A/N Greetings - I have good reasons for the delay. I have some of the most wonderful readers who – when something catches their attention – they take the time out to share it with me. I can't thank them enough for that. More often than not, their instincts are spot on.

Case in point – Chapter 13. I totally missed a great opportunity to - not only give Bridget a great line – but also the chance to reveal more about her. So if Bridget is a character you like, I encourage you to reread the short exchange between her and Claudia in the elevator and then Bridget's comments to Eileen.

I also have some of the most knowledgeable readers in all kinds of fields. And they too are so gracious when coming to my aid to make something work within the story and be correct. I still may not get it perfect – trust me – but there are people out there trying really hard to make it right.

Thank you to all the Guests who have posted. There's no icon to click to thank you personally, so I will do it here.

And to "Anna" for telling me I hadn't screwed up Helena's Britishness – thank you for that. I do so appreciate it.

And to all who write and post and share – thank you. Seriously am available to all of you for pet sitting, babysitting, taking the car in for an oil change, and other forms of repayment for all your time and efforts. Sign up below.

Nobody Does It Better

Helena sat down in one of the soft leather chairs next to the one Eileen sat in. Helena turned hers so that she was facing her young assistant.

"I know you told me to go to Mrs. Frederic if I had any questions or problems, but I don't think she can help me with this and I don't mean that in a bad way, I just mean she's not in my situation, she's not like me, " Eileen said in one breath.

"No, she actually breathes when she speaks. Did something happen, Miss Sullivan?" Helena asked, steepling her long slender fingers in front of her.

"Yes, but Claudia will tell you about that, that's not my jurisdiction. But that's the problem. I made it my jurisdiction. I got all high and mighty on her and she's a Director of IT for God's sake! I had no right to question her, but I did. I sure did," Eileen continued, getting more excited as she spoke.

Helena pulled back just a little because she was certain the girl was going to jump out of her seat any second.

"Details at any point might help me to understand," Helena pointed out.

"I was at a meeting – a breakfast meeting and I questioned Claudia about an issue and I shouldn't have done that!" Eileen said. Helena's mouth opened, but she was too slow. "There's something else," Eileen said popping up from her seat and turning away from Helena.

Helena wanted to point out she didn't understand the first issue, but waited. "I find….," Eileen said from behind her chair now and slowly turned around to face Helena, "…sometimes I feel very …," and she lowered her voice as if someone might overhear, "…protective."

And she stopped.

Helena enjoyed a riddle as much as the next brilliant person, but this was a little thin on clues.

"Protective …of…," Helena tried and Eileen answered in a loud voice, "YOU!" Helena jumped a little in her seat. Eileen walked around and threw herself back in the chair, deflated. She hung her head down and covered her eyes with her hands.

Surely there was more to this, Helena thought, but the rant had ended.

"You feel you need to protect me?" Helena asked, almost amused at the thought. She was careful to seem very serious though in order to not offend her assistant.

"I think it's the blood, I really do," Eileen finally said.

"The blood?" Helena asked, again hoping for particulars.

"Your blood – Wells blood – coursing through my veins and making me think I can take on things and question people and worry that others are trying to hurt you or Wells Corp or …..," and she ran out of steam and started to take deep breaths. Helena remembered a similar feeling, but wasn't about to cure Eileen the way Myka cured her.

Helena reached over and took Eileen's hands in hers. "Miss Sullivan, I believe you are the living embodiment of what nature and nurture can do when working in harmony. Loyalty has been demonstrated for you at home, as well as stamped on your DNA. You're right. It is in your blood as well as your heart," Helena said. "And the fact that you feel you want to protect us means you have strength inside of you."

For as long as Eileen knew Helena, she had never felt her warm touch like this. Her voice was low and caring, her eyes calm and smiling, and her touch was sincere and firm. Eileen felt as if something radiated out from Helena and she was basking in it. She stared into dark pools and peacefulness came over her, even though she wasn't any clearer.

Helena knew – and Helena understood – and everything was going to be okay.

Eileen sat silently, motionless, not wanting anything to make this wonderful feeling disappear. Then she remembered the look on Claudia's face. She gently pulled her hands away from Helena's.

