Author's Notes : I don't know why I am so slow updating this - I love this story. Oh well, at any rate, this is the next chapter and there will probably be 4 more until the end. I hope you enjoy this Chapter...please review and let me know if you are still reading or if you have given up on me...hopefully, you are still reading.

To my peeps at I-C - you guys ROCK !!

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Chapter 11

Betty arrived up at her office just before nine. Ava, of course, was already at her desk working. She glanced up at Betty as she walked by and then did a double-take. As soon as Betty had put away her purse, she buzzed Ava's phone.

"Ava, can you come in ?"

"Sure, I'll be right there."

Ava scurried from her desk with her notepad into Betty's office. She had to find out what this was all about. She was not a gossip and had no plans to act like one now but she had to admit, these last few weeks since the new CFO had arrived had been the most fun since she had been there.

As she entered Betty's office she was again taken aback.

"Wow ! You look, I don't know, different, beautiful, something…."

Betty blushed.

"Thank you. I am letting Christina dress me this week. I'm not sure what I have gotten myself into. You think this looks okay ? I feel, I don't know, naked."

Ava looked at her. She was wearing a simple chocolate brown suit but there was a slight ruffle along the bottom hem of the skirt, the hem of the jacket and at the sleeves. The whole outfit was very fitted and the jacket cut low. She was wearing nude hose, something she never did, and some simple brown pumps with a tiny leather bow across the front strap. It was all just very feminine and brought out the brown in her hair and eyes. She also had a really pretty necklace that dropped into the open vee of the suit jacket; her trademark 'B' necklace was missing. Matching drop earrings were in her ears and wisps of her hair had been pinned up to the top of her head letting waves of hair cascade down the sides and revealing more of her face than usual. It also looked like a just a touch more make-up covered her face with just a hint of a smoky brown on her eyelids.

"I think you look really pretty. I mean, you still look like you, just different, in a good way."

Betty smiled, running her hand over the necklace clearly still somewhat uncomfortable at the exposed skin at her neck.

"Thanks. So, what is on the agenda today ?"

Ava went over her calendar. It was fairly full but she had some free time.

"Okay, listen, I need you to do me a favor. You can access the executive calendars, right ?"

Ava smiled curiously.

"Yes, all of the executive secretaries can access the various calendars in order to keep everyone covered."

Betty sat down behind her desk.

"Okay, I know this is going to sound silly and childish and if you don't want to help me, I totally understand but I need to see……"

Betty reached in her drawer and fumbled in her purse, bringing out a small box. She opened it and took out the exquisite glass slipper Will had given her for Christmas, smiled and set it on her desk. She looked back up at Ava.

"I need to run into Henry…..Mr. Grubstick…..today, if possible, maybe on the way to a meeting or something. Or I need to know when he has free time so I can accidentally see him……God, this sounds, silly. Look Ava……"

Ava shook her head, smiling. She liked this new side of her boss.

"You don't have to explain…..I'll see what I can do. I'm in."

Betty laughed.

"You're in ?"

"Sure, I know what's going on. And, as we discussed, it is your private business, but I must admit this last couple of weeks has been fun. I have always admired your work ethic and your talent, but now I see this other side and so far you are balancing it all perfectly. It makes me realize that you can have it all. I want to help you."

Betty smiled, she kind of wanted to argue with her because to be honest she wasn't sure she could manage it all, but why burst Ava's bubble and she really did need her help this week.

"Thank you, Ava. And, I'm quite certain I won't be able to balance it all without you so I am counting on you to tell me if I get off balance anywhere. Deal ?"

"Deal ? Anything else ?"

Betty hated asking but she had arrived so early.

"Coffee ?"

"You got it."

Ava scurried out of the office and back to her desk. She was on the phone briefly before heading to get Betty coffee. Betty tugged on the jacket and skirt of her outfit and then mumbled to herself as she booted her computer up.

"Ugh. I might as well just deal with it."

She hadn't heard anyone come into her office.

"Deal with what ?"

She jumped and stood from her desk. As she looked at Daniel, she came around the side of her desk and motioned to her outfit.

"This."

Daniel looked her over and did his best wolf whistle. She cringed and rolled her eyes.

"Spare me."

He laughed.

"Well, you look, wow…."

"Okay, okay, you've had your fun. Do we have a meeting ?"

"No, I just came down to check in on Anne and Henry and thought I'd stop by to see you too. Now I am glad I did. So, what's going on ?"

Betty was not in the mood for a big discussion so she just spelled it out.

"Henry and I are taking a break this week while he settles in to his office. I think I am sending out the wrong signals and I wanted to send out some different ones before the wedding Friday night."

Daniel nodded his head, chuckling.

"Well, you are definitely sending out some different signals."

She laughed.

"I look ridiculous and I feel even more ridiculous. I even asked Ava to check his schedule so I can accidentally run into him. I feel like I am sixteen again."

"Betty, you're in love. It looks good on you. It always did."

She reached up and hugged him. She hadn't done that in awhile and it felt good. She pulled back and he was smiling.

"What was that for ?"

"Just two friends……you know, hugging."

He laughed. He turned to leave and then glanced back at her.

