Archive of Our Own

“Daniel Meade’s office, Betty Suarez,” Betty answers the phone. The woman in her ear is crying, so Betty assumes it’s one of Daniel’s hookups. Betty always feels bad when they call crying. She can’t actually understand anything the woman’s saying, though she does hear Daniel and call and Friday.

It feels like a safe bet that they slept together on Friday and Daniel never called. Betty sighs. She never knew fielding calls from jilted lovers would be such a big part of her job.

“I’m so sorry, he’s not available,” Betty says over the sobbing in her ear. “But I will be sure to let him know you called.”

Then Bradford Meade goes sailing past Betty’s desk, heading right into Daniel’s office. Daniel’s in there, but he asked Betty to hold all his calls and tell everyone he’s on an ad sales call. In reality, he’s taking a nap. Betty feels bad, but she hangs up on the poor crying girl.

“Mr. Meade!” Betty calls. “Can you give Daniel a few minutes? He’s on a call.”

“Is he?” Mr. Meade asks. “The rep from Lancôme?”

“Um…maybe,” Betty says. “I’m not sure.” She doesn’t want to lie to the man who owns the whole company. Besides, he’ll probably find out Daniel wasn’t talking to anyone from Lancôme, because Mr. Meade seems to know everyone in charge of every company ever.

“Well, why don’t I poke my head in and see?” Mr. Meade says.

“I can do that for you,” Betty says quickly. There is no way Daniel wants his father to catch him literally lying down on the job. “I can have him come up to your office when he’s done. Or you could have a seat right here and I can get you some coffee?”

“It’s fine, Betty,” Daniel says, opening his door. “I’m done. Thanks.” He doesn’t have any marks on his face this time, so he must’ve taken Betty’s suggestion and gotten a smoother pillow.

Mr. Meade kind of raises his eyebrows at her like he thinks she’s dumb and annoying. Or maybe Betty’s projecting. She doesn’t know Mr. Meade well enough to know what his facial expressions mean, but he’s really intimidating.

“I will take that coffee,” Mr. Meade says.

“Yes, sir,” Betty chirps.

“I’ll have one, too,” Daniel says.

“Are you sure?” Betty asks. “It’s after 3.” He told her he doesn’t sleep well if he drinks coffee after 3. Which is why he keeps resorting to naps in his office. Also because he stays up late sleeping with models.

“Yeah, Betty, I have a late night tonight,” Daniel says.

Betty stops herself from responding to that, but only because Daniel’s father is there. “Coming right up,” she says instead.

She realizes as she’s pouring the coffee that she’s going to need a tray or something. She doesn’t know how Mr. Meade takes his coffee, so she wants to bring some creamers and sugar so he can add his own. Or she could anticipate—or guess, honestly—that he takes it the same way as Daniel.

She shakes her head. She’s not going to guess about that. From what little she knows about their family, it’s more likely that Daniel picked a different way to take his coffee just so he wasn’t like his father.

Betty can’t find a tray, so she tucks creamer cups and sugar packets under her chin and heads back. Luckily, they didn’t close the door behind them, so Betty doesn’t have to worry about opening it with her hands full. She stops when she realizes what they’re talking about.

“Does she really know what she’s doing?” Mr. Meade is asking. “She couldn’t even tell me who your call was with. I know I hired her for a certain reason, but if she’s not working out, we can find someone else.”

Betty’s stomach drops. She knows that specific reason Mr. Meade hired her. It’s because she’s not pretty enough to be a distraction. That hurts enough on its own, but now he thinks she’s not even good at her job? Humiliation is making her eyes hot. She is not going to cry at work. Again. She drops a sugar packet and has to hold her breath for a second to keep from losing it.

“No, Dad, Betty’s great,” Daniel says right away. “It’s my fault—I don’t always tell her enough. You know. Still getting used to everything.”

“You or her?” Mr. Meade asks.

“Both of us,” Daniel says firmly. “It’s only been three weeks, and she’s already saved me more times than I can count. Trust me. You picked the right person.”

That makes Betty smile, warmth spreading through her chest. She knows everyone thinks Daniel’s a huge jerk, and sometimes he can be, but he shows her a different side. She really thinks he’d like being a nice guy, but everyone else here is such a jerk he has to be one too to keep up.

“Well, if you’re sure,” Mr. Meade says. He doesn’t sound like he’s sure, but that’s okay. He doesn’t need to believe in Betty, necessarily.

“I am,” Daniel says. Betty chooses that moment to bring in the coffee.

“Here you go,” Betty says. She puts Daniel’s down first, since it’s easier. “Mr. Meade, I wasn’t sure how you take yours, so I’ve got creamer, non-dairy creamer, sugar, and no calorie sugar-free sweetener.” She puts it all down in front of him. “I also brought you some donuts. Because Daniel skipped lunch and let’s face it, no one else here is going to eat them. And just a reminder, Daniel, you’ve got twenty minutes before you need to leave for your meeting with Drew Barrymore’s reps. Your car’s going to get you there a little early so you’re the first one there. And if you eat the donut, you don’t have to worry about eating during the meeting and not talking enough.”

Daniel’s got a big, proud smile on his face. “Thank you, Betty,” he says.

“Anything else?” she asks.

“Nope, this is great,” Daniel says.

“Yes, thank you,” Mr. Meade says.

Daniel meets her eyes over his dad’s head and gives her a grin and an encouraging nod. Betty gives him a thumb’s up that makes him laugh a little. Then she heads back to her desk. She’s got Fashion Week invitations to send out.

