Maria found a baby in a park and was forced to bring it to work. Her boss, Principal Parker, was furious because he was giving a tour to some executives and there was a child in the area. He fired her for it, but it backfired when the company owner surprised everyone in the room.
“What am I going to do?” Maria asked herself at a local park in Santa Cruz. She was passing through it on her way to work because it was a shortcut and she had missed the bus. But as she walked, she saw a stroller with a crying baby inside. Normally, that wouldn’t be so strange.
Many mothers took their children for walks around the area, except that day there was no one there for some strange reason. The baby was alone, so Maria picked him up and rocked him. She hated the idea of leaving him there. It was cold in the park and besides, the scene triggered memories of her childhood.
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Her parents had died when she was 13 and she was sent to live with a foster family who made it clear from day one that they only wanted her there as a housemaid.
Maria cleaned, cooked and did housework like never before, dreaming of her 18th birthday when she could get out of there.
When he finally came of age, he received what his biological parents had left him: a small apartment and their savings. It wasn’t much money, but he could start a new life. He wanted to study, but he needed money. So he decided to look for work.
Her only skills were housekeeping, so she applied for cleaning jobs and landed a job at a corporate office. It was a perfect fit. It had plenty of benefits and a good salary for a 19-year-old.
The only real problem was his boss, Principal Parker. He was a tyrant who enjoyed watching others sweat in his presence. He would pit his coworkers against each other to watch them compete.
Even as a cleaning staff, Maria saw his attitude and hated it. She kept her distance as much as possible. But she was going to be late that day. If Principal Parker caught her, she would be in big trouble.
“But am I going to leave this baby here?” she thought as she looked around. She knew she wouldn’t.
Maria wasn’t that kind of person, but she couldn’t get to work with a baby. Fortunately, she had an idea.
When she started working at the office, she met an executive, Ronald. He was the kindest soul in the world and she loved talking to him.
Maybe she could watch the baby for a while while Maria figured out what to do. With that thought in mind, she put the baby back in the stroller and drove him to the corporate building. She put on her uniform, found Director Parker, and walked into Ronald’s office.
“Hi, Maria. What’s that? Do you have a baby?” she asked, standing up from her desk and frowning as she looked at the stroller.
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“He’s not mine. I found him abandoned in the park. It was kind of crazy. There was no one around. I couldn’t just leave him. But I didn’t have time to take him to a police station. Principal Parker would have killed me if I was late. Can you look after him until the end of my shift? Or until lunch?”
“Sure. It’s okay. We can go to the station together. Hopefully, the baby’s mother will be looking for him too,” Ronald replied and smiled. Maria smiled back, but suddenly they heard the unmistakable voice of Director Parker. He was standing in front of Ronald’s office door.
“And here, Mr. Echeverría. I want to introduce you to the executive I’ve been talking about,” said Director Parker, pushing the door open and inviting several important-looking men into Ronald’s office.
However, he stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Maria. “Oh, I didn’t realize you were cleaning the office. Wait. Ronald, what’s going on?”
The man looked around and finally noticed the stroller. “MARIA! You brought a baby to the office! We have rules for a reason! Are you crazy?” Parker shouted rather angrily.
“Sir, it’s not my…” Maria tried to explain, but the director interrupted her again.
“I don’t want to hear your excuses. I will speak to her supervisor and ask for her to be fired. This is an office, not a daycare center. GET OUT OF HERE RIGHT NOW!” he shouted even louder.
Maria moved to grab the baby, but Ronald intervened: “No, Principal Parker. It’s not your baby.”
“Ronald! So, is this your baby?” the boss asked.
“No, it’s just…” Ronald tried to continue, only to be interrupted as well.
“Get him out of my sight this second!” Principal Parker was furious.
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“Wait a minute. What’s going on here?” one of the men who had entered the office with Director Parker intervened.
“Don’t worry, Mr. Echeverría. I’ll clear this up and we’ll continue the tour,” Director Parker said, speaking sweetly to the man. Obviously, this older gentleman was even more powerful than he was.
“No, Parker. Idiot. I want to know what’s going on with the baby,” the older man said.
Ronald saw his chance to speak. “Mr. Echeverria, Maria found an abandoned baby in the park and asked me to look after him until we could both go to the police station,” he said calmly.
“Ah, I see. Parker, I don’t know why you feel the need to yell at your employees in a situation like this,” the older executive said, looking at the director sternly.
“Sir, this is an office and I try to maintain…” he tried to justify his actions, but Mr. Echeverría interrupted him.
“Yes, I’ve heard all about the kind of office you try to run. You think I came here for a tour of the place? I built this place from scratch. I know all about it. But it’s time to tell you the truth. There are so many complaints about your behavior that I couldn’t put it off any longer. You’re fired.”
Principal Parker stammered, but Mr. Echeverria continued. “I don’t want to listen to you. You’ve wanted to be the boss, demanding things, making people compete, and turning the office into a battlefield. And you seem to hate babies, too. But I AM THE BOSS, and I make the final decision. Get out of here.”
Principal Parker looked around with a red face as Mr. Echeverria walked further into the office. Surprisingly, he picked up the baby.
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As Director Parker left the office, the company owner spoke up: “Do you know I was also found abandoned in a park?” he told the people in the room.
The other higher-ups with him nodded, but Maria turned around and said boldly, “Really?”
“Yes. I was raised in orphanages until I ran away at 13. I started working as a dishwasher. It was a different time, and nobody batted an eyelid. There were no child labor laws back then. And I paid my way through school and built all this.”
“I didn’t do that so a horrible man could harass and insult my employees, especially someone who was just trying to be a good Samaritan,” Mr. Echeverria said while rocking the baby.
“Thank you, Mr. Echeverría. I have to get back to work, but I will take the baby to the station as soon as I can,” said Maria.
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“Don’t bother. I have some contacts and I’ll call them. Come on, gentlemen. Let’s continue walking through the company,” the CEO said, placing the baby back down and pushing him out of Ronald’s office. “Ronald, please join us.”
Ronald smiled with great satisfaction as he watched Maria. Then he followed the important men.
The entire office cheered as they saw Principal Parker being escorted out by a couple of building security guards. Even Maria and her fellow cleaners smiled knowingly as well.
After that day, Ronald took over Director Parker’s job and the whole atmosphere in the office changed completely. He asked Maria out and soon they began to have a romance.
A few months later, they discovered that one of Mr. Echeverría’s sons had decided to adopt the baby when they couldn’t find his parents. The Echeverría family was incredibly wealthy, so Maria knew they would take care of him.
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What can we learn from this story?
- Help someone whenever you can: Maria could have left the baby in the park. It wasn’t her responsibility, but she decided to help and the baby ended up in a good place.
- Being a bad boss doesn’t earn you respect: Some people think that being a boss means being tough and demanding. But that’s not the case, and Principal Parker learned that the hard way.
Share this story with your friends. It might brighten their day and inspire them.
This story is inspired by a reader’s story and has been written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to real names or locations is purely coincidental. All images shown are for illustrative purposes only. Share your story with us, it could change someone’s life. If you wish to share your story, please send it to info@amomama.com .
