Maria and Sam

She laughed derisively: "Do you imagine that we can continue simply as if nothing had happened? We have published your name as the winner of the prize and announced a press conference with you to reaffirm our campaign of supporting females to rise to management...!"

He realized suddenly the terrific blow to the reputation of the magazine that might occur, if it would be known that they had been had. He blanched as he feared their revenge.

She recognized suddenly an opportunity, remembering his contralto voice: "If you would agree to give a phone interview as Mrs. Maria Sterling - that might do some damage control for the immediate future, so that my magazine gains time to react."

He hesitated shortly then agreed grudgingly. She continued smoothly: "So let us get your luggage and mine for the connecting flight to Geneva. By the way, the luggage has to be checked in again, as luggage is not checked through to Geneva airport. There we will go to another hotel than originally planned for."

She was desperately searching her mind to get out of this terrible mess for her magazine, but couldn't find any suitable solution. She walked mechanically with him, as they went searching for the luggage. They passed the luggage band for the Rome flight earlier and Mrs. Jennings was lucky enough to find her bag travelling as one of the last on the band. He was of course the last to look for his luggage with all that delay stemming from his discussion with her. He recognized his luggage standing alone and looking almost like abandoned since all passengers from New York had left the area since long. The blue trolley and the big suitcase waited for him patiently.

At customs he was friendly but determinedly asked to open his luggage for an inspection, as they recognized the NYC-tag on his luggage, wondering why he arrived so late with his luggage: "Sir, is that your luggage and did you arrive today from New York City?"

Sam affirmed both. He was for once having a clear conscience, not even trying to attempt to smuggle the tiniest quantity of anything. He opened the trolley patiently, showing his books, some towels and the one bottle of Washington State Merlot wine, that he had brought as a present for his future chef. He could close the trolley, as the custom inspector nodded approvingly. "Please show me your passport, Sir!"

Sam handed him the document. The man read slowly out aloud: "Sam Maria..." he looked up for a moment as if to ascertain that the bearer of this name was really in front of him, he side-glanced to Mrs. Jennings whose face suddenly displayed a relieved air then he continued reading: "Sterling."

Sam commented a trifle impatient: "Please, Inspector, I've got nothing to declare."

The inspector looked bored but undeterred from his duty as he asked him to open the big suitcase.

Barbara Jennings looked at the name plate on the suitcase and suddenly intervened: "Inspector, could you please speed it up? We have to get the connecting flight."

The elderly man nodded friendly, as he knew the known editor and renowned hotel manager. Mrs Jennings ushered the young man to the exit: "We have got to hurry..."

Chapter 3

They made the connection plane in time. The aircraft was rather empty. The editor was not yet even seated properly, as she told Sam openly: "I might have a solution for both of us..."

He looked relieved but a bit uncertain: "What is your idea?"

Barbara smiled evenly: "You may accept the price .., and not even pay back a penny."

He was shaking his head: "I don't get it..."

She was thrilled by her own idea: "You will pose as Ms. Sam Maria Sterling until the media trouble has passed by, hopefully in one to two months... and you might even be able to get the certificate. I got that idea at Customs, when the man read out aloud your name..."

He laughed uncertain: "But I am not a woman, and nobody is going to accept that ridiculous idea."

Barbara Jennings leaned comfortably back into her seat: "Your voice will not betray you, we will just cancel the full press conference and make an interview by phone as first step and let you talk tomorrow in the dark evening with the director, posing as a woman."

He frowned angrily: "... and who told you that I would accept to pose as a woman?!"

The experienced woman smiled like the cat that got the mouse: "Oh, you will, because the alternative would be a ruined career. Be assured that the magazine will employ the brightest lawyers to make you pay for the careless way of endangering our reputation, because your legal knowledge enabled you to estimate the potential damage following your reckless actions."

She waited some moments to let her statements sink into the mind of her adversary.

He regretted accepting the flight ticket as he perceived that suddenly as his weakest point in any legal defense action. He had to acknowledge that her assessment of the situation was perhaps not unjustified. He objected none the less: "If I do not accept your proposal the blow to your reputation would be a disaster for your magazine!"

