A clanking of keys against metal woke Quentin. His neck was stiff from the hard mattress in the holding cell. His eyes burn from sleeping in his contacts. Through his sleepy eyes, he sees his brother opening the door and letting him go. Quinn groaned and walked out of the cell without saying anything. Another officer was with his brother and handed the keys to his expensive car back to him. He ripped it from the officer's hands and stormed off.
He was still irate. It seemed like only drinking could solve his issues at this point. With his phone back in his custody, he looked at the time and the date...he had to go to work today. He groans and drives away from his brother's small town.
He first passes trees, and then passes family homes that seem to come closer together the closer he gets to the city. Eventually, the houses become so close that they become apartments. The buildings grow taller, and the scene becomes more urban. He had, and will, always prefer the city. The countryside provided nothing for him. He enjoyed falling asleep to the loud cars and occasional police car. He, strangely, enjoyed the traffic he encountered every morning. To him, traffic was the only constant in his daily business. Everyday presented a new challenge at his recently inherited company.
Romano Industry was an important business in this family. Built from the ground, Quinn's grandfather worked diligently to create the multi-million company before passing it down to his son, who made it a billion dollar company. The company manufactures machine parts for a variety of uses and other companies. He creates parts for other machines in factories, car parts, and even parts for important science technology. It wasn't well known for what it makes, but rather the handsome owners that each ran the business.
Dante Romano never forced his first son, or any of his children, into the business. He was a gentle father and prefers to let them to what they loved. That's how he ended up with his children in multiple different fields. This worked in his favor as only one child was interested in taking over the business, his fifth child Quentin. He would have hated to have choose one child over another.
He certainly was a gentle, loving father; but in the business world, he was ruthless and cutthroat. It was for the better of his company because now, it is one of the wealthiest companies in the world.
Quinn was very similar to his father in this respect, cutthroat to become the best. However, this never stopped when he was outside of work. He is often called rude and arrogant and egotistical. He was never one to keep long term girlfriends. Quinn's definition of long term was a month, with no labels. His main reason was that no one could keep up with him. Some found that his behavior is unacceptable. Quentin Romano had a lovely childhood with his loving family, he had many friends (although all but one was fake), and he never had one girlfriend break his heart into a million pieces. Others excuse his behavior by saying that he was middle child and never received the full attention a child needed. However, there was a missing link between it. It was more than just people wanting to use him because he is rich.
Overall, he was responsible enough to be the CEO of an important company and gain lots of respect. He just had issues giving back the respect to others.
Quentin pulls into his special CEO parking stop and storms into the building. It was a pretty tall building. With such a large company, many people are required for the many jobs. The CEO's office was located at the very top and the factories that create the products and warehouses are located all around the United States. His private elevator whisks him upstairs to the top floor.
He was really in the mood for strong liquor, something that will make him forget about his father's demand. He had to accepted it if he didn't want to lose the company (which he didn't). His father's demand did not require him to be nice to his future wife. He will surely make her life miserable. She was mostly a gold digger that drilled a hole into his father's soft heart and a daddy's little princess that will get anything she asks for.
Halfway through the morning, his co-workers irritated him at their every word. Mostly his PA. She was very lazy and forgetful today. When she came in at his third request for coffee and spilled it on his cherry-wood floors, he had enough.
"Ms. Paige, you are fired! You have three days to get your affairs in order and find me a replacement," he said angrily. He is tired of lazy workers who cannot meet his standards of working.
Quinn didn't have much work to do that day. He sent emails, signed papers, talked to partners. This left time for the thoughts to creep in. The thoughts on his future wife. His lips curl into an ugly sneer just thinking about that...that bitch.
His whole life he was taught to be independent, to never rely on someone other than himself. It was almost like a family motto. He doesn't need some girl waltzing into his life and ruining the routine, the comfort he has created.
He was also never one to share. What he has, what he has earned, he holds with pride. And with pride comes stubbornness. He paid for his apartment once he had enough money. Now he has to share his hard work. If it were up to him, he would give her nothing and leave her to fend for herself.
He tries to stop thinking about her, but this mystery girl that Quinn has to marry keeps popping into his head. And he keeps getting irritated. His father also has not stopped texting him information about her, as well as pictures that he refusing to look at. It was making him even more distracted than what he normally was
He doesn't need a pictures to see that she is just another basic, rich, daddy's precious girl.
By the twentieth text, Quentin took his phone and chucked it across the room. Finally, the text stopped.
~~~
On the other side of the country, Penny woke up the next morning in her bed, dreading to see Mr. Romano again. She felt embarrassed the other night. She prefers not to express her emotions. That is how people get hurt and manipulated, like how her father did to her. She always keeps a cool, collected face to never reveal the inner turmoil that shakes her to her core.
