Author's Note: Thank you to those people who've left me a review. This next update is for you. :D

Chapter NINE

Betty looked up at the wall and stifled a disappointed sigh. There was only fifteen minutes left before her time as EJ DiMera's temp was over. The last two weeks had been a whirlwind of things to do and Betty had loved every minute of it. She'd never enjoyed her job as much as she had working for him. They'd worked hard and there was a deep sense of satisfaction on Betty's behalf to have gotten the office all ship shape in such a short amount of time. There was something about being in on things from the beginning that she'd enjoyed so much. If Betty was honest with herself though her greatest pleasure with this job had to do with her employer.

Mr DiMera had been patient, generous and kind in all his dealings with her. He'd always been very respectful and after the initial shock of seeing who her new employer had been Betty had been surprised at how quickly she'd grown comfortable with him. It would have been so easy to be intimidated by this obviously smart and cultured man but he had a way about him that made Betty feel at ease around him. She was really dreading this job coming to an end and was bracing herself for never seeing him again, shocked at how desperately sad that thought made her.

EJ looked up from where he was standing at the filing cabinet and forgot to look away again, openly staring at Sami as she did some stapling. This last fortnight had been like a wonderful dream for EJ, knowing that Sami was going to be waiting for him at the beginning of each morning, that they would be able to spend the entire day together, working side by side. They had fitted into a ready routine almost instantly and the easiness between them was undeniable. EJ wondered for probably the thousandth time as he watched her what it was she thought of him… did she think of him? He knew she liked him, could see it in her smiles but even though EJ knew Samantha so well he was still a little at a loss with this new Betty. His eyelids dropped a little as he took in Sami's beautiful profile, remembering what it was like to have her soft skin under his hand.

"Don't you want to work together EJ?" asked Sami with a little pout.

"Nothing would thrill me more sweetheart," said EJ with a smile, taking her chin in one hand and kissing away that pout, "But I admit that I'm not sure how much work I'd be able to get done with you looking so utterly sexy a few feet away."

It turned out EJ's prediction had been right on the money and it had been a real struggle for EJ to concentrate on anything else other than the fact that Sami was standing there right in front of him. There had been countless times he'd had to use all of his internal fortitude to stop himself from just bending down and kissing her, touching her, making love to her. Nothing would have been more guaranteed to send her screaming from his office though so EJ restrained himself best he could. Sami had always been an innocent to EJ but Betty was even more so. If she remembered nothing from her past that would include anything and everything to do with men. In many ways she was a virgin again and EJ was highly conscious of that fact and had a fierce need to protect Betty… even if it was from his own desperate urges. He caught her looking at the clock again and saw it only had ten minutes to go until the end of the day. Technically this should have been Betty's last day but EJ had no intention of letting the woman he loved leave his life ever again.

"Betty," he said and she looked over at him and smiled, "May I have a word?"

"Of course Mr DiMera," she said brightly and EJ walked over to where she was sitting, perching himself on the end of her desk.

"So today is your last day," he began, wanting to get this just right.

"I know," she sighed and then smiled up at him, "It's been real great working for you Mr DiMera - I've really enjoyed it."

"I'm very glad to hear that Betty," said EJ with a warm smile.

He'd tried without success to get Betty to call him EJ but she'd told him that it wasn't allowed at the agency so he'd had to endure Mr DiMera the past two weeks when all EJ wanted was to hear his given name on her lips again. But there would be time to work on that once he put his plan into play which was what he was about to do.

"Betty you've been a god send, a literal god send," said EJ earnestly and wished she knew how true those words really were, "I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't come into my life."

"You would have found someone to help you," protested Betty, flushing a little under his praise, "I'm not anything special."

"Oh I beg to differ Betty," said EJ firmly, "You are very special and that is why I want you to consider coming to work for me full time."

"But the temp agency only hires us out for two weeks at a time," she said, taken aback.

"I don't want you to work for the temp agency any longer," said EJ calmly, "I want you to work for me… directly."

Betty's eyes widened at that, completely taken aback by the offer.

"You would run everything of course," said EJ, "You would have complete autonomy…"

Betty looked a little confused at that.

