Just a sample of Daniel's floral "Oops, I fucked up" tribute to Betty:

flowers/sterling-love-by-teleflora

After Christina left the next morning, Betty tried to concentrate on work. She showered and got dressed for the office, trying to ignore the crazy floral display Daniel had sent. She shook her head, allowing a slight smile as she recalled how much he always used to pester her until she forgave him, because he said he "couldn't stand to have you mad at me!"

He was nothing if not persistent. Still, he had to learn that he couldn't always buy his way out of things and he couldn't always "get his way" like the spoiled child that often behaved as! She wasn't going to accept some stupid necklace from Tiffany's that he sent every other girl he had slept with and forgot their name!

He could buy out the whole damn florist and it wouldn't give her back what he had taken away by his impatience and lack of faith in her, not just from her but from both of them! Like he said, things had just been beginning back then! She had felt...things changing between them at Hilda's wedding when they danced all night, then when he showed up here?

If only...well, that didn't do anyone any good now, she knew. If onlys couldn't erase the past nine years of needless misunderstanding and disappointments! Now, it was pretty difficult for her not to feel resentment towards him assuming the worst of her!

Although she didn't end up drinking that much of the bottle of wine Christina had brought, she almost wished she had. It might have drowned out all the voices in her head, conflicting ones, telling her to get over it and be a professional, REgardless! Tell Shelly that she would finish the editing on her own and get it back to her sometime in the next month.

She often worked faster, depending on her deadline, but it wasn't a priority for her. Right now, she had to get her magazine ready to print this weekend so other projects would have to be sidelined. She could do it, she told herself. Given a little time to focus and put aside her feelings, perhaps collaborating online with a colleague to finish it, if necessary.

Of course, the self-protective side of her wanted to take all his flowers and cut them up into potpourri and send them back to Daniel, along with the portion of his book they had already finished, and some of the charred remains of the rest of his book and say something like, "It looked a lot cooler in my head! Edit it yourself, Dumb Bitch!"

She headed off to work, putting on her sunglasses, and wishing the rain would come back, to match her mood at the moment.

The hours seemed to last forever. She worked on mindless tasks that she knew needed to get done, but didn't require her heart and soul to complete. Because at the moment, she didn't feel like she had one. She felt numb, as if someone had dropped the floor from beneath her and she was free falling to the bottom of the Meade building. There was a dull ache in her head that she knew no aspirin could help and one where her heart used to be anyway!

David looked almost worse than she felt if that was possible. She noticed him showing up, wearing his sunglasses even once he had gotten to his office, quite a bit later than usual. He was often the first one there, with a big smile on his face, greeting everyone else. But not today!

Betty wondered if Shelly had put him in the doghouse for his past behavior? That would hardly be fair! After all, it was something he did years ago! He wasn't really to blame for Daniel jumping to stupid conclusions! She leaned on the door, and smiled, "Hey! How was your weekend?"

He lowered his glasses carefully, revealing a black eye on the left side. Betty rushed to his desk, taking his glasses back off to get a better look, as she touched it, "Oh my God! What happened? Is this from...Shelly?"

He nodded, and looked down at the floor, quickly putting his glasses back on, "Yeah! She told me what happened with you and DB...Daniel is his real name, right? Anyway, she yelled at me, then she punched me and told me she's too pissed at me right now to even think about seeing me again!

Betty, I'm SO sorry, luv...I mean, um, sorry! I know now what an idiotic thing that was for me to do, when we had just met! You explained to me...quite sufficiently just how wrong it was of me to kiss you without your permission like that! But I promise you, I had NO bloody idea it would lead to...all this huge mess, years later! Do you hate me, too, now, Betty?"

She shook her head, "No! I hate Daniel right now. But, that's because he DID know me, or at least he SHOULD have!

He SHOULD have NOT jumped to idiotic conclusions about seing that damn kiss and after four years of me, running around after him, wiping his behind, picking up after him, cleaning up his messes, you would THINK the man would KNOW me well enough not to be so STUPID!

But NOOO...he just...runs away, like he always does and hides out under his bed and cries about how I HURT him and blah, blah, blah, writes an amazing book that makes me out to be a total bitch but now I have to edit the damn thing! POOR BABY! Boo hoo!

