In an ideal chapter, of course Helena would share her inner most thoughts with Myka first.
But that isn't this chapter. And while it might seem ooc for Helena not to take the time - she's
not perfect - she's going to (still) make mistakes - and this is one of them. Just because she's in touch
with her feelings - does not mean she's patient enough to always sort them out before she acts.
Perfect Storm
In spite of the blissful sleep Myka had been in for hours, she thought she heard Helena say 'what the bloody hell'. She decided she was dreaming and returned to her slumber. It had been a wonderful evening of love-making and eating dinner together and finally, cuddling in bed. Calmness exuded from 1866 Central Park West that evening.
But in that quietude of the wee hours, something came back to Helena. Something that she had picked up on the day before and simply didn't have the inclination or the time to deal with it at the moment. It was going to be her top priority this morning. And when something became Helena's top priority and it involved someone else, it had better become their top priority, too.
Myka smiled when the sky started to lighten through the window curtains. This was usually when Myka would wake and turn to watch Helena just lying there, sleeping. She loved to watch Helena breathing, and then watch closed eyes open through heavy eyelashes. Now, Myka sensed Helena's absence before she even looked.
Then she heard the yelling from deep within the wardrobe closet.
"I do not care what the hour. I want you at the office in thirty minutes. I will have Mr. Jinx pick you up. What do you mean – morning routine? Get up, get dressed, Miss Sullivan will make you tea. What more do you need? I do not care to discuss it over the phone - that is why. I will see you there," Myka heard Helena say and then heard the phone fall on the floor. 'Bloody hell,' was uttered more than once. Myka put her arm up and grabbed her phone - it was 5:15.
A moment later, Helena burst from within the closet into the bedroom. She was already dressed in an Oscar de la Renta black knit jacket in black and white with a houndstooth-plaid trim, which was worn over a red floral design on a houndstooth background dress, with black pumps. As coordinated as her outfit was, Helena's mood was well out of sorts.
"Good morning?" Myka asked, trying to take a pulse of the situation.
"Not really, darling," Helena confessed as she went to the bed, leaned in and kissed Myka. Myka could tell the difference immediately. It wasn't rough, but it was rushed.
"Helena? What's going on?" Myka asked. If pressed, she would have guessed that Helena had Bridget on the phone, demanding that she take care of something. Helena was not a woman of great patience when a business deal was not going her way. In her defense, Myka thought, it was because she had so little experience with that.
"I need to go to the office," Helena said, and then remembered she needed to alert her staff. She sat on the bed, and furiously typed out text messages to the people she needed.
"Helena, what has you …?" Myka asked, but Helena was up and searching for her pocketbook.
"It's nothing, darling. I'm sorry, I have to go in ..," Helena said. She didn't want to bother Myka about this issue. And part of her knew if Myka knew the reason, she'd want to discuss it. Helena didn't want to talk about this – she wanted it resolved. But then she saw the look on Myka's face and knew she was concerned.
"I need to speak to Irene," Helena said and now Myka was surprised.
"Irene?" Myka repeated.
"Yes, Irene. The woman annoyed me yesterday," Helena said. She knew saying it out loud would make it sound trifling.
"What did she do?" Myka asked, getting up and putting her robe on.
"This is going to take too long to explain. I fear people think I am getting soft, Myka. That they can say whatever they want to me. I am the CEO of that company," Helena said and Myka could tell she was seething underneath. Close to the surface underneath.
"Everyone knows that Helena, they have great respect for …," Myka tried.
"Well, I think Irene in particular may have forgotten this," Helena said. Myka was surprised at how agitated the Brit seemed to be.
"Helena, you and Irene have a wonderful rapport," Myka said gently.
"Do you know that there is someone trying to infiltrate our security system? They've managed to get into a small chat group in hopes of finding something out. Not trade secrets mind you, or they would try to hack into secured files. No, they're looking for information – about me, I can only assume. People think I am off my game, Myka. And I won't stand for it," Helena said and the more she said it, the more adamant she got. All of these things came back to Helena as she slept last night.
"Helena, please wait, someone trying to break in? Does Claudia know? Who is it? Certainly, Irene has nothing to do with this..," Myka said, trying to make sense.
