Thank you so much for reading and for your comments - I'm glad you guys liked Detty's playful scenes! Here's the next chapter - with a touch of smut. ;)
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Life at MODE was more challenging. It was kind of satisfying, knowing they had this juicy secret that no one knew about. But at the same time, it was difficult to keep it to themselves. However, they tried to enjoy their subtle hints until everyone finally got the picture. Betty would allow her hands to linger on Daniel's chest when straightening his tie before an important meeting. Daniel would let his arm casually slide lower around Betty when they walked together; from her shoulder down to her waist.
They'd flirt more often, stare more often, conjure up more excuses to pop into each other's offices, and work dangerously close to one another on certain assignments. It was hard to resist the heat, knowing they couldn't even give each other a quick peck on the cheek or lips without it all coming out and blowing up in their faces.
And after a certain amount of time had gone by, they couldn't understand why there wasn't any buzz going on about them at all. While Betty was at the orthodontist getting her braces removed, Daniel decided to ask Amanda.
"You guys have always been touchy-feely with each other, you've exchanged erotic vibes off and on for at least the past year and you were still stuck to each other's hips even after she was over being your assistant. So everyone guesses you're already secretly a couple or that's just the way you guys are. I don't think anyone would be shocked if you jumped her right in the middle of a meeting," Amanda blithely stated.
Daniel looked at her in disbelief. Was he that obvious? Were they both that obvious? Everyone already had it figured out before they did?
"Ugh, enough with the stun gun act! Come on, Daniel. Everyone here is pretty perceptive – including me. How else do you think we manage to get our gossip fixes? But don't worry about what other people think – if you guys like each other, show it. Sneaking around is kinky and a great anaphylactic for a while but it's never all that it's sexed up to be. Your tasty Empanada Empress is gonna get tired of hiding pretty soon," she advised him. Daniel nodded.
"Thanks, Amanda!" he smiled and headed back to his office.
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"What's with the shades?" Betty asked as she entered Daniel's office.
"I took a little nap after lunch," he replied.
"Oh. Well? What do you think?" Betty asked, showing off her metal-free smile.
"About what?" he acted oblivious.
"No braces! And don't tell me you forgot. 'Cause if you did, that was a pretty cruel joke sneaking that bag of mini Snickers and Milky-Ways into my purse this morning," she added.
"Okay, you got me. Come here – let me get a closer view," Daniel said.
Betty moved towards him and he carefully studied her.
"Is something wrong?" she asked, self-consciously.
"Let's see . . . they're all there . . . all straight . . . nice and white . . . one last test . . ." he teased and sweetly kissed her.
"Yep. Still kissable," he grinned.
"Daniel . . ." she blushed.
"No - seriously, Betty, you look gorgeous!" he hugged her, amazed that she could possibly look even more beautiful than she was before. But she did.
"I'm really happy for you - I know how long you've waited to get them off. How does it feel?" he asked.
"A little weird, but good weird. I can't wait to eat all the great food I've been missing out on!" she answered.
"I know you have that celebration at your family's house tonight, now that the construction's finally done. But I have a little surprise to tide you over," Daniel said as he pulled out a caramel apple with nuts.
"Ooh! You're so good to me!" Betty squealed as she tried to grab it out of his hand.
He pulled it away.
"Not so fast. We need to talk first," he sighed.
She pouted.
"Is something wrong?" she asked, concerned.
"No – well, yes – I don't know. I just heard from Amanda that everyone pretty much already knows about us – assumed we had something going on for a year or so, now. She said no one's talking about our little signals because they think it's pretty much old news, if the rumors are true," he replied.
"Wow," Betty said, shocked.
"Yeah . . . I think we should just be open about it. I don't want to hide anymore – it's not fair to either of us. I want everyone to know you're mine," he confessed, lifting her chin up.
She smiled and then thought about his reasoning.
"I guess since everybody already thinks it, there's no point in denying it any longer. But we agreed to no special treatment – right?" she asked.