"Complete control of what goes on with the administration of my firm," EJ clarified for her, starting to talk quickly, eager for her to hear his offer out, "I mean I'm attracting more and more clients on a weekly basis and I should envisage by the end of the year that we would have to take on another girl to be able to keep up. I'd be expecting you to run the office and train new staff as they come in."

"Me?" squeaked Betty, never having considered such a thing, "But I couldn't Mr DiMera!"

"Of course you could Betty," said EJ smoothly, "You already know all the ins and outs of the office and I'm sure you'll be an excellent teacher. I have great faith in your abilities."

"You want me to leave Mrs Neuberman's Agency?" she asked in disbelief.

"I understand that I'm asking you to take a risk on me Betty," said EJ, leaning towards her as he tried to convince her of the merit of his idea, "But I'm quite certain it is a risk that will pay off for us both. Of course I'll be reimbursing you financially to reward you for taking such a step. I was thinking we could start at $1.30 an hour and as soon as business picks up we could renegotiate a more suitable wage. How does that sound?"

Betty's eyes widened even more when she heard the sum he was offering her, it was nearly double what even the more senior girls were getting.

"That's nearly fifty dollars a week Mr DiMera!" she pointed out to him in real shock now, it was a small fortune from where Betty was standing and couldn't believe her ears.

"I think that is a reasonable remuneration for the services I'll be requiring you to render," said EJ smoothly, obviously not finding that sum of money to be as big a deal as Betty was.

"Mr DiMera," she said warily, standing up and beginning to back away from him slowly, "I don't know what kind of secretary you are after for that kind of money but I can tell you that I am not it!"

"No," said EJ, hastily standing up and moving after her which only made her back up even more, "It's not like that, I can assure you Betty, this is a perfectly respectable proposal on my behalf!"

Betty looked at him uncertainly, not sure what to make of all this. A few minutes ago she'd been desolate at the thought of never seeing him again but all of this was a bit overwhelming to her.

"Please Betty," said EJ, holding out a consolatory hand to her, "Please won't you hear me out? Come and sit down again… please."

Betty made a little unsure face but then found herself going back to sit down at her desk, unable to say no to him. EJ blew out a relieved breath to see her give him a chance. He grabbed a chair and pulled it up to Betty's desk, not wanting to loom over her in any way and make her feel any more uncomfortable.

"I promise you Betty," said EJ earnestly, taking a seat, "This offer is completely above board. I'm not going to lie to you, it's going to be a lot of work in the beginning as my business gets established. The wage I offered you is merely an indication of that fact. I've been so impressed with all of your efforts these last two weeks and I feel that we work well together."

EJ paused then and looked at Sami a little uncertainly.

"You feel that too don't you?" he asked her.

"Well yes," said Sami shyly, "But I'm sure there are much more experienced girls out there that you would be better off with."

"But you're the only one I want Betty," said EJ earnestly and then had to catch himself, "I mean to work for me - you're the only one I want to work for me."

"I don't know what to say Mr DiMera," said Betty slowly, leaning back in her chair, still in shock.

"Say yes," he suggested and gave her a charming smile.

"Miss Minsker has been real kind to me," she said hesitantly, biting her lower lip, "I'd hate to repay all her generosity by leavin' her in the lurch and all."

"You could give notice of course," said EJ, hating the idea with a passion, wanting Sami by his side now and always and not to have to share her with anyone else in the world ever again but impressed by her loyalty anyway.

"I feel like I have to," said Betty with a little frown.

"So does that mean you're accepting my job offer?" asked EJ hopefully.

Betty looked over at him and blinked a couple of times, not sure that this was a great idea but what she was sure of was that she didn't want this to be the last time she saw EJ DiMera.

"Yes," she said softly and then had to smile as EJ's face lit up.

"Excellent!" said EJ, trying to contain his excitement but not really managing it, "That's excellent news Betty!"

"I hope I'm not going to disappoint you Mr DiMera," said Betty, still worried that his faith in her was misplaced.

"You could never do that Betty," said EJ with great certainty and then looked suddenly serious, "Although there is one thing I'm going to have to ask of you that I simply will not bend on if you wish to be in my employ."

"Wh… what's that Mr DiMera?" she asked nervously.

"You're to call me EJ from now on," said EJ firmly.

"Oh but I couldn't!" protested Betty.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to make it a condition of your employment Miss Jones," he said with mock severity in his voice.

