Penny
I'm furious.
Not only did I find out that Enzo Bridger is having me followed but I seem to now have my own personal stalker following me wherever I go.
As you can probably guess my stalker is the man who was watching me outside of the coffeeshop and the one I bumped into on the sidewalk.
And now I'm in the back of his car staring out at the passing buildings as we coast through the downtown Manhattan streets, which surprisingly aren't too busy right now, which is odd for a weekday at four thirty. This is around the time most people are getting out of work, flooding the side walks and subway stations as they navigate the five o'clock traffic rush.
"You want gum?" He asks from the front, snapping me out of my daze.
I look away from the window into the rear-view mirror where his face is tilted up so that he can look directly at me. I shake my head at the offer and slump further down into the seat.
After he told me that he has been tasked with following me around I told my stalker to take me directly to Enzo Bridger.
He did tell me his name, it's Denzel, but the more I make it seem like he doesn't have a name at all I can almost trick myself into an imaginary world where this is all some big fat dream. Pretending that I'm not currently living in an actual reality of Hell. But my imaginary fantasies don't last long because he does exist and I'm still sitting in the back of his very luxurious car. The more I wish the more I realize my life will never go back to normal. Everything has changed.
Denzel pulls the car up to one of the tallest buildings in downtown Manhattan. I look up towards it as the top disappears above the roof of the car.
"Okay last stop Bridger industries," Denzel calls from the front like a train conductor.
I can tell that he's making an effort to make me more comfortable with this situation but I'm not comfortable and never will be. Although I know it's not his fault and at least he's trying to be kind, I have to remind myself that he works for Enzo, and there will always be some small part of me that automatically despises anyone remotely connected to that man. Even someone with a smile as contagious as Denzel.
"So he's up there?" I ask as Denzel opens my door, I point towards the intimidating building that towers over us.
He nods as he holds it open letting me get out, "Yeah, he's up there alright ruling over his kingdom," He laughs at his own joke.
"Do you know what floor?" I ask.
"Should be the top floor, if I'm not mistaken, he has the whole floor for himself," Denzel says.
I nod and start towards the entrance but am stopped by Denzel calling after me.
"So will you be needing a ride home as well, princess?" His voice is humorous as I spin around and flip him the middle finger before stalking back towards the entrance. His deep laugh follows me up to the main doors.
Even though Denzel may work for a monster I'm starting to get the feeling that he's a lot different than his boss.
Bridger Industries
The sign says as I push the open doors that lead inside. I step into a ginormous lobby that is shinning a golden hue, the floors are a sleek white marble and the walls are a dark burgundy equaling out into a sleek modern concept that screams rich money.
I catch my breath as I head towards the receptionist, who is seated at a long mahogany desk.
"Hello"
She looks up from her computer, her eyes roam over my face before she looks back down.
I clear my throat which causes her to glance up again with an annoyed expression, "Yes? How may I help you?"
"I need to speak with Mr. Bridger right away" I say.
She rolls her eyes, but smirks, "and what makes you think he'd give you the time of day?"
I almost spit in her face but control myself, "I think he'd want to see me, I couldn't say the same about you..."I say sizing here up.
Her skin seems to flare but she scoffs and rolls her eyes,"be my guest, his office is located on the top floor," she motions towards the elevators, "but don't come crying when you're turned away."
I laugh and walk towards the elevators, pressing the button and watching as it lights up under my fingertip. I stand back and wait, watching the numbers above light up as the elevator passes the highest levels, it pauses momentarily on a few before continuing.
When the doors open, I step inside, fully aware that there's another person standing inside. It seemed like he wanted to get off when the elevator doors opened but now he's back leaning against the farthest wall, with one leg crossed over the other.
I press the button for the top floor as the doors close, the reflective metal shines back at me and through it I can make out our reflection. That of me and the man standing directly behind me, his eyes are cast towards the floor so I take my time looking him over.
