I hope this background info ties into Part I when Myka frequently revisited her high school memories.


Hell In A …..

Myka fell blissfully asleep next to Helena, but soon her mind was busy rummaging through old memories. Helena felt the slightest tremor when Myka reached a tender recollection. Their emotional exchange that occurred meant Helena didn't have to guess what Myka was feeling. She knew it had to do with Myka's painful adolescence when suddenly her younger sister surpassed her in all things social.


Once the sisters were in the same school building, it became evidently clear which one was the social butterfly. Myka had always prided herself on being the good student who brought home good grades. It wasn't until she hit high school did she start to realize there were more things to being happy than straight A's. The social scene that Myka tried to ignore seemed to take hold of everyone she knew. Her friends, who she always thought were level headed, were doing things now just to get invited to parties. It was dawning on Myka that the great divide was happening, and everyone she thought was her friend, was on the other side.

When Myka entered high school, she decided to try out for the fencing team. Her parents had no idea what the sport was and worried she'd get stabbed with the weapon. Jeannie wanted her to do a real sport, like cheerleading. Tracy informed her that girls who weren't extremely thin, should never wear all white. Did Tracy really think she was helping? Myka tried like hell to give her the benefit of the doubt. When that didn't work, she just ignored her. But Tracy was hard to ignore when she started high school - she simply stood out in the crowd due to her good looks and popularity.

Myka went from being the girl who got straight A's and was on the Varsity fencing team, to being Tracy's sister. Tracy's older sister. Guys, who had ignored Myka for years, now begged her to sit at their table just so they could ask Myka to ask Tracy if she'd go out with them. It was hard for Myka to reconcile that the person who was upsetting her world the most, was the same person who constantly tried to help her. To be fair, Myka thought, their mother had a lot to do with it. Jeannie Bering always preached 'go with your strengths' to her daughters. When she worried Myka was so unsuccessful at dating, she decided Myka's strength might just lie in her sister.

"Oh let her help you, Myka," Jeannie would say as if Myka were insulting Tracy if she refused a blind date. It was no wonder Myka never knew if her feelings were right or wrong. Every time she stood up for herself, someone told her she just stepped on someone else's toes and should apologize.

All that training led her straight to Sam Marino. Finally, Tracy thought her years of training paid off. Finally, Myka got a man on her own. Tracy felt proud of her sister for learning so much. Jeannie loved the idea of Sam more than Sam himself. Given Myka's track record, she honestly believed this was the best Myka would do. She just didn't seem interested in pursuing a husband. He may have been rough around the edges, but at least he was there. She never imagined that Myka would end up with curves instead of edges.

"Maybe it's a phase," Jeannie said to Tracy after visiting Myka.

"Mom, that's a phase in college, not in your thirties," the worldly daughter explained. Unlike her older sister, Tracy had no issues with leaving home to go to away to college. When she returned, she was armed with even more lessons to impart to her sister.


When the Berings returned and told Tracy that Myka seemed happier than she ever was before, Tracy decided there might be more to this than either of her parents could see. Even when her father returned, singing Helena's praises, Tracy was unconvinced. She believed the celebrity was simply charming them, the way she charmed all those men she read about. 'Funny, I never read about her being with another woman,' Tracy thought and then decided she better go see if Myka was Helena's experiment.

Tracy had fallen asleep sorry she hadn't talked more about Myka that night. After all, that really was why she was there. She was laid off and she was having trouble with Kevin, but as Pastor Greg always said – to lift yourself out of troubles, help someone else in more trouble than you. It had been Tracy's experience that Myka always was worse off than she was, so she headed east to help her.


When Myka woke up the next morning, her first expression was a frown because Helena was not right next to her. She hated that. She could hear Helena's voice and it was calm. Within seconds, as if sensing Myka was awake, Helena emerged from the interior of the closest. Helena greeted Myka warmly, sitting on the bed, leaning in to kiss her.

"Is it late?" Myka asked because Helena was already dressed. Myka ran her hand up Helena's bare arm. She paused when she felt the embellished golden cuff on the short sleeved Alexander McQueen scuba black sheath dress that fit Helena like a glove. Myka slipped her finger through the slit between the embroidery cuff and the sleeve and continued to touch Helena's skin there.

"No, I was up early for a call," Helena said as Myka moved her hand to the low square neckline and let her fingers graze, dipping down to touch Helena's breast.

Lost in that reverie, it took Myka a minute to consider that her sister was loose in the house. "Tracy?" she asked, getting up quickly, but Helena caught her shoulders.

"She's fine. She's having coffee with Leena in the kitchen," Helena assured Myka.

"Oh good," Myka said, lying back down for a minute. "Where was I?" Myka asked.

"I believe you were just giving me a reason to be late for work," Helena said, reaching out and slipping her hand under Myka's pajama top.


With plenty of time to spare, Helena and Myka eventually joined Leena and Tracy in the kitchen.

"Wow, Myka that is a beautiful outfit," Tracy said of her sister's Hugo Boss pink Dalota stretch dress. It was sleeveless with a high rounded neck and shaping seams that accentuated Myka's soft curves. "She never dressed this well," was the first thing Tracy said that made Helena take a deep breath.

"Good morning," Myka said. "Leena, I see you met my sister, Tracy," Myka said with an apologetic tone.

"Oh yes, I have," Leena said, as she walked out of the room. Myka loved that the woman could say an entire paragraph using just her tone .

