The shy waitress greeted the billionaire’s deaf mother – her sign language shocked everyone
Sebastian’s eyes shone with the intensity that likely preceded each of his successful ideas. “At my company, we employ thousands of people, but I’ve never seen a single deaf employee. Do you know why? Because we never considered making the project accessible. We never considered that we were excluding an entire segment of the population.”
Dona Victoria watched her son’s lips, trying to follow what he was saying. Laura showed her a summary and saw the older woman’s eyes widen with surprise and something resembling hope. “My brother,” Laura said slowly, hardly daring to believe what she was hearing. “He’s an engineer by training.”
He graduated with honors, but no one hires him because they don’t want to deal with interpreters or accommodations. What kind of engineering? Sebastian asked immediately. Systems. Programming. He’s brilliant with computers. Laura felt her heart race, but after 100 rejected applications, she gave up trying. Sebastian took out his cell phone. “Give me your number.”
I need to speak with HR tomorrow, and I need you to bring your brother to my office this week. Wait.” Laura threw up her hands, overwhelmed. “This is too much. I just wanted to be nice to his mother. I didn’t exactly expect it.” Sebastian interrupted, his voice softer. “You didn’t expect anything. You did something kind simply because it was the right thing to do.”
Do you know how many people in my world do things without expecting anything in return? None, absolutely none. Patricia approached Laura, placing a protective hand on her shoulder. Laura is a good person. Always has been. She helps the other waiters. She never complains. She works double shifts when necessary, and still waits tables when she clearly has skills that could be better utilized. Sebastian looked directly at Patricia.
It seems fair to you. The supervisor opened her mouth, but then closed it without responding. Ms. Victoria signed something, and all eyes turned to Laura, who was searching for the translation. She says Laura’s kindness reminded her of something she had forgotten: that there are still good people in the world, people who see others as whole beings, not as problems or inconveniences.
Sebastián held his mother’s hands, and though his handwriting was clumsy and incomplete, the effort was there. Laura saw tears well up in Dona Victoria’s eyes again as her son tried to communicate directly with her for the first time in years. “I promise to learn,” Mr. Sebastián said in basic handwriting, as Laura gently corrected his. “I promise to see you.”
And in that moment, in the middle of the city’s most luxurious restaurant, surrounded by patrons pretending not to be watching, something fundamentally changed in the Castellanos family. Diego Castellanos returned from the balcony, his face rigid, his steps deliberately measured, as if trying to maintain control over the emotions that threatened to overflow.
Laura immediately noticed the difference in his expression. There was no longer any trace of the casual indifference he had displayed before. There was something darker there now, something that bothered her. “Sastián,” Diego said, his voice rough. “Can we talk in private?” Sebastián looked at his brother, then at his mother, who was watching the interaction with eyes that had learned to read body language with a precision that hearing people rarely develop.
Laura saw Dona Victoria tense slightly, as if sensing a storm approaching. “Whatever you have to say, you can say it here,” Sebastián replied, his tone making it clear he had no intention of excluding his mother from any further conversation. Diego let out a bitter laugh.
Of course, of course, because now we’re the perfect family that includes everyone, right? He turned to Laura with an intensity that made her involuntarily shiver. “You know what? This is incredible. One night, a complete stranger enters our lives, and suddenly my brother is rewriting our entire family history. Diego.” Sebastian’s voice held a warning.
No, let me finish. Diego approached the table, completely ignoring the strange looks from the other customers. “You work as a waiter in a restaurant, but suddenly you’re qualified enough to teach my brother, the owner of a multimillion-dollar company, how to manage his personal life.”
And now he’s going to hire your brother too. Convenient, isn’t it? The impact of those words was like a bucket of ice water to Laura. She felt the color drain from her face as she grasped the implication of what Diego was saying.
He was insinuating that she had manipulated the entire situation, that she had used Dona Victoria’s deafness as an opportunity to gain advantage. “That’s not it,” Laura began, but her voice came out as a strangled whisper. “That’s not what it is,” Diego interrupted. “It’s not exactly what it seems. A waitress finds a way to impress a wealthy client and suddenly starts receiving job offers. She has an unemployed brother who, conveniently, is also deaf.”
What’s next? You’ll discover you also have a cousin who needs a job. An uncle who needs an opportunity. Diego. Enough. Sebastian stood up, his voice sharp as a whip. But Diego wasn’t finished. He turned to his brother, years of frustration clearly surfacing. “You know what your problem is? You’ve always needed to be the hero.”