"Just pull over right here, please!" Daniel jumped out of the cab practically while it was still moving, as he spotted Betty's bright scarf on the ground, by the side of Tower Bridge. She had definitely been there, he thought, likely contemplating what a crazy guy she had hooked up with, prone to fits of unjustified jealousy. He hated that he often just blurted out random thoughts, without thinking about the consequences or considering how his words might hurt others.
He looked out at the city, so full of promise earlier as he had dreamed of building a life here with Betty from his balcony. Now he felt the cold chill and the bitter grey of the sky seemed to match his despair. Where was she? Was she with Matt? Had his own jealousy become a self-fulfilling prophecy? Victoria Hartley's obvious conviction that Matt had returned from Africa, determined to win Betty back scared the hell out of him.
Now he was sunk, though, as he got slowly into the cab, after looking around to see if she had dropped anything else, perhaps left some clue as to where she might have gone, who she would have turned to. He looked on his contacts and saw Christina's number.
After several rings, to the point he was anticipating having to leave a message; he heard her voice, "Allo? Who's this?"
"Daniel. Daniel Meade."
"Ah…I wondered how long it'd be till you called, with your tail between yer legs! I suppose you'll be wantin information on the whereabouts of a certain young lady, then?"
"Christina. Come on, don't mess around. This is serious. I'm really worried about her. This is more than just a lover's spat. I got a really weird call from Victoria Hartley. She said something about wanting to meet me to keep Betty from getting back together with Matt.
She is crazy enough to hire somebody to hurt Betty or something to get her way. I don't trust the woman. Now, I'm on the Tower Bridge and I find Betty's scarf. I don't know what the hell to think. I understand if she's mad at me. I just want to know she's safe, okay? Seriously, how do I know Matt's mother didn't hire some goon to come and…throw Betty off the bridge or something? I just need to see her, to know she's okay. Please? If you know something, tell me where she might be."
"Wow, you're good. Okay, Daniel. Heaven help me, I believe you. Now you've got me worried about her. She told me she was going to the Tate Museum. But, let me call her and see if I can get her to stay there, stall her until you can get to her, okay? She can be mad at me all she wants; I don't want the likes of Victoria Hartley hiring henchmen to do away with her!"
"Thanks, Christina! I'm on my way there." He turned to the driver and told him where to take him.
After a few minutes, his phone rang. He answered quickly, "Betty? Is that you, honey?"
"No, Daniel. I'm sorry; it's me, Christina again. I'm just getting her voice mail. I called Hilda and asked her if she's heard from Betty and she said not since she first told her about your little fight."
"What about Amanda?"
"I called her, as well. No answer. I'll tell you what. You go ahead and go to the Tate. That's where she was last headed. Stuart and I will go to Amanda's room and see if Betty's there. I'll send Hilda and Bobby to the Tate to help you look for her. Don't worry, Daniel. We'll find her."
He sighed, "Okay, and thanks, again, Christina. I'm such an idiot!"
"Well, I don't have time to debate you on that one, I'm afraid. So, the short answer is yes, you are. But I know you love her. Let's just find her and make sure she's safe first, then we'll let you and Betty sort out your problems. I'll call you if I find her or hear from her."
"Okay." He bit his lip, looking out at the traffic, seeing tourists with their families and locals, rushing to get to meetings. He saw Trafalgar Square, thinking how he had been planning on taking Betty there for dates, as well as all the places in the city (and throughout Europe) he was looking forward to seeing the look on her face as he surprised her; places that had never held as much appeal to him before, but that he couldn't wait to share with Betty in addition to the many sites in the UK; Paris, Rome, Venice, Florence, Munich, Heidelberg, perhaps. He knew seeing them fresh through her eyes would be amazing, with her wonder and enthusiasm. She made everything fun.
And now…he had gone and messed things up. He had doubted her, cast his own stupid insecurities and cynicism onto her and made her angry, just when she was her most vulnerable thanks to his childish behavior, Victoria Hartley comes riding into town like the witch she was.
He had been searching throughout the museum, and had several of the guards on the lookout for her, as well. He was growing more and more frantic, when Bobby and Hilda spotted him, "Daniel!"
He rushed to them. "Hey, guys. Thanks for your help."
Hilda gave him a dirty look, "So, I understand YOU already came, looking for her and this one told you about her telling me she was headed to Tower Bridge?" She pointed to Bobby, who shrugged, looking guilty.
"Hey! The man was obviously in pain, Hilda. Give it a rest, huh? The most important thing is to find chipmunk and make sure she's safe. Then, we can let them sort out their problems."
