Snippet 31 - Ugly Betty & Wilhelmina in Battles of Wills

She yelled “talk to you? Why don’t you talk to me”, bringing out the enlarged photo of her mum (the one in which she was wearing a wedding band). She asked him why their mum was wearing a wedding ring in the photo and who the guy she was with was. Ignacio looked at the picture and then at Betty with a pained expression on his face. “There you go” Said Betty with an air of resignation, she turned and walked towards the stairs. “I don’t have to explain myself to you, I’m your father” he said raising his voice too. “Then act like it” Betty told him, “I have always looked up to you Dad, right, wrong, I could just take your lead”, snatching the picture from him, “now I’m lost” she added and storming up the stairs to her room while Ignacio looked on with sad eyes.

Betty was dozing at the dinning table the next morning when she was startled by Hilda banging a mug on the table and serving her coffee. She told Betty that their Dad left the house early that morning and she heard all that she said to their father the night before. Betty apologized but Hilda told her it wasn’t going to change anything now. She then asked Betty what happened as work after their Herbalux sales at Mode. Betty told her she was punished and gave her the cheque. Hilda excitedly told her to cash it but Betty told her the conditions behind it – selling Daniel out. Hilda said they would explore other possible source and if they couldn’t raise the money, Betty would have to cash it.

Nico having her usual cereal for breakfast (I think so did this on purpose because she realized that it annoys her mum) when Wilhelmina walked in, picked the cereal pack and threw it in the bin and left without saying a word. Nico dialed a number and requested for Fashion TV with a sly smile on her face.

The next morning Sofia met Daniel in the lift (alone) and she put on this slighted look, got in and stayed behind him on the right corner of the lift. The lift stopped abruptly. Sofia accused Daniel of setting it up to get back at her for yesterday’s incident (at the gym) and that she’ll take the stairs next time. Daniel couldn’t believe she could accuse him of this. She tried her phone there was no reception and she asked Daniel “what now?” He said they are stuck between two floors. He volunteered to climb to the roof if Sofia would help him up, to lift the roof of the lift and pry open the door to the floor above so that they could climb through. He removed his coat but Sofia said “God forbid that you should ruin your Jacket”. She told Daniel to help her up taking him by his tie and in a commanding tone said “on your knees”. Daniel asked if she was serious and she climbed on his shoulders warning told him not to look up because she wasn’t wearing any underwear. Daniel told her not to flatter herself but while she was trying to push open the lift roof, he looked up….. She fell right on top of him while Daniel was flat on his back on the lift floor. She looked at him for a while and then when the lift chimed the arrival bell she asked him “you looked didn’t you?” She slapped him, got off him and hurried out of the lift, stopped briefly outside to look back at him and then walking away. The lift closed on Daniel still on the floor staring after her.

Hilda was outside the shop that she met Lear (remember the lady lawyer that rescued her the other time), and as soon as she showed up Hilda told her she had an immigration case. Lear then led her away so that they could talk about it.

Betty was at her desk still confused and unhappy at the myriad problems besieging her and the tempting offer from Wilhelmina. Talk about the devil! Wilhelmina walked to Betty at that moment to remind her that she hadn’t cashed the cheque yet. Betty lied that she hadn’t got the time to but Wilhelmina told her that she had not made up her mind on it yet and that it was the way to survive. Just then Amanda came running to Wilhelmina that Nico was in the lobby causing a scene there.

Nico was dressed in what looked like rags barely covering her breasts and a very short one for skirt. She was staging a one-girl protest against the use of fur in the fashion industry, particularly against Mode and Wilhelmina Slater. Fashion reporters (which she had called earlier) were there, over a dozen of them, taking pictures and notes.

Marc tried to cover her up but she threw his coat back at him and said with a smile, “can’t wait to see how Wilhelmina Slater will handle this one”. Daniel, Betty, Amanda and other Mode staffers had already joined the growing spectators, wondering how Slater was going to handle this.

Shocking! Shocking! Wilhelmina appeared with “so sorry I’m late, thank you so much for coming”; she was covered in only fur. The spectators made way for her and she walked to her daughter putting her arm around her, said “Nico darling, so good to see you, step into good light”. She then continued her speech (as if the whole protest was pre-planned), that the first issue of Mode for 2007 will be featuring “Animal Rights vs. Fashion Rights, just who is right?” Marc started clapping and other Mode staff and spectators joined in, this infuriated Nico. She further said “well, you would have to wait for the Mode issue in January 2007. Thank you so much for coming, goodbye”. Marc quickly shepherd the reporters away and most of the spectators dispersed leaving a few of them including Daniel, Amanda and Betty.

Nico told her that she had won, that she’ll go to school in Paris or anywhere she wants but that she was not going quietly. Wilhelmina tried to take her hand that “we’ll take up stairs” but Nico resisted and yelled “No, we’ll talk now”.