“Please Don’t Fire Mommy…”, The Little Girl Whispered to the CEO, and Christmas Changed Everything
A Little Girl’s Plea
He assumed it was one of his executives coming to pressure him into making a decision. But then he heard a small voice, uncertain and scared.
“Excuse me.” Thomas turned and saw a little girl standing in the doorway of the boardroom.
She couldn’t have been more than four years old, with blonde curly hair and wide blue eyes. She wore a pink dress and clutched a worn teddy bear to her chest.
Behind her down the hallway, Thomas could hear someone calling, “Lily, Lily, where did you go?” “Hi there,” Thomas said, crouching down so he was at her eye level.
“Are you lost?” The little girl, Lily, took a tentative step into the boardroom.
“I’m looking for the boss,” she said, her voice small but determined. “The big boss, the one who decides things.”
“That would be me,” Thomas said gently. “I’m the CEO. What’s your name?”
“Lily Martinez,” she said. Then, as if remembering something important, she added, “I’m 4 and 3/4.”
“Nice to meet you, Lily. What can I help you with?” Lily walked closer, her small shoes making no sound on the expensive carpet.
When she was right in front of Thomas, she looked up at him with those serious blue eyes. She whispered, “Please don’t fire Mommy.”
Thomas felt his stomach drop. “What?”
“My mommy works here,” Lily said, her voice still a whisper as if she was sharing a secret. “She talks to customers on the phone and helps them when they’re confused.”
“She says the company might be letting people go and she’s scared she’ll lose her job.” “And if she loses her job we might have to move away from our apartment.”
“I’d have to leave my school and mommy won’t be able to buy the medicine for her diabetes.” Her voice broke.
“Please don’t fire my mommy. She works really really hard. She’s the best mommy in the whole world.”
Thomas felt like he’d been punched. He’d known intellectually that the layoffs would affect real people, of course he had.
But sitting in a boardroom talking about cutting 20% of staff was very different from this. He now had a 4-year-old child begging him not to take away her mother’s livelihood.
A woman appeared in the doorway looking panicked. She was probably in her early 30s, wearing the business casual attire of the customer service department.
Her face was flushed with embarrassment and fear. “I’m so sorry, Mr. Warren.”
“I brought her to work because daycare is closed for a teacher training day and I couldn’t find a sitter.” “She was supposed to stay in the breakroom. I’m so sorry.”
Thomas stood up and the woman, Lily’s mother, looked even more terrified. “It’s fine,” Thomas said quickly.
“She wasn’t bothering me. You’re Angela Martinez?” “Sir, customer service level three. I apologize for the interruption. It won’t happen again.”
Thomas looked at Angela—really looked at her. He saw the fear in her eyes and the way her hand trembled slightly as she reached for her daughter.
He saw the worn edges of her shoes and the carefully mended seam on her jacket. He saw someone working hard, doing her best, and terrified of losing everything.
He saw himself sitting in that boardroom about to destroy 300 lives with the stroke of a pen. He was doing it because it made financial sense.
“Ms. Martinez,” Thomas said, “could you and Lily wait in my office for just a moment?” “I need to finish up here.”
Angela looked like she might faint. “Sir, I really should get back to my desk. I’m so sorry for the disruption.”
“Please,” Thomas said, “just give me 5 minutes.” “My assistant will show you to my office.”
“There are toys there left over from when my nephew visited. Lily, you can play while I talk to your mom, okay?”
Lily nodded solemnly and Thomas called his assistant to escort them out. Then he turned back to the executives who’d filtered back into the boardroom, all looking confused and curious.
