Daniel was so close to breaking.
God, I should have gone into acting.
His face remained passive, but his fast walking and sharp breath could tell anyone his true feelings. He was going to share that as soon as he got in his car.
He tried to put together a speech in his mind, to not come off awful. However, once he was in the car and started it, with Miss Penelope Marshall sitting next to him in the passenger seat, he forgot all his manners.
"What were you thinking!" He exclaimed, hitting his hands against the steering wheel. He hoped that his action would relieve some of this pent up anger over Penny's hesitation, but it just left his palms stinging.
He just wants the best for the girl. He can't even comprehend why she didn't sign the contract right there. It was a good deal. She got paid well, her times were normal for an actor, and she was the freaking lead of a show. He couldn't think of anything better. What was there to think about?
The sudden yelling scared Penny. She was in a confined spot, and the only thing keeping her from going off the deep end was the fact that she could open the door anytime. Even if the door locked, she could still undo it and leave.
"I don't know," she muttered to herself. She doesn't know why she turned it down. The women she met were smart, ambitious, and friendly. The fact that she was the lead in a new show was amazing. It was something she always dreamed about. However, she got a feeling in the pit of her stomach. Not a "something bad is going to happen if you take it" feeling, but a "I can't live up to this" feeling. However, explaining that to Danny did not feel like an easy task.
So, she answered him with the typical "I don't know".
She couldn't listen to him talk about how she got the role of a reason, or how talented she is, when she didn't feel it anymore. The only thing she was confident about in the past was her skills as an actress and singer. Now, her confidence level is at an all time low, and nothing could change that.
"You don't know? Oh, you do know. You are being a coward and an idiot right now. This is everything anybody would want. If I knew you were this dumb, I wouldn't have offered to work for you for free," He exasperated. Dan doesn't really think that Penny is dumb, but he is so infurated and confused, he said things he didn't mean.
Tears formed in the corners of her eyes. She didn't mean to cause all of this. "I'm sorry" she chokes out in a whisper.
"Sure you are," with that he started the car and drove back to the penthouse that was ten minutes away.
She is thankful that Danny had calmed down and wasn't yelling and screaming at her anymore. But, she could feel the disappointment radiate from him. The way he didn't look at her as her cries and sniffles increased, not even worried about her, spoke volumes. The way he dropped her off in front, when he usually came up with her, and then sped away, like he couldn't wait to rid himself of her.
This only causes the tear to pile up more, and force themselves harshly through her eyelid and down her face. The snot in her nose starts to build, also forces itself out.
At that moment, out in front of the penthouse doors, she did not look beautiful. Actually quite the opposite. She tried not to make a big scene, so she scurried into the building. Her face was so red and glistening with tears, the doorman barely recognized her. However, he knew that hair like he knows the back of his hand. She ran away from anyone, hiding her face, and entering the elevator alone. She still tried to maintain her composer, well, try to hold together the strings that are seconds away from snapping.
Quentin was back in his room, packing away the clothes that were finished in the laundry. It was a mundane task that any man had to do. He was able to work efficiently, only because his mind was focused on Penny while his hands worked separately. He was wondering how her meeting was going.
He imagined her coming home, a smile plastered on her face, unable to be wiped away. She would run into his arms and tell him how happy she was. That is all he wants, for her to be happy.
It is surprising how fast his attitude changed about her. He thought back, before he met her, how he would hate her with every bone in his body. He remembers with a heavy heart how he carried that action out, how badly he treated her. He will regret that for a long time. He remembers his breakup with a woman he was dating, and how it opened his heart to a relationship again. Walking into the restaurant and seeing Penny changed his mind. That was the first time he saw her with a clear mind and an open heart.
He wants their relationship to grow. Quentin doesn't care how they end up, friends, lover, husband and wife. He just wants to become a better person for her.
He was finished with the laundry, so he picked up the basket to bring back to the laundry room on the first floor. Upon walking down the stairs, he heard the front door open.
