The CEO Panicked Without a French Translator – Until the Janitor’s Daughter Took Charge and…
Chapter 8: The Janitor’s Miracle
Michael knelt beside Sophie’s oversized chair.
“Sophie, sweetheart, do you understand what has just happened here? These generous men want to give us enough money to help doctors all over the world save lives, and it’s entirely because of you.”
Sophie’s face glowed with pride, but then she grew thoughtful.
“Mr. Harrison, what exactly does an ambassador do?”
“An ambassador,”
Michael explained gently,
“travels to different countries and tells people about important things. You would help us explain to doctors and families how our technology can prevent other children from losing their parents the way you lost your mama.”
Sophie’s eyes filled with tears of pure joy.
“You mean I could actually help make sure other little girls don’t have to say goodbye to their mamas?”
“Yes, precious sweetheart. That’s exactly what it means.”
Pierre leaned forward, speaking directly to Sophie in gentle French.
“But there’s something else equally important, little princess. Part of our investment will establish a complete educational scholarship fund specifically for you, covering everything from elementary school through university, including prestigious schools in France if you choose that path.”
Sophie’s voice began to tremble as she translated.
“Mr. Harrison, they want to pay for all of my education. Everything. Even college.”
Michael felt tears streaming down his face as he nodded.
The elevator chimed softly, and Carlos Rodriguez stepped out, carrying his worn toolbox.
“Sophie,”
he called out, looking around with growing concern.
“Mija, where are you?”
“Papa!”
Sophie’s voice rang out from the boardroom. She burst through the glass doors and launched herself into her father’s arms.
“Papa, Papa! You won’t believe what happened! I helped save Mr. Harrison’s company and now I’m going to be an ambassador, and they’re going to pay for me to go to school, maybe even in France like Mama always talked about!”
Carlos held his daughter tightly, his weathered face creased with confusion.
“Slow down, Mija. What are you talking about?”
Michael approached carefully.
“Mr. Rodriguez, I’m Michael Harrison, CEO of this company. Your daughter just accomplished something absolutely miraculous.”
Carlos set Sophie down gently, his expression guarded.
“What kind of miracle, sir?”
“Papa,”
Sophie interjected in rapid Spanish,
“the French men came for an important meeting but their translator got sick. I helped Mr. Harrison talk to them in French and now they want to give him money to help doctors save people like Mama.”
Carlos’s eyes widened. He knew Maria had insisted on teaching Sophie French from the time she could speak, but this was beyond belief.
Jacques and Pierre emerged from the boardroom. Pierre addressed Carlos in careful English.
“Mr. Rodriguez, your daughter is extraordinary. She has just helped facilitate the largest business deal of our careers.”
“She saved my company,”
Michael added.
“Without Sophie, I would have lost everything.”
Carlos struggled to comprehend.
“I don’t understand. Sophie is just a child.”
“Papa,”
Sophie said softly, taking his rough hand.
“Remember what Mama used to say? That God sometimes uses the smallest people to do the biggest things. I think today was one of those times.”
Chapter 9: The Final Surprise
Two weeks had passed, and the story of the seven-year-old girl who saved a multi-million dollar business deal had spread through social media like wildfire.
One morning, an unexpected visitor arrived at Michael’s office.
“Mr. Harrison?”
Rachel’s voice came through the intercom.
“There’s a woman here to see you. She says it’s about Sophie Rodriguez and it’s urgent.”
The woman who entered was elegantly dressed, with silver hair and piercing blue eyes.
“Mr. Harrison, my name is Catherine Duboce,”
she said.
“I believe you know my husband, Jacques.”
Michael’s eyebrows shot up.
“Mrs. Duboce, what brings you here? Is there a problem with the investment?”
“Quite the opposite,”
Catherine said, her expression softening as she looked at Sophie.
“But there’s something I need to tell you—something that changes everything we thought we knew about Sophie Rodriguez.”
She turned to the little girl.
“Sophie, darling, how much do you know about your mother’s family in Quebec?”
“Not very much,”
Sophie replied.
“Mama said her family was from Montreal, but they weren’t close. She came to New York when she was young and never really talked about them.”
Catherine reached into her purse and pulled out an old photograph showing a young woman who looked remarkably like Sophie’s mother.
“That’s my sister, Marie Duboce,”
Catherine said softly.
“She disappeared from our family 20 years ago after an argument with our father about marrying someone he considered beneath our social status.”
Sophie stared at the photograph.
“That… that looks like my mama. But her name was Maria Rodriguez, not Marie Duboce.”
“People sometimes change their names when they want to start new lives,”
Catherine explained gently.
“Sophie, I believe your mother was my niece, which means you’re my grand-niece.”
The room fell silent.
“But that would mean…”
Michael started.
“That Sophie is a Duboce,”
Catherine finished.
“One of the wealthiest families in France. My father—Sophie’s great-grandfather—passed away last year and left a substantial inheritance that we’ve been unable to claim because we couldn’t locate Marie or her descendants.”
“Does this mean I’m rich?”
Sophie asked.
“Sophie, darling, it means you’re the heir to a $50 million estate in France,”
Catherine smiled through her tears.
“But more importantly, it means you have family who has been searching for you for years.”