His dark hair is pushed forwards falling over his forehead, some strands are gelled back but most are falling into his eyes. He is dressed for the most part, appropriately for anyone who has business inside this building, however, slightly more casual, in a white dress shirt that is unbuttoned at the collar revealing a small part of his toned chest. His button up shirt is cuffed at the elbows exposing some black ink that swirls down his forearm stopping just above his wrist. Along with the dress shirt I expect to see him wearing a tie, but to my surprise he's not wearing one.
Even though I know it's weird that I'm checking this man out it's because he is attractive. From the moment that I stepped onto the elevator I noticed his striking features, as well as his youth which must be relatively close to mine. It isn't wrong to admire someone you don't know, Brooke and I do it all the time with people we see walking down the street.
He seems to be whistling something that I can't quite make out and suddenly his eyes shift to me and I begin to feel self conscious as I feel his gaze burning into my back, like a bolt of lightning was zapped into me igniting my veins.
His eyes begin to roam from my shoes to the bag I have clutched tightly in my hand, then up, his eyes pause on the back of my neck and I feel my cheeks heat up under his steady gaze. He is unrelenting and like me he seems interested in the fact that we are sharing a seemingly intimate elevator ride.
Our close proximity in this elevator is getting impossibly tighter as the tension rises between our secret glances. And I'm pretty sure he knows I've been looking at him but that isn't stopping him from staring directly at me.
My ears begin to pop as we move higher, I glance towards the floor numbers as we zip up.
When I look back at our reflection he is now staring directly into the metal at me, our eyes make contact and for a second I don't look away. His expression is calm, but his hazel eyes give him away when they darken into something deeper, but I don't have time to tell what that means before the steady ping alerts me that we've reached the top floor.
I meet his gaze a second before the doors open, he sends me a quick wink as a slow grin spreads onto his lips.
The doors slide open and I can't see him anymore as I step out, I'm almost hesitant to turn around but I do just as the doors are closing on him.
He doesn't get out on this floor, but he sends me a heart stopping smile before the doors close fully and then he's gone.
I only wonder as I'm walking towards Enzo's office, why he rode the elevator all the way up if he must've already come from one of the top floors before I got on.
-
Walking down the hallway, I realize that this place is a gigantic maze. Even though it should seem simple I've been wandering around the floor for about 5 minutes trying to figure out where his office is. It doesn't help that there seems to be no other living soul on this entire floor who can help me.
Just when I'm thinking of just turning back to the elevators the hallway that I've been walking down opens up into a wider hall. Large windows are lining the wall to my left that gives off a perfect view of Central Park and the rest of the NYC skyline.
Someone clears their throat from behind me and I almost jump out of my skin as I spin around on my heels.
A young women smiles at me from her seat at a similar mahogany desk that is stationed opposite the large windows—imagine getting to watch a view like that while you work.
I send her a small smile as I brush a stray strand of hair behind one ear, "hi, sorry to bother you I'm Penny—"
"Jones, yes Mr. Bridger is expecting you. You may go in," she clicks something on her computer screen in front of her and using her free hand she points towards the lone door at the end of the large room.
My cheeks burn, but I nod silently and move towards it.
I'm nervous—hell, I'm terrified to be stuck in the same room as this man, especially since I'm still trying to process our previous encounter. I'm guessing this one won't go as planned either.
I'm not surprised that he knew I was here, since Denzel must've sent him an update on where I was, it's not like anything I do is private anymore.
Before I reach the door my phone buzzes in my pocket, I pull it out to see a text message from Brooke.
Brooke 4:46 pm - where are you? You're not answering the door.
I swear under my breath and type out a quick response,
Penny 4:47 pm - shit sorry, forgot to text, had to head out for some groceries. I'm fine will be back around 5:30.
I turn it off and put it back into my pocket. I knock lightly on the door.
"Come in," a gruff voice says.
My heart rate picks up and I push the door open and walk into Enzo's office.
Just like the rest of the building the interior is lush, exactly as I expected a multi-millionaires office to be.
He is seated at another mahogany desk—this man definitely has a thing for mahogany desks. There are a bunch of papers spread out infront of him as he looks up at me.
His eyes are dark exactly as I remember them to be, his gaze is bored as he motions towards one of the two chairs.
