Into Your Arms, Of Course/CH 2
When Betty opened her eyes, she saw Daniel with his eyes still closed and he was smiling. He just KISSED her! She was trying to stay calm. But her brain was telling her this wasn't good! Daniel was most definitely off limits-he was her boss, for crying out loud! Plus, he was freaking DANIEL MEADE!
She stayed frozen, just enjoying the moment for as long as she could and then she found herself ignoring her stupid, annoying brain trying to tell her to stop and she actually returned his kiss, because why wouldn't she? This was sort of one of those "bucket list" moments. She didn't want to be old and grey forty years from now (and STILL be his damn assistant!) and kick herself because she regretted not kissing him back!
He seemed pleasantly surprised that she had pulled him back to her by his collar quite forcefully to give him a second kiss. He cleared his throat, "You…kissed me back!"
She blushed, nodding, "Uh huh. I did."
"Can I ask…what made you change your mind? Not to pull at that thread. I'm really happy that you did! That was a really nice kiss!"
She placed her hand lightly over his mouth, shaking her head, "Daniel…please don't misunderstand. I only kissed you back because…well …because …you know. you're you! I sort of felt like I'd regret it if I didn't! But…it was just a one time thing. I mean, come on! You KNOW this can't… happen! There is no way you and I could ever be anything but friends!"
He furrowed his brows, "EVER? You can't mean that! What about like I said, if one or both of us are no longer working together? Betty, I won't ALWAYS be your boss, you know! First of all, you're so damn smart, I'll probably end up being your assistant someday! Besides, I don't HAVE to work at Mode!"
She was incredulous, "So, what, now you're going to quit your job? Just so we can…date? Are you crazy?"
"Hear me out, okay? Not JUST for us to date. I hate working there! Other than seeing you every day, it's a pain in the ass most days! Mode was supposed to just be a place I worked at to prove I could run the flagship magazine and then I was going to take over the whole company.
Trust me, I didn't ask to work at a fashion magazine anymore than you did, Betty. It was my dad's idea to "cut my teeth" there, before he gave me the keys to the kingdom, remember? At least, that WAS the plan, before Alexis came back and conspired with Wilhelmina to kick me to the curb. But, thanks to you, their "evil plan" didn't work! "
"You give me too much credit! You did a lot, too, Daniel."
"Yeah, sure. Please! Half the time you had to hold my hand or bail me out of all the stupid stuff I did! We both know I would have never even made it past the first week, after I messed up the Fabia account! My old man was ready to fire me on the spot back then! Wilhelmina knows it, too. YOU, Betty are the 'wind beneath my wings' or whatever…yeah, I know it sounds…sappy, but honestly, without you, I'd most likely be getting drunk somewhere, living down to my old man's low expectations of me. You're the one who's always giving me your damn peppy 'pep' talks!" He placed his hand on her cheek, gently.
She blushed again, "That's all very sweet of you to say, Daniel. But still, just look at us! We don't really look like we belong together. Nobody is going to believe that someone as handsome and successful as you would ever be interested in…me!"
"Okay, first of all, stop saying all that crap about yourself! I know Wilhelmina, Marc and Amanda and a lot of those plastic people at Mode can be mean, but you have a much better self-image than that by now, don't you?"
"I have lots of self-confidence in my ability to do my job. But…that doesn't always translate to…how I look. Personally, I'm fine with how I look! But the rest of the world…and especially Mode? They think I'm fat and ugly! And it's hard to feel good about myself when I'm constantly being compared to tall, stick-figure models all the time!"
He pulled her to him and held her quietly for a moment, nodding, "I'm sorry, Betty! I guess I didn't realize just how hard it was for you at that place! You still always have such a great outlook. But trust me, I wasn't always put together, either! I wore braces, too, in middle school. I went through an awkward phase. And you just know Alex was right there, teasing me all the time, anytime I didn't measure up.
And my dad was always telling me to be smarter, faster, stronger, just like my big brother! After hearing that shit my whole life, I finally just stopped trying to compete with Alex! You're lucky your family is so supportive. I think it's one of your many superpowers!"
She smiled, looking up at him gratefully, "Superpowers?"
"You heard me. Anyway, I think…we should both figure out what we really want to do moving forward. Meade Publications is a Global company, which means I can work anywhere.
I don't necessarily have to stay here in New York. I can work overseas, travel, just check in on the different publications in Europe. I enjoy advertising. I can definitely see myself checking on the other magazines, and making sure we don't have any other Wilhelminas working for Meade! Although, honestly, I guess she's probably earned her place at Mode. I'm tempted to transfer her to Siberia or something, though."
They both laughed for a second, "There aren't any Meade offices in Russia."
"I know. Too bad, huh?"
"Are you…thinking about visiting Alexis and DJ? You mentioned Europe."
