The Bridge/CH 4

Betty left Daniel standing outside the elevator. As soon as the doors shut, she caught a glimpse of herself in the reflection of one of the monitors. Was Wilhelmina right?

Did she really resemble Sofia enough to encourage Daniel to…no, Betty knew the man better than that. She didn't think he really would use her like that. At least, not consciously, anyway. Still…

Seeing one of the Mode town cars was parked outside the building, she did what she very seldom did in spite of Daniel's encouragement to use them and took advantage of it, rather than ride the subway all the way back to Queens.

She didn't think riding the subway in a designer dress, holding two-thousand dollar shoes in her hands would go over so well. Besides, her purse with her metro card in it was back in the Meade building and she definitely wasn't going back for it right now.

Once inside, she sighed, and collapsed against the back of the seat. "Miss…Suarez?" The driver, whom she had spoken to many times in the past, smiled in the rear view mirror.

She smiled, "Hi, Stan! How are you? I haven't seen you in a while. How have you been?"

"Oh, I'm fine. My daughter just graduated, sum cum laude from Northwestern. I just got back from Chicago two days ago. Wow, can I just tell you, Miss Suarez, you look really pretty today?"

Betty blushed, "Thanks, Stan. That's sweet of you to say."

"No, I mean it. You were always a cute girl. But…without your glasses, you look a lot more grown up. You really look like you own the place, now. Good for you!

It's great to see a home town girl make good, and show these Park Avenue snooty types that they don't own Manhattan, you know?"

Betty nodded, and looked at herself in the side mirror. She did look good. She smiled at her reflection, then closed her mouth. After a few minutes, she leaned forward, "Stan?"

"Yes, Miss Suarez?"

"Please, I've told you before, call me Betty."

He grinned, "Yes, Betty?"

She smiled, showing her braces, "What do you think about the braces? Do they keep me from looking professional?"

He winced, "Well, I mean, you're still real cute, but…I guess they sort of do make you look a lot younger. No offense, miss!"

She shook her head, "It's okay, Stan. Instead of Queens, can you take me to the dental offices in Brooklyn? You know the ones I mean, right? The new complex on main. Our insurance covers them, I'm pretty sure.

Although, I don't know about cosmetic procedures. But, I'll figure something out." Betty made a call to see if she could get a last minute cancellation appointment.

Three hours later, at noon, she walked into her house in Queens, and Justin was leisurely coming out of the kitchen, without really looking up, "Chamomile, AB?"

"Sure, thanks, Justin." Betty said, somewhat uncertain of herself.

As Justin started to hand her the tea, he dropped the cup, and his hand went to his mouth, "Oh my God! Aunt Betty? It's a miracle! You don't have your braces anymore?"

She shook her head, as she helped him pick up the broken cup and clean up the mess, "No, I do. I just had them switch to the see-through kind. What do you think?"

"And the make-up? And the dress! Whoa! You look…fantastic! AB…like gorgeous! I'm so proud!" he hugged her.

She laughed, "Thank you, Justin. That means a lot, coming from you."

"How did all this happen, though? Did they offer free make-up and designer fashions at the ortho or something? That dress is Marc Jacobs, right? From the spring collection. I recognize it. It looks fantastic on you, AB!"

After they made some more tea, they both sat down outside on the steps and Betty told him all that had happened to her that night.

She left out her argument with his mother and the feelings she was trying hard to ignore for her boss. "I must admit, Justin, I feel a little like Cinderella and I'm just waiting for my carriage to turn back into a pumpkin, you know?"

He rolled his eyes, "Well, that's not gonna happen, AB. First of all, you've got ME, remember? I do know what works and what doesn't, fashion-wise."

She smiled, "Yes, Daniel mentioned you as an example of good taste."

Justin beamed with pride, "Daniel thinks I have good taste?"

"You do, Justin. And yes, of course he does. From here on out, you're my fashion consultant. Deal?"

"YES! Oh, wow, this is great! When you get a promotion at Mode because you look so good, that means I'll definitely get an internship!"

"You know, Christina is one of the top ten designers to watch in the show. I'm sure she could use lots of help. Maybe we could talk your mom into letting you take some time off from school this week. After all…Fashion Week SHOULD be a holiday, right?" She smiled.

He hugged her, "Oh my God! Thank you, AB! I'm guessing getting some new faux designer frames or maybe contacts is going to be on our to do list, but first things first! We have got to go shopping and get you a decent wardrobe. If you're going to help me be a star, you've got to look the part."

She shook her head, "No, first…I need some sleep, Justin. I've been up all night. I'm exhausted. Wake me up in about four hours and we'll go shopping, okay? I promise. Just you and me."

Justin narrowed his eyes, "Not mom? Are you two…okay, AB? I heard you arguing last night. It's not like you two to fight and not make up right away."

Betty took a bite of empanada, but Justin, knocked it out of her hand. "AB? What's going on?"

Betty shook her head sadly, "I'm tired, Justin. Wake me up at three thirty, please? We're taking the town car. I've got a friend who is a driver for Mode.

I'll call him now to come pick us up and take us back into the city later. You can tell him which stores. But…can we keep it under three hundred dollars? I know that's not a lot. But, it's all I have saved. I'm already going to be doing payments for the braces."

