Rich Man Mocks Flight Attendant until He Realizes She's His Daughter – Story of the Day

When a rich man boards a flight to attend a business meeting, a flight attendant greets him politely, unaware that the man will soon mock her. A few minutes later, the businessman realizes something that suddenly makes him go quiet.

Being the owner of one of the biggest IT companies in town, Mark lived a life of luxury. And loneliness.

The 40-year-old man had accumulated a lot of wealth, but he didn't have anyone to share it with. He lived alone in a luxurious mansion and had hired people who helped keep his house clean.

While Mark's friends would spend their weekend afternoons with their wives and children, he would sit alone on his front porch with a cup of iced latte, watching kids play on the street.

"I wish I could see my kids play like this!" he thought.

Mark was a successful businessman, but his luck with love was nothing to be proud of. All his life, he tried his best to find a woman who wanted to settle down with him, to no avail.

His ex-girlfriends weren't ready to move in with him or give birth to his children, while he wanted to tie the knot and start his family. And so, the successful young businessman became more and more bitter towards the world everyday...

It was a regular weekend for Mark when he was lying on his couch reading news articles on his tablet when he received a call from his secretary, Julia.

"What does she think of herself? That the world owes her because she's in her 20s?"

"Hi, sir. I'm sorry to disturb you on a Saturday, but something urgent has come up," Julia spoke nervously through the phone, hoping her boss wouldn't lose his temper.

Mark's employees were aware of his mood swings. Most of them had watched him lose his temper over little things, so they always ensured they didn't speak to him unnecessarily or do something that would make him angry.

"What is it?" Mark asked firmly.

"Our client from Detroit wants to meet you tomorrow instead of Tuesday. I tried my best to convince him to meet on a weekday, but he said tomorrow is the only day he is available," the secretary explained, her voice tinged with uncertainty. She wasn't sure how her boss would react.

"Why are you even asking me when you've made all the decisions yourself?" Mark rolled his eyes as he shouted at her.

"I'm sorry, sir. I can call it off if you—."

"Too late for that now, genius," Mark replied. "Have you booked my flight?"

"No, sir," Julia replied as she scrolled through her laptop while searching for flights to Detriot. "I found one that leaves at 8 a.m. tomorrow. Should I book it?"

"8 a.m. on a Sunday? Oh, God!" Mark shook his head in disappointment but did not want to miss meeting the client. He was sure the meeting would land him a good deal. "Okay, book it right away and send me the details. And DO NOT mess up my seating preference."

"Of course, sir. Thank you!"

After ending the phone call, Mark began mocking Julia behind her back. "Of course, sir, she says. But I'm pretty sure she's going to mess it up again. And then she'll have the gall to walk up to me and ask me for a raise. What does she think of herself? That the world owes her because she's in her 20s?"

In his eyes, the younger generation had it easy, and undeservingly so. Mumbling curses under his breath, Mark entered the study room to make notes for his meeting.

"I will make sure he signs the deal!" the man smiled after admiring the bullet points in his notepad. "This is going to be one helluva trip!"

Later that night, Mark instructed his housemaid, Samantha, not to come the next day. I need you to report back at 7 a.m. sharp on Monday, okay? Do you understand sharp? Or will you give me some sloppy excuse about your kids this time, too?"

"Monday, 7 a.m. I will be here, sir," Samantha replied while staring at the ground, holding her hands behind her back.

"Now go away!!" he shouted at her.

None of Mark's employees understood what made him lose his temper suddenly. They would watch him shout at them over nothing, but they couldn't do anything except bear his hostile attitude. After all, he paid his employees well, whether it was his housemaid, secretary, or the software engineers at his workplace.

The following morning, Mark woke up early and pulled out his brand-new black suit from his wardrobe. He believed in dressing well for meetings because it helped create a good impression on his clients, increasing his chances of making a good deal.