Daniel's expression was one of fear and despair, "I've searched this whole damn museum. I've got about four of the security guys looking for her, too. I don't think she's here. I don't…think she ever made it here. Which means, Victoria may have her. Jesus! I've really made a mess of things. If that bitch hurts her…"
Hilda gave him a warning glare, putting up her hand, "Don't even go there, Daniel! Look, have you called Victoria back? You should be able to tell from how she talks if she has seen Betty, or knows where she is. You said yourself; she called you first, looking for her. So…it can't have been that long if she did find her."
"She's right. Maybe we should find out where Matt is, too. See if he's heard from his mom or Betty. Maybe he knows something."
Daniel nodded, putting his hands to his face, "God, I just wish I could start over and keep her with me. I can't believe this!"
Bobby put a hand on Daniel's shoulder, "Hey, we'll find her, man. Believe me, nobody's messing with our little chipmunk, or they'll have to deal with me!"
Daniel tried to smile. He looked at his phone and saw the number Victoria had called him from. After a few seconds, he heard her voice; a voice he had never liked and now he despised.
"Daniel Meade…I wondered how long it would be till I heard from you. Do I have your attention?"
"My what? What the hell are you talking about, you bitch? Do you have Betty? Do you know where she is? You'd damn well better not hurt one hair on her head, do you hear me? Just let me see her. Believe me, I'll make sure she never lays eyes on your stupid son again, okay?" now his voice went from threatening and took on a pleading tone.
"I may or may not know where your precious little Betty is. And of course I haven't harmed her. What do you take me for? I'm not your mother, Daniel. I'm no hardened criminal. I'm a respected member of society, in New York and throughout Europe."
"You're a complete bitch, is what you are, Victoria. Stop tiptoeing around and tell me where Betty is right now, or I'm going to the police!"
She laughed, "And tell them what, exactly, Daniel? That I phoned you, looking for Betty? Does that sound as if I knew where she was? If I had kidnapped her and was holding her for ransom…which is a joke, considering I could buy and sell you, why would I do that? They would laugh in your face. Or perhaps think you were like your mother. A bit unhinged, perhaps."
Daniel was ready to jump through the phone, now, he was so enraged, "Listen, you….you…poisonous witch! You tell us right now where you've got Betty and there will be no questions asked. I promise you, I'll take her as far away from Matt as I can get her. Does that satisfy you?"
Within the hour Tyler, Amanda, Stuart and Christina all showed up at the Tate, ready to turn the city of London upside down to help find Betty.
Daniel was getting more and more concerned, the longer he went without hearing from her. "Look, I get if she was still just mad at me, but that's not all that's going on here. Something's wrong.
Hilda, you should have at least heard from her by now, or maybe Christina, right? I know the police may laugh at us, but maybe if I tell them Victoria made some veiled threats…"
Stuart shook his head, "I hate to be the one to burst your bubble, Daniel, but I'm afraid the woman was right about the police. They'll likely not pursue an investigation if she's been missin less than twenty-four hours and we really don't have any kind of evidence of kidnappin or foul play.
Unfortunately, you've got no proof that vile woman has done anythin to Betty at this point. I say, we go to the source, find this Victoria and confront her. Maybe one group of us can do that, and others could go hunt down the ex-boyfriend, Matt, wasn't it?"
"Okay…that sounds like a good idea." Hilda nodded, with a gleam in her eye, "Daniel, why don't you go look for Matt, because first of all, I don't want you to go to jail for killing the bitch."
Daniel looked at her, "You're telling me you're NOT going to want to do the same thing to her, Hilda?"
She shook her head, "No. I want to kill her, too. I'm just not going to jail over her. I know how to hide her body better than you do if it comes right down to it, Mister Park Avenue. Besides, I think she's used to dealing with you. It sounds to me like this uptown bitch needs a little Queens reality check, right, Bobby?"
He nodded, "You got that right. If that woman touched one hair on chipmunk's head, believe me, she'll be wishing she was never born!"
Daniel sighed, but finally agreed, "Fine, you two go try to intimidate the hell out of her, I guess."
Once they had split up, he asked, "Christina, do you know where this Aids foundation Matt is supposedly running for his mom has its offices here?"
"Yes, I do, actually. I did a show once that benefitted them a while back. I remember the name Hartley soundin familiar at the time, but I didn't make the connection that it was the same Hartley that Betty had been dating.
They're not too far from here. Good idea, Daniel. We can see if they have his schedule and perhaps they have a contact number for him."