Betty drops into her chair and puts her hands on her head, one on each side, and does her best not to scream.

“Whoa,” Daniel says, coming out of his office. “What’s wrong? You’re doing the head squeeze.”

“Nothing,” Betty snaps. “Everything is great.”

Daniel raises his eyebrows. “Uh huh.”

“Charlie and Henry are learning baby CPR tonight,” Betty says. “Which is good! Wouldn’t want their baby to die.” She blinks. “Oh, God, that sounded sarcastic. I really don’t want their baby to die.”

Daniel huffs. “I know, Betty. But it’s okay to be mad that your boyfriend is busy with another woman.”

Betty puts her head down on her desk. “We already don’t have much time left. And now she’s here to ruin it.” She holds up a finger without lifting her head. “Don’t say I told you so.”

“I wasn’t going to,” Daniel promises. “I’m not going to kick you when you’re down.”

Betty sighs and sits up. “Were you coming out here to ask me for something?”

“Oh…no,” Daniel says. He’s obviously lying.

“Daniel,” Betty says.

“It’s fine!” Daniel says. “I’ll get it myself.”

“Get what?”

“Just some mock-ups from Alexis’s office,” Daniel says. “I need to stretch my legs anyway. Need anything while I’m up? Coffee? Donut? Cookie?”

Betty pushes herself back upright. “I’ll do it.”

“Betty,” Daniel starts.

“Just let me do something normal,” Betty says.

Daniel nods. “Okay. If you really want to.”

“Yeah, Daniel, I’m dying to do it,” Betty says. She shakes her head. “God, my sarcasm is a lot tonight.”

“You’re telling me,” Daniel mutters. Then he gives Betty a big grin to make up for it. “Thanks, Betty. You’re the best.”

“Yeah, whatever,” she says.

“Oh, jeez,” she hears Daniel say as she walks off.

Betty runs into Nick Pepper—literally—as she’s going to the elevator and he’s coming off. “Ugh, yogurt thief,” he says.

Betty does her best not to snap. “Does Alexis have some mock-ups for Daniel?”

“Yes, but they’re still upstairs,” Nick says. “I’m not going back up there to get them.”

“I can get them,” Betty says. “Where are they?”

“You think Ms. Meade wants you rifling through her desk drawers?” Nick asks disdainfully.

“Is she in her office?” Betty asks. “Wait, do you really call her Ms. Meade?”

“Yes,” Nick says. “Because I respect my boss.”

“Are you implying I don’t respect Daniel?” Betty demands.

“You call him by his first name and wipe food off his face,” Nick says. “You’re basically his grandmother, and he’ll always think of you that way. I show Ms. Meade that I’m a valuable business asset. To ensure my future success.”

“Okay, well, good for you,” Betty says. “Daniel’s already given me two different article assignments and a co-host credit for a fashion show. So I guess Grandma wins. Now get out of my way.”

She pushes past him to get to the elevator. Alexis isn’t in her office, but the mock-ups are sitting neatly on the corner of her desk. Betty’s not sure why Nick would come down to their floor and not bring them. Probably because he’s not a very good assistant.

That’s a little mean, but Betty doesn’t even feel bad. Nick deserves it. When Betty gets back downstairs, she hears Daniel’s voice in the tube and stops when she realizes he’s talking to Nick Pepper. Ugh. Betty doesn’t want to deal with him again.

“I’m just saying, you shouldn’t feel obligated to toss her pity assignments,” Nick is saying. “I’m more than willing to lend you my expertise whenever you need it.”

There’s a beat of silence. Betty doesn’t know who Nick is talking about, until Daniel asks, “You want to know why Betty gets more opportunities than you, Nick?”

Betty’s jaw drops, outraged. Pity assignments? She’s so mad right now she thinks she could fight Nick again. She’s not surprised, necessarily, that Nick would say that, but it does make her fist clench when she’s already not having a good day.

“Because you feel bad that she’s the one assistant you haven’t slept with,” Nick says. Betty rolls her eyes. Nick says it as a compliment to Daniel, because Nick thinks being sleazy is cool.

“Because she’s better than you,” Daniel says, and Betty leans closer to listen harder. “Betty is better than you at everything. She’s smarter than you, she’s more personable than you, she works harder than you, and she cares more than you. And you know what? She pulls hotter dates than you, too.”

“Oh, come on,” Nick scoffs.

“Have you seen Grubstick without a shirt?” Daniel asks. “He’s got a great body.” Betty can feel her eyebrows drawing together. This is kind of going to a weird place now. Luckily, Daniel seems to remember what point he was making. “I know you think Betty gets special treatment, because that’s the only way you could get ahead. But Betty doesn’t need it. She earns everything she gets. Betty is always going to come out ahead of you. Five years from now, she’ll probably have my job. And you’ll be getting her coffee. Yeah, she’ll let you keep your job. Because she’s a better person than you, too.”

Betty almost can’t believe Daniel would just come right out and say all that. She has to bite her lip to keep from giggling out loud. She decides to make her presence known now, because she really wants to see Nick Pepper’s face.

Betty makes sure to scuff her shoe so they hear her coming. Nick looks like he just ate a lemon. Daniel’s holding a cookie in one hand and a donut in the other.

“I got your mock-ups, Daniel,” Betty says, looking at Nick and raising her eyebrows as she says it.

“Thanks,” Daniel says. He holds out the treats. “Want one? Both? Neither? We could go get Pinkberry if you want.”