Justin put up his hand, "Please, AB. I know how to shop on a budget. It's not a lot, but I can work with it. We'll just mix and match. It's not a deal-breaker. Really…a town car? Awesome! Marc's going to be so jealous!"

"NO! Justin, I know he's your friend, but…he works for Wilhelmina. I don't want him saying anything to her. She's…"Betty tried to control her emotions.

The woman had hurt her deeply, but she wouldn't let anyone see her cry again, she determined. If she had learned anything from her tortuous years in school, it was that. Never let them see you cry.

It was time she toughened up and realized, Mode was indeed shark-infested waters and she had better learn to play their game.

It didn't mean she had to be cold or unfeeling like Wilhelmina. But she couldn't stay completely naïve, either. She was a smart girl and she could certainly outsmart Marc and Amanda, if not the diva herself.

Besides, the woman at least had enough good taste to finally choose Christina as one of the top ten designers for Fashion Week. Perhaps she was at least fair in some respects.

As far as things with Daniel…Betty didn't exactly know what to think. She drifted off to sleep immediately, dreaming of Daniel as a shoe salesman, bringing her out different designer shoes.

She kept envisioning how his touch on her leg had made her feel earlier and what that might mean. How could she continue to work for the man now? She had come back as his assistant when he returned from 'Rio', but what about Amanda? Did Daniel really need two assistants?

She racked her brain and tried to think of something else she could do in the company that would perhaps not mean she had to work so closely with Daniel.

No matter what he said, she knew he needed time to heal from the pain Sofia had caused him and she didn't want to get in the way of that.

She certainly didn't want anyone to think she was 'after' Daniel herself when he was vulnerable. She didn't think of him 'that way' anyway. Did she? Then why did it hurt her so much to hear Daniel say that about her?

Daniel paced in his loft, running his hands through his hair and looking at his phone for the fifth time in ten minutes. Why hadn't she called back? Returned any of his messages? Where had she gone?

One of his drivers had taken her home he knew. But the man had virtually disappeared for hours with Betty and Daniel was starting to get worried about her. Why did it take so long for Stan to return? Finally, he called once more, "Stan? It's me again. Is she home?"

"Yes, sir. I dropped Miss Suarez off about two hours ago, back in Queens. Did you need me for anything? I uh…had another call from her to pick her up in a few hours."

"Really? Where did she say she was going?"

"Back into Manhattan is all I know for sure, sir. Is that alright? Did you need me for something else?"

"No. I…thanks, Stan. So, she seemed okay? Not crying or upset?"

"No, sir. She was a little upset when I first picked her up at Mode, but she was much happier when I dropped her off. She's quite a young lady!"

"Yeah. She is. Thanks! Could you please…text me when you drop her off later and tell me where she went? I really need to see her."

Stan smiled, "Of course, Mr. Meade."

"Please, Stan. It's just Daniel."

"Of course, Daniel. I'd be happy to." The man smiled knowingly, thinking he really did love his job sometimes.

As Justin pulled Betty through numerous stores, the final one had her heart racing as she noticed the address he gave Stan. "Justin…this is not good for me to be here."

Justin shrugged, "But this place is amazing, Aunt Betty! They have all kinds of designer labels that just have minor flaws and you can get them for a…"

"It's right around the corner from Daniel's loft, that's why!" She finally blurted out, exasperated by her nephew's enthusiastic oblivious rant.

He raised an eyebrow, "I didn't really remember AB. Sorry. Are you really that worried that he'll be standing out on the street and see you, just because his loft is here in Soho? Wow…he really did get to you, huh? How are you going to face him at work Monday if you…"

"I don't know, Justin! Okay? I'm going to be really super busy all week with Fashion Week, so I'm sure I'll barely see him. Then, after it's over, I think maybe I'll just put in for a transfer. Amanda can stay on as his assistant. It's time for a change, anyway."

"I see." Justin nodded, looking at his aunt carefully. Her face was flushed with embarrassment. She shouldn't have to share all she had with her young nephew.

These were things she should have been able to talk about to her sister. But right now, that seemed out of the question. Hilda would only make her feel completely ridiculous for even entertaining any feelings for Daniel.

She would remind Betty that Daniel was totally out of her league and a playboy and would only break her heart…and guys like Daniel Meade didn't fall in love with girls from Queens like Betty. All things Betty already was WELL aware of, and didn't need her sister's voice reminding her of her 'place' in the world.

Maybe Daniel was out of reach, but that didn't mean Betty thought so little of herself that she had any intention of settling for some jerk like Walter, who cheated on her with someone like Gina Gambaro!

As Betty entered the eclectic shop, AvaMaria, she suddenly retreated, walking backwards out of the store, beckoning Justin to come with her. "But AB! Look, there are some great deals here. Where are you going?"

She whispered, "I forgot, I left my purse back at…" Betty backed into someone, "Ooh, sorry! Daniel! What are you doing here?"

He smiled meekly and handed her the purse she had left behind, "Doing some shopping in anticipation of the raise I promised you, Betty? Here, you might need this. Whoa…you look different! Where are your braces?"