A Girl In PRADA

              My first published story... 


                      -----------------------Chapter 1: The PRADA Moments-----------------------

It is 7 am in the morning and the sun is just rising and shimmering its golden yellow rays on the most romantic city of the world – Paris. The City is quiet and peaceful. A shrill breeze is blowing and along with it, it is bringing the fragrance of moist grass that is layered around The Eifel Tower. The only sound that is heard is of those of birds chirping and rhythmic water flowing from the fountain near The Eifel Tower. While the city is still waking up to the tunes of this beautiful scenery, a classy white limousine slowly arrives at the entrance of the Eifel Tower and parks itself right at the gate. A man in black tuxedo is eagerly watching the limousine taking twists and turns to finally arrive at the gate. Without wasting a minute, the man opened the door and offered his hand to help the person sitting inside to come out comfortably. A lady in a silk white dress stepped out. Her long hair is tucked on one side and the curls are naturally falling on her shoulder. She is wearing cherry red high heels and a thin light golden bracelet that is complimenting her body. As soon as she removes her Prada glasses, her dark black eyes are seen perfectly and the man is mesmerized by her beauty. He holds her tight in her arms and is about to kiss her soft red lips...

“Isabel... Isabel...” a voice is heard in the background. “It is 3am in the morning. Get up, else you will be late to work”.

“Are you awake?” Allen asked again to confirm

“Yes. Thanks Allen.” Isabel replied still half in sleep.

“Here is your tea and the breakfast is kept on the table. Do not forget to take your lunch and I have also cut some fruits for you. I am going back to my room to finish my project. You have a great day”. Saying this, Allen gave a hug to Isabel and left. 

“It was a dream..” Isabel said to herself in a whispering tone. She opened her laptop to check facebook. The desktop wallpaper has a large picture of Eifel tower and a handwritten text that read – An all expense paid trip to Paris by Prada. She looked at it for a while and then checked her Facebook account. She had few text messages but she decided to respond them later.

Allen Green is 14 years old and he is the younger brother of Isabel Green. Both of them live in the St. Johns street in Brooklyn since their birth. Allen is in his high school and aspires to become a geologist. Since his childhood, Allen has been a bright student and his parents were also supporting him to fulfil his dream.

Isabel and Allen are the only survival in the Green Family. Isabel’s parents died five years back and since then Isabel has been taking care of Allen, her child brother. Isabel is an attractive 20 year old woman and currently working at the New York International airport as a sales executive in the duty free shop of PRADA. She is also finishing her graduation course in fashion from Brooklyn University and aspires to become a successful fashion consultant, which is the precise reason that she accepted sales executive job in PRADA - despite the odd work timings.

Isabel has an excellent taste in fashion since her childhood and in spite of her weak financial background, she manages to dress simple yet attention grabbing wardrobe. Her fashion knowledge is very popular among her friends and clients in PRADA including her childhood friend James Scott who is now a rich and successful business man.

Isabel passed through the staff security and walked into the PRADA store greeting Rhett, the store manager who is ready to leave for home as his shift got over.

“Good morning Rhett” Isabel placed her overcoat on the hanger behind the sales counter.

“Good morning Isabel. You have some emails from your clients and I have kept them in your folder. 

The new season catalogue has come from the head quarter. PRADA is launching new prescribed glasses and they are fantastic. I have put one copy here for you. Have a look.” Rhett took his overcoat and was about to leave.

“And by the way, your sales numbers look fantastic. I hope people in Paris are noticing this. If you keep going in the same pace, you will surely win the contest.” He gently patted Isabel and left.

Rhett was referring to the International Sales Incentive contest – “The PRADA Moments” that was launched by PRADA for all their Airport Duty Free Shops around the world. ‘The PRADA Moments’ captures testimonials from the customers about their buying experience at the store and how did owning a PRADA changed their personality and their perspective towards life. They have to also share their special comments for the sales executive who helped them in their shopping. This is an annual contest and the executive who captures maximum ‘PRADA Moments’ wins an all expense paid trip to Paris and 5000 euro prize money. The contest is getting over in less than 2 weeks now and Kimberly – a sales executive from London Heathrow Airport, who is now a very good friend of Isabel, is leading, and closely followed by Isabel.

