Daniel Shines without Ugly Betty

Snippet 12

Betty was outside the club where Daniel was celebrating his first issue of Mode since he became Editor-in-Chief. The Body Guard outside did not allow her in because he did not believe she was Daniel Meade’s assistant. More over, it seems she got her I.V mixed-up somewhere inside her bag. Amanda arrived, saw Betty but pretended not to know her and just went in. Betty eventually found the card but she was still denied entrance and had to return home dejected.

A male fashion reporter outside the Manhattan club, informed us that this was Daniel’s cover party to celebrate his first issue of Mode and more many eyebrows were raised when he was chosen as the Editor-in-Chief instead of the experienced Creative Director, Wilhelmina Slater.

Inside the club, it was all glitz and glamour. Wilhelmina breezed-in majestically and Marc who was on the look-out, handed her a glass of champagne while filling her in on happenings at the party.

Daniel was the enclosure of all eyes. He was in the midst of reporters who were interviewing him. To say the least, Wilhelmina was bitter about this and made sarcastic remarks about reporters wanting to get a quote from Daniel. She and Marc raised their glasses to Daniel with their signature 'fake smile' on and Daniel also raised his glass to them with a knowing look in his eyes.

The party then began in earnest.

(Albeit he forgot about Betty while he basked in all that glory!)

At the Suarez house, Walter was in front of the TV set dancing (like a puppet) along to a demo playing on it (Ha ha ha! he is such a dork!).

Betty came in and on seeing Walter, asked him what he was doing in her house (Justin continued with the Dance). The first thing Walter asked her was why she was at a club with her boss at 9.45pm. She told him she was at her boss’ Cover party and then realized that she owed him no explanation. Walter tried justifying his reason for being to the fact that he got her the Dance-Revolution package at 20% discount, but, Betty was not buying any of it and instead held the door open for him to leave.

The party was in full swing and the celebrant, Daniel, was talking a young lady. His father walked up to him, silently, and whispered loud enough for the lady to hear “she is just twelve.” The lady promptly took her leave. Daniel and his father then engaged themselves in a chit-chat about Mode. The Paparazzi soon zoomed in on them and Bradford put his right arm around Daniel’s shoulder in a son-father pose. Daniel was a bit uncomfortable and emotional at this display by his father and after the shots were taken Bradford removed his arm (too quickly).

Wilhelmina (The Slayer), who had obviously been watching the scenario flew to their side commenting (maliciously, Daniel knows) about their pose; that they were the shinning stars. She complimented Daniel that the issue was a big hit and that Alex would be proud of him (hey! this is a sensitive subject) but Daniel said he didn’t do anything, that Mode sells Mode: “right Dad?” asking Bradford for confirmation.

Wilhelmina reminded Bradford about the Alex's cover party, being the Editor-in-Chief of a sister publication, Hudson. She told Daniel how he walked into the party with a Tuxedo shirt, Wilhelmina’s coat and a poker dot boxers. Bradford and Wilhelmina smiled as they remembered. Bradford said it was the top story on all the newspapers and that sales of Hudson went up by 38%. Daniel didn’t find it funny at all. He told his father that would have appreciated if his father had told him, that he would have gladly dropped his trousers for him; he then walked away from both of them.

Let me give you a little background story to help you understand why Daniel reacted this way. He had a brother, Alex, who was late (supposedly), who he had struggled all his life to measure up to. To his father, Alex was the good one while Daniel was the irresponsible one – Daniel knows this. Since he became Editor of Mode, he had one thing in mind; that was to change his father’s opinion about him. He knew being chosen as Mode’s new Editor-in-Chief was an acid test which he must pass. When his father put his arm around him, he got emotional because he felt that finally, my father is beginning to accept and trust me that I can get things done just like Alex. So, when Wilhelmina mentioned the Alex's cover party, he felt he was back to where he started - a failure and Alex won again. Wilhelmina did this on purpose to hurt Daniel because he got the publicity and status quo she believed should have been hers.

