NEVER NOT YOURS,
CHAPTER THREE

january 2023

SOME PEOPLE'S FAVORITE thing to do in the morning is to exercise while the sun wasn't even set yet. Others preferred to read under the early morning light and drinking their drink of choice in a café. For some, it's laying in bed until the clock strikes twelve, getting up at noon with the knowledge that they don't have a lot to do for the day ahead.

However, for Isabella, it's moving all around the house as she gets ready: putting on her make-up, preparing her clothes and taking sips from her tea. The serenity letting her move in peace, soft music playing in the background to help her set the mood for the day. Making herself presentable and eye-catching has always been her goal. Although she didn't care about what others thought of her appearance, she wanted to make people's heads turn. She loved the attention and they gave it to her.

Alexander left earlier in the morning, sending her a text to let her know he has a table-read for episodes of Outerbanks. She sent him a good luck text, gutted that she couldn't say it to his face. But it let her get ready in peace, without somebody else getting in her way. That's something she liked.

Raindrops pattered on her window, the sound harmonizing with the music she chose. The weather was perfect for her - a London thing where it was always cloudy or raining. She never complained about it because she loved it. She loved the rain and the fact that with it, you stay inside and drink your hot chocolate, read a book or even running errands under the light drizzle. It was always a sense of familiarity for the woman.

A chime from her phone snapped her out of staring out of her window, a notification from her calendar that mentioned the meeting she had to go to in thirty minutes with her manager and assistant. It would take her less than twenty to reach the office, deciding to leave once she finished her tea five minutes later.

She rushed to her car with a coat, an umbrella and her car keys in hand. Once she was inside, she turned on the heater and placed her bag on the passenger seat, driving out to the streets that was still filled with people briskly walking. The thing with London is that whether it's raining or if the sun was out, people would be moving. People were used to it is the thing, they didn't care anymore.

Music that boomed in her car was cut off by ringing, the name displayed on the Caller I.D. being Leclerc. She answered almost instantly, her eyes focusing back on the road before her.

"Good morning," she greeted, turning her automatic windshield on even though the it was light drizzling from the rain now.

"Bella," the voice sighed, "are you driving now?"

The brunette nodded, but then realizing he can't see her right now. "Yes. I'm on my way to a meeting with Jasmine and Kyla," she informed him, knowing he always wanted updates from her, and he reciprocated it anyway even when Isabella wouldn't ask.

"Okay. I'll call you later then. I'm headed to the gym to meet Andrea," Charles spoke, after a moment of silence. Isabella didn't know why, but the man informing her of his day made her blush.

"Alright. I'll talk to you later. Arrivederci, Leclerc," she stated. Charles could hear the change in accent when she bid him goodbye in Italian, a smile appearing on his lips like it did on hers when he said goodbye back.

She reached the office with less traffic than normal, music filling the car and no calls intervening. "Hi Sarah," she waved at the receptionist who smiled back at her, going into the elevator and pressed for the fifteenth floor.

People were in a hurry when she stepped out of the elevator. Phones on their ear, papers and folders clutched to their arm, all while managing to smile at Isabella who walked across the desks and offices to reach the end of the hallway where the meeting room was.

Inside, there were four people she recognized. Kyla, her manager, Jasmine, her assistant, and to her surprise, Amelia from Ferrari and Sasha from Ray-Ban. "Hey.." she hesitantly waved, like a little kid seeing people her parents told her she'd definitely met before. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Isa," Kyla hugged the woman. This made Isabella nervous. Last time they saw each other was when they made alterations to Isabella's schedule for the upcoming Formula One season. "Shall we get started?" Kyla asked, snapping her out of her nerves. It was a direction more than a question, gesturing at the empty seat for Isabella to sit on.

