Carla’s Prince

Chapter 3

After the day she’d had with Cristoff, Carla just wanted to go home and process everything but she could not really think about the business aspect of her day. All she could do was think about the fact that she had met a member of the Danish royal family. In her head, she had always thought of royalty as people who could not be touched. People who lived a high life, people who could never blend in with the normal folk but Cristoff had shown her a different side to royalty. The way he had spoken to her, the way he had carried himself…he was so down to earth. The two ended up spending the better part of the second day together as they organized for the new security system to be installed in his house which was more than just a building. It was a mansion in an estate just outside town but within the city limits. Until she got there, she did not realize that it was a place she had driven by so many times admiring the lush greens. After yet another exhausting day, she made her way home and sat in front of the TV with a bottle of water in her hand. She had just taken a sip when she heard the front door open.

“Carla, you home?” she heard Brenda calling out from the door.

“Yeah,” Carla said in a soft voice.

“I need some help,” Brenda called out again.

Carla took a long deep breath and got up. She walked to the door and raised an eyebrow when she saw Brenda balancing a box in her hands. There was a rolled up rug leaning against the door frame and a couple of grocery bags on the floor by her feet.

“Should I even ask how you got all these up here?” Carla asked as she rushed to her side and took the box from her hands.

“The lady from 4C,” Brenda said as she carried the grocery bags to the kitchen.

“She does know that you have a boyfriend, right?” Carla asked as she placed the box on the kitchen counter before they walked back to the door. They each grabbed an end of the rug and carried it into the living room.

“She does, but she is also crazy strong. She carried the rug and the box up four flights without so much as stopping for a second to catch her breath,” Brenda said before they dropped the rug. “Plus she is the only one who actually offered to help.”

“Why didn’t you just get the rug delivered like a normal person?” Carla pressed.

“Four words. Eighty dollar delivery fee.”

Carla raised an eyebrow over the other.

“Didn’t you get it from our usual place?” she asked. “Because I have never been charged eighty bucks for just a rug.”

“I told you about the new place near my office.”

Carla shook her head.

“Brenda, we agreed that place was too pricy.”

“But they had the perfect rug, Carla. Just look at it,” Brenda said excitedly.

“It’s still rolled up,” Carla said matter of factly.

“All right, why don’t you have a seat and let me wow you,” Brenda started as she forced Carla to sit down. “So, remember how you looked at me that day I got us the maroon curtains for the living room and I said I had a plan?”

Carla nodded.

“Still not sure where you are going with this.”

Brenda smiled and began moving the coffee table aside before she began rolling up the light brown fluffy carpet.

“So, you said, we cannot have two bright colors in the living room without a ‘bonding agent’ to which I asked what the hell you were talking about.” Brenda was panting as she pulled the old rug to one side of the room before she unrolled the new rug. “So, I was not so sure what the hell a ‘bonding agent’ was but as soon as I saw this rug, I just knew that it was meant to be in this living room. The maroon with hints of teal is a perfect match to our teal couch and maroon curtains. This is the bonding agent you were talking about, huh?”

Carla looked down at the new rug and a smile played on her lips. Brenda was right. The carpet fit right in almost like it was the missing link in a puzzle she did not even know she was in.

“Plus now we can get the brown rug in your room which was where it was supposed to be in the first place,” Brenda went on.

“How do you know that?” Carla asked.

“Please, I have seen your room countless times and if I had not jacked up the rug for the living room, it would have been in there with all the other hints of brown….I mean, your room looks like a family of chocolate. Dark, white…you and I both know that I am right.”

Carla smiled.

“The rug does look good.”

“I thought you would like it,” Brenda said, smiling. She pulled the coffee table back to where it was supposed to be, “Now, come help me get this rug to its rightful place.”

“So, how much do I owe you?” Carla asked as they carried the rug to her room.

“What are you talking about?” Brenda asked.

“You know, my half?” Carla said and Brenda shook her head.

“This one is on me,” she said, smiling.

“What? No…”

“Yes, it is,” Brenda went on, cutting her short. “You never asked me for a cent when you got this rug.”

“You were an unpaid intern at the time. It would have been unfair on you.”

“Well, I just got my bonus for that segment I did last month.”

“The ‘Designers to Watch’ article?” Carla asked as they dropped the rug on her bedroom floor and Brenda nodded.

“That young man has just been scooped up by this Italian magnate looking to invest in a new line and he is so grateful for what we did for him, he has given us exclusive rights to tell his story,” Brenda said. “I just got a huge bonus and the first thing I did was get us that new rug and a bottle of wine to celebrate.”

“That is amazing,” Carla said in a soft voice. “I’m so proud of you.”

“Thanks, I also called Vitale’s on the way home. Their lamb paired with the wine I just brought is to die for.”

Carla raised an eyebrow over the other.

“Is Pete working late or something?” she asked a little surprised since Pete had been the one cooking their meals lately. If he could not cook them something, he always brought something home from the restaurant.

“Yeah. He will not even be coming here tonight. He will just go to his apartment,” Brenda said as she sat on the edge of the bed.

“That just sounds weird. I mean, I am so used to having him here that hearing he will be at his place tonight just sounds strange to me.”

“Well, it happens,” Brenda said dismissively. “What about you? I have not seen you since breakfast yesterday. New case kicking your ass?”

Carla shook her head as she sat next to her.

“Actually, no. I love the new case because it is something different for once.”

“Oh, good for you,” Brenda said. “I was afraid all those unfaithful couples Thomas had you following might have put a crease in your prospects of getting someone.”

“Well, about that,” Carla started as she looked at Brenda. “I did meet someone.”

“This day is turning out better than I could ever have imagined.” Brenda sounded like an excited teenager. “Tell me everything.”

“Simmer down, Gossip Girl. I did not meet my future husband or anything.”

“Well, we never know that we have met ‘The One’ until much, much later. So, like I said, tell me everything,” Brenda said again. Carla smiled and shook her head before she took a long deep breath.

“The man I met came in because he suspects someone in his house, or everyone, is stealing from him.”

Brenda nodded.

“Okay.”

“Yeah, and the man I met just happens to be Cristoff Mikkel Benedict,” Carla said.

Brenda was silent for a long time before she shrugged.

“I’m sorry. But judging by the way you said that name, it feels like I am supposed to know who that is.”

“He is the prince of Denmark,” Carla said in a soft voice and Brenda’s eyes grew wide.