That makes Betty smile for real, not just smug at Nick. Daniel really is trying his best to cheer her up. She takes the donut, because the cookie is peanut butter chocolate chip and that’s Daniel’s favorite. “You can have the cookie,” she says.

“Yes,” Daniel says under his breath, doing a dorky little fist pump.

Betty laughs at him. She looks at Nick. “Another point for Grandma,” she says. Then she heads back to her desk.

“Grandma?” Daniel echoes, following her.

“Don’t worry about it,” Betty says. “It’s a situation I already handled.”

“That’s because you’re the best, Betty,” Daniel says.

“Thank you,” Betty says imperiously. “I’m sufficiently cheered up. You can stop sucking up.”

“Okay, great,” Daniel says. “I need you to schedule me a dentist appointment.”

Well, that doesn’t necessarily make Betty feel less like Daniel’s grandma. But it’s okay. Nick can babble all he wants about respect. Betty knows she has Daniel’s.

“If one more person boos or barks at me today, I’m going to start elbowing people,” Betty threatens. Player magazine leaves much to be desired. As if the misogynistic content of the magazine itself weren’t enough, the idiots working there are even worse.

“Go ahead,” Daniel says. He looks up from his computer. “Wait, other people, right? Not me?”

“Probably not you,” Betty agrees.

“Probably?” he asks.

“Well, if I’m mad it might just happen,” she says. “You’re the only one who gets a warning. Just don’t be in elbowing range if you don’t want to be elbowed.”

“I can work with that,” he decides. “Elbow away. Oh, but not DJ, either, please.”

“Daniel, I’m not going to elbow a kid,” Betty says defensively.

“Just making sure,” Daniel says. “I know he probably deserves it sometimes.”

Betty just raises her eyebrows and doesn’t actually respond to that. DJ wouldn’t need to be elbowed if Daniel would discipline him, but it’s probably not Betty’s place to say it. At least for another week or so. There’s only so long she can hold off giving Daniel unwarranted but needed advice.

“Okay. So this afternoon you’re meeting with…” Betty grimaces. “Hooters.”

“Betty, I know you’re not happy here, but can I just be really excited about this one meeting?” Daniel asks.

Betty makes a face at him. “Can’t you be gross secretly?”

“Oh, I’m so much grosser secretly,” Daniel confesses. “I spare you so much.”

“Ew,” Betty complains. “Anyway, I doubt any of the waitresses are coming. Why don’t you just look at boobs on the internet like everybody else?”

“I thought we decided you wouldn’t say boobs anymore,” Daniel says, pained.

“Well, that was before we came here,” Betty points out. She gestures to the sample cover on the edge of his desk. “Now we’re in boob city.”

“Oh, God,” Daniel mutters, nose wrinkled. “Okay. Point taken. Kinda hard to avoid it here.” He smiles a totally fake smile. “Isn’t it great?”

“Sure,” Betty says. She knows he misses Mode, too, surplus of boobs notwithstanding. He was seeing plenty of boobs at Mode, anyway. God, Betty wants to stop thinking about boobs now.

“Could you go down to the archives and pull me the last issue Hooters advertised in?” Daniel asks. “I think it was March ’05, but could you check April and May, too, to be sure?”

“Got it,” Betty says. She salutes him. “Leaving boob city.”

Daniel shakes his head, but he’s laughing a little. “Thanks.”

Betty didn’t actually leave boob city, because that’s all the archives of Player are. Betty despairs over the kind of men who read this. Their demographic is her dating pool. She shudders. They are not her dating pool. She has no dating pool, because she’s not dating this year. She put it on her list.

Daniel was right: it was March. April has no Hooters ad. Instead, there are four different condom ads. Betty didn’t even know four different condom brands existed. She’s never given much thought to the brands.

She shakes the condom thoughts from her head and goes back upstairs. She can hear Uno and Daniel in Daniel’s office, though it’s hard to hear much of anything over the sound of DJ and one of the editors playing some gun video game.

And of course Betty’s desk is all messed up. There’s silly string all over the ground, and it looks like somebody rolled her chair over it so it’s stuck into the carpet. She can’t tell if it was DJ or one of the actual adult men who work here. She growls a little and has to get down on the ground to clean it up.

“I’m just saying, she’s killing the vibe,” she can hear Uno complain in Daniel’s office. Betty already knows he’s talking about her. This isn’t the first time.

“No, she’s not,” Daniel says. “She does good work and she’s always up for a challenge.”

Betty smiles to herself at that. She really loves that Daniel always acknowledges how hard she works. She knows from other assistants that not all bosses do that.

“When you said you had a chick assistant, we all thought she was going to be hot,” Uno says. Betty rolls her eyes. Heaven forbid he have to look at a woman he’s not attracted to. “Not all…blah.” Okay, that’s ruder than Betty would’ve liked.

“Do you have something you actually need here, Uno?” Daniel asks. He sounds mild, but Betty can tell he’s losing his patience. For all the backstabbing that happens upstairs at Mode, everyone at least does their jobs. Player certainly isn’t as driven. Daniel can talk all he wants about how great it is to be so laid-back, but Betty can tell it gets on his nerves.

“I’m just saying,” Uno says again. “Would it kill her to sex it up a little? I bet she’s got a pretty decent rack under all that. We’d all love to see it. Maybe no one’s ever told her that.” He laughs. “I’ll be sure to let her know she should flash some tit.” Betty feels her elbows preparing. She’s definitely getting him today.