I hurt HIS precious little feelings? Well, try thinking the man who you took care of all that time just decided you weren't worth fighting for or waiting for or even TALKING TO and feeling lost and alone and… forgotten … and … um…WHAT?"

He smiled, tilting his head to the side, "Aw, damn, girl! You're in LOVE with the bloke, aren't you?"

She quickly turned away so he wouldn't see her, but he grabbed her wrists and turned her back around, and pointed at her face, "SEE? You're actually blushing! You DO care about this Daniel fellow, or else you wouldn't be so worked up!"

She pulled away, just as Shelly came in, "What the bloody hell is THIS, then? You tell me you have no feelings for Betty other than as a friend and you would have hit on any woman that moved back then and now I see…"

Betty rushed to Shelly and put her hand on top of hers and raised her eyebrows, "Okay, now don't YOU go jumping to conclusions, like your stupid client, Shelly! This is all perfectly innocent! I noticed he came in late and had been...assaulted! So as HIS FRIEND, I came and asked him what happened! All he did was apologize to me for something that SHOULD be a non-issue!

David already apologized for his behavior years ago and we moved on a LONG time ago! It's in the past! There's really no need to re-hash all this! And it shouldn't affect your relationship! David and I are friends. Period. That's all we've ever been and all we ever will be."

Shelly stood her ground, but softened, as she nodded, "I see. That phrase sounds AWFULLY familiar! Isn't that what you told Daniel, back at Mode, too? Is that how you still feel?"

Betty shrugged, "I don't feel anything towards him right now. Except extreme disappointment and annoyance! As far as me saying that, I don't really remember. If it's in his book, it MUST be true, though, right? Excuse me, but I have to get back to work."

"Betty, wait! Listen, please don't...give up on me or on his book! I still would love for you to edit it. But if you feel you can't because it's too personal, I do understand. I just need your permission to use the work you already put in and pass the rest of it along to another editor. If that's alright with you."

She stopped in her tracks, looking a bit taken back, "You mean he's already found another editor for the rest of the book?"

"Well, he's been mentioning some American named Jason Tittle. He's said he should probably just go back to the US. I don't think he really cares who edits it at this point, though. To be honest, he sounded quite...indisposed."

Betty knew Shelly was a master manipulator. Because she was guilty of doing the same reverse psychology on people when the situation called for it. She nodded, as she left David's office, "That sounds like Daniel. Giving up without a fight!"

"She said that? She told you it sounded like me to give up without a fight? What do you think I should do? You know what, Shelly, I'm tired. I'm drunk. I just need to…"

"To what, Daniel, get drunk again? Hide under the bed in the 'fetal position" or whatever shite you do when you don't get your way right off? Well, grow a pair, Mister! You told me you wanted your book published. Betty is the best editor for that job! You know it and I know it.

So I don't care if you have to stand outside her damn door, singing to her with a Mariachi band all hours, and bankrupt your family's millions, buying out every florist in London!

You are going to get her to finish the job she started so brilliantly! Use that bloody Meade charm I hear so much about and convince her to forgive you or at least tolerate you enough to do the job!"

He was silent for a moment, "Are you done? I'm sorry, but who is the boss here?"

"You are, Tony Danza, but I know what I know. And you two...need to sit down and work this shite out once and for all. I get that she's pissed at you! And she's got bloody good call to be! But she also still cares for you, God knows why! Why do you think it hurts HER so much to realize you never gave her a chance back then? And that you're just giving up now, without…"

"Fighting for her? What am I supposed to do? I don't really think a what did you say, "Mariachi Band" will do it, Shelly! In fact, it might seem a little racist or something! I know nobody would want me singing to it!"

"Well, I don't know what she likes! You know her; think of something! Because I'm NOT ready to give up my commision to some American TWITTLE dumb dumb or whoever! Not after I did ALL the work for you on this! You know I'm right! You read the part she finished. It's beautiful! It's fucking PERFECT!"

"I know. It is. So is she."

"Good, then we're agreed! Figure it out! Then let me know."

