Crash

Dinner Date

Charles didn't drop her arm the entire way to the table. Penelope could feel various sets of eyes watching as they walked, but she was pretty much immune to people staring. She was no stranger to being watched, and after ten years of experience with the paparazzi, it was pretty much just everyday practice. 

The table inside was long, with around 50 places, most of which were already filled. Penelope spotted Logan across the room, deep in conversation with a dark haired man in a suit similar to the one that Charles was wearing. He must have been important because Logan was blushing like a school kid, and he was talking quickly the way that he always did when he got nervous. Just a few seats away, Charlotte was doing her best to look interested in a story an older woman was telling her. Penelope only caught the odd snippet of what she was saying, but she gathered it was something about tire pressures. When Charlotte met her eyes, she glanced at Charles and gave her a subtle thumbs up. Penelope made a mental note to tell her off about that later, but for now, she had to concentrate. Making a good impression was suddenly more important to her than it had been prior to meeting him. 

"Ah," Charles said, coming to a stop at the end of the table. "Look at that. Seems I get the honour of spending the evening with you, Miss Penelope."

Penelope did her best not to look too excited as Charles pulled her chair out for her. "Pleasure is all mine. Weird coincidence though, don't you think? Must just be lucky."

Charles eyes sparkled again as he glanced across the table at Mattia, who quickly averted his eyes. "Yes...a coincidence. Perhaps."

"You're not convinced?" she asked, raising an eyebrow as she adjusted her dress. 

"Mattia has a habit of trying to play matchmaker."

"Oh?"

"He's always plotting something. Yet Carlos and I are both single, so he can't be very good at it."

Penelope smiled , noticing Mattia still hopefully watching them out of the corner of her eye. It was a weird feeling, like being sent on a blind date without knowing you were going in the first place. "It's sweet. He must care about you and...Carlos?"

"My teammate. He's sat over there with your friend Logan, who looks like he's going to pass out, by the way. I've never seen someone so famous look so starstruck."

Glancing over, Penelope couldn't help but giggle. Logan was still talking to the man in the nice suit (who she now knew to be Carlos) seemingly hanging onto his every word. She wouldn't have been surprised if Logan had asked him to autograph his napkin so he could frame it on his childhood bedroom wall. 

"Well, if nothing else, Logan seems pretty smitten."

Charles laughed again, the sound blending with the flood of conversations occurring around them. Charlotte was still trapped in a small talk cycle with the elderly woman from before, but a few times Penelope caught her winking in her direction. She could feel a second pair of eyes staring at her from the far end of the room, which she suspected belonged to her boss, but she was too frightened to check. If Steven was still in his bad mood, the last thing she wanted was another telling off. 

"Speaking of Logan," Charles said, his tone shifting slightly as though the question he was about to ask was a dangerous one. "Are you two..."

Penelope almost chocked on her appetiser. She coughed loudly, earning her some side looks from the table, trying to clear her throat. The idea of her and Logan was almost laughable, she'd known him so long. They'd worked side by side for a decade, and although their characters fell for each other, it was a different story for her in real life. Sure, they were close friends, but they'd never pushed it any further. 

"Sorry," she spluttered, "it's just...no. Logan and I are just friends, I promise."

"Good."

Penelope met his eyes. The noise in the room seemed to fade away. "Good?"

"I can't take you out if you're dating someone else, can I?"

The room seemed to suddenly grow a lot smaller, and a lot warmer. Her heart fluttered against her chest. "You're very confident, aren't you? I mean we've known each other for twenty minutes."

Charles shrugged, but he never dropped his gaze. "Confidence isn't a bad thing."

"No...maybe not."

From behind her, Penelope heard a sudden cough. She recognised Steven trying to get her attention, but she didn't turn around. She knew that he'd want her to talk to a board member or flirt with some guy who was twice her age, but her heart wasn't in it. She knew it would antagonise Steven even more, but she didn't care. Maybe this conversation with Charles was worth the punishment. 

Under the table, she felt his fingers brush against hers. "Hey," he said in a low voice, just loud enough for her to hear. "You wanna get out of here?"

She was apprehensive. "My boss will kill me. This dinner is important."

"I'll tell people you went home sick. Ferrari isn't gonna drop the sponsor, trust me. This is all for show, I've been to enough of them to know."

She gave him a look. "You'll get me fired."

He leaned in close enough for her to smell his aftershave. The scent was nice, musky and intoxicating. "I'll put in a good word for you. I know this spot, not far from here. I promise you'll have more fun with me than you would ever have at this dinner party."

Penelope considered her options. On one hand, her job was important to her. If she upset the studio, she'd be blacklisted at the top of her career. But on the other...

"Let's go," she whispered, "before I change my mind."

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