Title: Another day
Author: Omorocco
Rating: G, except for some minor reference to Daniel's smutty dreams.
Authors Notes: It doesn't particularly go anywhere, but that's what you get with an Omorocco story – sad to say. Third story I've posted – might be the only one I've left up though (?), go easy on me I know I'm crap. Do I have to put the rating up because I just swore? Gonna post this before I get the chance to talk myself out of it.
Rating: PG
Summary: Just another day, in the life of the Editor in Chief and his Assistant. Daniel/Betty Friendship.
Disclaimer: I don't own Ugly Betty, Albus Dumbledore, or the rights to any major Cheese or Cheese Sandwich companies.
She is the woman he wakes up beside.
When Amanda arrived that morning, Betty's desk was a mess of back issues, memos, photograph proofs, article drafts for the upcoming issue and take out food. If Amanda had taken the time to collate the facts, that:
1. Betty never left her desk in such a state of disarray at the end of the day.
2. That the orange Knit cardigan Betty had been wearing the day before was still hung over the back of her office chair.
3. That upon arrival promptly at seven am, Betty would faithfully man her desk, organizing Daniel's day until he arrived at seven thirty. It was five past seven, Betty was not at her desk.
4.And despite the bright sunshine spilling through the windows, the desk lamps both at Betty's desk and in Daniel's office were still on from the night before.
Then she might have thought that perhaps something was amiss – not that she would have cared.
As it was Amanda didn't notice anything, except the 'gross' fact that Betty had once again been eating Carbs – deep-fried carbs at that. Before she grabbed her nail file from her own desk drawer, and trotted off to the break room for a no fat drip latte.
Beyond Betty's 'work pit' of a desk, across several feet of expensive carpeting, and through the glass doors to Daniel Meade's office, a similar – if much more ambitious display of hard work, research and fast food had sprung up over night. It had taken the two sole occupants of this office till 4.37am that morning to work through it, but they had finally pieced together a working proposal for Mode's 15th Anniversary edition. One they had so well researched, and planned, not even Wilhelmina would be able to refute its merit. This proposal, half typed, half scribbled on note paper, and awaiting one final proofread and a reprinting, was now clutched protectively in the arms of Daniel Meade, who slept stretched out on his Office couch.
In the armchair across from him, Betty Suarez was curled up, note pad and pen dangling limply from her hand, she had fallen asleep at almost five am, when she had still been taking notes from a hazy and yawning Daniel, about who needed to be contacted and what needed to be done, before the board meeting at two o'clock that afternoon. If she had been alert enough to register the words she was writing, the Assistant might have thought it odd, that Daniel had sleepily asked her to make sure Albus Dumbledore could make it down from accounting, and to remind him to bring the cheese sandwiches.
As the beautiful men and women that made up Mode's payroll, filtered in for the day, the sounds of an office coming to life, could be heard – Computers whirring as they powered up and chimed welcome's, gossipy conversation as work stations were set up, the slamming of file cabinets, and the almost constant ring, signalling the first incoming calls of the day. It was these increasingly loud sounds that finally dragged Mode's Editor in Chief and his Personal Assistant, from their well-earned rest.
Daniel opened his eyes slowly, registering the familiar white of his office ceiling, and the hard couch beneath him – chosen more for it's fashionable style, then a comfortable place for guests to sit. Watching the ceiling still, he tried to remember the dream he had just been having about Miss Tuesday – or was it Miss Wednesday? But, hearing the slight moan of someone desperately not wanting to wake up, he turned his head slightly, to see Betty just begin to sit up, from where she had been uncomfortably scrunched in an armchair.
"Good morning, Betty." He said.
Betty looked around, only just registering where she had woken up. "Morning, Daniel. I guess neither of us made it home last night, huh?"
"Nope." Daniel muttered, absentmindedly stroking their ratty looking proposal lovingly. "But at least now we have time to relax, before the meeting."
Betty checked her watch, "I don't think so, we're both already late for work."
"How can we be late," Daniel protested grumpily "We never even left – if anything we're WAY early." He pouted unhappily, 'still not a morning person' Betty thought to herself. "And we only got like three hours of sleep."
Standing up and stretching the kinks out of her arms and back, Betty mentally prepared herself for a long day. "I'll push your ten o'clock back to eleven, and you can sleep for a while longer. I'll set everything up for the board meeting, don't worry." She added as an afterthought "And I'll have someone pick you up a fresh suit too."
Betty stepped to Daniel's side, and held out her hands Daniel just stared at her as if she were mad. She sighed, and reached for the proposal trying to pull it from his arms, he stubbornly wouldn't let go of the document he had slaved over.
"You know I need to type that up and make copies before two." Betty said patiently, Daniel reluctantly let it be pulled from his grasp.
Betty walked to the door and switched off the lights, she was about to leave when Daniel quickly spoke up. "Remember to use a paperweight, if someone turns on the air conditioning-!"
"Don't worry Daniel, I'll guard it with my life, everything will be fine." She closed the door behind her.
Daniel lay down, trying to calm his fatigue addled, caffeine deprived mind – 'if Betty said it would be fine, it would be' – and secure in this thought, he drifted back to sleep, and a dream about Miss Tuesday, and Miss Wednesday.
At twelve, Betty came in with Daniel's lunch on a tray – he had decided to stay in to eat, and get some work done, after his meeting was over. If truth be told, he was feeling guilty for sleeping in while Betty, who had worked just as hard, and probably harder than he had, had gone straight back to work, confirming the meeting with all of the department heads, having all of the necessary finance estimates sent from accounting, and the myriad of other tasks necessary to make his ideas work.
"How're we doing out there?" He asked.
"Great, I just have another ten pages left to type of the proposal, and you're set." She said smiling her wide Betty smile, with braces sparkling in the light.
"Great. Did you call your Dad yet, and let him know you're ok."
She half-heartedly rolled her eyes, more amused than anything. "Yes, Daniel."
"You might want to call him again, and tell him you're coming home for lunch."
"I don't have a long enough break to go home for lunch."
Daniel studied the layout on his desk intently. "Then you better take an extra hour."
"Wha… but, t-the proposal?" said Betty.
"I'll have Amanda finish typing it." He said, finally looking up. At the surprised look on her face, he added cheerily, "Don't worry the computers have spell check."
Betty frowned at his mean joke; Amanda might have been, rude, arrogant, mean, and far too interested in herself… Wait what was her point again?
But Daniel was he just trying to get her out of the way again, trying to keep unfashionable Betty from ruining the new look he was trying to pitch for Mode? She didn't want to ruin his chances, but it still hurt, it always did.
And now she was frowning for a different reason.
And Daniel was talking again, "…to thankyou, for everything, Betty. I couldn't have done all of this without you… I don't think I could've managed this last year without you. So go home, take a break, maybe change into something that you didn't wear yesterday, and I'll see you back here at quarter to two for the meeting."
Betty smiled again, pleased for his praise, and pleased that he wanted her around still. "Wow, thanks Daniel… I'll see you later then." She practically skipped out of his office, and Daniel couldn't help but smile, he couldn't be such a terrible boss, if he could still make Betty grin like that. The Meade heir returned to his work.
"One last thing…" Daniel looked up to see Betty's head poking around his doorframe. "I called Albus Dumbledore in Accounting, he can't make it to the meeting – something about 'The Dark Ledger', but he said he'd conjure up those Cheese sandwiches for you."
And she was gone again, leaving Daniel wondering, at the totally irrepressible, totally charming oddness that was Betty Suarez, and the familiar ring of those last words.