If you're just joining this story, or don't want to re-read it, here's a quick recap:
A reclusive designer came out of hiding and has told that Mode could present his collection. The office went into a tizzy over this. Betty likened them to dancing bees. Much to the chagrin of Amanda, Marc and Justin, Daniel chose Betty to go with him to Schnectady. Everyone mocked her suitcase. For those who are old enough, it's one of those Samsonites that the gorilla used to try to destroy. Betty ignored them as usual. When they were ready to leave, Betty wanted the train, but he insisted on his car, because, you know, boys and their toys. Turns out they should have listened to Betty, because his male enhancement car didn't get them very far. Now, they're stuck on a dark, deserted road…
Chapter 4
Daniel truly liked Betty. Yes, they'd gotten off to a rocky start, but he was mature enough to admit that had been his fault. When he thought back to those first days when Betty came into his life, he was ashamed of how he'd acted. He knew now it was based on fear. His therapist had likened his behavior to that of a wild animal protecting his turf.
Dr. Raille had told him that when animals were confronted with a member of the pack that was different from the others, the pack usually either killed or banished the offending member. That was especially true, he'd said, when there was a new leader. It was the leader's attempt to gain domination and to win the respect of the other pack members.
Daniel understood the metaphor. He'd been thrust into a position of filling his brother's shoes, winning the respect of his employees and showing his father that he wasn't a failure, so when Betty had showed up in her polyester clothes and blue braces, he'd panicked. He knew that before Mode he'd rarely taken anything seriously, that he'd floated by on his family's name and money, but he'd never been cruel. Until Betty.
But in what he now knew as true Betty fashion, she'd won him over. While at times he found her unbridled enthusiasm and over the top optimism grating, it was also a refreshing change from the blasé ennui that the people around him seemed to suffer from.
She was always cheerful. Always looking for the bright side of every situation.
"No, no, I'm Daniel Mead and I'm too good for the train." Daniel cringed at Betty's mutterings. She'd been doing this for the last hour since they'd left the car.
It had all been going well too. When they'd set out, the city had been experiencing one of those rare days when the sun was shining, the air was crisp but not cold, birds were chirping, bees were buzzing and every other pastoral thing he could think of. In short, it had been perfect driving weather.
Betty, despite her insistence they take the train, was soon won over. He had been shamelessly turning on his charm. He hadn't been sure it would work on Betty, but he figured she was still a female, and no woman could resist Daniel Mead when he put his mind to it.
After they'd cleared the city, he'd put the top down and had smiled as Betty laughed while the wind whipped around them. He hadn't felt this carefree since before his brother had died.
He'd relished the feel as they sped along, the car humming beneath them. They easily flew over hills and around curves, both of them smiling all the time.
It had been perfect.
Perfect until he'd heard the first thump. There had been a slight hitch in the engine. Thinking maybe he'd overextended the car, he'd downshifted. Relief had gone through him as the noise disappeared. But his relief was shortlived when the thump turned into a shriek.
Betty had shot him a worried look. "What's wrong?" she shouted over the wind.
He'd shrugged. "I'm sure it's nothing. Just a glitch." He'd gritted his teeth as Betty rolled her eyes at him. He couldn't be certain, but he could have sworn he heard her say something about American cars.
C'mon, c'mon, he'd pleaded with the car. Don't fail me now. Obviously the car hadn't been listening as it made one last hiccup before slowly rolling to a stop.
Daniel and Betty had sat there in stunned silence. The only noises were those of the birds and bees he'd found so charming earlier. Now their noises sounded mocking, as if they were laughing at him.
"Fuck!" he'd shouted as he slammed his fist on the steering wheel. He'd taken perverse pleasure in seeing Betty jump at his profanity so he'd thrown in a shit for good measure.
Betty had given him a tentative smile. "I'm sure it's not anything major. Maybe something's loose, or something like that. All you need to do is tighten it and we'll be in Corner's Grove within the hour."
This had been one of those times when he'd found her optimism annoying. "I hate to break it to you, Betty, but I don't know anything about cars. I just know how to drive them."
She'd shot him an incredulous look. "But you're a guy. Guys are supposed to know all about cars!"
He'd sat up straighter in the car as he'd said imperiously, "I'm not a guy. I'm a Mead and we have people to deal with these sorts of things."
She'd crossed her arms. "Where are these people then? Obviously not here." She'd sighed. "Fine then. Pop the hood. I'll take a look at it."
