These Things Take Time/CH 18
Betty got through her day somehow. She went on autopilot, answering questions about crowd capacity and the sound system and lighting….when all she really wanted to do was run after Daniel when he left her office, blowing her back that kiss along with a wink, telling her, "Don't work too hard, baby. I'll see you tonight!"
Unfortunately, with the launch being tomorrow, tonight turned into eight o'clock that night, by the time she called Hilda and told her she was finally able to tear herself away to join them all for dinner.
Hilda laughed, "Hey, it's a good thing we're not playing that drinking game again with you and work, Betty! I'm okay with having a good excuse not to drink this time.
Daniel and Bobby are on their best behavior tonight, too. So, it's fine, we'll all be here waiting for you when you get ready. We're really excited for you, mami! And so proud of you."
Betty bit her lip, trying to keep from losing it, "Thanks, Hilda. I'm so glad you're all here to share this with me."
"You know, I think if Daniel's grin was any bigger he would be singing zippity doo dah and dancing with Mickey Mouse, so...spill, Betty. What happened last night with you two? Did you…"
"Hilda, I've got to go. I'll see you all in about half an hour, okay? Love you!"
"I see how it is. That's okay. The minute I see you two together, I'll know."
"Hilda, I'll be there soon. Just...enjoy your appetizer."
As Betty hung up the phone, she thought about calling Daniel, but decided to text him, first of all, because she knew if she actually talked to him it would be much more difficult for her to not get all mushy. This way she could at least pretend to be playing things cool.
BETTY: FINALLY on my way there. How's it going so far?"
DANIEL: I'm sorry, who is this? I used to know some girl named Betty. But that was years ago...I heard she worked herself to an early grave. Are you as hot as her?
BETTY: Ha! It's only….oh, crap! It's really eight o'clock? No wonder I'm starving!
DANIEL: Good thing you have such a thoughtful boyfriend who fed you lunch, huh? You should reward him for that.
BETTY: Oh, believe me, I plan to later tonight.
DANIEL: Great! Let's eat fast!
BETTY: I can do that.
DANIEL: Me, too.
BETTY: Thanks again for everything. The lunch, the roses, and the roses, and the roses….they're all beautiful! You're so sweet!
DANIEL: No problem. I think Clark might be allergic, though. He was sneezing when I left.
BETTY: Maybe I'll bring some home. And use some for a huge event I'm going to be at tomorrow.
DANIEL: What might that be?
BETTY: Funny guy! You'd better not have plans.
DANIEL: I'll check my calendar. Should I see if Trista can come?
BETTY: Go ahead. I want to hear her repeat the directions
on how to get here. I need a laugh today!
DANIEL: Ouch! Is somebody still jealous?
BETTY: Don't be silly. Maybe I should ask Henry?
DANIEL: Touche! Point taken. Irregardless, I am looking forward to seeing you, sweetie. But I do hope somebody pointed out to you today that your blouse was wrong side out earlier. I meant to tell you but you distracted me!"
BETTY: DANIEL! It is not!
DANIEL: Hee hee...made you look! I"m the one who had to go back to the hotel after doing the walk of shame this morning. I felt like a cabana boy!
BETTY: That sounds kind of hot! Can't wait to molest you tonight, my sexy cabana boy. But no trying to talk me into staying home tomorrow and playing hooky!
DANIEL: Don't know why you didn't go ahead and call out 'horny today'. I'm sure Lindsay would have loved that! You can gladly molest me when we're alone, but we both have to be on our best behavior tonight in public. Mom is ready to shoot me and Hilda has her radar on overdrive! So does Justin. And Bobby keeps making jokes about us.
BETTY: At least he doesn't call you chipmunk!
DANIEL: Yeah, what the hell does that mean?
BETTY: That I pestered him and Hilda, mainly.
DANIEL: Well, hurry up and pester me. I miss you.
BETTY: Me too, turtle?
DANIEL: Turtle? Is that supposed to be romantic?
BETTY: Hey, it's better than chipmunk! I meant because I like it when we go slow. Slow is...nice. I'm almost there. Oh, by the way, Daniel?
She smiled as they both texted at the same time.
"I Love you!"
