I LOVE MAKING FOOLS OF MEN.

[ season 1 — episode 04 ]

"NO FUCKING WAY!" Allora shouted. "You're absolutely mental for thinking it's better."

"The storyline is better and it's funnier!" Daisy argued.

"Grown Ups 2 is not better than the first one," she insisted.

The pair were sitting in the staff room, eating their lunch while killing time before their next lessons. Daisy had offhandedly quoted the sequel when Allora heated up her soup in the microwave, and now the two were arguing over which was better.

"The second one doesn't even have Rob and his hot daughters in it," Allora told her. "Plus, the fucking water park scene is hilarious."

"But it doesn't have the frat boys or the big party," she fought back. "Plus all that happens in one day which makes it even more chaotic and silly."

"I can't with you," Allora said, shaking her head. "Absolutely no taste. You're probably just saying all that because the sequel has Taylor Lautner in it."

"Am not!" Daisy insisted. "I'm Team Edward all the way."

She scoffed and leaned back. "Team Rosalie. What a babe she is, yeah?"

"Not wrong there," she finally agreed, taking another bite of her sandwich. Though really, Emmett was her favorite. "Hey, what are you doing this weekend?"

"Nothing much unless I can pick up a girl at Mae's in the next few days," she said, shrugging. "Why? Wanna watch the movies?"

"Oh, no, there's this charity gala thing that Rebecca puts on every year, and I get to bring a plus one," she explained. "Thought you might like something like that. Well, and I don't really know that many people either. But I get it if me hangin' out with my boss isn't alright."

"Daisy, there's nothing wrong with it," Allora said, smiling at her. "We are friends, you know?"

"We are?" she asked, perking up a little. It was nice to have the confirmation that Allora wasn't just being nice to her out of politeness.

"Of course," she laughed. "And I'd love to go. I know they raised a ton of money last year with that footballer auction. It'll be interesting to see how it goes without Rupert Mannion running things."

"Rebecca's got this," Daisy said confidently. "She's been so focused on every little detail so that it'll go smoothly. It'll be a great night."

"Well, thank you for inviting me. It's been a long time since I went anywhere nice."

✵︎

The day of the charity gala arrived, and Daisy found herself at the Richmond facility to watch training. Two days earlier, the team lost another match, and according to Ted and Beard, a huge fight broke out in the locker room between Jamie and Roy. No one knew who, but one of the team members filmed it and sent it to a news outlet. The captain was angry about how far behind they were at the halfway point, and Jamie was making some rude comments to Sam and also made some remarks about Roy's age. After the fight was broken up, the team played even worse in the last half of the match.

Though the fight ended two days ago, it seemed like battle lines were still drawn. As Ted blew his whistle and called for a water break, the team broke up into two groups — one that was siding with Jamie and one that stuck with Roy.

"Looks like we still got ourselves a team divided here," Ted said, a little disheartened. "Coach, you know what I'm thinkin' about right now?"

"West Side Story?" he guessed.

"You know it. Sharks and Jets. You think these fellas could solve their problems with a dance-off at a gymnasium?" he asked, chuckling a little.

"Oh, I'd pay to see that," Daisy admitted, already picturing Roy and Jamie dancing to solve their issues.

"Course, if memory serves, Riff and Bernardo ended up getting knifed to death at that particular event."

"No, they didn't die until the rumble afterwards," Nate corrected Ted's mistake.

Daisy nodded. "Yeah, he's right."

Beard looked at Nate questioningly, a little surprised by how quickly he knew that, as he didn't always understand their pop culture references. "When I was fifteen, I was understudy for Anita," Nate then explained, which really only confused them more. "All-boys school."

"We have peeled yet another juicy layer of the Nathan onion," Ted said, smiling a little.

"Did you get to go on at all?" Daisy then questioned, trying to picture a fifteen-year-old Nathan dancing and singing.

"One night when he had a sore throat," he told them, grinning proudly. Then it fell. "I forgot the words to A Boy Like That."

"Coach Beard!" the suddenly heard Rebecca shouting.

"Uh-oh," Ted muttered as they looked around for the woman.

She was leaning out the window of her office, yelling as loud as she could rather than just call for whatever the issue was. Beard looked up at her expectantly. "For dinner tonight, it's either chicken or steak! You can't tick both!"

"Okay!" he called back, a little bummed.

"Busted," Ted muttered.