He tried to get some much needed rest. He hadn't slept much since he got back to his hotel. The Scotch hadn't helped. And he had thrown away his cigarettes. He would be damned if by some miracle, he actually got close enough for her to smell his breath for her to tell him he smelled like smoke!

Daniel hated that look on her face of disappointment in him more than anything he had ever gone through with his crazy family over the years. None of it, all the stuff with his father and Faye, his mom's drinking, the bullshit with Wilhelmina and Cal Hartley, or Connor Owens, it all seemed like child's play in comparison with the emptiness and remorse he felt now.

He remembered some of his darkest times after Molly died, times when he felt so depressed that he wanted to punch a wall or do some of the crazy shit his then brother, Alex used to do to get his adrenaline going, all the bungey jumping, skydiving, all those insane stunts to feel alive, to not feel so dead inside.

Suddenly, a small smile began at the corners of his mouth. He made a few calls, when he saw a notification that she was online now. He had "shared" his document with her, allowing her online editing privileges. She was actually working on it!

He watched, fascinated at seeing how fast her mind worked, making small but effective changes to his draft, shaping it into the finished work he knew would be far better than anything he (or frankly the American editor) could possibly end up with!

Betty had the advantage of knowing Daniel's style and "getting him" enough to understand what he meant when he sometimes tended to ramble a bit too long to make his point or get side-tracked and totally forget what his point was in the first place!

Betty did it when she "babbled" sometimes. It was cute, it was totally adorable. It was very, HER. Daniel only did it when he was extremely nervous. But it unfortunately came out at times in his writing. He tried to "catch it" the best he could, when he did his self-editing checklist of each chapter. But if he tried to go back and rever to his editing days at Mode, he found it drastically messed with his flow of writing and he lost momentum.

He was far better as a writer than an editor, it turned out. Of course, Betty could do both extremely well. But editing turned out to be her first love. She wrote some articles here and there and continued her blog, and of course, had her own byline and her Letter From the Editor each month in her magazine. The editing she had done on countless articles and now several best-selling books, though was quite impressive.

After over an hour and a half, he noticed her slowing down a bit, perhaps to finally take a break. She had done almost the next third of the book! He hesitated, then typed in the comments, "You're crazy fast at that! And insanely good! Thank you!"

"You're welcome." He desperately wished he could see her face, hear her voice. But for now, this would have to do. If it was all she could handle at the moment, hey, at least they were communicating again!

After a few minutes, she texted him, "Are you okay? No smoking, right?"

He couldn't help but grin, as he texted back, "Do you mean, you actually care? You really like me? You really, really like me! No, Betty. No smoking, I promised. No pills. A bit too much booze for a while, sorry, but hey, at least it was good Scotch and...I'm done with that now, too. How are you? Did you do something mean to my flowers?'

"No. I changed the water for them. They are very pretty. Thank you. I did burn your book, though I'm afraid. The rest of the copy in pink."

He laughed, "Such a pity! It was so pretty, too! Glad you didn't abuse the flowers. Not that I would have blamed you. I was sort of afraid you would find something big to throw at me. That's why I got out of there!"

"I might have."

"Okay. I deserve that. I hear David got abused by my agent? Poor guy! I almost feel sorry for him! First, you slapping him and kneeing him back then and now her punching him!"

"Not to mention, cutting him off!"

"Oh! Wow! Worse than getting kicked in the balls! Same result though, I guess, they still end up blue!"

"Why do you think I stopped editing?"

"I'm not sure. You had to breathe, eat, drink, pee, whatever? You were buzzing along pretty fast there for a long time!"

"You didn't happen to notice what chapter I'm up to?"

He looked back and smiled, "Oh. Right. Almost the end of Chapter twelve...all the good sex stuff coming up!"

"Haha!"

"Can I watch? I bet you're blushing right now."

"Shut up!"

"Funny. That's just what Veronica would say! Before she did something very naughty to poor Dale, of course!"

"He loved it!"

"You're damn right he did!"

She did actually blush. Were they...flirting now? She felt her breath quicken as she read the next passage on her page. It wasn't that she hadn't edited sex scenes before.

Several authors had some kind of sexual liaisons between the main characters and her job as she saw it was to make certain it was in the right place in the story that packed the right punch, that made the most impact.

