LIX ||| February 14th of 2024, (4)

Penellaphe Giordano Prada's pov

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"Why is he staring?" Kath whispered in my ear behind me, as the CFO spoke, talking about Apollo, who deliberately sat across me, and has been staring at me ever since the meeting began, even when I tried to avoid his eyes as I'm still doing, he keeps staring.

"How would I know?" I hissed under my breath, annoyed.

"Anything else you want to point on us, Mrs. Giordano?" Rebecca Deledda, the CHRO asked me, she was friends with my nonna, and she's been the one who's helped me the most ever since I got here.

I closed my laptop, "No. That's all for now, Deledda."

"Now, about our dinner tonight," she clapped her hands, suddenly excitedly. "Is it going to be in the same restaurant as we met on Christmas?"

"No," Apollo spoke before I could, and I glared at him. "I found an even better restaurant for tonight, more befitting for the holiday. My secretary will sent you all the location, I've already reserved it."

"You were right about him, Penellaphe, he was a good choice after all," Stanley Bates, the CMO spoke, a annoying grin on, he's the one I like the least in here. "She may be an evil little girl, but you should be thankful that she spoke for you, had she not done that, you wouldn't have gotten where you are. At least, not if depended on me, and,"

"The little girl, is your cunt, old rag," I snapped at him, not caring and cursing at him, making everyone gasp, and Rebecca bark a laughter. Apollo's shocked face didn't pass unnoticed in the side of my sight. "I am 27 years old grown woman, I've done more in my last years working here than you did when you started. I will not allow you to disrespect me any further, I don't need to tolerate you anymore like I used to, you crafty butcher. My nonna is not around anymore, I have no bloody idea how she enjoyed your presence, but let me clear it up to you, that I don't. Keep it up and I'll become your enemy, and you will not enjoy what I'll do to you if it come to such, you slagging fuckwit."

His eyes widened, his jaw dropped, and his skin reddened as he stared at me, "You have no class, you should wash that filthy mouth of yours. I have no idea who your nonna was and,"

I stared at my sharp nails polished in glittery dark red, "Gemma Alessandra Prada," I said and silence reigned in the room, and after a second, I looked up to meet Stanley's face, finding him ashen pale. "You are such a muppet, that you didn't even bothered to check my ID, did you?" I grinned like a wolf.

Extending my hand to Kath, she handed me my wallet that she took from my handbag she's holding, then I brought closer to my eyes, took my ID, my passport, and my British driver's license, and threw it to the center of the table.

All of them except for Rebecca who knew, leaned in to look at it.

"Penellaphe Bianca Reed Giordano Prada," I chanted. "Born in Italy, 5th child of Maya Abigail Reed and Romano Amadeo Giordano Prada. Romano being the oldest son of Gemma Alessandra Prada and Remo Rinaldo Giordano. I was the only granddaughter directly raised by nonna in my initial years, I was her favorite, the only daughter of her only son. She wanted me to take over in Italy, I wanted this branch instead, and I could have started here as the CEO, but I didn't. I also didn't brag to anyone who I was families with, did I, old rag?"

"Bianca Prada," he mumbled haunted, "it's you."

"Of course, it's me, you bloody dam burke. But I wanted the full experience so I started from the bottom. And you had the audacity," I stood up, leaning in, my death glare on him, "to claim I am filthy and with no class?" Viciousness dripped from my grin, "I was born with more class than you could have gathered in all of your bones in those two hundred years you've been uselessly alive for, Gary."

"It's Stanley."

"Is it?" I mocked. "I sincerely couldn't care less, Garrett. It's not that I don't have class or that my mouth is filthy, it's just that you are not deserving of my class or of my well-versed vocabulary. If there is something I've learned since I left Boston and moved to London, since I began to work here, Gabriel, it's that if you want to be respected, you cannot be disrespectful. You need to show that you deserve to get what you crave. If you have enough power, a strong presence, and the talent to back it up, like myself, you can act the way I do. Not even if you were reborn you would be like me, so, why don't you stay silent, and learn your place, Gordon?"

He swallowed so loudly it rang in the silent room. "It's Stanley."

"Whatever you say, Grégory," I scoffed, leaning back. "Get my documents back, Kath. And if I hear that this information left this room," I glared at each one of them, "you will have some big trouble with me. I'll be considerably good for those deserving, but if you anger me, you will learn what nonna truly taught me." Then I took a step back and turned my eyes to Apollo, who was watching me, a puzzle look in his eyes. "Sent everyone the location for tonight's dinner, Apollo," then back to Stanley. "Say another word about my decision making on who gets what position, Giovanni, and I will show you what I do to those who defy me. Understood?"

