The Pilot

Chapter Twelve

Of course D, If that's what you want...

Danielle got back in to the Lincoln and made her way back towards North Bay Business Plaza. She couldn't stop smiling. It was so nice to see Andrew and she couldn't wait for dinner tonight. She just hoped that Stefania wouldn't need to be driven anywhere at that point.

Just over 30 minutes later she arrived back at the main entrance and sent Stefania a text to say she'd arrived. As she waited she decided to scroll through Instagram. Maybe she should check out Stefania's page. She was mesmerized by the beauty on her screen. Stefania had lots of photos ranging from travel to home renovation and hobbies. She also had LOADS of photos where she was in bikinis that left little to the imagination. Danielle was captivated by the images. She was so lost in them that she got the fright of her life when Stefania tapped the glass window signalling that she had arrived at the car. 

Danielle jumped at the sound, quickly locking her phone screen when she saw the Italian goddess standing there looking at her, not before Stefania had been able to catch a glimpse of the phone's contents though. Danielle couldn't help the blush rising on her cheeks as she got out to open the back door for her boss. "Grazie, Bella" Stefania smirked, climbing in to the back of the car. Danielle made her way back to the driver's seat. "So, where to now then?" She asked.

"Ah well, I am very hungry so I wondered if you maybe wanted to get some lunch with me before my meeting this afternoon?" Stefania stated. "Um, yeah sure. I guess we can do that." Danielle spoke. "What is it Danielle? You sound confused." "Well did you not say earlier that you had a lunch date? I'm not sure I really want to be 3rd wheeling" Danielle sighed, still feeling a bit weird about the thought of Stefania having a date. Stefania smiled hearing the hint of attitude in Danielle's voice. She wasn't quite sure how to read it but she kind of liked it. "No Bella, I didn't mean a DATE date. It was supposed to be a working lunch with a couple of people to try and build business networks but they had to cancel. So I'm all yours, Bambina" she said biting on her bottom lip slightly. "Oh well in that case, then, yes I'd love to go for lunch" Danielle laughed. "Where do you want to go?" she looked at Stefania in the mirror. Stefania locked eyes with her and just shrugged "I don't mind Danielle. You know this city better than me, you choose" She smiled. 

"How do you feel about Mexican? There's a fantastic little place just about 10 minutes from here." "Sounds great Bella, let's go." Just under 10 minutes later they arrived and made their way inside. They found a table through the back where it was a bit quieter. The waiter took their order and returned with drinks for them both. A few minutes later he was back with their food. Stefania laughed when she saw the mountain of food Danielle had. "What?" Danielle giggled. "I told you I'd have a big lunch" A silence fell between them as they were eating. It was a comfortable silence though with each woman stealing glances at the other. Danielle was the first to break the silence. "So, how was the meeting at North Bay then?" she asked. "Si, it was productive. Although I will probably have to come back in another few weeks. What about you? How did you fill your time?" "Oh, I didn't get up to much. Just drove about for a bit taking in the sights and then I grabbed a coffee" Danielle thought it wise not to say anything about the bar until she knew the full story from Andrew. 

They finished their food in silence again although this time it wasn't a comfortable silence. Danielle could sense that Stefania's demeanor had changed but she wasn't sure why. Stefania on the other hand was inwardly seething. She wondered what Danielle was trying to hide by not mentioning this Andrew she'd heard the blonde talking to when she called her. They finished eating and made their way back to the car. Danielle held the door open for Stefania who just gave a small nod and a tight lipped smile in return. Climbing back into the driver's seat, Danielle couldn't understand what was wrong but she let it go. "So where am I taking you now then?" she asked. "Just back to the hotel. My next meeting is actually in the conference room there." the brunette responded without lifting her eyes from her laptop. It would take about 45 minutes to get there and Danielle couldn't cope with the frosty atmosphere so she turned on the radio to try and ease the tension. She started to sing along but was startled by the voice coming from the back of the car. "Danielle please, I am trying to concentrate! Dio, mi stai facendo impazzire!" Stefania yelled. "Ok, right sorry, I'll turn it off" Danielle replied almost at a whisper. "I'm making her crazy?! I'm not the one blowing hot and cold with her" Danielle thought.

They continued the journey with the clicking of Stefania's keyboard being the only sound to be heard. Just then Danielle's phone pinged with a text message. "Would you like me to check that for you as you're driving?" She heard the brunette ask. "No thank you. It won't be important. I'll get it when we get to the hotel" she replied trying to remain polite. Stefania let out a deep breath "Danielle, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have yelled at you. I have a lot going on. There's a lot riding on my time here in Seattle. I can't afford to be distracted. But that's no excuse for yelling. I apologise.""OK" was all the blonde replied accompanied with a nod. 

Not long after they arrived back at the hotel. Danielle handed the keys back over to the valet to park the car. The two women made their way inside and got into the elevator. "What floor is the conference room on?" Danielle asked feeling the brunette's eyes on her. "Oh it's on the tenth floor but I've still got about 30 minutes until my meeting so I'm going to go back to the room for a bit." Stefania replied. "MmmHmm" Danielle replied as she pressed the button for floor twenty three. She could still feel Stefania's gaze burning the side of her head. They got off the elevator and arrived at the room. Danielle entering first and going straight to the bathroom. She shut the door and started to change. She needed to go for a run. She needed to escape the awkward tension that hung in the air between her and Stefania. She checked her phone and read the text from Andrew. "Aloha D. I wasn't sure where you were staying but I decided to book a table at Carter's for 7:30pm. Wasn't sure what you'd fancy but they do pizza, steak, seafood etc. It's one of my favourite places and it's fairly central. See you there x"  

"That's perfect. Going to head for a quick run just now but send me the address and I'll see you there x"  She replied. She quickly changed and left the bathroom again. 

Stefania took one look at Danielle as she came out the bathroom and she wanted to take her there and then. She couldn't believe how good she looked with her gym gear hugging her body in all the right places. She could clearly see every muscle in her arms, her body, her legs and her ass... those shorts really made her ass look phenomenal. What she wouldn't give to have those arms wrapped around her neck, those legs around her waist and her hands grabbing that perfect little butt whilst trailing kisses up and down that beautifully toned neck...

She was knocked from her fantasy by Danielle asking "I'm going for a run as I guess you don't need me for the rest of the day?" "Oh, ho bisogno che tu stia bene. Ho bisogno che tu mi scopi finché non riesco a ricordare il mio nome!" Stefania replied biting her bottom lip. Danielle felt her breath hitch in her throat at this revelation from her boss. She still didn't let on that she was fluent in Italian though. She just stood there waiting for a response in english this time although she was trying hard to keep the butterflies in her stomach at bay and the smirk off her lips. "Stefania? In English please." Stefania shook her head bringing herself back to reality, "Oh, no, you're good. Enjoy your run. See you later." 

Danielle gave her a smile whilst grabbing her airpods and heading out the door. Stefania waited until the door was shut and then flopped back on to the bed. "Forza Stefania. Tirati su. Non sarebbe una buona idea. Lei e la tua dipendente!" she muttered. Meanwhile on the other side, there was Danielle leaning against the dark mahogany of the shut door. "What was that?" She asked herself. She stood there for a few seconds with her hand on the door handle contemplating going back in to grant her boss' wishes. "Ugh, Danielle, you can't she's your boss. That's really not a good idea. Just go and run that idea out of your system!" She told herself. She tore herself away from the door and made her way out of the hotel.

A/N - there's a fair bit of Italian in this chapter. Just to make you aware, I'm not going to put the English translation in. Sorry. You'll have to translate it yourself I'm afraid. Lol.