Apollo LaFontaine's pov
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From: A.LF
To: P.BG
Sent: Wednesday, 14 Feb 2024, 07:50
Subject: Reminder ❤️
You know what's crazy, love?
Remember that I told you there was a song from my favorite The Weeknd album that reminded me of you? My favorite album is Starboy, and the song is Reminder. I left it at last, because I thought it was impossible for us both to think about each other with the same song.
I laughed at the "gentlewoman". That ain't a thing.
It's okay, love, I totally understand the dinner matter. Sure, it's sad and I'll miss you, and I'll barely sleep until then, but it's less than a week away, and we'll spend the whole weekend together, and all the ones that are to come. I told my mom and my sister I'll meet you this week, and they were freaking out with me, they were overjoyed.
Yes, love, that's how Timothée is pronounced, at least mine, and yes, it's French, because... 🥁🥁🥁... I'm partially French! And if I'm not wrong, Bianca is an Italian name, innit? You've mentioned Italian things many times, tiramisu is Italian, are you partially Italian? Is there where your paternal family comes from? Italy?
I'm so curious to know everything about you.
Is it okay for me to ask you how old you are or your birthday, now that we are sorting our relationship?
If you baked tiramisu, you were thinking of me. That makes me so foolishly happy, ugh. I also brought my tiramisu to work, we'll be having the same dessert today, even if we're far away in the city.
And what are you talking about? You had a name to call me, love, did you forget?
I'm Anna-Lorena Del Sanchez, girl 💅🏻
Now, now, spill the tea, love.
Tell me what happened.
I love you most, Bianca.
- A ❤️
➵➵➵
"Sent it," I swallowed. "Now we wait."
"What are you going to do if it's her?"
"I don't know," I said anxiously.
"Will you stop courting her?"
I glared at him, "Why would I do that? I love her. I don't want to get my hopes up thinking it's Penellaphe, because that will entail lots of things. Such as the fact that she is both my current love and my first love, and somehow fate mocked me with this. Or the fact that we've been literally working together ever since I came to London. It would also mean we've been wrong about her, she isn't a mean bitch, but she's rather struggling with her grief. And," I passed my fingers though my hair, "that I am her coworker that she thinks hates her and she finds extremely hot."
"Well, the last part wouldn't be bad."
"No," I tilted my head, "but I get think about this."
"Though it would be hilarious to see her face when she discovered that you are A, A is Apollo, Apollo is her coworker, and her coworker is the boy she turned down all those years ago. Jesus, what a jigsaw. At the same time as it'll be shocking as hell if she's your pen-pal, I'll feel like shite for judging her when she's actually been suffering so dam much in silence."
"You won't be the only," I froze when the notification came up.
"Oh my God, I'm sweating cold," Kyle cried dramatically.
"See what you did to me? I'm shaking with anxiety."
"What did I do?" He cried.
"You got me paranoid that P is Penellaphe," I snapped.
"It could be her," he countered.
"And it could not be her," I retorted.
"Just look at it!"
"Fuck," I took a deep breath, before checking it.
Chill, Apollo, chill. I took another long and deep breath, only after counting to seven, I opened it.
➵➵➵
From: P.BG
To: A.LF
Sent: Wednesday, 14 Feb 2024, 08:05
Subject: No waaaay!
We thought of the same song?
No way. That's just fateful, I guess, seems like we're fated, Timothée.
Dam, it feels good to call you like this, even though I can't wait to learn your first name.
You've once told me that you couldn't help but to keep theorizing female names starting with P, that could possibly be mine, and I confess I've done the same. I personally think there are way more male names starting with A than in my case, so I've got many guesses.
Pardon me? Of course, gentlewoman is a thing!
Oh? You are as smart as I imagine. Yes, it's Italian.
🥁🥁🥁, sí, I am Italian. Well, my papa is Italian and his entire family is too, and nonna was my favorite person in the world. Their roots lies in Milan by nonna's side and in Como by nonno's, but they lived in Milan from the time they got married until they passed away in 2020. Mamma is British, grandpa's roots lie in Manchester, grandma's roots lie here in London.
My brothers are two sets of twins, 7 years and 6 years older than me, they were all born in Como, in the villa our family have near Lake Como, and they moved to Manchester when they were 2 and 1 years old. Then mamma got pregnant with me, accidentally, as my siblings were all planned, and nonna asked her to go to Milan and have me there, which happened.
And she stayed with me for a year there, then she left me with nonna and went back to Manchester, and I only went back to live with her when I was 6 years old.
Then I moved to Manchester, began to attend the Academy from 6 years old and on, and that's where I stayed until I graduated from highschool little after I turned 17. Which was when I moved to the US to go to the university I wanted, and nearly two years after I was there, we got into contact and the rest is history.
About my childhood, I think that might be why I was so close to nonna instead of any of my other relatives.
So, sí, I have a two nationalities, and Italian is technically my first language. I say technically since I was alphabetized in both Italian and English at the same time, so, I have been bilingual since I was a... toddler? I'm built different.
Not to brag, but I speak Italian, English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Russian, Mandarin, South Korean, Japanese, Arabian, Greek, and Latin. I'm currently learning Hindi and Danish when I have a little time to spare. Languages are good for business, like nonna used to say.
I was born in April 9th of 1996, I'm 27 as of now.
I have a feeling you're a bit younger than me, since I graduated before you in school, so, maybe we have a 3 to 6 years gap, and well, I don't mind it, just so you know. You told me you prefer girls older than you, so, I'm counting on you not minding it either. Though it may be a little weird in the beginning. You are definitely more mature than most men and we're both adults now, so, I think that's what matters.
I feel like you're from the 21st century.
