Maria and Sam

This story is a first attempt to write a story in English.

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Maria and Sam - Prelude

It would be a decisive moment for the rest of his life, yet he didn't have any clue about it, as he entered the third hotel building on his job search list for New York City. He was looking to apply for the position of an assistant in the kitchen. The young woman at the reception desk smiled at him professionally: "Hello, my name is Maria. How may I help you, Sir?" That girl was not a beauty in the way a model would be, but her radiant smile made him hesitate for an answer, as he contemplated her features intensively, until he responded: "I would like to see the chef - I am applying for the open job of an assistant cook."

She got out from the reception area and gave him politely directions, but frowned immediately as he turned his back to head there. She didn't like to be stared at, especially not by young men, but one of the ground rules at the reception desk was to remain calm and smiling whenever possible.

Much later, as he was to meet Maria Darkheart again in Switzerland, his mind flashed back to his memorized picture of him seeing her for the first time. She appeared to be a bit taller than him, but that could also stem come from her heeled shoes. Her oval-shaped face with the dark blue eyes dominating it and framed by those long golden blond hairs had fascinated him. She had been wearing a white semi-transparent blouse that made her white bra to be guessed under it. His eyes had then travelled further downwards to her tight black skirt ending at mid-thighs and then following down to her charcoal coloured pantyhose and her black medium-heeled shoes. When Sam, that was the name of the 19 year old young man, proceeded to the kitchen in that hotel, he did not imagine to ever get into awkward situations nor to move to Switzerland in the future.

Chapter 1

Sam Maria Sterling was the only son of a couple. They had wanted him to make legal studies, which he tried first but abandoned three months ago without telling his parents. His puritanical father had Irish ancestors, while his mother was a pure Indian blood. The mixture of their genes gave him some unique features. His hair was as strong and shining as that of his mother, but unlike her black hair he had inherited from his father a reddish taint, making his hair chestnut brown with red-golden reflexes dancing over it on sunny days. He was wearing it not cropped very shortly, as his strict father would have liked it, but rather covering his ears completely like the Beatles had. His full hair did not pertain to his beard, which his mother regretted a lot, since she adored the strong reddish beard of her husband and would have liked to see the same on her son, but he was almost beardless owing that to his Indian blood.

He sighed, when he thought about having aborted his studies in the law school, without yet telling his parents. But law was so boring for him, that he just could not continue. He pondered about trying for an art school or about music, but in the meantime he did have to earn money, since he wanted to repay his parents for the lost months in law school. One of his friends had pointed out that since he was gifted in cooking he might try his luck there, because at the present time restaurants and hotels were searching. And indeed, within a week he had found his first job as kitchen help in a small but well-managed restaurant. After three months he had learned enough to apply for the job of an assistant cook, but that particular restaurant could not offer a better paid job, so he started looking for better jobs. He found that at the Grand Hotel Lewis, where Martin Baker engaged him on the spot as assistant cook. The Manager of Catering and Food Services, as the official title of the chief cook was denominated, resided in a small office close to the kitchen. Sam was initially nervous during the first questions of the interview, but soon became comfortable with the easy-going guy named Martin Baker in his mid-forties. As he demonstrated his skills in decorating a dish, the well-rounded cook recognized a certain talent residing in that young man and accepted him. He seemed to like the eager young man.

