Jacob left the meeting right after it. He didn't realize the time since his phone was on silent. He quickly made his way to his office stress clearly oozing out him. He let out a heavy sigh and decided to rest for a bit.
He quickly fished out his phone and check the notifications. He has 10 missed calls and 5 messages.
3 calls from his mother, 3 calls from his father and 4 calls from Hazel.
'What does she want now?' he thought as he checked his messages only to see that they are from Hazel.
He rolled his eyes at his cousin who is up to no good now.
7.50 pm: 'Are you on your way?' – H
8.20 pm: 'Did your jaw drop?' – H
8.45 pm: 'What did y'all have for dinner?' – H
9.30 pm: 'Jacob Stephano Stone!! If you stood her up, I will castrate you in your sleep!! I know where you live' – H
'What is she on about now?' Jacob thought before checking his calendar to see his plans for the next day.
Before he checked he saw an alarm for today at 7.30pm. He clicked on it and mumble curses at himself for forgetting.
He quickly picked up his files, wallet, his coat and quickly went over to the elevator and down the parking lot.
'How could I forget I had dinner with Alethea?' he scolded himself and prayed and wished thatches not too late. Although he kind of is late but it wouldn't hurt to hope for it.
'Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!! Stupid meetings' he cursed himself further. Although it is a bit his fault since he put his phone on silent mode.
'Great!! Hazel will surely kill me now. I didn't mean to stand her up like that.' He sadly thought.
The elevator came to an abrupt stop and it brought Jacob out from his thoughts.
He quickly ran to his car. He opened the passenger side of his car to put his files and other stuff from the office.
As soon as he closed the door, he heard someone calling him from behind. 'What now?' he bitterly thought.
"Yes Penelope. What can I do for you?" Jacob bitterly asked her taking the tie from the neck of his shirt.
"I uh—waited for you at the restaurant, but you didn't show up so I thought that I should come and check up on you" Penelope timidly said acting so sincere and so shy.
'Shy my ass' Jacob thought.
"Listen Penelope, I don't know who is feeding you all these lies but I did not make any plans to have dinner with you at all and I don't ever want to have dinner with you ever…. period" Jacob says as if he is explaining something to a 5-year-old.
Penelope dropped her nice, innocent façade and stomped over in front of him.
"Why do you despise me so much?" she asked Jacob feeling a little too pissed with the rejection from him.
"Why do you not see that with both our companies merging we would be the most powerful and influential couple in the States given our marriage?" she explained further much to Jacob's ear with her shrill voice as she shouted in the parking lot.
Jacob turned his head away from the dramatic woman in front of him 'She doesn't get the hint, does she?' Jacob bitterly thought.
He turned towards her just as she placed her lips on his in a forceful manner. He stood there completely frozen at the action against Penelope as he tries to move away from the woman whose body is pressed up against his without hurting her.
Penelope pulls away for a second to catch her breath as she looked up at Jacob.
Jacob looked at her with a harsh look that caused Penelope to shrink back into shock. All her life she has been getting whatever she wants either from her parents or from her taking it. She doesn't care who gets hurt in the way, if she wants it, she has to have it.
She stepped back from Jacob and casted her eyes down to her feet while biting her lips. Rejection was not a look she is used to and the fact that, that look is present on Jacob's face for her was a hard slap of reality to her face.
"Why—uhm—do you not like the kiss?" Penelope asked timidly tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
Jacob closed his eyes and took a deep breath in before exhaling to calm himself down. He opened his eyes and looked at Penelope again, this time with determination swirling in his eyes.
"Penelope?" he paused as he looked around the parking lot to see that a few of his employees were staring at them but as soon as he sees them, they turned their attention away from their boss.
"I do not like the kiss; in fact, I do not like you kissing me at all or forcing yourself on me. Forcing your lips onto mine. I do not like you, Penelope. It is that simple. So please get rid of the idea that we belong together from your head because clearly, we do not" Jacob calmly says before he turned back around and got in his car, driving out of the parking lot and onto the highway on the way to the restaurant where Alethea is waiting for him…. or so he thought.
MEANWHILE:
Penelope walked to back her car with a murderous look on her face. 'How dare he reject me? How dare he not love me? How dare he does not like that kiss? How dare he?!!' She bitterly thought as she looked at herself in her rearview mirror and started applying her lipstick all over her lips.
When she was done applying, she blew a kiss to her reflection before she turned it back to its original position.
"You will love me Jacob Stone. You will love only me. I don't care who I have to trample along the way but I will get there. If you won't love me then you won't love anyone else. I will make sure of that" she evilly laughs as she started up her car and drove away.
As she came to a slow stop at the traffic light she looked around and saw a brown skinned girl wiping makeup off from her face in her car parking right up beside her.
Penelope looked at her and admired her beauty 'She's pretty' she thought.
"Tough night?" Penelope asked the girl.
"Ohh yeah something like that" the girl shrugged.
"Bad date?" Penelope continued to ask the girl
The girl laughed out "There wasn't even a date to begin with. I got stood up by an hour and a half"
"Ooohh painful" Penelope remarked.
"Not really. I didn't know the guy that well, he was just being nice. Stephano just asked for a chance to get to know each other and start over" the girl shrugged.
"Stephano?? Hot name?" Penelope teased.
The girl shrugged.
Just then the light turned green. "Well have a great night" the girl simply says as she turned on the next lane and off, she went.
"You too" Penelope whispered to herself as she watched the girl's car drove off.