After overhearing his privileged daughter insult a hotel maid, a wealthy hotel owner, Austin Saunders, decided to teach her a valuable lesson about karma.
Austin had raised Nicole alone after her mother left to live overseas when she was just five years old. As a loving father, he gave Nicole everything she could ever want, never denying her desires. Austin had become a successful hotel owner, but his journey wasn’t easy. He started as a loader at a small motel and climbed the ladder through years of hard work, balancing part-time jobs and community college business courses.
However, his workaholic lifestyle led him to neglect Nicole, allowing her to grow into a spoiled and entitled young woman. Then one day, she crossed a line he couldn’t ignore.
Nicole and her friends were staying at one of her father’s hotels, turning their room into a mess after a night of partying. Empty beer bottles, food trays, and chip bags were strewn everywhere. Nicole called for a maid to clean the room, but when the maid finally arrived, Nicole, irritated by the delay, rolled her eyes and insulted her: “What took you so long? Can’t you do your job properly?”
As the maid, Rose, tried to explain she’d been waiting outside, unable to hear the doorbell over the loud music, Nicole smirked and cut her off. “This is my father’s hotel, so I can do whatever I want. Don’t talk back to me,” she sneered. Then, in a show of cruelty, she pulled a bell from her bag and mockingly placed it around Rose’s neck, suggesting she use it next time to make sure she could be heard. Her friends, recording the scene on their phones, laughed as Rose, on the verge of tears, tried to remove the bell.
Unbeknownst to Nicole, her father had overheard everything. Instead of confronting her in the moment, he returned to his office, planning his response.
After Rose finished cleaning, Nicole tossed a $100 bill on the floor and told her, “Consider this your tip. And make sure the room is spotless, or I’ll have your salary cut.”
Moments later, Nicole heard her father’s voice over the hotel’s PA system: “Nicole, come to my office immediately.”
Nicole’s friends snickered as they left her, one of them saying, “Good luck, Nicole. Looks like your dad finally found out.”
Fearful, Nicole went to see her father. “Hey, Dad,” she greeted him nervously. “Did you call?”
“Oh yes, come in,” Austin replied, not looking up from the papers on his desk. But when Nicole moved to sit, Austin snapped, “I didn’t ask you to sit down. What are you doing here, Nicole? Shouldn’t you be in class?”
Nicole laughed nervously. “Dad, college is on break! I thought I could hang out here with my friends.”
“On break? For how long?” he pressed.
“Uh, a month or so,” she replied.
“Good,” he said, placing a maid’s uniform on the table in front of him. “You’ll work here until your break is over. Starting today, you’re a maid for a month.”
“What? Dad, you can’t be serious!” Nicole protested.
“I’m very serious. You need to understand that money doesn’t grow on trees. Either you work, or I cancel your credit cards and cut off your allowance. It’s your choice.”
Realizing she had no way out, Nicole reluctantly agreed to work as a maid. Her first task was cleaning a wine-stained carpet in a couple’s room, but with no experience, she struggled to remove the stains. Embarrassed and frustrated, she was surprised when Rose appeared and offered to help.
“Thank you,” Nicole muttered, humbled.
Rose smiled warmly. “It’s okay. Everyone’s first day is tough. You’ll get the hang of it.”
Throughout her first week, Rose guided Nicole, showing her the ropes and treating her with kindness, despite how Nicole had mistreated her. Over time, Nicole began to understand the value of hard work and realized how wrong she had been to belittle Rose. They even became friends, and Nicole took her maid duties seriously, learning to appreciate the effort it took to ensure guests had a comfortable stay.
One day, while cleaning a room booked by her former friends, Nicole overheard them laughing and mocking her. “Look at you, Nicole! You look like a servant!” Ashley, her former friend, sneered.
Nicole, no longer ashamed, calmly replied, “I’m just doing my job, Ashley. Now leave me alone.”
Ashley smirked and then dropped a bombshell: “What if your dad finds out you were expelled from college six months ago? He’s going to love that!”
Nicole had kept her expulsion a secret, but now she was tired of hiding. “Tell him if you want—I’m going to tell him myself,” she shot back. “I’m done with all of you.”
Later that day, Nicole tearfully confessed everything to her father. “Dad, I’m so sorry. I lied to you about college. I was expelled six months ago. I don’t deserve your forgiveness.”
Austin embraced her, much to Nicole’s surprise. “I know, sweetheart. I’ve known for a while. Your friend Ashley told me. But I’m proud of you for coming clean. Owning your mistakes is what matters.”
Nicole, overwhelmed, cried, “I don’t deserve this.”
“Yes, you do,” Austin replied. “You’ve learned from your mistakes. Now, you can take over a better job in the hotel.”
But Nicole refused. “No, Dad. I want to earn it. I’ll finish my degree and continue working part-time as a maid. Rose deserves recognition too—she’s been so generous and has taught me so much.”
Austin smiled. “I’m proud of you, Nicole. You’ve grown into someone I can truly admire.”
Lessons from the Story:
Never judge someone by their job: Nicole belittled Rose for being a maid, but after experiencing the work herself, she realized how wrong she was.
Kindness always prevails: Despite being mistreated, Rose showed Nicole compassion and kindness, which eventually helped Nicole change for the better.
What goes around comes around: Nicole’s arrogance caught up with her, teaching her a valuable lesson about humility and respect.