The next morning had him pass again at the reception desk, where he introduced himself as 'Sam, the new assistant cook'. It struck him like lightning as he saw again that particular smile of Maria. His eyes travelled down to her perky breasts. He blushed involuntarily, as that young woman greeted him professionally; catching the direction his eyes were taking. In his eyes that blonde girl was not only a beauty; she was also so well-behaved and restrained - just as he had dreamed 'his' girl to be. He inquired politely if she would lead him to the employee's quarters in order to change into work clothes. She nodded graciously and got out of the reception for leading him. As she walked in front of him, he had the very pleasure of regarding her backside for the first time. He couldn't take his eyes off of her. Her blonde hair was bound in a knot at the neck, but would certainly cover her shoulders, if untied. The slim waist was followed by slender hips and lovely pear-shaped buttocks, covered ever so enticingly by that tight black skirt. Her hips swayed so invitingly before his very eyes, and his eyes followed down the elegant lines of her nylon-covered legs down to the moderately heeled black pumps she was wearing. He was deeply regretting that the walk to the room was ever so short. He thanked her properly and was rewarded with another of her smiles, which almost threw him off-balance. His heart was pounding as she turned back to the reception and he entered the room reluctantly. In that moment he had been falling for her. He did not see her again that day, but he dreamed of her during the night in his apartment.

Every morning after, when she was at the front desk, he tried to engage her in conversation, but she was always busy so she remained rather reserved and never even smiled. As she appeared smilingly at the reception one morning, he was driven by a sudden impulse; he tried to ask her out for dinner on the weekend: "Hum. You know, hmm - could you be interested in going out with me for dinner on Saturday?" She denied his request politely but adamantly, however she remained smiling. And her smile was so smashing, that her denial only increased his ardour.

Then one afternoon Maria was very stressed, as she had not carried out the order of the hotel manager to have an early dinner prepared for a VIP conference. Martin Baker frowned at her request to have something rapidly being prepared, as he and his crew were already preparing the normal dinner. However, since Sam was having a free afternoon, he suggested that she might call him. She was very relieved as Sam voluntarily helped her out in preparing a very decorative dinner for the VIP's. When all turned out so well, that she got compliments from the guests, she in turn was so thankful that she kissed Sam on his cheek and also stated that she would help him anytime in his job, as much as he had helped her. That was already enough to send him into heaven for some days.

After that she became a bit less reserved, but still refused to talk to him privately for more then two- three minutes at any given time. But she always smiled thankfully to him and he got so love-struck, that he almost couldn't bear his luck... Later on however, he did not progress any further with the beautiful Maria.

One evening Sam complained about that to the all male crew of his fellow cooks, one of them simply laughed: "Up to now, there is no guy from the hotel crew who ever managed to talk to her for more than seconds on a private level, even less to get her invited. As you talk to her for a minute or so, you are already in an advanced state..."

He chuckled shortly: "Maybe she is a lesbian..."

As he saw Sam frown, he added cautiously: "But there is no indication for that one, she is really not having any friends in the hotel crew, neither male nor female and on top of that she is already 25 years old, so maybe she is for not the right choice - you youngster!"

As he perceived the disappointment on Sam's face he added friendly: "Just do like the rest of us, forget about her pretty face ...!"

And to finish that theme on a lighter tone he joked laughingly: "Or you may try to get on the programme for female MBA's, because she will join that course in Switzerland, promoted by the magazine 'Hotel Management' and the business school in Geneva."

Sam laughed shortly with him and changed the subject, seeing no hope for any further advancement of his romantic quest for Maria.

Later in the evening however, when he got home to his tiny studio, he got into the internet and researched the glossy internet appearance of the journal "Hotel management' out of curiosity. His heart leaped as he saw the introduction for a contest based on an internet questionnaire. That could provide him with a subject to discuss with Maria. Okay, the test was designed to further the advancement of women and only women into the management ranks of hotels. It stated clearly that the winning price would be assigned to the woman being able to attend the course, having a minimum experience of three months in the gastronomy or hotel service and to achieve the highest rating in that test. That decided it for him. Hey - why not take a look at that questionnaire?

