Blood in the Golden Palace

Chapter 2: Penny-4

“I need to use the bathroom.” The excuse was out of her mouth before she had the chance to process it. David clearly seemed disappointed, but released her nonetheless. She put on a fake smile, and assuring him she’d be right back, hurried her way inside. Once she was back within the walls of the Golden Palace, she looked around. There was no sight of the stranger, nor was there any sign of Daisy or Milo. However, what she did find was a small bar just to the right of the glass doors. Glancing behind her, she hurried to the far side to make sure that David couldn’t see her. Nervously, she approached the bartender behind the counter. She was young and short, with tattoos and piercings everywhere. As Penny approached, she flashed her a sweet smile.

“Hey there, hon,” she greeted. “What can I get you?”

“U-um…I…C-can I have an angel shot?”

A flash of understanding hit the bartender’s eyes. “Sure, honey. Where’s your date?”

Penny’s throat went dry, but she pressed on. “Outside by the pool.”

The bartender nodded. She reached down into her counter and came back with a key card. “Are you good to walk by yourself? You feel funny at all?”

“No. I’m fine.”

“Great.” She handed Penny the key card. “Head downstairs. Go to the main bar on the south side of the dance floor. It’s the bar with all the plants. There’s a door to the right. If anyone stops you, say you’re getting an angel shot. Head in there and wait.” Penny looked up, speechless. The bartender only smiled kinder. “Don’t worry. He won’t know.”

“Thank you…” Feeling two feet tall, Penny kept her head low and made her way to the door in question. Fortunately, no one stopped her as she went to the card reader. Once the door was unlocked, she headed inside.

Within the door was an office. It was pretty normal, compared to the rest of the club. Penny fiddled with the key card, again wishing she’d asked for her phone back. Pacing the area, she finally sat down on one of the couches and waited. As she did, she eyed the details of the office. So far, there wasn’t much that stood out to her. The security cameras were interesting to watch, and occasionally switched to other viewpoints all throughout the club. However, none of them switched over to the pool deck, leaving her completely in the dark. After about ten minutes of waiting, she wondered if she’d been overreacting. Maybe if she just got over herself and let David know that she didn’t feel comfortable, he probably would have backed off. She hoped that he wouldn’t get hurt or arrested. Penny wasn’t sure how she’d live with herself if something as stupid as this ruined his life.

The door opened, and Penny lifted her head. For the third time that night, her mysterious stranger made himself known. “Glad you got the message,” he said. “Do you mind if I examine you?”

Penny flinched. “Examine me…?”

But the stranger put up a hand. “I’m just going to be examining your eyes. Make sure he didn’t put anything in your drink.”

“David wouldn’t do something like that…”

“Are you absolutely sure?” Penny couldn’t answer that with confidence. Taking a small flashlight from his desk, the stranger knelt down in front of her and turned it on. “Keep your eyes open for me.” She did, and he flashed them quickly. “How do you feel?” he asked. “Dizzy? Tired? Drunker than you should be?”

“No,” Penny answered.

He shut off his flashlight. “Well…good. At least he’s not that much of a scumbag.”

“What happened?” Penny asked. “What did you do to him?”

“I just asked him a few questions. Had him turn out his pockets. Which reminds me.” He pulled out Penny’s phone and wallet and handed them to her. “You should think about investing in a clutch.”

Penny clutched her things to her chest. “I mean I would have had a jacket but…” She trailed off. Perhaps it was the fallout of the night, but Penny felt unusually slow on the uptake, and only now put two and two together. “Wait a minute…What do you do here? Are you—are you like the manager or…?”

“You could say that.” He pulled up a chair and sat down. “My name is Angelo. I own the place.”

Penny’s eyes doubled in size. “You what…? You own…?”

“Yes.”

“Oh wow.” She guessed it all made sense. An owner wouldn’t want a crime to happen under his own roof. “Thank you, Mr. Angelo. For looking out for me, I mean.”

Angelo smiled, and Penny felt her anxiety melt away. “Just Angelo, please. You make me sound like a substitute teacher.”

Penny laughed, awkwardly. “I guess.” Now that her panic was gone, Penny stood. “Hey, um…David’s a nice guy. I really don’t want to be any trouble. It was my fault. I should have said something.”