"Oh," said Betty and then gave him a shy look, "Alright then… EJ."

A huge smile spread over EJ's face at hearing Sami say his name again.

"That is much better," he grinned and held out a hand to her, "I guess we have a deal then Betty."

"I guess we do," said Betty breathlessly as she took his offered hand, his much larger hand enveloping her own.

"This is going to be a wonderful partnership Betty," EJ promised her, "You'll see."

oooOOOOooo

Betty looked up and smiled as EJ escorted Mrs Huntington out of his office.

"Betty would you make another appointment for Mrs Huntington on Tuesday for whenever it is most convenient for her please?" he asked her as he retrieved the older woman's coat for her and helped her into it.

"Of course Mr DiMera," she said with a friendly smile.

Betty still called him Mr DiMera around clients even though he'd told her not to bother but she simply wouldn't hear of it - she'd told him it was disrespectful and he'd acquiesced in the end. Betty made the appointment with Mrs Huntington and they both said their goodbyes to her as EJ opened the door for her. He closed the door after her and leant back against it, rolling his eyes playfully at Betty.

"I think she's lonely," giggled Betty, knowing what EJ was meaning by that.

Mrs Huntington came in every week, seeming to find some new little issue that required her lawyer's attention. EJ didn't mind so much, knowing it was clients like Mrs Huntington that was responsible for where he was now.

"I'm an expensive way to pass the time," noted EJ in amusement, pushing away from the door and walking over to Betty's desk.

"I don't really think money is an issue somehow EJ," she said with a little bit of a laugh, "Did you see that mink she was wearing?"

It still gave him a little thrill to hear Betty call him by his name, even after a month of working together now. He doubted that there would ever be a time that this woman would fail to thrill him though.

"Did you know that this is your one month anniversary?" he asked her with a smile, changing the subject suddenly, "It's exactly one month since you've come to work for me full time."

Betty had given two weeks' notice at the temp agency which had damn near killed EJ but the knowledge that he was soon going to have her all to himself was what saw him through in the end.

"It's gone so quickly," said Betty with a shake of her head, "I can hardly believe it."

"We should celebrate," suggested EJ brightly, "Why don't I take you out to dinner?"

"Oh," said Betty, her eyes going wide, never having expected such an invitation, "But I'm not dressed to go out."

"Nonsense," said EJ easily, "You look wonderful."

"But…" protested Betty with a frown.

"Now don't argue with me Betty," he mock chastised her, "I'm a lawyer remember, I have to win every argument."

Betty gave a little laugh at that and shook her head.

oooOOOOooo

Betty looked around herself and tugged a little self consciously on her clothes.

"You look perfectly lovely Betty," EJ told her as he handed her a menu, "Just relax."

The Italian restaurant EJ had chosen to take her to was a favourite of his, not too fancy, just good food and he'd been eager to share it with her ever since he'd found it. EJ had taken this month as slowly as he could and been amazed that he'd been able to hold off until now to ask Betty out to dinner. It had been a struggle but he didn't want to frighten her with suddenly making a move when she wasn't expecting it. The month anniversary seemed like a perfectly non threatening way to get her to go out with him and it was working. EJ's whole body was buzzing at being able to be out with her like this and he dreamed of the day that he could show his true feelings for her openly.

Betty looked at the menu, not recognising anything on it. She wondered if she knew any of these foods before her accident and if she would appear hopelessly ignorant by admitting to EJ that she had no idea what spaghetti or a fettuccine was. She hated to appear dumb in front of him but her amnesia often gave her pause to wonder if she'd forgotten something that even a child would know. Betty had toyed with the idea of telling EJ about her past - well, what she remembered of it anyway but had always baulked at the last moment. She felt very safe with him and things were so easy and comfortable between them but Betty hated the thought that he would look at her differently if he knew the truth and that he might think less of her. She wanted his good opinion so desperately and didn't want him to think that he'd hired someone who was something of a freak. Even though Betty had good reason for withholding her history from EJ a part of her wished she could be completely honest with EJ.

"A rose for the lovely lady?"

They both looked up at the woman dressed as a gypsy with a basket full of roses slung over her arm.

"Oh no thank you."

"Yes please."

EJ and Betty looked at one another.

