Arriving At Midnight

Samantha's POV

There's a weird thing about first days.

You either come in shining like a polished apple or you crash harder than a drunk bird on a glass window.

Guess which one I was?

I woke up late. Like, very late.

My alarm didn't ring. My cat, Pumpkin, was snoring louder than a truck, and my hair looked like I fought a tornado in my sleep.

I jumped out of bed so fast I swear I dislocated my soul.

Pulled on the first outfit I saw a wrinkled blouse and a pencil skirt that hugged my thighs like it wanted revenge.

Makeup? Just a little lipstick I slapped on while running to the kitchen. Breakfast? Hah. I grabbed a single soggy toast and ran like my life depended on it.

When I finally got on the train, panting and half-dying, some kid looked at me like I was a lost chicken.

I tried to smile. Probably scared him even more.

---

By the time I arrived at Aldwyne & Co., I was sweating buckets and seriously questioning all my life choices.

The building was huge. Like, intimidating huge.

Shiny glass doors, suits everywhere, people moving like they actually knew what they were doing.

Meanwhile, I was there, hugging my cheap handbag and praying I wouldn't trip on my own hopes and dreams.

Inside, the lobby was so fancy I thought I had walked into a hotel by accident.

Marble floors, golden elevators, a receptionist desk that looked like it cost more than my whole life.

And behind that desk... sat Mia.

Receptionist. Queen of Sass. Probably part-time assassin.

She looked at me over her glasses, chewing gum like she owned the world.

"You lost, sweetheart?" she said, smirking like she already hated me.

I cleared my throat. "Um. Samantha Gray. First day. Marketing department."

Mia popped her gum so loud I jumped.

"Marketing? Good luck. You're gonna need it."

She picked up the phone without even looking at me. "Theo, your fresh meat just arrived."

Fresh meat???

Oh, awesome. I was officially a steak.

---

Theo stormed out of the elevator like a hurricane five seconds later.

Brown messy hair, tie hanging loose, coffee cup in one hand, permanent scowl on his face.

"You're late," he barked at me.

I blinked. "Only... thirteen minutes?"

He narrowed his eyes like he was calculating if it was worth murdering me now or later.

"Here," he shoved a folder into my arms. "Orientation? Hah. We don't do that here. Sink or swim, newbie."

And with that, he turned and marched back into the elevator.

I just stood there, folder in hand, questioning if I had just been recruited into a cult.

---

The Marketing Department was on the fifth floor, and holy bananas, it was chaos.

Phones ringing. People shouting. Someone literally throwing paper airplanes across the room.

It was like a battlefield... but with coffee and spreadsheets.

As I stepped in, a woman in a bright pink blazer waved at me like she was landing a plane.

"New girl!! Come here!!" she screamed.

I dragged my feet over. "Hi, I'm Samantha-"

"Don't care!" she grinned. "I'm Trisha, but you can call me Queen Bee."

I blinked. "O-okay, Queen Bee-"

She laughed so loud people turned to stare. "Kidding! Call me Trish. Only my enemies call me Queen Bee. You wanna be my enemy, Samantha?"

I shook my head so fast I almost broke my neck.

"Good girl."

She slapped a giant stack of papers into my arms. "Here. Your first job. Make sense of all that crap. Deadline? Yesterday."

And then she skipped away like she hadn't just destroyed my soul.

---

While I stood there, mentally writing my resignation letter, a guy rolled up to me on a chair.

Like... literally rolled across the floor.

"Yo. New blood," he said, grinning like a troublemaker. "Name's Jordan. Accountant by day, disaster by night."

He offered a handshake, but his hand was covered in what looked suspiciously like jam.

I stared.

He stared back.

"Don't leave me hanging, bro," he said.

I slowly lifted my hand, bracing for death, but before I could touch him, he pulled it away and wiped it on his shirt.

"Relax. Just messin' with ya."

I let out a breath so hard I almost passed out.

Jordan leaned closer, whispering like we were co-conspirators. "Listen, rookie. If you wanna survive here, three rules:

One - Never trust Trish when she smiles.

Two - Never eat anything Jordan made.

Three - Never, and I mean NEVER, touch Theo's mug."

I blinked. "Why?"

Jordan's face turned serious like he was about to tell me a government secret.

"Last guy who touched it? Disappeared."

I laughed. He didn't.

Dead serious.

---

Hours passed in a blur of chaos, mistakes, and minor mental breakdowns.

I spilled coffee on my first report. Tripped over the photocopier. Accidentally replied-all to a company email saying "I wanna cry."

By lunch, I was ready to fake my own death.

But then, the miracle happened.

Lunch break.

And with it, my first glimpse into the madness that was Aldwyne & Co.

The lunchroom looked normal... at first.

Until I saw Mia balancing a can of soda on her head while Jordan tried to shoot paper balls into it like basketball.

Trish was narrating the whole thing like a sports commentator.

"AND JORDAN TAKES THE SHOT! HE MISSES! HE'S A FAILURE TO HIS FAMILY!"

Everyone was dying laughing.

I couldn't help it, I laughed too.

And that's when Theo stomped in, holding his holy mug of coffee, looking like he wanted to murder the entire room.

"What the hell is going on?" he growled.

Everyone froze.

Jordan, soda can in hand, smiled like an idiot. "Team building?"

Theo just stared at him for a long, long moment.

Then, without a word, he grabbed a donut, stuffed it in his mouth, and walked out.

Mia looked at me and winked. "Welcome to hell, new girl."

---

That night, when I finally dragged my half-dead body back home, I collapsed on the couch, still wearing my shoes.

Pumpkin jumped onto my stomach and started purring like I was his personal massage chair.

I stared at the ceiling, thinking about the madness, the chaos, the shouting, the laughter.

And for the first time in a long time...

I smiled.

Maybe this job wouldn't kill me.

Maybe it would save me.

One disaster at a time.