It is so good to hear from so many of you!
Thank you for returning and coming along.
The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls (Henry Wadsworth Longfellow)
Myka took one last look over her notes as she sat at the large round table in the over-sized ballroom at the Ritz Hotel in Los Angeles. The gesture was more to calm her nerves than to refresh her eidetic memory which, by its definition, needed no such thing. She took a sip from the goblet of iced water on the table and smiled as people took their seats next to her. There were three speakers at the morning's symposium and Myka was scheduled to go third. "We saved the best for last," the moderator told her.
Myka's butterflies had more to do with the topic of her talk than speaking in front of the large room of lawyers. Simply put – corporate transparency – or the practice of a company to disclose its financial and operational information openly – was not a popular topic. Too often a company could hide whatever information it wanted in creative accounting or by simply not making it public. It could result in mismanagement, corruptions, environmental damage, health and safety problems, economic instability, and human rights violations. All of these issues were the things that Myka wanted to champion against.
Myka felt Wells Corp was the model for success in maintaining transparency. Held to the strictest measures in each area, Wells Corp excelled at disclosure. Most companies agreed it was an important issue, but few were willing to make sure that it became standard practice. Myka was hoping to change that with her speech.
Myka sat there waiting her turn, when she remembered what a favorite law professor told her. He was seemingly very tough on her in her first year at law school, more so on her it seemed than anyone else in the class. Finally, Myka gathered up her nerve to tell him that she felt he had been unreasonably hard in grading a mock trial that she had participated in. Her voice was shaky as she confronted the man she respected. She anticipated hearing his brilliant defense, but all he said was – "I'm glad you finally noticed, Bering. It took you long enough." He explained that his job was to exploit the weaknesses in his students' skills so they could improve. "But," he said – "you, Bering, have excellent skills. You just don't know it. I can see right through you. You don't believe in yourself enough, and if you don't, you'll never convince anyone else to believe in what you're saying."
Myka did eventually learn to trust her skills and herself – in court. She did it by believing in what she was saying. That came easier to Myka when she was doing pro bono work for the downtrodden who needed someone on their side. Now she was in corporate law – considered to be the most boring by some in the profession. But Myka needed a change and that is how she came to apply for a job unlike any she had ever dreamed of. Working at Wells Corp she soon learned, was going to test all of her legal skills. The company was involved in so many areas, that Myka oversaw departments that handled everything from patents to intellectual rights to contracts.
The only concern Myka had once she had accepted the job, was that she would miss doing individual legal representation, but she soon discovered that her boss brought her into the courtroom many times. Myka once joked that she didn't have to worry about work piling up when she was away on vacation because the single most cause of her work – was with her.
Myka waited patiently while the speaker before her took the stage. She looked down at the brochure and saw her name embossed in large letters. "How did I get so fortunate as to be here?" she thought to herself as a smile crept over her face.
Myka didn't always know she wanted to be a lawyer, but the telltale signs were there. While her teenage peers held their hairbrushes and lip-synced their favorite songs into the mirror, a young Myka Bering put on her father's Sunday suit jacket, rolled up the sleeves, carried her school bag like a brief case and argued for women's rights, equal pay, and other social causes of her day in an imaginary courtroom. Once, when she was fourteen, she prepared her defense for the passing of the Family Medical Leave Act before the Supreme Court. In actuality, the bill had been passed, but Myka Bering staged her mock debate with none other than the nine Supreme Court Justices. She put placards with their names on them on her dresser and walked back and forth looking at them as she expounded on the merits of the bill. With her mother calling – then yelling – that dinner was ready, Myka frantically addressed the Justices pleading with them to see the importance of the policy that would afford workers time off for family caretaking. Finally, as Myka talked faster and faster and her mother sent her sibling up to get her, she forgot to breathe. Just as Tracy Bering opened the door to her older sibling's room, Myka's lack of oxygen caught up with her and she fell back onto the bed.
Surveying the setup from the doorway, Tracy shook her head. "You're so weird. Supper's ready," was all she said.