I take a seat, crossing one leg over the other. I uncross and cross them again multiple times in a nervous habit as the silence spreads out around us.
"Nice of you to visit, Miss Jones," He says clasping his hands together.
"I actually have something to discuss that was not written on our... agreement" I say.
He nods, at me to continue. His eyes are bright, curious,
almost as he considers me.
I swallow, my mouth feeling ten times dryer then it had been only moments ago.
"Well I felt uncomfortable when I found out that you had one of your men following me earlier today in public," I consider my words, hoping to make the most impact.
He hums to himself, "and this concerns you because?"
My eyes snap up to his, he raises a brow. My stomach turns to nots and my throat begins to close.
He makes me sick, every word he utters feels like it's burning my insides.
"It concerns me, Mr. Bridger, because it was not a term we had agreed upon prior to today and I don't enjoy being stalked in public when I am with my friends. And I would appreciate some courtesy in giving me some semblance of privacy," I spit, my eyes are burning into his as I wring my hands together in my lap, my foot taps against the base of the desk lightly.
He takes in a harsh breath as his nostrils flare, obviously surprised at my outburst and outright disrespect.
Fuck him, he deserves none of my respect.
"Penelope, you and I are both aware of the basis of our little agreement. You understand how much I hold over your head. Your life is on the line." He stands from his desk, walking over to the set of windows which are spread out against the New York back drop, "considering that I have been lenient in not requesting you to begin work right away, I would expect some sort of appreciation on my behalf for allowing you these past few days to get comfortable after our previous interactions.
"I understand how hard these past few days must have been, so out of—as you said—courtesy, I allowed you this time to relax and deescalate from the events of last Saturday." He pauses and turns to me, his eyes are darker and he walks closer.
"Is what I said clear to you?" He asks.
I nod quickly, already regretting my decision to come here. It's clear doesn't care about wether or not I feel comfortable in this arrangement, so I basically wasted my time. I could've been at home watching The Office but now I'm here getting grilled by an angry CEO mobster.
"Good, now that this stupid issue is cleared up let's get some things straightened out," he walks over to his desk where he shuffles a few stray papers to the side and pulls out a Manila folder, "I have plans for you to start work this weekend," he looks up as he says this, no doubt trying to gage my reaction.
I remain passive, keeping my expression neutral. I knew this was coming, expected it, after he was almost tripping over his balls to get me to work for him, it seemed like a major priority for him.
I nod, "what will I be doing?"
His focus returns to the papers he's leaning over, "I had planned to use you with the purpose of gathering intel on some of my major competitors in the industry. A lot of them are unaware that I own and run The Den and so since it has a growing reputation, mostly all of my rival employers make it a regular to visit The Den and the luxuries it offers," his lips pull up into a dark smirk, as his gaze once again flicks up to me.
"Okay, where do I come into this?" I prod.
"You will play a most important role," he comes around to lean against the front of his desk, crossing his arms he continues, "I need you to work as one of my many escorts. This position requires you to meet with some of my top competitors and try to gain any information you can from their future business plans and what may threaten my business."
I stare at him for a moment in shock, this was not what I was expecting when I thought of work.
"An escort?" I question.
He lets out a deep breath, "yes, I am sure you are aware of what that position consists of? You will be paid to meet these men, get them drunk and then gather information. Whichever way possible, spin them into your web of sultry glances and sensual whispers, or sleep with them for all I care, whatever way gets me what I need."
I almost laugh out loud, but of course this is what I have to be doing.
"And my payment?"
"It will be decent. The better the information the better the pay. I have been running this business for a long time Penelope Jones, I know the game and I play it well. Make sure you go along with it or you might be caught in the cross fire."
—
A/N
Honestly writing these scenes between Enzo and Penny have got me feeling some kinda way ngl... not me rethinking this whole plot 😅 what's wrong with me and my messed up mind wanting to add in a older CEO lover plot line.
Don't worry though he's still a douche bag awful person... back to our regular programming where we finally get to have some Kade and Penny action *wiggles eyebrows*
Okay this chapter has already been wayyy too long TTYL
-TJ