Daniel hires an immigration lawyer for the Suarez family. Betty is not happy.

"What were you thinking?"

"Excuse me?"

Betty's face was a mass of rage and confusion and sorrow and, above all, the strain of sleepless, worry-filled nights.

"The lawyer. Why would you do that? Do you have any idea… Any idea how humiliating… How… We can't afford a lawyer like that!"

"Betty-"

"No! How are we supposed to pay for this?"

"You're not."

"So, what, we're just supposed to take your charity because you feel so bad for us? Your ugly little assistant and her pauper family?"

"Betty, stop."

She did. And she gave him that look. The same she'd given him after bringing back his watch- and his socks, and his boxers, and his… No anger. No defiance. Just… Tired, mournful disappointment. And the wish- the hope- for him to do better. Be better.

It had been charity. He'd wanted to give her something, freely, a gift. He'd hoped for her to accept it, to love it, to look at him with a just little bit of worship in her eyes and say thank you with just a touch of breathless wonder.

But he wasn't stupid, and he knew when it was time to change tactics.

"It's not charity, Betty."

"Oh? Then what is it?"

"It's a business expense."

"And how do you figure that?" Her arms were crossed, under her breasts. The neckline of her shirt wasn't as high as the ones she usually wore. For a moment, Daniel's mind went blank.

He coughed, recovered. "You're distracting. Distracted!"

"What?"

"This… Trouble… That you have with your family… It's distracting you. You're not giving 100 here anymore, and I can't have that. You're an invaluable asset to this magazine, Betty. To me. I wouldn't have my job anymore if it weren't for you. I need you to be here, totally here. In the long run, paying for a lawyer is going to cost me a lot less than loosing your concentration."

It was one of the best lies he'd ever told- mostly because it was true. The loss of her concentration at work would cost a great deal more than a lawyer- it would likely cost him his job. It was true- it just wasn't his true motive.

But it worked. Betty's stance changed, her back relaxed, and her arms loosened. A shift under the fabric of her shirt drew his attention, until her voice broke into his mind.

"Oh… I'm sorry, Daniel. It was… It was stupid of me to blow up like that. I should have known it wasn't out of the goodness of your heart."

He was stung. He supposed that he probably deserved that- deserved more than that- but the unspoken "you haven't got a heart" hurt- a tangible pain, hot in his chest.

"Look- I can't… I have to pay you back for this… We can't-"

"Yes, you can. It's not a personal expense. I've charged it to the company card."

She looked at him, horrified, and opened her mouth. He held up a hand.

"Don't worry, I cleared it with my father."

Her lips pressed together, and her head ducked. She tucked her hair back behind her ears, and nodded.

And then she was gone.