He was swinging between the second and third floor of the office building where he worked as a window cleaner. Both his daughters, Jane and Charlotte, were watching him from the safety of the ground floor, and they were always fascinated with how high Nicholas was trying to make them laugh while the rope was moving him up and down.
Charlotte, the youngest of the two, always laughed at his antics, which made his heart soar. Their mother died two years ago, and they were both too little to remember her well. Becoming a single father had been the most challenging part of Nicholas’s life, but it was so worth it.
His sister tried to help, but she had a career and her own kids who needed her. So sometimes, Nicholas was forced to bring the girls with him to work, hoping everything would be all right. Luckily, he’d been doing this for months, and no one had a problem with it because his girls were pretty well-behaved. This time, however, he should have paid more attention to them. The tiny giggles erupted from Charlotte’s mouth, and she started clapping while holding a juice cup in her hands.
“Careful with your juice, honey,” he warned her gently. He didn’t want her to cry if it spilled, but something even worse happened. His three-year-old kept laughing and moving her arms around, which made the juice cup fly out of her hands. This wouldn’t be a problem except it fell on the expensive-looking shoes of a businessman who’d been busy on his cell phone and was about to enter the building. “What the.
.!” he yelled, looking at his shoes. His face rose in the direction of a little girl who had spilled her juice cup, and they turned red in anger. Nicholas saw how Jane hugged her little sister and radioed his buddy who was controlling the bosun chair.
He lowered Nicholas quickly to the ground floor. When he reached his daughters, he stepped in front of him. “Sir, I’m so sorry. My daughter wasn’t looking. She didn’t mean any harm,” he apologized, leaning slightly to explain better to the man.
“Sorry, fix my shoes. These are Testonis. Are you gonna buy me a new pair?” “Of course not. You couldn’t afford them even if you worked a billion years without eating,” the businessman spat again.
And when Nicholas nodded, he smiled evilly. “You won’t be working here for long. I have a meeting with Mr. Albrecht, and he’ll be sure to tell him about this situation.” Nicholas’s eyes widened in shock.
Mr. Albrecht wasn’t only the owner of the company but the entire building and several more around that area in New York. Suddenly, Nicholas’s direct boss, Mr. Rogers, came out in a run. “Mr.
Anderson, what’s going on?” “I’m gonna tell Mr. Albrecht that your workers are careless, useless, and completely rude,” the businessman said to the other man and entered the building stomping angrily. Mr. Rogers looked back and forth between them, and Nicholas could only shrink, but his eyes showed all their remorse in the world.
His boss followed the businessman, and after several minutes, he returned. “Nicholas, you have to go back to the big boss’s office. What Mr. Albrecht wants to see me from getting fired, they can just tell you,” he said, starting to sweat. “He wants to see you and your daughters up there.
Go quick before it gets madder. Apparently, that man was gonna sign an important deal today with a big boss. He’s another millionaire, and he explicitly told the big boss they have to be fired beforehand,” Mr. Rogers said, his eyes sad and defeated. “Sorry, man, there’s nothing I can do for you.
I know neither you nor your daughters meant any harm, but some of these people are just not that nice.” Nicholas nodded and gestured for his girls to follow him. “Don’t worry, sir. I understand. I’ll just try to plead my case during the elevator ride.
“James, are we in trouble?” both daughters stared at him with wide eyes, and Nicholas couldn’t tell them the truth. “No, girls. We’re gonna meet the big boss and explain everything. It’ll be all right,” he assured them with a fake smile.
Finally, he reached Mr. Albrecht’s office, and the businessman, Mr. Anderson, was standing there with his arms crossed in an arrogant smile. The big boss was sitting on his desk. He suddenly put his reading glasses on and picked up a paper from his desk.
“Nicholas Harper, yes, sir, that’s me,” he said, adjusting his shirt slightly to look better. “Tell me what happened,” Mr. Albrecht demanded, taking off his glasses and staring at him sternly. Nicholas did his best to explain the situation, how he was swinging while working to entertain the girls, and how Charlotte spilled her juice accidentally. “Why are your daughters here?
Where’s the mother? This is a workplace,” Mr. Albrecht inquired, and the window cleaner hung his head, having to explain his home situation. When he finished, the big boss stared at him blankly and looked outside at the view of New York from his high-rise window. Nicholas waited for the dreaded words: “You’re fired.
He was sweating through his uniform and thinking about the 156 dollars in his account that would have to get him through the month, and that’s if he found a new job. The office was too quiet, and Nicholas could still feel the arrogance of the businessman who probably had enough money to replace those shoes easily. Still, he was going to deprive his daughters of basic needs because of a simple mistake. Finally, Mr. Albrecht sighed heavily and stood from his desk.
The suspense was killing Nicholas, and he was about to just quit when suddenly he felt the older man’s hand patting his shoulder. “It’s fine, boy. You’re not getting fired. You’re working hard to raise your family, and that’s a quality I admire dearly,” the big boss stated, making Nicholas’s eyes widen in shock. Then he saw Mr.
Albrecht approaching Mr. Anderson, whose hands had fallen to his sides in surprise. “Tom Anderson, you think a pair of shoes is more important than a man trying to earn a living for his family?” the big boss asked rhetorically. “But.
. but…” the businessman stuttered.
“What? You walked into this office with a huge attitude, demanding to fire a solid, loyal employee over something so stupid, and you thought I’d listen? I came from nothing. I built this empire with sweat, tears, and blood. I did it for my family, all of it.
And you did it for what? Bragging rights over overpriced clothes? Our deal is off. My company will never work with people like you. Please see yourself out,” Mr.
Albrecht said, shocking Nicholas. Then Mr. Albrecht turned to Nicholas. “Hey, if you ever need to, your daughters can stay up here so you can work safely without worries. I have granddaughters, so I keep coloring books here, and they can watch TV or sleep here too,” the big boss assured him.
“Now you can go back to work.” Nicholas almost bounded out of the big boss’s office, thanking him for his understanding. He exited his office with the girls to continue his workday, but from then on, he would go up and leave them in Mr. Albrecht’s office, and they loved it, especially when Nicholas cleaned the windows right outside, and they could finally see him up close from such a great height. He waved and made funny faces at them, and every once in a while, he saw the big boss smiling too.
