Jane’s employers have planned an extravagant vacation and asked her to come and take care of their children.
Although they initially assured her that all expenses would be covered, upon returning home they demanded that Jane reimburse them for the plane ticket. However, Jane was not going to comply without a fight.
“Jane, could you come into the living room?” Mrs. Smith called, stirring the tea as Melanie, the housekeeper, served it to her.
I was tidying up the playroom at the time.
“Right now, please,” she added.
Her tone was sweet, but something still bothered her. I went into the living room and tried to calm my nerves.
“Sure,, Mrs. Smith. What’s going on?” I replied wiping the sanitizer on my jeans.
Mrs. Smith sat elegantly on the couch, not a strand of hair out of place, while Mr. Smith sat next to her, concentrating on his phone. He gave me a short smile.
“Jane, we need to talk about the vacation,” she said.
I nodded, wondering what it was all about.
Two days ago, we returned home from a trip to a luxury seaside resort where I was in charge of caring for the Smiths’ three children and the Johnsons’ two sons. It was almost a vacation for me – except for the kids I had to manage.
“Of course,” I said. “It was a lovely trip. Thanks again for having me.”
“Yes, well,” began Mrs. Smith. “We need to discuss the plane tickets. When will you be able to return the $1,000?”
I blinked, sure I hadn’t heard her correctly.
“Excuse me, $1,000? For tickets? What do you mean?”
“Yes, Jane, for tickets,” she said slowly as if explaining to a child. “We spent quite a lot and thought you’d be grateful enough to pay us back.
My heart raced. I didn’t have that much money to spare. I worked full-time as their nanny and had to take care of my mother.
“But you told me everything was taken care of. You said, ‘Don’t worry about it, Jane. We’ve got everything covered!’
Mrs. Smith’s expression was more stern. Mr. Smith looked at me coldly.
“That was before the Johnsons refused to sign a business deal with Craig. The purpose of the vacation was to secure their partnership. So there’s no need for generosity now, Jane. You have exactly one week to pay us back or we’ll take it out of your paycheck.”
I was amazed, the room was spinning.
“But… I can’t afford that, Mrs. Smith,” I said. “Most of my salary goes to rent and my mother’s medicine. I can’t just take it from her. You never mentioned paying for the tickets!”
“That’s your problem, Jane. You’ve got a week,” said Mr. Smith, reaching for the croissant with a dismissive wave of his hand, signaling the end of the conversation.
That night, in my little room just a few steps from the Smiths’ house, I raged. How could they do that? I needed a plan and fast.
Then it dawned on me: The Smiths were obsessed with their social image.
“Of course, that’s all they care about,” I mumbled as I brushed my teeth. “I can use that.
The next day, after dropping the kids off at school, I created a fake email account. I carefully crafted the message, making sure it was polite yet detailed without naming anyone directly. In my experience, there were plenty of clues to suggest that the Smiths were the culprits – from their cars to their children to Mrs. Smith’s bragging about her golden dates.
I emailed key people in their social circle, including influential families the Smiths were trying to impress.
“I just don’t understand what they want from us,” I heard Mrs. Smith say on the phone. “Eva asked me if everything in that email was true, but I have no idea what she meant.
Within days, gossip began to spread. The Smiths’ mistreatment of their employees became public and their reputation suffered.
Mrs Smith, clearly shaken, called a masseuse to relieve her stress.
“Just drop them in the bath when they arrive, Jane,” she ordered. “I need all the help I can get.
That afternoon, when I went to pick up the children, I came across other babysitters waiting outside the school.
“Did you read the email about the Smiths?” one of them asked. “Is it really true?”
I nodded.
“They’re good parents, but terrible people,” I replied, trying not to reveal that I was the one who sent the email.
“How much longer are you going to work for them?” another babysitter asked. “I couldn’t deal with it. Rich people need to learn that respect is needed too.”
I smiled.
