The Girl He Had To Marry- An Arranged Marriage Story

Chapter Forty-Two: Two Weeks Super Speed

Penelope, Quentin and Dylan all fell into a predictable pattern for the next two weeks. 

Quentin's was probably the most boring, but the most reliable. It was basically his same routine before Penelope Marshall crashed into his life. It was a structured approach to the day, which was best for his ADHD. However, there were some small adjustments. Him and Penny actually got to work and got home around the same time. So they woke up together, eat together, and then go there separate ways. 

At work, Quentin would go to board meetings, meet with new investors or partners, visit departments, do some paperwork. It was nice to be back from his week off. Before everything work was his life. Now, he feels like he is sharing his life. He also soon grow to hate eating his lunch alone. There was a time in his life when he would eat every meal alone. Just the thought made his shutter. He would go visit Penny if he could. However, her rehearsal space wasn't very close to his building and nobody knows about there arranged marriage. 

Some days he was hyper-focused, listening to every word a person said and filling out every paper in a few minutes. Other times he would get distracted and look out the window five times in ten minutes only for nothing to be there. Those days weren't the easiest. Other days he would come so close to missing meeting he had or forgetting one signature. Luckily his new assistant is wonderful and on top of everything for him. He new favorite mood and form of distraction is when he thinks about her. 

It wasn't always romantic thoughts, like how beautiful she was that day, or worried thoughts, if she was doing okay and got to her job on time. It was little jokes he would laugh at when he texted her, then he would think about it for hours afterwards. It was being gracious and thinking how to repay her when she called him after he left telling him he forgot something. Recently, it has been hours on shops looking for the perfect Christmas gift. He will have to think hard about it. Maybe he could take her to see a Broadway show. He knows she is well-versed in musical theater and knows those shows inside-and-out. However, he doesn't know if she has seen them done on the legendary Broadway. He doesn't know when he would take her though because her schedule is packed full. 

He told his assistant to look for a way to contact her director to see what they can do. He just wants to something nice for his...wife? She wasn't really his wife in the sense that they went through all the process of their relationship and have gotten marriage to show they want to be together for life. 

I really need to take Penny on a date, Quentin thought. However, like many other thoughts that day, it was lost. Soon, though, the thought will come again. 

Penelope was having a blast working on the show with her colleagues. Everyone from the choreographer to music director to her fellow actors. Eventually, Addison actually came in to take measurements and later to bring in costumes. The two women you squeal like girls and embrace each other. They usually avoided the questions of how they met. It didn't seem right to say she was her sister-in-law and she was married to Addison's brother. During every break, they would chat and catch up, then she would leave to work on the costumes. When one stripper outfit was finished, it was fantastic. This one was for Anastasia, the first stripper on the list. The bra top was secure and covered her whole breast. A respectable, yet safe, about spilled over top. Since there are five strippers, each one will get a color of the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue. Penny's character will be dressed in purple. Anastasia was red. It was a bedazzled ombré of red, going from the deepest jewels to white crystals. Off the bottom, stringy fringe brushed her stomach and swished at every move. The skirt had built-in shorts that made sure nothing was seen. Anastasia piece was more short since the skirt was made from the same swishy red fringe. It had an asymmetrical hem, with the longest part being at her right lip and the shortest at her left. 

In short, Addison knows what she is doing. 

Penny got really close to almost everyone in the production. She kind of had to since she was a lead and interacted with everyone, but she really enjoyed meeting all of these new people. She would drink morning coffee with Thomas while he watched about his very young grandkids. She would eat lunch with the girls every single day. She would joke around with Adam when going over lines, learning music, or trying to understand the new dance steps. The only person she tried to ignore was Corey. She feels like he has back-off. He would only talk to her about the show or small talk about the weather. He tried to be respectful when working on scenes together (luckily no kissing yet), but he didn't try hard enough. Penny would catch his looking at her ass...ets. He was one irritating bastard, but she is thankful that he backed off. She was actually very close in bring out the ultimate trump card: she was married. 

Thankfully it didn't come to that. 

Penny tried to forget that fact that her feelings for Quentin are starting to grow. She doesn't want to make it feel like she is relying on him as support after all the trauma. She doesn't want to view him as her "hero"; however, that was quite easy since he didn't save her from anything. She also doesn't want to form these feelings for him because he was there or because he comforts and tries to understand him. Every time, she tells herself she doesn't actually have romantic feelings from him, she would remind herself of all the good things he has been doing and how good he makes her feel. 

Those things were hard to ignore. 

She was good in keeping in her feelings around him. She didn't blush like a poor schoolgirl or get nervous every time they slightly touch. She was comfortable and safety. Every time she did think about him or when he does something nice, a little flutter in her heart would start, but only slightly. 

It was hard no to. 

They both settled in a comfortable routine that made them happy, and it went smoothly for those two weeks. 

Dylan Romano felt like he was deteriorating little by little everyday. Over the course of two weeks, he was starting to feel like a shell of a man (even though there wasn't much when he started). 

He would wake up in the middle of the afternoon after a night of binge drink and smoking. Before getting hammer though, DR would walk the girl walk from rehearsal to home. It was a simple joy he actually look forward too. It was the only human interaction he got, outside of talking to the liquor store owner and the delivery people. He watched her becoming more comfortable with the streets, and by two weeks, she wasn't looking over her shoulder anymore. 

It was like she was finally home, living in the filth of the city. 

DR always has to remind himself that she's just like everyone else he's task to kill. She took an innocent person's life, an important business person's life. So far, DR hasn't been able to understand why. That wasn't his job, he wasn't a judge or jury. He was the executioner. He was the one to flip the switch for deadly amounts of electroshock or the one to inject toxic chemical and see the life drain from their eyes. 

He never questioned. He never got answers. 

It was the middle of December, two weeks from Christmas. He doesn't want to do this. His brother and family will be devastated from Christmas. However, at that point it doesn't seem to matter. 

Walking home from watching Penny Saturday night, he got a note from The Company. 

If she isn't dead before Christmas, then you are. 

It doesn't seem to matter, because no matter what his family will be grieving.