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AS SOON as Penelope walks in the door that morning, Stella notes that something is different. She seems as though her mind is elsewhere and as soon as she walks past Derek, it's obvious.
"Good morning, Princess," he greets as usual.
"Good morning," Penelope replies. Stella looks up from her paperwork and wanders over, taking her now-full coffee cup from Derek.
"Pump your brakes," he says to the rapidly retreating ray of sunshine. He beckons her with his finger and Stella surveys her with interest. She takes a reluctant few steps back towards Derek, her face knowing that she's been caught by the two of them.
"Every day he says good morning," Stella comments, eyebrow raised. "Every day you say, 'I'll show you a good morning, hot stuff'. It's the highlight of my morning. What is it?"
"I hate profilers, did you know that?" she hums, flicking a bit of lint off of Derek's shirt and looking Stella up and down. "She can show up in that shirt and not be asked? Looking hot, sunshine."
Stella's cheeks darken slightly, but she doesn't let Penelope deter her. "Oh, c'mon! Spill," she begs.
"Spit it out," Derek agrees. "I've already interrogated her about her shirt and I got nothing."
"Fine," Penelope relents. "I met a guy."
"You did what?" Derek asks as Stella gasps excitedly. "Where?"
"Coffee shop," she answers. She looks towards Stella as she asserts that he's 'smoking hot', "I fixed his computer, and then he asked for my number."
"And you just—"
"Gave it to him," Penelope nods. "Can you believe that? A complete stranger. Did I mention he was smoking hot?"
"Penelope making moves," Stella nods approvingly.
"Yeah, yeah, I think you did mention that," Derek says. "Okay, it happens."
"No, it doesn't," Penelope disagrees. "Not to me, not like this."
"Not like what?"
"I'm not the kind of girl that men see across a smoky bar and write songs about," she says.
"Sweetheart—" Derek starts as Stella furrows her eyebrows slightly.