“That’s enough,” Daniel says sharply. He’s brought out his editor-in-chief voice now. The editor playing with DJ even pauses the game at the sound of it. “You don’t have to like her ideas or her outfits. You don’t even have to like her personality. But you will treat Betty with respect. Understood?”

Uno kind of sputters for a second. “Fine.”

“Thank you. Anything else?”

“No,” Uno says. He leaves Daniel’s office looking sufficiently chastised. He doesn’t even notice Betty under her desk. Betty stands up and Daniel sees her. His eyes drop to her desk and she can see the moment he realizes she heard all that. He sighs.

“Betty,” he says.

“It’s fine, Daniel,” she says wearily. “Let’s face it, I’ve heard worse.”

Daniel folds his arms, lips pursed. “Do you want to file an HR claim?”

That makes Betty laugh out loud. “Does Player even have HR?”

“Of course we do,” Daniel says quickly. “It’s the law.”

“Honestly, Daniel, that was almost a positive comment from him,” Betty points out. “I can handle it.”

Daniel sighs again. “I’m sorry.”

“Thanks for trying,” Betty says.

Daniel shakes his head. “You know what? You can go elbow him all you want.”

Betty laughs. “Thank you. I was going to anyway, but I’m glad I have your blessing.”

“Oh, you know I was going to back you up if you elbowed him anyway,” Daniel says.

“True,” Betty agrees. “But this way I’ll be extra careful not to elbow you on accident.”

Daniel grins. “Well, it’s all I ask.” Then he tips his head. “Actually. Can I ask for something else?”

“Yes, Daniel,” Betty says patiently. “I am your assistant. You can ask me for things even when you feel guilty.”

“Well, now you’re making me feel guiltier,” Daniel whines. “Reverse psychology.”

“Your window to ask for something is closing,” Betty warns.

“I just need sticky notes!” Daniel says. “Blue, if possible, but I’ll take green or orange.”

“You already used up all the sticky notes in your bottom desk drawer?” Betty asks.

Daniel blinks. “There are sticky notes in my bottom desk drawer?”

“That’s where I put them.”

Daniel goes back into his office. After a second, his head pops back up. He gives Betty a thumb’s up. “Oh, Betty, what would I ever do without you?”

She knows he’s still kind of laying it on thick because he feels bad about her overhearing Uno being gross. But that’s okay. Betty will take the compliment anyway.

Betty’s walking into work, laden under her coffee in one hand and the pan of enchiladas her father insisted she take to Daniel in the other. Betty had tried pointing out that the enchiladas would have to sit for the whole day before Daniel could take them home, but Ignacio knows Mode has multiple fridges that are only full of green juice.

“He needs enchiladas!” Ignacio had insisted. Betty’s pretty sure Daniel needs more than enchiladas. But on the other hand, enchiladas certainly won’t hurt. At the very least, it’ll mean Betty knows for sure that he has food. And he’ll probably eat, because he won’t want to offend Betty’s dad.

She stops by her own office first, dropping off her phone and her coffee and her purse. Daniel isn’t in his office when Betty takes the enchiladas in there. Then she remembers he had a meeting first thing this morning, so he’s probably in the conference room.

Betty takes the enchiladas down to the cafeteria instead of leaving them in Daniel’s office, because she doesn’t think he’ll remember to put them in the fridge himself. His memory and focus have always been a bit selective, but right now it’s worse than ever. Not that Betty blames him. He just spread his wife’s ashes and got put on a government watchlist. He’s a little distracted.

She’s heading back to her office when she hears Daniel’s annoyed voice near Amanda’s desk. She’s all set to rush over and check on him when she realizes he’s not talking to Amanda, but to Cal Hartley. Betty winces. Daniel’s not exactly doing a great job of controlling his temper right now; Cal Hartley probably isn’t a great person for him to be talking to. But it’s not like Daniel can avoid that.

“And do we really need this many editors?” Mr. Hartley asks.

“Actually, we could use more editors,” Daniel says. “We already downsized.”

“We seem to have an awful lot of junior editors,” Mr. Hartley says. “Don’t they all serve the same purpose?”

“Well, they all bring different pitches and different writing perspectives to the magazine,” Daniel says, a little strained. “We can’t fill all of our space if we don’t have enough editors to write the pieces. And if we don’t start developing junior editors, eventually we end up without any senior editors.”

“Hm.” Mr. Hartley seems to think that over. “Well, Betty Suarez is the newest editor, isn’t she? She can’t be filling much space yet.”

Daniel’s voice is tense when he answers. “Betty’s already been doing editorial work without the title. This promotion was long overdue and very well deserved.”

“Is it?” Mr. Hartley asks.

“You know Betty,” Daniel says. “Sir.” Betty can tell how hard he’s working to stay polite, and she’s touched. He’s definitely doing it on her behalf.

“I knew her as someone who was seeing my son,” Mr. Hartley says. “That doesn’t mean anything in a business. I don’t give special treatment. I understand she used to be your assistant—maybe that’s a lesson you need to learn.”

Betty winces again. Daniel’s been overzealous, to say the least, about protecting Betty. It doesn’t seem like Mr. Hartley knows he punched Matt, but Daniel might be about to make it obvious. She almost wants to walk up and try to calm Daniel down, but she’s worried that actually seeing her next to Mr. Hartley will set him off.

“I did not give Betty any special treatment,” Daniel says, voice tight. “You can ask Wilhelmina if you don’t believe me. Betty earned this. And she’ll keep proving that. She’s incredibly talented and always willing to go the extra mile to get things done.”