She had anticipated his remark: "Therefore we would rather like to help you and not pursue you. It is in both our interest to have this understanding, then this mishap might go unnoticed."

He tried to stay level-headed, despite all the shock. "If I remember that well, this course requires all participants to lodge in the hotel complex in two bed suites with two occupants. That is never going to stay unnoticed!"

She looked at him enquiringly: "And I am sure that somebody might be willing to help you for a month or so..."

He looked at her unnerved: "That is a mad idea!"

She thought to herself that some reduction of the tuition fee for somebody helping him might do the trick, but she said out aloud: "Anyway, today the only task is to make the interview. I assume that you would be willing to accept a security deposit while I would assure you in writing that our magazine will not pursue you as long as you fully cooperate. That is certainly fair, right?"

Sam looked a bit suspiciously at her, but it sounded indeed quite fair: "What is your idea of a security deposit?"

Barbara Jennings hesitated for a moment then she said: "Well, for the interview today I would like to make sure that you don't disappear suddenly, so I would like to get your passport and your money. I would confirm the receipt of both, while setting up a contract that would assure you of 'Hotel Magazine' not suing you for contract breach, as long as you cooperate for the interview..."

Sam acknowledged that this sounded only fair, even moderate in view of the difficult situation of that magazine. They had made an announcement for a full camera interview and now they had to renounce for a phone interview, yet were willing to accept that as his cooperation. He nodded slowly - giving some statements by phone could not be that difficult.

Barbara Jennings confirmed her offer: "I do think that is only fair, I will have our lawyer sign up a contract."

Sam hesitated for a moment, but then agreed since it was buying time for him.

Mrs. Jennings smiled inwardly, as she prepared an SMS for the company lawyer. She made sure that this contract would be formulated so convoluted that even a beginning law student would not smell the trap...

As they did arrive at the destination airport, the company lawyer did arrive as well. He presented them with a twenty pages contract, that presented however the interview issue and the receipt of money and passport from Sam Maria Sterling on the first page in clear words as security for appearing at the phone interview. Sam signed the contract, after having read the first two pages intensively and the following eighteen a bit less careful. He had to acknowledge that indeed the content of the first two pages was very balanced.

He lacked the experience of a cunning company lawyer ... and that would become his problem, as he signed the contract and turned his money and passport over to Barbara Jennings in return for his promise to appear at the phone interview and then get his belongings back.

Barbara Jennings smiled satisfied, as she countersigned the contract. She brought him to the school building with the adjacent hotel complex: "Why don't you take a shower first and relax a bit..."

She smiled friendly at Sam: "They do have nice bathrobes here."

She knew that his suitcase did not belong to him but to Maria Darkheart, whom she knew to be on the course as well, and she expected a nice surprise for him and the opportunity to deprive him of any male clothing.

After the long flight Sam was only too happy to go for the shower. She didn't have to convince him. As soon as Mrs. Jennings left the small suite, he headed for the shower. He didn't register it that she returned on tip-toes and stole his clothes, checked the suitcase and noted his and her sizes. As quickly as possible she arranged for his clothes to be stored in a closet and asking one of the young apprentices to immediately get her an AA-bra size 32.

After a long and sumptuous shower he went back clad in the white bathrobe to the entrance floor and retrieved his luggage in order to get some new clothing. Just in this moment somebody knocked at the door: "May I come in? This is Mrs. Jennings..." her voice sounded like a flute.

"Oh, well, come in." Patiently the young man heaved the heavy suitcase on the desk in order to liberate of it. He started to open the zip on all three sides and then hesitated. He suddenly got an odd feeling, as weight of the suitcase did feel different. The lady got attentive, as Sam wavered for a moment, until he opened it. Sam was shocked as he did not remember to have his black jeans packed on top - his suitcase must have been searched by customs.

Barbara looked amused, as she asked Sam lightly, if that would be his luggage. Sam was confused: "Yes, I thought so and it certainly looks identical from the outside!" She picked at first the black jeans on top: "Is that yours?"

