Chapter Twenty-six

As the days drew nearer, Carol's heart ached with every passing minute, she buried herself in her work, pushing herself harder than ever. It served as a means of distraction from all that transpired between her and Adrian. Her cheerful, warm cognac eyes grew pale, apathetic and a tad cold. It took everyone who knew her by surprise, especially Jenny.

'What happened to her once cheerful boss?' she wondered, but Carol never gave her answers that made sense to her.

"People change!" or "maybe it's just the workload!" Those were the answers that she got but it only confused her more. She decided to drop it, when Carol gets ready to talk. She will be there.

Carol crumpled up another paper and threw it into the waste basket. She ran her hands down her hair in exasperation.

Nothing! She had nothing!. Normally, she usually had inspirations for her designs but at the moment she was clueless. She gazed at the blank papers spread out on the table, hoping that a new design will materialize on the paper but she just found herself staring into an endless space.

The door was pushed open, Jenny enters the room breaking her from her trance.

"Um… Carol, I just wanted to let you know that the outfits are ready for the wedding!" She said, her gaze shifted from the crumpled papers in the waste basket to the blank ones on the table.

She sighed.

"You know, you can tell me anything, Carol?" She asked, her eyes were filled with concern.

"I am okay, Jenny!" Carol said simply before standing.

"Take me to where they are!" She gestured for the door.

Jenny nodded lightly and led the way.

Carol squinted her eyes as she studied the wedding gown on the mannequin.

The stunning ivory strapless ball gown hugged the curves of the mannequin, the sweetheart neckline accentuated it's features. The diamond encrusted tulle skirt cascaded gracefully, shimmering as though it was sprinkled with stardust. Each ruffle could be delicately traced with intricate beading which added a touch of elegance to the resplendent ensemble.

Carol's expression grew dull, gazing at served as a reminder of Adrian's wedding. Her heart ached at the thought of him. She sniffed back the tears as she turned to face the designers who were lined up behind her waiting patiently for her opinion of it. It would be terrible for her to breakdown in front of everyone.

"It turned out better than I expected!" She said with a simple smile.

The designers breathed a sigh of relief on hearing that.

"Where is the suit for the Prince?" She asked.

A male mannequin was rolled towards her, she smiled warmly at the girl who rolled it, the girl only nodded at her, before Carol diverted her attention to the suit.

Carol tapped her chin with her finger after she was done with studying it. She felt like something was missing in it.

"It is nice but…" she walked closer to the nearest table whilst the designers scurrying behind her. She drew on a piece of paper she found a simple but complex design of flowers entwined with the Royal seal.

The corner of her lips quirked up as she stared at it. She felt content with it. Turning to the designers behind her, she showed it to them.

They gasped in delight. Their eyes twinkled as they beheld it. The expression on their faces made her chuckle.

"It is beautiful!" One of the designers exclaimed.

"I haven't seen such an amazing artistic work before in my life!" said another.

Carol strode towards the suit and pointed at the edge of the sleeves.

"How about we imprint it above the hem of the sleeves and here at the lapels!" She said, pointing at the lapels of the collar.

"Wow!" They exclaimed in awe.

"And use golden thread for it!" Carol beamed, she envisioned Adrian wearing the suit. Looking so regal, graceful and extremely handsome in it. It suited his very nature. That was something she would love to see.

"So, can you guys do it?" She turned to the designers with an expectant smile.

"We will get right on it!" One said.

"Consider it ready before the end of tomorrow!" Another yelled.

They rolled it off taking the design that Carol drew with them.

Jenny approached her with a smile on her face.

"I have missed that smile of yours!" She said,

Carol turned to her, with an understanding of what she said, her face was impassive but Carol noticed the look in her eyes, they were clouded with empathy which made her smile a little.

"Me too! Don't worry grumpy Carol has gone off for a vacation!" She said comically.

"I hope it is a long one!" Jenny joked.

Both women laughed as they made their way to the elevator.

"Carol, I kinda need your help with something!" Jenny said as they walked into the elevator.

"Oh, with what?"

"I have got a date and I need your fashion advice to prepare for it!" Her cheeks flushed as she said it.

Carol's eyes widened "Oh my gosh! Finally! I need all the details!".

Jenny sighed, this was what she wanted to avoid, her attitude reminded her of a teenage girl blabbering about her crush.

Carol went on and on about how happy she was that Jenny was finally putting herself out there in the world, whatever that meant? And about her getting noticed and all that stuff. She continued blathering about it till they eventually reached her office.

"So, how did you guys meet?"

"Through a dating app!" Jenny said, hiding her flushed face.

Carol simply nodded "So, what is he like?".

"He is kind, funny, and has the cutest dog, he calls Keila. Oh and he is a neurologist. He has been single for quite a while now and he is also new to this dating app stuff like me, and we kinda hit it off the first time we spoke!" She stated.

Carol stared at her flushed face and giggled.

"It seem like someone has a crush!" She cooed, waggling her brows at her.

Jenny just rolled her eyes at her antics.

"Well, we need to get you ready for it!" She said gathering her things on the table.

"What are you doing?" Jenny asked, staring at her with widened eyes.

"Closing early, my assistant has a date and I have to help her prepare for it!" She said with a twinkle in her voice.

She headed towards the door beaming.

"Oh, there is so much that needs to be done, we have got the hair, nails, make up…." She continued blathering about it whilst Jenny stroded behind her quietly, her face lit up.

She was glad that her boss's cheerful nature had finally recurred, even though she still pondered on what made her cold in the first place.