Mr. Harley doesn’t say anything for a minute. “Well, fine,” he says. “We’ll see. But I will be expecting results, Daniel.”

“You’ll get them,” Daniel says coldly. “There’s no doubt in my mind about that.”

“Good,” Mr. Hartley says. He walks off and Betty ducks into a corner to avoid running into him. She waits another second before walking out to find Daniel.

“Good morning, Daniel,” she says brightly.

“Betty,” Daniel says. “Hi.” He kind of grabs onto her arms and squeezes her. Not quite a hug, since she hinted about him not doing that at work, but definitely a little more tactile than she was expecting.

“Oh,” Betty says. “Okay. Hi.”

Daniel sighs and lets go of her. “Sorry.”

“No, Daniel, it’s okay,” Betty assures him quickly. She doesn’t actually mind hugs, obviously, and it’s hard to care about people getting catty when Daniel clearly needs some comfort. She touches his arm. “Did you get any sleep last night?”

“Um…a little,” he says. He’s not completely lying, at least.

“Give me your phone,” Betty says.

“Why?” Daniel asks as he does.

“My dad made you enchiladas,” Betty tells him. “They’re in the fridge downstairs. I’m setting you a reminder to get them before you go home.”

“Your dad made me enchiladas?” Daniel asks, awed. “Betty, that’s so nice.”

“But you have to eat them,” Betty says. “Otherwise you’re wasting his niceness.” She gives him back his phone.

Daniel huffs. “You know I can tell when I’m being played.”

“But is it working?” Betty gives him a winning smile.

That makes Daniel laugh a little. “Yeah, it is,” he admits. “Thank you. And tell him thank you, please.”

“I will,” Betty promises. “He’s really worried about you. He says you can call him if you want to talk.”

Daniel looks away, swallowing hard. Betty can see him trying to get himself under control. “Oh, God,” he says, a little choked up.

Betty rubs his arm again, her own throat feeling a little tight. It’s so hard to see him struggling and know that there’s genuinely nothing she can do to fix it, not really. Pep talks and big smiles can help him get through the day, but she can’t take away his grief, no matter how much she wants to.

“Okay,” Betty says, forcibly bright. She takes a deep breath and gestures at Daniel to do the same. He huffs but complies. “You need to go back to your office and get to work. You have an ad sales meeting at eleven.”

“By myself, or is Wilhelmina coming with me?”

“She was on the invite, and I’m sure she’ll be there, but she didn’t respond so I can’t say for sure,” Betty says.

“Okay, that’s fine, I’ll ask her myself. She’s going to have the latest numbers I’ll need anyway,” Daniel says. Then he stops walking. “Wait, what? You’re not my assistant anymore.”

“No, but I’m still getting all your calendar information,” Betty informs him. No one’s bothered to change that, mostly because Daniel doesn’t have a new assistant yet and Betty didn’t have the heart to go into his office and do it herself on his computer. That’s probably a little weird, now that she thinks of it.

He laughs a little. “Okay. First order of business: take Betty off my calendar.”

“No, not totally,” Betty protests. “Take Betty off your calendar scheduling. Keep Betty on your calendar for all friendship appointments.”

Now Daniel laughs for real. “Well, thank God for that.”

Betty pats his shoulder. “Okay. Go get ‘em.”

“You, too,” he says. “Pitch the hell out of those ideas.”

They salute each other and head to their separate offices, both laughing.

“Ready?” Daniel asks, squeezing her hand.

“Ready,” Betty says. She’s not actually sure she is, but she doesn’t have much choice.

“Just remember, it’s basically the same as all the networking stuff you did at YETI,” he says. “These people are just…probably richer.”

“Probably,” Betty agrees, rolling her eyes.

She’s the editor-in-chief of her own magazine now, which is still a strange idea to get used to. But it’s not a big magazine, and she got invited to some big advertising conference. So now she has to go in and ask people to buy ad space without sounding too much like she’s begging for money. Which she is.

“You’re going to be great,” Daniel says. “Just be your charming, smart, well-researched self, and you’ll have nothing to worry about.”

Betty laughs a little. She and Daniel have moved into a decidedly less platonic relationship over the last four months. He came to London and…hasn’t left. And it’s been incredible. It turns out they already have plenty of practice being together, because of all the years they’ve been friends.

Betty doesn’t want to jump the gun, but she thinks this might be the best relationship she’s ever been in. It makes sense, when she thinks about it. Daniel was already the most consistent non-related man she’s ever had in her life. Their relationship honestly hasn’t even changed that much, aside from adding in a lot more physical affection.

So he’s her plus one to this event, the way they’ve been plus one for each other so many times before. And now that she’s editor-in-chief, he’s taken over her role as head pep talker. Betty doesn’t need quite as many pep talks as Daniel always did, because Daniel’s just kind of needy in general, but he’s doing a great job.

It definitely helps that Daniel still knows a lot of the advertisers at the conference. He helps her work the room with ease, introducing her to this makeup brand and that shoe company and then smoothly stepping back and letting her do it herself.

It makes her chest hurt, almost, the way he’s keeping everyone’s attention on her. He felt a little overshadowed by her when she started finding success as an editor, and then he felt abandoned and hurt when she took the job in London without telling him, but here he is, supporting her and cheering her on.

She wraps up another little pitch with the ad sales rep from a vitamin company and looks around for Daniel. She’s ready to take a break, honestly. She spots him over at the bar. Before she can get to him, she overhears two women to the left of him talking.

“And did you see the stripes?” one says with a mean laugh.

