It was Wednesday afternoon and Claire Meade was reading the society pages of the New York Times at her desk.
"Hartley Heir Returns from Tour in Africa" the article read.
Matt must be back in New York. She thought. She took a sip of coffee and continued reading. The article explained how Matt had returned a month ago and had planned to do some event fund raising in the city to earn money for more wells in Africa. He'd had the experience of a lifetime - the article read - and he was going to go back for another tour in about a year's time. The article went into detail about the work Matt had been doing and what he was going to go back and do once more funds were raised. It was the end of the article that raised Claire's eyebrows.
"The young heir to the Hartley billions is planning on hosting his first fund raising event at the end of the month, as soon as he returns from a brief vacation in England." Claire almost choked on her coffee.
Matt was in England. Did he know Betty was there? Something told Claire that Betty was probably the reason he'd taken a vacation to England in the first place. All of a sudden Claire felt protective of Daniel. He had worked so hard these past few months. He had a new job he enjoyed. He had a new start in a new place with someone he really loved. He was so happy lately. She couldn't remember the last time she had seen him like that…maybe never. Betty had this wonderful affect on him. She grounded him; boosted his confidence; made him soar. Was it possible for something to come along and take that away from him? Was it possible for someone like Matt to swipe his feet out from underneath him? She certainly hoped not.
She didn't dislike Matt, despite her disdain for Matt's mother and her bitter history with Matt's father. Matt had always seemed fairly down to earth; not the typical spoiled little rich brat so often bred of billionaires who had more money than sense, and more greed than money. Sure he'd made life difficult for Betty when he'd been her boss, but then again she'd jilted him a little and wasn't he just acting like a man with a broken heart and a fracture ego? He was also a little aimless, and there were those many girlfriends that the society papers had reported of. She kind of had a soft spot for Matt because in many ways he reminded her of Daniel: A little lost but with a kind heart. Both he and Daniel just needed that certain someone to help them focus.
Someone like Betty.
Claire felt powerless. She suddenly realized she needed to call Daniel. At least she could warn him that Matt was around. That would help a little wouldn't it?
"Hello Darling." Claire was relieved he was home.
"Hi Mom."
"How is everything? Settling into your new place alright?"
"Yep." Short answer; he wasn't very talkative.
"And your job is going well?"
"Yeah. I helped come up with a tag line for a full page spread for a new client." He proceeded to tell her that they had been working on the spread for days with no original ideas and then one day it just occurred to him the angle they should take. He had suggested it to his boss who was very receptive and so he was placed in the group to come up with the writing for the ad. There was that excitement in his voice again.
"How's Betty?" It wasn't an unusual question. Claire often asked about Betty when she spoke with Daniel.
"She's fine." He was aloof. But his tone had changed.
"I take it everything is going well with the two of you." Daniel could sense she was getting at something.
"What's up Mom?" he sighed a little too audibly.
"Nothing is "up" dear. I just thought I would call to find out how my son is. Is that a crime?"
"It's not a crime Mom. It's just…you seem to be fishing for something." He was a little overly sensitive today but he didn't mean to take it out on his mother.
"I'm sorry Daniel. I didn't mean to upset you. Actually I did call for a reason." He knew it. "I was reading the society pages and I read that Matt Hartley is back from Africa. Actually, the paper said he was in England…" Ahhh…she had heard. Now all her fishing was starting to make sense.
"Yeah. He called Betty yesterday. Actually they're out right now." He tried to sound nonchalant.
"Betty is out with Matt?" She was more than a little shocked. "And you're ok with that?"
"I'm not really ok with it but what choice do I have, Mom? She told me she wanted to see him – to find out about his adventures in Africa. It's not like I could stop her."
"No. You're right dear." She decided to fill him in on the details. "He's going to be in New York fundraising for the next year before he goes back again for another tour. It sounds like he has become quite the humanitarian."
"Not helping, mother."
"Sorry Daniel." She needed to say something to make him feel better. "His picture was in the paper. He seems to have lost quite a lot of weight – must be all that well digging. He's looking a little scrawny if you ask me." Daniel had to smile a little. Although he knew Betty would never be so superficial, his mother's attempt to cheer him up was sweet.