He opened the button, where at first the identification was asked for by giving the social security number, name, sex and address. He grinned slyly as he entered S. Maria Sterling, while not confirming the case requesting to confirm his gender as female - that was the first time that his second forename came in handy. He was astonished as the next page opened despite him missing to answer the gender question, feeling very amused as he was addressed as Ms. S. Maria Sterling. So he really got accepted to fill out the questionnaire, he surly would not complain about it, as he now could see all the items and maybe discuss those with Maria. She should be open to that since that would be in a way a professional discussion. That assessment was not easy to fill out, sine the time was limited and it was very much like an IQ-test. However, he was able to fill out a lot, as his legal studies came in handy for a relevant part of the questions. He had to finish as 10 questions were still missing, so he considered it extremely unlikely to be among the best, he just sent the questionnaire as a joke, being already happy with the result of having a discussion subject with Maria.

However, as it turned out, his hope of being able to talk to Maria about it vanished the day after, as she informed him matter-of-factly that she attended the course on her own and had never heard of this contest, nor would she participate in the questionnaire as she had obtained a stipend from the Rotary Club for this all female course. He was crushed again, all his efforts turned out to be in vain.

On the professional level he was doing much better. Martin Baker had started to place some trust in him and even pondered openly to promote him as fully fledged cook, even as sous-chef, while requesting that he should attend a professional cooking course. And Sam really started to contemplate a career in cooking, as he discovered that it was really an art to design a meal, which was satisfying the aesthetic eye of a demanding guest as well as his refined palate.

Chapter 2

During the following three weeks he tried again and again to engage Maria in conversation, but she remained aloof. Oh, she was certainly polite enough and even friendly on some occasions, but she never talked to him for more than three minutes. He slowly started to give up on her. His boss was much friendlier to him. He accorded him three months of unpaid leave for studies, if he would work as an assistant cook in the five star restaurant "L'argent du Rhin" of Geneva, Switzerland where his former mentor worked as chef. Sam was really tempted, but that would get him away from Maria, so he asked for two weeks of pondering that generous offer, which might change his life.

However, he learned accidentally one day that Maria was flying on June the 28th to Geneva, for a two year MBA course in Hotel management in Geneva. So she was leaving soon, too. That made his decision a lot easier for him.

The day after, he got a mail addressed to Ms. S. Maria Sterling, which contained the information that he had won the contest and was invited to fly to Geneva in six weeks on the 28th of June for a preliminary discussion of his stipend for a two year course. He was dumb-founded as he had never expected to win that contest. It took him almost a whole day to accept the idea that he really had won this competition. That offer was certainly worth 80.000 $, but of course not destined for a man as receiver. On the other hand he had won the contest, while identifying himself properly as Sam Maria Sterling, only 'forgetting' to fill out the gender question, ... so it wasn't his fault. But of course he had to decline anyway, but the flight ticket attached for the first interview was really enticing. That would save him some money, while allowing him to fly with the same flight as Maria instead of the cheap one he had originally in mind. Suddenly he knew that he just had to take this opportunity. The chance of being with her for a longer flight, sitting side by side for hours, was just too enticing.

He informed her that he got a proposition from his boss to work with a renowned chef, but of course the usual hotel gossip had already taken care of that. She congratulated him warmly, and she was even open to his suggestion to buy the appropriate luggage as an advertised family set to be shared by both. That had the advantage of being relatively cheap, yet containing two big suitcases and a beauty-case for her as well as a trolley for him.

The following weeks passed by like in frenzy. He made arrangements with the chef of the Geneva restaurant, named Jean Gourmand to lodge in a cheap room close to the restaurant. He informed his parents proudly, that he could now live on his own and would repay them, as soon as he got home, because he would receive in three months a nice salary as sous-chef of one of the more expensive restaurants in town. His parents were first stunned and unhappy, but then seeing his apparent joy in pursuing this career they finally accepted his choice. He helped their decision in inviting them to 'his' restaurant asking his boss to help him in convincing them. Martin Baker did a great job, as he provided a magnificent meal along with the outline of career opportunities and benefits of the gastronomic business. At the end his mother was almost as thrilled as him, while his conservative father accepted his choice only grudgingly.