The dinner was long and tortuous for both of them once she got there. They kept getting knowing looks from everyone at the table except Ignacio, who seemed to be totally clueless about what was going on between Daniel and his youngest daughter.
Claire asked, "So, Betty, how is your flat? Daniel tells me it's quite close to your office? And not too far from his hotel."
"That's convenient." Bobby commented, smiling at Daniel, who kept looking intently at his asparagus, trying to ignore all the innuendos that had been thrown his way all evening.
"What are you wearing tomorrow for your launch, AB?" Justin asked.
"Ask my personal designer!" Betty smiled, seeing Christina walking across the room, with of all people, Lindsay Dunne, Brian, and his friend, Jonathan Sanders.
Betty and Daniel both looked surprised but rose to greet Betty's boss and the other two men Christina was with, "Look what the cat dragged in! I was just on my way here, by way of the bar and Lindsay and his friends spotted me and when I said I was joining you they all had to take a good look!"
Christina whispered to Betty, "I think they wanted to see if you had your clothes on this time, luv!" Betty made a face and hit her friend, who had had a few drinks at the bar.
"Christina! Uh...you know everyone, of course."
Christina brightened on seeing all of Betty's family, "OH! My! Justin! You've grown like a weed! I'm so sorry I didn't get up to London to see you when you were here for the summer visitin your Aunt!
I wouldn't have known ya had I not seen the pictures in Betty's place and her office!" She hugged Justina and greeted Hilda and Ignacio warmly.
"And this strapping young lad must be Mr. Talercio! I've heard lots of good stories about you, mister! Ooh, Hilda, you lucky girl, he's every bit as handsome as you let on!" Bobby blushed as Christina felt his bicep and laughed.
Betty introduced Lindsay, Brian and Jonathan to everyone. Claire was interested in learning about her grandson's new girlfriend, and Daniel was slightly shocked to learn that Brian knew not only Betty's current boss but his future one.
"Mr. Sanders, I'm glad to meet you. This is quite a coincidence! I can't believe you know both Mr. Dunne and Brian."
Jonathan shrugged, "I know everyone in this town, Daniel. I'm in PR. We make it our business to know people from all walks of life. Lindsay is the most important publisher in Britain and Brian here is the biggest man in finance. Me, I'm just the one who tries to promote everything and everybody.
You'll find out soon enough, when you come to work for Kelly Jenson. He's a bigger workaholic than I am! This woman is far more well-known than she lets on. Her designs are fast becoming a household name.
Your girl Betty here should do a feature on her. Especially as you three are old chums from your New York days. It'd make a great human interest piece, don't you think, Lindsay?"
"Yes, quite. Local girl from the UK goes to the big apple, and returns home to hit it big in fashion. Then, a few years later, is joined by her dear old friend and former boss to try their hand in publishing and Public Relations. It should be your next month's feature article, Betty!"
Christina smiled, "Well, it wouldn't do my business any harm I don't suppose. So, I'm up for it. Just get my good side." She turned around and wiggled her butt, to laughs.
Then, she elbowed Daniel, "And I don't imagine Danny boy here would mind having you interview him, now would you, darlin?"
Daniel smirked, trying to avoid Christina's glare, "Yeah. Sure. Sounds like a great idea. Anytime. Are you all joining us for dinner?"
Brian, Lindsay, and Jonathan all declined. Lindsay spoke up, "No, thank you, Daniel. We've already dined. We just saw Christina here at the bar and wanted to escort her to you and say hello.
I'm sure Betty will have seen enough of me recently. I'm so happy she has you all here to support her for her big day tomorrow. I'm sure you all know what a hard worker she is and how dedicated she is to her job.
I'd say I couldn't be prouder if she were my own daughter, but I bow to her actual father. Mr. Suarez, you have quite a fine young lady there! You must be extremely proud of her!"
Ignacio nodded, "I am. Betty's always been willing to follow her dreams and go the extra mile to get the job done. She's like her mother in that respect.
My other daughter, Hilda, is an entrepreneur back in New York, too. I'm a very lucky man. Both of my girls have always made me extremely proud."