Isabel opened the catalogue and looked at each new arrival with great interest. She started visualizing herself wearing the classy black frame from the catalogue on a stylish grey and white dress and holding a black leather PRADA bag sitting in a plush office in Paris. A dream that she has been seeing day and night since her childhood. After some time she checked her emails from clients and responded to each one of them.

There was an email from James Scott.. “Hi Izz, I will be flying to Paris today morning. Please keep my package ready. I will come at 6.30 am to pick it up from you. Cheers, James”

She looked at the Handbag section and took the one that James had approved over email. As a backup she mentally kept note of the handbags, shoes and some shades that she wished to show James to cross sell. She also thought to show the new catalogue to James as it will suit his personality and may pick up one or two for his big C-suite meetings.  

Not many flights were boarded in this hour and very few travellers came and gazed at the products without buying it.

“Hi Isabel.. “ David Watson, a cashier from the neighbouring coffee shop waved at Isabel to call her for the morning coffee break. Isabel arranged few cash memos and went to the coffee shop keeping a close eye at the store.

“Good morning Mr. Watson. How is your wife doing now?” Mr. Watson was on leave for past two days as his wife was unwell.

“She is doing fine dear.” He said while bringing tea for Isabel and a cup of hot coffee for himself.

“So how has been the morning sale so far? Placing his cup of coffee on the small table for two where they usual sit during their breaks.

“Sale is going ok. There are couple of flights in the afternoon today. So I am hoping some more sales to happen today. By the way, James is coming today in about half hour. He is flying to Paris.”

Mr. Watson nodded and sipped some more coffee from his cup. They sat for few more minutes and dispersed back to their work.

“Thank you Mrs. Walther for your time and writing this testimonial.” Isabel handed over the invoice to Mrs. Walther who is a frequent flyer and another loyal fan of PRADA perfumes. Mrs. Walther is 75 years old, British woman who visits her son in New York every second month and stops by at PRADA shop for some last minute purchase.

“Good morning Isabel, how are you?” a voice from the back broke the conversation between Isabel and Mrs. Walther. It was James Scott.

“Hello James, how are you doing today” Isabel replied.

 “Is my package ready?” James looked at his watch and gave a soft smile to Isabel.

“Yes. It is ready right there.” Pointing at the cash counter.

If you may please excuse me for five minutes, I will escort Mrs. Walther to her boarding gate and will be back as soon as possible.

“Sure. I do have some time. “ James looked at his watch and before he could say anything, his mobile rang. It was Lauren, his girlfriend.

Isabel kept James favourite coffee on the table and pointed it to him without saying anything.

 “Thanks Isabel” James whispered and got engrossed on his call.

After few minutes, Isabel came back to the store and she bumped into Michael, James’ personal assistant.

Michael is working with James for past 3 years and accompanies him on his business tour. Michael is half American through his father and half French through his mother and has spend his  early years of childhood in Paris. Then his parents moved to San Francisco where his rest of the family lives. He met James in an art convention where both of them shared common interest in painting and at the end of convention; James offered Michael his personal assistant job. Michael accepted that job with a hope that he might meet some potential financers through James’ business network to fulfil his long pending dream to open an French Art Gallery, which will promote young and budding artists from France.   Michael and Isabel have met earlier also and they generally share cold vibes, specially coming from Michael than Isabel. Isabel never understood his reason for such behaviour.

Michael feels that Isabel is a shrewd sales executive who always sweet talks James and other customers to sell more products to achieve her sales numbers. Though he never confronted his feelings to Isabel but made it very obvious couple of times in their earlier visits when Michael discouraged James to buy anything from this store and rather offered to buy from PRADA’s main store in the city. His efforts went in vain as James still maintains a warm and healthy relationship with his childhood friend.

Hello Mr. Blunt. I suppose you are also travelling with James this morning? Isabel greeted

Michael nodded without giving much attention and straight went to meet James.

“James, boarding will start in another 45 minutes. Do you want something to drink?” Michael asked James who was still on call with Lauren.

James nodded his head and showed the coffee mug which was given by Isabel making Michael feel all the more irate. He looked back at Isabel and gave a smirk, reaffirming his feelings

Finally James finished the call and came to Isabel. “Isabel, can I see my package?”