As they continued to talk, I learned something interesting about Mrs. Smith: she had a habit of “borrowing” things from her friends and never returning them.
“She borrowed an entire Gucci bag from my madam for a fundraiser two months ago,” said Mina, one of the other nannies.
“That’s crazy!” I shouted. “I had no idea she did that. She never lets me get too close to her stuff.”
A few days later, Mrs. Smith held one of her monthly ladies’ luncheons. She insisted that I attend.
“I need this to go well, Jane,” she said as I prepared fruit for the kids. “Just walk around and talk to women to make us seem more human.”
I had a feeling she knew about the gossip that started to spread. During the event, I casually mentioned how much I admired Ms. Smith’s collection, specifically her Gucci bag.
“Mrs. Smith has one like you,” I said to Eve, Mina’s employer. “He always tells me how he lends his stuff because he has so much.
Eva raised an eyebrow.
“Is that so, Jane?” she asked with narrowed eyes.
The whispers spread quickly, and by the end of lunch, the main topic of conversation was Mrs. Smith’s reputation for borrowing without paying back.
The next morning, Mrs. Smith’s friends started asking for their things back.
Mrs. Smith was humiliated.
At dinner that evening Mr. Smith called me.
“Thanks, but I usually wait for Ivy and Melanie to eat,” I said politely, mentioning the cook and her assistant.
“No, sit with us,” he insisted.
I complied, hoping that maybe he would let the money issue slide.
“I noticed an anonymous email went out,” he said, cutting into his steak.
“Disgusting email,” Mrs. Smith added, sipping her wine.
“Did you have anything to do with it?” Mr. Smith asked, his eyes searching for a confession.
I shook my head and looked down at my plate.
“So that’s settled,” he said with a knowing look. “You are dismissed. Pack up and leave tomorrow.”
I followed their orders and returned home. A week later, Mrs. Johnson called.
“Jane, would you like to come for tea?” she asked kindly.
“Of course, Mrs. Johnson,” I said, curious as to the reason for the invitation.
She looked at me sympathetically over tea in her elegant living room.
“I heard about what the Smiths did to you. It’s shameful.”
I nodded, trying to stay composed.
“We have decided to cut ties with them,” she continued. “And we’d like to offer you a job with better pay and conditions. We could really use someone like you to take care of our children.”
I was speechless.
“Of course!” I said happily.
“You deserved it,” she smiled. “The boys loved that you looked after them during the holidays. And somehow you got Jonathan to eat his peas!”
I don’t know how the Smiths felt when I worked for the Johnsons, but I hoped they felt betrayed.
Jane felt a sense of relief and empowerment as she settled into her new role with the Johnsons. The opportunity for better pay and working conditions was just what she needed, and she was proud of how she stood up to the Smiths. The drama surrounding the Smiths’ treatment of her initially shook her confidence and eventually led to a rewarding new chapter in her career.
Gossip about the Smiths’ mistreatment of their employees quickly spread, and the damage to their social standing was irreversible. Jane’s deliberate actions not only exposed their hypocrisy but also ensured that she was no longer in their toxic orbit.
Meanwhile, Mrs Smith’s humiliation, compounded by the revelation of her borrowing habits, left her isolated and struggling to salvage her reputation. The damage to the Smiths’ image was a bitter pill to swallow, but it was the perfect way for Jane to regain control of her own narrative.
Working for the Johnsons proved to be a refreshing change. They treated Jane with respect and her bond with the children deepened. Even though she knew the Smiths might hold a grudge, Jane couldn’t bring herself to feel guilty. In the end, they showed her their true colors and it was the Johnsons who appreciated her dedication and kindness.
As Jane moved forward, she embraced her newfound independence. This experience taught her the importance of standing up for herself, even when faced with powerful opponents. She no longer felt like a servant to be exploited, but a professional who deserved respect and fair treatment. What began as a difficult and humiliating trial eventually turned into an opportunity for growth and success. And in the end, Jane knew that she was much better off without the Smiths in her life.