Lindsay turned to Daniel and shook his hand, "And you, sir. I've heard quite a lot about you, Daniel Meade! I am extremely happy that you saw fit to sign Betty's release. I heard you burned her first one! Not that I blame you. I'm surprised you let her go at all!
And I'm not at all surprised that you decided to follow her here. Even though her editing skills may not have been the only attraction for you I understand?"
Claire nodded, "Definitely not. I told Daniel he needed to give Betty a reason to stay in New York. And the idiot offered her a raise!"
Everyone laughed. Daniel rolled his eyes, "Mom! Could we please not...talk about that right now?"
Lindsay nodded, "Well, Betty, as I said, I'm not surprised a young man like Daniel here chased you across the Atlantic. But I do hope you'll consider staying on this side of the pond permanently. And I think you deserve a raise, as well.
I didn't realize when I hired you just how much of a deal I was getting. I should have offered you more at the time. You've certainly earned it.
I'll see you tomorrow at the launch. Congratulations! I know it will be a great success! Lovely to have met you all! Goodnight!"
"Cheerio!" Hilda called out and her husband laughed, "What? I sound English, right, Christina?"
"Sounded good to me! So...how was shagging for you two then?" Christina turned to Betty and Daniel, who both turned red at her ill-timed outing.
Hilda grinned and pointed, "I KNEW it! They did, didn't they? You can tell, just by looking at them."
Claire, ever the diplomatic one, tried to steer the conversation to less delicate matters, seeing the somewhat shocked look on Betty's father's face.
"We can't wait to see the launch tomorrow, Betty. I'm sure it's going to be wonderful. You must be so excited!"
Betty nodded, chewing her food somewhat hurriedly, "Mmhm...Yep. Really excited. I'm sorry. But, I'm so hungry. I haven't eaten since early this morning. I had an early lunch."
"You actually ate lunch? I'm surprised! Usually, you don't even remember to eat!" Hilda observed.
"Well, actually, Daniel brought me lunch today." Betty looked up at him, smiling, as he held her hand chastely under the table, and squeezed it when she mentioned him.
He nodded, "Yeah. Nothing much. Just some sandwiches. I knew she'd forget to eat."
"Still. That's very sweet of you." Ignacio smiled at Daniel, but looked back and forth at him and Betty.
Daniel fidgeted a bit uncomfortably, under Hilda and Ignacio's scrutiny.
Claire tried again to keep things from getting too awkward, "So, Justin, are you going to be able to come to Mode and do some more interning?
I know Marc really loves your work. So does Wilhelmina, from what I hear. Which is quite a coup. She hates everyone. Present company especially, of course.
I heard her telling Marc he needed to hire Justin as soon as he was available and make sure he is on our payroll. She keeps calling you a 'fashion elf', which in her vocabulary I suppose is high praise indeed!"
Justin's eyes widened, "Wilhelmina really knows my name? She used to call me Jason. But I don't care. I love her! She's amazing. No offense, Mrs. Meade. You and Daniel are both fantastic, too. But Wilhelmina Slater is sort of my idol when it comes to fashion"
Daniel smiled, "That's okay, Justin. Believe it or not, Mode was never my dream any more than it was your aunt's. I think I was just thrown into that shark tank with her so we could...help each other. Mainly, so she could help me, of course.
Betty would have found her way to the top, no matter what she did or where she did it. I just happened to be the lucky one who was there when she smashed into that glass door and...into my life. And it's never been the same."
"Ah...that's so sweet!" Hilda tried not to cry. When everyone looked at her, she dabbed at her eyes, "What? It IS sweet! Okay, fine. Maybe it's the hormones, too. But I think Daniel and Betty getting together finally after all this time is frickin awesome!"
"Here, here!" Christina held up the Guinness she had brought with her from the bar and toasted.
Fairly soon, Betty looked up to see Daniel had finished his meal, as had she, and she giggled, leaning next to him, "I guess we were both pretty hungry, huh?"
He smiled, and whispered back, "Well, we did work up quite an appetite last night. Are you ready to turn in early tonight, Miss Suarez? I know you have a big day ahead of you tomorrow."
She nodded, yawing and he put his arm around her, kissing her cheek, "You know, Betty...if you really are tired tonight, I understand. We've got our whole lives ahead of us.