The day approached, when Maria and he would fly to Geneva via Zurich airport. He never told her that he was flying on a ticket sponsored by the 'Hotel Magazine'. He was so thrilled as they both got onboard. But again, luck was not on his side, as he was among those lucky ones that could stay aboard, while she had to get off, due to an alleged problem with her luggage. He tried to change his ticket, but was not allowed to by some silly booking condition. He was rather nerved, but had stay on board if he didn't want to loose the possibility to meet her in Geneva. He arrived in the early morning in Zurich airport, prepared to take his connecting flight and was very surprised as he heard the announcement that the editor Barbara Jennings of the 'Hotel Magazine', who had arrived from Rome was paging Mrs. Maria Sterling.

All of a sudden it came back to him that the flight was being paid for by that magazine and that they assumed him to be a woman. Courageously he went to the next info point and demanded to be connected to that editor. The elderly woman at the info center did as requested.

He asked: "Mrs. Jennings, please?" He heard the authoritative voice of a woman in a management position, recognizing immediately the accent of Texas in her voice: "You are Ms. Maria Sterling?"

He tried to evade a sudden shock by dodging that question: "My name is Sam Maria Sterling and ..."

But he could not continue, as Mrs. Jennings became enthusiastic: "You had such a wonderful test result, my dear. You have been distancing all other candidates... We would like to make as soon as possible a welcome session with pictures of you."

He was aware that he had a relatively high voice, almost a contralto voice - it was not the first time that he got not recognized on the phone as a man, but he knew instinctively that he had to rectify that impression rapidly, or Mrs. Jennings would feel even more cheated: "Mrs. Jennings, the S. stands for Sam..."

Once again he could not continue, as she happily chimed in: "Shall I call you then Sam? Is that would you would like to tell me?"

He decided to break it to her very clearly, least there be even more misunderstandings: "Sam is a male first name as well, and I am a man."

There was a moment of silence on the other end. She seemed not able to grasp that quickly enough: "What are you trying to tell me? You signed up as S. Maria Sterling..."

Then it dawned on her: "Oh, my god! I did invite the press to present our successful candidate, our female candidate! How dare you to endanger all our efforts? We have to meet immediately!!"

Her fury was very apparent, even over the phone line. He was a bit intimidated. She slammed down the phone.

Before he even realized what was happening, an elegantly clad lady in her late forties appeared very soon in front of him with blazing eyes: "Come with me to the frequent flyer lounge of Swiss in the airport, NOW!"

He followed her almost dazed by the unleashed fury of this authoritative lady. In the lounge she addressed him sarcastically: "Are you satisfied with the result of your cheating? Well, Mr. Sterling, we will make you miserable for spoiling our campaign!"

He was intimidated, yet he started to fight back: "I did fill the questionnaire correctly - providing my social security number for proper identification. Apparently you did not check my identification properly..."

Mrs. Jennings fumed: "That was just an electronic error... and you named yourself misleadingly as Maria, a typical female name."

He smiled as he provided his trump cards, providing his passport and a hardcopy of the questionnaire: "That is my proper name ...and I did not even fill out the gender question incorrectly!"

Barbara Jennings exclaimed furiously outraged: "But the contest prize was said to be exclusively reserved for female applicants! "

He replied evenly: "You are partially right..."

She cut in: We will sue you for pretending to be a woman!"

He continued trying to stay calm: "... but the test itself was open for anyone wanting to go through this test, as the conditions of this test did not exclude male applicants per se, just stating that the contest was destined to award a stipend in the all female MBA course. I never pretended to accept the prize, just agreed for the interview..."

She eyed him cautiously not expecting this young man to be so proficient about legal questions: "Well, you were not supposed to use that flight as this implicitly meant acceptance of the prize."

She recognized his sudden incertitude, and followed: "If my magazine will become the laughing stock of the industry because of you, I will make sure that you will regret it - nobody is going to employ you, because I will assure that the whole industry will know your name as the awful imposer that..."

He became nervous, as he thought about his parents learning about that incident: "I never intended to make your magazine the laughing stock..."