"I think I hurt Claudia," Eileen said slowly, wondering if she just crossed a boundary. Talking about work was one thing, personal things was another. She focused in on Helena's eyes, waiting for them to change. They didn't.

"How so, Miss Sullivan?" Helena asked.

"The reason I questioned her today was because I thought she wasn't on top of something. Something I decided was a threat to Wells Corp. I questioned not only her authority, I questioned her priority. You know, sometimes I make her rush out in the morning to work so I can be here early, and I make her stay late because I want to finish something. Or I leave on time and she works at home so we can leave together. I'm a terrible girlfriend," Eileen said.

Helena silently prayed for Myka to walk through the door now. She could do problem solving, human behavior modification even, but emotions spilling out were more Myka's thing. Myka wasn't there, and this was Helena's flesh and blood asking her for help.

"Miss Sullivan, I appreciate that I and this company are on your mind and in your heart. You have the opportunity to expand your responsibilities, and I expect that you will have a long tenure here should you choose it. But I promise you, if your work is all you have nurtured at the end of the day, your life….. and your bed will be wanting," Helena said slowly.

"I don't know what to do," Eileen repeated.

"Well first, you do not make Ms. Donovan do any of those things, dear. She chooses to do them because of you. She does them …for you," Helena pointed out. How many times did Myka bring work home because she wanted to leave with Helena?

"You're right and I paid her back by questioning her," Eileen said, realizing the full weight of her actions. "I have to make it up to her."

As far as Helena was concerned, Eileen was on her way to making amends. Eileen worried she was overstaying her welcome, so she got up to leave.

Helena was not quite done.

"Your loyalty to the firm does not give you carte blanche, Miss Sullivan. You must work very hard to get to a position that allows you to question one of my Directors," Helena put it bluntly, walking to her desk. It was confirmation that Eileen was wrong. "So of course, you will apologize to Ms. Donovan."

"I will, I know it was wrong. I shouldn't have done that," Eileen confessed and bit her lip.

"You're in a very difficult position, Miss Sullivan, on the precipice of launching yourself to do great things at Wells Corp," Helena said.

"How do you know that? I already screwed up," Eileen said and was met with a warm smile.

"And no doubt you will 'screw up' again. I am not sure if I am a good role model for you, but I am an excellent, albeit demanding, mentor. I think you've had enough time to think it over. I think it is time for you to embrace the opportunities being presented to you. We do not know our strengths unless we test them," Helena said. Her voice was still warm, but there was a more definite tone.

Something inside of Eileen knew Helena was right. It was time to begin.

"May I apologize to Ms. Donovan first?" Eileen said.

"Yes, I believe we have time enough for you to mend your errors. And as long as Ms. Donovan does not recommend firing you for insubordination, I think we can begin," Helena said –seriously. She could be sympathetic to Eileen's plight, but she wasn't about to reward it. She knew the woman had potential and was about to set things up so that Eileen would find her resolve.

Eileen's head shot up. Fired? Insubordination? She was right. "Thank you, Ms. Wells," Eileen said sincerely.

"Remember Miss Sullivan, loyalty is measured by conduct, not sentiment," Helena said because that was what she truly believed.

Eileen nodded her head and slowly went outside to her desk. She had thought Helena could tell her how to balance her love life with her work life. Maybe she had – by telling her to find the balance within. She was feeling better when Claudia appeared for her appointment with Helena.

"I want to apologize for questioning you. It was wrong and not my place. And if you want me fired, I will understand," Eileen said sticking her chin out and swallowing. If this was the consequence, she was going to take it like a woman.

Claudia stopped and thought about what she was saying. "Well this is fracking weird," she said. Sometimes her own youth made it easy to forget that she was in a position of authority at work. "I accepted your apology. I think only the boss can fire you."

"She said you could recommend it," Eileen said, telling the truth.

"She did?" Claudia said, somewhat pleased that Helena suggested it. "Oh, but I wouldn't. Hey, we're working things out here. And we're going to stumble sometimes, okay?" Claudia said, touching Eileen's hand.

Eileen would have felt better if Claudia had done something, but she was being wonderful – as usual.

"Thanks," Eileen said.

"We'll talk about it over dinner," Claudia assured her. Then she went to Helena's door. She knocked and went in, before her boss invited her.