"And Ted!" Rebecca said, switching to the other coach.

"Uh-oh," he said for himself before yelling back. "Yeah!"

"I need to know who your plus-one is!"

"Oh, well, that'd be, uh, Mr. Two Entrées here," he said, pointing to Beard.

"No, he's already bringing a date!"

All of them looked at Beard in surprise, who just shrugged, silently pleased with himself. So, Ted set his sights on Nate, knowing that Daisy already had an invitation of her own. "Hey, you free tonight?"

"Oh, I'm free every night, yeah," he admitted shamelessly.

"Okay. I'm gonna bring Nathan!" Ted yelled at Rebecca.

The name wasn't familiar to Rebecca though. "Who?"

Nate then waved while Ted tapped his shoulder. "Nate the Great! He's gonna be my date! And for obvious reasons, we'd love to be at table eight!"

"No!" Rebecca yelled, hating the rhyming. "And Beard, you're having chicken!" He gave her a thumbs up but still frowned, a bit upset.

"Daisy, dear!" she then shouted. "I can't read your date's writing on the response card for the seating chart. Spell it for me!"

Daisy cupped her hands around her mouth to shout as best she could, not one to ever raise her voice. "A-l-l-o-r-a! Then Burke — B-u-r-k-e!"

Rebecca simply thanked her with a thumbs up before disappearing into her office, shutting the window.

"Have you got a girlfriend, Daisy?" Bumbercatch asked, raising a teasing eyebrow. "Don't tell me we've all lost our chances with you." As several other players laughed, Roy smacked the boy on the back of his head.

"Sorry, Bumbercatch," she said, shrugging. "She may just be a friend but she's still a million times better lookin' than you."

"And she's also not on the team!" Beard said, glaring at the boys. "Anyone that hits on my Daisy Chain gets benched! Now, laps!"

Daisy covered her face, embarrassed by her uncle as the boys just snickered amongst themselves. But then Ted blew his whistle. "You heard him, boys! Get to runnin' and thank Bumbercatch for it!"

✵︎

While the boys were taking a break for lunch, Ted headed up to Rebecca's office, Daisy trailing after him, always happy to visit the older woman. And as Ted knocked while opening the door, they saw Rebecca, who was wearing a fluffy robe and frantically looking through a rack full of expensive dresses.

"Hey, boss," Ted greeted. "Ooh! Pajama Friday? Wish I woulda known. Oh, you're gonna get a kick outta this story. When I was seventeen—"

Rebecca quickly cut him off while shaking her head. "Ted, let me just stop you there before you tell me a folksy anecdote about you and pajamas."

"Bad call," Daisy told her. "That one is actually a really good one, even by your standards, I'd bet."

"She's right," he agreed. "When you change your mind, just let me know, 'cause this one is a doozy."

"Sorry, was there anything you needed?" Rebecca then asked. "'Cause I'm really—"

"Yeah, I was wondering if me, Roy, and Jamie could all sit at the same table tonight. Is that possible?"

She took only a second to lean over and look at the board with the seating chart. "Yes."

"Great! 'Cause I got some fences I need to mend, and I think that might do the trick—"

"Ted," she cut him off. "I just said yes."

"Right," he nodded, shutting his mouth.

Rebecca then pulled a long, black gown off the rack that had one strap made out of gold and would show off her arms. Daisy thought it was beautiful, but Rebecca was frowning at it. "Oh, God, that one's absolutely beautiful, but I don't think I can get away with that anymore."

"What are you talkin' about?" Daisy asked, looking at her in disbelief. "Rebecca, you're tall and just gorgeous with that blonde hair and those blue eyes — heck, you'd be one of the quickest bought at the Grundy County Auction."

"I - I don't know what that is," she said, hesitating a bit.

"That's about as close to rap music she had growin' up," Ted replied. "And she's right about the dress. Sure you could. Fashion's all about confidence. If I didn't have any confidence, I never would've worn pajamas to my prom and ended up in jail the rest of that night. But you don't wanna hear that story, so I ain't gonna tell it."

"He really is dyin' to tell it, though," Daisy chimed in.

"You know what? We'll get outta your hair," he finally told her. "You're probably all revved up because of the big shindig, right?"

