In the time since Betty left, Daniel had concocted an elaborate scenario in his head. A fantasy where Betty came to him, miserable—as miserable as he had been since she'd left—and confessed she'd made a terrible mistake and beg to come back. But from the moment Daniel saw Betty that afternoon, weaving towards him through the crowd outside Meade Publications, he knew his fantasy was just that—a fantasy.

Seeing the look on her face, how she was beaming as bright as the sun above, how her eyes twinkled, told him all he needed to know—all that he had been afraid to find out.

That she was happy.

Unless she was exceptionally good at masking her feelings, being a junior editor was clearly suiting her, as much as he hated to admit it. And though this did not deter him, he realized it was going to make it that much harder to get her to come back. If he ever worked up the guts to ask her.

"Hey stranger." Daniel greeted her, motioning towards his town car that was idling by the curb. "This is your celebratory lunch, so you get to pick the place. Cesaro's? G Bistro? That new French place down on fifth?"

"Well," Betty smiled sheepishly, pointing in the opposite direction towards a hotdog cart on the corner of the street. "I was thinking since the weather is so nice." She shrugged, sounding a bit embarrassed.

Daniel raised his eyebrows.

"Plus you would not believe the craving I have—extra mustard and relish. Yum."

Daniel let out a chuckle and shook his head. Here he was ready to treat her to any of the fanciest, five star restaurants the city had to offer, and she wanted to hit up a greasy hotdog cart. "Well, it's your lunch—so hotdogs it is." Daniel waved to his driver, who was watching from the street, signaling him to go, and the two of them began walking down the street. "I'm glad you finally called me back. I wanted to go out and celebrate with Mode's newest junior editor!" Daniel forced a smile; he felt odd, almost two-faced, to be acting excited, when all the time he was formulating how he was going to ask her to come back.

"Sorry," Betty grimaced, looking ashamed. "I would have called you back right away, but things have been pretty hectic."

"Oh really?" Daniel asked, wondering if it was a good or a bad thing.

"Yeah." Betty nodded. "My first day and I was already sent off to review this new makeup store in the village. Simone said they normally don't send junior editors on such important assignments, but I came highly recommended." Betty playfully poked him in the ribs, her smile growing even wider. "Thanks for that." Betty blushed.

"No problem, you've earned it." Daniel replied quietly as they came to a stop in front of the hotdog cart.

"What you'll have?" The vendor asked gruffly.

"Two hotdogs—one plain, one extra mustard and relish, and two sodas." Daniel ordered, waving off Betty as she reached for her purse. "Your lunch, remember? My treat." The man handed them their food and they continued walking. "So Simone sent you on some assignment?" Daniel prodded, curious to hear more.

"Yeah." Betty continued. "I was pretty nervous at first, I mean I don't exactly know much about makeup, and the woman I met with was kinda rude, and her English was terrible—but I just rolled with the punches, asked a lot of questions like Christina suggested, and I think I pulled it off." The two came to a stop in a quiet corner of the street and leaned up against the brick wall of a building that had been plastered with ads for Mode magazine. "Plus, I got a ton of freebies, which sent Justin over the moon!" Betty giggled, peeling back the foil from her hotdog and taking a bite. "So I've been working on that, getting to know everyone and stuff. Oh, and learning my blush from my bronzer!"

"I see. Well, that blush and bronzer thing will keep one pretty busy." Daniel teased. "So, it's going well then? I mean, are you happy?" He asked, trying to mask the apprehension in his voice as his eyes searched hers intently.

"Definitely!" Betty beamed, her eyes lighting up. The happiness in her eyes was in stark contrast to the sadness in his; a sadness that, in the wake of her own enthusiasm, went unnoticed. "Well, the first day was scary—the beauty closet alone had me terrified! But I'm always up for a challenge, and so far everything's been going really well!"

"That's great." Daniel mumbled, pulling back the foil of his hotdog. His mind was going a million miles a minute, thinking of how he was going to ask her. The last thing he wanted to do was eat, and he began methodically tearing bits of his bun. He knew it was silly to be this nervous, he scolded himself. But the fact was, he wasn't nervous to ask the question, but to hear the answer. More specifically, to hear the word no. Something that now seemed like a cold, hard reality given her apparent happiness.

"What did that hotdog ever do to you?" Betty asked a few minutes later, noticing the decimated bun clutched in his hand and the trail of crumbs at his feet. "Did your mother ever tell you it's not polite to play with your food?" She laughed.

"No, but she did impart this bit of wisdom—beer before liquor, never been sicker." He grumbled, crumpling the rest of his food into a ball and pitching it into the nearest trash can. For the first time he suspected that Betty saw the unhappiness in his eyes as she studied his face for a few moments before he turned to look the other way.

"Have you hired a replacement yet?" She asked cautiously.

Suddenly Daniel knew he had his opening, he had to ask her now. He felt a surge of confidence and turned to face her. "Betty, I, I—" Daniel started, determined. But as soon as it came, his confidence faded, replaced by a gnawing sense of guilt. Daniel felt ashamed. He had been so busy being miserable that he hadn't stopped to think what a terrible position he was going to put Betty in. He was about to ask her to take a major step back from her dream simply to make him happy, and he couldn't help but feel like a selfish jerk. "—I haven't. Hired anyone, that is." Daniel let out a long breath; he just couldn't do it.

"I see how it is." Betty giggled. "I'm irreplaceable."

Daniel did his best not to frown. He had been thinking the same thing.