Angelo’s smile fell just so, and he tilted his head to one side. “A nice guy. I see. He’s your friend.”

“That’s right.”

“And did he ask before he started slobbering over you?”

“I…” Penny fiddled with her hands. “I think I was just giving him the wrong impression. Or…no. Not even that.”

“What then?”

“I…I like him, I just…Ah, I get so nervous about this stuff. I was stupid. I should have just kissed him back. Now I overreacted and it’s going to be awkward. Oh this is so bad…What did I do?”

Angelo watched as Penny paced, talking mostly to herself. Realizing that she was making a spectacle of the situation, she sat back down on the couch. Angelo leaned forward. “Listen,” he said, “nobody can make decisions about your life but you. But from where I’m standing? You made the right call.”

Penny lifted her head. “But…what if he hates me?”

Angelo stood, hands in his pockets. “It was Penny, right?” She nodded. “If he hates you because of this, let him hate you.” He turned to leave the office, but stopped at the door. “Guys like that aren’t men. They’re selfish boys. Trust me. He’s not the kind of person you want in your life.” He glanced behind him. “Do you have friends here?” Penny nodded. “Get in contact with them. You’re free to stay in here until you feel safe enough to go home. I’d prefer it if your friends escorted you.”

Penny put on a timid smile. “I think I’d prefer that, too.” With one last nod, Angelo turned and left Penny to her thoughts.

* * * *

“I can’t f*****g believe that guy. Can you believe that guy?”

“I can’t believe that guy.”

“Ugh. f**k him.”

“Don’t, actually.”

“Yeah, don’t. But ugh. Ugh!”

Penny sat quietly in the back of Milo’s car as they drove towards her apartment. It took everything in both of their powers to keep Daisy from ripping David’s arms off and beating him with them. Penny tried to explain that this was all some big misunderstanding, but apparently, Milo’s version of the story from his bosses didn’t exactly calm the storm. According to the staff of the Palace, David got pretty upset when confronted by security. Upset enough that he was thrown out with a permanent ban. Despite the fact that Daisy was hell bent on making David out to be the Anti-Christ, Penny couldn’t help but feel bad. She wondered if things had gone different if she’d just been a little bit bolder. Hell, maybe she could have had a happy ending to all of this.

But then…hadn’t she?

Penny’s mind drifted back to that office, and her short conversation with Angelo. “Hey, Milo…?”

Milo glanced from the driver’s seat. “What’s up?”

“Have you ever met the owner? Angelo, I think?”

“Oh sure,” said Milo. “I deal with his sister more than him. But I’ve met the guy a couple of times.” He looked at Penny through the rear view mirror. “Why? Did you meet him?”

“Yeah. He was the one who kept an eye on David for me. Told me what I should do if I felt like I was in trouble. He seemed…nice.”

“I don’t know about ‘nice,’” Milo said, “but he’s always been a cool headed dude. More than his sister, anyway.”

“For real?” said Daisy. “What, is she a ball buster?”

“You could say that…” Milo paused at a red light, and his brow furrowed. “I…shouldn’t really be talking about the DeRossis, actually. The family that owns the place. They’re real sensitive about anyone talking about them. I could lose my job.”

“Really?” Penny asked, inching forward. “Why’s that?”

“Beats me,” said Milo. “But when they hire you, they have you sign this NDA not to discuss anything about them, in or outside of work. It’s kinda nuts.”

Daisy tsked and rolled her eyes. “Oh come on. It’s just us. Who are we gonna tell?”

But Milo shook his head. “Daisy, for real. They take this s**t seriously. One guy, Greg, he was part of the hired group I was in. The day after he got his job, he went off bragging to a bunch of his friends about how he got to work at the Palace. Started promising them drinks and s**t, and started mouthing off about Nicoletta. That’s the sister. Well, the next day, he didn’t come into work. Turns out he was fired. Except…nobody’s heard from him. At all. It’s like he got scrubbed from the goddamn Earth.”

Penny gripped her seat belt in attempts to suppress the chills in her belly. Daisy, fortunately, broke the ice. “Come on, Milo, you’re just trying to scare us.”

“I’m not!” Milo argued. “I swear, it’s the truth.”