“Yeah sure. There you go..” She handed over the handbag to James. It is a light peach, handmade, limited edition handbag from PRADA.

He looked at it in happiness and murmured.. “Lauren will love it. This is the exact bag she wanted.  How did you get it? I  thought  it was not available anywhere in New York?”

“Well, Lauren is lucky as there was just one bag available in London so I got it imported from our London duty free shop for you. She smiled back at James hoping to see his expression”

Ya right! Michael thought in his mind in total disbelief.

James was completely delighted by this gesture. “I owe you for this. Thank you so much izz for doing this. Tell me what can I do, apart from writing another fabulous testimonial for you on that ipad?” Pointing his finger at the “The PRADA Moments” kiosk. James knows about the contest and has personally written 3 testimonials already and often recommends his friends and business associates to buy from Isabel in lieu for all that she did for him.

“Well you don’t awe anything James. Infact I want to give you something special. Here are your favourite cup cakes. I made them over weekend as you were supposed to visit. Hope you like it. She opened the box and offered to James.

“Thanks Izz, you are the best.” James happily took one.

Izz offered one to Michael but he refused.

“James while you enjoy these cup cakes, would you like to see the new arrivals of this season?

“Aah there you go.. “ Michael was getting irritated with the sweet talk.

“Sure Izz. I would love to see them..” James replied

“Excuse me James, can I excuse myself. I will grab a coffee and come back” Michael said

“Sure.”  James replied.

Isabel showed the new collection of handbags and shoes that she had made a mental note of earlier. 

She also wore some of shoes and walked on James’ request. Apparently the foot size of Isabel and Lauren are the same and James vouch by Isabel’s choice.

He loved the new collection of stilettos and perfume range from PRADA. He bought it without even giving a second thought. He looked at the new arrival of prescribed glasses and requested Isabel to email him the catalogue.

James happily wrote testimonial for Isabel and paid the bill. Michael was back by then and grabbed some bags from James and headed towards the boarding gate.

James bid goodbye to Isabel and followed Michael. Isabel looked at both of them till they were invisible.

It was lunch break and Isabel was chatting with Kimberly as there was still some time for the store to open after lunch.

“Hi Kimberly, thanks for sending the handbag. It reached on time. James was thrilled to have it.”

“That is great. I am glad he liked it” Kimberly replied.

“How is Rebecca? Does she like her new school?”

“Rebecca is doing well. She loves her new school. By the way, how are sales looking like for you today? We had some flight cancellations today due to thunderstorm and so sales were not that great?”

“Ohh that is bad. Sales is going decent in here. Am hoping to catch up some more before weekend. I have given your number to Mrs. Walther. She will call you over weekend for the new arrival ”

They chatted for a while and then signed off.

Some more sales were done in another 3 hours and Isabel was then making the final count of the testimonials collected till date.

“476, 477, 478..” still falling behind by 5 testimonials  to beat Kimberly’s score. That’s ok, i will catch up.. she told  to herself, very happy and satisfied with her work today.

She then arranged her contact book and added some more business cards and personal numbers of her new clients. Isabel learned from Rhett that maintaining up-to date contact details and a healthy rapport with customers makes one a successful sales executive. She goes out of her way to ensure that her customers get the exact shopping experience they want. Be it their favourite drink, style, size, fragrance, color or their preferred flight. She keeps a short profile of all her clients in a folder and ensures that she refers to each one of them when the client is about to come. Sometimes she also helps the client to buy some last minute duty free shopping and escorts them till their boarding gates. By now Rhett was back for his shift. Isabel had made some notes for him to read over the night. She greeted good night and left for the day.

-----------------------Chapter 2: A Girl in PRADA-----------------------

It was a busy Friday since morning and Isabel was busy helping her customers buy their favourite PRADA products. The contest was soon getting over and Isabel was almost at par with Kimberly on the testimonial scores. All the executives were now trying their best to get maximum sales and left no stone unturned.

“Your grand daughter would love it Mrs. Hains. This is the season’s latest limited edition handbag.” Isabel holded the handbag in front of the big mirror to show Mrs. Hains.

“Yes, I think she will like it. I will buy it. Thank you dear.” Mrs. Hains replied. She also agreed to write testimonial for Isabel , while Isabel was preparing the bill. 

