It is soooooo gooooood to see y'all back here. Thank you for reading the second part of this series.I do appreciate the posts from readers - I love you,too.
I admit, with each post, I am encouraged to sit down and write more - so thank you.
As always - the story sets the pace for me. But if it's not working - you can tell me.
I am so lucky to be here -
Dream Job
Helena watched as her Chief Counsel left the conference room. She was very content that Myka was back working at Wells Corp. When Eileen poked her head in again, it reminded Helena that she had not properly acknowledged the young woman's part in Myka's return. Myka had shared how insistent Eileen was about coming back – not so much to the company – but to Helena. "She wouldn't take no for an answer," Myka laughed when she told Helena.
"Eileen, I'd like to see you when I am through with Mr. Jinx," Helena smiled at her executive assistant.
"Of course," Eileen said back. She wasn't at all surprised by the calmness she witnessed in her boss. She knew from the moment they met, that Myka Bering was exactly what her boss needed.
Helena came through the door so quickly that she made her guest jump. "Oh, I do apologize, Mr. Jinx. Thank you for waiting," Helena said indicating he should sit back down.
"It's a pleasure to finally meet you," Steve said to the woman who made his friend insane. He studied Helena with a careful eye. It wasn't her beauty he was assessing, but rather what people reacted to when they worked there.
"Mr. Jinx, what exactly were you hired to do at Wells Corp?" Helena asked looking over his resume.
"I am going to work in Security Department with Pete Lattimer," he answered.
"Oh good, yes, Mr. Lattimer could use the help," Helena said.
"I actually know someone who works here," Steve said truthfully.
"Do you?" Helena asked and studied his face.
"Claudia Donovan?" he said smiling because of course she would know the person she insisted on playing the incessant hacking game with.
"Never heard of her," Helena said and watched his reaction. There it was!
"Really? Because she talks about you ….," Steve said and stopped.
"No, of course I know her," Helena said leaning forward to observe his facial expression.
"Oh, good cause I was going to say….," and the new staff member stopped himself short of saying – 'you are lying'.
Steve was very nervous. Helena was not. She had gotten what she wanted.
"Well, best of luck to you, Mr. Jinx. I am sure we will see each other again very soon," Helena smiled.
She watched as he shot up, almost tripped over the coffee table as he left and said goodbye.
Eileen came in a minute later with what was becoming Helena's favorite cup of tea.
"You wanted to see me?" she asked.
"I cannot tell you how I appreciate that you have learned to make a very proper cup of tea," Helena said taking a sip and pointing to the chair that Eileen should sit in.
All the times Eileen was in the office, this was the first time she actually sat down so close to her boss. Usually she got her instructions standing, and left. Once in a while, she sat in the chair across from Helena at her large executive desk, but Eileen liked to make her exit as quickly as possible, so standing suited her fine.
Now, she sat there and looked around as if it was the first time she noticed the paintings on the wall while her boss imbibed the warm beverage.
"This will be one of the things I miss most about you," Helena said as she took another sip.
Eileen knew when she marched into her boss' office last week and told her she was a fool, things would not end well. Then, when Helena hardly reacted to her pleas, she decided to go to Myka because any fool could see she was more reasonable. Myka did listen and she thanked Eileen for confirming what was slowly dawning on her – that she wanted to come back. Eileen had called Pete to say Ms. Bering was returning and that he should keep Helena at the townhouse that night. The girl drove to the airport in her mother's white Prius in the pouring rain just to make sure Myka got to Helena's that night. She stood across the street with Pete after he left the door unlocked and told Myka it was fine for her to go inside.
Seeing her boss with Myka renewed Eileen's faith that love could conquer all.
Now it seemed she would pay the price for interfering in her boss' affairs. Helena had not said anything to her about it, but now that she figured it out, she was letting her go.
"OK," Eileen said and stood up to leave.
Myka returned to her office and answered emails and returned phone calls.
"Yes, Ms. Wells is prepared to reimburse the City for any overtime that was incurred as a result of the blackout. Do I know what she was doing? Well, according to her HR Director, she was experimenting with a new machine for back problems?" Myka relayed and even she couldn't keep the question mark out of her tone.
That was the official explanation and she had it right in front of her. "Yes, we do appreciate that no further investigation will be needed," Myka said and hung up.
She wrote a memo to the Chief Financial Officer and explained what the request for one hundred and fifty thousand dollars payable to the City of New York was for.
Then she looked at the papers and realized she needed Helena signature on them. She went back upstairs to leave them with Eileen, but there was no one at the desk. She knocked on the door and heard Helena say come in.
Unfortunately, the news of being fired was too much for the woman and she passed out. Helena caught her in her arms just as Myka entered.
"Helena, what happened?" Myka asked rushing over.
"I don't know," Helena said holding the girl and looking to make sure she was breathing.
"Helena! What did you do?" Mrs. Frederic asked coming in behind Myka. Helena did not care for the accusatory tone in her voice.
"For bloody sakes, I told her I would miss her tea," Helena said laying her back down in the chair.
"You fired her?" Myka asked, kneeling down and touching the youth's face.
"Fired her? Why would I fire her? She just learned to make a bloody decent cup of tea!" Helena said and then looked at her HR Director who was standing there with her arms crossed.
"Oh bloody hell, this is all your fault," Helena said staring back at her.
"How is this my fault?" Irene asked and went into Helena's private bathroom to get a cool cloth.
"You told me to offer her any position she wanted because she helped ….," and Helena stopped and looked at Myka. "….retain Ms. Bering's services. You told me she has a degree from a university and might want to work in Human Resources," Helena yelled after Irene.
"Did you tell her that?" Irene asked.
"I didn't bloody get a chance to! She passed out before I could tell her that part," Helena said defensively.
