Betty was talking to Marc the next morning, trying to piece together exactly what had happened the night before. She remembered there being shots at the karaoke bar. She vaguely remembered trying to act sexy around Daniel and him laughing, of course, probably at how silly she looked.

And she definitely remembered singing Dream Girls with Marc and Amanda and them getting booed (probably due at least in part to her less than stellar singing, she cringed, just thinking about it.)

Marc was laughing at her hang-over, "You were practically slugging those things down, Betty! Betty, ask me if I've ever grown tired of making fun of you!"

She shook her head, which only further increased the pain she felt. "I'm leaving now, Marc."

"Listen, I do give you due respect, Betty. I heard you yell at Daniel to shut up a couple of times. I would be far too afraid to do that to Willi-she'd fire me in a nano-second!

She's always reminding me that she has at least twenty other curly-headed sycophant gay possible assistants on speed dial!"

"I really said that to him? I told him to shut up?"

He nodded, "Oh, yeah! You were really yelling at him, Betty. Don't you remember? He took you home, too. So who knows what else you said to him!"

Why couldn't she remember? Betty bit her lip, had she gone too far, being disrespectful to Daniel? No matter how rude or demanding he may have been he was still her boss.

And he had hired her and given her opportunities that she was grateful for, after all. She got his copy of the meeting notes, his coffee and a Danish, and took a deep breath, heading in to his office.

He seemed rather distracted, but spoke softly and looked at her kindly. "Thanks, Betty."

She nodded, looking down and just waiting to see what he was going to say first. "That's all for now."

She started to turn, but heard his voice, and hesitated to look back at him, "Oh, Betty? Um … about last night…."

She bit her lip and quickly interjected, "Daniel, let's just forget about that, can we? It was a mistake. I tend to get a little crazy when I drink too much. Can we please just pretend it never happened?"

He looked surprised, "Okay." She left as Wilhelmina came in, and breathed a sigh of relief. Well, he certainly didn't seem all that angry she thought, so that was a good thing. She absolutely needed to learn to keep her mouth shut. She couldn't afford to lose this job.

Wilhelmina looked at Daniel, who continued to look after Betty, and said to himself, "A mistake?"

After mumbling to Wilhelmina, he stood up and ran after Betty, "Excuse me, Willi." He saw Betty standing in front of the elevators. She looked up at him nervously, "Hey."

He nodded to her and smiled. "Are you getting on?"

They got on to the crowded elevator. Daniel ushered Betty on first. She bit her lip, nervously, sneaking a glance over at him. She could smell his cologne, he was standing so close to her.

Suddenly, her eyes widened as she got a flash of his lips on hers, last night. Oh my God! She remembered them kissing! She tried to not hyperventilate right there on the elevator.

The minute it opened, she hurried off and ran to the ladies room, looking in the mirror. "How could you forget you had kissed Daniel? You idiot!" She put her hand up on her head, rubbing it, trying to figure out what to do next. What must he think of her?

She splashed off her face and tried to compose herself, before she went back out. She looked around and thankfully didn't see Daniel. Unfortunately, she DID see Henry again. He spotted her and started to head towards her, waving, "Betty!"

Crap! She really didn't feel like having another talk to him about how he thought she and Charlie could be friends! She smiled and waved, then saw Daniel's town car pulling up, and shouted to Henry, "Hey, Henry! Sorry, but I've got to go. I'm late for a meeting across town. See you later!"

She knocked on the back door and Daniel let her in, "Hey, Betty. What's up?"

"Can I get in, please? I need to get out of here."

He glanced back and seeing Henry, he waved her in, "Sure. Come on. I was just headed to my place. But I have plenty of time before I need to pack for Japan. Do you feel like taking a ride on the ferry?"

She nodded. They rode in silence for several minutes. "You're going to Japan?"

"Yeah. I tried to tell you yesterday. There's a big advertiser that wants to meet in person and can't make it to New York right now. So, I'm wooing them. But you were a little…"

"Out of it? I don't know what to say, Daniel. I'm so embarrassed right now. I'm sorry."

They got out and rushed onto the ferry. After watching the sunset on the city, Daniel grabbed her hand, "What are you apologizing for, Betty?

I'm the one who accused you of molesting your own nephew, standing me up and hanging up on me, none of which you actually did it seems, and let's see…what else?

Oh, are you sorry that you kissed me, is that it? Or because you obviously couldn't remember kissing me? Or…did you really mean it when you said it was a mistake?"

"I…um…Daniel, I didn't remember…doing that. I didn't mean that was a mistake. I just thought I had yelled at you, that's what I was apologizing for..."

He grinned, "You did. Quite a bit, actually. I don't think I've ever had a woman other than my mother yell at me as much as you have, Betty. But…I still think you're pretty cute. I know I'm not sorry you kissed me. I hope you're not."

