Ditching the Prince

One: The Adviser

Chapter One

The Adviser

Four years later

        As the plane gradually descended to the ground, signaling the end of Pippa's almost sixteen-hour flight from Manila to Casablanca, the young woman readied herself to disembark the massive air craft.

        With an overly bright demeanor, she grabbed her late mom's black oversized Prada tote from the overhead compartment and headed for the exit, smiling and thanking the friendly and competent flight attendants of the airline as she passed them by.

        "So pretty yet alone." She heard one of the flight crews said. This made her smile taking no offense or grudge on the woman's comment.

        As she walked through the many glass gates of the Casablanca Mohammed V International airport, she mentally enumerated her to-do list. She's already holding her passport, immigration card and other legal papers to pass the gates with ease. She doesn't want to be caught in the whirlwind of pouring tourists and travelers so she anticipated for things like these. Ransacking her big purse for some papers in the middle of this busy place meant stress and anxiety for her.

        Within an hour of bustling around, she's now out of the immigration area. With a big smile, she pulled her two Herschel extra-large luggage towards the airport's main gate.

        Before she could see the wide gate, she already spotted an overly tall old Italian looking man in dark suit holding a huge placard saying "Pima Patria Arias."

        She noticed that the man automatically perked up upon seeing her giving her the notion that he knows what she looks like even though she's wearing huge dark glasses.

        As soon as she reached him, the man bowed slightly. "I hope you had a pleasant trip Architect Arias." He greeted her kindly in his thick Italian accent.

        A bit overwhelmed with the formal but warm greetings, she removed her glasses and smiled at the man. "I did, thank you. Please no architect, just call me Pippa sir." She replied politely.

        The man nodded as he tried to take her luggage from her. "Let me help you with these Pippa."

        Being independent all her life, the young woman refused readily but graciously. "I can perfectly manage sir but thank you."

        However, the old man insisted. "I will look like an insensitive and lazy fool if you don't allow me to help you with your things my dear girl." He chuckled pleasantly.

        This remark made Pippa falter. The man was right— in fact some of the old ladies around them are now starting to scowl at the old Italian man. "Oh, all right, thank you." She gave in but insisted on pulling the other one.

        The pair looked odd, a young petite Asian and an overly tall old Italian man but still, they happily exited the airport, both pulling one luggage each while chatting warmly. This made the young woman eased up a bit. Meeting this kind pleasant man is clearly a good sign for her.

        In less than a couple of hours, she'll be meeting her Moroccan boss not to mention a Persian royalty. This thought made her excited and nervous at the same time.

        Pippa graduated Magna Cum Laude with a degree in Architecture. Ever since she was a kid, she wanted to be more than just an architect, she also wanted to enter the academe and teach future architects. But the call of exploring the world is much louder than continuing her childhood dream.