Blossoming roses of love

Continued....

Like this she spent the morning hours dealing with customers and finally the bell sounded indicating the time for their two hour afternoon break. She rushed to the toilet, changed clothes and walked to the nearby joint for a vegetable salad and sandwich along with Emma not forgetting to take her bag.

Normally she will take her wallet and mobile phone only with her during lunch hours but today she wanted to read that letter in private. It was a big square shaped thick envelope so she didn't try to fold it and keep inside her pocket.

She checked her mobile phone for the missed calls and text messages while walking to the cafe. There were two text messages from her parents and one from her brother who is studying economics in Europe. All just routine family messages and nothing special.

They entered a small cafe that was busy filled with people mostly employees in the other shops in the mall.
Some of them waved at her and Emma. They also waved them back.

Being weight-watchers, conscious of their figure, Emma and Annie were very much particular about their diet. Both of them were fond of dancing and they go to dance and ballet classes twice in a week.
In addition they regularly attended aerobic exercise sessions at the nearby gymnasium.

While eating vegetable sandwich Annie was wondering how to read the mysterious letter in privacy.

Of course she never hesitated in telling Emma about anything but she didn't want to tell her about this letter, she didn't know why.
She wanted to read it before anyone else.

They finished their meal and got out of the no-smoking section in the cafe. Usually they will window-shop after lunch and will return to the shop together sometimes after enjoying little time in front of the musical fountain in the beautiful garden adjoining the mall.

Annie was thinking of some excuse to leave Emma for sometime to open the envelope.
She felt guilty telling her lie but.....

Suddenly Emma began waving at somebody.

"Annie....excuse me....just give me a minute. Look at that guy, he was my colleague at the restaurant where I worked before. Let me just say hi to him".

She hurried to a curly haired guy standing a little farther.

Annie sighed with relief and opened her handbag turning and walking away from them.

To be continued....

Blossoming roses of love

Continuation....

She studied them and decided about the stuff she was going to offer. Her assumptions were right because the lady indicated her desire for men's perfume for her partner. Annie took three of the erotic perfumes widely advertised all over the world with pictures of very masculine models decorated with juicy almonds.

She withdrew a little from them to give the couple enough space to go through the testers and enjoy them before taking the decision which one to buy. All the three she showed them were really good, popular brands and were expensive too. But couples like them won't care about the price as they consider fragrances as something romantically linked, well...that was her experience !

She could very well see they have decided on a particular brand and then she approached them again with another set of perfumes. out of sales courtesy. The man looked very happy and the lady seems contented pleasing her partner.

The fragrances might have elevated their mood, they were sitting closer than before with more eye contact, more whispers and giggles !

They began testing the new set she brought but she could very well see that they have already decided upon the previous one they already liked. Still it's her duty to bring on more variety to the customers.

Finally they signaled her to pack the one already selected.

"What about something for you as well Mam....? We have some of the finest fragrances recently launched. Try this Mam...you will surely like it" .She smiled at them and liberally sprayed two tissue wicks from the tester container and handed each to them. That is sales etiquette, must serve everyone in the group and she could very will see it's the man who will be taking the decision this time even though the lady is the one who is going to pay.

"Oh...no... I don't think I need to buy a new one this time. Just last week I bought the...."

"Well...well...but this one smells good, great !.Try this darling". The man interrupted and brought the wick closer to her nose.

Again Annie discreetly withdrew a little and the couple began discussing their selection process that was not in their shopping agenda before.

Finally the happy couple left the outlet, clutching romantically their newly bought fragrances, hand in hand, smiling.

Well...good for them.

To be continued...

Blossoming roses of love

Continued....

Annie became the professional sales personnel when she began arranging the work-station packed with exotic fragrances from the most famous brands in the world. She kept the testers on the rack neatly and replenished the stocks of tissue paper wicks on which they spray the testers for the customers.

The reflecting, cool lamps were adjusted and she made sure all the exhibits were getting adequate visibility.
She checked the chairs for the customers, thanks to the cleaning staff, the whole place was spotlessly clean.

She looked herself at the mirror panelling between the product racks, adjusted her spectacles....good....and smiled at her reflection.

