Carla’s Prince

Chapter 4

Cristoff had literally been trying as much as he could not to make that call to Carla after the lunch meeting he’d had with her. He had been itching to call her but every time he thought about it, a chill went down his spine. There was something about her eyes, her deep brown eyes. They were so expressive and her smile was even more intoxicating than he had ever anticipated to see in a woman. He had thought of kissing her the very first time he saw her and the fact that he could not help but stare into her eyes or even touch her every so often made him think that meeting her again was not such a good idea. It had only been two days but it felt like he had not seen her in forever. He wanted to see her again. He wanted to talk to her again and he wanted to show her just what he had been feeling for her ever since he met her. This was not something that usually happened. After all, every single person he met knew exactly who he was and he always felt like there was another reason why such women were interested in him. After meeting a string of women who were nothing but social climbers, Carla was a breath of fresh air and even though she only wanted to keep things professional, he knew that he needed to make his move soon if he ever stood a chance of having anything with her.

He sighed loudly when he looked at his phone. It was a little after eleven and his heart was beating harder every minute as he sipped on the tea he had just made.

“It is now or never, Cristoff,” he thought as he sat down. He was still having a tough conversation in his head when he started typing on his phone…

                                                            *****

“That was exactly what I needed,” Carla thought as she put on her bathrobe. She had just had a long, relaxing hot shower which in her opinion was just as good as a long soak. She had her hair in a towel and had no plan of doing anything to

it that night. If anything, it was one of those evenings that called for a cup of tea and a book. After all, she had worked late that evening so that she could sleep in the next morning.

She had just sat on the bed and grabbed the book she had been dying to finish when her phone vibrated loudly against the nightstand. She would have ignored it. In fact, she intended to ignore whatever that was but when she saw Cristoff’s name on her screen, she gently put down the Danielle Steele she had just picked up and took a long deep breath.

“Whatever reason he has to reach out at this hour must be important enough for him to send an email,” she thought to herself as she opened the email.

To: Carla Gibson

From: Cristoff Benedict

RE: A LONG APOLOGY

I do not know how I should start this, but someone once told me that the easiest way to talk about anything is to just do it. So, here goes. I know that I have made you feel uncomfortable in the few encounters that we have had so far but I have to say that it is because I feel so drawn to you…I can hardly explain it. I know that this might sound like a line any man would say to a woman he hopes to bed but the truth is that I have never met anyone like you. You have not once treated me as anything less than the man I am or even made me feel like I have to give you something or anything at all in order to enjoy the pleasure of your company.

I think I like you, Carla Gibson, and I would love to see if this thing could be real after this whole case is over.

I thought it best to explain myself so that when you get me lost in your eyes, you will know where I am coming from.

Forever Yours,

Cristoff Mikkel Benedict

Carla took a long deep breath and sighed. She was not sure how she was supposed to feel now that she knew just how Cristoff felt about her. She leaned back on the bed, wondering if she should write a reply or not. Besides, even if she were to reply to his message, what was she meant to say? She closed her eyes and bit her lip…and before she knew it, she was fast asleep, her phone on her chest…

                                                            *****

It was a little after eight in the morning when Carla woke up. She was still on the covers and her book was by her side. She pulled herself out of bed and lazily walked to the bathroom where she splashed her face with cold water before making her way to the living room where she found Brenda in her pajamas seated in front of the TV.

“Finally,” Brenda said when she walked in. “She lives!”

“Shouldn’t you be at work?” Carla asked as she poured herself a cup of coffee.

“I took two days off after that weird stomach flu I had the other day,” Brenda said.

Carla took a sip of her coffee and slowly made her way to where Brenda was.

“When did you have a stomach flu?” she asked.

“I didn’t, at least as far as my boss knows. I just had an upset stomach for an hour and when the doctor mentioned the stomach flu that had been going around, I had an idea that would give me some time away from all things work related.”

Carla shook her head and sat down.

“You? Why are you still here?” Brenda asked.

“I worked late two days in a row. I thought I deserved some time to myself if for nothing else to reset my internal clock.”

She took another sip of her coffee and looked around.

“Pete?” she asked.

“Already at work. Oh, speaking of Pete, he left you a breakfast casserole in the oven,” Brenda said and Carla smiled.

“Did I ever tell you,” she started as she stood up. “That your boyfriend is amazing?”

Brenda smiled.

“All the time.’

Carla took the plate from the oven and uncovered it. She took a bite and closed her eyes. Potatoes, eggs, and sausage had never tasted so good. She carried her plate to the living room and sat down next to Brenda who was busy watching one of her shows.

“So, I know that you are against me being anything more to Cristoff than a colleague,” Carla started when she was done with her casserole.

“Whatever gave you that idea?” Brenda said, laughing.

“You literally told me that people like him are out to fulfil a fantasy, remember?” Carla said and Brenda turned off the TV.

“What? I said that?” she asked, clearly surprised.

“Yes, you did.” Carla looked at her and shook her head. “Don’t you remember?”

“I don’t know why I would say something like that about someone I hardly know,” Brenda went on.

“Well, you did. You had some pretty harsh things to say about him, B.”

“When was it again?” Brenda asked as she looked at Carla.

“The day I met him, remember? It has barely been a week since I met him.”

“Oh,” Brenda suddenly said, looking guilty. “I might have been reflecting what I was feeling about Pete onto you.”

Carla took another sip of her coffee as she looked at Brenda.

“What are you talking about right now?”

“Remember when Pete didn’t come over for a few days last weekend?” she asked and Carla nodded.

“I don’t see what that has to do with anything I just said,” Carla said as she put her cup on the coffee table.

Brenda took a long deep breath and sighed.

“You are so going to hate me right now,” she said under her breath before she looked at her roommate. “I was fighting with Pete that weekend, Carla. It was around the same time you met Cristoff and I might have taken out everything negative I was feeling on him.”

Carla shook her head.

“Him, as in Cristoff?” she asked.

Brenda nodded.

“I don’t think I might have changed everything I was or was not feeling about a person based solely on what you said,” Carla pointed out matter of factly. “That hardly seems like the case.”

“Actually, it is very possible. Do you even remember why we don’t eat from that Thai place down the street?” Brenda asked.

“Yeah, we like the other place better,” Carla said, shrugging.