"No, no, no. I'm absolutely fine," she said while sipping on her cup of tea. But the woman seemed very jumpy to them, not fine at all. "I mean, even when Rupert and I were running the gala together, I did most of the work myself. So, uh, I'm not revved up at all. I'm actually, really, feeling quite mellow."

As if to prove her wrong, Higgins entered the office with a grim expression. "Good afternoon. We have a huge problem. Our musical guest, Robbie Williams, has canceled."

"God!" Rebecca exclaimed, getting visibly upset and ruining her mellow facade.

"Oh, no. Who is that?" Ted asked, not quite sure.

"He was in Take That," Daisy filled him in. "Think small-scale Harry Styles canceling."

"Oh, dang," he muttered, shaking his head.

"No, no, no. That's absolutely fine," Rebecca insisted while taking in deep breaths. "It's not a problem. Let me just think. All right, here's what we're going to do, Higgins. Tonight, when I tell everyone that Robbie has canceled, by then it won't matter because you will have found someone better."

Ted smiled at the man supportively. "There ya are."

"Right. I am a world-class problem solver," Higgins said confidently while tossing his phone up. But rather than easily catch it, he fumbled repeatedly, trying to not drop and break it since he didn't have a case on it.

"There it is. Oh. You got it. Oh. Catch it! Yep! Ho! Look at that! You got this, Higgins!" Ted cheered as he finally caught the device. "And Rebecca's grateful for all your hard work!"

"Thank you, Ted!" Higgins said while leaving the office, knowing he had to work quickly to find a singer.

"And I'm gone get back out there," Ted said while heading for the door.

Daisy stayed back and looked at Rebecca before grabbing the black dress off the rack and holding it out. "Wear it," she said in as stern a tone as she could muster.

Rebecca eyed it warily. "I don't know. I fear I'd look ridiculous."

"Rebecca, I've seen your naked body, so I feel it's okay to say this," she said, making her smile. "You're so disgustingly beautiful that the deep down parts of me hate you a little. You're the woman I grew up seeing on magazines that made me feel like absolute crap growing up because I didn't look like that. You are the perfect, ideal woman that men dream of, and it makes me so mad that Rupert's made you think you're so lackluster as if he's not the one aging like moldy cheese. You're amazing, Rebecca, and you'd wear the heck out of that dress if you'd just forget about that horrible man and how he makes you feel."

By the time she was done, Rebecca's eyes were watering a bit, which she fucking hated knowing that she was actively trying to ruin things for Daisy's father.

"Thank you, Daisy," she said while wiping under her eyes. Then she smiled and stepped closer. "And do not for a moment think you are not also disgustingly beautiful, as you put it. Inside and out with all that kindness you're built of."

"So, does that mean you'll wear it?" she asked excitedly.

Rebecca playfully rolled her eyes. "Yes, I suppose I will," she finally decided. She wiped under her eyes once more to make sure there was no sign of her unshed tears. "And what will you be wearing? I don't think I've ever seen you in anything other than those tacky sweaters."

Daisy looked down at her thrift store sweater which was perhaps an outdated print and frowned. "They aren't tacky," she mumbled. Then she shrugged it off. "And I've got this nice sundress I brought from home."

Rebecca's smile instantly dropped and she looked horrified. "A fucking sundress? Are you joking?" she asked, raising her voice. "Daisy, this is a red-carpet event."

"Like a literal red carpet?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Yes, a literal red fucking carpet. There will - will be press and interviews and the wealthiest members of society will be in attendance. You can't wear a sundress. You've got to wear a full-on gown."

"But I don't have any dresses like that," she said, panicking a bit.

The older woman let out a deep breath before turning to her rack of dresses. She eyed it for a moment before pulling off a hanger that had a gown made of glittering gold fabric and fell to the floor. "You'll wear this," she stated. "It'll look gorgeous with your skin tone."

Daisy eyed the garment, which was gorgeous, but it was in no way close to her size — she shopped in the petite section, for god's sake. "Rebecca, you're almost six feet tall. You are eight inches taller than me and have a chest and hips that I sure don't. I'd look like a kid runnin' around in one of Daddy's sweatshirts growin' up with the bottom dragging on the floor."

"Obviously, I will call someone to come and tailor it to you," she replied while rolling her eyes. "You'll tell that Allora to meet you here and we'll leave for the gala once I approve your look. The daughter of my coach cannot be underdressed for this event. I'd be forced to turn you away at the door if not."

