6 Chapter 6: Royal Oops!

Sammy approached her apartment door. She half expected to find an eviction notice pasted onto the door, but breathed a sigh of relief when there was nothing.

"Samantha!" A voice boomed from the end of the hallway. Sammy froze as she brought her gaze up to see the figure of her landlord making his way toward her.

It was around half past six in the morning, didn't the guy sleep. Sammy pasted a plastic smile onto her face as he drew closer.

"Good morning, Mr. Olick," she said in a high pitched voice she barely recognized as her own.

Olick gave her a disgusted once over look before speaking. "I hope you brought my rent money from where ever you got that." He pointed at her neck. Sammy had no idea what he was referring to.

"I...I will have it soon. I promise," Sammy mumbled while instinctively raising her palm to her neck.

"You better," the bald man said as he cleared his throat noisily and snorted.

'Ewe,' Sammy thought, but smiled through her disgust.

The man brushed past her and headed towards the stairs. Sammy sighed in relief. That hadn't gone so bad.

After finding her keys in her clutch bag she opened her door and slid in. She leaned on the door as she tried to get her breathing back to normal.

Sammy was glad she stayed alone. She wasn't ready for anyone to be asking her about last night.

Sammy threw her clutch bag onto her bed and walked over to her bathroom. She turned on the water in the shower and looked at herself in the mirror while waiting for the water flow to warm up.

She traced her fingers over her bruised lips remembering how Leo had devoured them with great agitation. The passion they had exchanged was unmatched, and she felt herself blush as she remembered how he had looked at her. She had felt like she was the most beautiful woman in the world, if only for those few hours. A purple dime sized mark was on the side of her neck. Sammy giggled, understanding what Mr. Olick was pointing at. Leo had given her a hickey.

After taking a quick shower, she changed into some sweat pants. It felt good to finally be dressed in her home clothes. The lady in red was gone and forgotten. But the thoughts of the night she had spent with Leo were still fresh. The stamp on her neck would serve as a constant reminder of her wild night of passion, until such a time that it would fade.

After making herself a cup of coffee, she walked over to her laptop. It was half-past eight, and she wanted to see if she had any mail.

"Miss Jackson, please report to Polar Stars at half-past nine." Sammy spat out her coffee. As she looked at the mail time stamp, she swore. The mail had been sent while she was busy drinking Datura at the club...or was it the time she had her legs wrapped around Leo's torso? Whatever the timeline, she had to be at their towers in an hour.

Almost stumbling on her own feet, Sammy rushed to the bathroom. There was no time to do her makeup, so she lightly dusted her face with translucent powder. Peering into her closet, she swore again. Her only clean pantsuits were wrinkled.

She hurriedly took the iron and plugged it in. For the third time that morning, she found herself swearing. The iron was as cold as ice despite her turning the temperature knob to the maximum.

With no other choice and running out of time, she threw on the black strapless dress Nelly had laid on her bed the previous day and paired it with a black blazer. She prayed she looked somewhat professional. A quick glance in the mirror made her do a double-take. She looked like she worked at some fancy Hollywood fashion house. She hadn't expected to look this polished. Her clean shaved legs looked silky and extra-long under the short dress's tailoring. The blazer hid the strapless bits of the dress well.

"Well, I look great. Devil-Wears-Prada me much?" Throwing on her black strap heels she picked up her purse and flew out of the door. As she reached the stairs she swore. She was certain her grandmother was turning in her grave because of the numerous times she kept swearing. She had forgotten to lock her door. Sprinting back to her apartment she nearly fell as the heel on her shoe broke off.

"D*mn!" Sammy ran into her apartment and picked up the pair of red bottoms she had never worn since Ricardo gifted them to her for her birthday. She had always thought about selling them online for food money or something. But now, she was forced to wear them. When she lifted her head, she caught a glimpse of herself in her dresser mirror. D*mn, the hickey. Grabbing a nearby cotton scarf, she ran out of her apartment.

Soon she was in an Uber headed to the Polar Stars towers. 'Breathe...' She reminded herself as she sat in the Uber. She managed to tie the scarf around her neck and prayed it looked great. First impressions were always great.

When she arrived, she breathed a sigh of relief when she realized she had made it with five minutes to spare.

After telling the receptionist her name, she was directed to a room where she found six other interns sitting, including Ricardo.

Ricardo smiled when she walked in and patted the seat next to him. Smiling back at her friend, she hurried to go sit next to him.

"Oh my God. Seems you are determined to continue killing it. You looking soooo fly!" Ricardo said as he snapped his fingers. Sammy chuckled. If only he knew this was an outfit thrown together out of pure desperation.

"Thanks, friend. I am so glad I was placed here with someone I know!"

"I was so happy when I saw you enter. I thought you hadn't been placed."

"Yeah. Me too. Got the email last night, "Sammy said deliberately not mentioning how she had only seen it this morning, since she hadn't slept at home. That would only lead to more questions that she didn't feel like answering.

Sammy looked around the boardroom table. The other interns were from other colleges. She counted three more girls and two boys. As her eyes met one of the other girls, she could have sworn she caught her sneering at her. She had no idea who the girl was and why she seemed to be already giving her the ugly stare.

Two women walked in with files in their hands. Sammy almost broke out laughing as one of the women reminded her of an 'Oompa Loompa'. The other, however, looked like a Barbie doll. Everything about her screamed 'Plastic!' From her cleavage that looked like it was about to pour out of her low cut blouse, to her lips, which looked like an overblown balloon. They reminded Sammy of a duck.

"I am Mrs. Hines, and I will be the coordinator of your internship program here at Polar Stars. Remember, after the program, three of you will be chosen to be permanently employed by Polar Stars with great earnings and benefits. So work hard and get noticed. Good luck," the woman who looked like an Oompa Loompa said as she smiled warmly.

Immediately Sammy felt like she liked the woman. She radiated motherly, nurturing warmth that tugged at her heart.

"I am sure all of you do know what this company is about. If not, I am certain you all did your research when you got placed," the other woman was saying. Sammy looked around and saw everyone else nod. D*mn! She had no idea what the company did. She hadn't had the time to do any research.

"My name is Ruth. I am the PA to the Polar Stars CEO. We hold our company and ethics in the highest regard. We don't take kindly to scandals as this company is owned by the Prince of Ziofa himself. Hence, we can't afford any slacking or bad connections. Anyone of you that is caught in any scandals that are a threat to the company will be fired. You should regard yourself as Royalty employees, and must conduct yourselves as such!"

What? Prince? Sammy's head was spinning. Now she understood why everyone had wanted to be placed here.

"I hear she was once the prince's girlfriend but he broke up with her because he doesn't believe in dating employees or something. He has a strict policy on fraternization between employees because of whatever transpired between them. Besides, he has a fiance back in Ziofa well suited for royalty," Ricardo whispered to her. Sammy smiled. She had forgotten her friend was the paparazzi. He always knew the latest gossip about everyone and everything.

Suddenly two men burst into the room. One of them whispered something to Mrs. Hines.

"Will you all please stand up. His Grace, Prince Leonard Jeffery would like to meet all of you.

Sammy stood up wondering if they ought to salute when the prince entered. How does one act in front of royalty?

The other man whispered something into a micro mic of some sort on his jacket, and two other men escorted another man in.

When Sammy saw who it was, her heart leapt into her mouth and she nearly fell over. Her knees suddenly felt like they had turned to jelly.

Leo??

"Your highness!" everyone curtsied and bowed around her but she stood still like a statue, unable to move and gaped.