AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is just a short drabble that I came up with when trying to figure out something holiday related to write for a Christmas challenge. I kind of got stuck on it, so I ditched it, but thought I'd share anyway. I'll leave it as "in-progress" for a while in case I come up with anything interesting to follow it up with.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Ugly Betty, its characters, or any ideas, concepts, or names originating from the ABC show.
"Hey, Daniel, I'm heading out to the holiday party. See you in bit?" Betty poked her head into Daniel's office.
"Yeah," he looked up at her just briefly then turned his attention back to his laptop. "Hey, I'm almost done here. You want to just wait share a ride there? It'll just be a few minutes."
Betty shrugged and made herself comfortable on his chaise lounge. "Sure. It would probably be a little less awkward walking in with someone anyway."
Daniel paused his manic typing and looked at Betty curiously. "Where's Matt? Aren't you two sort of together again?"
"I guess you can say that. Yes. Yes, we are. But it just didn't seem right to rub it in Amanda's face after the Bahamas. So we decided we'd just fly low on the radar." She gestured towards his computer to remind him he needed to finish what he was working on.
Daniel graciously broke eye contact with Betty and stared blankly at his screen. "Oh, I think Amanda will be fine. I'm sure she's bounced back. Found someone better, perhaps," he responded nervously.
"Really? Have you heard about another guy?" Betty sat up with interest.
Daniel turned the sides of his mouth downward to imply to Betty that he didn't know without having to lie to her out loud. She always had a way of catching every involuntary blink, flinch, or change in tone that betrayed him.
"That's seems a bit fast… even for Amanda. You think she met someone in the Bahamas?" Betty continued to gaze thoughtfully out the window. "Well, that would have just been a meaningless, rebound fling and it's not like that hypothetical guy would be here in New York, so if she was seeing someone, then it couldn't have been from the Bahamas, could it? What makes you think she even has someone else now?"
"Why are you even thinking this hard about Amanda's love life? Don't you think you should focus on your own blossoming relationship?" Daniel asked, peering up at her over the screen.
"I suppose," Betty conceded. "I guess I just feel like that whole triangle with Matt, Amanda, and me is such a fragile situation still. Part of me wonders who was the one to break it off."
"Why would that be an issue?"
"I haven't had the nerve to ask Matt why he came back to me that night. Like, did he suddenly realize he wanted to be with me again or did Amanda break it off with him?" Betty picked at the lint on her pencil skirt.
Daniel had pushed aside his computer to give Betty his undivided attention. "Does it matter? At the end of the day, he came looking for you, right?"
"Well, it's just that… I have a hard time believing someone like Matt would choose someone like me over someone like Amanda."
"And who do you think all these 'someones' are?" he probed.
Betty rolled her eyes and gave Daniel and embarrassed smile. "Oh, you know, the 'hot billionaire former-playboy' with the pick of the litter liking the 'awkward, fashion-challenged dork' that I am over the 'size zero, blonde bombshell' that Amanda is."
Daniel shut his computer and walked to where Betty was sitting. He took a seat next to her and placed a supportive hand on her knee. "Speaking as a 'hot billion – well, millionaire - former playboy' myself… don't give me that look, lots of women think I'm hot!" Betty snorted with laughter. "You're beautiful, Betty – inside and out. Maybe working at Mode makes you a little hyper-aware of your fashion faux pas, but I think it's what makes you unique and interesting." Daniel leaned in closer to Betty, pressing his shoulder to hers. "You didn't hear this from me, but no fashion magazine can tell you that men find confidence and a smile are the sexiest things a woman can wear. And this thing you call 'dorky', I consider 'a good sense of humor'. And those are all qualities that you have that any real man would love. And besides, I've seen the tags on her clothes. Amanda's a size 2 now."
Betty eyed him suspiciously triggering Daniel to realize the slip he had just made.
"How do…" she began to ask.
"We should really get going to the Plaza for the Christmas party. I'm sure everyone is going to wonder where we are!" Daniel quickly interrupted. He grabbed Betty's purse from the floor and hung it on her arm then grabbed his coat from the hook before he whisked Betty out of the office.