"Of course she doesn't! Yes, Ms. Donovan is on top of it and I am almost certain after this morning, we will know who it is. And I will deal with them. But I will not tolerate ….," Helena said and stopped. This was exactly why she didn't want to talk to Myka. The discussion would make her question herself.
"Let me come with you," Myka said, rushing to get ready.
"No, I have to leave. I will update you later," Helena said, not wanting any further dissection of her plan. She kissed Myka again. "I know what I'm doing," she said to Myka who never questioned her. Myka knew Helena was trying to convince herself more of that than Myka.
Helena came down the stairs and Leena could tell immediately that there was something wrong by her gait on the steps. She opened the closet door for Helena and said, "You're very early this morning," and was met with only 'good morning'. Helena grabbed a coat and threw it over her arm and opened the front door.
"Could someone please do their job the way they are supposed to?" Helena said when her car did not appear to be waiting. Within seconds Pete drove up and Helena closed the front door behind her and walked to the car. She waved Pete off and got in the back seat.
"Good morning, boss," Pete said, his usually chipper self.
"If you insist," Helena said, trying not to share her foul mood.
Now she knew she was being unreasonable and that only aggravated her more. She had left Myka abruptly and that made everything worse. She wasn't exactly sure what had her so bothered, but there was something and the first thing she attached it to was Irene's perceived smug attitude the evening before in the elevator.
Helena didn't mind questioning others, but when she had to question herself, an internal battle was about to erupt. Was she becoming unaware of whether people were doing their jobs? Was she becoming lax in her attitude and it was filtering down?
Back at the townhouse, Myka frantically hurried to get dressed and wondered what had happened to make Helena so upset? If anyone could handle Helena when she was like this or in any state, it was Irene, but she worried for the others. She knew as soon as she saw Leena that Helena's mood was noticeable. "Did she…..?" Myka asked, coming down with her high heels in her hand.
"Like a bat outta hell," Leena said.
"I better go," Myka said, grabbing her coat and then rushing outside to hail a cab. Only when she got inside the taxi, did she realize her shoes were still in her hands.
Irene detected the tone in Helena's voice immediately, and knew her boss well enough to know something was going on that even Helena may not be aware of. She had known Helena long enough to know that the woman only recently started to pay attention to her feelings before acting on them. Of course, Irene credited Myka with modeling this for Helena.
Irene knew she and Helena had a unique relationship. Helena was the daughter she never had, the friend she always wanted and the boss she revered more than anyone. Their teasing was the perfect cover-up for two women who had trouble admitting how much they truly cared for one another. So Irene was taken aback when Helena told her she needed to speak to her at 5:15 that morning and that it was 'personal'. Irene tried to reason with her boss, but she was having none of it and insisted – so Irene was ready when the car came.
Helena arrived and went straight to her office, and left the door opened for Eileen to bring in the tea. While everyone else was upset to have to come to work at this hour, Eileen was thrilled to be called in.
"Can I get you anything else?" Eileen asked a very reticent Helena. The youth could tell from the way Helena was tossing papers around that something was up.
"No, thank you," Helena said and Eileen retreated back to her desk. Minutes later, Irene stepped off the elevator and the look Eileen's face when she said good morning, confirmed that Helena was inside stewing.
"We mustn't be discouraged, Ms. Sullivan. She's had much longer periods of time between temper tantrums recently and that's a good thing," Irene said, gently knocking on the door.
"It is about time," Helena greeted her, even though moments before she had told herself to be civil when the woman arrived.
"I came as soon as I could," Irene said, trying to get a read on the woman who stood behind her desk. Irene walked over and sat down in the chair in front of Helena's desk.
Now Helena looked at her and realized, the woman had no idea why she was there. There was nothing more infuriating to the Brit than to have to explain to Irene why she was upset with her.
"Do you know why I asked you to be here this morning?" Helena asked – hoping.
"You told me you wanted to speak to me," Irene said, truthfully.
"And do you know what I want to speak to you about?" Helena tried again.
"No, I don't," Irene said, adjusting herself in the seat thinking a discussion was about to ensue.
"Do you know that I am your boss?" Helena said and Irene almost cracked a smile, but could see Helena was very serious.
"What? Helena, of course I do," Irene said. "What is this about? Have I done something to indicate something other than that?"
