Carmen's Voice | ONC 2020 (✔)

Chapter Twenty

Carmen navigated the New York streets with ease as she made her way to the address Owen had texted her. When she finally arrived, she almost walked right past it.

The property was so large she couldn't even see the house.

When Carmen finally found the button by the gate, Owen's voice greeted her over the speaker. "Hello, Carmen. I'll send Henry out to get you if you can wait a moment."

What is the other option?

"Yeah, I can wait." Carmen paced in front of the gate, waiting for Henry. Whoever Henry was.

"Ms. Morales?" the man, Henry, asked as he approached the gate on foot. "If you would follow me, Mr. Galloway is expecting you."

Have I just walked into a period piece again? I wish I still had that yellow dress.

Carmen followed Henry up a long pathway towards the house. When she came through the last set of trees and could finally see the whole house at once, she froze and stared at it, trying to take it all in.

When Carmen's heels stopped clicking on the pavement, Henry turned to face her. "Is something the matter, Miss?"

"No, nothing's the matter. Sorry, Henry."

"Not at all, Ma'am," Henry continued walking as Carmen fell into step behind him once again.

The house, if you could call it a house, was massive. It could easily have been a castle for its size, though it was far more ornate than any castle she had ever seen. The white columns lining the front of the house were only overshadowed by the obscene amount of windows.

After climbing the stone steps outside, Henry led Carmen through the large wooden doors and into a sparkling, expansive foyer. There was so much to look at that Carmen struggled to keep her eyes in one place.

"Hello Carmen!" Owen came around the corner from the back of the room and hugged her. "You look lovely."

Henry disappeared up a set of stairs after Owen thanked him, and then Owen and Carmen were left alone.

"I thought I might make you dinner this evening," he smiled as she explored the room with her eyes. "I've been cooking for hours, so please don't say no."

When Carmen and Owen got to the dining room, Henry had already brought the food up from the kitchen, which was apparently in the basement. Of course it was.

"This looks delicious, Henry," Carmen spoke as he left the room. "Thank you."

Henry's snicker and Owen's agape mouth told Carmen she had misinterpreted. "You cooked this?" she pointed at the food.

"I did," he pulled out a chair for her. "And I'd be honoured if you'd join me."

Carmen took her seat as Owen served dinner. "Now, before you get too excited," he poured her a glass of wine, "it only has three courses."

"Oh, yes," Carmen put on her best accent. "Well, anything under four courses is really beneath me, so."

The twinkle in Owen's eye as he smiled was more than Carmen could have hoped for when she thought up her joke.

The conversation quickly fell into its natural rhythm until Carmen decided she needed to tell Owen about her work updates.

"I don't know exactly what I want, but I know I want to keep performing," Carmen finished as she put down her fork. "So I'm really excited about the whole Beaksmith thing. I'm glad to be away from John, but I'm also actually really excited about working for Eva."