I want you, of course, but I really don't want you falling asleep on the biggest day of your life so far. I love you enough to wait. At least ...twenty-four hours. But, after your launch, maybe we could...play footsie some more, huh?"
She nodded, smiling sleepily as she rested for just a moment against Daniel's strong chest. The next thing she knew, she was in her bed, with a somewhat inebriated Christina next to her.
She thought she heard Daniel's voice, low and gravelly, telling her goodnight, and that he loved her. She had the most bizarre dreams, that she was being chased by a chicken that looked remarkably like Daniel.
The next morning, she awoke to the smell of fresh coffee and heard the sounds of laughter and voices in her small, pathetic excuse for a kitchen.
She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and padded in to see Daniel, holding cups of fresh, steaming coffee and holding a bag of doughnuts. Christina was eagerly drinking and eating the manna from heaven and she smiled, seeing Betty coming in, as she held up her cup, "Well, I have loads to do, you two. Betty, luv. Thanks for the bed. I needed it last night. And apparently, so did you.
I think if you don't mind, I'll go ahead and stay with my other friend tonight and after your launch, however. No offense, but you're a bit grabby in your sleep, luv! And my name is Christina, not Daniel! If I'm being spooned in my sleep, I prefer my bed partner to at least get my name right! I'll see you both later this evening. Looking forward to it!
Betty, your dress is in your closet, luv. It's going to look lovely on you. Thanks for the refreshment, Daniel. Good luck….I mean, have a good day! Take care, both of you!"
"Bye, Christina! I'll see you later." Betty hugged her friend and walked back to the kitchen, as Daniel stood, leaning against the counter, drinking his coffee, with a smile on his face.
"Where did you sleep last night?"
"On the sofa. You've got a really bad spring, you know."
"Yes, Justin told me that. Sorry. Daniel...why didn't you go back to your hotel?"
He shrugged, "I just wanted to be close to you on your big day, I guess. I don't know. I wanted to at least be the second face you saw today. Be one of the first to wish you good luck and congratulate you. You're going to be fantastic, Betty! I've never been prouder of you, honey."
He leaned down to kiss her cheek, but she surprised him, by turning her head and putting her arms around his neck, pulling him to her for a kiss, then deepening it.
As he pulled away slightly, he kept his lips just next to hers, "Why Miss Suarez, I do believe you're coming onto me! Are you sure you can fit me into your busy schedule today?"
She nodded, looking over her shoulder at the clock on the wall, "It's early. The one advantage to my being such a total lightweight last night and falling asleep so early is that now I'm waking up so early, too. It's only six o'clock. So, unless you think you're going to take longer than an hour….yes, I think I can pencil you in before my shower, Daniel."
He grinned, as she continued to cover him with kisses, holding onto her waist, and pulling her closer, "Mm...I could definitely get used to this. An hour, huh? Well, it's going to be tough, but I think maybe I can please you in less than an hour this time.
You do realize this will mean I have to meet your family wearing the same clothes I had on last night. Making me do the walk of shame two mornings in a row, Betty? You're going to give me a complex! Next time, you're coming to my hotel room."
She nodded, "I don't have a problem with that. As long as I don't have to sneak out, past my family again."
He laughed, "No need to now. Trust me, I think they're all pretty much onto us! Even your dad, although he was doing a much better job of at least pretending not to know what was going on with us."
"That's because he's had lots of practice at pretending he's ignorant to what his daughters are doing with their boyfriends."
He grinned, looking down at her shirt, before he lifted it off her, and began 'attacking' her breasts with his eager hands and kisses, "Boyfriend, huh? I think I am going to like being your boyfriend. It has a nice ring to it! I could get used to that, I guess. 'Hi, I'm Betty Suarez's boyfriend, Daniel. Nice to meet you. I'm Betty's boyfriend….yeah, I like it!"
She laughed, unbuttoning his shirt quickly and walking him towards the bedroom, as he undid his belt and unzipped his pants in record time, and falling backwards onto her bed, as he reached for her, with Betty jumping on top of him, just as eagerly.
"Hello, I'm Betty Suarez, Daniel Meade's girlfriend. Oh, absolutely! You're right; that does have a VERY nice ring to it!"