Light dimmed in the meeting room as the projector was turned on, the words Ferrari and Ray-Ban in big, bold and black lettering. Amelia stood up at the front with the remote in her hand, pressing a button and making the next slide appear. "Hello, good morning. Isabella, we've worked with you for a wonderful year already and have gotten such good responses from fans," she pressed the button again, her eye contact switching from Kyla and Isabella.

"Isabella," Amelia paused. The screen turned into a collage of all of Isabella's recent campaigns - from Ray-Ban, to Tiffany & Co. and to her recent page in the British Vogue. Isabella's eyes widened slightly, but recovered quickly so they wouldn't notice. "We've clearly kept a close eye on you and what you brought to the table." A different slide was in front of them - images filled the screen of Isabella in Ray-Ban and Ferrari gear.

And that's when Isabella's hand started sweating and her heart beating fast in anticipation to what they had to say next. Something she never expected.

"We want you collaborate with Ferrari and Ray-Ban for a collection before the season starts."

Gasps came from Kyla and Jasmine while the two Mugler women gave each other smug smiles. Meanwhile, Isabella's head blanked after the words collection left Amelia's mouth. A collection with Ferrari and Ray-Ban?

"You've got to be fucking kidding me," she finally breathed out, looking around in disbelief, making them chuckle at her. "This isn't some prank, right? I'm not being recorded?" her head turned frantically, checking every corner of the room jokingly.

Sasha shook her head, leaning against the table. "Nope. We're so serious, Isa."

"Tell me more!" she eagerly said, sitting up straight as Amelia nodded, turning her focus back on the presentation.

"Our proposal is that we'd release four eyewear in total," Amelia started. "First, an Isabella Sloane design. You could design it yourself then at the end, we'll be placing the Ferrari and Ray-Ban logo on the sides or wherever you'd like. Second, one eyewear per Ferrari driver," Amelia paused, a photo of Charles and Carlos appearing. "You'd be designing one with Charles and one with Carlos. And lastly, an Isabella Sloane design but in Ferrari colors."

Isabella listened intently, nodding along while glancing at her manager at the same time. Kyla had her eyebrows furrowed, probably already doing calculations and making plans in her head. Beside Kyla was Jasmine, whose eyes would move back and forth between her laptop screen and Amelia, most likely taking down notes and checking her schedule.

Following the presentation, Kyla and the two marketing women started talking numbers, Isabella and Jasmine's input being asked for once in a while in regards of scheduling. Huge amount of numbers were being thrown around with negotiations being made, numbers Isabella never thought of having in her bank account.

Her mind wandered off to how this would give her more time to spend with Charles before the season would fill his schedule, her smile growing as the thought of what they could do during this time evades her mind. Any opportunity to be with him will always be seized by Isabella.

"Okay, to conclude, we'll start the designing by February and let's say.." Amelia opened her calendar, "you'll have two weeks then we'll pass that on to our head designers to polish it off. We'll do this in Italy, if that sounds good with everyone," she finished, clasping her hand together and looked around the room. Isabella nodded in agreement, Kyla and Jasmine doing the same.

"Since Charles and Carlos would already there for their stimulators at that time, we can start with doing the drivers one first. But you can start designing now and sending it through so the team can check." Amelia added. Clacking from keyboards were being heard, everyone except Isabella typing away on their laptops. The woman took a peek at what Jasmine was doing, which was making alterations on her schedule.

The group ended the meeting soon after, finalizing other aspects like advertising and mood boards for the concepts before they went to their separate ways. Isabella and Jasmine had grins on their faces and had their arms linked with each other as they headed down to the parking floor.

As soon as they reached the floor and entered Isabella's car, they squealed and hugged each other tightly. "I'm so, so proud of you, Isa!" Jasmine murmured in the hug, pressing a kiss on Isabella's cheek. "I feel like a proud mom, my gosh."

"Let's go for lunch, my treat," Jasmine nodded excitedly and put her seatbelt on as Isabella drove out to the street.

AUTHORS NOTE!
and so... the story begins heheh

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