Just wanted to touch on some of the characters in this chapter as we wrap things up.
Twenty-Six and Then Some
"Well this is a bit awkward," Jaime Murray said when the news broke that – in spite of a short first season – both she and her costar were nominated for an Emmy.
"We're in two different categories, Jaime," her friend assured her.
"Well, they're crazy if they don't vote for you, Jo," her leading lady said.
"Likewise, Jaime," the supporting best actress nominee answered.
"Do you want to go?" Eileen asked Claudia as the techie had her head bent down over mass of wires and components.
"Almost," Claudia said and it was obvious she was referring to her work and not listening.
"Or I could go by myself," Eileen said, waving the Emmy invitation like a fan.
"Sure," Claudia said as she held the tweezers in one hand, delicately maneuvering the placement of a tiny disc.
Pete and Steve immediately recognized the disconnect and tried to get their friend back on track.
"What would you wear?" Steve asked. "You know…to…the …Emmys?" He had been her best friend long enough to know when she was working on something, she tuned out the world.
"Huh?" Claudia responded.
"What would you wear…," he tried again.
"Clothes," she answered.
He looked over at Eileen as if to say – "I tried".
"That show has really taken off," Pete said in an attempt to give Claudia context.
"It had the highest rating of all new shows," Eileen said proudly. She looked at Claudia who was still busy with her work. She put the envelope down and smiled at Steve and Pete. She understood that Claudia was very busy. She kissed Claudia's unmoving head and went to the elevator.
Steve had enough. He tried the subtle approach and it didn't work. So he went for something more direct.
"There," Claudia said after dropping the circular object in place.
He kicked her foot – hard.
"Ouch! What?" the IT Director said, looking up at Steve who was looking away now.
"Oh I'm sorry. Did I hit you?" he asked innocently.
"Did you?" Claudia was saying when she noticed the cream-colored, gold embossed invitation on her desk. "What is this?"
"Oh- so not good," Pete said, knowing exactly what it was like to be in her seat and unaware of what was going on.
"That, my dear oblivious friend, is the reason you're going to need to apologize to your girlfriend," Steve spelled it out.
Claudia immediately picked up the card and read it. "Oh geez! She was asking me to go to this? Why didn't you say something? Really, what good are you two if you can't help me out?" Claudia said, running to the elevator.
"Women," Steve said.
"Yeah, can't live with them, can't live without them," Pete mused.
"Actually, I manage just fine, thank you," Steve said back.
Claudia wouldn't have felt so badly about it, but she had asked Eileen to come to her office. As she waited, she got involved in tinkering and lost track of time, space, and other people talking.
The doors opened to the 17th floor and Claudia flew out to apologize.
"Eileen, I'm sorry. I got so caught up. I have been trying to place that tiny disk …it is really tiny…did I show you how little it was? Anyway, I had just picked up the tweezers when you came down and I …am…sorry," the techie spewed to her lover's back. She was afraid Eileen was so upset, she wouldn't even turn around.
But it wasn't Eileen.
It should have been Eileen, because she was the same height and had the same shade of blonde hair. And when she turned around, she was holding a small tray with a cup of tea on it.
"Who are you?" Claudia said, looking around to see what she had done with her girlfriend. Eileen had to have been subdued because this woman was carrying tea – Helena's tea.
"Say hello to ….," Eileen said from the kitchen as she came out.
"Hi, my name is Hailey Lopardo, but everyone calls me Halo," the twenty something said to Claudia.
Claudia pulled back as if horrified. Was that an English accent she just heard? "You have an assistant?" she asked Eileen, frantically trying to remember if this was something else she heard but didn't listen to.
"Hailey is Helena's new administrative assistant. Mrs. Frederic hired her last week," Eileen said, smiling. Claudia looked at Eileen and studied the smile. She had so many of them, never went anywhere without one, but didn't always mean them.
She didn't mean this one.
"Halo," the young woman corrected Eileen.
"You made this tea?" Claudia asked slowly, looking at the tea and then up at the new staff member.
"Yes," she said and Claudia gasped out loud.
"How could you?" she asked Eileen.
"Hailey assures me that since she's English, she knows how to brew the perfect cup of tea," Eileen said.
"Could I see you in …..where do you sit now?" Claudia asked, confused.
"My office," Eileen said, pointing to the door on the other side of the hallway.
"Stay there," Claudia said to the new assistant.
She pulled Eileen by the wrist in the direction of the new office. The elevator door opened and Mrs. Frederic stepped out.
"Oh good, I want to talk to you when I'm done," Claudia said, as she continued on her way into the office, dragging Eileen behind her.
"I will wait with bated breath," Irene said as she walked over to the new staff member.
Claudia closed the door behind them. Eileen had shared with her that she and Helena talked about her moving into the office. Now that projects like the HG Wells Show were under her charge, Eileen finally felt like this is where she should be.
"So you're finally going to move in here?" Claudia asked. Eileen had told her when it was time to move in, she'd know it.
"Yes," Eileen answered, still uncomfortable with the large space.
"That's great! It's about time - but that woman?" Claudia asked.
Eileen let out a slight laugh. "Yes, Mrs. Frederic's idea."