Airport authorities had announced a bad snowstorm and had asked all the duty free shop managers to close their shops by 4pm. Isabel had already informed Rhett about it.  Isabel was ready to leave as soon as Mrs. Hains is done with her shopping. Mrs. Hains was travelling to Paris and it was the last flight as per the schedule while rest all flights were cancelled.

“Hi Isabel.” A known voice suddenly came from the other side of the billing counter.

It was Michael.

“Michael, Hi” surprised to see Michael.

“How are you? Are you travelling to Paris?” she continued

“Yes, but how do you know? Did James inform you about it?” Little surprised.

She smiled a bit and replied “No, James didn’t. Apparently, due to bad weather all other flights are cancelled post 4.30pm. There is only one last flight to Paris which is scheduled in sometime  to fly. So I guessed that you must be flying to Paris.”

Michael acknowledged it with a smile. “Smart.” He thought

 “Well, I don’t have much time left. So I will quickly get to the point. James had ordered few pair of eyewear. Could you please pack it for me?”

“Yeah sure. Would you like to have something? A cup of hot coffee? It is very cold outside” She asked while going straight to the Eyewear section and pulling out the glasses that James had ordered.

“No Thanks. I am fine.” Michael replied.

By now, Mrs. Hains was done with the testimonial. She came to the front desk to pay the bill. Within few seconds, her bill was paid and she left the shop, slowly walking down towards the boarding gate.

Isabel was busy making Michael’s bill, while Michael was flipping the PRADA magazine kept at the counter. He slyly moved his eyes towards busy Isabel and this time he was completely awestruck by her beauty. Something which he never noticed earlier. Isabel was looking radiant today. Her hair was neatly tucked with only little hair falling on one side of her face near her left eye. Her eyes were big and nice, her lips were silky pink and her face had an amazing charm today.

Isabel noticed that Michael is looking at her and is in deep thoughts. There was a momentary eyelock.

“Excuse me Miss...” airport security guard broke the silence making both Isabel and Michael feeling little awkward.

“Please shut the shop as soon as possible. You are advised to go home immediately as the weather is getting worst. All staff transports are arranged from the terminal 4D. Please take the staircase from the boarding area as we have evacuated the main entrance.”

“Thank you officer.” Isabel replied.

Meanwhile Michael paid the bill and took his bag. “Thank you.” Michael looked at Isabel

“Have a safe flight.” Isabel looked at Michael intensely.

“Sure. Thanks.” Michael said and left.

There was sudden change in the vibes. This time there was warmth in their body language. A sudden attraction that was never felt earlier.

Isabel started packing and locked the doors. She wanted to count the testimonials but decided not to and thought to do it on Monday. She quickly moved towards the boarding area where passengers for Paris were still there including Michael.  

“Flight should have been boarded by now.” Isabel thought. She went to Michael to check if everything was alright.

“Is everything ok Michael? Is your flight delayed?” She looked worried.

“I don’t think so. Seems they have cancelled this last flight due to bad weather. We are waiting for the final confirmation from the Airport authorities.”  Michael said still busy looking at the boarding gate, hoping to hear something from the authorities.

Just then the airline employee rushed in and made the announcement that the flight has been cancelled due to bad weather. There was an instant anger and discomfort among the passengers.

“Well there you go.. flight is cancelled.” Michael sounded little disappointed. “I guess I will head back home.” he said

“Where do you stay?” He picked up his handbag and they moved towards the exit gate.

“I stay in Brooklyn, St. Johns Street.” Isabel replied.

“Are you staying with you family.” Michael asked another question. This was the first time that 

Michael and Isabel were discussing their personal life.

“Yes, I stay with my younger brother. He is in high school.”

They spoke for few more minutes and they finally came out at the exit lobby. It was windy outside and weather was getting worst than anyone had thought.

“Which way are you going anyway?” Isabel asked Michael

“I also stay in Brooklyn near St. Regis.” He replied

“That is close to my house.” Isabel replied with a smile.

Isabel was waiting for the staff bus to arrive while Michael was trying hard to get a taxi. But unfortunately due to bad weather, there were hardly any taxis around.