“Yeah yeah.” Daisy turned around to face Penny with a smile. “You know what I heard about this Angelo guy? I hear he’s hot. Like…mega hot.”

Penny forced a smile. “I mean…he was handsome, I guess.”

“Psh.” Daisy plopped back into her seat and folded her arms. “Whatever. ‘Handsome.’ Okay, sure.” It wasn’t long after that Milo parked outside of Penny’s apartment. As she got out, Daisy rolled down her window and added: “Hey. If that motherfucker tries coming in for his latte, you want me to put salt in it for you? Or maybe bleach?”

Penny smiled and hugged Daisy through the window. “Please don’t murder him. Goodnight.”

Daisy wasn’t pleased with the request, but hugged back. “Okay. Goodnight, mama. I’ll text you later.” Penny waved and headed into her building. Vivian was well asleep by the time she opened her front door. Tip-toeing her way to bed, she swapped out her heels and sparkly slip for comfortable pajamas. Laying there alone, she eyed the bookshelf next to her bed. A few well-worn novels stared back at her, many of them loved twice over.

“You’re like a perfect little housewife, huh?”

Penny stared at the ceiling. Was she really so bland? Did liking books or cooking really make her so…uninteresting? She glanced at the clock. It was nearly one in the morning. Well, her sleep schedule was shot. Not even remotely tired, she quietly stared at the passing lights through her window. Even at this late hour, there were always headlights that cut across her room. She closed her eyes, laying perfectly still. Sleep didn’t come. With a huff, she swatted at her bed on either side of her. Her eyes went to her closed door. Vivian was very much asleep. The apartment building was quiet. Maybe…just to help her get some rest…

Penny snuck her hand down beneath her sheets and slid her fingers past the waistband of her PJ’s. She wondered if wanting to touch herself after such a horrible night made her a twisted person. Maybe she was. But as she found her c**t, she told herself that this was just to help her sleep. Tonight was exhausting, confusing, and frustrating. All she wanted was some shuteye. She breathed deeply and pressed against that sensitive little nub. She rolled her fingers counter clockwise.

A peaceful pleasure fell over her body. She sighed. Stupid David. Stupid club. Stupid anxiety. Maybe if she’d had the guts to actually say what was on her mind, she wouldn’t be going to bed alone for the thousandth time. And she wouldn’t blow things out of the water every time she got a little nervous. She pressed her fingers firmly down and a shiver ran up her spine. She knew what happened wasn’t her fault. She shouldn’t consider it her fault. But she couldn’t help the nagging feeling that it was.

Another wave of tingles hit her legs, and she rolled her fingers faster. And then there was Angelo. Angelo DeRossi. Maybe he wasn’t necessarily “nice,” but he certainly went above and beyond the duties of a club owner. She replayed the scene over again in her head. Beneath her hand, she felt a distinct wetness lubricate her fingers. Her chest heaved gently, and she shifted her hips to get more comfortable.

“I hear he’s hot. Like…mega hot.”

He is.

His deep voice. Those piercing eyes. His long gait, his gentle laughter. More than that though, Penny couldn’t help but admire how he’d handled the situation. If a fight of some kind broke out, Penny would have been mortified. Especially if somebody got hurt—David most likely. Instead, his movements were slow. He wasn’t saving her, he was giving her the means to save herself.

Penny’s blood thumped between her legs. She was rolling her fingers fast now. Reaching down with her free hand, she toyed with the wet lips of her p***y. Her head tilted to the side and she moaned into her pillow.

Angelo’s smile…His smile from across that dance floor. It sent her head spinning. And in his office…He was alone with a vulnerable woman. And if what Milo said was true, he was a powerful man. He could have easily taken control. Those hands, Penny remembered, were big. She wondered if they were calloused. Were they rough? Or rather, were they soft? What could those hands do at the behest of someone like Angelo DeRossi? He wasn’t a measly, jealous nobody like David. He was controlled. Disciplined. Calculated.

And beautiful.

Penny gasped, and her back arched. She curled her toes as the orgasm hit her like a truck. As the feeling left her, all that remained was a pleasant buzzing of her body. Curling up against her pillows, her mind drifted into darkness, filled with thoughts of Angelo.

Maybe if she was lucky, she might see him again someday.