He'd smothered his laugh when she glared at him. "As you wish," he'd told her as he'd pulled the lever to open the hood.
Betty had huffed as she got out of the car and moved to the front of the car. She'd tugged on the hood, and while it jiggled, it didn't open.
Daniel had thought to watch her as she tried to figure out the hood as it was the only amusement he was getting out of the situation, but as he'd watched her, he knew she was only trying to find a way to fix their situation. His annoyance had melted away. With his own sigh, he'd gotten out of the car.
"You need to pull the latch. I do know that much at least." He'd nudged her aside as he opened the hood. They'd stood looking at the engine for a few minutes.
"It's an engine." she'd said with her usual cheer.
He'd given her a wry smile. "Yes, it's an engine." Surprised at her equanimity over the situation, he'd nudged her. "Hey, I thought all people from Queens knew about cars."
She'd laughed. "Nah, we know all about salami. It's the Bronx people who know about cars."
Daniel had been suddenly glad that it was Betty who was with him. He could only imagine the reaction of someone like Amanda.
"You know, you're very lucky I'm here instead of Amanda. She'd be throwing a hissy fit right about now."
He'd choked out a laugh. "I was thinking the exact same thing."
She'd given him a brilliant smile. "Like minds, you know."
The situation had been bad, but he'd felt buoyed by Betty's optimism. When she smiled at him like that, Daniel felt like he could conquer the world. He found the feeling heady, and had often tried to find ways to make her smile. He also thought that she could sense when he was stressed or moody because she would give him one of those smiles for no reason. He liked her all the more for those moments.
"So what do we do now?" she'd asked him. The look of trust she was giving him made him want to be able wave a magic wand and make the problem go away. Instead he'd gingerly reached into the engine and had given several of the cables a tug, hoping that would that she was right and it was loose wire or something.
"Let's try it again. Maybe it will work this time." They'd both gotten back in the car. With a look of anticipation between the two, Daniel had slid the key into the ignition. He turned it. Nothing. The car hadn't even sputtered. It was truly dead.
In a gesture of defeat, Daniel had pounded his head on the wheel.
"Ooh, ooh!" Betty had said, bouncing in her seat. "All we have to do is call AAA and they'll tow the car for us!"
Daniel had given the wheel one last hit with his head. He'd felt like and idiot not thinking of that sooner. There were times when he wondered why his father had given him the job at Mode when he couldn't even think of using his cell phone to get out of a bad situation.
He'd pulled his phone out of his pocket and flipped it open. A little message had blinked at him. Out of Service Area. "Dammit!" He'd banged his fist on the steering wheel in frustration.
"What's wrong?"
"I'm not getting any service. Try yours."
While he'd waited for her to get her phone out, Daniel had taken a good look around. Dusk was settling quickly. The sky was clear and he could see a few stars in the distance. What had been a beautiful day looked to be turning into a gorgeous night, if only not for their predicament.
He would have also enjoyed the scenery if they had been still flying by with the wind whipping through their hair, a strong car beneath them. Now it just seemed ominous. They were in the middle of nowhere. The rural road was surrounded by trees on all sides. They'd passed some farmland earlier, but he couldn't remember seeing any houses – only fields.
"Nothing, nada, zip," Betty had said with disgust as she'd thrust her phone back in her purse.
Daniel had leaned back in defeat. "Okay. So let's think this through. How far are we from Corner's Grove?"
"About fifteen miles."
"Damn." He'd suddenly brightened. "Then we must be pretty close to Schenectady, a couple of miles at most."
Betty had shaken her head. "If we'd taken the interstate, that'd be true, but because we took the back roads -" she'd paused and had given him a pointed look – "we're approaching from the other way."
"Still, we're near two cities. I'm sure we'll find a house or a gas station just up the road."
"Do you really think so?" Betty'd asked hopefully. "We haven't passed anything in what seems like forever."
"I'm certain. Especially since we haven't passed anything. That puts the odds in our favor. Think about it – a person can't drive that far in New York without running into something." He'd given her his most assuring smile. He could see Betty visibly relaxing.
It had made him feel good to be the one with the solution. So often it was the other way around. He was cognizant of how time after time Betty had saved his skin and he was thankful, but there were times when he wanted to be the true hero of the moment. He wanted to be the one who swooped in at the last minute and solved all their problems.