Just then the staff bus arrived and Isabel looked at Michael and bid him goodbye. She started walking towards the bus and Michael kept watching her. He felt similar anxiety sometime back when he was leaving the PRADA store. Not knowing what was going on, he still continued to look at Isabel.

Isabel stopped for a second and came back.

It was so sudden that it was too late for Michael to look away. Isabel noticed that he was watching her.

‘Hey Michael, why don’t you come along in staff bus. Weather is getting worst and your house is anyway close to my house. Once the weather settles a bit, you then head back to your apartment. Till then, you can stay at my apartment. ‘

Michael looked at Isabel for some time and replied ‘Sure. Thanks Isabel.’

Traffic was moving very slow and it took almost one and half hour to reach St. Johns Street. During this time, Michael and Isabel spoke to each other about their families, their parents. This time, Michael was pleasantly surprised to know that Isabel had roots from France and that she loves painting. They shared some common artist whose work both of them loved.

While heading back home, they visited nearby grocery store to buy some stuff for dinner and then they straight headed for home. While getting back, they slightly got wet due to quick drizzle and it was also snowing by now.

Isabel gently opened the door as Allen mostly sleeps at this time and she normally wakes him up once dinner is cooked.

“Please make yourselves comfortable. I will get you a towel and something to change”

Isabel went inside her parents’ room to get some cloths.

Meanwhile, Michael hung his overcoat and was intently watching the house. He looked at the walls, the furniture, the fire place where most of the family pictures were laid. The warmth and the energy in the room were quite nostalgic. It brought his memories from his childhood in France, his family and strangely his dream to open up his own art gallery. It reminded him to check whether he got any reply from the bank manager – Mr. Hudson on his proposal. Michael has been long trying to get an appointment with Mr. Hudson to approve loan for his business proposal. He checked his phone and there were no mails from him since he last checked in the airport. The network was also weak so there were no emails downloaded in past 3 hours. He suddenly saw a ceramic pot designed in French style. It was handmade, same like how his grandmother would make. He looked at the texture, then the art and then choice of colours.

“That’s a handmade pot.” Isabel said from behind.

Michael looked back.

Isabel gave him the towel to dry his hair and cloths from his father’s wardrobe.

“Who made it?” he took the towel and started to dry his hair.

“I did. I learned it from my Grandfather and Mother. My grandfather – mother’s father owned a business of ceramic pots and other artefacts’ from east France, which was quite evolved in Paris. He passed his legacy to my mother and me. He taught me the very basic skill of pot making when I was a child and the artistic flair of colours and designs came from my mother. She was very creative.” She replied.

“Do you still own this business?” Michael was getting interested in the conversation.

Isabel smiled and replied. “No, not at any more. After my grandfather died, my mum looked after the business for couple of years. I was still very young so she could manage it. That was the time when I lived in Paris with my mother. But then as I grew, it was difficult for my mother to manage so she sold the business to a friend and we flew back to New York to my father.

Isabel escorted Michael to her parent’s room to change.

“You can change here. Bathroom is right there. Please feel comfortable. If you wish to read, here is the reading light. She pointed to the switch panel. I will get something to drink.” She said and left.

Few minutes later, she got hot coffee and some cookies for Michael. But he was fast asleep. She gently put the coffee and cookies on the table and looked intently at Michael. This was the first time she looked at him at peace. Suddenly she started getting flashes of her dream of Eifel tower and the dream that she saw the other day. There was an instant nostalgia as if her dream is very close to its fulfilment. She kept watching Michael and felt at peace. His hair is dark black, his skin looked radiant even in those dim lights. His shoulder is broad and eyes are big.

“I never noticed him so intently before.” She thought. Slowly she switched off the light and left the room.

For next few hours Isabel was busy with making dinner and arranging her house. She got food for Allen in his room and spoke to him regarding his project till he was done with the dinner. Isabel briefly mentioned about Michael and then wished him good night and left the room. She was then working on her laptop and counting her sales numbers.

“Next few days are very crucial. I hope weather gets back to normal by Monday so that I get final two days for complete sales. Wednesday the contest gets over. I need to put all my energy on it “ She was speaking to herself.

“Isabel.” Michael knocked on the door.

“Hi. You are awake.” Isabel replied with a warm smile “Come on in.”