"Maybe. At least for a while. I really miss him! I know my mom keeps telling me to try and keep in touch with DJ, but it's hard just seeing him on Zoom or talking or texting now. I was…his dad! I felt really good about that. Now…I feel empty."
"I think you should. Being DJ's dad came so naturally to you. It might not be such an easy fit for your sister. I'm sure she'd appreciate the support. Teens are hard."
"Where does that leave us, though?"
"Same as always; friends."
"With…benefits?" he raised an eyebrow teasingly.
She shoved him, "NO! No…benefits! Especially not if you're going to be going to France for a long time!"
"I won't be gone THAT long!"
She looked somewhat hesitant, but tried to be encouraging, "Be careful no French princesses jump into your arms there while you're supposed to be visiting your nephew!"
"Haha! Very funny, Madamoiselle Suarez! I just wish I spoke any French whatsoever!"
"A lot of people in Paris speak English. And Alexis and DJ can help translate for you. You'll be fine!"
"True. I wish you were coming with me, though. Maybe…you could…join me? Just for a week or so. Take a vacation."
"I could? That sounds…amazing!"
Yeah? Great! You know there's a young editor's training program that Alexis was telling me about. It starts next month, I think. She said she was trying to write a recommendation letter for that Nick Salt guy that was supposed to be her assistant for a while, and she didn't know what to say, since he sort of sucked. I could write you a letter and help you get into the program if you want. Although it would be hard to be apart, especially if we actually started dating in Paris."
"You know, that's a really good idea. I could kill two birds. Get more life experience by visiting a foreign country and…um…"
"And actually enjoy yourself, spending time with me?"
"I always enjoy spending time with you, Daniel."
"Yeah? Me, too. It's funny, but I've never felt more comfortable with a woman before."
"Of course, because we're friends."
"Maybe I want to finally be more than friends, though. Can you really not at least think about us…changing our relationship at some point? Or is friends the only thing you want from me? You think I'm too disgusting to consider as a possible boyfriend, is that it?"
She could see his vulnerability, which always made her want to hug him. So she did just that. But this time, she looked up into his somewhat glossy eyes and pulled him down to her level, and she didn't have to reach up on her toes as much this time, because he met her more than halfway, sliding his hands around her back, as they both deepened their kisses.
When they eventually had to come up for air, she blinked, thinking for a moment about his words, "I'm not stupid! Of COURSE I want us to be more than friends, Daniel! You're amazing! But I'm just… too…well…ME!"
He rolled his eyes, and wrapped his arms around her waist, leaning his forehead against hers as he whispered, "What the hell does that mean? Cut that out! Now who's being totally ridiculous? I happen to think YOU'RE pretty amazing too, Miss Suarez!"
She hugged him again briefy. "Thank you! But I'm not coming until you've had some time to spend with your sister and DJ first. Then, you can text or call me and let me know when the best time is for me to…um…join you."
"You're serious? Okay, wait, is this a trick? Are you trying to get me to go and then once I'm in Paris and tell you to come, you're going to make up some lame excuse about not being right or you don't think it's a good time or something? Because if I quit Mode … and you leave, too, to do the editors training, and especially once it helps you get another job as an editor outside of Meade Publications, you do realize, you'll have no excuse NOT to date me, you know."
She rolled her eyes, "There's no guarantee this editor's training is some magical castle that will suddenly turn me into an editor! Nick is an idiot and he exaggerates wildly or just outright lies about things! Why is Alexis even writing him a recommendation? He didn't work for her for very long and when he did he was a terrible assistant! Plus he's just…a big meanie!"
"Are you still mad about Medieval Times?"
"Among other things! Nick is a big…jerk! He knocked me off that riding bull just because I ate his stupid yogurt accidentally and I would have won!"
He smiled, brushing back of strand of hair from her face and placing it behind her ear, "I know he was a jerk, honey, but I don't care about him. I only care about you. And yeah, sure maybe this place doesn't work for everybody who goes there, and trust me, I know what you mean about Nick lying, but I also know that once you do what you always do, and impress the hell out of everyone there, you're going to have to turn down jobs, left and right! I've been selfish by keeping you as my assistant for so long when you should have gotten an editor's job over a year ago, because you've already been doing it all along, Betty!"
She blew out a breath, thinking, "So, you really think I should go to this training place?"
"I do. I would recommend you for it, even if I was staying at Mode and was still just your boss. But as your boyfriend, I absolutely want you to keep making steps towards your career goals, sweetie."
"You need to write my letter while you still ARE my boss, though! Because you can't write me one as my…did you really say BOYFRIEND?" her eyes widened.
He grinned, nodding, and pulled her into his arms, then leaned his forehead against hers, and whispered, "Yeah. I did. I'd really like to be your boyfriend, If that's okay with you?"