Myka caught her breath, stood up, and accepted the nod of congratulations from the imaginary Justice who bore a resemblance to Ruth Bader Ginsberg. "Thank you," she said softly to her audience and accepted the congratulatory handshakes from the invisible people in the courtroom.
"Don't say that, Tracy!" Myka heard her mother whisper as she made her way down the stairs.
"All I'm saying is if she didn't act so strange, maybe the kids would like her," her younger sibling offered.
That night many years ago was a microcosm of the elder sibling's life. Myka rarely had anyone on her side and she never really felt understood. Until Helena. Myka never felt so accepted, so adored in all her life. It was easier to feel confident about the reflection of herself in Helena's admiring eyes. But the Brit wouldn't let Myka just ride the wave of her belief in her. She pushed Myka to believe in herself.
Life with Helena was amazing on so many levels.
This was Myka's first trip away from her fiancée since they became engaged, and she was amazed at how Helena occupied her thoughts throughout the day. She wished Helena could be there, but knew if she were, she'd have a hard time concentrating. Helena was her favorite distraction.
A part of Myka also wished her family could see her, even if they wouldn't understand why her talk on Corporate Transparency was going to receive a standing ovation. She had no way of knowing that at that very moment, an IT team was at the Bering home in Colorado Springs setting up a large screen TV that would allow them to connect and watch their daughter. They said they heard Myka speak plenty of times, but Helena insisted. "It's not the content you need to understand, Mr. and Mrs. Bering," Helena explained. "It's the fact that your daughter's hard work has earned her a spot on this prestigious agenda."
They relented because they already knew their daughter's fiancée wouldn't take no for an answer. "She's pretty stubborn," Warren Bering complained more than once as cables were adeptly installed.
Back in New York, employees were coming into the auditorium that would soon broadcast Myka's speech. Myka's assistant, Millie, whose culinary skills were second only to her administrative skills, supplied dessert for the gathering. There were small baked pastries with fruit fillings which were playfully labeled 'fruit torts". Then there were baked cookies in the shape of boxer shorts labeled 'briefs', and then dozens of cupcakes with the "Scale of Justice" logo on them. The legal themed pastries in honor of her boss were a big hit.
The amphitheater was packed with employees talking and checking to see who had the closest bet so far for the new Administrative Assistant's length of employment. She had made it to lunchtime it seemed, and the pool was getting smaller.
"Watch this," Claudia nudged her girlfriend and newly promoted director, Eileen Sullivan, as they approached the table with the goodies on them.
"These are delicious," Sui Generis said to the woman who had spent all night baking.
"Why thank you very much," said Millie and offered him a napkin. "Would you like another?" The man gladly accepted the pastry.
"I think Millie's in love," Claudia smiled as she watched the exchange.
"Ms. Donovan, everything alright?" Helena asked, observing the interaction.
"Yep," Claudia said as she looked down at her iPhone.
"Good," Helena said, smiled at everyone, and went to the front of the room and took her seat.
As soon as it was time, the connection was initiated and the ballroom at the Ritz in Los Angeles appeared. Helena looked down at her phone and texted 'I love you' to Myka.
Myka felt her phone vibrate and looked down to see the message from Helena. The smile came across Myka's face until her name was announced and the applause in the ballroom in Los Angeles was second only to the crowd back in New York who was cheering on their Chief Counsel.
The introduction was made and Myka took the stage and began her talk. She was going to tell the crowd of one thousand plus that workplace transparency is not a detriment to a company, but a benefit. Her talk would include suggestions for CEOs to remove the glass ceilings and instead have a glass door – a statement her boss was going to misinterpret.
An hour later, Myka closed with -
"Even at Wells Corp, where many of our ideas cannot be made public until the end result, our corporate due diligence is an open book. Our staff members know what we are doing, our investors are kept up to date on our progress, and the doors to many of our top executives are always open. It is time for us to reshape the corporate model to include disclosure as a part of our dialogue," Myka concluded.