Michael slowly entered the room looking around. It is an average looking room but very neatly kept. There is a small French table placed right near the door with some more photo frames stacked. He started looking at each with detail. They were Isabel’s childhood pictures and most of them were clicked in her home in Paris. There is also one with James in this house. Right next to the bed is a huge window that gave a fantastic view of Brooklyn Bridge. He slowly stood near the window and was lost in his thoughts.

Isabel finished with her work and interrupted Michael.

“Michael, shall we have dinner? I am done with the work.” She shut all the windows on her screen.

Michael saw the wallpaper. He looked at it and said. “So you want to go to Paris?”

“Isabel smiled and replied “Yes.  It has been my long standing dream to go back to Paris for a holiday and re-visit my childhood memories.” They started walking toward the hall.

“I also want to visit The Eifel tower now as a grown up. My mom used to tell me how she and my father met for the first time at the Eifel tower and how it has become a symbol of their love. My father also proposed to her at the Eifel tower, early in the morning when sun was rising. They were madly in love with each other. She always wanted me to visit Eifel tower as a young woman and how it should also become a symbol of love for me one day – just like hers.”

Michael was listening to her intently. They started having dinner. It was not difficult to guess that Isabel still has her roots alive from France, something that is also true for Michael.

They started having dinner and spoke more about Michael and his work. Michael also mentioned how he aspires to open a French Art Gallery and his own passion into painting. He promised her to show her paintings over weekend and they continued chatting.

They finished the dinner and Isabel poured some more wine to drink. Weather had still not settled which was worrying Isabel but she decided not to think about it till Monday.

“So what are your chances to win the contest?” Michael sipped some wine and asked.

“Well, I am very close. But it now depends on the weather. I am hoping that it will get better by Monday so that all flights resume back to normal and I can finish with good sales. It is a close call”

“That is fantastic. I am sure you will win after all the sales you have done to James” Michael replied with a smirk.

“Lauren loves wearing PRADA. And I know her taste very well by now.”

“I can never understand how some can be so crazy for brands. How do you sell them such expensive stuff?” Michael was now teasing her

“As a sales executive, I don’t sell PRADA. I sell dreams. I show people products that make them feel extraordinary out of ordinary. There are so many people like me out there who are struggling to achieve an above average lifestyle, struggling on a daily basis to achieve sales numbers, who also have long list of pending wishes to be fulfilled and top it up there are daily challenges to overcome which may shake our confidence and self belief. But possessing a unique product make us believe that we are special, a feeling of exclusivity. It can be momentary but it is magical. Which is precisely why people invest so much in these products. Sometimes these small dreams make us do some terrific things and help us realize our true potential. We may not understand its true worth today, but once the dreams are materialised, that’s when all of the efforts are justified.”

Michael looked intently in Isabel’s eyes. He was seeing the same passion, the same zest for life in Isabel which he once had.  His meeting with bankers was not materialising which was leaving him exhausted and disappointed. They chatted for a while and then called it a night.

It was a peaceful night and the snowfall had settled a bit in the morning but not completely. In the morning, Michael was formally introduced to Allen and they all had a nice breakfast together. Michael also promised Allen to show him San Francisco.  Weather settled by noon and Michael left for his house. That whole day Michael kept thinking about his evening with Isabel and her dream to visit Paris again. Somewhere it brought the lost inspiration back in him. He invited Isabel over his house on Sunday to show his paintings and other collection from France. Isabel was mesmerized with Michael’s paintings. Every painting had some story to tell, a perspective painting which attracted Isabel the most. Isabel took some pictures of few paintings which she personally admired.

While Michael was taking her through his paintings he mentioned about his long due meeting with the bank manager – Mr. Hudson. He is hoping that the bank would invest in his business proposal but somehow he is not getting any response yet from the manager. They spent the whole evening together and Michael spoke more about his paintings and what inspired him to paint each, his family, how he met James and his future plans.

Weather turned worst the Sunday night and Rhett advised Isabel to stay at home and not go to work on Monday. Isabel was getting tensed as Tuesday was the only day left to do any sales and contest gets over on Wednesday and there is not much that she can do now. Michael informed her that the airline office has confirmed flight on Wednesday, early morning, much before Isabel’s shift. They bid good bye and decided to meet again whenever Michael comes back to New York.