That was too many questions for Helena to consider.
"Yesterday? Our discussion?" Helena prompted the woman.
Irene had to sit back a little in her seat and think about what Helena was saying. "Are you talking about our conversation yesterday?" Irene asked.
"Good Lord, woman. Yes," Helena said exasperated.
"When I said I hope you weren't getting yourself in hot water?" Irene asked surprised at how sensitive Helena seemed to be about her remark.
'No! Not that comment. Is your memory getting faulty?" Helena said, because she desperately wanted to be upset with someone and Irene wasn't cooperating. Helena pressed her palms flat on the desk as she leaned over.
Irene rarely, if ever, took Helena's bait. Instead, she sat there and reflected back to anything else she might have said. "About the luncheons?" she guessed.
"Yes, about the luncheons. How dare you be surprised that they are a success," Helena said, and sounded as wounded as she was.
Irene took a deep breath. Helena had her in her office before six AM because of an offhanded remark about the luncheons? It didn't fit.
"Is everything okay? Myka ok? " Irene sidestepped, but Helena's eye grew wide and the woman knew she had guessed incorrectly. "So…. this is about my comment about the luncheons?"
"Yes, you were surprised that people are responding positively?" Helena reworded it.
"I guess I did say that," Irene recalled. "But Helena, I didn't mean it as a slight. I meant, I was happy that people were opening up to you and that they saw the value of this opportunity. Not every CEO avails themselves to the entire staff population," Irene explained.
"You …,"Helena tried to say, but Irene put her hand across the table and touched Helena's.
"I was teasing you and I'm sorry if I went too far. I'm sorry if my words sounded sarcastic or were hurtful. I never meant them to be," Irene explained.
Helena knew she couldn't be angry with Irene for too long, especially if she was gently touching her. "Fine!" Helena said, withdrawing her hands, and crossing her arms in a traditional defensive stance.
"What is it, Helena?" Irene asked and Helena shook her head to dismiss the question. "You know how annoying I can be, dear. I won't leave until you tell me. "
"Someone is trying to get information about me. Someone in my company is attempting to get inside information about me and I can only assume it is to give it to someone else," Helena said.
"Someone on staff? Do you know who it is?" Irene asked concerned.
"No, but I will soon. Ms. Donovan has been able to track the computer and when it accesses the program today, we will be able to trace their footsteps. Literally," Helena said.
"Helena, this is bound to happen," Irene said, glad that Claudia and the Brit had everything under control.
"Yes," Helena said, aware that her position invited this kind of underhandedness. She turned to look at the window and stared down at the few pedestrians passing by.
"Helena, we would never let anything happen to you. You know that," Irene said and now she was behind Helena. Irene understood that Helena would still have residual memories and feelings about what the Warehouse had done to her. Intrusion didn't begin to describe what they had done.
"Thank you," Helena said quietly.
"Would you please just tell me next time, when I say something that upsets you, so you don't drag me in at this ungodly hour?" Irene asked laughing.
"It was your punishment," Helena said, smiling back.
"And I take it gladly, if it will make things okay between us," Irene said sincerely.
"Yes," Helena said. Irene's words might have been the thing that hurt Helena, but she was angry at the intrusion. Now that it was sorted out, she could focus on the real issue.
Irene gently pressed her hand on Helena's arm and it conveyed her warmth and respect for Helena. Irene went outside and smiled at Eileen. "She's fine now," the HR Director assured the concerned assistant.
Eileen sighed her relief and went back to her work. She heard Irene pick up her things from the couch and walk to the elevator. Eileen was typing a letter when she heard the sound and the almost inaudible 'oh'. She shot up from her seat when she saw Irene slowly sliding down the wall, clutching her chest. She rushed to the woman's side as she gently fell to the floor.
"MS. WELLS! HELP!" Eileen screamed and within seconds, Helena was in the doorway and then at Irene's side.
"Call 911," Helena instructed, handing Eileen her phone. "Irene? Irene, it's Helena," she shouted as the woman faded into unconsciousness.
At the very same moment, Myka banged on the plexiglass divider in the taxi and demanded he go faster. Something was wrong, something was very wrong. She grabbed her phone and called Helena, but it went to voicemail.