Chapter 6 - THE WAITER’S PROMOTION
Renata looked up at me, her cheeks wet with tears, her arrogance completely shattered. “Is there anything I can do? Anything at all? I will apologize publicly. I will post a statement. Just please… ask the bank to give my father a thirty-day extension on the apartment. Don't let them take everything.”
I looked at her for a long moment. I did not feel vengeance; I felt only the deep sadness of seeing a young person who had wasted her potential on vanity and malice.
“I will not interfere with the bank’s legal proceedings regarding your father’s corporate loans,” I said calmly. “He must answer to the law for the documents he forged. However… I will not seize your father’s apartment in Ciudad Satélite. I will instruct my legal team to pause the foreclosure on that specific residential property so your parents have a roof over their heads.”
Renata blinked, stunned. “You… you would do that?”
“I do not kick families onto the street, Renata, no matter how terribly they have behaved,” I replied quietly. “That is the difference between my family and yours. But you will have to work. You will have to find a real job, earn your own income, and learn what it means to earn a living with honest hands. If you ever want to rebuild your life, start by learning humility.”
Renata lowered her head, weeping silently. She picked up her handbag, left the engagement ring on the table, and walked out of the office without saying another word.
When the glass doors closed behind her, Santiago let out a long, heavy breath. “You are far more generous than she deserved, Mom.”
“Generosity is not for her, Santiago,” I answered gently. “It is for us. If we allow bitter people to turn us into bitter people, then they have won. We keep our dignity intact.”
I took a file from my desk and opened it. “Now, let us turn our attention to something far more important.”
“What’s that?” Santiago asked, leaning over.
“Do you remember the young waiter from the party?” I asked, a warm smile touching my lips. “The young man who stepped forward with a napkin to help me, even when Renata threatened to fire him on the spot?”
Santiago smiled faintly, remembering the moment. “Yes. His name was Mateo Ruiz. He was working for the catering company Ernesto hired.”
“I had my staff track him down yesterday,” I said, sliding the file across the table. “Mateo is twenty-two years old. He is working two catering jobs to pay for his civil engineering degree at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). His grades are exemplary, but he was about to drop out next semester because he couldn't afford his tuition and books.”
Santiago’s eyes lit up as he read through the academic report. “He has an incredible record in structural design.”
“Precisely,” I said. “I have already arranged for the Villaseñor Foundation to grant Mateo a full, four-year academic scholarship covering his tuition, housing, and living expenses. Furthermore, I want you to offer him a paid junior internship here at Villaseñor Group, starting next Monday.”
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Santiago looked at me with deep pride and emotion in his eyes. “That is the best decision we’ve made all week, Mom.”
“True wealth, Santiago,” I reminded him softly, “is not about having the power to crush those who disrespect you. It is about having the power to lift up those who deserve a chance.”