"Halo? Was Mrs. F's choice?" Claudia asked.
"Yes, she says that Helena is impossible when it comes to choosing someone, so she decided not to ask her, but will just parade people in the spot and see what she says," Eileen explained.
"So you're not worried …..about the tea thing?" Claudia asked, knowing fully well Eileen devotion to making Helena her tea.
"Well, she is English, so she might have a natural instinct for making it," Eileen said. "I guess we'll see soon enough."
Claudia and Eileen walked out of the new office, just as Helena was getting off the elevator.
"Good morning, Ms. Wells," Eileen said and then went to introduce the new assistant. Mrs. Frederic sat on the couch, never saying a word.
Helena stopped when she caught sight of the stranger.
"My name is Hailey Lopardo, but you may call me Halo," the eager young woman said, standing up.
Helena looked at her, trying to figure out what she was doing at that desk. Then she turned and looked at Eileen – who should have been standing in that woman's place.
"I may?" Helena said to Eileen, at the audacity of the statement.
"Ms. Wells, Ms. Lopardo is your new….," Eileen started to explain when she was interrupted.
"I like to be called Personal Assistant," the brash young woman announced, holding the tray with the tea.
Helena caught her accent. Then she looked over at Mrs. Frederic who was smiling. Helena's mind raced as she put this together. Eileen was moving into the office, - ergo, a new assistant had to be hired. Mrs. Frederic abhorred trying to fill this spot because Helena was so picky. Therefore, Irene was up to her tricks. Helena knew her dear friend would never stand for such insolence, so when she sat there smiling, Helena decided to call her bluff. She turned to the woman, took the tea from the tray, and sipped it. It was as dreadful as the youth's manners.
"She's going to give her the death ray stare and Halo will be sporting wings," Claudia said out of the side of her mouth. Eileen bit her lip.
"I'm sorry, Ms. Lopardo, but it would seem to me that your talents are better suited ….," Helena said, placing the cup down slowly. "...For the Human Resource Department."
Halo had told her entire Facebook community that she was going to work for the great Helena Wells. She had tweeted tweets on the train, as she rode in from the far reaches of Brooklyn, that she was going to work for Helena.
"Pardon me?" Irene said, getting off the couch now. She expected Helena to fire the woman, not offer her a transfer.
"Well, if she isn't good enough to work for you, how do you expect her to be good enough to work for me?" Helena asked, smiling victoriously.
"I don't want to work in Human Resources," Hailey complained.
"Thank God for that," Irene said and offered her apologies that it didn't work out as she helped the woman get her coat.
"Oh I think I'm going to sell tickets for this," Claudia said of the replacement process. "What did I tell you? She'll never find someone like you." Claudia said it because it was true, and she was trying to make some girlfriend points after not listening this morning.
Her phrase stuck with Mrs. Frederic who was handing Halo over to her assistant.
"Ms. Donovan is right, Ms. Sullivan," Irene said. "Unless…," the wise woman said, coming up with her next plan.
Bridget waltzed off the elevator with a small box of pastries which she immediately shoved into her large Hermes bag so as not to offend Myka's chef slash assistant, Millie. She had already earned enough demerits by not waiting to be announced on previous visits. Then she asked the woman if she could recommend a good cleaner for wood furniture. Millie didn't think it was funny.
"Good morning, Millie," Bridget said, her oversized Ballon Bleu de Cartier pink gold and steel watch dangling on her wrist. The gorgeous nine thousand dollar timepiece was a present from Sarah.
"I'll see if she's free," Millie said in her protective voice.
Bridget abided by the charade. She knew Myka would see her, Millie knew Myka would see her, but they went about it this way so as to preserve Millie's penchant for rules.
Her rules.
"She'll see you now," Millie said and Bridget refrained from saying what was going on in her head.
"Thank you, Millie," Bridget said and got to the door before the olfactory expert announced – "She does not like jelly-filled cookies."
Bridget wondered how the woman could see …or smell… the pastries in the box, in her bag. She shook her head and went in.
"Myka!" she said as she walked the length of the room and kissed her friend. "You two snuck away after that baseball game! And then went to the White House! How was it? Are they the coolest First Family ever, or what?" Bridget said, full of vigor and inquiries.
"We ran into Sam," Myka confessed. Myka had finally told her friend all about Sam one night after a couple of drinks loosened her lips a little.
"When you say – ran into – do you meant Helena was holding a samurai sword at the time?" Bridget asked, sitting down.
"No! He's working detail for the President now. I never expected to see him there," Myka said.
"How did it feel?" Bridget asked.
Myka gave the question some thought before answering. Bridget had a way of getting her to do that. "It was actually okay. I felt closure with him a long time ago, but true to form, Sam still thinks he could do something," Myka said.
"I guess Helena thought it would be bad protocol to kill one of the President's bodyguards?" Bridget asked.
"She …did tie him up in a closet," Myka said and Bridget could detect a trace of 'that's my girl' in her voice.
"I would have liked to have written that headline – Sam Martino comes out of the closet," Bridget said laughing. She bent down and presented Myka with the box of pastries. "I forgot your security guard out there bakes her own."
