Carla’s Prince

Chapter 6

When she woke up the next morning, Carla was eager to get started on the case. Yes, she had actually gotten started on the case a few days ago but she had not really had a solid lead since she got started. The earrings were the only real lead she had since she took on Cristoff’s case and she was determined to get to the bottom of it. She got out of bed and went to the bathroom to freshen up. She put on his bathrobe and made her way downstairs where they had left their clothes the previous night. The living room was a mess. After making love for the second time, Cristoff had come downstairs and reheated the food before taking it up to her in the bedroom but he had not touched anything in the living room. Their clothes were all over the living room floor and her dress was still out in the hallway. She picked up her clothes and Cristoff’s before she made her way back upstairs. After putting Cristoff’s dirty laundry in the hamper in the bathroom, she changed into her own clothes save for the bra which was just done. The tear was not something that could have been repaired. She was a little thrilled when she looked at the bra. She knew at the back of her mind that she was not going to throw it out any time soon. She was going to keep it like a badge of honor.

After getting dressed, she stood at the doorway for a long time looking at Cristoff who was still asleep. She wanted to walk over and kiss his cheek or something but she was afraid that she was going to wake him up. So, she just tiptoed out of the room and went downstairs. She was about to call an Uber when she realized that she had not charged her phone from the previous night. It was actually why she was not able to simply leave.

“Damn it!” she thought as she put on her sandals.

She knew that she had a power bank but when she looked in her bag, there was nothing. No charger. No power bank. She would have looked around for Cristoff’s charger if she thought she had the time but she wanted to catch Brenda before she left for work that morning. She put on her jacket and walked out of the house. Luckily, the driver who had driven her the previous night was just about to clean the car.

“Would you mind if you gave me a ride to town? Or just up to the road where I can get a cab?” she asked and the driver smiled at her.

“Of course not. This can wait,” he said.

“Thank you so much,” she said as she got inside the car. “You are a literal lifesaver.”

The driver smiled and got into the driver’s seat.

“So, are we going downtown or should I just take you back home?” he asked as they pulled out of the driveway.

“I hope it won’t be too much trouble,” she said and the driver looked at her in the rear view mirror.

“No, I knew it was going to be a round trip.”

“Thank you so much,” Carla said as she leaned back in the seat.

“My pleasure. If only everyone was as pleasant company as you are.”

Carla raised an eyebrow over the other.

“Everyone?” she asked. “Do you drive a lot of Cristoff’s female company around?”

“On the contrary. He has never had any woman sleep over and the few who actually come to the orchard always meet him in the guest room at the back,” the driver said.

“The guest room?” she asked feeling a little jealous.

“It is not what you think. It is more of a reception area. He likes to keep things very casual, the prince. It is always handled more like a business transaction more than anything.”

Carla was confused. She wanted to ask more questions. To get clarification but it was like the more the driver revealed, the more confused she got. Of course, Cristoff was not some young virgin. She knew that much. She knew that he must have had his share of women both in America and back in his home country Denmark. But, Carla still had so many questions about everything.

Why was she the one who had slept over?

Why had he gone as far as doing something clearly that special for her and not for any other woman he had met over the years? It was not like he had not had a chance to meet other women. If anything he met more women just walking down the street than she could imagine. However, even with all those thoughts playing in her head, she knew that jealousy was the worst thing that would have happened to her at that moment. She did not even know what was really happening with Cristoff. All she knew was that she had just had s*x for the first time in months and it was glorious.

By the time the driver pulled up in front of her building, she felt like she knew him.

“Thank you for bringing me home. You didn’t have to,” she said, smiling.

“It was my pleasure, really.”

“I feel terrible I don’t even know your name,” she said and he smiled.

“Vincent. But you can call me Vince. Everyone does anyway.”

“Well, it was nice to meet you Vince. I’m Carla.”

“I am looking forward to seeing you again, Carla. I have a feeling I will be seeing you a whole lot more.”

Carla was smiling as she got out of the car. She made her way into the building and practically ran up the stairs. It was still dark which was not surprising for half past five in the morning but she had a whole lot to do that morning. She still had to get her phone charged so that she could send a text to Cristoff explaining why she had to leave that early and have a talk with Brenda about the earrings. She was pleased to find the kitchen and living room empty. There was no delicious smell in the apartment which meant that Pete was not up just yet. She ran to her room and got out of her clothes before starting the shower. She quickly got undressed before she stepped into the shower.

As the water ran down her back, all she could think about was how guilty she felt leaving Cristoff without as much as a warning.

“Sh*t,” she muttered when she remembered that she had not even plugged her phone in.

She got out of the bathroom and walked over to where her other bags were, tracking water all over her bedroom floor. She was cursing silently as she got her charger and plugged it in quickly before she walked back to the bathroom. She sighed loudly. He would understand. After all, he seemed reasonable enough. She was standing under the running water for a long time before she finally turned off the water. She felt a whole lot better now that she had taken a shower and way more relaxed. She would have liked to work on her hair but she was a little too exhausted. It was not as if she had got enough sleep the previous night. As far as her schedule and rest were concerned, she was going to have to rock her natural curls a little longer…

                                                            *****

When Cristoff’s eyes fluttered open the following morning, it was almost seven. He rolled over to cuddle Carla and was surprised to find that he was all alone in bed. He pulled himself up and looked around, wondering if maybe she had gone downstairs for some food.

“Carla?” he called out and waited but there was no answer. “Carla?” he called out again.

Still no answer.

“Where could she be?” he wondered as he got up. He walked to the bathroom and grabbed his bathrobe before he made his way downstairs.