For a moment, Daisy eyed the garment while chewing on the inside of her cheek, debating it. Finally, she gave in and began to smile. "It's gonna be like I'm Cinderella or somethin'. Brandy better watch her back."

✵︎

"Oh, you look fucking fit, Daze," Allora said as soon as she stepped into Rebecca's office, ready to leave for the gala.

Daisy turned her head, not able to completely move since a seamstress was finishing the hem on the dress. Allora was in a dark green gown that hung off her shoulders and looked amazing on her. "You're gorgeous, Lora!" she said, grinning brightly. "Thanks for coming with."

"Thanks for inviting," she said while coming into the office and looking around. "First time I've been inside this place and not just the stands."

"Rebecca's getting her dress on in there, but she's excited to meet you," Daisy told her while pointing to the private bathroom connected to the office. Then she lowered her voice to speak to her friend. "She's having some self-confidence issues because of her ex-husband, so as a lesbian, just really make sure she knows how pretty she is."

"Like that'll be a challenge," she scoffed while taking a seat on the couch. "She's so hot. Couldn't believe she married someone as average looking as Mannion anyway — well, for the money, I guess, but still."

"Alright," Marrie, who was the one working on the dress, said, standing up. "Take a few steps to make sure I've got it right. And have a look in the mirror."

Daisy did as instructed, walking back and forth across the room at different paces to make sure she wouldn't trip. Then she made her way to the mirror that Rebecca had set up and took a look at herself, a little bit stunned. She didn't look like the girl from Kansas that she saw every day in the mirror.

Rebecca had been right about the gold material looking good on her — she was practically glowing. And Marrie made the dress hug her in a more flattering way, showing off her frame. She looked beautiful and classy. She felt pretty.

She felt like she looked good enough to be on the cover of those magazines she hated so much growing up.

"Thank you so much, Marrie," Daisy finally said, looking back at the seamstress who was packing up her things.

"Anything for Ms. Welton," she said, nodding to her.

Then Rebecca finally decided that she was done getting ready, cracking the bathroom door and speaking through it. "If anyone laughs, I'm not leaving the building."

"Why would we laugh?" Daisy asked, rolling her eyes.

"Because he used to," she mumbled, making Daisy's heart sink down to her stomach. Then Rebecca stepped out looking like a fucking model in a dress that fit her like a glove.

"Are you joking?" Daisy questioned, raising her voice. "You look insanely gorgeous!"

Allora stood up from the couch and whistled lowly, tilting her head as she studied Rebecca's form. "Daisy, your dad should just put her in a swimsuit and throw her out on the pitch to distract the other teams. Richmond might start winning then."

Rebecca couldn't help but laugh at the compliments and shake her head bashfully. "You must be Miss Burke," she said, walking closer. "Lovely to meet you."

"You as well," she said, shaking her hand. "Seriously, you look proper fit. Better than Daisy, and I thought she was a goddess when I walked in."

Now Allora had both the women blushing, which had been her plan. She'd grown up surrounded by women hating themselves in the dance industry and would always do anything she could to make sure no one felt like she had at points in her life.

"Now," Allora said while moving to link elbows with each of them, "let's go so that I can be photographed with you two and then send those to my ex to rub it in her face."

✵︎

Daisy was quite flustered by there being an actual red carpet, not thinking those existed outside of movie premieres. But there were countless photographers taking pictures as all the attendees waited in line, not able to get to the door without going through.

"Oh, I love Isaac's suit," Daisy said, seeing the floral pattern as he began flexing for the press.

"Everyone looks so wonderful," Sam said from in front of her, having heard her voice. Then they both saw that they were wearing gold and grinned. "We match!"

"You two've got to walk together," Keeley said, who was standing in between them with Jamie at her side. He made the choice to not wear a shirt underneath his suit jacket. "They'll love that."

Sam looked at Daisy, offering her his hand while raising his eyebrow questioningly. She took it while looking back at Allora. "Forgive me?"

Allora just laughed and nodded. "You're good to go."

"Hi, there," Keeley then said, not having seen her standing behind Rebecca. "I'm Keeley. What's your name?"

"Allora," she introduced, smiling at her. "Daisy teaches at my dance studio."

"You own it? That's so cool!" she said, coming closer to ask her more about it. And Jamie just followed her, seeming bored since the cameras weren't on him yet.

"Ready?" Sam asked Daisy as Colin finished up a series of poses. An attendant was gesturing for them to keep the line moving.