He clenched his jaw, leaning back, away from me, "Yes."

"I didn't hear you, George."

Oh, he's so mad. "Understood, boss."

"Good to know you're at least capable of that," I turned on my heels. "For my nonna, I'll allow you in the dinner tonight, Guillermo," oh, this is fun, "use this opportunity to take the best out of this chance I'm giving you. Keep in mind I have total power to put a better, younger, and more capable and effective person in your place. You are not unreplaceable," I said it all without looking at them, leaving the office.

I kept the evil queen face until I got there, my heels clacking on the marble floor loud enough to make everyone in my way get back to work, freak out, or flinch scared. Kath came hot in my heels, and she closed the doors behind her. Only then did I fall down on my seat, feeling mentally knackered.

"You ate him," she beamed. "You're the absolute best."

"Stanley is still an executive, Kath," I growled.

"But now that he knows you're a Prada, he'll be on his toes."

"You think I did right on telling him like that?" Sigh.

"I think Gemma would have made it known to the entire world, the second you got the CEO position, Pen. Besides, it's not like you're hiding, it's in your ID, in your passport, in your driver's license, and in literally all of your documents, including your paycheck. If they had been as careful as I am, they would have known ages ago."

"Sure but Adeline" Russo, the previous CEO, close to nonna and her pupil in the company, "was the one who took care of all of my papers to keep me on the low."

"That was then. Had them tried to dig on you, they would know, just like I know about Apollo. All it takes is some good digging, Pen."

I passed my fingers through my long hair, "If I had known Apollo LaFontaine would bring me so much problem when I met him in that interview, I would,"

"You would do what?" He asked, striding inside my dam office as if it was his, Kyle on his heels, closing the door behind him. "What would you do? Not give me the promotion?"

"You do know where you are, right?" Kath snapped.

"In the CEO's office?" He scoffed, side-eying her and then back to me. "So what? I'm the COO, and, I came here for a reason."

"Then bark and leave," I glared at him.

But to my dismay he took the seat in front of me, across my desk, "Why didn't you tell me you fought the executives and the shareholders to give me the promotion?"

His question caught me totally of guard and I stared at him confused for an instant. "I'm the CEO, why should I explain myself to you?"

"You are in bad waters with Stanley because of me, Penellaphe."

And the intensity in his voice made me freeze, it made me feel something I shouldn't be feeling, not when I love Timothée. "No, I am not. He's not that important to me, and he is in bad water with me because of his own actions. It has nothing to do with you, Apollo."

He clenched his jaw, frustrated with something I don't know. "No. He reacted that way because of what you did for me. And you made me hate you, when I'm only here because of you, I don't,"

Leaning back on my chair, I passed my fingers through my hair, "I didn't do it because of you, for you, Apollo. I did it for the company, because you were the best for the position, just like you were the best for it back in the interview. I didn't get you here, you're accomplishments and your skills did, had you been inefficient and bad at what you do, not only I wouldn't have spoken for you, as I would have fired you a long time ago. He reacted that way, because he was disrespectful, he looked down on me and in my decision-making abilities."

"You just said I got you in trouble," he countered.

I glared at him, annoyed, "You shouldn't eavesdrop."

"I wasn't eavesdropping," he gasped.

I ignored. "And I didn't make you hate me, I have no power over what you do, how you judge people, how you perceive them, or how you act around them, Apollo, that's all on you. If you hate who you see in me, don't apologize, I won't change, this is who I am here, it's who I need to be to run this place, so you'll probably keep hating me. I have no control over how people see me, only in how I see myself and them. You are where you are," I leaned closer, "because you were capable enough to prove me you're worthy of being where you are now, Apollo, I did nothing. I have no business accepting credits I don't deserve."

He stared at me as if he's never seen me before, "Alright."

What? "Alright?"

"Alright."

I blinked, "Alright, then. You can leave now."

"Pardon?" He giggled as if I had made a joke, and I couldn't help staring, because I've never seen him laugh like that, just like he had never seen me either. I was not prepared to how breathtakingly beautiful he is when he laughs, I'm used to him glaring and scowling at me, to his annoyance, I feel somehow unsafe seeing this... Apollo.

If I had to bet, I would say me and Kath are the only ones in the company who hasn't seen him smile.

"You can leave now," I repeated, feeling something I shouldn't.

"I don't think so," he purred with a sensual grin, leaning closer.

Don't blush. Don't blush. Don't blush.

"I don't see what you could be staying here for."

