Daniel was nervous.
He was sitting at the desk in his room at London's Ritz Hotel, having prepared for his dinner date with Betty. His outfit, meticulous. His cologne, understated. His nerves? In overdrive.
Daniel was comfortable as could be with Betty. That is, the Betty he had come to know, the cute, earnest, dedicated Meade employee and very dear friend. Betty, however, had undergone a metamorphosis before his eyes in the past year - she now embodied the image of the confident businesswoman she'd aspired to when she first came to work for him. This Betty had him mixed up inside, reassessing his notions about her, their friendship and processing the one feeling that cut through everything else: he wanted, needed her in his life.
Betty was meeting him at the restaurant downstairs in a half hour, a fact he noted by looking at his watch for the umpteenth time. His right leg bounced rapidly and his fingers drummed on the desk, as he stared absently into space, replaying the events of the day in his head.
He'd felt a little like a stalker, hanging outside her office building waiting for her to emerge. She was striding along, confidently, radiantly and it took his breath away a little. He hadn't seen her in a month. She was fully engaged in her cellphone conversation when she crashed full steam into him. Well, he had placed himself in her path...
"Daniel!" she exclaimed. Her face flickered surprised recognition, then almost immediately closed down in guarded apprehension. He winced inwardly, even as he grinned sheepishly. I deserve that, he thought.
"I'll call you back, Hilda," she said. "Yes, that Daniel... okay... oKAY... bye, Hilda!" she ended on an exaggerated note and ended the call.
"Hi, Betty. It's great to see you," he said.
"Likewise," she said, crisply, guard still up. She was not smiling. He'd hurt her by not saying goodbye when she left New York. "Here on business?"
"Not exactly. I resigned from Mode last week. Wilhelmena is Editor-in-Chief now."
Her eyes widened. "What? Why?" she said, her anger forgotten.
"Can we grab a coffee? I'll fill you in," he said.
"I only have a minute, I'm on my way out to a meeting. Let's sit over here..."
He'd explained what happened and why, all the while taking in the new glasses, the new clothing, the new attitude radiating off of Betty. She relaxed as they talked and smiled after he apologized. She seemed pleased when he said he'd be sticking around London a while, and she smiled shyly at his invitation to dinner, but hopped up when the bell tower rang, needing to hurry off to her appointment.
On the landing below, she whirled around and beamed in his direction. The butterflies flitted in his belly intensely and he smiled widely in return. He watched the crimson of her coat disappear into the crowd, then turned and headed back to his hotel, a bounce in his step.
Quarter to eight.
Maybe I'll head on down for a drink before she gets here. He grabbed his room key and his wallet, started to pick up his cell phone and thought the better of it. No interruptions. He plugged the phone back into its charger on the desk and headed out the door.
Betty sat at the restaurant bar, one toe tapping on her barstool railing. She had taken off work early that day, a first since she had taken on the massive endeavor of launching a magazine. It was typical for her to be returning emails back at her flat, well into the evening hours.
It wasn't the least bit exhausting, as this job was her dream and she was well prepared for the challenge. She relied her years and years of binders brimming with ideas, not to mention her copious notes from her time at Mode. Being an assistant to the editor-in-chief, then junior features editor had put Betty in a unique position to educate herself in how each department operated, and she had used her time wisely. She had journal upon journal of lessons learned on marketing, advertising, revenue streams, print production, circulation and human resources.
She'd not had much of a social life since her move, but she didn't expect one either. She didn't want any distractions with the magazine's launch only three short months away.
But seeing Daniel today... Betty smiled a little as she took a sip of her cocktail. She hadn't allowed herself to think about how much she'd missed him. And Betty didn't dare let herself dwell on what Claire Meade said to her at her going away party... she had to have been teasing. Though she wasn't one to tease... not about that. Claire knew how hard things were between her and Daniel at the time. She had to be mistaken, yeah, that's it. Just a misunderstanding. This wasn't the first time Betty had rationalized all this in her head. Daniel couldn't be interested in her. And she hadn't allowed herself to look upon her boss and friend through a lens of anything more than...
"Betty?"
She turned. There stood Daniel, smiling and openly admiring her appearance. Betty had worn a simple blue sleeveless shift, her hair loose and full about her shoulders. She tamped down the little thrill that went up her spine from the welcome flirtation and took another sip of her drink. "You look wonderful," he said.
"Not so bad yourself, Mr. Meade," she playfully countered, looking Daniel over in a sharp dark suit and an emerald tie. She put out her arm and Daniel slid into a quick hug and then onto the barstool next to her. He motioned for the bartender and ordered himself a vodka on the rocks. "Another for you?" he asked.
"No, I'm good for now."
"So tell me all about the job," he said brightly. Betty relaxed. It's just Daniel, she thought. She launched into an animated description of what it was like working with a start-up, the trials and tribulations of staffing, getting to know her way around London, getting used to British colloquialisms. "In a way," she observed, "I'm a fish out of water as much as when I arrived at Mode."
"Oh, I don't believe that for a second," Daniel said. They were seated at their table now, sipping a lovely Cabernet and were well into their entrees. He'd been quiet mostly, taking her all in and letting her bombard him with her boundless enthusiasm and her excitement about the challenges ahead of her. He was almost jealous, wishing he had something he was that passionate about. Besides the obvious, he thought.
"Jeez, listen to me go on and on," she said. "Tell me how Wilhelmina took the news that you were stepping down. And how was your mom with all of this?"
