious - how dare she pressure me? I'm only twenty-three. I don't even know if I love her, and I know I'm not getting married. I ask her to be patient, that I'm swamped with work, and tell her I'll call her back later. She gets so angry she hangs up on me! Good grief, what an impossible woman! I snap out of my thoughts when Dad storms into my office: - Fernando, what are you doing? If you keep this up, the company will go under! We need suppliers to distribute across the pharmacy chain. - Dad, you're trying to do too much at once! You own the biggest pharmacy chain and distribution network in the country - how are we still afloat? Your previous manager was only bringing in 20% profit for the company. There wasn't enough capital to keep operations running. Volume sales help, but the costs are enormous! Even with our own fleet, there's payroll, fuel, rent, and more. Dad stares at me in shock: - That idiot was out of his mind - running a business on 20% margins? I look back at him, frustrated: - What's your strategy? - Find new suppliers with fair terms! We serve people from every walk of life! - All right, find other vendors and let me know once you have a solid plan. - I'm traveling this week to inspect warehouse stock personally and oversee the transport division - we ship internationally! He looks stunned, realizing how far things have slipped. He apologizes: - I'm sorry, son. I neglected things when I trusted an outsider with our business. - It's all right. We'll fix this. How's Grandfather's company doing? - Thank goodness, that one's thriving! Inventory is steady and cash flow is strong. I realize the pharmacies struggled because we relied too heavily on our own transport fleet - it looked like business was moving, but there was no real profit. I tell him: - Exactly. Freitas Nic Transport can't be what carries the pharmacies. We'd just be keeping people busy without making money! - You're right. This is too much for me to handle alone. Thank goodness you've stepped in. You'll help me run the transport division too. Once Nic graduates, she'll take over Nic Cosmetics, and I'll focus solely on logistics. We'll get everything back on track! He leaves without saying goodbye - always so controlling! At lunch, I go out with Andrey. He's still on edge, so I ask: - What's bothering you? You didn't answer my calls this morning and you've been in a terrible mood all day. - I can't stop thinking about this girl! She lives in my building. She's beautiful... and I'm starting to feel scared. She's so young, but wonderful. Perfect figure, the sweetest smile, so polite. I look at him: - So what's the problem? - She's still in school. I'm twenty-three and she's probably seventeen. I don't want to distract her from her studies! - Andrey, listen to yourself - you sound ancient! You're young too. Talk to her. See if she feels the same way. - God, Fernando... how do I wait? You don't understand - she drives me crazy. I want to be with her right now! I laugh: - Calm down. Take it slow. And be careful not to scare her off!