She felt cheerful and was ready to welcome another day at the shop.

By this time the whole place has become lively and she greeted all her co - workers who also were ready for the day's work ahead.

Emma has already got her first customer, a lady in her forties she guessed, who was interested in the newly launched, much hyped anti - wrinkle face cream. She looked like a tourist from South America.

"Hi Annie...morning..., How are you today" It was Steve, the manager.

"Hi Steve, me fine," Thank you, Frank gave me the envelope you handed him the other day."

"Yes, yes..it was delivered by a messenger but you were on leave that day so I couldn't give it to you."

"Oh..very kind of you, Thank you Steve."

"It's all right, have a nice day."

He walked to his cabin.

Wow...so it was delivered by a messenger !! This is really intriguing.

She wanted to go to the changing room and see what is inside that envelope immediately, but decided against it because it will be unprofessional to leave the work - station except during break - time unless it is emergency.

The outlet was run professionally, the paypackage excellent and the work place is very good. She never wanted to make a black mark. Never has she heard anyone of her colleagues complaining about the job. Of course some of the employees left for other better greener pastures but never anyone had left because of ill - treatment or unprofessional attitude from the Employer's side.

So employees were also loyal.

Just then, an elegant looking, formally dressed, diamond clad lady and her companion approached her.
The companion looked younger to her - boyfriend? Hubby?
She greeted them politely and ushered them to the plush chairs.

To be continued...

Zoo

What to do? Where to go?
See the animals, go to zoo.
How many are going? How to go?
We all are going. We go by van.
What to do in van? What to eat?
We sing in van. We eat cookies.
Have we reached Zoo? Did we buy tickets?
We reached Zoo, we bought tickets.
What is that? Where are lions?
That is Zebra. Lions are there.
What is that? Where are monkeys?
That is panda. Monkeys are there.
What is that? Where are tigers?
That is squirrel. Tigers are there.

Blossoming roses of love

Continued....

She was able to regain her normal cool composure when she reached the shop at the mall. Frank, the security guard has just opened the shop, was switching on the lamps and adjusting the security settings in the shop when she made her appearance.

"Hi...good morning ! Miss Annie, how are you today"?

He looked cheerful, happy and was smiling brightly.
Recently he has been off-color because of his break-up with his Mexican girlfriend of one year who he found out just a month later after divorcing his second wife of two years. This second wife eloped with one of his friends. The first wife filed for divorce because of his illicit affairs.

"Hello Frank....me good...how about you? You look so happy today..."

"Well, thanks mam...the weather is wonderful, you know"...He smiled broadly.

"Yeah... right..!" She agreed. Some girl might have fallen for him,who knows !

She glanced at the clock while walking towards the changing room to change into her work attire and apply a light makeup before commencing the day's work.

Twenty more minutes to start work. She entered the room and was about to close the door when someone began knocking on it.

She opened the door.

It was Frank. He was holding an envelope in his hand.

"Sorry to disturb you mam...yesterday the manager gave me this to hand over to you when come today. He couldn't give this to you yesterday because you were on leave."

He slowly handed her over the blue envelope.

"It's ok...Frank, thank you."

She examined the envelope carefully after closing the door.
She saw her name and address typed clearly but couldn't find any sender's address on the envelope.
So it's not anything official. What's in it ? Who is the sender ?

She was about to open it when she heard a soft knock on the door.

"Hi Annie..it's me..." Emma, her close friend and colleague.

She opened her handbag and deposited carefully the envelope inside it and then opened the door.

"Good morning dear...how did your shopping go yesterday"?

"Good Emma,...it was wonderful". And she told her briefly about the lipsticks and clothes she purchased while both them changed into their work attire.

Soon they were out into the shop and began arranging their work stations, Annie the perfume section and Emma the cosmetics section.

To be continued...

Blossoming roses of love

Continued....

"Hello....Nice, isn't it?"

The voice was deep, very much masculine with a perfect accent. She blushed while looking up at the handsome smiling face of the man standing beside her. He was tall and looked athletic in his high-end casual attire.


The cologne was definitely expensive, she decided, noting the fragrance.

"Well...really beautiful, the craftsmanship is excellent, the price doesn't matter if the right person wears it."

