Author's Note: Thank you to everybody who read or reviewed the last chapter. You are receiving a very quick update because I actually started writing this chapter before I got the last one back from proofreading. An update this quickly will probably never ever happen again. I planned for this chapter to be longer, but when I started writing it I felt that these scenes needed to be isolated.
Some plot points have been borrowed from the season three episode, "Crimes of Fashion" and Tim and Chloe are borrowed from the Season One episode, "Lose the Boss".
Chapter 13: Amanda Tanen (Somers) has a big mouth and horrible timing.
"You do realize that the entire office believes that you're bulimic now?" Amanda said, as she sat on Daniel's couch, absently looking through the last issue of Hudson.
She was technically there waiting for Jordan to show up so they could go to lunch. Jordan had an interview with Sports Now, the Meade Publication, which was equivalent to Sports Illustrated, and was located just two floors above Hudson. Considering the fact that Bradford Meade has requested a DNA test as soon as possible to prove that Jordan was not carrying his grandchild, Betty was surprised that he was letting Jordan interview for a special correspondent's position.
Due to the baby Jordan has decided that it was better for her to cover extreme sports instead of participating in them. The more cynical side of Betty believed that this could all be a ploy or some means to manipulate Jordan. According to Daniel, he did keep Lucy employed at MODE Paris for several years, until she got ill. Betty couldn't help but wonder what will happen to her when Mr. Meade finds out about her pregnancy.
The whole situation worried her enough to make Betty wonder if her nausea was caused by something, other than the baby. Betty quietly sipped on a ginger ale as she proofread the freelance articles for the June issue with Tim Brad and Chloe Voight on the cover, while she tried not to think about the disastrous shoot from yesterday.
Jamie allowed her to be the gopher for the shoot and things went badly, which is why she has proofreading duty until she gets out of the throwing up at unusual times part of her pregnancy. She purposely believed Jamie chose the most mistake laden articles possible for her to review to get back at her.
"That's because you started that particular rumor." Betty said. She begrudgingly looked up from her computer screen. She wanted to get it done before they left for lunch, which was unlikely because of Amanda distracting her. Amanda has been around a lot lately, mostly to avoid Wilhelmina.
"You threw up on Tim Brad." Amanda said pointedly. "I had to come up with something believable to counter the pregnancy rumor. You know that if Daddy Meade hears that from the rumor mill he is going to know who got you pregnant." Betty knew that she was right, but she doubted it would help.
"I don't think anyone will believe that because I can't zip up my pants anymore." She has mostly been wearing dresses the last few days. She knew she was going to have to go maternity shopping soon, but that will make this all too real. "I did not throw up on Tim Brad. I almost threw up on Tim Brad. He was really nice about it." Betty said sheepishly.
"Same difference and he was nice about it because Jamie told his handlers the truth and everyone knows he loves children, including the unborn." Amanda said, giving Betty her 'you're absolutely crazy look'. "I don't think he noticed you at all. He was too busy staring at his costar. They are so fucking."
"He's married, to someone else." Betty said, giving up on getting any more work done. Besides Jordan should've been there at least five minutes ago, unless she stopped off at Jamie's office first. The two have come to some sort of arrangement since the great Sunday brunch debacle. That meant that Jamie and Jordan were making out on her couch again but this time sober and she and Amanda were taking Marc to Boy Town Friday, so he can completely forget about his inappropriate crush on his boss.
"Your point?" Betty didn't have time to respond to Amanda's flippant comment because that was when her dad walked into her office carrying one of those individual ice cream cakes from his favorite specialty store. The last time that her dad got her one of those was when he broke the news that the chemotherapy wasn't working anymore and that her mom wanted to spend what time she had left at home.
"Whether you doing here?" she asked worriedly.
"I had a job interview in the city and I thought I would stop by. Your boss, Ms. Somers enjoys my cooking and because her doctor wants her eating regularly now she hired me to be her personal chef." This was not completely surprising because her dad and Ms. Somers really hit it off at brunch Sunday. Also, she has been very complementary of his food. Actually, she will only eat the stuff that her dad cooks.
"Faye doesn't eat. She never did when she came over for family dinners when I was little. She does like alcohol," Amanda said thoughtfully. "Actually, so do I. Why didn't I see this stuff before? She was always more interested in me than all my parents other friends. Why didn't I see it?" Amanda asked no one in particular.
"Remember that she had a heart attack a month ago and needs to take better care of herself now." Betty mentioned softly trying to steer the conversation away from the sensitive subject of Amanda's biological mother. Her friend was still having trouble adjusting to that revelation. She was now out of the denial phase but now she was firmly in the anger phase. This may explain the dinner roll that she threw at Ms. Somers.
"It was your fault that my mom had a heart attack." Betty would be happy that Amanda referred to Faye, as her mother, if not for what she said next, "If she did not see me holding your pregnancy test, the heart attack would've never happened. If the heart attack did not happen, I would have never found out that my beautiful perfect life was built upon a lie. Because of you, I have to deal with the fact that my old family friend is my mom who never wanted me. Thanks a lot Betty. I'm going to go raid Jamie's emergency stash of Godiva that he keeps for his baby's mama." At that Amanda walked out of the room completely oblivious to what she just did to Betty.