"You know with all that Botox in her face, I still think Wilhelmina managed something approximating actual emotion on her face when I told her," Daniel said. They both laughed and continued on chatting through dessert and coffee. He filled her in on the past month's goings on with Tyler, his mom and Alexis, regaled Betty with Amanda's joy at finding her father, and woe at being banned from the Meade building due to her sticky fingers, and how Marc seemed to be filling the shoes of the diva herself as the defacto Creative Director. Willie was going to hold that carrot out to him a good long while before she gave in and awarded Marc the position in an official capacity.
It was almost 10:30, but it was Friday and Daniel didn't want the night to end quite yet. "So what are your plans for tomorrow," he asked. "I don't want to keep you out too late, but I am so full right now, I was thinking about taking a little walk."
"I'd like that," Betty smiled. "It's a little chilly but I checked my coat; I just need to go grab it."
"Mine is up in my room," said Daniel. "Come with me to get it?"
"Sure."
Calm down, Meade. Don't get any ideas, Daniel thought.
They rode up silently in the elevator walked down the hall and into Daniel's suite.
"This is gorgeous," Betty said. She made a beeline to the window to see the view. "You know, I haven't done much sightseeing, I've been so busy at work."
"Didn't you get to check out the sights when you were here for Fashion Week and Hilda's bachelorette party?" Daniel asked.
"Not much," Betty said. "I saw the river and the Eye but I was walking and arguing with Gio the one chance I got to walk around."
"Ah," said Daniel. "Well, I'm ready if you want to head out."
Betty pushed open the door to the balcony and stood outside staring at the street below. Daniel removed his coat and stepped out on the balcony next to her, placing his coat around her shoulders as he did. "Why did you really come to London, Daniel?" she asked.
He sighed and rubbed his face briskly. You knew this was coming. "I told you earlier. I wanted to strike out on my own, you know, see if I can accomplish something without using my family connections to hand it to me."
"And you needed to come to London to do that?"
"Well, I was looking for a change," Daniel started weakly.
Betty turned to face him. Strands of hair swirled about her face in the light night breeze. Her eyes were huge pools as she fixed her gaze intently upon him.
"And I hadn't said a proper goodbye to you," he whispered.
"Do you know how much that hurt, Daniel?" said Betty. "I thought we were friends. I've always been there for you in your toughest moments... you couldn't even be happy for me? I left everything I knew behind... my family, my friends..."
"You left me." Daniel had turned toward the street, but he was looking up at the sky. In the dim light, she could see his jaw clenching hard.
"Is that what you think?" she pressed. "This wasn't about you!"
"Don't you think I know that?" he said, raising his voice. "I'm not saying what I felt was rational. Your leaving..." Daniel took a breath and continued quietly. "It hurt. More than I expected."
Betty looked out at the street too. "That's what your mom said."
"What did my mom say?"
"That you had a hard time letting me go and... that she didn't think you knew why."
He hesitated a moment. "I didn't at the time, but I do now." His voice had gotten lower, and Betty shivered although she wasn't cold. She gave a toss of her head and glared at him. "You wanna let me in on the big mystery?" she said.
Daniel turned and looked at her as intensely as she had looked at him moments ago. His blue eyes were dark in this light, and he took a half step closer to her. Betty felt her breath catch a little as he took her small hands in his large ones. His palms were remarkably warm in the cool night. His thumbs stroked the backs of her hands.
"You're my best friend, Betty. And I really care about you. I don't want to lose you as a friend, but..."
She quickly pulled her hands out of his and turned away. He stepped closer, their bodies touching and she could feel the hammering of his heart in his chest. Ohmigod, is he saying what I think he's saying?
"I... I don't want to lose you as a friend either," she whispered.
Daniel stepped around to face Betty once more. Her arms hung loose at her sides. Daniel tipped his head and gently, with as much tenderness as he could muster, kissed the space between Betty's cheek and mouth, again in front of her ear and again behind her ear at her hairline. Then he took a step back and exhaled.
Betty's heart was hammering in her chest now. Her breathing was shallow and her cheeks were flushed. "How do you expect me to respond to this?" she asked, her voice trembling.
"I have no expectations of you, Betty. I just wanted to let you know how I feel. Just think about it, okay?"
"Yeah... um, I should get going now," she said.
"I understand." Daniel cleared his throat. "Uh, do you want me to call down for a cab for you?" he asked as they entered the room and walked towards the door. She slipped off his coat and rubbed her bare arms.
"No, they stop all the time, even this late. I'll check in with the concierge before I get my coat."
"Can I call you tomorrow?"
"Give me a little time, Daniel."
"Okay... sure." he said, his heart sinking.
"Oh don't be like that. I told you before... I'm glad you're here. I tell you what... how about brunch on Sunday about 10?" she offered.
He smiled bashfully, embarrassed for pouting. "Sounds great. Shoot me a text and let me know where you want to meet up."
He opened the door for her and leaned against it's edge. She took his hand and looked up at him. "Goodnight, Daniel."
"Goodnight, Betty." He let her fingers slip from his as she stepped into the hallway and walked away. He let the door close and leaned on it. Then he went into the bathroom, flipped on the overhead and stared at himself in the mirror. You're gonna have to work for this, Meade. You have to earn her affection. You're gonna have to woo her. He chuckled as he turned off the bathroom light and walked back into his room and out to the balcony. A cab was pulling to the curb and a doorman was opening the cab door for Betty to get in. She had one foot in the cab when she turned her head to look up towards Daniel. He waved a silly royal wave at her, twisting his hand from side to side at the wrist. She laughed out loud and returned the silly gesture before ducking into the cab. It pulled onto the street and into the night. Daniel went back into his room after it disappeared from view.
"Woo woo," he said out loud, to the empty room, chuckling at his own silly self.