Betty blinks down at her dress. She’s in stripes. But maybe they’re not talking about her; plenty of people wear stripes.

“And honestly, colored glasses? Is she twelve?” the other woman says. Okay, so they’re talking about Betty. She’s used to this. She can handle it.

“Apparently she’s editor-in-chief of some new magazine,” one of the women says.

The other woman snorts. “Food magazine, you can be sure.”

Betty just rolls her eyes. These types of women are so predictable. They all use the same insults. They’re kind of nudging each other and raising eyebrows at Daniel. Betty sighs to herself. She certainly has experience in watching other women hit on him, but it doesn’t make it fun.

“Hi,” the taller woman says. She definitely presses her boobs up against his arm on the bar. Daniel moves his arm.

“Hello,” he says neutrally.

“Want to buy my friend and I a drink?” she asks. Betty rolls her eyes again. Well, she’s bold, at least.

“Me,” Daniel corrects.

“You want me to buy you a drink?” the woman asks.

“No, I’m telling you that the sentence would be my friend and me,” Daniel says. “You might know that if you were an editor. Especially an editor-in-chief.”

That makes Betty laugh to herself. Not only because she loves when Daniel gets authoritatively bitchy like that, but also because she was thinking the same thing. Both women kind of huff, confused and offended. Betty’s willing to bet money they don’t get turned down often.

“Why are you—” the woman’s friend starts, but Daniel cuts her off.

“I’m not single.”

“That’s okay,” the first woman says.

“Not with me,” Daniel says.

“Well, where is she, then?” the second woman asks. “She must be here to have you on your best behavior.”

“She is here,” Daniel agrees. “That’s not why I’m turning you down. I’m turning you down because she’s sexy and smart and caring and funny. I don’t need anyone else. I honestly wouldn’t have even noticed you, except you were trash talking her right next to me.”

The women look at each other. “You can’t be saying that stripey editor-in-chief is your girlfriend?”

“I am,” Daniel says. “Luckily for me.”

Betty decides to go over there. It may be kind of evil of her, but she really wants to see their faces when confronted with her and Daniel together.

“Hi,” she says, walking up and putting her hand on Daniel’s shoulder.

“Hi, beautiful,” Daniel says. He slips his arm around her waist and kisses her, a little longer than strictly appropriate for a semi-professional kind of event. He’s definitely doing it to rub it in those women’s faces, and Betty doesn’t even care. She really does believe him when he says she’s beautiful. He’s been telling her that for years.

“I’m almost done,” she promises.

“Take as much time as you need,” Daniel says. “You know I’m here to be supportive and good-looking.”

Betty snorts. “Well, you’re doing a great job on both fronts.”

“Oh, thank you.” He gets a certain little smirk on his face when he’s flirting. Betty could already identify it before he ever turned it on her, because she saw him flirt with so many other women. Sometimes it’s still a little surreal to see it directed at herself.

She pretty much forgot about the catty women trying to hit on him until they walk off. One looks back and rolls her eyes at them. Betty smiles at her, pretty smugly. Daniel laughs into his drink.

“So you heard them.”

“Yeah,” Betty admits. She rubs his back. “I heard you, too.”

“I wasn’t lying about any of it,” he says softly.

“I know,” she says, smiling at him. She leans in and gives him a little kiss. “I will give you a big thank you when we’re done here.”

Daniel raises his eyebrows. “Oh, really? Well, let’s go then. Who’s left that we need to talk to?”

Betty laughs at him. “You don’t want to finish your drink?”

“Who cares?” Daniel asks. “Let’s go. We’ve got better places to be.”

It makes Betty laugh some more. He’s still being a little over the top because of what those women were saying, but it’s hard to really care. He holds her hand and stays by her side while she finishes up her work, and Betty doesn’t give those women another thought.

Now that Betty’s an editor-in-chief, she gets invited to all kinds of events. Plus, they’re a lifestyle magazine, so these events often turn into great features if she’s got an extra quarter page to fill. Today, though, she’s got a single focus: a rich guy named Oliver Randolph who’s rumored to be looking to invest in publishing. Betty’s plan is to schmooze him and make her case for why her magazine is the best choice.

“Okay,” Daniel says in the cab on the way over. “So is this guy old and rich or young and rich?”

“Older,” Betty says. It seems rude to call someone old. “Why?”

“Well, you have to have a different strategy for old guys and young guys,” Daniel points out. “If he’s really old, you try to remind him of his grandkids or something.”

“He doesn’t have any,” Betty says. “Didn’t have his first kid until he turned 50, so she’s not even in high school yet.”

“Ew,” Daniel says, wrinkling his nose. “That’s old to have a kid.”

“Do you want me to point out how many years until you turn 50?” Betty asks.

“No,” Daniel says quickly. “It’s not for a long time, anyway,” he mutters. Louder, he says, “Okay, so what’s your plan?”

“My plan is to talk to him and tell him about the magazine and our sales numbers and how fast the website is taking off,” Betty says. “You know, the kind of thing that shows him we’re a good investment.”

“Okay,” Daniel says. “Do you think he’ll like my story about the boots in Milan for an icebreaker?”

“I haven’t met him,” Betty points out. “How would I know?”

Daniel gives her a look. “Thee is no way you didn’t research everything about this guy.”

Betty laughs. “Okay, yeah, but it’s hard to know his sense of humor. He doesn’t have social media or anything.”

“Because he’s old,” Daniel says. “Unlike me.”

“Yes, your active Twitter account definitely keeps you young,” Betty teases.

