THE BRIDGE/CH 8

Daniel was still in shock after being told by his father that he intended on handing over much of the operations of Meade Publications to him and that he would be making the announcement at the end of Fashion Week. He even told Daniel he was proud of him, causing Daniel to almost choke on his Scotch.

The one dark cloud that Daniel had was that he hadn't seen much of Betty lately. He wanted to share this fantastic news with her. It seemed to him that the trust his father had shown him held no joy for Daniel until he could see the look of pride on Betty's face.

However, since the incident with Hilda showing up at his place, Betty had been like a ghost. He knew she was working extremely hard setting everything up for the shows, but he was also aware of how embarrassed she had been by her sister's outburst.

Everyone at Mode had assumed that Betty's make-over had resulted from pressure from Bradford that if his son were advancing up the corporate ladder, his assistant needed to 'look the part'.

Still, Daniel had been privately cheering for Betty when he saw the change in attitude from Marc and Amanda and even Wilhelmina in her way, seeming to give the girl far more credibility.

Daniel really missed talking to Betty, and getting her input on issues. He had managed to side step all Becks' efforts to get him to go partying with him so far, begging off because of all the events centering around Fashion Week.

Finally, Daniel saw his opportunity. He spied Betty, running back and forth in the main tent, and he was trying to make his way over to her to see how she was doing.

He hadn't been able to as much as talk on the phone to her about anything non-work related and he desperately wanted to make sure she was alright.

Becks appeared, with a drink in hand, "Hey, there you are. Ten o'clock. Check out the tall blonde in the red dress that just walked in! Now THAT is some major talent right there. Do you even want to try to go up against me for this one or are you still wimping out?"

Daniel looked up at the woman. She was beautiful, certainly. A year ago (or even six months ago perhaps), he would have jumped at the chance to compete with Becks for her affections. But now…he merely shrugged, "She's nice. But, you go ahead, Becks. She's more your type than mine. Be my guest. I'm going to go…"

"Let me guess, talk to Betty? Yeah, she's been giving you the cold shoulder ever since her sister went off on you, Daniel. Take the hint. She's not biting. I saw her talking to some nerd with glasses earlier and he looked pretty interested."

"Nerd? What did he look like?"

"I just told you, like a nerd. A tall, skinny guy with glasses! How the hell do I know who he was? They all look alike to me. Wait…I did hear Betty say his name. It was something like Harold or Hector or…some H name."

"Henry? The guy from accounting? Yeah, I knew he liked her. I told her I saw him checking her out. I could tell he was totally into her."

"Oh my God, just go talk to her you idiot! Talk about being 'totally into' someone! Why are you even hesitating? You're freaking Daniel Meade, for God's sake! I think you just might have a shot against 'Henry from accounting' for crying out loud! You've really gotten pathetic lately, Daniel! Whatever, man. Go, talk to your sexy little chica. I'm taking my shot with the hot blonde."

Daniel waved him away, with his eyes on Betty, "Yeah, whatever. Good luck. I'll talk to you later."

Becks approached the blonde. "Hey there, sweetheart. Can I borrow your phone?"

"My phone? What for?"

"I told my mother I'd call her when I met an angel."

"Wow. That was just…sad. I can't believe you screwed that up. Isn't it something about did it hurt when you fell from heaven? Of course, that line is so old…I could always check with my grandfather. I'm pretty sure he used it during World War II. Where's your friend going?"

"Daniel? Oh, he's got the hots for his little secretary. You don't want to bother with him. He's boring as hell nowadays. He's always got his nose to the grindstone, it's all work, work, work. He's trying to fill his brother's shoes and please his dad all the time."

"His brother's the one who died, right? Daniel is trying to fill Alex's shoes, huh?"

Becks shrugged, "Yeah, and he's so nuts about that Betty girl that his old man made him hire, it's sad, really. He used to be quite the adversary. But she's got him wrapped around her little pinky."

"Adversary? So, you two…competed against each other to pick up women, huh?"

"Well, me, him and his brother Alex. But with Alex, it was an art. He was a master, I have to give the guy his due. I always felt sorry for poor Daniel."

"How so?"

"He never felt good enough next to Alex. He could do no wrong, especially with their father. And Daniel pretty much followed Alex around like a puppy. Since the guy died…it really messed him up. He and his old man never saw eye to eye, you know? At least, not until Alex died. Now it looks like Daniel's dad is finally giving him a shot."

"Will you excuse me? I just need to freshen up."

"Sure, sweetie. Don't run off on me."

"Oh, don't worry. I'm not going anywhere."

Alexis Meade walked closer to hear Daniel talking to the short, young girl with dark hair she had seen running around all afternoon, frantically working.

She overheard Daniel talking to the girl. He stopped her, taking her hand, "Betty! Stop, okay? Take a breath. You're doing a fantastic job! You deserve to take a second and enjoy all this. Listen, when you saved my ass on the Fabia account, who got the credit for it?"