Tuesday started with low sales as some of the flights were still getting cancelled. It was almost lunch time, when Isabel got a call from someone and she decided to leave immediately to meet the person soon after her shift gets over. By now she was falling short of 2 testimonials to beat Kimberly’s target. She was disappointed that she couldn’t win the contest but the urgency to meet someone did not allow her to think much on that. Rhett was equally disappointed as he was hoping Isabel to win but he did not display his feelings and rather commended her for trying.

Isabel had to reach time square and she took the shortest and the fastest route to reach. She quickly rushed into the building and straight headed to the reception.

“Excuse me; I am here to meet Ms. Catherine” Isabel spoke still gathering her breath.

“Please wait her for a while. Catherine will see you in a while” receptionist replied.

Later that evening, Michael decided to leave early for the airport as he feared that he may get stuck in heavy traffic due to the bad weather the previous day. On his way to the airport, he finally got the magical call from Mr. Hudson who wanted to meet Michael and also told that how impressed he is with his paintings. Michael was confused that how he knows about his paintings. Upon asking, Mr. Hudson informed him that his wife Catherine is a big fan of authentic art and often travels to Paris and other parts of the world to collect these artefacts. She saw your paintings through some sales executive of PRADA at Airport who visited her yesterday and insisted that I meet the artist once. I am sorry I don’t recollect her name. Mr. Hudson was still struggling to recollect the name.

“Isabel” Michael responded with tears in his eyes. “That’s right. Isabel.” Mr. Hudson replied with excitement. “She is a charming girl. My wife loves to shop at her store every time she travels. She keeps talking about how she helps her in shopping and how she passionately talks about PRADA and also about Paris. Anyway I will see you when you are back in New York.” Mr. Hudson fixed the appointment and ended the call.

Michael thought to go back to Isabel to thank her for whatever she did but then remembered that James needed him very urgently in Paris. Still in his own thoughts, Michael was heading towards the boarding area and passed through the PRADA store. He saw Rhett, who was attending someone. Michael kept looking at the store with wet eyes. His heart was longing to go back to Isabel and express his feelings for her.

With heavy heart, he stepped in the store and felt Isabel’s fragrance all around.  He kept getting memories of the time he spent with Isabel, his feelings for her and his conversation with Mr. Hudson.  While he was still in his thoughts, Rhett came to him and asked “May I help you sir?”

Next day morning, Isabel came on regular time to work. She still looked disappointed for not winning the contest. When she entered, both Rhett and David from the coffee shop congratulated her for winning the contest. Isabel first couldn’t believe it but then Rhett explained that someone visited the store yesterday and was asking about your score. Then he bought some products and kept saying that how you inspired him to buy these products. He finally wrote 2 testimonials for you and left this package with a thank you note for you. 

Isabel opened the note with trembling hands. Someone had drawn in pencil. It had a sketch of Eifel tower in the background with a sketch of a girl wearing PRADA. There was small note in the end that said “Welcome to Paris. Love – Michael”. Tears kept flowing from Isabel’s eyes. She opened the package and it had her favourite PRADA shades and a pair of shoe that she always wanted to buy.  

The day finally came when Isabel flew to Paris. It was early morning; the breeze was cool and magical. Michael was eagerly waiting for her at the Eifel tower. The City was quiet and peaceful. The only sound that was heard was of birds chirping and the flowing water from the fountain near the Eifel tower. The cool breeze was bringing along with it the magical fragrance of the wet grass that was layered around the tower. Finally he saw a car approaching him and stopped where he was standing. A lady in white dress stepped out. It was Isabel. Michael looked at her and was lost in her beauty.  She looked around in awe and disbelief. It was exactly like her dream. ‘Welcome to Paris Isabel.’ Michael took her in her arms and kissed her with passion.

Later, Isabel was recognized as the ‘Best Employee of the Year’ in Paris and was also offered job as Customer Experience Manager in their New York office. Michael’s proposal was approved and he started his own Art Gallery. Michael inaugurated his Art Gallery with his own picture – ‘A girl in PRADA’, the one which he drew on the note for Isabel.

Isabel and Michael regularly travel to Paris and visit Eifel tower to cherish their love. They later got married and live happily in Brooklyn. Allen went to London for further studies and they also visited San Francisco as Michael had promised him.