Surprisingly, Daniel seemed to be telepathically tuning into her thoughts somehow. "I think...there's way too many sex scenes all in this one chapter! It was good to have that one encounter, fairly early on, then of course there should be something just before she"

"Cheats on him. Right. To have more of an emotional impact. I agree. It needs to be right before he catches her with the other man, so he's not expecting it. But you're right. I was thinking the same thing. There's a lot in this part that's not really necessary to show how much he loves her. In fact, less is probably more.

There should be more of his longing, wanting, you write that really well. You know, with her always being too busy for him or something, but he believes she's really working. Until he catches her, he doesn't suspect she's cheating."

"Are you sure you're okay with this? I can change…"

"Veronica? Don't you dare! I love her as she is. She is a fictional character. I already have some ideas how to get inside her head without actually changing the tragic love tale ending, but giving her a little more dignity. IF you're interested in hearing my idea."

"Of course!"

"Just let me keep trimming the fat first. I'll be ready to take a break in about twenty minutes. I need to get to Chapter Fourteen. I'll text you again when I'm there. Feel free to add your own ideas on your drive, of course."

"I will. I'm enjoying watching you at work, though. You're like one of those ice sculptors, chipping away stuff to reveal a beautiful statue!"

"Of Wilhelmina? Or Veronica?"

"Touche! Go ahead, I'm watching. Have fun!"

Daniel started pacing as he watched her go back to work furiously again. He began to get nervous. Would this be it? The last he heard from her? She was kind and friendly now, but why was she in such a rush? Did she have some kind of deadline with Shelly or with her own work and as soon as she was done would she "cut him off"?

Betty put her head down and had the speaker on to read the text to her, stopping to make her adjustments as she went, then went back and forth, re-reading what she had edited to make sure it made sense.

She was surprised she hadn't heard anything recently from Daniel. He had made a few additional edits to his page, then she didn't see anything online or via text for quite a while.

Suddenly, she jumped as her phone rang. It was him! She was rather enjoying the relative "safe" texting. She wasn't sure she was ready to talk to him yet. After only two rings, she saw a text, "Please go outside. Turn right, then walk to your post box and look right again. Then look up."

She followed the directions and grinned, putting her hand to her mouth as she saw an airplane, writing in the sky, "Betty, Call Daniel. PLEASE? I'm SO sorry. I Love You!"

It only took her a second to hit his number.

"Hey! It worked! You...called!"

"Yeah, well...that was...pretty impressive!"

"Good! It's about time. You impressed me, first! You always impress me, Betty."

"Thanks. So…"

"So…"

"You LOVE Me?"

"I do. Very much."

"Daniel, you...you wrote that...on the London skyline? You do realize that people are going to wonder who Betty and Daniel are!"

"Sorry! Should I have said Dale and Veronica?"

"It would have been a great publicity stunt to generate interest in your book!'

"Maybe, but I'm more interested in you right now than any damn book! Please don't go back inside yet."

She saw an Uber pull up and he got out, holding a huge purple teddy bear that struck a striking resemblance to her "Poquito". He walked up to her hesitantly, "Are you mad now because I said that publicly?"

She laughed, as she hugged the bear, "Oh my God! He's so cute! Where on earth did you get him?"

"You can buy anything online nowadays. I got Justin to send me a picture of the original and I searched on Amazon and E-Bay till I saw this guy and knew he was perfect. I paid a little extra to get him next day delivery, but...these I just stopped and got at the store!" He handed her a box of chocolates.

She raised an eyebrow, "Is that supposed to be a Forrest Gump reference? You never know what you're going to get?"

He shrugged, "Not really. I'm not that deep. I was just going for...I know you like chocolate!"

"I do. So...you really, really LOVE me?" the smile had not diminished as she opened the door and led him inside.

He laughed, as he placed the bear and candy down on her table and nodded, crossing his arms over his chest, and nodded, "Uh huh. I do. Very much."

"It's about damn time!"

She walked up to him, and took his hands down then began unbuttoning his shirt. He didn't stop her actions, but took her face in his hands and stepped closer, as she pulled him down to her by his collar, then ran her hands on his chest while they kissed.