Getting Out of Trouble

"Darling, aren't you going to introduce me to this delicious creature?" Jeffrey said smiling at Myka.

"What …she …..is not delicious…and ..," Helena said getting verbally tangled.

"Take a deep breath, Helena because I'm going to need you to explain this to me," Myka said.

"Myka, Jeffrey, what the bloody hell are you doing here?" Helena finally said and Myka felt they were on the right track.

"You gave me a key, darling and I said I would be back as soon as I was done bringing the investors to South Africa. Pains in the arse really, but they insisted on seeing where the hospitals would be," Jeffrey said.

"Jeffrey Tesla, at your service," the man said bowing to Myka.

"Myka Bering," Myka said slowly. "Helena?" and the ball was back in her court.

"Jeffrey, I made it perfectly clear to you that we were not engaged," Helena said nervously.

Helena never did nervous. Myka crossed her arms.

"Yes, but remember I refused? We were …,"

"Drunk, Jeffrey. We were drunk and …," Helena said and then wondered if that would work in her favor.

"…and I proposed to you on the balcony on one knee and you said yes…," Jeffrey finished. "Would you excuse me while I put on some clothes? It's gotten rather chilly in here," and he meant the stare that this woman had his fiancée in. "I believe you might have gotten yourself into some kind of trouble here, darling," he said to Helena but nodded his head towards Myka. The tall man who seemed quite unaffected by this scene playing out took the steps two at a time.

"Helena?" Myka said in a strained tone. "What the hell is going on here?"

"Myka, this man …..did …we... were…. quite inebriated when he proposed marriage and I laughed," Helena said.

"Well somewhere in that fit of giggles he heard a yes, Helena," Myka said.

"I know, but I asked him to leave that night and he did. The next day I told him we were not engaged, and I would never marry him and well, you can see Myka, the man did not take me at my word!" Helena explained - hoping to turn this on Jeffrey.

"Was there a ring?" Myka asked sitting down.

"No," Helena said and Jeffrey yelled from the stairs – "I hardly call a four carat diamond, no ring Helena." Myka's eyes shot back to Helena.

"I refused it, I swear to you," Helena said.

"So there was a ring," Myka clarified. "Who has the ring?" Myka asked, her years of legal training coming to the forefront.

"Not I," they both said.

"I thought you …well, I bloody hell don't have it," Helena said.

"Well then, it must be here somewhere," Jeffrey said. "You were throwing things about as I recall. Why don't we have a drink…," the amiable man proposed.

"Jeffrey, you need to leave," Helena said.

"But it's been ages and I do so want to catch up…..plan the wedding ….that sort of thing," he said not picking up on Helena's tone.

"Six months, Jeffrey. I told you that night …," Helena started and he interrupted.

"The night you kicked me out without my clothes you mean? Oh that was terrible. Bloody cop caught me without my knickers and arrested me. Remember love? Oh that was so funny," the man said lost in the memory. "Made the headlines the next day."

Myka finally put this story together with the young cop's story and realized about the handcuffs. 'Oh God, please tell me he was cuffed with his hands behind his back,' Myka prayed.

"Yes," Helena laughed nervously. She needed to be alone with Myka.

"Oh bullocks, I have a dinner date and don't want to keep her waiting, but won't be late. Why don't we all meet up here later for a drink," Jeffrey said getting his coat.

"Wait, you think you're engaged and you have a dinner date?" Myka asked.

The man broke out into a big grin. "Well, it's not like Helena here has been on good behavior whilst I was gone, have you love?" Helena bit down hard on her lip thinking about what was going on just moments before. "That's my girl," Jeffrey laughed.

This was too crazy for Myka.

"Mr.?" and Myka hesitated.

"Tesla," Jeffrey reminded her.

"Nicola?" Myka asked.

"One of his heirs," Jeffrey smiled.

"Of…course," Myka said and shook her head. She was certain that had something to do with this after the way Helena reminisced so fondly about Nicola. The guilty look on Helena's face confirmed it.

Helena had been so taken aback by the events, and then worried at Myka's reaction, that she forgot to take charge. Myka's dead stare reminded her.

"Jeffrey, I am sorry, but you cannot return here. We are through and have been for quite some time darling. I will have the maid look for your ring and send it to you. Jeffrey, Myka and I are together now. We are a couple and I have never been happier," Helena said taking Myka's hand.

"Oh dear," the man said very civilly. "Really?"

"Yes, Jeffrey," Helena said. "She's my One," and he had no idea of the significance of that.

"Well then, could I collect my things and leave tomorrow? I do have this dinner date," he said smiling. "I shall leave the key with the maid tomorrow."

Helena nodded yes.

"Well, Ms. Bering it was a pleasure to meet you. You are a very lucky woman," he said taking Myka's other hand and kissing it. "She's an absolute tiger…," he said trying to commiserate with Myka.

"Jeffrey!" Helena screamed at him.

"Oh sorry, no disrespect," he said to Myka and went to kiss Helena, but she retreated quickly.

And with that the dashing Englishman who shared a torrid weekend with Helena, left. He was almost out the door when something caught his eye. He picked up the metal cuffs and turned to Helena.

"You really have been naughty, Helena," he said and smiled at the two of them.

Myka's face exploded with crimson. She fixed her gaze at him and then turned her head completely around slowly back to Helena. Myka was caught in a cloud of confusion.

"Well," Helena said looking around. "I'm glad that's over." Then she sheepishly looked at Myka.

"This is so not over, Helena," Myka said dashing her hopes.

"Oh Myka, don't let a little thing like this ruin…," and Helena pointed back to the spot where Myka had been so ….spontaneous.