"Oh thank you," Myka said and offered one to Bridget.
"No, I have to run. Sarah is thinking of branching out on her own and I'm meeting with some investors," Bridget said, collecting her things.
"Oh that's wonderful news," Myka said, thinking it would be good for both of them.
Before Bridget left, she reached over and pushed the small pastry box right into Myka's wastepaper basket. "She'll like that," she winked and nodded towards the assistant outside.
Then she said goodbye and left.
"You were so right about those cookies," the banker said as she passed Millie's desk. The admission made Millie smile and sit up straight in her chair.
Upstairs, Helena settled into her office, returning phone calls and emails. Eileen returned to the reception desk after Mrs. Frederic asked her to help put her next plan in place. Eileen made the necessary phone calls and made all the arrangements.
Myka came off the elevator and greeted Eileen. She had run into Claudia who relayed the story of the short lived career of one Halo.
"She's going to have a very hard time with this," Myka shared at the thought of someone else in Eileen's place.
"We're going to make it as easy a transition as we can," Eileen said – proving once again – that Helena's well-being was her top priority.
Little did either of them know yet, that Helena was already talking to the architect about where she could put a door between the two executive suites. Helena knew that Eileen moving up in the company would mean change.
She wasn't about to embrace that change easily.
The phone rang again and Eileen shot up from her desk to answer it. "Oh my God, it's him again," Eileen said to Myka.
"Him?" Myka asked, prodding for more information.
"The President! It's the third time he's called. Please ask her to take his call," Eileen pleaded.
"I'll see what I can do," Myka laughed as she heard Eileen pick up the phone, her voice cracking when she greeted the President.
"Hello you," Helena said, when Myka knocked and came in.
"Hello you," Myka said and kissed her when she got closer. "Do you know the President is on the phone for you?" Myka asked, looking down at the blinking light.
Helena let out a sigh and went to her desk. If she was busy before, now with Myka there, she really didn't want to talk to anyone. She put the man on speaker.
"Hello Mr. President," Helena said – her accent sharp and gracious.
"Did you get the package?" the President asked.
"Yes, I am sorry. I did receive it. Thank you for procuring it. Odd that one of your security detail would actually be in possession of the article of clothing," Helena said and looked right at Myka mischievously.
"Helena!" Myka whispered in her faux warning tone.
"Odd that you would know he would be in possession of it," the President said back.
Helena looked over at Myka who now put her hand over her mouth to stifle the laugh.
"Well, I'm very observant," Helena said, not skipping a beat.
Myka smiled to think – no one – in the world – made Helena Wells pause. The chat lasted a few minutes more until Helena begged his indulgence and said they would talk again soon.
"Just promise you'll think about what I said," the Commander in Chief asked.
"I will discuss it with Myka and let you know," Helena said and the call ended.
"What? What does he want you to think about?" Myka asked, excited.
"He wants me to run for Mayor," Helena said, laughing and dismissing the idea because her attention was on Myka. She grabbed Myka out of her seat and pulled her to the couch so they could sit close together.
"Mayor! Wow," Myka said in response to the news. "Would you…?"
"No, not now. I have too many things to do. Miss Sullivan is not ready to take over just yet," Helena said.
"Oh Helena, we wouldn't have to move to Gracie Mansion, would we?" Myka asked, sad to think of not living in the townhouse.
"Darling, we will live wherever you say," Helena said, happy to be touching Myka. She took Myka's hands in hers. "Do you have any idea how crazy in love I am with you, Myka?"
Myka stopped all thinking – and looked into Helena's mahogany eyes that sparkled as she spoke those words.
"Oh….," Myka let out because she was still taking those words in and there was no room for her response yet.
"I fall in love with you every time I see you wake up, when you try to wipe the sleepiness from your eyes, when you stop and sign your name for someone who waited hours to see you, or when you say hello to the man who stands at the desk downstairs," Helena continued.
Myka's breathing became short, her heartbeat speeding up as Helena's sentiment poured out of her mouth and all over her.
"I see how people look at you, Myka. Their faces light up when you talk to them, did you know that?" Helena asked, pushing a strand of loose curls behind Myka's ear. The blush was building in her cheeks, yet another thing Helena found endearing about her.
"And then something happens that takes my breath away," Helena said and looked deeply into Myka's jade eyes that were filling with water. "I look at the object of their affection and remember that you are mine and I am yours. And I feel sorry for the rest of the world because they can only dream of having you, while my dream has come true," Helena said.
The tears spilled out of Myka's eyes and trickled down her cheeks. Helena held Myka's face in her hands, as her thumbs gently wiped the tears away. Helena leaned in and kissed Myka's waiting lips.
"You are…the most…charming person," Myka finally said as the kiss broke.
"I am rather good," Helena said – confidently. Myka laughed and pulled her in to hug her.
Exuding charm came naturally to Helena. It was just one of the many things that added to her air of confidence.
And Myka couldn't have agreed more.
Next up - Epilogue - which will answer the following:
1) How does Pete get out of boxing with Helena? 2) How does Irene outwit Helena - again.
3) Who wins the Emmys?
4) What was in the box that Mrs. Bering received from Helena?