Betty had no idea what to say to her father. She was just thankful he wasn't screaming at her yet. Instead, she just sat back down in her chair as her father handed her the ice cream cake.
"I already knew." Her response was to eat half the cake in one spoonful.
"Did Hilda tell you?" Betty asked because she knew her sister would rat her out. She has been so angry with Betty, especially since she found out about Daniel having a son that was Justin's age.
"You threw up twice Sunday and maybe your sister is not that discrete." He said, as an afterthought. Betty was sure he was referring to her alcohol reference when they were preparing dinner.
"Are you disappointed in me? I made the same stupid mistake Hilda did and I should know better. I mean, I love Justin and I can't picture the world without him, but maybe Hilda would be in a better place if she didn't get pregnant at 16," Betty said, practically rambling.
"But you're not 16. There's a big difference between 16 and 21. If you're old enough to drink, you're old enough to have a child." Betty knew that did not come from her father because she's heard it several times over the last few weeks, during her one-on-one training sessions with Ms. Somers.
"You got that from Ms. Somers. She has mentioned it several times to me. She doesn't want me to think that having a child right now is going to be the end of my dream. She and Jamie have been working on a way for me to be able to work at Hudson and possibly later on Mode and still finish school almost on time. That's why I'm transferring to the University of Manhattan."
"She's a smart lady." Her father said thoughtfully.
"She's made a lot of mistakes, like sleeping with Daniel's father for two decades." That last part was mumbled under breath.
"But she has learned from those mistakes and so have you. Actually, a smart person learns from their mistakes, but a wise person learns from the mistakes of others. I know you will not end up like your sister. The problem was not your sister getting pregnant at 16; it was that she gave up and allowed the situation to define her completely." She remembered saying something to Hilda like that in anger when she first found out she was pregnant. "At least, I know that you're having this child with someone, who is not going to be like Santos." She was sure that he was referring to the Daniel and DJ situation.
"That's the reason why Daniel is taking responsibility for DJ. He thinks that Justin is a good kid that deserves better. You probably hate him now." Betty said worriedly.
"I like him better than your last boyfriend," her father said surprisingly.
"Because having accidental illegitimate children that you're taking care of is still better then stalking and cheating," At those words, she quickly looked around to see Daniel standing in front of her. She immediately got up from her desk and kissed him.
Okay, she may have forgotten that her father was in the room until he started coughing.
"Sorry Mister Suarez, it's been a while," Daniel said sheepishly.
"That's okay, I was young once," her father replied, with a nod.
"It was supposed to be another week," Betty said as she gave him another quick kiss.
"Yeah, well, mom found out about Wilhelmina and Jordan was able to get Lucy an appointment with one of the top oncologists in the country tomorrow, so we came early. It's not like DJ is unhappy that he's going to have to miss a few more days of school." Daniel told her with a smile.
"How is Lucy doing?" her dad asked with genuine concern.
"She is taking it one day at a time. DJ and her friend Claudette said that she's in better spirits than she has been in months. I think it has something to do with the fact that she no longer has to worry about her parents getting custody of DJ, if she's not able to fight this."
Nobody looked at Daniel at that moment because both she and her father are well aware that Lucy may lose this battle. Betty was most afraid of that and not just because she's worried that she will lose Daniel, if he has to become a full-time father. She doesn't want another child to lose a mom like she did. Maybe deep down, that is why she's helping Ms. Somers with Amanda.
"How exactly did your mom find out about Wilhelmina?" Betty asked because that was a much more pleasant subject, then talking about sick moms with cancer. Everything is still too raw. She really hopes Lucy does beat this because at this point, Betty isn't sure she can survive watching this again.
"She emailed mom a picture. Though, I'm pretty sure Marisol tipped her off beforehand because she didn't even bother to throw her BlackBerry at the wall. The good news is, she is still sober." Daniel told her ominously. Betty was just happy that Mrs. Meade had not returned to her previous destructive behavior. Her child deserved one grandmother, at least.
"Is this the same lady who's trying to take over Ms. Somers job?" Betty just nodded her head. Okay, that explains what the two were talking about in Spanish at brunch. "She does not seem like a very nice person."
"She's not. Then again, neither is Faye. At least, Wilhelmina rubbed it in my mom's face in private and not on the cover of the December 1986 issue," Daniel said bitterly. She did not have time to tell him how much Faye has changed since her heart attack because at that moment Amanda came back into the room.
"I'm still mad at you, but I can't get in to Jamie's office because the door is locked and the blinds are shut. I think that's why Jordan is late. Do you have any chocolate? All I could find was the cheap stuff in the bottom of Marc's desk. I don't even know where he is either," Amanda interrupted.
"I may have bought you an entire box from Paris, like you asked. It's downstairs in the car," Daniel told her.
"You're back and you brought me French chocolate." Amanda said, hugging him. "Are you back early because Betty finally told you that she's pregnant?" She was expecting Daniel to freak out but he said nothing.
