“Something like that, yes.”
Lucia’s dimpled smile should have been illegal.
~ ~ ~
Penelope didn’t appreciate being called in like a servant, and the mood shift from her outing with Lucia to being summoned to Valentina’s mansion a day later chased ire through her bloodstream.
Her heels clacked on the smooth marble floor as she followed Valentina’s… what? Butler? Henchman?
He halted in front of a set of French doors and knocked.
“Come in.”
He stepped inside. “Dr.Blackwell is here to see you, Ms.Varnelli.”
“Thank you, Chester. Send her inside.”
Penelope rolled her eyes and entered. “You wanted to see me?”
“Yes. Sit down, my good doctor.”
“I prefer to stand.”
A small smile spread over Valentina’s lips—delicate like a high-society lady sipping champagne. But when you looked closer, the steel shimmered beneath her sculpted cheekbones. Her skin was as pale as a ghost, though once she entered your life, she was anything but an apparition.
Valentina held herself with an almost aristocratic poise, as if she was used to people serving her, cowering before her.
True enough, considering her spiderweb empire seemed to reach everywhere.
Too bad Penelope’s father hadn’t been more thorough in his research before tangling with this rattlesnake.
“Of course you do.” Valentina rose and crossed to the front of her desk, leaning against its polished edge.
“What’s this about? I am a busy woman, and I’d appreciate it if you didn’t waste my time.”
“I heard alostBellini has caused quite a stir and that your lovely new director wants it to shine during the upcoming ball.”
Penelope stilled for a beat. Who was leaking this? There’d been no official release about the Bellini. The testing was in its final rounds and so far, nothing had raised alarms. Then again, it shouldn’t surprise her that Valentina’s Eris Group had insiders at the Meridian.
“Nothing has been decided yet.”
“Much like with myMadonna?”
She said nothing.
Valentina sighed. “Have you informed your people about the…discrepancies you’ve discovered?”
“No.”
“Good girl.”
Penelope gritted her teeth, barely stopping herself from spinning on her heel and slamming the door behind her.
“I’d hate for you to follow in your father’s footsteps. Suchnoblemen rarely survive long in our world.”
And there it was, the threat Penelope had been waiting for.
“You meanyourworld, and don’t worry about my father. You’ve done enough damage there.”