"Let's make front pages," she said, grinning as they walked the carpet.

Maybe Daisy wasn't a pro at making the most flattering poses, but she was smiling brightly in each one, leaning against Sam. Both were so amazed by the experience that they couldn't help but laugh with delight.

"This is great," he said, looking at the press. "Hey, uh, thank you, guys, so much for taking our picture. What are your names?"

Much to their delight, all the photographers clamored to shout out their names.

"So you're Jerry, and you're Dave."

"I think that one back there said Janna," Daisy said, pointing.

Finally, they were moved along, in much better moods after the experience. "That was so cool," she said, standing to the side as Jamie walked the carpet, wanting to wait for Allora and Rebecca.

"It is all so overwhelming, almost," Sam told her. "Everything has changed so much since leaving Nigeria. I never dreamed of people wanting to take my picture."

"Well, get used to it," she said, bumping his shoulder. "I mean, if you're going to make the Nigerian team one day, all this will be nothing in comparison."

"I can only hope," he said bashfully. "I am going to find my table but will see you in there."

After Sam left, Daisy paid attention to what was going on. Keeley finally joined Jamie, who was dipping her in a kiss, which had the photographers hollering. Daisy just clapped for them, knowing that would be all over the news the next day.

But then Rebecca came on the carpet and awkwardly shuffled their way. She'd clearly lost all the confidence she'd built up in her office. "Guys, sorry, sorry. I just — gonna let them take a picture."

"Oh, yeah. Yeah," Keeley said, stepping to the side.

Jamie walked off altogether, taking a moment to stop and look at Daisy. "You look goddamn good tonight, love," he complimented. "Bit jealous Sammy boy was the one to get to take a picture with you and not me."

"Funny. I'm jealous you got to be the one to take a picture with that one," she said, nodding to Keeley, who was moving closer to Rebecca. It didn't matter that Daisy's chest fluttered a bit at what she thought was flirting. Jamie was Keeley's boyfriend and shouldn't have been going around and complimenting other girls on their looks.

Sensing he'd gone a bit too far, Jamie put his hands up innocently and went inside. She then watched as Keeley left a nervous Rebecca alone on the carpet only to run around to stand behind all the photographers.

"Aw, look at her!" Keeley suddenly yelled. "She's fucking fit!"

Rebecca couldn't help but laugh in disbelief, which helped her produce a real smile instead of her tight, rehearsed one. Then she began to get more comfortable as she did a spin. Finally, she looked to her left and right, holding out her arms. Daisy went back to the carpet, and Allora joined her.

"My dates for the night," Rebecca declared as the three women posed together.

At the end of it, Rebecca was so surprised that she wasn't miserable. In fact, she was quite happy as she entered the venue.

"You didn't have to flip off the photographer from The Independent," Rebecca told Allora, remembering the cheeky moment.

"Oh, that was just me passing along a message to my Uncle Trent," she said, laughing.

"Well, I do hope you two have fun tonight," she told them.

"Probably not much fun given we're at the angry table," Daisy mumbled. She understood why Ted wanted Jamie and Roy at one table, but she'd have rather not been assigned there as well. The two boys would obviously fight and ruin their first impression with Daisy's only friend outside of the club.

"Yoo-hoo!" they suddenly heard. All of them turned to see Ted coming their way along with Nate at his side.

Daisy had seen her father in that suit before, but Rebecca was stunned. "Ted Lasso. My God."

"Right back at ya, boss. I had a hunch you were gonna pick this dress, and may I say, you are wearing the heck out of it," he told her.

"Thank you."

"Ally, you clean up real good," he told the dancer, who thanked him. Then he hugged Daisy tightly. "You look like a beauty queen, Adanna."

"Thanks, Daddy. Glad Michelle made you pack that suit," she said, grinning.

"Ah, and check out Nate," Ted then said, gesturing to the kit man in a brand new suit. "Looking pretty dapper himself, huh?"

"Great to see you again," Nate said while stepping forward to shake Rebecca's hand.

"Nice to meet you," she said with a polite smile.

"Nice to meet you," he instantly repeated instead of correcting her.

"If you'll all excuse me," Rebecca told them before moving to leave.

"Absolutely, yeah. Go do your thing," Ted told her.

"Nate, this is my friend, Allora," Daisy introduced. "She owns Richmond Dance."

