Henderson choked on his sip of champagne. His eyes went wide, darting between David’s clueless face and my stony expression.
“The… nanny?” Henderson repeated, his voice strained.https://yourstorydaily.com/wp-admin/media-upload.php?post_id=3662&type=image&TB_iframe=1
David laughed again, sweating now. “Yes. Good help is so hard to find, right? Anyway, about the Q3 projections…”
Henderson looked at me. He was waiting for a signal. If I gave the word, he would fire David right here, right now.
I held his gaze. I raised one eyebrow slightly and gave a barely perceptible shake of my head. Not yet.
“A pleasure to meet you, Maya,” Henderson said, his voice dripping with hidden meaning. “I imagine… cleaning up after David is a full-time job.”
“You have no idea,” I said smoothly, my voice calm despite the rage burning in my chest. “But I’m very good at disposing of trash.”
David didn’t catch the double entendre. He just clapped Henderson on the shoulder and steered him toward the bar, leaving me standing alone in my “plain” silk dress.
He had denied me. He had erased me.
I watched him go. The man I had loved, the man I had saved from financial ruin more times than he knew, had just publicly reduced me to hired help to save his ego.
“Well, well,” a shrill voice cut through my thoughts. “Look who’s standing all alone.”
I turned. Sarah, my sister-in-law, was approaching. She was wearing a red sequined dress that was too tight and holding a glass of red wine that was too full.
Part 3: The Red Wine Stain
Sarah had always hated me. From the moment David brought me home, she had decided I wasn’t good enough. I was too quiet. Too plain. Too “domestic.” She, on the other hand, was an “influencer” with 5,000 followers and a mountain of credit card debt that David—using my money—often paid off.
“Hello, Sarah,” I said.
She didn’t return the greeting. She looked me up and down, sneering at my white dress.
“Bold choice,” she said, taking a sip of wine. “White? Really? Trying to look like a virgin bride? It looks like a bedsheet.”
“It’s silk, Sarah.”
“Whatever,” she rolled her eyes. “David told me what he said to Henderson. ‘The Nanny.’ God, that was brilliant. I almost died laughing. It’s perfect for you. You do have that… servant vibe.”
“Is that so?” I asked, checking my nails.
“Don’t get an attitude, Maya,” Sarah snapped. “You’re lucky he brings you to these things at all. Most men would leave you at home with a microwave dinner.”
David walked back over to us, looking flushed and triumphant.
“Henderson loves the new pitch!” David exclaimed. “I think I’ve got the promotion in the bag.”
“That’s great, Davey!” Sarah squealed, hugging him. She turned to me, her eyes gleaming with malice. “We should celebrate. A toast!”
She raised her glass. She took a step toward me.
It wasn’t an accident. I saw her eyes lock onto the front of my dress. I saw her wrist tilt.
“Whoops!” Sarah cried out, loudly and theatrically.
She lurched forward. The entire contents of her glass—a dark, heavy Cabernet—splashed across the front of my white dress.
The liquid soaked instantly into the silk, spreading like a gunshot wound across my chest and stomach. It dripped down to the hem, pooling on the marble floor.
The chatter nearby stopped. People turned to stare.
“Oh my God!” Sarah gasped, covering her mouth with a hand that was clearly hiding a smile. “I am so clumsy! But… wow, that stains fast. Good thing it was a cheap dress, right?”
She looked at David, expecting him to laugh. Expecting him to comfort her.
And he did.
“It’s okay, Sarah,” David said, glancing around nervously, worried about the scene. He looked at me with annoyance. “Maya, why were you standing so close? You know she’s animated.”
“She threw it on me, David,” I said quietly.
“Don’t lie!” Sarah cried. “It was an accident!”
“Look,” David sighed, reaching for a stack of cocktail napkins from a passing waiter’s tray. He shoved them into my hand.
“Since you’re the ‘help’ tonight,” Sarah sneered, pointing to the red puddle on the floor, “why don’t you clean that up? We can’t have the investors slipping on your mess.”
I looked at David. I waited for him to defend me. I waited for him to tell his sister to back off.
David just gestured to the floor. “Just wipe it up, Maya. Quickly. Before Henderson sees.”
Something inside me snapped. It wasn’t a loud snap. It was the quiet click of a lock disengaging. The final barrier of my patience had fallen.
I looked at the napkins in my hand. Then I looked at David.
“No,” I said.
I dropped the napkins on the floor. They floated down, settling on the red wine.
“Maya!” David hissed. “What are you doing? Pick them up!”
“I don’t think I will,” I said.
I turned around and began walking toward the stage at the front of the room.
“Maya!” David whispered-shouted, chasing after me. “Where are you going? The bathroom is the other way! You can’t go up there! That’s for the executives!”
I ignored him. I walked with my head high, the red stain on my dress serving not as a mark of shame, but as a badge of war.
Part 4: The Madam Chairman Speaks
The room grew quiet as I ascended the stairs to the stage. A woman in a ruined dress walking toward the microphone tends to draw attention.
Mr. Henderson was standing at the podium, reviewing his notes. When he saw me coming, he didn’t look confused. He looked relieved.
He stepped back and bowed his head slightly. “Madam Chairman,” he whispered, loud enough for the front row to hear.
I stepped up to the microphone. The feedback squeal pierced the air, silencing the last murmurs of the crowd.
I looked out at the sea of faces. I saw David and Sarah standing near the bar. David’s face was a mask of pure horror. Sarah looked confused, her mouth hanging open.
“Good evening,” I said. My voice was steady, amplified by the speakers, filling every corner of the ballroom.
“For those who don’t know me, my name is Maya Sterling. And ten minutes ago, my husband introduced me to your CEO as his nanny.”
A collective gasp rippled through the room. Heads turned toward David. He shrank back, looking like he wanted to dissolve into the carpet.
“And five minutes ago,” I continued, “his sister threw a glass of wine on me and told me to clean it up, because ‘that’s what the help does.’”
I pointed to the stain on my dress.
“I am standing here tonight to clarify a few things regarding the staffing of this company.”
I locked eyes with David. He was shaking his head, mouthing Stop, stop it.
“I do not work for the Sterling family,” I announced, my voice hardening into steel. “I do not answer to David. And I certainly do not clean floors.”
I paused for effect.
“I am the owner of Apex Innovations. I am the ‘Ghost Chairman’ who bought your debt. I am the one who signs the checks.”
The room erupted. People were standing up to get a better look. Henderson was nodding beside me, validating every word.
“And as the owner,” I said, “I have a strict policy against employees who lack integrity. Lying about your spouse to gain status? That is a character flaw I cannot afford in leadership.”
I pointed a finger directly at David.
“David Sterling. You are fired. Effective immediately.”