"Business as usual. You do realize we're going to have to tell Wilhelmina during our meeting with her and Marc?" he reminded her.
"I think I need my caramel apple, now . . ." Betty cringed.
Daniel laughed and handed it to her. She took a bite.
"Mmmm . . . I feel better now. Want some?" she offered.
He took a bite and handed it back.
"You've got a little bit of caramel – right there . . ." Daniel smiled and pointed to her cheek. "Here?" Betty asked, trying to wipe it off but missing it.
"No – here . . ." Daniel moved forward and kissed it off of her.
He then kissed her lips, sliding his tongue into her now brace-less mouth. Betty dropped her apple as she fell into the moment, but soon broke away.
"Daniel – we can't! We're at work! And – and what about our meeting? What if . . . mmmm . . . what if someone walks in on us?" she protested in between kisses.
"We've got 20 minutes and the shades are drawn," Daniel assured her.
"What about the door?" Betty asked.
Without breaking their connection he walked her over to the door and fumbled with the lock.
"Do you really want our first time to be in your cold . . . mmmm . . . uncomfortable . . . mmmm . . . office?" Betty half-heartedly objected as Daniel slammed her against the wall.
"Mmmm . . . only if you care," he replied breathlessly, nibbling on her ear.
She hesitated. Betty never thought she'd be doing something so daring . . . so sleazy . . . soo . . . forget it. Once in a lifetime wouldn't kill her – especially when it felt soo right.
Grabbing his tie, she pulled him into her, colliding her lips with his, running her hands through his hair. She began unbuttoning his shirt, allowing her hands to gravitate down his muscular chest and over his firm ass. His lips traveled from her mouth to her neck, landing around her cleavage, as his hand inched down her thigh to bottom of her dress.
"What in the hell is going on here? I certainly hope this wasn't the important meeting I was asked to attend!" Wilhelmina exclaimed after barging through the door with Marc right behind her.
"Wilhelmina?" Daniel and Betty both turned around, straightening their clothes.
"Really, Daniel, still sleeping with your employees? Obviously you've failed to grasp the meaning of proper work ethics – or learned how to lock your door, for that matter," Wilhelmina snapped.
"The door was closed and the shades were drawn. Haven't you ever heard of knocking?" Daniel retorted.
"Well, of course. But seeing as though you were so thoroughly engaged, you couldn't possibly have heard me. So I decided I had every right to come in, since I was supposed to be a part of your so-called meeting. Do me a favor and don't bring me in on your pathetic attempts to have a booty call during office hours, simply because you can't keep it in your pants 'til the end of the day," she countered. "And honestly, Betty, while you're certainly somewhat lacking in appearance, I still believed you were more intelligent than this."
"Don't you ever talk to her like that!" Daniel warned.
She ignored him and headed towards the door.
"By the way, Betty, I wouldn't expect to get a raise out of him anytime soon . . ." Wilhelmina added, lifting an eyebrow.
Betty looked at her in disgust, realizing the double meaning.
"Wilhelmina, with all due respect, I don't think you have any right to berate Daniel or me, considering Marc once had to cover an entire meeting with an important client because you were pre-occupied with your own extra-curricular activities," Betty pointed out.
Wilhelmina shot daggers at Marc.
"Willie, I swear I don't know where she got that from!" Marc nervously laughed, frantically trying to cover. "She must've had one too many Mojitos –"
"Save it, Marc – I'll deal with you later . . ." Wilhelmina barked.
Betty proceeded.
"I agree, what we did was unprofessional and I don't intend for it to happen again. But I also don't think you have any right to act superior, considering your own indiscretions," she told her.
Wilhelmina, taken aback by Betty's boldness, reluctantly backed down.
"Point taken . . . Just don't let me catch you again – or I will have to disclose your behavior to Mother Meade," Wilhelmina threatened and slammed the door.
Marc mouthed 'Sorry' as he left.