Again that beautiful smile showing spotless white teeth - natural !? or chemical or laser whitening of teeth ?!
Well...here is a well-groomed smart gentleman....

"Yes, yes..er....good"...She felt nervous acknowledging his comments.

She straightened up, smiled at him and again adjusted her spectacles. This has become a habit adjusting the spectacles over her nose mostly during periods of pauses during activities of life. She uses contact lenses only during parties and important functions to look better during photo shootouts to avoid the flash reflection on the spectacles glasses.

The man stood there smiling watching her as she slowly started walking towards the mall. She resisted the urge to look back at him and was still blushing but she could not figure why she felt so nervous.

Almost everyday she encounters guys who flirt, rich men trying to impress upon and so on. Being professionally trained in sales she knew where to draw a line clearly and at what time to do it precisely in such encounters. She never wanted to be labelled as a flirt girl and was ambitious in life. Moreover, she considered the present job just to improve her finances to take up a Masters course in Sales and Marketing and she has already signed up for the next semester opening the coming year. She knew she will fly high upon completion of her course in the prestigeous, world renowed University nearby.

She could not understand why she felt strange in the presence of this stranger. Such a feeling never occurred even during the two dates she had in her life. Both of them almost became her boyfriends. But the relationship never deepened though she became intimate with both the men. She never felt any nervousness with them or with anyone so far for that matter.

The second guy David was really smart. She used to laugh hearing him crack jokes. He was a filthy rich romantic guy and fell head over heels for her.

The first one was a very handsome painter. He was the most handsome man she has ever seen. She modelled for him so many times and the guy never got tired painting her.

Why they two drifted apart is still a big mystery for her and sometimes she laughs thinking about it. Maybe the love was immature, or was there any love in the real sense !?

It was not love - was her friend's conclusion when she one day told about her relationships during a girlish chat.
There was no formal breakup or anything, they just drifted apart, that was simply it. She never had any bad feelings nor was she heartbroken. Probably them too !

Where are they now, God only knows, she never bothered actively to search for them.

To be continued...

Blossoming roses of love

Today's post is a wonderful story written by one of my friends who has kindly allowed me to post it in my blog. I hope all my readers also will like it. The story is not a 'short' story, so I will be posting the continuation in the coming days.

Enjoy reading !

Month of May...and its spring time !

It was a beautiful morning. The cool air felt fresh, it was lovely to see the beautiful flowers and hear the birds chirping. Annie looked at her wrist watch as she walked along the pavement, adjusting her spectacles.

It's only 8:10 AM.

Still very early and she has more than enough time to reach her work place.

Annie has a habit of not rushing through anything and is always early everywhere. She gets up early, starts early for work and is regarded as the best employee in the world famous perfumes outlet at the biggest shopping mall in the city.

As she walked past the jewellery shop on the way she noticed the beautiful necklace exhibited inside a small window protected by hard glass. The morning Sun's rays were getting reflected lightly from the small rows of precious stones studded on the golden chain. The design of the chain was unique giving it a smooth finish.

There were two rows of precious stones.
What attracted her more was the beautiful color of the stones,it was blue,her favorite color and everyday she made sure to wear something blue or carry a bluish accessory. Blue brings luck was her firm belief. Another luck thing she followed was growing her left ring finger nail little longer than the rest as advised by fortune teller - a Chinese woman.
She met during one of her visits to China town, a place little far away from the city.
The fortune teller told her some more things but she has kept all those as her secrets and never told anyone even to her close friend Emma. These 'silly' things make her smile sometimes.

Apart from such things she is regarded as a cool and level headed, responsible lady. She prided herself as a no-nonsense lady.

As she began admiring the necklace closely she noticed a pair of earrings alongside it placed over the beautiful, soft, velvety lining. This also was studded with very small bluish stones ! Well...there was one more cute thing...a beautiful ring with a perfectly cut stone. She decided it was a reflection the blue color because of the bluish color the jeweller painted at the base of the golden ring.
Marvellous !

The whole glittering spectacle mesmerized her and she began daydreaming wearing the jewellery not caring for the fact that the jewellery was well out of her reach being very expensive.

To be continued.....