"I have a meeting with him at eleven, Amanda will be away from her desk right after that to run a personal errand and I still need a revised copy of the report you and Ruben are presenting Wednesday so if you accidentally barge into our meeting, it won't seem scripted."

She smiled at him.

"I'm just saying."

"Thank you, Daniel."

"Anytime."

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At a little before eleven, Betty printed out her latest revision on the finance report and a few minutes later, Ava brought it in bound and ready for Daniel's review. She handed it to Betty.

"So, it looks like you have today covered. I talked to a friend in the car pool and he is going to call me when Mr. Grubstick calls for a car this evening to leave. Do you want me to get you a car when he calls ?"

"Yes, please. Thanks, Ava."

"Sure, it is kinda fun, actually. Oh, and Christina called and said she will be at your place tonight at eight to bring you some outfits for the rest of the week."

"Great. And, we have wardrobe review this afternoon after lunch, right ? I'm just going to eat in the cafeteria."

"Yes. That's it for today. And, as far as Mr. Grubstick, I don't have anything yet for tomorrow, but I will work on it in the morning. Your schedule is pretty full all day, but we'll find something. And who knows, after he sees you today, he may make an effort to see you tomorrow. It could happen."

Betty smiled and looked at her watch. Eleven.

"Okay, I'm off, wish me luck."

Ava smiled and gave her thumbs up as Betty stood from her desk and picked up the folder for Daniel. She walked out of the office and down the hall into the elevator. She was nervous but she was determined to remain calm.

When she got to Daniel's office, as expected, Amanda was nowhere to be seen. She took a deep breath and rounded the corner into Daniel's office.

"Daniel, Amanda isn't at her desk, can you take a look at this revised….."

She looked up and saw Daniel sitting behind his desk and Henry sitting across from him. They were both looking at her, Henry looked almost pale. Daniel's face wore a smirk.

She tried to look surprised.

"Oh, I am so sorry, I didn't know you were in a meeting….."

She looked back from where she had come.

"Amanda, wasn't at her desk….."

Daniel smiled and saved her.

"It's okay, come on in Betty. Henry and I were just going over some things on the transition plan for him and James. I'm sure he doesn't mind the interruption."

When Henry didn't reply, still staring openly at Betty, Daniel continued.

"Do you, Henry ?"

Henry shook his head and looked from Betty to Daniel clearly embarrassed. Betty felt the color rise in her own neck, Ava was right, this was fun.

"Um, no, of course not."

He turned back to Betty and stood up.

"You look….wow………….I'm sorry, that was very unprofessional."

He took a deep breath to regain some level of control and professionalism in front of his new boss.

"You are welcome to interrupt, as Daniel said, this is just and informal meeting."

She looked at Henry from under her eyelashes and smiled.

It was all Daniel could do to keep from laughing because that was so clearly not Betty but yet definitely the result of her running one of the most successful women's magazines in publication. He was certain there were some things she didn't buy into in her own magazine but she had clearly read them all anyway.

"Thank you, I promise, I will only be a minute."

Henry sat back down, still taking in her appearance. It was subtle, yet disarming. He watched her walk right up to Daniel's desk and as she did the hem of skirt brushed his hand that was sitting on his knee. He almost gasped.

She handed Daniel the report, smiling.

"This is the final copy, so if you need any changes, can you get them to me by tomorrow afternoon ?"

He nodded very professionally at her.

"Absolutely. Thank you."

"No problem."

She turned slightly and looked between he and Henry.

"And, again, I am so sorry for interrupting. Henry, I'll see you at our meeting, Wednesday morning."

All he could do was nod. She turned and left the office as Henry watched her go. Daniel just sat and waited. After about two minutes, Henry turned back around and looked at Daniel.

"Sorry, where were we ?"

Daniel laughed and started their conversation where they had left off. He thought to himself, one-point for Betty. But, he had a feeling this game was far from over.

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That night, Ava stepped into her office at about five-thirty.

"He just called for his car."

Betty looked up.

"Good, I am exhausted. Thank you, Ava. And, thanks for everything you did today."

"No problem, it was fun."

Betty laughed.

"It was."

She powered down her laptop and packed up her bag for home and headed out. When she walked out of the building she saw Henry standing against the wall of the building waiting for his car. She acted like she didn't see him and walked forward pulling on her gloves.

He saw her and smiled. He pushed off from the wall and walked over behind her. She could feel his presence before he spoke.

"Hi."

She smiled and did not turn to look at him.

"Hi."

His car pulled up and the driver motioned to him as he opened the back door. She turned around to face him.

"Your car's here."

"Why don't you take this one, and I'll get yours ?"

She messed with the collar of his coat and secured his scarf more tightly around his neck.

"Are you sure ?"

"Yeah."

He walked with her over to the car and nodded to the driver.

"You can take Ms. Suarez home, I'll wait for her car."

The driver nodded and headed to the front of the car. After a minute, Henry leaned her onto the car and draped his arm across the roof resting her head on his arm as he crushed her mouth in a completely undignified display of affection.

When he pulled back, Betty's eyes fluttered open and she took a deep breath before speaking.