"EJ no," she said with a shake of her head, blushing a little, "It's not necessary, really."

"Of course it is," said EJ, reaching for his wallet, "It's your one month anniversary, you have to have a rose."

Betty shook her head as EJ paid for the rose and the gypsy wandered off to the next table. EJ held out the long stemmed, blood red beauty to her, a warm smile on his lips.

"A rose by any other name would still smell as sweet," he told her huskily as she accepted the rose with a shy smile.

Betty looked down at the perfect half opened bud and but it to her nose, inhaling the heady scent deeply.

"What does that mean?" she asked curiously, smiling at him from behind the rose.

It sounded very fancy to Betty.

"It's a line from a very famous play by William Shakespeare called Romeo and Juliet," he told her and when Betty still looked confused he continued on, "And it simply means that it matters who someone is rather than what the name they go by."

"Oh," said Betty and blushed a little, finding that to be a deeply moving sentiment.

She looked at him seriously then and then down at the rose.

"Do you think that is true EJ?" she almost whispered the question.

It was something that plagued Betty because she had no idea who she was and had just chosen her name out of the blue because she liked the sound of it. She could have been anyone before the accident and she'd thought up some pretty unsavoury scenarios that had seen her getting to being beaten and left for dead. There were many times that Betty worried about what kind of person would end up like that, with no one coming forward to look for her and not liking the answer to that question.

"Absolutely," said EJ, his voice deep and resonating as he could only guess what she was thinking then and tried to reassure her, "No matter what name we call ourselves, Betty, we are still the same people underneath it all. We are who we are, regardless of the name we go by."

Betty gave him a tremulous smile at that and felt the little sting of tears come to her eyes. EJ had this sudden urge to tell her the truth and leant across the table, reaching for her hand and wanted so much in that moment to tell her how he felt about her. As he did though he knocked his wallet that he'd left out on the table and it fell to the floor.

"I'll get it," said Betty quickly, needing a moment to compose herself anyway after her sudden bout of teariness.

She bent down beside the table and EJ did likewise, easily scooping up his wallet.

"No let me," he told her, not wanting Betty to be fishing things off the floor for him.

He still worried about how Sami was physically after such an ordeal and was always very careful to watch over her at the office and make sure she never lifted anything too heavy or for any signs that she was getting overly tired. As he picked it up though something flew out of it and skidded across the floor and hit Betty's shoe. Seeing as she was still bent over Betty got to it before EJ, straightening up with it in her hand. Betty looked at the ring in her hand and couldn't help but fall in love with it instantly. EJ held his breath as he watched her, wondering if this would be the thing to spark Sami's memories.

"It's beautiful," she breathed and then felt her stomach lurch as she asked the next question, "Are you planning on getting married EJ?"

Betty felt sick at the very thought, instantly jealous of the woman who would be wearing EJ's ring even though she had absolutely no right to be. He'd never mentioned a woman in his life before but then why would he, she was just his employee and Betty felt like bursting into tears at the thought of EJ up and marrying some other woman but she kept a determinedly polite smile on her face.

"I was," said EJ quietly, taking the ring back from her and looking down at it as it became clear that Sami had no recollection of him giving it to her, "But she passed away."

EJ had carried Sami's engagement ring close to him ever since the police had given it back to him. It never left his possession. In the beginning it had been a self imposed punishment, a physical reminder of all that he'd lost. Nowadays though it was a symbol of hope for EJ as he lived for the day he'd be able to slip that ring back onto Sami's finger.

"Oh," said Betty, biting her bottom lip, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry or nothin'."

"You didn't," said EJ, looking back up at her and trying to decide if he should tell her this story or not, "I want you to know Betty, wanted to tell you for awhile now but I… I wasn't sure what you would make of the story. I don't want to upset you or for you to think less of me."

"I could never think less of you EJ," she reassured him quickly, "Never."

EJ gave a sad little smile at that and looked down at the ring again.

"Her name was Samantha," he said softly and looked back at her, seeing if the name registered at all but she just looked back at him with concerned interest, nothing more, "We met, we fell in love… it was the single most profound relationship of my life."

EJ looked down at the ring again, running his finger over the word 'Forever' inscribed inside it.