Betty blushed, then looked up at him, trying desperately to keep her heart from pounding like it was, "Did you…kiss me back?"

He nodded, and took her by her arms, "Yeah. I did. Do you need a visual? That might jog your memory. Obviously something made you remember a little on the elevator."

She whispered as he leaned down closer, closing the distance between them, "You're um…cologne, I think reminded me."

He smiled, "Oh. Well, let's try to recreate the scene of the crime, shall we?" He picked up her chin by the crook of his finger as she closed her eyes and suddenly his lips were on hers, causing her senses to short-circuit.

She felt like they were in their own little bubble. He moaned softly into her mouth, kissing her more intensely and she felt herself melting completely into his kiss, both of them giving in to one another, running their hands through each other's hair and continuing from one heated kiss to another.

Finally, as he started kissing his way to her neck, he whispered, "Betty…you're…incredible."

"Daniel…" She was overwhelmed. He was incredible, too. She felt light-headed, as if she was going to explode with all the emotions running through her mind right now.

When they finally came up for air, he smiled, looking at her, and holding her face in his hand, brushing back her hair. "You…are so adorable, Betty. I can't believe I thought those terrible things about you. I should have known better. You're not like some women I've known.

You have such a good heart. You're a beautiful person. Inside and out. I'm really sorry I was so mean at first. There's something you should probably know about why I acted that way."

She bit her lip, and put her hand on his cheek, looking into his intensely soulful eyes, "I know about what Sofia did to you, Daniel. Actually, Justin told me. He knew about it and when I mentioned you seemed so distrustful of women he showed me some of the articles.

That was horrible what she did to you. No wonder you thought all women were not to be trusted! She's a monster. That was completely unconscionable, using you like that. If I had her here, I think I'd pull her hair out by the roots!"

He smiled, seeing her so intensely protective of him, and brushed back a strand of hair, then took her hand from his face and kissed it. "Thank you, Betty. You really restore my faith in women, as much as she destroyed it. You're the complete opposite of her. You're kind, and caring, and sweet, and…feisty, but in a good way. You yell at me when I'm being a jerk BECAUSE you care about me.

You're encouraging, and not just to me, but everybody you meet. I don't want to give people the wrong impression and actually get on my knee here, but…I owe you a huge apology. Can you forgive me for being such an arrogant jerk?"

She smiled and nodded, "Maybe. As long as you take me to Japan with you."

He laughed, "I was already planning for you to come with, Betty. Who else is going to kick my butt and yell at me if I say something stupid over there?"

"IF you say something stupid?" She grinned.

Disclaimer: I don't own Ugly Betty!

After Daniel had dropped her off at her house, Betty rushed upstairs, trying to figure out what she was going to where to the party tonight. She also would need to pack for Japan as soon as possible, since Daniel told her they would be leaving that weekend, in order to be ready for their meeting with the new advertisers.

Betty tried not to freak out too much, thinking about how overwhelming it was going to be, to be in a completely different culture. She knew it was very important to be respectful and humble in meetings there. She hurried and found a dress she felt would work for the club tonight, then laid out her suitcase, to start packing a bit tonight, and finish Saturday as soon as possible, so she could do the research she needed to feel prepared.

As excited as she was for the business opportunity, she couldn't stop thinking about that kiss, or as it had turned into several kisses earlier. She didn't really know where this was going, but she definitely liked finding out how sweet Daniel actually could be, once he stopped being so guarded and defensive about women.

When Justin had told her about the way that Sofia Reyes had manipulated Daniel's feeling for her own career goals it started to make the pieces of why he felt like true love didn't exist and was simply a game fall into place.

He had seen his own parent's marriage crumble before his eyes, and then, the one time he had opened his heart, that woman turned out to be a lying, manipulative well…not nice person, Betty thought. No wonder he had been so rude at first.

But the sweet things he said to her were humming through her head as she showered and dressed for the party. She couldn't stop smiling, thinking about how kind he had seemed, once he let down his defenses to her. He was like a completely different man. And she liked this Daniel. A lot!

Once she finished getting ready, Betty hurried to the waiting town car Daniel had sent for her and she quickly looked around at the club for him. She could see him across the room, but he was surrounded by several people, including at least four models and women Betty recognized as both advertisers and designers.

She tried to make her way to him, but the bouncer stopped her, "Who are you, Miss? Do you have your ID?"

Betty's face went red, as she remembered she had changed purses and left her Mode badge in her old purse. "I'm sorry, I left it at home. But, I'm Daniel Meade's assistant. Wait…Amanda, tell this guy I work at Mode, please. I left my ID at home."

Amanda smiled slyly, and shook her head to the guard as she hurried past, "I've never seen that girl in my life, officer!" She laughed and headed towards Daniel.