"Is it me or is everyone a little weird? I don't know whether to kiss and make up or do we just shake hands? I accepted her apology, you know. I didn't like it - I can tell you that, but she said she was sorry. But at the time it happened, that look in her eyes was all – dark and Wellsian kind of. A little creepy, you know?" Claudia said sitting down and only then caught the expression on her boss' face.

"Oh, creepy from her. Cause it is your look. Not that your look is creepy. No, you do it well. Oh look, you're doing it now," Claudia blathered, diverting her eyes.

"Ms. Donovan!" Helena said, trying to halt the verbal onslaught.

"Yes!" Claudia said, sitting up in her chair. "Someone got into one of our systems," she said getting back to business.

"Impossible! I cannot get into it. No one can," Helena asserted.

"Not the firewall, thank you very much for trying. Someone used someone else's user name and password and got in. They thought it was 'hacked' but that's just the term non IT people use for anything. Oh my computer was hacked," Claudia said and quickly swallowed her laugh.

"Who is this someone?" Helena asked. "And what were they doing?"

"They used someone else's name and password to get into a particular program trying to fish around for information, I think," the techie said. "Nothing on the security cameras. The computer was a laptop used in the dining hall and these are the times they accessed ….," Claudia hesitated to say which program.

"Accessed….?" Helena asked, wondering if the entire company was playing fill in the blanks today.

"A particular group of employees..," Claudia said feeling uncomfortable.

"The administrative staff's chat group perhaps?" Helena asked, looking at the sheet.

"You know about them?" Claudia asked and was met with dark eyes staring back. "I mean of course you know about them. Why wouldn't you know about them?"

"Do you really think anything goes on here that I don't know about?" Helena asked.

"No, not really. Does that mean you knew about the interoffice betting?" Claudia wondered out loud.

"How did you find them?" Helena asked, leaning forward with her hands crossed in front of her.

"I installed sniffer programs awhile back. You know, when we kept having those intrusions?" Claudia said, reminding Helena she was the culprit.

"Yes, yes, I remember," Helena said because she hadn't been able to in months. She was both impressed and annoyed.

"Well, it sent me the report on the anomaly and that's how we found it." Claudia said.

"What do you think they are looking for?" Helena asked, formulating her plan.

"The group is very careful about what they discuss there. Certainly, nothing top secret," Claudia assured Helena.

"But they are looking for something," Helena said and Claudia agreed. "Then we shall give them something," her boss said, sitting back in her chair.

"We'll be able to trace the IP address soon. I mean, we'll know who it is by this afternoon," Claudia assured her boss. "The sniffer program is working now to pinpoint the laptop being used and once they log in to Tara's account," the techie explained.

"But then all we will have is the messenger. Let's see what they intend to do with their information," Helena said, a smile slowly appearing on her face.

"Oh you want to flush them out and see where the trail leads us?" Claudia said, excited about the prospect of the cloak and dagger exercise.

"Indeed. If someone is looking for information, then they must intend to do something with it. How will you know when the computer is accessing the account?" Helena asked.

"The sniffer will alert me when they're on," Claudia said. She was thrilled that Helena was turning this into an adventure, not just a problem to be solved.

"Good, then we shall give the intruder something to ponder and see if he or she runs with it. Then, Miss Donovan, we find what we're really looking for," Helena said.

"OK, I'll text you as soon as I get anything. Now, what do you want to have the group that we don't know about put out there?" Claudia asked.

"Well, that depends on whether you're going to recommend I fire Miss Sullivan for insubordination," Helena said slowly.

"Wait, what? Insub? Eileen? You think I want her fired?" Claudia said aghast.

"Yes, this is a fire-at-will state. Trust me, I have fired people because I didn't like the way they answered a question," Helena said, referring back to her days before Myka.

"I would never have someone fired!" Claudia protested. "And certainly not Eileen!"

"So when we find the culprit who is trying to infiltrate our programs, we can have them work in your department then?" Helena asked.

"What? No, we will fire their sorry asses for trying to – hey!" Claudia said, knowing there was a lesson in here somewhere that Helena was trying to impart. She just hadn't figured it out yet. "Not the same thing at all."

"How is it different?" Helena asked, as if she didn't already know.