Sam was not certain. He hesitated as he answered: "Maybe, but the suitcase must have been searched then, as I did have it packed quite differently."

The editor then dug deeper and picked up a pair of pink panties, spread the delicate fabric in front of his eyes and asked him in a steady voice, but she was trying to hide a smile: "Ohhh, how cute! Is that yours, too? You know there are men, who like to dress in that..."

Sam blushed ferociously: "Oh, no..." The young man was very embarrassed as he looked at the delicate piece of lingerie dangling before his very eyes, being aware of the insinuation that he would wear such a thing.

Then the lady rummaged more through a part of the lingerie, producing a matching lacy bra, holding it in her left hand while still holding the panties in her right: She looked at him shrewdly: "Just what you might need...".

Sam turned his head away, then suddenly he was getting it, feeling very relieved: "Oh - that must be the suitcase of my dear colleague, who was supposed to be on the same flight. Apparently her luggage was confused with mine! I will ask for my luggage to be tracked and I will certainly try to help her find her luggage. I have to get back to the tracing service in order to have her informed and that way I can help her once again. Oh, she will again be thankful."

She deposited the pieces of underwear on the bed. She was a good observer: "You seem to have helped her ... and she was thankful for that one. At least that is what you just said. That might become an advantage later on, but for now you don't have any clothes of your own, since your own luggage did not arrive."

Sam retorted quickly: "I still have my old attire." He looked around searchingly, but couldn't see anything.

Barbara commented dryly: "The chambermaid must have picked that up."

She looked content as the young man desperately searched. "And I made sure that she left nothing at all", she added pointedly.

"Why did you do that?" He was feeling confused and didn't grasp her idea.

Mrs. Jennings smiled contented, as she explained to him that his only choice would be to wear female clothes for the phone interview: "You may as well get used to it, because you will have this evening another interview with the course director in person..."

Sam stared at her in utter surprise: "You told me only about the phone interview, and that is the only thing I promised to do!" He felt stressed.

Mrs. Jennings smiled smugly, as she explained to him that in his contract there had been that formulation on page 9 that assured his proper cooperation: "You signed that you will cooperate as long as we don't sue you, and that you leave your passport and money as security. You may like it or not, but I intend to make sure that you will stay here for at least two months."

He protested vividly: "No way, I did read the first pages thoroughly..." then his voice faded away as it dawned on him that he had been outsmarted, while he was fetching the document and reading the fine print on page 9.

Mrs. Jennings' voice got persuasive: "It won't be that difficult, you will manage that easily."

She saw his tension and tried to make it easy on him: "You may just take the khaki skirt-shorts which are certainly not that awkward to wear and a white T-shirt, and some flat shoes."

Sam stared at her in silent protest. He didn't like all that and he cursed his decision to fly here with that apparently cheap ticket, which was now costing him dearly.

"You will have no problem at all; the director is short-sighted and I will make sure that we are sitting in a dark corner..." Barbara Jennings used a soothing voice in order to calm the young man.

Sam voiced now his objections: "I don't have much of a beard or hairy legs, but some will be visible."

She was not seeing a difficulty: "You will shave ... and the short sighted director will certainly not be able to recognize anything."

After that he voiced his real concern, thinking especially about the bra: "And what about the..." he hesitated a moment: "...the missing underwear..."

She had anticipated his problem: "Here is the pink bra and you will just simply wear that one - there are plenty of flat-breasted girls in the world. And the panties won't be a problem with the shorts."

Sam scowled: "I am not going to wear women's panties!"

Barbara Jennings shrugged her shoulders: "Then don't wear any under the shorts. I couldn't care less..."

He had expected much more resistance from her side. In a way that was a relief for him, but he remained suspicious.

"And a month is not that long."

He remembered her saying to help him professionally, but he doubted if that would include this very bizarre situation. His doubt showed on his face, but Mrs. Jennings was optimistic: "Let me help you with that..."

Continuation possible.