Janitor’s Little Son Helps Mom Mop Floors, Manager Fires Her & Rich Woman Steps In – Story of the Day

A manager was furious to find that a janitor employed under him was "cheating" on her work by enlisting her son's help, so he fired her. But eventually, his decision became a boon for the janitor when a rich woman stepped in to help her.

Christine was a successful businesswoman who owned a major publishing business. Her competitors were envious of how quickly her company had risen to the top, but only Christine knew how hard she'd worked for it.

Christine was raised in an orphanage. After leaving the orphanage, she pursued business studies at a local college and worked odd jobs to afford the tuition fees. She had several business ideas before she ventured into the world of publishing, and they had all failed.

At one point, she was about to give up, but she decided to give it one more go, which is how she came up with the idea of establishing a publishing company. To her surprise, it went on to hit heights she had never dreamed of, and her dreams came true.

One day, Christine was supposed to fly to Australia for a business deal, but the flight got delayed by 10 hours unexpectedly. The deal was crucial, and Christine was such a stickler for deadlines that she was enraged.

Unfortunately, there were no other flights available at the moment, so she had no choice but to wait! She had to call the meeting organizers and ask them to reschedule it.

Christine sat in the waiting lounge, but only half an hour later, she started feeling "useless." She liked being productive, so she went to a bookstore and bought a few books that piqued her interest. Then she went to the airport Starbucks and calmly read the books while enjoying her caramel latte and croissant.

Almost three hours went by, and when Christine left, she spotted a boy sleeping on a dirty rag. She didn't pay much attention to him at first, but as she was walking away, something about the poor boy struck her, and she couldn't help but approach him.

"Hey there," she said, softly tapping his shoulder, and the boy immediately woke up.

"Who are you?" he asked slowly, rubbing his eyes.

Christine smiled and asked, "What is a little boy like you doing here alone? Are you flying with someone? I'm Christine, by the way."

The boy shook his head. "I'm Simon. I was sleeping here because I was tired," he said.

Christine was perplexed as to why a boy, who seemed no older than 6, was alone at an airport and sleeping on a rag, so she went to the airport authorities and asked them for help.

When she returned with a staff member, she noticed a woman holding a mop and hugging Simon. Christine realized the woman worked as a janitor at the airport and that Simon was the cleaning lady's son.

"I know these folks very well, Mr. Duncan," she countered. "I WAS ONCE ONE OF THEM."

"Did you sleep well, honey?" she asked. "I just have to clean the staff room, and then we can go home."

"But I already cleaned it, mom," Simon replied, rubbing his eyes again. "I knew you were tired, so I mopped the floors before sleeping … Mom, I'm starving. Can we please go home?"

"Oh, did you?" the woman's eyes suddenly welled up. "Thank you, honey. Let's go now," she replied. Suddenly, the staff member got angry at the cleaning lady, and Christine didn't understand what was happening.

"What did you just say?" he asked angrily, and the cleaning lady froze. "Mr. Duncan, I - I was about to go home because I am done with my shift for the day," she replied.

"Stop fooling me, Alisa!" he screamed at the top of his lungs. "I just heard your boy helped you! Do I pay you for hiring help? You know what, if you can't work, no need to come here again! YOU'RE FIRED!"

"Please don't," she pleaded. "Mr. Duncan, you know I'm a single mother with no other source of income, which is why I work overtime to support my son. Please give me one more chance; this will not happen again, I promise!"

But Mr. Duncan wouldn't listen to anything. "I am your manager, Alisa! And I get to decide who stays here and who doesn't, so GET LOST!" he yelled at her, leaving Alisa in tears.

She slowly brushed her tears away and took Simon's hand in hers as she prepared to leave. "Let's go, son," she said, but Christine grabbed her hand.

"I'm afraid things don't end here!" she said, and Alisa was puzzled. "He owes you an apology, Alisa," Christine continued. "He doesn't have the right to yell at you like that just because he's your superior."

At this moment, other passengers gathered around them were criticizing Mr. Duncan's actions.

"Look, ma'am, you don't know these poor folks," he remarked defensively. "They'd do anything for a few bucks! Don't fall for their tears!"

But Christine wasn't going to let him slide. "I know these folks very well, Mr. Duncan," she countered. "I WAS ONCE ONE OF THEM. That's correct... I'm here today because I once worked just as hard for my dreams. You see that little boy," she added, referring to Simon.

"He has a bright future ahead of him, and his mother is doing everything she can to give him a good life. I understand she made a mistake by enlisting her son's help, but dismissing her for that reason is extreme, sir. Not to mention that you yelled at her in public!"

At that point, the mob around them was saying horrible things about Mr. Duncan's behavior, which humiliated him. He mumbled a brief sorry, but everyone knew it was a forced apology. He didn't mean it, and Christine called him out for that.

"It's okay, sir," she said. "You don't have to say it if you're not going to mean it. Alisa will no longer work here since I'm hiring her as my housekeeper... Also, Simon will no longer help her with her work because he'll be attending a good school. I will pay for his schooling. I hope you don't mind, Alisa," she added as she turned to face her.

Alisa was already crying. "I - I don't know what to say…Thank - thank you, ma'am!"

"Just call me Christine ... And it's all good," she added, smiling.

In the end, Mr. Duncan's arrogance didn't let him apologize properly to Alisa, but he got a taste of his medicine when some people yelled at him from the crowd and called him heartless. He quickened his steps and vanished like a ghost!

Alisa and Simon, on the other hand, moved in with Christine after she returned from her business trip. Simon got enrolled in a good school, and Alisa promised Christine she would work hard and return Simon's tuition fees to her even though Christine assured her it was fine.

While Christine was Alisa's boss, she treated Alisa and Simon like family.

What can we learn from this story?

• Hard work always pays off. Christine used to work odd jobs to pay for her college tuition. Her hard effort eventually paid off when she became a successful businesswoman. Similarly, Alisa's hard labor as a cleaner and Simon's genuine desire to help his mother earned them a better life.

• Unnecessary arrogance and pride will get you nowhere. Mr. Duncan's impolite behavior eventually "earned" him public scorn, and he was embarrassed in front of everyone.

If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about an older man who begged a store owner to hire him as a cleaner in exchange for a $2000 suit.

This story is inspired by the everyday lives of our readers and written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images are for illustration purposes only. Share your story with us; maybe it will change someone’s life. If you would like to share your story, please send it to info@amomama.com.