I barked laughing when you mentioned Anna-Lorena, oh Lord, I'm in tears. That is my best mate, who took many giggles out of me.
Believe me, love, I'm sad about that too. I was looking forward to having a date with you tonight. And it was when I was talking about this with my secretary, earlier, that it all happened.
Remember the hot guy who works with me? The one I told you about last time? I think it's okay to talk about it now, right? Well, he's a bit younger than me, but he just got my old position in the company, and I reached an even higher one, I forgot to tell you because it didn't seem that important, it was just something I had set my mind on getting, just like you with your evil sexy boss.
He's like, really, really bloody tall, and he's insanely gorgeous, if you saw him, you would agree. In fact, the first time I met Apollo, that's his name, I thought about contracting him as a run away model, because he would crash those ridiculous guys.
Yes. Surprise! I work with fashion. Some years ago, I had to interview a bunch of people who were going crazy to get a spot in the company I work for, many old people who were power hungry for it all, and then there was this men, he was the youngest I think, and he aced everything, it was like the very Greek God Apollo came to earth and decided to work for me.
I was in a horrible time of my life, it was after nonni and my grandparents' passing during the pandemic, and I wasn't feeling social, I never did but it was worse, and then I saw him, and he was just, ugh, breathtaking.
He outshine all the other contestants for the spot, and there was just no one better than him, really, he was what I needed, since the spot was for somebody for my department. I picked him, and I began to test him, to see if he had the potential.
Long story cut short: Apollo hates my guts, I may have been a bit too into acting like Miranda from Devil Wears Prada, since she's my idol, and well, he hates me like everyone else, 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
I'm used to it, but that's not the point.
The point is that in no time this men rampaged through promotions and got to me, so, when I managed to get the position I wanted, I had a meeting with the shareholders and executives, in which I named him to take my previous position. One-third of them thought it was precipitation from my part, but I stood my ground and laid the reasons, plus proofs of his accomplishments, and got him the spot that should have been his. He earned it.
And now he is a chief officer himself, good for him. The bad thing is that he is almost on pair with me, and he ain't restraining his thoughts anymore.
It's not bad, only in this context.
Well, a context that made me almost pee laughing.
The last time I giggled like this was thanks to you.
So, there I was going into the lift with my lovely assistant who I took from nonna, is old enough to be my mother and is the only female friend I have left, talking about how I was planning on saying fuck-it to the dinner tonight, just so I could be with you.
When the lift doors open and Apollo is inside it, and he heard a bit of our talk, only the part that told him I was intending in skipping the event tonight to be on a date with my me.
So, the dumbarse began spouting some nonsense that I shouldn't do that because I was being irresponsible and some shite, and I got my position not too long ago, and was planning on doing this.
All full of sarcasm, so much sarcasm I wanted to punch that dam perfect face of his, I bet he got some plastic done because no one is that perfect.
Then he said the most absurd of things:
"Said the one who's so lonely she spends every dam holiday in business events, with nobody at her side," then he pointed to my family ring that I got from my nonna, when she made me promise to only take this one off when I got engaged to the love of my life, that may pass by as a engagement ring. "Seems like your husband isn't very happy to be doomed in a marriage with you, is he?"
If, IF, he had stopped in the first sentence, he would have offended me successfully, and probably gotten me to torment his life for as long as he works here, because I would have been pissed off. But then he added that, and I just... cracked.
It wasn't just a normal giggling. I was wheezing, Timothée, my entire body was shaking with the strong wave of laughter that came over me. It was three years of bottle up laughter released all at once, I cried laughing, my belly hurt, and I was almost falling to the ground with it.
Everyone must be thinking I'm out of my mind now, no one ever saw me laughing, and then there I was, laughing like a dam maniac. My assistant was dragging me to my office, and I still have no idea how she didn't laugh, because it just absolutely hilarious.
Me? Married? How laughable.
I only work, I'm in the office from morning to late at night, I'm constantly in meetings and travelling here and there around Europe, and so busy that I barely sleep for 5 hours at night. I've never gave anyone any reason to think I was married, even less dating, and they were so certain about it, that cunt spoke with so much confidence about something that he probably took out of his butthole, pure nonsense, that I cracked.
I mean, where the hell did he get that from? It can't possibly have been because of my family ring, it's not even a wedding ring, come on, at best an engagement one, and not even that. I'm all alone in all the events, the only man present, and barely, in my life are my father and my brothers, and you, but you're different.
It was just so funny, I had to share it with you.
He's probably embarrassed as hell, you should've seen his face, Timothée, hahahaha, it was hilarious. He was so certain and confident, until he wasn't. But the best part was his mortified gorgeous face when I laughed at his face.
Take that, Apollo bastard, he knows nothing.
Ah, if nonna was here she would cry laughing.
Just to make it clear, I do want to marry.
I'm not against it, at all. At least, not with you.
Not pressing you on any of this, okay?
Anyways, that's it, love.
I have a meeting now. Love you.
Yours,
- P ❤️
➵➵➵
It's her... Penellaphe Bianca Reed Giordano, is my P.
"Fuck," I cursed, in genuine dismay.
"Fuck?" He cried scared.
"Fuck!"
"Is... is P her? Is your P, your pen-pal, Penellaphe?"
I swallowed, "P is Penellaphe. It's her."
"Fuck," he squeak.
I stared at the email again, "Fuck."
Then came a knock on the door, startling us both, and soon the Vice-CEO Eleonora Breslauer, we both acted like nothing had happened, and I instantly locked my phone off, focusing on the old woman. "Mr. LaFontaine, all the executives are needed in the meeting, the CEO and the others are all there already."
Oh, yes, I forgot about that. "Alright, then," I stood up, grabbing my iPad, phone, and side-eyeing Kyle to follow me.