Holding a ham sandwich in his hand, Mark sat in the backseat of his car and instructed the chauffeur to take him to the airport. On his way, he bought coffee and had it with his sandwich.

Upon reaching the airport, Mark scanned the departure area looking for Julia, but he couldn't find her. He expected her to welcome him at the airport because they had to board the flight together.

"Where is this useless woman?" he grumbled while searching for her number in his phone. He quickly called her, unaware that she would ruin his mood.

"I'm sorry, but I can't accompany you today, sir," Julia said upon receiving his phone call. "I fell in the bathroom earlier this morning and fractured my ankle. I am so sorry."

Instead of sympathizing with Julia, Mark began shouting at her.

"You're such an irresponsible woman! You know I don't like traveling without an assistant!"

After venting his frustration on Julia, Mark walked inside the airport alone and sat in the lounge, waiting to board the plane. He was still angry about flying without an assistant but could do nothing about it now.

A few minutes later, a flight attendant greeted him as he boarded the plane. After guiding him towards his business class seat, she introduced herself. "My name is Christell, and I will serve you throughout your 3-hour journey. You can call me if you need anything, sir," she said with a smile.

"Yeah, sure. Will you stop crowding me now?" Mark rolled his eyes, annoyed by the young girl's presence.

Once the plane took off, Christell returned with a glass of juice to Mark's seat. "Here's some fresh orange juice for you, sir," she said politely, extending the tray table attached to Mark's seat.

"Get your dirty hands off my seat!" he yelled at her. "I don't want to have juice right now. Get me a cup of black coffee! No sugar."

"Oh… I am so sorry, sir. I'll be right back with your coffee," Christell was confused after watching him yell at her. This was the first time a passenger had misbehaved with her since she started working two years ago.

While shouting at the flight attendant, Mark noticed a mole on her wrist that reminded him of the first of his ex-girlfriends, Colleen. He had dated her for more than four years before she left him.

"Colleen had a mole at the same spot," he thought while looking at the clouds outside.

A few minutes later, Christell arrived with black coffee and served it to Mark. "I hope you like the coffee, sir. Would you like to have something else?"

"No, thank you," Mark replied, looking at the young girl's face while thinking about Colleen. Looking at the flight attendant's facial features made him think about something, but he wasn't sure if that was true.

"Could she be Colleen's daughter?" he wondered after Christell left. "This girl looks like a younger version of her."

A few minutes later, the flight attendant returned to Mark's seat to serve lunch. As she took his plate out from the trolley, the man looked at her keycard attached to her pocket, trying to read her surname.

"What?" Mark was shocked.

"Oh God!" he gasped upon reading it because it was the same as his ex's surname.

"Is everything okay, sir?" Christell asked. "Do you need anything?"

"No. I just…" Mark was at a loss for words after realizing Christell was his ex's daughter. Little did he know that he would be equally shocked after learning about the girl's paternity.

"Enjoy your meal!" the young flight attendant said before she slid her trolley forward.

After taking a few bites of his meal, Mark decided to confront Christell. "She might not be who I think she is," he thought as he pressed the button to call her.

"Do you need something, sir?" the flight attendant arrived a few seconds later.

"I wanted to ask you something," Mark said sternly.

"Sure, sir. What is it?" Christell asked with a smile, trying her best to help him.

"I hope you don't mind, but I wanted to know if you are Colleen's daughter," Mark said confidently, looking into the young girl's eyes.

"Umm… yes, my mother's name is Colleen, but I'm not sure what made you ask that," Christell shrugged her shoulders. "Do you know her?"

"Look at you now!" Mark mocked the young girl.

"Servant! Colleen's daughter is a servant!"

"Excuse me, sir, but I don't think you have the right to disrespect my mother," the man's harsh remarks offended the flight attendant.

"Your mother was my girlfriend for four years, so I have all the right to talk about her," Mark laughed.