She is home, he thought.
He walks faster down the stairs, but, once reaching the bottom, he heard the most wretch sounds of her sobs. He dropped the basket right next to the stairs, and rushed to find Penny in a terrible state. She was in front of the door and on the floor, curled into a ball and leaning against the door. Her face was hidden in her knees and constant cries bellowed from her.
This is not how he expected her to come home. He dropped down next to her, rubbing her back to comfort her. He clearly didn't know what he was doing.
"Penny, what happened? Penny," he tried to get her attention and have her explain what happened.
She peaked her head up. The whites of her eyes were bloodshot. Her cheeks were flushed red as well, almost making her face blend in with her hair. Quentin didn't care that she was no longer attractive when in a state like this. He just wants her to be happy.
She pushed him away from her body. Surprised, he actually hit the floor. It was a great fall, but it did give her time to run away from him and up the stairs. He heard the bedroom door slam shut.
He groans as he stands, like he was a sixty year old man instead of twenty-seven. He walks slowly back upstairs and to Penny's bedroom door.
"Come on, Penny! Tell me what happened?" He coaxes through the door. He just wants to help, but he doesn't know how.
He heard a loud scoff, like she didn't believe he cared for her. And she clearly expressed that when she yelled back, "Why do you care all of a sudden? Go back to your office and find a new girl to bug."
He wanted to laugh at her phrasing "a new girl to bug". Well, he found one, and it was her.
"I am offering an ear to listen to what happened. That, coming from me, doesn't happen very often, so you should take it."
It was silent for a second, until he heard little patters of feet and a soft soft of her sitting on the floor. He follows, softly sitting beside the door, ready to listen.
"I am thinking about their offer," Penny said, as if she was confessing something great.
"Okay," Quentin drew out. He was a little confused. Why would she be upset about that? Thinking over the elements of a contract takes time. He would give himself anywhere from a night to a week to think over any contract at his company.
"Daniel got pissed. He called me an idiot and a coward for wanting to turn it down," she tried to clear up his confusion.
"You want to turn it down," his voice raised, not angrily, just shocked.
"I don't know! I just don't know," she raised her voice back, this time getting angry. "He yelled at me and I could just feel his disappointment in the car. It was just too much, his anger. I just started to break down," her voice was still not steady. It sounded dry and tired. He believed that tears still streamed down her face, just not as quickly.
"He doesn't have a right to yell at you," Quinn tells her. "He just wants the best for you. We all do. What is holding y-"
"Why," she asks, breaking him off.
"Why, what?"
"Why do you all care about me?" Penny asks, sounding as if she was getting annoyed.
"Uh-" he really didn't know how to explain it, so he stuttered.
"I literally came into all of your lives a month ago and you all decided once you saw me that you cared about me? Ridiculous. None of you guys care about me, they just don't want to see their company tank." She started to ramble. He wanted to stop her, but he couldn't help but listen more to her rant. "I just keep on ending up into these situations where I get hurt over and over again. It's like this abuse is drawn to me. What did I do to deserve this, huh? How can I expect anyone to love me? My mother didn't, because if she did, she wouldn't have left." Thump. Her foot hit the wall. "If my father loved my mother, she wouldn't have wanted to leave in the first place." Thump. Her foot didn't hit the wall, but something else in her room. He wanted to stop her, so she didn't get hurt, as he would do so often in the past. But she needs to let this anger out. It seems like she has been holding onto it forever, and just now it is coming out. "If you loved me, you wouldn't have treated me like shit and would have treated me like a decent human being." Okay that one hurt. "If Danny loved me, he would understand my decision and give me time to think" Thump. "If your father loved me, he would have saved me from the hellhole that was my life." Thump. How did his father have anything to do with him? "If my own father loved me, he wouldn't have beat me, scarred me, and called me horrible names."
CRACK!
Whatever she was hitting, broke.
With her words, she also broke Quentin, who sat on the other side of the door, in shock.