Phenomenal Woman (Maya Angelou)
Helena woke up early the next morning for the sole purpose of watching Myka sleep. When Myka stirred, Helena would stroke her face and lull her back into her jet lagged slumber. Finally, Myka couldn't resist being awake with Helena anymore and fought off the sleep.
"That was the best welcome home reception I've ever received," Myka smiled, stretched, and fell back into Helena's body, her head resting on Helena's chest.
"Why don't you take today off and rest?" Helena suggested, kissing Myka's head and playing with her curls. Had it only been a few days that Myka was away? It felt longer to the Brit who couldn't stop staring at Myka's features.
"No, I want to go to work with you," Myka mumbled. Then in thinking over the previous night, realized she had to check on their newest members. "Have you heard from Mr. Generis?" Myka asked, as she kissed Helena and got up slowly.
"No, but I texted Claudia the instructions to alter his program so I'm not worried," Helena said, missing Myka next to her already.
"I better check on the puppy. We need to name him," Myka said, bending down to kiss Helena again because she knew that look.
"That reminds me, I must make the seller whole this morning. And apologize to the owner of the Jaguar automobile that I am certain has dog hair all over it," Helena said, rising gradually.
"I think I'm going to have an easier time training our dog than you are Mr. Generis," Myka said as she threw on sweatpants and a gray Colorado University t shirt. It was the article of clothing that made Helena feel saintly - for not having it destroyed…by fire.
"Mine is programmable," Helena smiled back.
"Mine is adorable, Myka teased.
"Mine can spell adorable …in twenty languages," Helena quipped, enjoying the back and forth with Myka.
"Mine is…. more adorable," Myka laughed, getting the last word on the subject.
The two new additions were distracting the engaged couple so that other updates were being sidelined.
Myka was sitting on the floor with the puppy in her arms who was so excited to see her. It was as if he instinctively knew she was his owner. "Yes, I am excited to see you, too. Did you have a good first night in your new home? Thank you, Leena, for walking him," Myka said, as she let him sit in between her folded legs.
"Oh, it was my pleasure," Leena said of the adorable pup.
Myka was playing with him when she looked up to see Helena coming into the room in an outfit that seemed to reflect all the lights. "Wow," Myka uttered.
Helena was dressed in a gorgeous Mary Katrantzou ensemble of pastel colors that echoed her cheery mood. The sleeveless metallic jacquard dress had a jewel neckline with a fitted bodice and pouf skirt. The designer's signature use of prints and trompe l'oeil resulted in a light blue background with metallic copper geometric designs on the forefront. Helena's opened-toed shoes matched the design in color. Over it, she wore the designer's complimentary Sunset Cookie Cutter jacquard coat in pink. It looked amazing on Helena, whose dark locks cascaded down the coat.
"Oh my God, Helena, that's beautiful," Myka said. Not even in Los Angeles did anyone dress quite the way Helena did.
"Thank you," Helena said and looked down at the tea Leena had prepared. There was no backing out now. She put the cup to her mouth and let the liquid coat her lips as she smiled.
"Doesn't she look pretty? Yes, she does, I know," Myka said to the canine who jumped in her arms as she spoke. "No jumping on Helena, okay?" Myka said.
"He wouldn't dare," Helena said, not having thought about the unruly behavior of the young dog.
"Oh this is going to be good," Leena said, under her breath. "Do you want me to find a trainer?" she asked Myka sincerely.
"I guess we should go to obedience school, right Helena?" Myka asked, assuming this would be a joint effort.
"Why would I go to obedience school? I'm not the one who can't control himself," Helena said, gently pushing the cup of tea across the island while looking the other way.
Myka smiled because she knew this act of feigning that the tea passed her lips was killing Helena. She got up and kissed Helena on the cheek saying – "Yes, you're doing so well, Helena."
There were a few more hugs with the puppy and Leena promised to research the lessons, the food, and a vet. Myka rushed upstairs to get dressed.
"So the android stole a car, stole a dog, and spent the night in jail?" Leena asked, no time for the long version.
"Yes, although I prefer the term borrowed a car," Helena said, calling the owner on her cell.
"And none of this surprises me," Leena said, shaking her head.
Myka donned one of her business attire suits in navy with a pink blouse. It paled in comparison to Helena's outfit, but Myka was perfectly okay with that. She was just pleased that the suits were still there and Helena hadn't confiscated them in her absence.
Pete hadn't seen Helena so eager for work all week. It was nice driving both women to work, he thought.
"Boss, Jane said we can pick Sui up this morning. Do you want me to go get him?" Pete asked. "He's being released with a one thousand dollar fine."
"One thousand dollars?" the Brit asked disbelievingly. She had just offered to have the Jaguar car completely cleaned so that no charges would be filed against him.
"Jane said for babysitting him," Pete added, but didn't look in the rear view mirror.
"Of all the bloody..," Helena started, but Myka reached over and gently patted her thigh.
"Small price considering," Myka suggested. That one touch was enough to quiet the annoyance Helena would have otherwise spewed forth.
