She pressed her earpiece. «Lena, could you inform Mr. Braden that he needs to come down? It’s about the last interview. Just tell him it’s important. Very.»
Upstairs, in the sleek, glass-walled executive office overlooking the skyline, Albert Braden sat alone at his desk. Thirty-two years old and impeccably dressed in a tailored navy suit, he was known for being brilliant, ruthless in business, and as emotionally unavailable as he was successful. He had built his company from nothing, and along the way, had lost interest in small talk, holidays, and anything that resembled family.
He had dismissed most interview days as routine exercises in disappointment, until his assistant appeared at the door, a flicker of a smile tugging at her lips. «Albert, you may want to take this one in person.»
He raised an eyebrow. «Is it the Harvard grad or the ex-Google manager?»
«Neither,» she said. «It is very unique. Just come down.»
Albert sighed, stood up, adjusted his watch, and made his way downstairs. When the elevator doors opened, he was greeted by a sight so unexpected that he stopped short. There she was, barely taller than a fire hydrant, standing in the middle of the lobby like she owned the place.
Lily. The moment she saw him, her face lit up. «You’re the boss?» she asked cheerfully.
Albert blinked. «Yes, I am.»
«I’m here to show you my mom’s paper,» she said, walking right up to him. «She’s sick, but she really wants this job, and I think she deserves it.»
She handed him the folder with both hands. It was slightly smudged, the corner bent, but he took it. The room was silent; dozens of people held their breath. Albert looked at her for a long second. Then, for the first time in years, the corners of his lips tugged upward, just barely, but enough to be real.
He turned to Charlotte. «Clear my schedule for the next fifteen minutes.»
Charlotte blinked. «Sir?»
«I am conducting an interview.» He turned back to Lily and gestured toward the hallway. «Shall we?»
She beamed and nodded. Inside the conference room, Albert pulled out a chair for her, twice her size, but she climbed up with practiced confidence, placing her feet on the bar below. Albert took his seat across from her and opened the folder, scanning the resume while occasionally glancing at her.
«So, Lily,» he said, adjusting his tone, «tell me why your mother wants to work here.»
Lily leaned forward slightly, resting her hands on the edge of the table. Her voice was clear, not rehearsed, just honest. «Mama works really hard,» she said. «She does not buy anything for herself. She always saves money for me.»
«She wants a job that’s not just cleaning or waiting tables,» Lily continued. «She says she wants to use her brain again.» Albert looked at her, unmoving. «She went to college, but she had to stop,» Lily added, «because she had me.»
He blinked slowly, his jaw tight. «And you think she would do well here?»
Lily nodded enthusiastically. «She’s really smart and kind. She always helps people.»
Albert stared down at the resume again, this time reading every line more carefully. Then he looked back at the girl. «And why did you come here today, Lily?»
She smiled. «Because Mama was really sad when she hung up the phone. She said she wanted to give me a better life. So I came to help.»
Albert leaned back slightly, his expression softening. It was not much, but enough for anyone who knew him to realize something profound had just shifted. He gave a small, genuine smile. «Well then,» he said, closing the folder gently, «let us begin the interview.»
Albert sat across the table, his hands loosely clasped over Sarah’s resume. Though he had stopped reading it, his eyes were on the little girl seated opposite him—posture straight, feet dangling, eyes bright and unwavering. He spoke with unusual gentleness. «Can you tell me,» he asked, «what your mom is like?»
Lily’s hands were folded in her lap. She blinked, thinking, then said with quiet certainty, «Mama works all day, all the time.»
He tilted his head slightly. «What kind of work?»
«She cleans houses. And sometimes she’s a waitress. Sometimes she brings food to people’s doors. She never gets to sit down much.»
Albert frowned slightly, nodding for her to continue. «She never buys anything for herself,» Lily added. «Even when her shoes have holes, she says, ‘No, these are still good.’ And then she buys me new ones instead.»
Albert glanced down at the girl’s feet: white sneakers with glittery stars on the sides. New, clean. It made sense now. «She always puts me first,» Lily said, her small voice turning soft. «Every time.»
There was a long pause in the room. The city noise was muted by the thick windows. In that quiet, Albert felt something stir inside his chest, something that had been still for too long.
«Did your mom go to college?» he asked gently.
Lily nodded. «She did. She says she loved learning. But she did not get to finish. She had me.»
Albert’s breath caught in his throat. He leaned back slightly in his chair, his eyes never leaving her. «She told me,» Lily continued, «that she didn’t regret it. She says I’m her favorite reason to stop anything.»
That sentence, so pure and so full of loyalty and sacrifice, landed with the weight of truth. Albert closed the folder. He could imagine it: a young woman, bright, ambitious, full of potential, and then suddenly, completely alone. No family support, no partner, a baby. And instead of running, she chose to stay, to build a life around that baby.
Even if it meant scrubbing floors, waiting tables, and missing meals, that kind of strength was not listed on resumes. «And what do you want for your mom?» he asked, his voice low.
Lily tilted her head, thinking again. «I want her to be happy,» she said. «She’s always tired, but she smiles when I draw pictures for her or when we watch cartoons. I think she just needs a break.»
She paused, then looked up at him with eyes as wide and blue as the ocean. «Mama doesn’t need a lot of money,» she said earnestly. «She just wants a job that lets her buy ice cream every weekend.»
Albert froze. Something about that, so simple and so heartbreakingly innocent, cracked a piece of his well-armored exterior. «She told me once,» Lily whispered, «that she would be the happiest woman in the world if she could just give me that. A little bit of ice cream every Saturday.»
He swallowed hard. For a moment, he forgot to breathe. The silence between them was thick now, not awkward, but reverent. Lily shifted in her chair, her legs swinging again.
Albert finally leaned forward, placing the folder gently on the table. «Lily,» he said softly, «you know, I have interviewed a lot of people in this room. But no one has ever said something that mattered quite like that.»
She smiled, unsure what he meant, but sensing it was something good.
«I think,» he said slowly, choosing his words with care, «your mother might be exactly the kind of person we need.»
Lily’s face lit up. «Really?»
Albert nodded. «Really.» Then, for reasons he could not explain even to himself, he added, «And I happen to know a place that has very good ice cream.»
She beamed. «Mama would like that.»
He smiled a little wider now, a rare, genuine smile that reached all the way to his eyes. For a moment, he let himself imagine it: Sarah, sitting across from him, not in desperation, but with dignity. Lily by her side, laughing. A life that was not built on sacrifice alone, but one where someone finally showed up for them.