Betty made her way cautiously towards Daniel's office. As she passed the reception area, she saw Amanda smiling lazily at her as she approached.
"Betty, you sure took off like a shot...kind of Road-Runneresque." Amanda said. Betty just rolled her eyes as Amanda called after her.
"I think Daniel was looking for you a little while ago. He might be in his office by now." Amanda said.
Betty approached Daniel's office. As she walked in she realized that Daniel wasn't there and hadn't been back yet from lunch. As she went to turn around and confront Amanda who had followed her, Betty felt the envelope slipped out of her grasp as Marc appeared behind Daniel's door. Marc held the offending envelope aloft as Betty tried to grab for it. Amanda hissed at Marc as he played keep-away with the envelope with Betty;
"Daniel's coming. Let's go!"
Marc darted past Betty with the envelope just as Daniel approached his office. Marc and Amanda stood next to Betty's desk as Daniel rushed in, brushing past Betty calling out orders to her.
"Betty, I need you to find the layout for the Deveraux ad. I just ran into Mrs. Deveraux at lunch and I've gotten some really great ideas talking to her." Betty stood where she was, watching Marc and Amanda slowly inching towards the outer office.
"I'll get to it in just a sec Daniel.. I've got to..." Betty stopped as Daniel turned around and looked at Betty pleadingly.
"Betty, I really need your help. Please!" Daniel said, "Can the other stuff wait?" Betty sighed as she watched Marc and Amanda stroll to Reception, Amanda waggling her fingers goodbye to Betty sweetly.
"Yeah, I guess it can wait." Betty sighed again as she turned to help Daniel.
Marc giggled irritatingly as he and Amanda strolled to her desk in Reception. His eyes darted towards the envelope as Amanda smiled over at him.
"Oh, this is going to be soooo fun!" Marc said, "So what do we do first? Scan the photos and cc them to everyone in the building?"
"Nope." Amanda said.
"Ok, how about blowing them up and hanging them as decorations?" Marc asked. Amanda shook her head.
"Photo Shop them and give them as Bradford Meade's Christmas cards?"
"Good idea, but not quite." Amanda said as she turned and looked at Marc. Her eyes gleamed evilly as she gasped at the idea she just formulated. She grabbed Marc's arm as she pulled him closer and whispered;
"These babies are going to a certain geeky little accountant downstairs. I'm going to send him an early Christmas present his little cardigan wearing self will never forget." Amanda said as Marc's eyes widened at her.
"You evil little elf!" Marc said, "Betty's going to kill you when she finds out."
"I'm not worried." Amanda said breezily, "Besides she knows we're in this together. You might want to stay out of her way though, in case she decides to hang you by your...mistletoe." Amanda laughed as Marc glared at her.
"Ewwww...nice." Marc said, "Now mistletoe has a whole new meaning for me." Amanda smirked at him as she found a black magic marker. She turned the envelope over and wrote on the front:
PRIVATE!!!! FOR YOUR EYES ONLY!!!!!
She sealed the flap of the envelope and turned to Marc.
"Time for Santa's Helper to make her delivery. " Amanda said as she headed for the elevator.
Henry rubbed his eyes behind his glasses as he walked tiredly back to his cubicle. He had just come from a meeting with his boss. Henry's boss had wanted to know how the plans for the MODE Christmas party were coming, reminding Henry that the suits only had a small budget and for Henry to keep a close eye on the preparations. Henry had assured his boss that the party was under budget, without bringing up Betty's name. Henry hadn't wanted to see the look on his boss' face if he had inserted her name into the conversation. Henry knew that even mentioning Betty's name usually brought a wide smile to Henry's face. Something Henry didn't want his boss to see.
As Henry sat down and picked up his paperwork, he noticed a large manila envelope in his In-Box. It looked like the same envelope that Betty had clutched to herself in fear earlier. As he pulled it out of his inbox, he saw the unfamiliar handwriting on the front.
PRIVATE!!!! FOR YOUR EYES ONLY!!!!!
Henry looked down at the envelope in confusion as he broke the seal. His fingers glided across smooth, glossy feeling
paper as he grabbed the items inside and pulled them out. To Henry, they looked like some kind shots from a photo shoot.
He adjusted his glasses as his eyes slowly registered the out of place model in the center of all of the photos. He pulled
the photos closer to his face as he stared openmouthed at the figure in the center of every picture.
The halter style black and red pleather top with the cutout.
The VERY short black pleather hot pants.
The silver spiky heeled thigh-high boots and red pleather gloves.
Henry's throat wouldn't work as he continued to stare in astonishment at the pictures someone had conveniently "gifted" him with. He pushed past his inital amazement at the pictures as he focused on Betty's face. She looked absolutely withdrawn. Henry could tell she was obviously embarrassed at the situation she'd found herself in. Henry could almost hear the laughter of the camera crew and extras as he flipped through the photos, zeroing in on Betty's poses. Henry felt a shaft of white-hot anger tighten his chest as he realized someone had had quite a laugh at Betty's expense. He tucked the photos back into the envelope and pushed himself away from his desk. He decided to go upstairs and see maybe the one person who could shed some light on this. Henry strode to the elevator and pushed the UP button. When the car arrived, he pressed the button for the 28th floor and sighed to himself as the doors closed and the car ascended.
TBC...