"So good to have you back," Pete whispered to Myka as she got out. He knew that could have been a very different conversation had she not been there. He left them to go retrieve the android.
Myka smiled her thanks and went into the building with Helena where the trained ear could have heard the collective sigh of relief. Helena kissed Myka as she got off on the 16th floor to the shout of Millie who rushed at her boss to welcome her back. Helena got off the elevator on her floor to silence and vacancy. There was no one at the desk. Helena walked toward her office and was startled by the fact that she could – once again – see right through the door.
"You really need to get that changed," Irene said, coming out of the kitchen area. "Tea?"
"I doubt that very highly," Helena said, looking down at the cup. "Where is….?" The CEO asked.
"She asked for a transfer. To another company," Irene said and pushed open the glass door for Helena.
"So am I simply to greet my guests myself?" Helena asked, following the woman inside.
"My other two candidates aren't answering their phones. Would this have anything to do with that?" Irene asked - the papers already spread out on Helena's desk.
"Petty Theft for Puppy Love" – read the New York Post. "Wells Corp Going to the Dogs?" read the New York Daily News.
"I want whoever came up with those headlines fired," Helena said and quickly added, "Where is Miss Sullivan?"
"You can't fire people who don't work for Wells Corp, hard as you try, and Eileen is working in the mail room this week. Per your request," Irene said, sipping her tea. "I usually enjoy coffee, but I see the attraction," she smiled. "How did your android make out last night?"
"I have no idea. I am assuming Ms. Donovan programmed him not to share his personal information as instructed," Helena replied.
"How is Myka?" Irene asked and could see the soft smile return to Helena's face.
"She's magnificent. I did miss her," Helena mused, looking at her picture on the phone.
"Yes, I know," Irene smiled because the entire City knew that. "Well, I'll give you time to get settled in and be back to go over your strategy for hiring a new assistant."
"My strategy? Isn't that your job?" Helena asked, staring at the woman.
"Oh, well I just thought maybe you would like to try your hand at it since you summarily dislike anyone I choose," Irene said, leading Helena to where she wanted her.
"Don't be ridiculous," Helena protested, pushing the papers towards Irene to take away. "And to prove you wrong – something you would think I'd grow tired of, but never seem to - I will agree to the next individual you put out there."
"Deal," Irene said, before Helena could back away from it. "In the meantime, I'll have someone sit out there temporarily."
"As you wish," Helena agreed.
Artie had come to Myka about the cash needed to get Sui released. Like every other staff member she dealt with that morning, Artie's request started out with – 'So good to have you back!' The cash was authorized and given to Pete to go and retrieve Sui, who by all accounts, had been the model prisoner overnight. Claudia had indeed refined his programs for personal disclosure and better energy consumption which slowed down the singing. The promise that Helena Wells would personally speak to the dog owner and the car owner thwarted off anyone pressing charges. Sui was free to go after the fine was paid.
"I learned a great many things during my prison stay," Sui shared with Pete when he was released that morning.
"Do I want to hear it?" Pete asked.
"There were a great many offenders housed in the same cell where I was. Many of them are despondent individuals driven to crime as a way to deal with their environments. I believe if given the chance, many would reform if they had the security of a job," Sui theorized.
"You probably have something there," Pete said as they drove back to work.
"I will ask Ms. Wells to hire them," Sui shared.
"Helena? Hire them? Not before she has her tea, okay buddy?" Pete suggested, the vision of ripped wires hanging out of the android giving him the shivers.
Irene knew what she needed to do and the first stop was to see Myka. Millie was practically walking on air that her boss was back. There was a basket of fresh baked mini-muffins that Myka protested would make her gain weight just looking at them. The aroma filled Myka's office and she couldn't resist.
"Welcome back, Myka," Irene said from the doorway and Myka waved her in. "How was your week?"
Millie left to get Irene some coffee to go with the muffin she knew she would eventually give in to.
"Mine was good. The question is, how was yours?" Myka asked, knowing fully well who bore the brunt of her absence.
"I had an addendum added to your employee contract," Irene said in a serious tone that was belied by the twinkle in her eye. Or at least Myka thought she was kidding until Irene slid the sheet of paper in front of her.
"Oh really?" Myka asked as they sat down. "You're altering it? To say what?"
"No vacations, unless you take her with you. No conferences, unless you take her with you. No sick days, unless you take her...with you. In fact, if you leave the building for long periods of time? You take her with you. It's pretty simple really," the HR Director smiled as she picked out a pastry and consumed it.
"Was it that bad?" Myka asked, because she knew she was speaking to the one other person on the planet who could handle Helena in a variety of situations.
"Not really," Irene said, looking at the muffins dreamily. "Sign it at the bottom," she said, waving a finger. Myka chuckled, but initialed it all the same.
"Thank you. The whole android thing kept her pretty busy," Irene said, taking the second muffin she had just promised herself she wouldn't have.
"He is really amazing, isn't he? I mean, aside from the car theft, dognapping, and jail stint," Myka laughed.