"She changed my entire world, made me feel things I'd never even dreamed of," he told her huskily, "I never knew my heart could love someone as I loved Samantha. It was perfect except for one thing…"

Betty looked at him intently, hanging off every word and wishing for all the world that it was her that EJ was talking about in those hushed, reverent tones. Was it wrong to be jealous of dead woman she wondered and hoped not, because she was.

"… we were both married to other people," he finished off and looked up to see Betty's reaction.

"Oh," she said, sitting back in her chair abruptly.

"I've shocked you," he said, his jaw hardening, wondering if he'd just made a huge mistake.

"N… no," she stammered and then looked a little sheepish, "Maybe a little but I guess you can't help who you fall in love with right?"

"No you can't," nodded EJ, "I couldn't help but love Samantha, it was beyond my control but so many times I wish that I had found a way."

"Why?" asked Betty with a frown.

"Because my wife killed her in a jealous fit of rage," said EJ simply, the pain still evident in his voice even though he was sitting across from Sami right then and she wasn't dead it didn't matter somehow - the violence of that afternoon would never leave EJ.

Betty gasped and put her hand over her mouth, completely taken a back.

"So you see," said EJ painfully, seeing her reaction, "I'm not exactly the man you believe me to be Betty. I'm a man who cheats on his wife and got an innocent woman killed."

"You're not responsible for your wife's actions EJ," said Betty, recovering from her initial shock and without thinking putting a comforting hand over EJ's as it lay on the table.

EJ looked down at her little hand on his and covered it with his much larger one, lost for a moment in his dark thoughts.

"You have no idea how badly I've wanted to tell Samantha how sorry I am," he said hoarsely, "I'd give everything I had in this life to be able to be there to protect her, keep her safe from harm on that day… even my own life."

EJ looked up at Betty then with stricken eyes then.

"She must have hated me," he said brokenly, "In that last moment, when she knew that she could die… Samantha must have hated me."

It was still a raw and bleeding wound deep inside of EJ that thought and he couldn't help but continue to anguish over those horrifying moments that Sami had had to endure at the hands of his ex-wife.

"No," said Betty urgently, leaning in towards him, "I don't think she did EJ. This woman was going to marry you, she loved you… I don't think she could ever have hated you. You can't keep on blaming yourself."

EJ blinked away the moisture in his eyes and looked at her sincere face and hoped against hope that that was Samantha saying those words to him and just not Betty. Not that it really mattered in one way because EJ was going to blame himself for Sami's pain for the rest of his life regardless of what she said. He'd promised to look after her, to always be there for her when she needed him and he'd failed Sami utterly when she needed him the most.

"So do you stand by your statement that you could never think less of me Betty?" he asked with a wavering self-deprecatory smile.

"We all have secrets EJ," she said quietly, looking down at their joined hands on the table.

EJ tilted his head to one side, wondering if she was finally going to tell him about her amnesia and prayed that she was. It was another step in building a trust between them and EJ's hopes were soon realised with her next words.

"Eight months ago I had an accident," she said hesitantly and EJ tightened his grasp on her hand as he heard the quiver in her voice.

"What kind of accident sweetheart?" he asked her, using the endearment without even noticing it.

He'd managed to curtail his use of it around her up until this point but there was too much emotion between them now to be able to continue to keep it up.

"I don't know," she said with a choked little laugh, "A bad one - they found me wandering around in the streets - I was in hospital for nearly a month."

"Betty!" said EJ, knowing this already but still finding it distressing to hear again.

"I… I'm alright," she said, looking down and wondering what he'd think of her now, "But… but I don't remember anything about my life before the accident."

"You have amnesia?" asked EJ, still playing at being ignorant, "Is that what you're telling me Betty?"

"Yes," she nodded and felt ashamed to admit it but then looked up at him desperately, "But I'm alright EJ, I swear, I can still do my job and everything and you don't have to worry about that…"

"Betty I'm not worried in the least about that," he interrupted her firmly, "I know how good you are at your job, I see it every day. All I'm worried about is you."

"You don't need to," said Betty, relieved that he wasn't firing her on the spot and very conscious of his warm hands around her.

"Betty," said EJ huskily, taking both her hands in his now, "I'm so glad you've told me this."

Betty gave him a watery smile at that.

"I'm glad I have too," she said quietly.

The two of them smiled at each other then… another obstacle dissolving between them.