"I can think of a handful things," Apollo said under his breath, licking his lips, and I cursed myself for all of the dirty thoughts that flooded my mind, and for how I felt my dam face burn.

Timothée. Timothée. Timothée. Think of Timothée.

"Too bad I'm not interested in listening to them," I managed to say.

"Aren't you?" He looked at my left eye, my lips, and back to my right eye, and I grabbed my stress black ball from the drawer under my table and threw at his face, but the bastard caught it. "What was this for?"

"Oh? I thought those balls were made for me to throw at those who stress me out," I said bluntly and to my shock, he laughed again. "I don't know if you're capable of reading between the lines, LaFontaine, but you are stressing me out. So, you should leave. I have better things to do before lunch, rather than having you in my office."

"You're not having me in your office, though."

Both out assistants gasped and my jaw dropped, "Apollo!"

"Penellaphe?" He tilted his beautiful head, and his starless night sky black wavy hair moved. "It's not stress that I'm reading between the lines."

The audacity! "I am your boss, and you should mind your words. The fact that I went against them to get you my previous position as the COO, doesn't mean I have an special care for you. So, stop being naughty with your words, on me, because this," I pointed from him to me, "won't happen. You're not my type," I lied, "and I am already compromised with someone better than you."

But he didn't look as offended as he should've, which is weird because this always works. "Oh? You're not my type either, and I'm not trying anything. But didn't you say you were single?"

I clenched my jaw, extremely annoyed, "I don't owe you answers. My personal life does not concerns you, Apollo LaFontaine, so, you would do better if you focused on your work, and in not giving them any reasons to mock me for having put you where you are. Like Stanley did. Yeah?"

When I thought he would resist it, he stood up, my stress ball on his hand, then he threw at me and I caught it, "It's not to throw on other people, Penellaphe, it's to press it between your fingers when you're stressed, like you would want to do with the neck of someone you hate. Alright, I'll go back to work, I don't want to make you look bad because of me, and I want you to know that, regardless of what you claim, I'm thankful for what you did for me. Ah, and I don't hate you, I just find you infuriating and you get on my nerves, it's not hate," winking, he turned around, left through the door, and Kyle followed him.

I counted to ten after they closed the door, and when I was sure they were away, I slide down my seat, groaning.

"What just happened?" I cried.

"He was definitely flirting with you," Kath gasped.

"Why do that if I'm not his type?" I groaned annoyed.

"He could've lied just like you did," she pointed.

I clenched my jaw, "I doubt it."

"That was flirting, Pen," she sat in her chair. "He was shamelessly flirting with you. Now he probably knows he has some affect on you."

"I didn't say anything, how would he?" I growled.

She pointed to her face, "Your skin is red, sweetie."

My hands went to my face and I cursed when I felt how warm my skin was, "What a nightmare," I cried. "Why did he had to act up right when everything is working well with A?" I covered my face with my hands. "Why is this happening to me? I can't fuck him, Kath," I put them down, looking at her. "I can't."

"Well, he could stop after what you said to him."

"Yeah?" I asked hopeful. "You think he will?"

"I doubt it," she clicked her tongue.

"That ain't helping, Kath," I stared at her.

"You know what your nonna would say in this situation?"

I swallowed, "What?"

"For you to follow your heart."

"My heart is with A, not Apollo," I haven't shared his middle name with her yet, because it feels personal. "My heart wants nothing to do with LaFontaine, even if my body wants his painfully so."

"Maybe a little kiss,"

I stopped her, "I will be with A by the weekend, Kath. I would be hurt if he did something like this right now, and I'm not a hypocrite. I won't do it. Apollo LaFontaine isn't someone I want to mess with," not when I can tell what he awakens in me, and it would go terribly wrong when my heart is with Timothée.

"I respect that, though it's clear you both want each other."

"He wants nothing with me, he was just mocking me," I snapped.

"Dam, if he mocks you by eating you with his eyes, I don't know what he would do if he was actually trying to flirt," she mocked.

I gave her the middle finger, "Enough of this arsehole, Kath, let's work. It's the best I'll do, there's tons of things to do."

"Alright," she said with a naughty grin.

"Stop it, Kath," I groaned.

"What am I doing?" She played dumb.

"You know what you're doing. Stop it."

She rose her hands in peace, "Alright."

Rolling my eyes, I turned my computer on. "Work!"

"Working," she purred, focusing on her computer, but then she looked up at me again. "I can't believe you threw the ball at him."

I felt my cheeks burn, "Then don't believe it."

"Penellaphe."

"Work," I pointed to her computer.

"Aye," she pouted.

I could tell she wanted to talk more but didn't.