"You did."

"And today, when people are complimenting me on all this, who is going to get the credit?"

"You are."

"NO! Betty, you are. My dad actually told me today that he trusts me with more of Meade. I can step away from Mode now and let Wilhelmina have it, so she isn't breathing down my neck anymore.

I'm getting kicked upstairs. And I want you to come with me. You can start submitting your own stories and put in for an editor's job as soon as one opens up."

Betty threw her arms around his neck, and squealed with excitement. "Really? Oh my God, Daniel that's fantastic! I'm so happy for you. I'm really glad your father finally sees what a great job you've been doing."

"You've been doing a pretty great job, yourself, you know. I'm worried about you, though, Betty. Are you sure you're okay? You seem like you've been avoiding me ever since that night at my place."

"Since my sister called me a virgin? Yeah, well, that was a little…embarrassing to say the least. I've noticed your friend Becks has certainly backed off ever since then."

Daniel looked down, "You uh…like him, huh?"

Betty blushed again,"What? No! Not really. I was just so mortified when Hilda said all that stupid stuff she said that day. I'm so sorry, Daniel. She was horrible to you.

And you were nothing but wonderful to me. I've been afraid to even talk to you. I was worried you would hate me after that."

He shook his head and took her hands in his again, looking at her, and grinning, "I could never hate you, Betty. And believe me, you have nothing to feel embarrassed about. I don't even blame Hilda for what she said, really. I know she was trying to look out for you. But I hope she's started giving you a lot more credit for being your own woman."

Betty smiled, "Well, she's actually doing alright at the moment. I knew we needed extra help, and she needed a job, so I told her if she let Justin take off school, and help out, maybe she should come herself and help with the model's hair and make-up.

She's helping TJ and loving it. She's actually doing pretty well. And the best part is…she has to listen to me! I'm sort of her boss!"

Daniel laughed, "Hmm…if I didn't know you better, I'd say you enjoyed bossing your sister around, Betty!"

She smiled, rolling her eyes, "Maybe. For once, she's Betty's sister instead of me being 'Hilda's kid sister."

He laughed, "Yeah, I sort of know what you mean. I admit, it kind of feels good to be out of Alex's shadow."

"You're still in it, Danny."

Daniel turned, to see the blonde Becks had noticed earlier, standing close to him and Betty. "I'm sorry, do I know you? By the way, it's Daniel. Nobody calls me Danny."

"Your brother Alex did."

"Did. He's dead. And how would you know that, anyway? I'm sorry, who are you?"

Alexis smiled, looking back and forth between Betty and Daniel, "I must say, Danny. You surprise me with this one.

She's something else. She's not your usual type, is she? Smart, hard-working. Honest. I see you've at least improved your taste in women."

"Seriously, do we know each other or something, Miss? You do look a little familiar."

Alexis came and stood closer to Daniel, leaning down to look him in the eye. "Around the eyes, maybe? Look closely, Danny boy. That and my shoe size was the only thing they couldn't change."

"Who couldn't change? What the hell are you talking about? Who are you?"

"I'm Alex, Danny. It's me. Only…it's Alexis now."

Betty's eyes widened and her hand went to her mouth.

Daniel furrowed his brow, looking at the woman narrowly, "WHAT? What the fu…!?"

Becks came walking over, "Hey! You ditched me for this joker? Come on, darling, I told you, he's in love with this little gal here. Don't waste your time on him."

"Oh, don't worry, Becks. I think even Danny here might not be up to hitting on his own brother. Or rather…sister."

"Sister? Whose sister? What the hell are you talking about? Daniel doesn't have a sister."

"He does now."

"What? Seriously? Since when? Wait, you mean his old man is hiding a daughter somewhere? From that Fey woman? Who is she?"

"No, from Claire. It's me. I'm Danny's sister. Bradford Meade is my father and Claire is my mother, just like Danny boy here."

"I don't think so, sweetie. I know Claire Meade. She only had two kids."

"Yep. And I'm one of them."

"You're Daniel's sister? Huh? Are you serious?"

"Oh yeah, Becks. And you stole that lame pick-up line from me."

"From you?"

"Sure. Like you said, I was always the master. I made both you and Danny look like amateurs."

"What? What are you on, sweetheart? Are you high?"

"No, Becks. It's me. Alex. Your old hunting buddy."

Daniel ran out of the room, looking like he was ready to throw up. Betty ran after him. Becks stood there, in shock, trying to figure out what was going on.

Alexis saw the havoc she had caused at the end of the last show of Fashion Week. Her two years of planning and scheming had finally come to fruition.

She had come out in public as Bradford Meade's son-turned-daughter, completely blind-siding him. Then, for the cherry on top, she had him taken away in handcuffs from his own stage for the murder of his long-time mistress, Fey Sommers.