Betty rolled her eyes, wondering how she could get Daniel's attention or who else there already could actually vouch for her. There was a definite disadvantage to being so short.

It seemed Daniel didn't see her over the crowd and she finally gave up, disheartened, and began to go back to the coatroom, when she brightened up as she heard Daniel and his father talking.

"You're taking that girl with you? What's really going on there, Daniel? Now that you put her through your own little make-over process and she looks presentable, you're back to business as usual and plan on getting her on her back? That's exactly what I was trying to avoid by encouraging you to hire her when she was ugly!

Now you're just going to do what you always do. You know how close we came to avoiding a law suit with that Charmaine? Stop screwing around! Wilhelmina is telling me constantly how she has to hold your hand and you almost lost the Fabia account, if she hadn't pulled out of a last minute shoot with that Phillippe…"

Betty heard Daniel's voice rise in volume, "What? That lying bitch! Dad, I'm the one who fired Phillippe, she was trying to get me to work with the man and they were both working together to sabotage me by encouraging me to do a shoot about car accidents when Fabia was just in one herself!"

"well, you've managed to sabotage yourself pretty well up till now, Daniel. Willi knows the business and she is far more qualified to run Mode than you are. Your mother convinced me to give you this one last chance to prove yourself to me. But if you end up in some law suit with this Betty...or get distracted by her."

He lowered his voice, "As far as Betty is concerned, it's strictly business, Dad. There's nothing personal going on between us. She's very smart, that's why I hired her, period. I just gave her a few hints to improve her look so she would look more polished to our clients, that's all. She actually came up with the id…"

"Daniel? There you are. I'm so glad to see you. I left my ID in my other bag and couldn't get to you. I wanted to let you know, I have all the travel arrangements confirmed for Sunday afternoon.

Do you have your passport and everything at the office, or do you need me to get them organized for you? Oh, hello, Mr. Meade. Good to see you, sir. How was your trip to Europe?"

"Fine, Betty. You look lovely this evening. I'm sure you have a lot of business to take care of with my son, so I'll leave you to it. Nice to see you again. Enjoy your evening. And your trip.

I'm sure it will be very productive. I don't need to remind either of you what this account could do for our revenues if you manage to pull it off, Daniel. So far, you two seem to be a good team. Don't let me down, son."

As he left, Betty looked at Daniel, trying not to be hurt at what she had overheard. Of course he wouldn't admit to his father what his feelings for her might be, she told herself. Still, she couldn't deny that his words stung a bit.

It would have been nice if he could have said he did care about her, but then perhaps Bradford would have insisted his son re-assign her or buy her off like he had evidently done to that Charmaine girl. Betty didn't want to end up just as another of 'Daniel's girls'.

Her boss's reputation as a player definitely wasn't something she was about to forget. He seemed to be reading her thoughts, or perhaps he wondered how much of his conversation she might have overheard. He looked at her with those deep blue eyes.

"Betty, listen, I don't know how that must have looked, but…"

She turned to go, trying to hide the tears that threatened, "It's fine, Daniel. I understand completely. I don't want to lose my job. I know what you need to do in Japan.

I'll just go make the rounds to a few of the advertisers, then leave early to stop by your loft and make sure you have everything for the trip. Then, I'll go home and finish my own packing and research on Tamagashi uniforms. I'll have a report ready for you…"

He grabbed her by the arm, and turned her around, "Betty, wait. I had to tell my father we weren't involved or he'd make me get rid of you. I can't really stand to think of working here without you. But it's not just that. I care about you, too.

But business is business. So I lied to him. I know I should have had the courage to tell him the truth. But for now, until we see how this goes between us, I just thought…"

"I said I understand, Daniel. I do. I didn't expect you to declare your undying love for me or anything. A kiss is just a kiss, after all, right?"

He grinned, seeing how she was trying to put on a brave face, when she was really hurt. "Right. Exactly. Even though…well, to be fair, it was several kisses and they were pretty…hot kisses. But, hey, you're right. We're professionals. We can just do our jobs in Japan. No funny business. No touching. No…stolen glances. No more…kissing."

She was having a difficult time controlling her breathing as he touched his fingers on the back of her hand and ran them up her arm slowly, then pulled her back into the coat room, where they were out of view of anyone, and closed the door.

He smiled at her slyly, "Betty, if you think I'm just going to forget about all we talked about before and about you coming onto me when you were drunk, and making me that nice little lunch and asking me out…you don't know ME very well.

I may have gotten my heart broken really badly before by that witch, Sofia, but you're teaching me not to judge people by their appearances and to give um…love a second chance. Maybe I was wrong before. Maybe it does exist. I don't know.

I…well, I don't know much about it, really. I thought I did. But that was just me being angry at her and taking it out on you and women in general. But I feel like, maybe you could teach me. Maybe you're the one who should be giving me lessons instead of the other way around."