"Let's go, Helena," Myka said a mixture of disappointment and impatience. 'This is what I get for being spontaneous!' she said to herself as she got back on the private elevator.

Helena took a deep breath, never one to back down from a challenge. Of course, this challenge was holding the door for her and looking quite upset. Helena walked towards her with her coat and bag.

"Leave them, please," Myka said of the policeman's handcuffs that were on the table and she immediately put them back down.

The silence in the car was unbearable for Helena. This was not the way the evening was supposed to go.

"Myka please let me explain. I have wanted to tell you everything, but it never seemed like the right time and I am sorry," Helena said when they turned onto Central Park West.

"I know, Helena," Myka said too tired to discuss it. She pulled up in front of the townhouse. It stood there in stark contrast to the apartment she just left. Even from the street, this place radiated warmth.

"Let's go in and we'll talk about it over tea," Helena said as if the topic was going to be the weather.

"No, I think I'll go home," Myka said and her words stung Helena. She had hoped Myka was feeling like this place was her home.

"Oh Myka, please let me explain – again," Helena said because she thought she had done a good job the first time. Helena was not a fan of repetition. "It was a weekend affair, Myka. He's a lovely man and we met when I was working on the Nicola Tesla exhibit. Jeffrey fell in love in a short time and proposed. Ridiculous, I know. I told him no immediately. He was leaving and I thought that was the end of it. If I had any idea he was back, I would never have brought you there," Helena said and almost got it right.

"You would have never brought me there? Or you would have told me about him?" the expert inquirer asked.

"Pardon?" Helena asked confused by the line of questioning. "No, I wouldn't have brought you there, and yes, I would have told you," she said sorting it out.

"OK, Helena. I'm not mad really, just a little surprised to say the least. Not what I expected after being …spontaneous," Myka pointed out. Her voice sounded forgiving.

"Oh I know, darling and you were …incredible… at being ..spontaneous," Helena said unbuckling her seatbelt and moving in closer. "Incredible," she repeated. Myka smiled in response, but was still harboring some feelings over the whole incident.

"Yes, well it didn't quite go the way I thought it would," Myka said.

"Nor I believe me, but why don't you come inside and …," Helena said.

"Helena, would you mind? I'm really tired and I have an early morning meeting …," Myka said.

"Oh, of course," Helena said trying to hide the hurt. Helena knew Myka was holding back on what she really felt and thought and it frustrated her that she couldn't get at it.

"How do you know your friend is actually going to leave this time?" Myka asked – the real issue coming up.

"I will make sure Jeffrey leaves if it's the last thing I do," she promised. "I will ask Pete to take care of it for me first thing tomorrow," she added to make sure Myka knew she wasn't going to speak to him herself.

"Ok," Myka said and kissed Helena goodnight. She knew Helena was disappointed, but Myka found it incredibly hard to sort out her feelings when those pouting lips and puppy dog eyes were staring at her. If she stayed, she would have given in and she just didn't want to. Myka went home, lecturing herself the entire time to give Helena time. In her heart, she trusted Helena to be truthful, but at the same time – she knew there was a lot of ground to cover when talking about Helena's past.

"No bloody way to treat the Woman of the Year, if you ask me," Helena grumbled to herself as she came in the door and discarded her clothing and plaque. She quickly changed into pants and a t shirt and proceeded to work out on her boxing bag in the basement. Helena started out slow, but the more she thought about the evening events and how disappointed she was, the harder she hit the bag. Finally a text from Myka arrived, telling her she was home and going to take a shower.

'Probably a cold one, poor dear.' Helena thought.

One of the things Myka didn't grasp yet was that Helena had been a trained agent at one point in her life. So in spite of Myka asking her not to go for runs in Central Park at night, Helena felt safe when she did. That is where Helena headed after getting Myka's text. She greeted two cops who were walking the perimeter of the park and went on her way. An hour or so later, she was back in her townhouse, letting the hot water pulsate on her back to relieve the tension that the run did not accomplish. She kept checking her messages until finally Myka texted again.

"Hello darling," Helena said when she called, wrapping herself in a towel. "I miss you," she added.

"Me too, sweetie," Myka said, the exhaustion evident in her voice.

They talked for a little while and then Myka said she was going to bed and said good night.

Helena had never dealt with a situation like this before. She had never been in relationship where the other person had the upper hand and right now, Myka did. Helena knew she was unsure of what to do – so she reached out to the people she trusted most. Pete, Claudia, Eileen and Mrs. Frederic all received texts saying there was an emergency meeting the next morning. Surely there was a way to make this better.

Myka picked up the newspaper with the headline about Helena and tossed it in the garbage. "Angel to her devilish ways! Who writes this stuff?' Myka said disgruntled. One of the first things Myka told Helena was that her job description did not include cleaning up her messes. Helena sure made a lot of them.

Myka shut the lights and went to bed. Sleep would evade her as she tossed and turned – caught somewhere between missing Helena and being annoyed at her. Helena slept well because, in her mind, she had found the solution. She called Pete and told him a friend was staying in the Penthouse, but he had to be out by tomorrow. She asked him to stop by in the morning. Again he used his 'make him an offer he can't refuse' imitation and again, Helena said yes. He promised he would stop there before the emergency meeting tomorrow to make sure Jeffrey was on his way.

Pete wouldn't be the only one looking for him.

So good to see y'all again. As you can see - I am a person of little patience.
Sorry if I confused you - Jaime will be 'here', but I will not be lucky enough to see her.
Hope some of you do though.

omg - I hope you're finding this story entertaining but for some real laughs and amazing writing - READ THE POSTS
Some of the funniest people i have ever had the pleasure to meet write comments on these chapters. so funny.