Back at Betty’s house, sat at the dinning table seeking for solace in food while Justin bombarded her with questions about the party and she got somewhat upset and asked him to stop. Hilda handed Justin his books with the instruction to do his homework and he didn’t leave without a comment about reading the editor’s page of the Mode’s current issue. Hilda joined Betty at the table but she stood up and said she had to go but Hilda wasn’t taking any of it and asked Betty to sit down. She told Betty to stop hurting herself and started with one of her usual lecture on ‘Betty not being cut out for the fashion industry’ but Betty told her to stop. Hilda (Oh, I just love Hilda) wasn’t backing down, she volunteered that if it was really important to Betty, she was willing to help her out. She told Betty that she was the 'Top' sales person for Herberlux in her district because she knows how to market herself - the hair, the clothes, e.t.c., but Betty wasn’t in on it.

Hilda then gave her the raw truth that, “those people” were not going to change and that Betty had to change to fit in.

The BOOK Controller's Blackmail

Snippet 9:

Betty was waiting by the microwave for her plate of empanadas to warm up and when it was done picked it up but while walking through the cafeteria to her seat, all the fashion-compliant (staff) looked at her food with disgust but it seems she didn’t notice any of them. She got to a table where her friends were and they all couldn’t wait to have a piece each except the vegetarian among them. They talked how fashion was not about accepting great looking people but altering pictures to make them look perfect.

Amanda came and stood by Betty complaining about her food and Betty even offered her some but she said the smelt disgusting. They were all surprised when Natalie Whitman rushed to them and asked Betty if she could have some, proper food, she called it, that she was starving and might as well eat the whole thing and still end up looking like Nicole Ritchie (which was joke poked at Mode alterations of photographs). Amanda responded with a fake laughter but Natalie looked at her ignored her and sat with Betty's and her friends at their table chatting with them. Amanda retreated to another sit behind Betty’s looking at her with an evil eye.

Wilhelmina was back with the strange woman in their dark room, wrapped all over as usual looking through newspaper cut-outs. The woman its strange observing from the outside when everybody though you are dead. They both felt that Bradford was behind the car crash, but they needed to get enough evidence to put him away. They also talked about getting Daniel out of the picture so that he would not be able to hold fort in Bradford's absence. Wilhelmina said that to get to Bradford, they will have to use Daniel.

Bradford was on a park bench reading a newspaper when his hired investigator arrived with information for him. He gave him a magazine that showed Fey Sommers Estate with for sale on it. Bradford told the man that he does not hate Fey and the he will enter her property with his spare key and removed any evidence that may incriminate him.

Back to Mode, Betty received an email with a picture of her bunny hanging in a noose with it's eyes crossed out with black cello tape. Betty was disturbed to see this. Just then, Marc appeared with The Book but refused to give it to Betty and insisted on giving it to Daniel himself. Marc placed The Book on Daniels desk, with a brief comment from Wilhelmina in an attempt to sidetrack Daniel from the pictures of Natalie. As he starts to look through it Amanda enters, and asks him to go to the opera with her. Daniel decides to go, leaving The Book on his desk, stating it can wait until the morning.

Daniel and Amanda walk past Betty's desk, and Amanda told her to keep working Betty goes into Daniel's office and notices The Book still sitting on his desk, after attempting to phone him and getting no answer, she decides to take The Book home for safe keeping overnight.

At the Suarez house as usual, a telenovela was showing on the Television and Ignacio was sitting in front of it, watching. Betty was told her father about what happened at work relating Natalie Whitman and that she brought ‘The Book’ home. Justin yelled with delight and grabbed from his aunt in his excitement. Betty was surprised that he knew what the book was. He even showed Betty her name of the masthead spelt ‘Betsy Suarez’.

Hilda came home from work and gave Betty a gift she found at the door from Walter which was a packet of 9 volts batteries. Betty was not bought by it. Her sister told her to be a bit more forgiving as Walter cares for her. Betty said he should have thought of that before dumping her.

Hilda told Betty that Gina is predatory and that Walter didn’t stand a chance against Gina. Justin asked if that was why Gina was called Hyena. It was our fashion guru, Justin, that noticed that the photograph of Natalie Whitman in the book was not altered, which he said was awful as she was still fat. But Betty said it was great.

Just then, someone knocked at the door. Betty thought it was Walter but Gina, their neighbour, busted into the house asking Betty for $4000 (ransom?)to replace her flat screen that she broke. Gina intimidating Betty and the big sister, Hilda defended her by threatening to hit Gina with The Book. Betty quickly retrieves The Book from Hilda and in the process Gina noticed that the folder was Mode’s and written on the front were the words ‘Important and Confidential’. Gina then told Betty and Hilda that she did a year at Juvenile prison meaning that she’ll get even her own way... What way? We shall soon see...