Page 9

But I Started Thinking…

“D o you think hell is real?”

“You’ve been thinking about it ever since we mentioned it at dinner the other night?” Cindy asked and Helena nodded. It seemed a strange topic to bring up on the sunny late afternoon at the outdoor café, probably one of the last for the year, but it had been weighing on Helena’s mind. It had been a week since getting her new projects, yet something in her newly perfected world felt off. So when Cindy had invited Helena for a belated celebratory dinner before the good doctor’s next shift at the hospital, Helena jumped at it. She needed to ta lk it out.

She hadn’t even meant to bring up the question, but there it was, like a smelly fish flopped on the table. She was just on the brink of taking the question back when Cindy waved her hand before she cou ld speak.

“If I’m honest, I’ve been thinking of it too. It just gave me this heebie-jeebie feeling that night, you know. I haven’t been able to shake it off. A lot of funny dreams and everything.” She met Helena’s eye. “How a bout you?”

“No, no funny dreams per se,” Helena said honestly while shaking her head. She had actually never slep t better.

Cindy shrugged. “Okay, then it’s just me. It was just such a weird thing to bring up at a nice dinner, you know? But yeah, I guess so? I mean, if demons are real, and that is a confirmed fact, then the place they come from must be hel l, right?”

“You think it’s as awful there as they say?” Helena took a sip of her water as if washing the bad taste of those words away. Her heart pounded, but it wasn’t like there was anyone actively investigating her for demon summoning connections, right? The FBI had more important things to do t han that.

Cindy chuffed a dry laugh.“Well, yeah. I wou ld think.”

“But I mean, how would they know if we’ve never really been there?” Helena asked. “I mean honestly, if everyone who has ever gotten themselves dragged into hell never leaves, how the freaking … well, hell, do we know what hell is rea lly like?”

“Well, hypothetically…” Cindy paused and rolled it around in her head a moment. “I guess, if it isn’t so bad, why are demons always trying to get out of there?”

Helena nodded at that. “Yup, that’s it, isn’t it? It’s got to be as bad as they say.”

“I mean, best not to dwell on it?” Cindy offered. “Don’t get me wrong: I’ve certainly seen enough people pass through the emergency room that definitely were headed that way.” She blew out a breath. “Most definitely bad ma ma-jamas.”

Helena cocked her head. “But if you knew they were bad … you treated the m anyway?”

“Well, yeah.” Cindy shrugged. “After all, they may have done something bad, but I’m not going to do something bad by not helping them. That’s on me then. I mean, how can they have a chance to redeem themselves if I don’t try? It’s what I figur e anyway.”

Helena smiled and put a hand over her friend’s on the table. “You are a very good person, Cindy,” she assured.

“Ha, I try. Some days I succeed. Now can we order some chocolate cake? I’m going to need a dose of endorphins af ter that.”

“Absolutely—on me,” Helena said as she raised a hand for the waiter to pause and take the dessert order. Soon enough they were cutting their forks through a delectable slice of chocolate mousse cake, topped with fresh whipp ed cream.

“Oh my God, Heaven,” Cindy declared. “Not as good as what your caterer guy made the other day, but still Heaven.” Helena paused at that statement. Rolling the chocolate around in her mouth, she had to agree.

Yosef caught her at the top of the next day. Since it was Friday, Helena had already debated about taking one of her allotted half-days off, but she knew that plan had just been squashed when she laid eyes on him waiting for her.

“Scarlet wants to talk to you,” he said, thrusting the notebook that she kept at her desk at her. In one smooth motion, he traded it for her purse and briefcase. “I’ll drop these off for you. Scarlet is already in the conference room.” And then he was gone without anot her word.

Lacking anything else to do, Helena proceeded to the confere nce room.

Like the rest of Scarlet’s “garden,” the conference room was filled with greenery and light with one wall entirely made of glass looking out onto the city. It made the room feel more like a porch than a contained space. Today it was raining, however, and the splats of streaky rain made it feel closer to a greenhouse to Helena. Scarlet sat at the head of the only conventional thing in the room, the table. She was seated in her mobile chair today, which she zipped around the table as soon as Helena entered the room.

“There she is, there she is. Come in, and feast your eyes,” Scarlet declared, stopping midway of the table before a folder laid out with papers and b rochures.

“What’s all this?” Helena asked, coming up beside Scarlet to look where her gnarled fingers i ndicated.