Daniel has tweeted exactly four times: one picture of Betty, one pocket tweet, one retweet about the launch issue of Betty’s magazine that a Meade lawyer asked him to take down and he refused, and one happy birthday message to Alexis. He has seven followers, and one is Justin. People haven’t seemed to figure out that he’s actually Daniel Meade, and he doesn’t have one of those checkmarks showing he’s someone famous.

“I’ll have you know I got a new follower today,” Daniel says.

“Is it your mom?” Betty asks. Daniel clucks his tongue and looks away, annoyed, and Betty laughs out loud. “Oh, my God, your mom got Twitter?”

“Let’s not talk about this anymore,” Daniel pouts. Betty laughs at him again.

When they get to the party, Betty tries not to be obvious as she looks around for Randolph. She doesn’t want to seem desperate. And if someone else wants to talk to her, she doesn’t want to seem rude. But she can’t see much, because she’s short.

“I think I see him,” Daniel murmurs. “Just guessing based on his cufflinks and age and the girl he’s handing a drink who probably isn’t old enough to have that drink back in the States.”

Betty wrinkles her nose. This doesn’t seem like a good start. “Maybe she’s his niece,” Betty says, following Daniel’s eyeline. It’s definitely Randolph. As they watch, he leans in and kisses the very young woman he’s with and grabs her butt.

“I really hope that’s not his niece,” Daniel says.

“Yeah,” Betty says. “Um. Well. Okay. I don’t have to like him to get him to invest, right?”

“Right,” Daniel agrees. “And hey, using a sexist guy’s money for your feminist magazine would be kind of cool, right? Take his money and warn young women to stay away from guys like him.”

Betty squeezes Daniel’s arm and smiles at him. “I like you a lot.”

Daniel laughs a little. “Oh, good, I’m doing my best to keep you interested. I might read a whole book about feminism.”

Just then, they hear Randolph call the organizer of the whole event by the wrong name. Daniel lets out an oof under his breath.

“He should’ve brought his assistant to whisper names to him if he can’t remember on his own,” Betty says sagely.

Daniel laughs. “Well, the best assistant in the world is out of the game now.” Betty laughs at him, but she also squeezes his hand, because that was cute. “Anyway, I bet that’s not the problem. He’s probably one of those guys who pretends not to know your name as a power struggle,” Daniel says, rolling his eyes. “Even my dad didn’t do that.”

“Oh, yuck, I hate when people do that,” Betty says. “It’s so rude.”

“Yeah, I don’t think he really cares about anyone’s feelings,” Daniel points out. He shakes his head. “There aren’t many of us nice rich guys.”

Betty snorts. “Okay. You’re being very silly tonight.”

“You just said you like me a lot,” Daniel says. “No takebacks.”

Betty laughs at him. “No takebacks,” she promises. They’re close enough to Randolph now that he notices them. Betty gives him a big smile. “Hi,” she says brightly. “Betty Suarez.” She holds out her hand. He takes it but doesn’t shake; he kisses it. “Oh,” Betty says, kind of involuntarily.

“Oliver Randolph,” he says.

“Oh, of course I know who you are,” Betty says. She knows rich guys like to hear that their fame precedes them. She puts her hand on Daniel’s shoulder. “And this is Daniel.”

Randolph does shake Daniel’s hand, but he turns back to Betty almost immediately. That kind of annoys Betty. He also doesn’t introduce the woman he’s with. “So, Betty Suarez,” he says. “What’s a beautiful woman like you doing with a guy like this?” He jabs his thumb toward Daniel and Betty works hard to keep the smile on her face.

Daniel huffs. “Oh, I know,” he agrees. “She's definitely out of my league.” He looks at the woman with Randolph. “And you are…?”

“Trixie,” she says. She’s giving Daniel a very familiar look, like she wants to eat him with a spoon, though he’s not responding how he used to. He keeps his smile polite. Randolph’s eyes narrow a bit.

“David, wasn’t it?” Randolph says.

Daniel scoffs, but he does it really quietly so only Betty can hear. “Daniel, actually,” he corrects easily. “Daniel Meade.”

“Oh, are you related to Bradford Meade?” Randolph says. “I remember meeting him a few times around the club in New York. And his wife…Claire, was it?”

“Yes, my parents,” Daniel says.

“Oh," Randolph says. "Interesting. I remember a son named Alex. I don’t think Bradford ever mentioned a Daniel.”

That blow lands. Daniel’s always been insecure about his father. Betty wants to land some blows of her own on this guy. Daniel swallows hard, smile going brittle around the edges. “Well, what can I say?” Daniel asks, keeping his voice light. “It can be tough being the youngest.”

“And you’re the editor-in-chief at the Meade flagship publication, are you?” Randolph asks, giving away that he actually does know who Daniel is. “The one about women’s fashion.” He laughs a little.

Betty bristles. Sure, she had plenty to say about Mode not being serious herself. But it’s different. She can say it. She paid her dues and worked there and loved it. This guy’s just a jerk who’s purposefully belittling Daniel.

“Mode,” Daniel supplies. “The top selling fashion magazine in the world for two years running, and in the top five for the last decade.” Betty smiles over at Daniel proudly. Even just two years ago, this guy would be getting in Daniel’s head with this stuff. But Daniel’s come a long way.

“Yes, well, congratulations,” Randolph says begrudgingly.

“I actually stepped down as editor-in-chief six months ago,” Daniel says. “I left Mode in Wilhelmina Slater’s capable hands. And she’s doing a wonderful job.” Betty would laugh if this situation were at all different. Hearing Daniel praise Wilhelmina, even as earned as it is, will always be a little funny.