"Well, as usual, she fires first, aims second. Oh by the way, if you get a chance, could you visit Helena in her office? There's a little matter of something you said that might need to be cleared up," Irene said cryptically, taking the third and final muffin.
"Sure," Myka said, knowing the woman was being evasive for a reason.
"Thanks for this," Irene said, waving the signed paper.
The first day back for Myka always meant emails to go through, letters to answer, requests to respond to, and contracts to look over. It only took the morning because she had been working on things while she was away. Millie fielded the calls about the Wells Corp employee who spent the night in jail. She responded with no comment or that it was a misunderstanding and the matter was being handled at the highest level at Wells Corp.
At that moment, while Helena was upstairs listening with great patience to the dog owner go on and on about how upset they were to have one of their dogs stolen, the released bandit was downstairs waving to the crowd of reporters.
"You're not shy, are you?" Pete said, hustling him into the building.
"Ms. Wells programmed me to be proud of my accomplishments," Sui reported.
"I think that program might need a little tweaking," Pete muttered to himself.
Myka finally decided a break was in order and what better way to distract herself than to visit Helena. She was about to do so when she ran into Claudia and Eileen, on their way out to lunch. Eileen explained that she had only gotten to bring Helena her tea a short time ago. "I guess she didn't realize that I would be on scheduled breaks when I worked in other departments," Eileen said, who spent every one of the breaks making sure Helena had everything she needed. "I do hope they find her someone good," Eileen said sincerely.
"You're the only one who didn't ask me not to go away and leave Helena alone," Myka said to the Director of IT.
"Are you kidding? We had the most fun! Up till all hours writing programs and installing chips and boards. Did you know he knows twenty languages?" Claudia said, proud of her part in his creation. "Working with Helena…..," the techie trailed off with the biggest grin on her face. Eileen believed it was that time alone with Helena that Claudia enjoyed the most. "She's frakking brilliant."
"Yes, we know," Eileen smiled and hugged her girlfriend. "And so are you," she said, making Claudia blush.
Myka said goodbye and made her way upstairs. The first thing she noticed was the phone ringing off the hook. "Ms. Wells' office, please hold. Ms. Wells' office, yes she knows you're holding." the temporary receptionist was saying.
Then Myka looked at the door – the very large – glass - door ahead of her. She could …see Helena behind the large desk on the phone. Myka did something she never did before – she waved at Helena from the waiting area. The administrative assistant was too busy to notice that Myka walked in when Helena signaled for her to come inside. Helena got up from behind the desk so that she could meet Myka halfway across the large room.
"Helena?" Myka said looking back at the door as she walked in. As soon as she turned to look at Helena, Helena's lips were already there waiting to kiss her.
"Oh I have missed you," Helena said, staying in very close proximity of Myka's mouth. Helena licked Myka's lip gloss off her own lips and swallowed.
Myka watched Helena's tongue sweep her lips and was completely distracted until she remembered …. "What is …with the ..door?" Myka asked, suddenly feeling like they were in the proverbial fishbowl.
"It's…what I thought….. you wanted," Helena said, slightly perplexed now, "…but perhaps I took you too literally."
Myka turned again to look at the clear door and it finally clicked. "Oh! My speech? When I said we should replace glass ceilings with glass doors?" Myka asked to be sure.
"Yes, I thought you wanted me…so that day….," Helena tried to describe.
Myka couldn't explain it, but the fact that her genius fiancée could be so literal at times and miss the forest for the trees, was completely and utterly endearing to her. She knew Helena had done it out of love in an effort to give Myka what she wanted.
"Oh Helena," Myka said, pulling the Brit into her and kissing her again. "I really appreciate that you were willing to do that because I suggested it," Myka said, seeing the thoughtfulness in the action. Still, she could see Helena's uncomfortableness with it. "Helena, I know you went to a lot of trouble, but do you think we could ….you know…put the other door back?" Myka asked nonchalantly.
"You want the other door …but I thought it was glass doors and open doors and transparency from the top down," Helena said, getting confused.
"Helena, the only transparency from the top down that I am really interested in," Myka said, slowly running her index finger down the front of Helena's dress, "…is on you." Myka finished her sentence just as her finger stopped at Helena's waist.
"Oh…..," Helena said and nothing followed.
Myka was diligently aware of how the power of touch affected Helena. She had made it her personal mission to make up for Helena's years of being locked away, without contact with another human being. "Let's put the other door back, okay? We'll leave the clarity to our policies," Myka clarified.
"Oh good," Helena said, grateful to be getting her door back.
As instructed by Jane and every other person at the precinct, Pete delivered Sui to a person who would keep an eye on him. Mrs. Frederic thanked Pete for delivering him directly to her.
"Is Ms. Wells very upset with me?" Sui asked the HR Director as he sat in her office. He wondered why he wasn't taken directly to Helena and thought perhaps this was the reason. "I know sometimes when people are called into your office, they are being terminated, but I do not have a position at Wells Corp," Sui reasoned.
"Mr. Generis, that is about to change," Irene said, smiling broadly. "I have found the perfect position for a person of your abilities."