"Oh, lovely," he said, smiling. "My niece has been thinking about taking up tap classes, so I know where to send her now."

"Well, I'd love to have her," Allora told him.

"Oh. Oh, oh, oh," Ted said, suddenly noticing someone across the room. "Look, there's Beard over there. That's his new gal, Jane."

He was standing next to a woman with brown hair in a lovely red dress, who was feeding him one of the appetizers that was going around.

"So we finally see her," Daisy mused. She'd only heard about Jane up until then.

"Yeah, they met at his Friday night chess club," Ted explained to the other two. "Apparently, they liked each other's moves."

Nate chuckled at his joke, only for Ted to look at him, confused. "Oh, that wasn't a joke."

"Was it not?" Allora asked, who smiled a bit.

"I think it was a happy accident," Daisy told them.

"Yeah," Ted agreed, "I guess it kinda was. Well, c'mon. Let's get settled."

Their table was easy to find because Jamie, Roy, and Keeley were all standing around it, looking like they'd rather be anywhere else.

"This is gonna be so uncomfortable," Keeley said with an awkward smile.

"I'm switching tables," Roy declared, moving to leave.

Ted quickly scurried up to the table to stop him. "No, no, no. Hey. Come on back here. This is my doing. I Parent Trap-ped y'all. Take a seat."

With a huff, both footballers sat down at the table. Nate took his seat beside Ted, and Daisy and Allora's chairs were next to Roy. For just a moment, he took a moment to look at Daisy and grunt to acknowledge her presence.

"Now, listen," Ted said, looking between Roy and Jamie. "You two knuckleheads have split our locker room in half. And when it comes to locker rooms, I like 'em just like my mother's bathing suits. I only wanna see 'em in one piece, you hear?"

"Ew," Daisy muttered, not wanting to think about her grandmother in a bikini.

"So we're fixing this," he went on. "Tell me what's the biggest issue you got with each other. Go."

"He's a piece of shit," Roy said without hesitation.

And Jamie was just as quick with his response. "If his brain was on fire, I wouldn't piss in his ear." Keeley smacked his side, embarrassed by how crass he was about it.

"Well, hey. You don't need to be best friends to be great teammates. Think about Shaq and Kobe, right? Lennon and McCartney. Heck, even Woody and Buzz got under each other's plastic."

Nate leaned in to interject quietly. "Wasn't Woody made out of cloth?"

"I appreciate you, Nate, but now's not the time," Ted told him. But Daisy leaned around Roy and caught Nate's eye, nodding that he was right. "You know what all those dynamic duos had in common? Mutual respect. Y'all gotta find some common ground. So who wants to get the ball rollin'?"

The table was silent, of course, neither man wanting to step up. So, Keeley decided to break the ice. "I do," she said. "Nate, that's a very nice suit. I think you look chic."

He smiled excitedly, glad that someone noticed his new suit. "Oh, thank you. It's actually only the second suit I've ever owned. The first one was my suit when I was a naked baby."

More silence followed, this one incredibly awkward and not just uncomfortable, which Nate noticed. "Sorry, it's funny when Ted says it. I..."

"Well, the term 'birthday suit' woulda helped you a ton there, yeah," Ted chimed in.

"Oh, God, yeah," Nate muttered as Keeley snickered.

"Come on, let's try this again, all right?" Ted asked. "Hey, Jamie. You wanna go?"

"Pass."

"Roy?"

"He's a piece of shit."

"You're gonna stick with that, huh? Okay," he muttered. "Here's an idea that's gonna help a little or hurt a whole lot. Who needs a drink?"

Everyone but Daisy raised their hands, giving Ted his answer, so he jumped up and left them alone to grab some beers. The silence returned, all of them just looking around at each other silently. And again, it was Keeley who broke it.

"Um, Allora, what kind of dance do you teach at your studio?" she asked, trying to get to know her better.

"Tap and ballroom," she answered.

"Ooh, ballroom is fancy!" she said, her eyes lighting up. Then she nudged Jamie. "Babe, we could take a class. It'd be so fun."

"Nah, that sounds boring as shit," he said, rolling his eyes.

"Well, you can bring anyone as a partner," Allora told Keeley, who was embarrassed by Jamie's behavior. "You know, Daze or even Nate or Roy if they'd like."

"Nuh-uh," Roy said gruffly. "I don't dance."