She saw that little curly-headed assistant of Wilhelmina's escorting her away. Evidently, the woman had gotten some bad eye work done and needed to get home to change the bandages. There was practically no one around the tent anymore. Everyone seemed to scatter once the arrest was made.

The paparazzi had buzzed around her at first, but had gone off to see what they could glean from Bradford Meade's arrest. As she sat, quietly contemplating how empty her victory felt, she couldn't help but have some remorse.

As much as her father had made her life a living hell, and she had sworn revenge, she couldn't help see the look in her brother's eyes. That had confused her.

Not to mention, the tender way he seemed so concerned about his assistant. That was nothing like the Daniel she remembered, running after anything in a skirt.

Hilda Suarez came out and saw Alexis sitting down. "Wow, you sure know how to clear a tent, mister, I mean...lady! And I thought I was bad!"

Alexis pushed a glass towards Hilda and poured her a double. "Scotch? I don't normally drink it. It's my brother's drink. But...this is a special occasion."

"Special occasion? Yeah, that was some show you put on!"

Alexis nodded, taking a drink and lifting up her glass to toast Hilda, "Here's to Alex Meade. May he rest in peace!"

Hilda shook her head and took a drink, "Obviously you were pretty pissed at your father. What did he do to you that was so terrible, anyway for you to have him arrested like that?"

"Oh, not much. He just disowned me when I told him I wanted to do this. He said he'd rather see me dead. So...I gave him what he wanted."

"For two years, though?"

Alexis waved her hand down her body, and up to her face, "I was a little busy. Do you think all this was an outpatient procedure?"

"No, I get it. But..."

"But what?"

Hilda shrugged, taking another drink, "Well, it's just that...you not only punished your dad. You also put the rest of your family through hell, too.

It was sort of a shitty thing to do to your mother and brother, to make them think you were dead all that time. Betty said Daniel went to your grave every Sunday. And your mom...drank a lot."

"She drank a lot before. And Danny? He's just like my old man. I will admit. He seems a lot...nicer now. You're Betty's sister?"

"Guilty."

"I'd say she's been a really good influence on him. I've never seen him act that way around a woman before. Most of the time, he's got them on their back, then he's out the door."

"Thank you! See, I knew that! That's why I went off on him when I found out my sister spent the night with him. He and Betty claimed nothing happened. That she slept upstairs alone and he slept in the chair, with his friend on the couch..."

Alexis shrugged, taking another drink, "Last time I saw my brother, I would have said no way. But now...I couldn't tell you. Maybe I was wrong about him. I know one thing; he's not the same Daniel Meade I remember. That's for sure."

"People can change, I suppose. Look at Betty. She sure looks different. She got the clear braces and got contacts, and she's fixed her hair and is wearing make-up pretty well, and she's dressing all classy.

She doesn't need her tacky sister from Queens for anything anymore. When our mom first died, I sort of tried to help Betty, you know, play dress up and stuff."

Alexis nodded, "Yeah, believe me, I know all about playing dress up. Mom caught me a few times and just laughed it off. My dad caught me and had a freaking cow about it."

"What about Daniel?"

Alexis smiled slyly, "I would dress him up sometimes, so he wouldn't talk. He was always afraid of me."

Hilda laughed, taking another drink, "Oh, wow...that's just wrong! But, I guess I was mean to Betty sometimes, too. Mainly, I read her diary and butt into her life.

I tried to get her to settle for this one guy she's been dating, even after he cheated on her. I just didn't want her to end up alone, like I was for so long. But I know I embarrassed the hell out of her the other night, really butting into her "love life" with your brother.

I had my son Justin in my senior year of high school. And his father wasn't really there for me at first. He is helping out a little now finally. But it was tough for a long time. Still is. Betty mothers everybody. Even me sometimes. She already took care of Justin today, sometimes I think he wishes she was his mom instead of me.

I can't believe how much she was bossing me around today! I think she was trying to pay me back for embarrassing her in front of Daniel and his friend.

That's okay, though. It all worked out. TJ told me he liked the way I did a back comb and my make-up skills. So, I might have finally found something I'm good at doing!"

"That's great. I was planning on putting Wilhelmina in as the new Editor-in-chief and kicking Daniel out so I could take over. But, I overheard him say he didn't want to stay at Mode, anyway."

Hilda made a face, "Why are you mixed up with that woman? She's a total bitch!"

"Well, I've been sort of planning a whole revenge thing against my father all this time. Who else was I going to conspire with?"

"I guess. But you're still nicer than her. You've got some humanity. Nobody's perfect. Not you, or me, or Betty or Daniel. That woman is just pure evil. She gives me the creeps whenever I see her!"