Randolph stares. “So your father handed you a job on a silver platter and you don’t even do that? A magazine with that kind of name recognition practically runs itself, and even that was too much for you? No wonder your father never mentioned you except to bring up how ashamed he was of your exploits.”

Daniel lets out a hurt little noise from the back of his throat, and Betty’s had enough. She doesn’t care that this man is important and she needs to get on his good side. She doesn’t want to be on any side of a man like this.

“You know what?” Betty starts, louder than she should. “Daniel Meade is ten times the businessman you are. He carried Mode through a recession and an embezzlement and never once failed to get an issue to the stands. He stepped down from Mode because he wanted to do something for himself, without being handed anything on a silver platter.”

“Betty,” Daniel warns.

“No, Daniel, I’m not done,” Betty says. She puts her hand on Daniel’s arm. “Not only is he smart, capable, creative, and hard-working, but he is a good man. He’s conscientious and loving and honest and he’s always willing to set aside his pride to do what’s right. In business and in life. He treats people with respect instead of pretending not to know their names for a power play. And that’s why there’s not a single Meade publication that’s lost any readership in the last two years. Because Meade customers are loyal to Daniel Meade. But you wouldn't know anything about loyalty, since this woman is not your wife.” She looks at Trixie. "No offense."

Betty’s kind of breathing hard when she’s done. She’s so mad. She’s heard people put Daniel down before, doubt his intelligence and his abilities, but never this bad or this open. She suddenly gets why Daniel punched Matt at that shoot. She’s full of adrenaline. She feels like she could lift a car.

Well, okay, no. But she’s amped up.

“I beg your pardon,” Randolph says, all offended. “Aren’t you the editor-in-chief of that new little London lifestyle rag?” Betty would love that he apparently knows who she is, too, except that he’s an asshole.

“She’s the editor-in-chief of the magazine with the most-sold launch issue in company history,” Daniel corrects, eyes narrowed.

“If you think I’m investing—” Randolph starts.

“I don’t want your money,” Betty says. “Let’s go, Daniel.”

As soon as they get out of the reception hall, Daniel turns to Betty and kisses her. “God, Betty, what was that?”

“I cannot stand listening to people talk to you like that!” Betty says. Her adrenaline’s still pumping. “That dusty old—old coot thinks he can put you down like you’re not the most wonderful, amazing, smart—oh, I’m so mad!”

Daniel laughs out loud. “You are my hero,” he says, and he’s not even being jokey about it. He kisses her again. “But that was not a smart business decision.”

“I don’t care,” Betty says stubbornly. “I’m not taking money from a guy like that. He doesn’t even know you and the first thing he wants to do is make you feel bad. I’m not just going to sit there and listen to him insult you.”

Daniel shakes his head, smiling at her. “Thank you.”

“I want to punch something,” Betty says.

“Okay, we should go,” Daniel says, putting his hand on her back and leading her toward the door.

“Ooh, yeah, we should,” Betty says, raising her eyebrows at him. “I can think of another way I can burn off this adrenaline.”

Daniel looks over at her, a little surprised. “Jeez, Betty, okay, let’s go.” He huffs. “I can definitely deal with people putting me down if this is the payoff.”

Betty’s calmed down a little by the time they get in the car. She rubs Daniel’s leg. “Hey. You know your dad was proud of you, right?”

Daniel tips his head. “Well, not very often.”

“He was,” Betty insists.

“I don’t know,” Daniel says. He shrugs. “Kinda feel like…these days, it’s less important if my dad was proud of me. Maybe more important if I’m proud of me.”

Betty takes his face in her hands and kisses him. “Well, I’m proud of you,” she promises. “Every day.”

That earns her a big smile from Daniel. “That is very important to me,” he says. “And I think it goes without saying, but I’m proud of you, too.”

“I don’t know if it goes without saying,” Betty says. “You say it a lot.”

Daniel laughs. “Well, I never want you to doubt it.”

Betty kisses him again. “Thanks,” she says softly. “You always support me.”

“It’s my pleasure,” he says. “Really. I feel so lucky I get to be by your side. You’re a really great editor-in-chief. And I can’t wait to see where you go.”

“Daniel.” Betty’s adrenaline has dampened into something softer. She takes his hand and squeezes it. “You’re going to come along with me, right?” she checks. “I’ve always needed you with me.”

He pushes her hair behind her ear. “For as long as you want me,” he promises.

“Okay.” Betty’s heart is pounding. “Guess that’s…well. Always.”

The smile she gets in return is dazzling. “Yeah, that works for me,” he says, a little breathless. They both laugh a little, leaning in at the same time for a kiss.

“And I’ll always tell someone to go to hell for badmouthing you,” Betty says.

Daniel laughs, resting his forehead against hers. “Me, too,” he says. “Might even throw a punch if I need to.”

“Let’s try to avoid that,” Betty says. “You’re really not built for it.”

Daniel laughs again. “Well, I’ll still do it if someone gets too out of line. Bruised knuckles are worth it.”

“Thanks,” Betty says. She rests her head on his shoulder. She’s known for a long time he would always stand up for her. They’re just making the always part a little more literal. More long-term.

It’s kind of a scary step. But not really. Betty knows she doesn’t have to be scared, not with Daniel. He’s always been on her side, always in her corner. She knows she’s safe with him. They fight for each other when they need to. And that makes always an easy step to take.