"Myka, we really need to talk, so when can we do that? Can you get the day off? Oh I guess – I should direct that question to you," Tracy said, realizing Helena was right there.

"Ms. Bering is in charge of her own schedule. Contrary to what the popular ill-informed opinion might be, her boss is not a control freak," Helena smiled as she looked at Myka.

"Oh," Tracy said, still not getting Helena's humor.

"What am I going to do?" Myka thought out loud.

"I'll go to work with you," Tracy said, already dressed and more than interested in seeing where Myka worked.

"Oh, work? With me? Now?" Myka asked. There was nothing she liked about it.

"I think it's a splendid idea," Helena said, putting the tea cup to her lip, but not drinking it. There was only so much discomfort she could stand in a day.

"Are those from Zappos?" Tracy asked excitedly when she looked down at Helena's Gianvito Rossi suede and mesh point-toe pumps.

"I cannot fathom ever doing business with a place that has 'zap' in its name," Helena said distastefully.

"Really, you should try them. They have free shipping both ways," Tracy informed her hostess.

"Free shipping both ways?" Helena asked Myka, confused with the term.

"Helena doesn't do returns," Myka said, biting her lip. God, how she loved that common place jargon was lost on her oh so uncommon girlfriend.

Leena returned from the dining room with a tray that contained the very dishes Helena had said she would retrieve the night before. Helena looked at the items and then at Myka who was already staring back. "I was distracted," Helena said defensively, even though Myka hadn't spoken a word.


The women donned their coats and went outside to the car. Pete was a new man – his chipper demeanor returned.

"Pete, this is my sister, Tracy," Myka introduced them.

"Wow, good looks just run in your family don't they, Ms. Bering," Pete said and made Myka smile.

Helena stopped at the car door. Myka had entered, then her sister. Helena wasn't used to having anyone in the back of the car, let alone sitting between her and Myka. In spite of the roominess of the back seat, anything between them was annoying.

"Remember this, Mr. Lattimer," Helena said sighing and accepting the situation. Pete held the door open waiting for her. "No good deed goes unpunished." With that, the Brit got into the back of the car.

"Tracy, switch with me. You'll want to look out the window," Myka said quickly before Pete started the car. The rearrangement only took a minute. Myka sat there telling Tracy what the sights were that she was seeing, as she put her hand on Helena's knee and squeezed it. Helena was more relaxed now and looked at her phone.

"Yes?" Helena said when a call came in. "Ms. Cummings, how difficult can this be? If they don't like the offer, increase it. Yes, call me back," Helena said into the phone.

Myka watched as Helena put her phone back in her Prada bag. She noticed an odd-looking bulge in the pocketbook. Then she thought back to the tray that Leena carried in. Her eidetic memory told her one item was missing and now she had a sneaking suspicion why. "Busy day today?" she asked Helena softly.

"Not as busy as yours is going to be," Helena smiled from behind dark sunglasses.


The women got out at the Wells Corp building and the chatter of Tracy describing the hustle and bustle of Times Square and of Manhattan in general did not let up. "Dad says a murder happens every six minutes here, " she said, and Helena looked down at her Rolex. Myka suppressed the laugh that was begging to get out at that gesture and coughed instead.

"Why don't we do lunch?" Helena said when the elevator stopped at the 16th floor.

"Unless they're attending your departmental luncheon in the dining room, you are not free," Irene said instead of greeting her boss. She was waiting to go upstairs to see Helena when the woman appeared before her in the elevator.

"Were you waiting around to spring that news on me?" Helena barked and Tracy jumped.

"Took the early train just so I could be here special," Irene said, unfazed.

"Mrs. Frederic, this is my sister, Tracy. Tracy, this is our HR Director, Mrs. Frederic," Myka said.

"It's a pleasure," Irene said as she stepped into the lion's den and took the elevator up with Helena.


"You know they say she makes people cry," Tracy said continuing to update her sister on the gossip columns.

Myka went to snap at her sister for repeating that trash when she remembered back to that very thing.

"Not anymore," Myka said.

She introduced her to Millie who appeared friendly until Myka's door closed. An APB went out over the groups messaging system that Myka's sister was in the building.

"All things good on the Security front," Pete's assistant Kelly reported after hearing him whistling on the way to his office.

"Wait for it …," Mrs. Frederic's assistant Sandy said because she knew where her boss was headed.

Eileen was standing up at her desk when Helena came off the elevator with Irene.

"You can't just buy a company, Helena," Irene was saying already exasperated by the 45 second ride.

"Of course I can," Helena assured her. "Good morning, Ms. Sullivan. Please make a note that you have luncheon plans," her boss said without explaining it. Eileen nodded and immediately cancelled lunch with Claudia. Then she went in to get the tea that had been steeping, lifting the teabag out without squeezing it.

"Helena, companies are not like shoes that you can return if you don't like them," Irene pointed out.

"Free shipping both ways," Helena said – putting the phrase with the analogy and still coming up short. Eileen placed the cup of perfectly brewed tea down in front of her.

"I just don't understand you sometimes," Irene complained as Helena sat at her desk.

"Of course you don't. You are of above average intelligence at best," Helena said.

Irene stared at Helena, unhappy there was no time to address that remark. Eileen understood it and immediately looked at Irene to see how she would take it.

"You might want to bring gauze bandages to that luncheon, Miss Sullivan," Irene said.