— That we’ve shown you can’t play dirty games with us, — Pavel said. — Everyone will remember this lesson.
That evening, when the office was almost empty, Pavel remembered Lidia and Mila. It was the little girl who had set this whole chain of events in motion. He asked Alena to find Lidia. The cleaner was working on the floor below. Ten minutes later, there was a timid knock on his office door. Lidia entered in her faded smock.
— You wanted to see me, Pavel Igorevich? — she asked quietly. — Is something wrong?
— Everything is fine, Lidia, — Pavel reassured her. — Please, sit down. Where’s Mila?
— Downstairs, busy with her coloring books. — Lidia perched on the edge of the chair. — Did she do something wrong?
— On the contrary, — Pavel smiled. — She helped the company a great deal. Thanks to her, we prevented a serious information leak.
Lidia looked at him, uncomprehending.
— Mila? Helped?
Pavel briefly explained what had happened, omitting the details. Lidia listened with wide eyes.
— My goodness, — she whispered. — I had no idea. She didn’t say anything to me.
— I asked her not to say anything for now, — Pavel explained. — But it’s all over now, and I want to thank you. You and Mila.
— Us? For what? — Lidia was bewildered.
— For honesty, — Pavel said simply. — Mila could have kept quiet. You could have forbidden her from telling the boss anything. But she did the right thing, and thanks to that, the company avoided huge losses. — He opened a desk drawer and took out an envelope. — This is for you, — he said, handing the envelope to Lidia. — A bonus. Fifty thousand. Consider it a thank you from the company.
Lidia took the envelope with trembling hands. She opened it, saw the bills, and quickly closed it again.
— I can’t, — she mumbled. — This is too much. I just clean the floors.
— You can, — Pavel said firmly. — You are an honest person, and you are raising your daughter to be the same. That is worth a lot. And one more thing: starting Monday, you are being transferred to the position of administrative assistant. The salary is seventy thousand a month. A day shift, from nine to six. You’ll be able to pick Mila up from daycare in time.
Lidia stared at him, unable to utter a word. Tears streamed down her cheeks.
— I… I don’t know what to say, — she whispered. — Thank you. Thank you so much.
— Go on, — Pavel smiled. — And give this to Mila. — He took a large plush teddy bear from the closet, a meter tall, soft and fluffy. — I bought it yesterday on my way home, specially for her. And tell her she did a great job. A very brave girl.
Lidia took the bear, hugged it to her chest, and burst into tears again. Pavel waited for her to calm down and walked her to the door.
Left alone, he went to the window. His car was in the illuminated parking lot below. Around were the city lights, stretching to the horizon. Somewhere out there, in one of the apartments, Svetlana Beregay was trying to understand how she had made such a mistake in her life. Somewhere, employees of ‘Status-Tech’ were discussing the scandal and wondering what would happen to their reputation. And he, Pavel Chernyavsky, stood in his office and understood a simple truth: in business, as in life, it’s not money or connections that decide things. It’s honesty.
A little girl turned out to be more honest than an adult, experienced professional with two diplomas. And that honesty saved the company he had been building for twenty years.
The following week, ‘Status-Tech’ published an official statement admitting that ethical standards had been violated in the course of their business activities, the company apologized and pledged to adhere to fair competition in the future. Eight million was transferred to ‘Chernyavsky Soft’s’ account ten days later. The three clients who had gone to the competitor returned after learning the truth.
Lidia Promskaya started her new job and was doing excellently. Mila was happy, with a huge teddy bear and a feeling that she had done something very important, although she didn’t fully understand what it was.
Pavel filed this story away in his memory as an important lesson. A lesson that sometimes, salvation comes from where you least expect it. That a child’s innocence can be wiser than an adult’s calculation.
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