A Nanny For The CEO

Chapter 5: Farewell

Camila’s POV

Margot Preston, I will never forget that name, Margot Preston ruined what would be the beginning of my new life.

"Mrs. Preston, calm down."

"I can't!"

The woman was sitting in a chair in the room, she was almost fainting, her stylist and two of my coworkers were fanning her.

"It was an accident, we can fix it. It's not as bad as it seems."

Mrs. Martin approaches the bed to see the dress, her eyes widen in shock as she realizes it can't be fixed. That triangular shape from the iron had remained on the silver dress.

"No?! Oh my God! I brought that dress all the way from Paris exclusively for this event, it's from the Viancci Loundette designer. That dress is from the latest collection, do you know how much it costs? Oh God! I can't breathe."

The people around her continued fanning her face, they were very sorry for what had happened. Viancci is an excellent designer, I had a couple of his pieces; it's a shame to have ruined one of his creations.

"I'm so sorry, Mrs. Margot."

"Your apologies mean nothing, they mean nothing! Your apologies won't fix my dress. What am I supposed to wear to the event? Where do I find a designer at this hour? It was a bad idea to come to this dump, I should have never entered the Martin Hotel. I will tell everyone!"

"It's not the hotel's fault, Mrs. Preston. It's my fault, I was the one who burned your dress."

"You're good for nothing," the woman says, standing up.

"I won't forget your name, Camila. I won't forget your face, useless," she murmurs under her breath.

"What did you say to me? I'm not useless, I was doing my job well. You were the one who insisted on having me iron your dress, you wanted to take it to the laundry," I said, looking at my boss. "She insisted, and then asked me to do something else while I was ironing the Viancci dress; this is also her fault."

"What?!" The woman is infuriated and my boss intervenes once again.

"Mrs. Preston, I apologize for my employee, really, she didn't mean those things; we will fix the damage, we can come to an agreement, let's just not make a scandal out of this."

Mrs. Preston returns to her place and crosses her legs, she puts her hand on her forehead and looks at it.

"How do you plan to fix it?"

"I will ask an excellent designer in the city, a friend of the family, to help us with that. Don't worry about the value of your garment, we will pay for it; we will also invite you to stay at the hotel, the last thing we want, Mrs. Preston, is for you to feel unsatisfied."

"Hurry up, my event is at 7:00 pm."

My boss nods and smiles, her face full of disappointment.

"Let's go, Camila, please come with me."

My coworkers and I leave the room, the woman shoots us an annoyed look.

"Camila, have a seat, please."

"Mrs., really, it wasn't my intention. I was on the stairs when she came, very insistent, I didn't want to do it because I don't know how to iron; I have never done it before."

"Well, you should have stayed in your place. No matter how much she insisted, you should have said no and requested ironing service somewhere else. Preston's stay in this place has been very costly, you know that, but we would also recoup the investment. Now, it's clear that everything was a waste."

"Mrs., I'm sorry."

"Camila, an apology is not enough. You should have been much more careful, look at everything we could have avoided. I have always told you how things work here, it has been emphasized from the beginning. Everything was fine with me until the day you made a mistake. This will cost us thousands of euros, therefore, I can't overlook it. Camila, I'm sorry, but I have to ask you to leave the hotel, you're fired."

The void that was beginning to heal in my chest became even deeper, it must be a joke.

"Please, Mrs. Martin, it wasn't my..."

"Camila, I'm sorry, this is the only rule, the only condition there is; if I let this slide, the others will become overconfident. You were doing a good job, but what happened today is the worst thing we have had to deal with involving a guest in thirty-five years of service."

"Alright, I understand, you're right."

I stood up and extended my hand, I am leaving, I won't beg, I can't insist. If she has already made a decision, it's regrettable, but I can't beg her.

The woman shakes my hand and smiles.

I managed it well, at least she is aware that I can't afford those damages and they haven't asked me for money, today was on the house for the hotel; it would be the last straw if they charged me later after everything that happened. I accept my responsibility, but we all have a degree of blame.

Mrs. Martin should have more qualified staff to cover all the guests' needs or at least be clear about what the hotel can cover being not a five-star one; Mrs. Preston should not have harassed me knowing that I was dealing with something so delicate and expensive, and me... I should have told her off when she called me useless.

"Do you want us to talk to her?"

"Yes, we'll tell her it's not your fault, don't go."

I continued to pack the few things I had in a small handbag.

"No, girls. It's pointless, I already talked to her, but she's already made a decision."

"Oh, how annoying! That darn wandering raisin! If she's so posh, why didn't she go somewhere else? I hate people like that, let her order dinner; I'm going to spit on her f*****g lobster."

"Maria, don't say those things. It's okay, really, I'll be fine."

"Where are you going?"

"Well... That's a good question."

"Wait, I think I have the business card of the place where I used to work here, it's a flower shop; it's owned by a Chinese couple, the Yangs, they're always looking for people, if you want, I can call them and let them know I'll send someone."

"Yes! Oh, that would be a lot of help right now."

Maria gives me the card and tells me the address of the place, which is a couple of blocks from the hotel, so I'll have to walk there.

"Hurry, they close at five."

I hugged my colleagues, said goodbye, and thanked them for what they did for me. Still wearing the hotel uniform because I didn't have time to change, I left remembering the exact directions my friend Maria gave me.

I can't deny that I'm sad, my heart feels small because of the treatment I received, but despite that, I can't just stand idle.

With my bag in hand and my mind tangled with intrusive thoughts, I continued to look at how much further I had to go. I stopped on the side of the street because after crossing, I have to walk to the corner and turn left; after the coffee shop, there's the Yangs' flower shop.

A few meters away from me, I saw a luxury car arriving at a very elegant hotel. From that car, a group of five men in black suits with earpieces got out, all looking curiously at what was happening. It seems like they were guarding someone, could it be a celebrity? A young woman in her twenties got out of the vehicle, accompanied by a little girl who couldn't be more than five years old.

I looked again towards where I was about to cross, intending to continue on my way, but the traffic was congested. Out of curiosity, I looked again at the group of people who seemed to have stepped out of action movies.

I noticed that the young woman was looking at her phone while the men cleared a path for them to enter, and I also looked at the little girl and realized she was very focused on something.

"What a beautiful little girl," I whispered to myself.

I became even more curious and looked in the direction the girl was looking, wanting to know what was causing her so much admiration. What I saw was a small kitten on the other side of the sidewalk, as white as a cotton ball.

I smiled at how adorable it looked, as if the two were looking at each other. The bodyguards managed to make way, and the young woman moved forward with her phone still in her hands, while the little girl, seeing that she had no one around her, smiled.

"Don't do it," I said quietly to myself.

I let go of my bag, knowing what that little girl was about to do.