"This person is trying to get at something illegally. If they give it to someone else, that makes them traitors. Eileen is the farthest thing from a traitor! She questioned me because she's hyper vigilant about Wells Corp. She's like our corporeal firewall and I know she didn't mean it to be rude," Claudia said.

"You are a Director of this firm," Helena said as a reminder.

"I know …that," Claudia said, wondering if she sounded convincing. "You can't fire her – ever. You would kill her."

"No, I'm trying to make her stronger," Helena said and the subject was closed.

"OK that ….," Claudia said getting uncomfortable, "….is totally between you two." Then she stopped for a minute as she started to walk out.

"Do you think she's ready?" Claudia asked. Her tone was dripping with concern.

"I hope so, Miss Donovan, I hope so," Helena said.

Claudia closed the door and held onto the doorknob, not moving. Eileen stared up at her.

"Everything is good," Claudia said, finally walking away and towards the elevator. She was mumbling to herself all the way down to the 16th floor. The doors opened and the techie walked right into Myka.

"Are you okay?" Myka asked, grabbing Claudia's arms to steady her. She was on her way up to see Helena and was standing right at the elevator entrance.

"Okay? Suuure, why wouldn't I be okay? Not like I got anyone fired right? Although I could and maybe I should have to save her from getting thrown into the fire pit. Do you think she can take the heat? I don't know, maybe she can. After seeing that look in her eyes this morning, maybe she can. It was like all intense and Helena like. I don't know," Claudia rambled.

Myka let the elevator go because she could tell this was something that Claudia needed to get off her chest. "Claudia?" Myka asked again. The young techie looked around to make sure no one was within earshot.

"I think she's going to start…. preparing…. Eileen," Claudia said in a hushed tone.

"Well that's not a bad thing is it?" Myka asked. It was Helena's intention all along.

"Maybe," Claudia said, wondering what it was going to be like to live with that while it was happening. She walked away with visions of Eileen being more like Helena in her head. "I don't know about this."

Myka smiled and pressed for the elevator again and went upstairs. She knocked on Helena's door and went in. Helena looked up to see bright red lips smiling at her, and melting her frustrations.

"Having a good day?" Myka asked, walking to the front of Helena's desk and sitting on the edge. Helena watched as those ruby glossed lips came down and kissed her. She could smell the hint of vanilla in the makeup and felt the slippery texture when Myka pressed in. When Myka sat back up, after the greeting, Helena licked her own lips savoring the taste.

"Oh," Myka said, running her thumb over Helena's lip to take off the excess red gloss. "I can't have you going to the luncheon looking like this."

Helena still hadn't spoken. Now her mouth opened automatically like a hungry bird's when Myka's finger pressed her lips. "Pardon?" she finally said, when Myka pulled her hand away and sat back.

"Your departmental luncheon?" Myka prompted her.

"Oh bloody hell," Helena said. Her entire morning had passed.

"Oh I think you'll enjoy this group," Myka said teasingly.

"Will you be watching from afar?" Helena asked, hoping Myka would be.

"No, I'll actually be at one of the tables. You see, Ms. Wells, you're meeting with the legal staff today," Myka informed her.

"Oh no, not the legal staff!" Helena teased. "How is it that the entire legal department is free for lunch? Do they not have enough work?"

"Well, you see, many of the staff members were working on keeping a certain someone out of hot water. And lately, she's been doing that on her own," Myka explained.

"After the morning I have had, in hot water is exactly where I wish I could be," Helena lamented.

"Well, I'll tell you what Wells, when you come home tonight – hot water will be waiting for you," Myka said, sliding her finger up Helena's arm and making her wish it was time to go home.

"You…. don't mean tea, do you?" Helena asked just to be clear.

"No, I was thinking more water in a bathtub," Myka said slowly and Helena cleared her throat.

"It won't be too hot -" Helena asked of the water.

"Well, not until you get there," Myka smiled and got up to leave. Helena had the strangest tingling sensation in her knees.

"Could you do me a favor, Myka?" Helena asked as she watched Myka walking away.

"Sure,' Myka said, turning around.

"Wear that lipstick tonight," Helena asked, staring at the color.

"Of course," Myka said and closed the door.

Now Helena couldn't stop thinking of hot water.