Her fellow participants applauded as did the people in the Wells Corp room. All except Helena, who sat there in her private reverie as she stared at the image of the woman who was in her every thought.
Myka thanked her host and the other guests and took her seat. A short while later, as lunch was being served and after accepting congratulations from her fellow attorneys, Myka went outside to call Helena. Helena was back in her office now and her entire body melted into the excitement she felt when talking to her favorite Chief Counsel.
"You were wonderful!" Helena said and Myka thanked her.
"I miss you so much," Myka said as she smiled at people passing who gave her the thumbs up sign.
"When will you be home?" Helena asked even though she knew.
"Tomorrow night about nine o'clock," Myka said.
"I can meet you at the airport," Helena offered again, but Myka knew tomorrow night was the last of Helena's obligatory dinners with the Mayor.
"Let's just meet at home. Then we can both be done with our schedules and just be together," Myka said in a tone that made Helena bow her head and smile. "Remember, the longer the wait, the sweeter the kiss," Myka said and heard Helena let out a soft gasp. She couldn't wait for that kiss.
"I will be waiting," Helena said and they hung up. Helena twirled around in her leather chair, almost giddy at the thought of Myka's return.
Myka's eyes were glossed over as she bit her bottom lip and thought about tomorrow night. People were stopping to say how much they enjoyed her talk and brought Myka back from her musings.
"Excellent job, Ms. Bering," came a familiar voice, but Myka couldn't place him at first. "I see being hard on you paid off."
Myka looked and realized it was the man whose lecture in law school she had just reflected on that very morning.
"Professor Calvert!" Myka said and didn't know whether to shake his hand or hug him. He made the decision and pulled her in for a warm embrace.
"Great job, Myka. I have heard wonderful things about you and I'm happy to see they're all true," he said sincerely.
"What are you doing here?" Myka asked of the professor who taught in Colorado.
"I came here to see you," the man said, walking her over to the leather bench by the window. "I'm teaching at a law school back East now, " he said as they sat down next to one another.
"You're teaching back East and you came out West to talk to me?" Myka said, laughing.
"I thought it might be a good idea to speak to you …alone," the man said.
"Professor Calvert, I spend a lot of time in my office …in New York …..alone," she quickly pointed out and he laughed.
"Myka, I wanted to talk to you when you were away from….. your job in New York," he said and his expression became more serious.
"Professor Calvert, what could you possibly want to talk to me about that you needed me to be three thousand miles away from my office?" Myka asked perplexed. She was beginning to suspect it wasn't her geographic location that was the issue.
"We want you to come teach at Columbia Law School," the sixty year old man in the jacket with patches on the elbows said.
His statement made Myka pull back and sit up straight in her place. Teach? At one of the most prestigious law schools? "Professor….," she started to say, but he interrupted her and asked her to call him Mike.
"Myka, I know you enjoy your job at Wells Corp. But you have talent, and more importantly, passion. I still see that in you. You need to share that with people – not in board rooms, but in a classroom with some of the brightest young minds," he implored. "Think about where you can make the most impact, Myka. Making sure that corporate ledgers are transparent? Or sharing your desire with the next generation of lawyers?" he asked fervently.
Myka listened and felt a flurry of mixed emotions arise inside. Had he just reduced her entire speech on corporate transparency and deemed it unworthy?
"Professor, I mean Mike, thank you. I am honored, but I love my job at Wells Corp. I really do," Myka said.
He cast his eyes down. "I'm sure you do, Myka. I'm sure there's a lot of glamor in it. But promise me you'll think about it? You would be one of our youngest professors on staff. They don't invite just anyone, Myka," he said.
"I'm honored, really, Professor, but…," Myka tried again. "Glamor?" she said out loud, trying not to be insulted. Did he think she was doing this for the glamor?
"Think about it?" he asked again as he stood up and took Myka's hand in his. "I'll be in touch when you're back in New York."
Myka couldn't get home to Helena fast enough.