Walking into her office, Stella sighed, tossing her jacket onto one of the chairs that faced her desk. Things were getting ridiculous, and she knew that if she didn't put a stop to them now, they were only going to get worse.
The thing of it was, she was ashamed of herself. Stella was the kind of woman who prided herself on being professional, controlled, and logical. She didn't let her personal issues intrude on her work.
But today she had.
88888888888888888888888
"You
better watch it," Flack joked. "Those guys over there are
checkin' you out." Angell laughed. "You jealous,
Don?" He looked over at the teenage boys standing on the
other side of the police tape and scoffed. "I ain't got nothin'
to worry about." Stella had only caught the end of their
exchange as she walked over, but something inside of her snapped.
Putting on her gloves and opening her kit, she knelt by the body,
keeping her eyes locked on the corpse as she spoke. "Looks
like the vic's purse is missing. Angell, why don't you take a couple
of uniforms and check the dumpsters?" The younger
detective grimaced. "I had dumpster duty last time. Why can't
Flack do it?" Stella sighed, looking up at the woman and
fixing her with a steely glare. "Because I need Flack to
interview those boys over there to find out what they saw. And since
they're busy ogling you, I'm not sure we'll get anything useful if
you question them." Angell held up her hands in defeat.
"Fine. I'll grab Morris and Clement." Stella
couldn't help the triumphant feeling that rose in her chest as the
other woman headed off toward the
dumpsters.
She knew why she had done it - she was jealous. She was jealous of the fact that Flack flirted with Angell every chance that he got, and that the female detective was so responsive to it. Stella didn't think they were seeing each other, but she was sure that it was only a matter of time. Sighing again, she let her head drop into her hands. When had this happened? When had she fallen so hard for Don Flack that she banished other women - people she worked with and respected - to dumpster duty?
Enough was enough. She couldn't sit around, mooning after one of her coworkers, no matter how charming he was, or how adorable his smile could be. She needed to get over him, and that was the end of it. Then she could get on with her life, and forget all about -
"Hey, Stell."
She had been so wrapped up in her thoughts that she hadn't heard him knock on her door. Staring up at him in surprise, she struggled for something to say in return.
"Hey."
Flack came the rest of the way into her office, shutting the door gently behind him before moving over to her desk.
"You okay?"
Stella stood up, suddenly all too aware of how close he was. "What? Of course, I'm -"
He reached out, touching her face softly and cutting off her speech. "You been snappin' at people all day, Stell. What's wrong?"
She finally met his eyes, giving him a small smile even as her stomach did flip-flops at his touch. "It's nothing," she told him. "I was just in a bad mood, and I was feeling childish, so I took it out on everyone else."
He searched her eyes. "You sure?"
Her smile widened. "I'm sure, Don."
He nodded, and then leaned over, kissing her on the cheek. "I'm here if you need me," he whispered.
Flashing her one of his smiles - although now she was wondering if he ever smiled that way at Angell, or if that was one he saved just for her - he turned and walked out of the office. Stella just stood there for a few moments, her heart still beating quickly.
Oh yes - she most definitely had to get over him.
Tomorrow.