Boss Fires Older Courier for Being Late for Work, Next Day Transfers His $1M Mansion to Him — Story of the Day

A wealthy businessman fires his older courier after failing to reach the office on time. Little does the strict boss know he would regret his decision when he learns why his employee was late.

From an early age, David never had to worry about his finances. While growing up, he saw his father work hard to set up their family business, and making money was the least of the young man's worries.

Since he was the only child, David had to take over the business after his father's untimely demise. He spent months learning about the business operations, and soon, he knew every employee by name.

David's business manager introduced him to their oldest employee, Peter, a 65-year-old courier, who was part of their business since day one.

"Your father always trusted Peter with all of the company's important documents." the business manager told David. "Peter always delivers our documents and other parcels on time. He has never disappointed us."

"Nice to meet you, sir!" Peter said, extending his hand to David. "Your father was a wonderful man. He always treated me like family."

Peter was horrified to hear those words. He didn't want to lose his job.

Instead of shaking the man's hand, David nodded with a smile, turned, and walked towards his glass-walled office.

Confused, Peter closed his right hand into a fist and covered it with his left hand. "Did I say something wrong?" he thought to himself. "I wonder why he didn't shake my hand."

The grey-haired courier walked towards the exit since he didn't have any envelopes or packages to deliver that day. He hopped on his bike and returned to his apartment, which had nothing but stained walls and broken furniture.

Peter's wife passed away a decade ago, and his children didn't want to talk to him anymore. He yearned to see or hear from his daughter and son, but they didn't like speaking to him, even over the phone.

The following day, David woke up at 6 a.m. and quickly got ready to leave for work. His wife, Mary, was surprised to see him up early.

"Is everything OK, honey?" Mary asked.

"Yes, sweetheart," David replied while combing his hair. "I have a very important meeting today, so I thought I should leave an hour earlier today. I want to study the business proposal before my clients arrive."

"I must say you have become more responsible after your father left us," Mary commented as she got out of bed and walked towards David. "Good luck with the meeting, darling!"

"Thank you, Mary! I hope everything goes as planned," David replied.

He quickly finished his breakfast and grabbed his car keys before kissing his children goodbye. That day was crucial for David, but he had no idea he would be firing one of his employees hours later.

After reaching his office, David dialed Peter's number to remind him about the documents he had to bring that morning.

"The documents should be at my desk by 8:15, Peter," David instructed the delivery man on the phone.

"I am on my way, sir! I'll be there in no time," Peter replied before David hung up.

An hour later, David was still waiting for the elderly courier to arrive. Peter hadn't shown up at the office, nor was he answering David's calls.

"I need those documents right now!" David screamed at his business manager. "Where is that oldest employee of yours? I thought you said we could trust him!"

Just then, David heard a knock on his door.

"Who is it? Come in!" David said.

A terrified Peter emerged from the door holding a brown envelope in his hands. He quickly placed it on David's desk.

"Where have you been, Peter?" David asked angrily. "I have been waiting for you for an hour! How can you be so irresponsible?"

"I'm so sorry, sir," Peter replied with his head bent downwards. "I was—"

"You were what?" David snapped. "I don't want to hear your lame excuses!"

"I was helping a young girl on the road," Peter explained. "She unknowingly crossed the road at a red light, and a car bumped into her."

"What rubbish!" David yelled. "Get out of my room right now!"

"I even have a picture of her, sir. I promise I'm not making this up," Peter replied.

David stood up from his seat and pointed his finger toward the door.

"Leave my room right now! I don't want to see any pictures!" David screamed. "Wait... Why don't you just leave this company?"

Peter was horrified to hear those words. He didn't want to lose his job.

"You're fired, old man!" David said, "NOW LEAVE!"

Peter put his phone back in his pocket and turned around to leave the room. He couldn't believe he got fired after working in the same company for over two decades.

The elderly man wanted to explain to David what had happened earlier that day. He couldn't reach the office on time because he stopped on his way to help an injured school girl, who reminded him of his own daughter.

Instead of driving away from the accident site, Peter dialed 911 and waited for the ambulance to arrive before he could leave. He even took a photo of the girl to show to David as evidence.

As Peter left the office building, David's phone rang.

"Hi, Mary," David answered.

"David! David!" Mary cried, "Can you come to the hospital right now?"

"Why are you crying, sweetheart? What happened?" A worried David asked.

"Oh, honey... Laura met an accident on her way to school!" Mary replied.

David hung up and asked his manager to cancel his meeting. He rushed to meet his wife and 12-year-old daughter in the hospital, where he learned a kind man who witnessed the accident had called an ambulance and stayed by Laura's side until the first responders arrived.

Laura told her father she met an accident on her way to school. Since David left home early that day, he couldn't drop her to school. Mary asked Laura to walk to school, hoping she would reach safely since it was only a block away from their home.

At that moment, David remembered what Peter had told him earlier: "I was helping a young girl on the road." He realized Peter was possibly the kind man who had helped Laura. Filled with regret, David called Peter to his office the next day.

When David heard a knock on his door the next day, he knew who was standing behind the door.

"Please come in, Peter," David said while sitting at his desk.

"Good Morning, Mr. Finnegan." Peter said, "I got a call yesterday that you wanted to see me."

"Yes, Peter. Please show me the photo of the girl you helped yesterday."

Surprised, Peter quickly slid his hand into his pocket and pulled out his phone.

"This is the young girl." Peter handed his phone to his boss,

"Do you know who she is?" David asked in a shaky voice, the photo confirming what he thought.

"No, sir."

Tears began to roll down David's cheeks, and Peter couldn't understand why his boss was suddenly crying.

"This is Laura, my daughter," David said, "You helped my daughter, Peter. You came to her aid!"

David apologized to Peter for firing him and thanked him for coming to Laura's rescue. The businessman also rewarded Peter with something unexpected.

"The manager told me about your late wife and children and that you've been struggling to find a better place to live," David said. "You don't have to worry anymore, Peter."

David handed him a file titled "Property Transfer Documents."

"This is your reward, Peter," David said. "I have transferred my mansion to your name for saving my little girl. I don't know what would have happened if you didn't stop to help her yesterday."

"But I can't take this, Mr. Finnegan," Peter replied, "This mansion is too much. I have spent all my life in a one-bedroom apartment."

"Take it, Peter. You deserve it!" David said while patting Pater's shoulder.

"Thank you, sir." Tears welled from Peter's eyes as he spoke. "You are too generous!"

After Laura came home from the hospital, David taught her how to cross the road. He showed her videos on YouTube and even bought her a book on traffic rules.

What can we learn from this story?

• Teach your children road safety rules. David learned how important it was to teach his daughter how to cross a road after she got into an accident. Had he done it earlier, he wouldn't have had to cancel his meeting.
• Respect everyone, and listen to what they have to say. When Peter tried explaining to David why he was late, David refused to listen to his story. He would have prevented firing Peter if he allowed him to speak that day.

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Click here to read another story about a manager who kicked out a stinky homeless woman from a luxurious bank until he realized she was his son's mother.

This piece is inspired by stories from 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.