That had been an hour and god knew how many miles ago. They'd set out soon after their discussion but not before a brief argument about what to bring with them. Betty had insisted on bringing their luggage with them, but Daniel had put his foot down.
"No offense, Betty, but that suitcase of yours is an ungainly relic and it will just slow us down. Besides," he'd told her, "we'll come across a house or something soon and they can drive us back. No need to lug our stuff with us."
Betty had argued, but in the end, Daniel had won. It had been a short lived victory though because here they were, having walked so far with no civilization in sight.
They'd been cheerful at first, Betty talking about how exciting an adventure this was. Her optimism had kept them both up them both for the first half hour, but they drifted into silence as time passed and they hadn't seen a car, a house, or anything.
That's when she had started mumbling. Everything she said centered around him and trains and how stupid men could be. Having been with enough women, he knew better than to defend himself when a woman started talking like that. Nothing good could come of it.
She'd finally worn herself out and was trudging along in silence. He could feel the waves of antipathy radiating off of Betty. He watched as she stumbled over a rock and automatically reached out for her. "Are you okay?" he asked her.
"No, Daniel. I'm not okay. I'm tired and my feet hurt and we're lost. There is nothing good about this!"
He'd rarely seen Betty mad, and now he was glad for it. He'd always wondered if there was the famous Latin temper under her smiles and laughs. She stopped and faced him completely; he found himself edging away.
"Daniel Mead! Look at these shoes." He followed her gaze and winced when he saw her heels. He hadn't considered that before he'd suggested they walk. "These shoes are not made for walking long distances. You try wearing these shoes and then tell me if you're ok after an hour of walking on a rough road!"
As much as he was startled by her outburst, he had to admit that anger looked good on her. Her hair had slipped out of its knot and was wild around her face. She had tugged the buttons open at the neck. It all made her look less severe. He wondered if that's what she looked like after sex.
His eyes widened and he stumbled back. Where the hell had that thought come from?
Betty's ire disappeared as she watched his face go pale. "What's wrong? Did you hear something?" She looked around wildly, still remembering the distant howl they'd heard earlier.
Daniel shook his head. "No, I'm okay." I think. How could he tell her that he'd just thought of her and sex in the same sentence. She'd be as freaked as he was. He and Betty weren't that way.
Yes, he liked her. But he'd never wanted anything more. She was his support, his assistant. She was his friend.
"Did I ever tell you how glad I was that you quit MYW and came back to me – I mean back to Mode?"
Her eyes softened. "How could I work for someone who treated you so badly?"
He smiled at her. "Thanks."
Her equilibrium and good humor restored, she punched him in the arm. "You owe me big time for this one."
He held up his hands in surrender. "When we get back, I will treat you to the finest pedicure money can buy."
"You'd better!"
Night had fallen. The only illumination came from the stars and the gibbous moon that hung over them. It had also grown colder since the sun had set. The trees around them cast strange shadows on the road. Betty shivered.
Daniel looked over at her. "Kinda weird, isn't it?"
"Yeah," she agreed. "My family never went camping. My dad hated to leave Queens. The only place we ever went to was the Jersey shore."
"My family never went camping either."
Betty snorted. "Now that I'd like to see."
Daniel grew solemn. "My brother loved camping."
"He did?" Betty asked softly.
"He was fearless." He paused and swiped his face with his hand. "Sometimes I wonder…"
When he didn't speak, Betty put her hand on his arm. "Sometimes you wonder what?"
"I wonder why he was the one to die. It should have been me," he choked out. "He was always worth more than I was."
"Oh, Daniel." Betty grabbed his hand in hers. "I didn't know your brother, but I do know you, and I wouldn't trade you for anything. Do you think he would have given me the chance you gave me?" she asked him earnestly. "You know he wouldn't have. He would have dismissed me right away."
"But I dismissed you."
She gave him a crooked smile. "True, but you saw reason."
Daniel squeezed her hand. "Thank god I did."
They stood there, eyes locked, both acutely aware of how close they were standing. Daniel had the insane thought that if he leaned forward a little, his lips would touch hers. He suddenly wondered how they'd feel beneath his.
Betty's eyes widened as she felt Daniel move closer to her. He's going to kiss me. Daniel Mead is about to kiss me, Betty Suarez. She was frozen, not sure if she should move. She could hear Hilda's voice in her head, warning her. But there was another part of her that really, really wanted for him to not stop.