Mrs. Frederic patted Eileen's face with the cool facecloth and helped her sit up straight when she came to. Upon seeing the older woman's face, Eileen grabbed her hands.
"I've been fired, Mrs. Frederic! I overstepped my boundary and Ms. Wells has sent me packing. Please tell her I am sorry. I don't want to leave here," Eileen begged the Director. Irene raised an eyebrow and looked back at their boss as if to say …'now what are you going to do?'
"Oh for bloody sakes," Helena said coming into Eileen's line of sight. "Love, I was not firing you at all. It was Mrs. Frederic who suggested that you might want to work somewhere else in Wells Corp. Perhaps as the Director of Human Resources since I believe there will be a vacancy shortly," Helena said snarkily.
Myka bit her lip as she watched the display. She was just happy the young assistant was not fired. She secretly hoped Eileen didn't want to move anywhere else. Eileen didn't.
"But I don't want to work anywhere else. I like my job. I like working for Ms. Wells," Eileen said sincerely.
"Well there's something you don't hear every day," Irene said giving it back to Helena and ignored her glare.
"Well bloody good then," Helena said overusing the adjective. "Ms. Sullivan likes her job, Mrs. Frederic can rest easy that we won't replace her …..this week, and all's well. Now can we tidy up our emotional outpourings and get back to work?" Helena asked because she didn't understand any of this. Except Irene's sarcasm - that she got.
Mrs. Frederic escorted Eileen back to her desk and Myka closed the door. "I just needed your signature," she said to Helena.
"Of course," Helena said taking her seat behind the desk. She affixed her signature on the documents as Myka handed them to her. More than once Helena made it appear to inadvertently touch Myka's hand as she gave her the papers.
"Where shall we have dinner this evening?" Helena asked as she signed the last page.
"Oh it doesn't matter to me. I have a list of questions I'd love to go over, so some place quiet, but where people won't hear us?" Myka suggested because it was confidential things they were discussing.
Helena bit her lip from sharing that Myka had just described her bedroom. "Ah, well might I suggest we dine at the townhouse, given the private nature… of your list?" Helena said smiling.
Helena was terrible at acting innocent, but it made Myka smile.
"Yes, that would be fine. What can I bring?" Myka asked - her Midwestern upbringing still ingrained in her.
The answers were endless for Helena. 'A change of clothing? Your toothbrush? Helena knew better than to be bold ….at work. "Why your list of course," she finally answered.
"At eight?" Myka asked as she left.
"Indeed," Helena said and texted her new Residence Director, Leena.
"She's not your housekeeper," Irene explained to Helena. One thing Helena was quickly learning since her deactivation was that the language had changed a great deal.
"What is she then?" Helena wanted to know. It was a perfectly good term for the woman in charge of overseeing the house and staff.
"Residence Director," Irene said of Leena's title.
"Rather a cumbersome title," Helena complained. "What does she do?"
"She is ….in charge of keeping your townhouse in order, Helena. She will hire the staff necessary to maintain that as your primary residence, as well as the Penthouse," Irene said. The Penthouse was where Helena brought most of her lovers. The townhouse was her home.
"I do not want people running into my rooms," Helena said concerned that there were things at the townhouse that were for her eyes only.
"Of course," Irene said.
When Irene showed Leena around the house, they literally had to climb over clothes and mismatched shoes piled in the closets and bedroom.
"She's very bright, but not big on organization," Irene said of her boss.
That may have been true of her clothes, but never her writing, experiments or work. No, the only other thing Helena messed up more than her boudoir was her love life. That is why her staff was hell-bent on helping her with this one.
Leena contacted the academic staff at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York and asked if they had any students who wanted to participate in a special paid internship. Namely, for fifteen dollars an hour, the students would volunteer to come in and reassemble ensembles and match shoes – all three hundred pairs of them.
"Why do you buy so many shoes?" Pete once asked his boss as he carried the boxes from Saks Fifth Avenue. He knew it was a woman thing, but it seemed to him Helena continuously bought the same shoes.
"I can never find two that match," Helena complained.
That was primarily due to the fact that Helena began undressing as she came in the door. A shoe here, a shoe there, a jacket thrown down here, the dress upstairs. The students who were selected never worked so hard in their lives. Even Helena noticed how easily she could walk to her bed and closet. Perhaps hiring the Residence Director was a good idea.
"Make sure you speak to Eileen before you leave," Irene said on the phone to Helena and the chastising tone was still present.
"Really Irene, must I coddle these people and placate their emotional upheavals over their own misunderstandings?" Helena complained.
"Only the ones you want to keep," her HR Director shot back.
Soothing was not something that came easily to Helena. In fact, it was her skill of unraveling people that made her what she was. She grabbed her Louis Vuitton black bag, shoved her IPad in it, and walked out of her office. She remembered Irene's words and walked over to the desk where Eileen was busy typing away.
"Ms. Sullivan, I do apologize if you misunderstood what I was saying today," Helena said and thought it was oxymoronic to apologize for someone else's mistake.
Eileen shot up in her seat. "No, Ms. Wells, it was my mistake. It was totally my fault," she said.
"Yes, I know and I'm glad you know, but apparently this still requires that I extend a verbal regret for the misinterpretation," Helena said taking a deep breath.
"I just want to keep this job. I like working for you," Eileen said.
"Well, they all work for me," Helena clarified sweeping her hand out to include the entire building. She meant Eileen would still be working for her even if she took another position.
"Yes, I know, but I like working with you," Eileen explained.
Helena smiled at the executive assistant's sincere expression. "Very well then, I'll see you tomorrow."
Even Helena knew that was not something you hear every day.
The side stories are just a little filling in on the others - hope you don't mind.