"C'mon, Roy, you ain't in High School Musical 2," Daisy joked.

"The third one is better anyway," he told her.

"Are you mental?" Jamie asked, glaring at him. "Second one is a million times better."

"Say that to The Boys Are Fucking Back," Roy snapped. "You really are wrong about everything."

Jamie shook his head and leaned back, the sneer still on his face. "Can't be on a team with someone that don't appreciate Bet On It for the art that it is."

"Great, then leave the team," Roy said, smirking.

"Nobody is leaving the team," Daisy said, sighing. "And is this really how you act when meeting a total stranger? You're embarrassing me."

Roy was the first to break, relaxing his shoulders a bit as he looked at Allora. "It's lovely to meet you. My niece really enjoys Daisy's lessons."

"I've heard great things about Phoebe," she said, grinning. "And really, it's an honor to meet Roy fucking Kent. Grew up staring at your poster and realized if I wasn't gonna be attracted to you, I wasn't gonna ever like a man."

As Keeley and Daisy giggled, Roy couldn't help but chuckle, his rare smile appearing and brightening Daisy's mood.

"It's Allora, right?" Jamie asked her, and she nodded. "I'll have to let the lads know hitting on you is pointless, I suppose."

"Might be funny if you didn't though," Allora said, grinning. "I love making fools of men."

"Oh, I like you," Keeley decided. "Jamie, swap seats with me."

Though he didn't really care to, Jamie moved over so that Keeley could take his chair and get closer to Allora and Daisy. And just as Ted rejoined them and handed out the drinks, the night began as Rebecca took to the stage, everyone clapping for her.

"She really does look amazing," Daisy whispered with a soft smile, leaning her chin on the back of her chair since she wasn't facing the stage.

Over all the clapping, she almost didn't hear how Roy muttered, "So do you." But she did and turned to look at him, smiling shyly. After a second of staring at each other, Roy quickly looked back at the stage where Rebecca was speaking.

"Good evening, and welcome to the Tenth Annual Benefit for Underprivileged Children. If I could hug each of you as a thank you for your kind donations, well... I probably wouldn't because, as we all know, I'm not much of a hugger."

Daisy actually snorted and covered her mouth at the joke that had all the guests laughing. It definitely helped ease some of Rebecca's nerves as she went on.

"Now, I do hope you've all brought your checkbooks with you for our auction later. Because you can all bid on our very own Richmond players."

"Whoo!" Daisy and Allora cheered, looking at the players at the table who rolled their eyes.

But then someone was speaking loudly over the audience, the spotlight falling on him as he did so. "Same rule as always, no hanky-panky unless the player signs a waiver."

It was Rupert Mannion in a white suit, a charming smile on his aging face. Daisy quickly looked between him and a stunned Rebecca, who was caught totally off guard.

"Rupert?" she questioned, her smile falling.

"Hello, darling," he greeted.

"What a... lovely surprise," she managed to say, smiling once again.

"Oh. Weren't you expecting me?"

"Only 'cause you RSVP'd no," she said, making the audience chuckle.

Rupert held out his arms like he was in the fucking Great Gatsby or something, and Daisy couldn't bother to hide the displeased look on her face at his arrival. She'd never met him but she hated him on Rebecca's behalf. "Well, one of the perks of being a wealthy good-for-nothing. Sometimes my nights just magically free up." Then he took some man's champagne as he passed. "Gals and gents, with your help, we raised eight-hundred-thousand pounds last year."

Though she hated him, Daisy did clap along with the rest of the room. Then she shared a look with Keeley, both hating that he was stealing the show from Rebecca and all her hard work.

"And this year, hopefully even more," Rebecca said, still forcing her smile.

Rupert grinned at her, hiding the sinister look in his eyes like an expert. "Well, I know I'm crashing your party, but I so badly wanna help. My fingers and toes are crossed that you will have me."

"Of course. Uh, let's get him a seat at the boring table," Rebecca announced, making them all laugh. "Only joking. Table four. Rupert Mannion, everyone."

"What a tool," Daisy muttered under her breath as Rupert sat down.

"God, Rebecca looked crushed," Allora said, just as upset as waiters began bringing around the first dish that was for dinner. "Seriously, who does he think he is?"

"One of the richest men in the country," Keeley chimed in.

"Oh, yeah," Allora said with a humorless laugh. "That's who he is."