“This is a good day is what this is.” Scarlet eagerly slid the brochure over to Helena pre-opened. The glossy paper showed a large ballroom with a glittering chandelier filling it with fairy light. There were elegant, circular tables everywhere draped with creamy white cloths and the chairs around them were all gold-painted and upholstered with matching cream cushions. And there were people, all equally elegantly dressed, like from a modern-day version of a fairy tale, dancing and laughing as only people in fairytales can. The whole image filled Helena with an acute longing to be there and be a pa rt of it.

“I was so beautiful,” Scarlet said w istfully.

That was when Helena realized the foremost woman in a striking red dress that folded around her like a rose was in fact Scarlet. A slightly younger, more mobile Scarlet, whose age only enhanced her beauty, like dust on a precious wine bottle. Only those who were truly cultured could under stand it.

Helena almost said so but doubted such an observation would be received in the manner it was intended.

Fortunately, Scarlet didn’t wait for her to respond. “This was my crowning achievement and now I bequeath i t to you.”

Helena practically jumped out of her skin, much to Scarlet’s cheeky amusement. “I’m sorry, Scarlet… I don’t un derstand…”

“The Winter Rose Ball is in six months, and I want you to organize it.” Scarlet turned her wheelchair back to the head of the conference table. “I have organized the Winter Rose Ball since its inception, and officially I will this year as well, but time does not agree with my desire to do it. If I want this to exist beyond me, I must pass the torch while I am still able to. Therefore, you will be my deputy in this endeavor, but in all practicality,” Scarlet laced her fingers together leaning her elbows on the table as she grinned wickedly at Helena, “you will be the one in charge, with Yosef’s assistance, o f course .”

Helena stared at her employer in utter shock, almost dropping the brochure she held.

“All this because of one dinner?!”

Horrified, Helena did drop the brochure to slap her hand over her mouth, but it was too late to take those imprudent wo rds back.

Scarlet broke out laughing so hard she practically cackled.

“Yes and no, of course. Like I have said, I have enjoyed your work so far. I saw a lot of talent in you, but that dinner cinched it for me. I like you and I like your style. I believe I can pass what is most important to me to you, and if I am right, I will possibly be passing more things.” She arched an eyebrow at Helena, whose mi nd raced.

Could she mean … passing the company to her? While Helena had admitted to only Cindy that she wanted more than anything to own and run her own publicity company, Helena never thought…

She looked Scarlet straight in the eye. The thought did occur to her that there had to be dozens of people more qualified than her, more people in line for such a gift. She had a passing thought to say exactly that because it would be the humble th ing to do.

“Thank you, Scarlet. I will not let you down,” she said instead.

“Excellent.” The older woman sighed. “Honestly, I’m relieved. I thought I was going to have to coax you a little bit. Assure you that you were qualified for t his task.”

Helena gave a lopsided grin, then shrugged one shoulder. “Yeah, but … I want it. So I’ll figur e it out.”

Scarlet’s grin morphed into a smile that made her seem ten years younger. “Take anything you need from these materials. You will also be working from my office. I’ve had a desk put in for you. God knows I have enough space for one or ten. You make all the decisions and I will give you final approval. It’s a big job so Yosef will be your partner in this, but I want to see what you do with the creative side of it, so think of it as you are the director of the show and he is your assistant director. And don’t worry about me stealing credit. This is going to be an open secret, and I have plenty of things I will need to teach you in the interim.”

Helena nodded, already deciding her next move would be to race to her desk, grab her phone to call Cindy, and tell her ev erything.

“You’ll also be getting a raise and an upgrade in title—”

“Thank you, ma’am!” Helena cried, too excited to stop herself—she was already grabbing up all the materials Scarlet had laid ou t for her.

“Slow down, young thing. Slow down, I need you to take notes on this. You’re going to want to figure out flowers, and negotiate with the venue, and the catering, the decorations and inv itations—”

“The caterer?” That made Helena pause, the word making her flinch a little. Though there was no good reason it should have. Of course she would need to hire a catering company.

Scarlet winked. “You may hire whomever you want. I know you have at least one ace up you r sleeve.”

Helena hated to do this, but she knew what her answer had to be. “I’m sorry, Scarlet. But I can’t … do that. It was a one-ti me thing…”

She could see her whole future burning up right then a nd there.

No one ever told Sc arlet no.

“Ah yes, I understand,” her boss said instead, then waved a hand at Helena. “Don’t make that face and don’t worry. I’ve worked with plenty of ‘artists’ before, trust me. I was just saying if you want to pass the opportunity to that extraordinary talent, you are free to do so. It isn’t your fault if they don’t want to make any money doing what they love. Now take a seat. We have plenty more to discu ss today.”