"That bitch!" Daniel shouted as he paced across the floor, enraged. "She tried to marry my father and even produce an heir with him after he was dead just to get a piece of the company and she has the audacity to call you a gold-digger? What a bunch of bullsh –"
"Daniel! You told me you locked the door!" Betty interrupted, too pre-occupied with her own thoughts to really pay attention to his rant.
"And I did – well . . . at least I thought I did. Are you supposed to turn it to the right or to the left . . .?" Daniel pondered.
"Oh my god!" she shook her head and rolled her eyes in exasperation. "I told you we shouldn't have been doing this! I told you we were going to get caught! But nooooo . . . You were all 'Betty, we've got 20 minutes. Betty, we've got shades. Betty, we'll lock the door.' Now what are we going to do?"
"Get a new clock?" he joked, pointing at the one on the wall that was off.
"Daniel!" Betty scolded.
"I don't – believe me, I'm just as pissed as you are. I was just trying to lighten the mood up a little. Did you see the way Willie's eyes popped out of her head when she saw us?" he smiled.
Betty nodded.
"It was pretty priceless," she agreed, smiling weakly. "But that doesn't take away from how screwed we are!"
She knew she shouldn't have even thought about doing something like this. She knew they'd get caught. Every single time she dared to break the rules she was busted. Hilda had always convinced her to pull some crazy scheme with her and Papi never failed to catch her. Even when she had snuck out of the house to be with Henry, she got called on it. And apparently she still hadn't gotten the picture that she was horrible at being sneaky and would always end up suffering the consequences of her misjudgments.
Daniel felt horrible. He shouldn't have talked Betty into it. He had pushed her too much and now they were in deep. He knew she wasn't used to doing something so crazy and risky – it wasn't her style. He couldn't help it though. He took one look at her incredibly sexy new smile, how happy she was just eating a simple caramel apple, and lost all ability to think straight.
And when she got some on her cheek all he could think about was licking it off and devouring her right then and there. He shook his head to focus. He needed to come up with some sort of solution to the problem he'd caused.
"I was thinking . . . maybe you should go without me to London's Fashion Week. I'm sure everyone officially knows by now that we're together, so if we both went they'd make out like we took a romantic vacation on company money. If you go by yourself, it would give everyone enough time and space to see nothing's changed as far as our work relationship is concerned. Take Amanda with you – she can be your assistant," Daniel suggested.
"That's true. It's not a bad idea. I did have a couple of places I wanted us to see on what little down time we'd have there, but I guess we could always go there another time . . . Oh my god – I just thought of something! Hilda's been bugging me about having an unforgettable bachelorette party. This would be perfect!" she gushed. "I'll just pay for her ticket and hotel expenses. Ooh – and I'll call Christina to see if she wants to meet up with us. Maybe she could hang out with Hilda while Amanda and I are working."
"Great! And since I'm now free, I guess I can make it to Bobby's bachelor party after all," he said with a devilish grin.
"You . . . behave yourself! I don't want to come home from London to find some stripper's thong in your jacket pocket or something worse," she warned as she wrapped her arms around his neck and teased him with a seductive kiss.
They both smiled.
"I will, but you're the one who's going to be in a foreign country. Don't go falling for some random British guy," he joked.
"I won't," she promised. "Oh – I'd better go make the arrangements and then get back to work. We've been in here alone for way too long."
She headed over to open up the shades.
"Did you get the Bra-tinerary for tomorrow's shoot?" Betty wondered, knowing Daniel had been waiting for it that morning.
"Not yet, but Ava called and said she was going to fax it to me within the hour. You know, I bet I could come up with one of our own . . ." he answered.
Taking her hand off the pull on the curtains, she turned around and furrowed her brows.
"Daniel, what good would that do? We have to follow their schedule or they won't – Daniel! Don't give me that look . . .!" she said, knowing full well what his intentions were.
"Arrival time, tonight - 9:00PM, my place. Cleared for take-off - 9:15PM. Official departure - 9:20PM . . ." he seductively whispered in her ear as he came behind her, fingering one of her straps. Betty felt her breath catch in her throat, but fought off his advances.