"I have his cell phone number. If he hasn't changed it. I know he did text me a few times, even when he was in Africa, so…"
Tyler raised his eyebrow, "Really? Like, recently? What were you doing texting your ex-boyfriend. You dated him, too, right?"
She shrugged, "Very briefly. He was sort of cute in a rich, nerdy way, I guess. But he was still obviously hung up on Betty, so we never really took things too far. He just texted me to ask how she was doing…" she stopped, realizing the implications of what she had just said.
Daniel looked at her, shocked, "Wait, so you're saying he has been trying to keep tabs on Betty fairly recently? Does he know about Betty and me?"
She bit her lip. "Well…I think I sort of let it slip you two were together a few weeks ago, maybe. I'm sorry, Daniel. I had no idea his mom was such a wack job and might actually hurt Betty to keep her away from her precious son, believe me!"
Daniel tried to stay calm and keep his wits about him, "I'm not mad, Amanda. I'm just trying to figure this out. So, Matt knew Betty was coming here. Maybe he even had something to do with the job interview at Dunne?
Victoria said Matt wanted to bring Betty here to get her away from Mode and away from me."
Amanda looked penitent and concerned, "Daniel, I didn't tell him where we would be or anything."
Daniel was just trying to stay focused now, "I know. But obviously, the fact that I showed up here messed up his plans. Amanda, try to call Matt now with the number you got the texts from, please. Just play dumb, you know, hey this is Amanda...I'm in London. Let's uh...hook up or something, okay? See what he says. If he acts suspicious."
"Okay, Daniel. I'll try. I'm sorry if I caused any trouble. I don't want anything bad to happen to Betty. Do you really think Matt's mom hates her THAT much?"
Tyler patted her shoulder, "It's not your fault, sweetie. Just try to see what he says. Don't worry. Betty's going to be fine. We'll find her."
She nodded, looking upset, but she put on her best fake smile, and smooth, sexy voice, "Hey, Matty-liscious! It's Amanda. I'm in London. What's up? Do you wanna meet somewhere and see if that Big Ben guy is really all that big? Call me."
She shrugged, "Was that okay?"
Christina chuckled, "Clever, Amanda. Charm oozing from every syllable! How could he resist such an offer?"
She nodded, thinking Christina was serious, "I know; right? I never understood why he preferred Betty over me, but...it's all good. I got the best of the bunch, right here, right Tye, tye?"
He smiled, "You said it, sweetcheeks. His loss is my gain. He doesn't know what he's missin."
Daniel turned to Christina, "I'm wondering if you could speak to Lindsay Dunne, Christina and ask if he got the idea to interview her strictly from you or if he knows the Hartleys at all and has spoken to Matt. Could you please call him and ask?"
"Of course. I'll get in touch with him straightaway, Daniel."
"Great. Thanks."
They arrived at the offices for the Hartley Aids Foundation, and Daniel walked up to the receptionist.
"Allo. How may I help you all today?"
Daniel smiled the best he could, trying to use his patented charm to get the information they needed, "Hello, miss. My name is Daniel Meade, from Meade Publications in New York. I came to your beautiful city for London Fashion Week. We're all old friends and former colleagues of Matt Hartley. I just spoke to his mother, Victoria. Vickie and my mom are old friends, too.
She called me as soon as she heard I was here, knowing I'd want to look Matt up and say hello while I was in town. She said to check here to get his schedule. She forgot where he said he would be today."
The girl smiled at Daniel, "Of course, sir. I have his schedule right here. He's lunching at Barbecoa."
Daniel leaned down and smiled charmingly, glancing at the girl's name tag, "Great, thanks so much for your help, uh…Daphne. We really appreciate it. I can't wait to see the look on good old Matt's face when we surprise him at the restaurant."
"Well, you may have difficulty getting a table there, I'm afraid. It's Jaime Oliver's place, you know. I heard it's fairly difficult to get a reservation."
"Oh, don't you worry your pretty little head about that, Daphne. I have my ways. Thanks again. Take care, now."
She giggled, and nodded, "Of course, uh…Daniel. It was lovely to have met you. Come back again…anytime."
He smiled, as they left, "Thanks."
Stuart looked at Daniel as they hailed a cab, "That was quite impressive, I must say. Do all the ladies tell you whatever you want like that just by battin your blue eyes at them and given em' a smile?"
Daniel shrugged, "It's sort of a gift, I guess. But it doesn't always work of course. It just depends. It's sort of like…Star Wars, I think."