"Get this," Mark was now pulling in the disinterested passenger next to him into the conversation, "Colleen and I broke up because she never wanted to have children. She wanted to be that farce of an independent woman doing her own thing, living like a nomad. So, of course, I broke up with her. And now...what a laugh! Colleen's daughter stands before me. Serving coffee," he chuckled as he took a sip.

"Who did she marry then? Who's your father?"

Learning about the stranger's relationship with her mother sent Christell down memory lane to when her mother used to talk about her ex-boyfriend.

"Your father left me, but he still lives in my heart," Christell recalled her mother's words in her head. It hit her that the man sitting in the business class seat could be her father. He could be the man who left her mother when she needed him the most.

"Who's your father, coffee girl?" Mark repeated his question.

"I think it's you," Christell replied sternly, her gaze locked on the man.

"What? Are you out of your mind?" he squinted, his eyebrows furrowed.

"Mom was pregnant when you left her," the flight attendant replied as she looked around the aircraft.

"What?" Mark was shocked.

"Mom always said my father left her before learning about her pregnancy," the flight attendant revealed. "She never married nor dated anyone after you, Mark. Your name's Mark, right?"

"Yes, but…" the man couldn't believe his ears. He never told anyone this, but he had spent every day in the past few years regretting his stupid decision of breaking Colleen's heart. He had yearned to have kids all his life but had no idea he already had a daughter with Colleen.

"I get it now, why Mom never told you about my existence. I'm sure you guys must have parted ways because of your anger issues," Christell rolled her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Christell," Mark apologized.

"Why are you working here? You should be in college!"

"I have to work to make ends meet, Mark," she explained. "Mom didn't leave me with a fortune, so I can't afford college right now. I'm saving money for it."

"What do you mean she didn't leave you with money? Where is she?"

"She passed away two years ago, Mark," Chrsitell replied while holding her tears back. "She had cancer."

Learning about his ex's death broke Mark's heart into a million pieces. Colleen was one woman he had loved dearly. That faint silent hope of someday somehow getting back together with Colleen broke within him at that moment.

"I'm so sorry, Christell," Mark lowered his gaze. "I can't believe this."

Toward the end of the flight, Mark asked Christell to give him her number. "I will contact you after my meeting, okay? I want to discuss something with you," he said.

Later that evening, Mark called his daughter after signing the deal with his client. He asked Christell to meet him at a restaurant for dinner and felt happy when she agreed.

Sitting inside one of the best restaurants in the city, Mark apologized to his daughter for leaving his mother when she needed him the most. "I didn't know she was pregnant, Christell. I wanted to get married and have kids, but your mother never agreed. I left her thinking she didn't want children. I can't believe I spent my life away from you and her because of one misunderstanding!"

The father-daughter duo shed tears talking about Colleen and exchanged hugs as they realized their lives were incomplete without each other. While bonding over dinner, Mark offered to pay his daughter's college fee so she didn't have to work as a flight attendant.

"We can live together in my house, Christell," he said. "I want to tell you so many stories about your mother! The four years I spent with her were the best years of my life."

"But…"

"No buts, Christell," Mark said sternly.

"You're coming with me, kid. And that's final!"

Thinking about what her mother would have wanted if she was alive, the young girl agreed to move in with her father and attend college.

She found a new direction in life during the flight, while Mark got what he had been yearning for. He could finally celebrate his daughter's milestones and feel proud like his friends. Moreover, reuniting with his daughter made him control his anger. The bitterness inside him melted, and everyone got to see Mark in a whole new light.

What can we learn from this story?

• Follow your gut feeling. Mark's gut feeling said Christell seemed familiar to him. Had he not asked her about Colleen, he would have never learned that he had a daughter.
• Don't vent your frustration on others. Mark always scolded his employees and looked down on them because it was his way of venting his anger and frustration. He could have managed his anger through other activities.

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Click here to read another story about a rich man who makes a flight attendant cry by mocking her until an elderly lady reigns him in.

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