Still in her pajamas, she puts on a silk robe that she found years ago left in her mother's closet. Downstairs, Mr. Romano is wearing the same clothing as yesterday. However, they were not wrinkled, so he must have borrowed her father's clothing.
"My dear Penny," cries Ms. Birdie. "Good morning! What would you like to eat?" She asks. She seemed way to chipper for just learning yesterday that she employer, now Penelope, is moving without her.
"Uh" Penny is still waking up. "Can you just make me some strong coffee? I don't really have an appetite." The maid nodded and started to make the coffee.
"Good morning Ms. Marshall," Mr. Romano said respectfully. "I hope you had a good night sleep. I want to inform you that we should be leaving by the end of this week. Once in New York, we will help you move into my son's apartment and get you settled." This is when he gently puts his hands on top of hers. Penelope wanted to flinch away, but once his hand actually touched hers, she felt relaxed. This was how a father is supposed to treat his children, with care. "I can give you the number for my son, Danny, so he can evaluate you over the phone and start setting up auditions once you are settled. My daughter, Aubrey, is also a psychologist and trained therapist if you ever need someone to talk too."
She can't lie and say that therapy would be a bad idea. Penny has enough realization that she, in fact, really did need therapy. She suffers from attacks that bring about strong episodes of anxiety. She knows that she must have lasting effects from ten years of physical, mental, and emotional abuse from her parental figure. She could use someone to talk too.
Penny also had a problem stuffing her emotions deep down inside her, hoping that they would die off. For ten years, her anger for her father grew and grew. She never had the chance to act upon it. So, she puts those emotions towards healthier things, like her characters. Penny was never allowed to date or have a boyfriend, so she put that repressed sexual energy into her dancing and on-stage relationships. She feels like she barely has enough time to cry at home or even react to everything shoved her way, so during emotional scenes on stage, she let it out. Out of everything that has happened to her, she became a phenomenal actor.
Honestly, after years of acting like someone else and repressive emotions, Penny feels like a blank slate.
Penny spent the rest of the day packing, alone in her room. She started with her bathroom supplies and makeup since that would be the easiest to organize into boxes.
Only a few days earlier was she doing this with her father's things. Good thing she has so many left over boxes.
Next, she moved onto clothes. She didn't have much. What she had she purchase with her own money or stole from her mother's closet after she left.
Penny was never handed things. Her father was not a huge part in her life while growing up. It was always her and her mother, sometimes her dad was present in the background. He never cared to much for the little red headed girl. That all changed when her mother left the house. Just leaving father with daughter.
Her room also didn't have many items to value. Years ago, Penny's room was filled with knick-knacks that she collected throughout her childhood. Her father one night, smashed a majority of it. Now she keeps what is truly valuable to her in a box under her bed. These were her pictures of family, memorable items from past shows, and most importantly, a soft pink blanket that her mother knitted for Penny before she was born. This item was one of the most treasured to her.
She was done packing by late at night. She didn't eat much that day, around mid-day Ms. Birdie brought a grilled cheese sandwich, and Penny ate as she worked. She wasn't very hungry, but still wanted to treat herself for all of the hard work she did today.
In the kitchen's pantry, on the side door, she found her stash of chocolate kisses, her favorite candy growing up. After her father died, Penny went out and bought this bag to make her feel better. It was working pretty well.
Mr. Romano was sitting at the island, looking very frustrated while speaking on the phone. His hand was resting in his hair, on top of his head. He was speaking low, but the words still came out sharp and fast. "Amelia, he refusing to listen to me! I'm trying to tell him everything about this beautiful, young woman but he won't even listen to me...They don't even have to fall in love, why can't they just be friends?... It's an arranged marriage, I'm not expecting love. What I am expecting is friendliness, and he can't even give me that. He can't even give me a basic human characteristic... Thank you, baby. I'll talk to you tomorrow, love you".
It was quite obvious that he was talking about her.
"So, my future husband isn't a big fan of me, huh," Penny actually says out loud. She wonders where this sudden courage came from.
"He's just being stubborn, hopefully my wife can talk some sense into him. She has always been good at that," He replies, his head dropping down on the counter with his arms covering his face. He is tired of his son's actions.
"It's okay, I am not too happy about this either. I just prefer seeing the positives out of this...experience," Penny had a hard time finding the right words for what she is going through. "Why don't you give me your son's number so I can call him?" She gives him a polite smile and he writes down his number on a napkin. She never really planned to call him though. At least, not yet. She is still waiting for the dust to settle.
~~~
A phone rings, and a man quickly picks it up to start speaking.
"DR speaking" he said, curtly.
"You have a job, report to San Francisco tomorrow," the boss spoke, then hung up.
The man, with his bags already packed, walked out of the moldy motel room, and into is expensive, out of place, car to drive away.