Falling for You (Stefanielle)

Chapter 1

It was 8 in the morning, Seattle time, and Danielle was fast asleep in her bed. Her house remained silent, other than her phone alarm which had been going off for 10 minutes now. Suddenly, one of her roommates barged in her room without a warning.

"Danielle! Please shut that thing up!" Jaina said, still half asleep. "Danielle?"

Jaina noticed her best friend was still sound asleep without a care in the world. This was a problem, considering she was supposed to be getting ready for work right now. She walked over to Danielle's bed and began to gently shake the blonde.

"Danielle!" Jaina shouted since the shaking wasn't working. "Wake up!"

"Mmmmm, 5 more minutes," Danielle slowly mumbled as she buried her face into her pillow.

"No more minutes!" Get up, you're late," the brunette said while shaking the blonde even more.

As soon as those words came out of Jaina's mouth, Danielle's head shot up and she looked at her phone. "Oh shit! No, no, no... I can't be late." Danielle removed the covers off herself and jumped out of bed. "I have so many meetings today."

Jaina stood in Danielle's room and shook her head while laughing at her friend. "Well then, you better get ready quickly."

Danielle quickly brushed her teeth, changed her clothes, and put on minimal makeup since she was in a rush. The blonde opted for a fitted white crewneck dress that showed off her toned, muscular legs which were the result of her working out every day. She pulled her hair up and put on some heels, then headed downstairs to grab her purse and head out the door.

Coffee was a huge part of Danielle's morning routine before work; her caffeine fix was non-negotiable. Even though she was running a little behind, her mood would be much better if she had some caffeine. One of her favorite coffee shops was on the way, so she placed a mobile order then sped there in hopes of making up some time. Danielle parked her car and quickly walked to the entrance.

She looked down at the door handle and quickly flung the door open and made her way to the counter. She was so focused on getting her coffee that she was completely oblivious of her surroundings. A woman was walking towards Danielle with her head down looking at her phone, and her other hand had a drink carrier with 4 coffees in it. Before Danielle knew it, they suddenly slammed into one another, which caused the coffee to spill all over the other woman. The brunette was drenched in coffee, and she blinked in surprise as the liquid dripped from her hair and down her white shirt.

"You're kidding me!" The woman said as her jaw dropped. Her eyes were as wide as could be.

Danielle's eyes were open wide, and her jaw dropped. She felt like she was frozen and couldn't get any words out. "I- I am... So sorry."

"Maybe watch where you're going next time?" Said the woman loudly with an angry expression.

Danielle bristled at the dismissive tone and responded with a raised eyebrow. "Maybe you should keep your eyes up next time?"

"I can't believe your carelessness just ruined my entire morning!" The woman shot back. They were now beginning to make a scene in the coffee shop.

Danielle's eyes flashed with irritation. "My carelessness? You were too busy on your phone to notice anyone around you!"

"I don't have time for this, I have to get to work," said the woman as she motioned her hands at her wet shirt. Her urgency to get to work added an extra layer of tension to the already heated situation.

"Look, I'm really sorry. How about I buy you more drinks? It's the least I can do."

"You've already done enough. Now, if you don't mind," the woman said as she glared at Danielle then stormed off.

Danielle watched the brunette woman angrily walk to her car. "The audacity of some people."

The blonde went up to the counter and picked up her coffee, then got back on the road to work.

......

The blonde took a deep breath as she pulled into her office's parking lot. Despite her eventful morning, her coffee had vastly improved her mood. She pulled down the sun visor to reveal a small mirror and puckered her lips together to apply some lipstick before going in. Danielle jumped and felt her heart skip a beat when somebody tapped on her window.

The blonde rolled down her window to see her friend Jay cracking up outside. "I hate you! I'm not in the mood today."

"Sorry I couldn't help myself," Jay paused to let out another laugh. "Who are you getting all fixed up for?"

"Haven't you seen a girl put lipstick on before?"

"Yes, but you don't wear it often. Unless it's for a special occasion... Or a pretty lady."

Danielle shook her head and chuckled at her friend. "Let's walk in together." She shut her car off and grabbed her purse from the passenger seat. "How's your morning going? Better than mine I hope?"

"Can't complain. Is yours off to a bad start?"

"Something like that," Danielle paused to lock her car. "But I think I'm meeting a coworker from our Italy branch that I'll be working with when I'm over there. So, I have that to look forward to."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, but I've heard Italian women can be intimidating. So, we'll see."

Jay opened the main door to Grey Sloan International and held it for Danielle to walk through. She walked through, her heels making a clacking sound on the marble floor.

"Thanks Jay."

"Of course. I'll catch you later, good luck with your meetings!"

"Thanks, I'll see you later."

As the blonde made her way to the elevator, she passed by the office receptionist, Kim.

"Danielle!" Kim motioned with her hands for Danielle to come over to her.

"Hi Kim," Danielle said with a worried facial expression. She couldn't seem to shake off the frustration from her encounter with the coffee shop stranger.

"Are you okay?" Kim said genuinely with a concerned look on her face.

"I'm okay. It's just been a morning," Danielle said with a sigh.

"I'm sorry, I hope it gets better. I wanted to let you know that your meeting with Patrick got moved to 9:30 this morning," she said before pausing to think for a moment. "Oh! Stefania is here, I think she is joining you and Patrick for your first meeting. She's running around here somewhere in the building, you'll love her."

"Awesome, Yes Patrick did mention that. Looking forward to it. Well, hope you have a nice day, Kim," Danielle said as she began walking away from the desk.

The blonde pulled out her phone and began answering a text as she walked to the elevator. When she looked up, the doors were beginning to close, meaning it was about to go up.

"Wait, hold the door please!" The blonde shouted as she ran up to the elevator and stuck her arm in between the doors, which were nearly closed. "Thanks."

The doors momentarily paused, then began to open. Danielle's jaw dropped, and her eyes opened wide. The woman she had run into at the coffee shop was now standing right in front of her. Danielle's mouth opened and she was too stunned to speak.

"Oh no. No, no, no. You work here?" said the brunette woman, who suddenly appeared to be flustered.

"You must be Stefania..." Danielle momentarily paused, then got into the elevator and hit the 10th floor button.

The brunette woman looked down and slowly nodded her head. "Sí, and you are... Danielle?" 

A/N: Hello all! I have decided to start fresh on this book. I just wasn't happy with it, so I decided to make some revisions. It will basically be the same storyline, but I did some fine tuning. I promise I am going to update more regularly now that I am feeling motivated to write again. As always, please comment your thoughts/feedback below! I hope you are all doing well! Xoxoxo