Christina made a face, as they climbed into the cab, "Star Wars? Do tell. This I've got to hear, Daniel. What the devil is you flirtin with a woman got to do with bloody Star Wars?"
"It only works on the weak-minded, I guess."
Tyler nodded, seeming to understand. Amanda looked at him, "Did you do that with me?"
He shook his head, "No, of course not, sweetie. You're not weak-minded, like that girl."
Christina shared her news, "Well, Mr. Skywalker, I just got off the phone with Lindsay. He says he did think it was strange when he heard from Matt Hartley himself about Betty.
He spoke to me at the fashion show last week, and when I mentioned her, the reason he remembered her name so well is because he had already received an e-mail and a phone message from Matt about her. He only knew Matt's last name by reputation, so he was surprised to get the message from him.
He said he's never even met Victoria, other than at charity events in passing, same with Matt's father, although Hartley Enterprises does have some pretty substantial ties to a lot of UK properties, of course."
"So, that sounds like Matt definitely was trying to find a way to get Betty to stay here, so he could just conveniently drop back into her life, and get her 'away from me'. Of course he went to Dunne, our biggest overseas competitor."
"Well, did you manage to get us a table at that posh restaurant with all your connections, Mr. Meade, or did you have to use 'the force'?" she teased.
He smiled briefly, "Of course. And by the way, Luke was a wimp. I'd totally be Han Solo. Actually, my mom and sister are the ones with all the great chef connections. I texted mom and she said to try Alexis. She knows Oliver, so…yeah, we're good. Table for five, no waiting."
"Well, at least your murderous sister is good for something." Christina made a face.
"Yeah. I know what you mean. Sorry about that, Christina."
She shook her head, "It's not your fault, Daniel. You weren't the one who pushed me. I still can't believe she was ready to let you go to jail for it."
"What can I say? Sibling rivalry with her is…dangerous sometimes. But she was worried when I told her Betty was missing. She came through, at least."
"I wonder how Bobby and Hilda are doing with Victoria?"
"I just hope Hilda doesn't go through with her threat. I think if she found out the woman really did hurt Betty…" Amanda shook her head.
"Well, that goes for all of us. They'd have to lock us all up, then." Daniel took a breath, and looked out the window, scouring the streets as they drove, wishing he could have that whole day back, to start over. Just to spend the day, lazing in bed with Betty, enjoying quiet pillow talk.
When they arrived, they were seated immediately. "Welcome, Mr. Meade. Thank you for joining us today. I hope you'll like your table. Your server will come take your drink order and let you know what the special of the day is momentarily."
The rest of his group was impressed, as they were taken to a large table, where they could see most of the other patrons.
Christina raised her eyebrow, "Well, I see your sister has some friends in high places. To get us this good of a table on no notice? Not too shabby, Daniel."
"Yeah, but we still have to find B….Betty? Oh, my God, Betty!" Daniel saw Betty come to a table across the restaurant with Matt.
Daniel did not pass go, did not collect two hundred dollars. He merely pulled Betty away from Matt forcefully shoving him down to the ground and nodded to the others to follow as he grabbed her hand and ran outside.
Betty was livid, "Daniel! What on earth is wrong with you? Why did you just shove Matt down like that? You're being totally ridiculous! Look, I don't know what your problem is. He just bumped into me earlier and asked me to come have lunch with him…"
Daniel still hadn't let go of Betty's hand, although she was fighting to get away from him. She stood her ground as he had to let go of her with one hand to hail a cab.
She crossed her arms, "I'm not going anywhere with you, Daniel! You're acting insane! You're stalking me, now?"
Christina and the rest of the group caught up to them, with Matt scrambling to get up and give chase. She got the cab to pull over and waved everyone in, quickly before Matt reached them.
"Hurry! He's coming! Get in! Daniel, push her in, if you have to! Just get er bum in the cab!"
Daniel did as he was told and shoved Betty into the cab, then got in practically on top of her, as the others climbed in the other side.
She was even more furious, as Tyler yelled for the cabbie to leave immediately, just as Matt approached the window, banging on it.
"Why are you all helping him kidnap me? Daniel…what's this about?"
He smiled, and looked at her, holding her face in his hands, and kissed her deeply. She didn't really fight the kiss, but when they parted, she slapped him, narrowed her eyes, "Daniel! You can't just…kiss your way out of this! I'm still waiting for an explanation."
"I love you, Betty. I'm so sorry. Look, just…don't ever see Matt again, okay? Please? Promise me? I swear I thought I was never going to see you again."