"You know I always wanted to try the MODE cafeteria. Justin says they have something called a Kate Moss." Her father said dragging Amanda away.
"But I want my chocolate," Amanda complained.
"I will get you a chocolate sundae," he said pulling her out of the room again.
"But they don't serve ice cream in the MODE cafeteria, they barely serve food." Amanda protested.
"Then, we will go somewhere else." Her father said just as Amanda's phone started to play some weird song. However, Betty already shut the door. She really did not want to have this conversation now.
"You really are pregnant?" Daniel asked her in a tone that told her he wasn't as shocked as he should be.
"You already knew." Betty accused because that was the only thing that makes sense.
"Lucy suggested the possibility after I told her about what happened Sunday. That, may be the real reason why I am here right now. The thing with Wilhelmina and the doctor's appointment were really convenient. While I'm here talking to you, mom is visiting Bradford, upstairs." She would like to ask him about that but she knew she could not take the cowardly way out of this conversation.
"Are you mad at me?" she asked on the verge of tears and he just wrapped an arm around her.
"Don't cry. It's okay. I'm not going to leave you and I'll be with you every step of the way. I can't be mad at you for getting pregnant by your stupid ex-boyfriend, when you've been so good to me about DJ. This just means DJ has a new much younger playmate."
That's when she realized that Daniel was under the impression that it was Walter that got her pregnant. It made sense. Technically, she and Daniel never had sex. Technically, she and Walter did, even if she enjoyed what she did with Daniel a lot more (and she actually had an orgasm).
She was just about to correct his assumption when Amanda walked into the room again.
"Okay, it turns out that Jordan wasn't having sex in Jamie's office. That mean Scottish lady that will not let me borrow shoes from the closet found her unconscious in one of the stairwells. They're waiting on the paramedics."
At that they ran out of the room, she didn't have time to think about correcting Daniel's assumption because she was too worried about Jordan to think about anything else.
Claire isn't that surprise that Bradford's assistant tried to stop her from walking into his office. She has known that a meeting with Jacob White was code for a midday 'liaison' for the last 15 years; that alone made her realize that she was making the right decision. It didn't hurt her at all to walk in on Bradford and Wilhelmina post coitus.
"Don't bother covering up," she said harshly. "You have nothing that I haven't seen before, especially because most of it came out of the catalog. He's your problem now." At that, Claire threw the divorce papers at the man she used to love.
"I want a divorce," she told him, coldly. The words were cathartic. This was her first step in moving forward.
"Claire," he called out, trying to grab her hand.
"Don't try to talk me out of this. I need this to be healthy. Do you really think you can convince me otherwise after I just found you fucking this Faye Somers wanna-be?" Claire said icily and she looked directly at Wilhelmina.
"I'm nothing like Faye Somers." The woman shot back.
"No, you're just screwing her leftovers." Claire told her venomously before turning her attentions back to Bradford. "It's over. It's been over for nearly 20 years since the moment I saw Faye holding that music box on the cover of MODE. There's nothing you can do that can change my mind this time. You have done a lot of horrible things to me over the years but you killed my son and you concealed my grandchild from me. I will never forgive you for that. I'm tired of living in the bottle." Claire shouted, barely able to keep her tears from falling. She would not let him or Wilhelmina see her cry. They did not deserve her tears.
"Don't blame your drinking on me," he retorted, harshly. "You're well aware; we have an open marriage that you yourself have taken advantage of." She wanted to laugh at that. The only reason why she slept with Cal was because Bradford was already fucking around. "What Alex did was not my fault. What grandchild are you talking about?"
"Did I mention who I ran into in France?" She asked with fake innocence that cause Bradford's face to fall instantly.
"I assume you're talking about Lucy. I did it to protect Alex. He was just starting out. He didn't need a kid. I also didn't want Daniel to know that his girlfriend cheated on him and got pregnant by his brother. It was better, if I just made it go away." Claire was confused by those words. Daniel told her that DJ was his son, despite the fact that he looked like Alex's clone.
"What are you talking about? Daniel said the DNA test told him that DJ is his son." Before Bradford could respond, Wilhelmina interrupted.
"As much as I enjoy this little family drama, I do have a 2 o'clock. I am running a magazine now." Wilhelmina said, as she put her bra and dress back on.
"Enjoy it while you can, because Faye will be back very soon." Claire said smiling.
"I don't know. There's been some talk of making her an ambassador. Condoleezza adores her. Maybe, she wants to retire and spend more time with her recently discovered daughter." Claire wanted to laugh at that. She knew that if it was Faye's choice alone, she would not be leaving, except in a body bag.
"You think screwing the boss will help you get that job but it will not. Your snugly bear may own Meade Publications, for now, but I already own MODE. When I'm done with you, Bradford, you'll be lucky to have two nickels to rub together. I used to love you, but now I don't even know if I ever knew you. I don't think it's possible to love a man with no heart." With that, she left before the tears could fall or she found herself in the brandy.
To Be Continued