From the 40th floor of his Chicago headquarters, James—CEO of a company he had built at the cost of his personal life—often stared at the skyline and thought how much success resembled isolation. That changed one morning.
His heavy walnut office door slowly creaked open without a knock. Standing on the polished marble floor was the last person anyone would expect.
A little girl. No older than five.
She wore an oversized gray janitor’s uniform. The sleeves were rolled up several times, the pants tied at the waist with a shoelace, bunching around scuffed pink sneakers. In one hand she carried a spray bottle nearly as long as her forearm; in the other, a neatly folded rag.
James blinked, wondering if exhaustion had finally gotten to him.
“Excuse me, sir,” she said in a small but steady voice. “I came to work for my mommy today.”
“I’m sorry?” he asked, stepping out from behind his desk.
“My name is Chloe. My mommy is Rebecca. She cleans here. She’s the best.” Chloe took a breath as if delivering a memorized speech. “But she got really sick and had to go to the hospital. She said if she misses work again, she might lose her job. So I came instead. I know how to clean.”