"You're incorrigible - haven't you had enough action for one day? Forget it – I already know the answer to that one. You need to get a hobby," she replied as she turned around to face him, rolling her eyes.
Daniel's eyes sparkled.
"I have a hobby . . ." he smiled.
"Really? What?" she asked skeptically, crossing her arms.
"She's standing right in front of me . . ." he grinned.
"Daniel . . ." Betty protested.
"What? My hobby is getting to know you," he feigned innocence.
"You already know me," she replied.
"Not all of you, baby . . ." he pulled her into him.
She blushed. It was the first time he had called her by anything other than her name, besides 'Tornado Girl' or 'Dora the Explorer'. And the way he said it just now made her feel the complete opposite of its meaning. He made her feel so . . . sexy . . . wanted . . . to the point where she didn't feel awkward about it, but at the same time, she knew she was cared for – not just one of Daniel's day-of-the-week girls.
She felt something she'd never felt with anyone – even Matt, who was almost as experienced as Daniel in that department. He was more concerned about not pressuring her; overly sweet because of his past. Sure, he had an entire gallery's worth of paintings of her – some of them showing a lot more than she wished to have shown to the public eye. Honestly, she felt more exposed and uncomfortable by them than anything else. But Daniel was . . .
"Hey . . . are you okay? Did I say something wrong? You kinda blanked out on me for a minute," Daniel snapped her back to reality. She shook her head.
"Say it again," she requested.
"What? . . . Are you okay?" he said, confused.
"No . . . before that," she replied.
He tried to figure out what else he had said.
"Baby?" he guessed.
She smiled and nodded. He gave her a strange look.
". . . I know - it's crazy. Everyone starts calling their significant other something during their relationship. But it just felt different this time," she said, embarrassed.
"Good different? Bad different?" he asked, sitting on the chaise and pulling her onto his lap.
"Good different. Obviously I've been called things before, but this felt natural . . . not superficial or corny . . . and . . . Forget it – I'm making too big of a deal out of it . . ." she tried to dismiss her feelings.
"No – you're not. It just came out of me - I didn't even think about it. But I meant it. You're my girl – my sexy, sweet, smart, spitfire of a woman," he assured her, holding her tight.
She smiled shyly.
"So . . . about my proposition . . ." he reminded her.
"It sounds tempting . . . but . . ." she hesitated.
"But what?" he asked.
"Don't get me wrong – today was . . . Wow! . . . And I felt this incredible rush . . . and I want to be with you . . . but could we wait 'til after Hilda's wedding? She's been pulling me in so many different directions at once, and now I have to cover Fashion Week alone and plan excursions for her bachelorette party . . . I just don't want there to be any distractions," she asked, hoping he wouldn't be upset with her.
"I get it. I can't say I'm not disappointed . . . but I want it to be the right time for both of us, because I've never felt this way about anyone else," Daniel confessed.
"Me neither . . ." she smiled. "Could I still come over – just to hang out – not . . . you know . . .?"
"Of course you can, baby," he assured her.
"Good," she said, relieved that he truly wasn't upset with her.
". . . But I can't promise you we won't end up sleeping together . . ." he said as the corners of his mouth twitched.
"Daniel!" Betty's eyes widened and she jabbed him in the ribs.
"Ow! Relax – I meant literally, not figuratively. You know our little habit of falling asleep during movies . . . Damn – I'm gonna have to start wearing some sort of body armor . . ." he joked, rubbing his side.
"Yeah, well that's what you get for messing with a Queens girl," she playfully warned.
They were both silent for a moment.
"Are we okay?" Betty tentatively looked up at Daniel.
"Yeah," he said, smiling as he pressed his forehead against hers. "Now get back to work."
"Oh my god – we've been in here for over an hour! I'll talk to you later, okay?" she realized, jumping up.
"K . . . baby," he winked.
Betty smiled and walked out of his office. Things were definitely going to get complicated.