Daniel was still recovering from all that had happened to his family that day. He had his head in his hands, as he sat at a table outside. Betty patted his back, sympathetically. "I don't believe all this shit, Betty!

For the first time in my life, I actually felt like my father was almost proud of me. Just as he is about to acknowledge that fact to the world, I find out Alex has been alive all this time-and she's hot!

And she has Dad arrested for killing Fey? Why would he do that? He cheated on my mom with that woman for all these years, then he supposedly just kills her? That makes no sense to me!

I know the man is cold and unfeeling sometimes, but I can't see him killing anyone! Especially not Fey Sommers. I could see if my mom or Wilhelmina or hell, even I wanted her out of the picture, although I would never kill her…but my dad was obviously in love with the woman! Why would he kill her?

I knew Alex could be a jerk sometimes, but to let us all think he was dead for all this time? That's just…beyond cruel!"

Betty shook her head, sympathetically, "I know, Daniel. There is no explanation that makes any sense for any of this."

Daniel took her hand and smiled meekly, "See, and you thought YOU had problems with your sister, Betty!"

She laughed slightly, "Yeah, I guess you're right. This does sort of put my argument with Hilda in perspective. I'm so sorry, Daniel. I don't know what to say to help you. This is…well, a big mess! I wish I knew how to make things better for you."

A slow smile spread across his face, as he ran his thumb over the back of her hand, "I know one thing you could do for me that would make me feel better."

Betty's eyes widened, "Uh…I don't think so, Daniel! I know you use sex as an escape from your problems, but…"

He laughed, "Not that! I mean, not that I would mind, but, actually, I was just wondering if you wanted to go out with me, that's all. I know you probably already got asked by that Henry guy, huh? And I bet he's not so screwed up."

Betty squirmed uncomfortably, "Well, he did ask me out for lunch sometime. But, I'm not really into sushi."

Daniel looked into her eyes. Betty blushed, thinking how amazing his eyes were and how she wished she hadn't suddenly forgotten her own name right now. He touched her cheek,

"I'm not either. But I'm into…I mean, I could take you out somewhere where they cook the food if you like. And no snails, of course. What do you say, Betty? I just need a night of normal. Something to take my mind off all this craziness in my life."

"That sounds really nice. Except, Daniel, you're still my boss. How would it look if I start dating my employer?"

He raised an eyebrow, "Hmmm…well, I could fire you."

"What?"

He put up a hand, "No, I'm kidding! We don't have to call it a date. Just two people, eating together. We both have to eat, right? We ate together the other night on our "all night date" on the bridge, didn't we?

But if you're worried about that, how about we try and find you another job at Meade besides being my assistant? I'd hate to lose you, but I know you were going to work for Sofia at MYW anyway, so I get that you really don't want to feel like you're going backwards."

"Believe me, Daniel, after having to work as the 'chip chick', I'm grateful for whatever job I can get!"

"Well, yeah, but you're capable of so much more, Betty. I know that. Look at all you did here at Fashion Week! You really did an amazing job. I'm sure we can find you something else you could do at Meade other than work directly for me."

Betty bit her lip, "But, Daniel, you're going to find me a job at your family's company just so you're not my boss anymore, and we can…not date? That seems so nepotistic!"

Daniel raised his eyebrows, laughing, "Uh, I think you're forgetting who you're talking to, Betty. Remember how I got MY job! My dad owns the company. I don't personally have a problem with nepotism, obviously. Besides, it doesn't mean you're not qualified. I know what a hard worker you are.

You've proven that. It doesn't matter how you get the job so much as what you do with it once you get it! I believe that's what you once told me, anyway."

Betty felt her cheeks turning red and her whole body tingled as he stroked his hand slowly down her back, "I guess you're right. Okay. I'd love to go out with you, Daniel. If you really want to."

He nodded, "Oh, yeah. I do, Betty. You're the only sane thing in my life right now. You're the only person I can count on to help me. To hold my hand."

He intertwined his hand with hers. Betty squeezed his hand back, "Of course, Daniel. I'll always be here to help if you need me. I'm your friend. You can count on me."

He gave her his best charming smile, "Friend? Sure, friend. But…maybe we could consider an upgrade? I mean, unlike my new 'sister' I am still a boy, you know. I still have all my manufacturers installed parts. So, technically, that would make me your boy-friend, right?"

Betty giggled, "Well, you're definitely a boy. And you're my friend. So…yeah, I guess you're right. But I thought you said this wasn't a date? Now you want to be my 'boyfriend'?"

He leaned forward, so close that Betty could feel his breath on her lips, causing her to almost hyperventilate, "Okay, so I lied. It is a date. Care to make it…official?"

"So, here you both are! We should have known you'd be together. Aww…look, my little brother is about to kiss your little sister, isn't that cute?" Extremely inebriated now, Hilda and Alexis both came outside, elbowing each other and laughing.