"Mr. Grubstick…..in public……"

"What can I say ? I couldn't help myself. You are breathtaking."

And before she could duck away he moved his other hand around her waist and drew her into another lip punishing kiss as he pulled her slightly away from the car. Once again, they both required air when they broke apart.

After a moment of recovery, Henry took Betty's bag from her shoulder, pulled open the door behind her and motioned for her to get in. She did and he handed her the bag, which she sat on the seat next to her.

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

He closed the door and smiled at her through the glass. She smiled back. He took a step back and slapped the top of the car and the driver pulled away from the curb and she was gone.

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Tuesday had been busy, Betty had been going non-stop since she had arrived. Christina had her in a really comfortable frilly dress today and again she felt somewhat exposed but she was just too busy to care. Ava had tried to get her path to cross with Henry today but no luck so far.

Betty was just about ready to head to a three o'clock meeting when her phone buzzed.

"Yes, Ava."

"Will Grubstick on the phone for you."

Betty smiled.

"Put him through and call Production to let them know I am running a few minutes late."

"Will do."

Betty heard the line click.

"Will, what a nice surprise. How are you ?"

"Hi, Betty, I am good. I'm on my lunch break at school and thought I would give you a call."

"Well, I'm glad. But, I am on my way to a meeting. Did you need anything ?"

"Oh, no, I won't keep you. I just wanted to let you know I emailed you some pictures that I took while I was in New York and there are some of you and Dad that I thought you might like. I sent them to your personal email address."

"Oh, great. I will definitely look at them at home tonight. I have a photo printer there too and maybe I can print some out."

"Great. Well, I'll let you go then. See you in March and have fun at the wedding Friday."

"Thank you, I will. And, please, Will, call me anytime."

"Okay, thanks. Bye."

"Bye."

Betty hung up the phone and smiled. She already loved that kid and missed him. She picked up her notepad and folders and headed out for her meeting.

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As it turned out, she never saw Henry on Tuesday but she did see him in their finance meeting with Ruben on Wednesday morning. She had tried to be professional in the meeting while at the same time, trying to be flirty. It was harder with Ruben in the room but she managed to get a few good moves in she thought.

Henry had lost his train of thought at least three times by her count and Ruben had seemed none the wiser. When their meeting was over, Henry shook hands with Ruben and walked him to the door of his office. Once Ruben had left, Betty also made her move to leave but Henry held up his hand.

"Can I talk to you for a minute before you leave ?"

The look he gave her made her nervous, in a good way.

"Sure."

He stuck his head out the door and said something to Anne, then came back in and closed the door behind him. He started walking toward her and the look in his eyes was almost feral. She bit her lip.

"Henry ? What's wrong ?"

As he got closer she backed up until she was up against his desk. He walked right up to her until he was pressed against her by as much of his body as he could touch her with.

She took a deep breath.

"Henry ?"

"Do you know what you are doing to me this week ? You're driving me crazy. It's all I can do to keep my hands off of you at the most inopportune times."

She felt brave and moved slightly, so that their mouths were just a breath away and whispered to him.

"I'm sorry, I guess I am just looking forward to our date Friday night and I've missed you this week. But, I promise to give you your space for the rest of the week like we agreed on, okay ? We don't have any other meetings, so you probably won't see me at all."

She managed to slide to the left slightly, just enough to remove herself from his touch and she smoothed down her dress and smiled.

"Is that all ?"

He ground his teeth together looking at her from the corner of his eye.

"Yes, that's all."

She picked up her notes and laptop and turned to leave.

"I'll make sure we get the changes made to the presentation that you suggested and I'll have Ruben contact you about the specific numbers you needed more information on in the estimates."

He didn't turn to look at her.

"Thank you."

She waited a minute longer and then left his office.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Later that night at home, she was printing off some of the pictures that Will had sent while she talked to Christina on the phone.

"I don't know, he almost seemed mad."

"Trust me, he wasn't mad. You just got to him faster than you thought. I hope you are ready for Friday night, because he is going to be all over you."

"Christina!"

"I'm just sayin', he will be."

Betty giggled, shamelessly.

"I know. I can't wait."

"Betty!"

"Well…."

"I'm glad you are happy."

"Me too. Oh, these pictures Will sent are really great. Not just the ones of Henry and I but also the ones he took at the photo shoot. He is really talented. Maybe we need to doa piece on young photographers."

"Sounds good, his new school probably has lots of talent."

"You're right. I need to brainstorm on this."

"So, the wedding is all set ?"

"Yeah, I had lunch with Hilda today, everything is a go. She had Julio head for the honeymoon the day after and dad is going down to Mexico for two weeks. Justin is off to Milan I think, so I have two weeks all alone."

"Oh, somehow I doubt that."

"One track mind."

"You know it."

"Okay, I'm going to bed, the rest of the week is busy. What am I wearing tomorrow….the red ?"

"Yes, and I soooo hope he accidentally sees you in that dress."

"Well, see."

"Alright, goodnight."

"Goodnight, Christina, and thanks for your help this week."

"No problem, I had fun."

"Night."

"Goodnight."

- - to be continued - -