Chapter Text
Chapter 1: Celebration
“Fuck, fuck, fuck”, the brunette muttered under her breath again as she analyzed the documents laid out in front of her.
Several moments of silence passed before the creak of a chair was heard and footsteps neared the desk.
“The numbers just aren’t there, Eleanor.”
A deep sigh echoed around the office as the papers were once again picked up and adjusted, as if moving their location on the desk would make a difference.
“Charlotte, there’s got to be a way to accommodate all of these applications, some funding or donation that we missed. Fuck, fuck, fuck!” Eleanor replied, muttering the last part of her statement to herself aggressively.
“Well, we could-”
Charlotte’s reply was interrupted by a knock at the door. The see-through glass door revealed Kate, holding a pile of manila folders in her arms.
“Come in.”
“Ms. Roy, I found another stack of applicants that were missed. I know the limit for the quarter was 150, but I think you should at least look over the rest of these to see if there are any dire cases.”
Eleanor could not help the groan that left her mouth as she placed her head in her hands, rubbing circles onto her temples, trying to concentrate on the problem at hand and simultaneously not thinking about everything else that she had yet to do today.
“I’m sorry, I just thought-”
“No, sorry Kate, it’s not that. We’re just trying to sort out the budget and we’re finding we may not be able to allocate the funds we thought we would be able to for all the applicants”, Eleanor explained, her fingers grabbing at her hair to pull it into a disheveled top knot.
Kate nodded in understanding, stepping forward to place the applications in her inbox tray before turning to take her leave.
“Kate, could you look at our donation records and see where the discrepancy in the funding occurred? Everything looked up to par when I checked two weeks ago” Charlotte asked, prompting Eleanor’s assistant to turn and stop at the doorway.
“Ms. Roy actually asked me to do that yesterday. To make sure that we were covering all our bases. I can pull it up on the projector, if that’s okay,” Kate replied, walking over to the laptop by the armchairs when she got a nod of approval from Eleanor.
As she worked on projecting the data, Charlotte looked over at Eleanor, an eyebrow raised.
“You knew there was an issue yesterday?”
“No, but I’m always waiting for the other shoe to drop. Always have to be prepared,” came her friend's tired response.
“Here it is, Ms. Roy, I’ll be catching up on emails at my desk if you need me,” Kate said, offering both her and Charlotte a smile as she took her leave.
“Thank you Kate,” Eleanor replied, standing and going over to the screen to analyze the records.
Charlotte was right, everything looked pretty much the same as it had a couple of days before, when Eleanor had last checked the numbers for allocation.
She saw Charlotte lean over out of the corner of her eye, pressing the controller to scroll down on the screen. She kept scrolling, both of them on the lookout for anything that seemed out of place.
After a couple of minutes of this, they were nearing the end of the spreadsheet, and Eleanor was growing more flustered by the second.
“There! Stop,” Eleanor exclaimed, pointing at the screen when she saw one of the listings was color filled in yellow, contrasting the green of the rest.
“Isn’t that-” Charlotte began.
“Yup”, she confirmed.
“Fucking asshole” she muttered under her breath.
Within the highlighted cell were two words in bold, a name.
LOGAN ROY
“Maybe it’s a mistake, a miscommunication. He’s donated increasing amounts since we began seven years ago, he wouldn’t just pull the donation out of the blue,” Charlotte stated, trying to soothe her and diffuse the situation.
“You clearly don’t know my father, Charlotte. This is very much on brand for him. He did this for a reason, so now I have to take the bait and figure out his motives,” Eleanor responded, storming over to her desk and collecting the documents together before placing them in a drawer.
“What do we do now? Our deadline is next Friday and that’s not enough time for a quick turnaround,” Charlotte pressed, gesturing to the projector still showcasing the data.
Eleanor turned to the bookshelf behind her desk and inhaled deeply, closing her eyes and willing a solution to come to her mind. All she felt was the anxiousness at the chaos that was to come today.
So she turned to Charlotte and said, “See if there’s some way to make up for the discrepancy, I have to go.”
Charlotte’s eyebrows furrowed, and she turned her wrist to look at her watch.
“Go? It’s barely 11:45 am, you’re usually the last one to leave.”
“I know, but it’s his birthday, so it’s not really something I can skip out on.”
“Who’s birthday?”
“My dad’s.”
“You mean the dude that just pulled back on a 30 million dollar donation?!”
“Yup, that’s the one. Don’t worry I’ll address the matter with him, I don’t have time for these games,” Eleanor stated with a sigh, reaching over to grab her bag and coat from the armchair.
“Wish me luck,” she sighed as she turned towards the door.
“Good luck!” Charlotte exclaimed as she watched Eleanor’s retreating figure.
She almost made it to the elevator before she remembered Kate, turning towards her desk a few feet away and calling her name to get her attention.
“Kate?”
“Yes, Ms.Roy?”
“We’ve been over this a thousand times, you can call me Eleanor.”
“Sorry Ms.Roy, Eleanor I mean.”
“I’m taking an early leave today.”
“Yes I know, for your father’s celebration”
“Yes, so that means you can take off early as well, if you’d like,” she continued, turning her attention behind her towards the elevator once the doors opened.
“Really?,” Kate asked, a hopeful smile on her face. Eleanor stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the ground floor.
“Yes, really. Just let Charlotte know that I gave you the okay and you’re home free,” she replied, smiling and waving goodbye as the elevator doors drew to a close.
Only once she was alone did she lean her head back onto the elevator wall, trying to calm herself after the stress of the morning and the chaos that was sure to ensue when she saw her family later.
She inhaled several deep breaths before standing upright and pulling her phone out of her coat pocket.
There were several email notifications, which she resolved to not look at until she was back in office. She then noticed several unanswered calls, all except for one being from her brother.
Her thumb hovered over the most recent missed call, hesitant, before pressing onto it to call back and lifting the phone to her ear.
She waited, watching the elevator floor numbers decrease as the phone rang, waiting for the fifth ring. If he didn’t pick up by the fifth ring it meant he was busy.
He answered, predictably, at the second ring.
“Hello? Nellie?”
“Hey Ken, how’s it going?”
“Hey… it’s going. Have you left the office yet?”
“On my way out now. Were you able to close?”
There was silence on his end, and she knew that something had gone awry.
“What’s wrong? Did he want more money or something?”
“Or something. He’s a fucking prick, Nell. He said, and I quote, “I’m not letting you neanderthals in to rape my company”.”
Eleanor squinted her eyes in discomfort at the wording.
“Then he called me a “daddy’s boy” and told me to fuck off, basically.”
“Okay, this sounds like a shitty individual, Ken. Maybe it’s not someone you want to be doing business with.”
“No, he’s just playing hardball. I’m gonna keep throwing money at him until he caves.”
She rolled her eyes at this, stepping out of the elevator as the doors opened at the lobby of the building.
“Okay, yeah, that’s definitely a tactic.”
“Yeah, that should work, right?”
“Um, sure, I think so.”
“Knew it, Frank also agrees. Gonna go back to the office to see how far we can increase the bid, maybe to 120.”
“You’re going back to the office, right now? Are you going to be able to make it to dad’s later?”
“I don’t know, I don’t know. Look, we’ve started, so I want to buy this fucking company. Today. Dad will understand, business comes first.”
The corners of her mouth turned down at the latter part of his statement.
“I don’t know, Ken. It’s his 80th, so it’s a big one. And we don’t know how many more we’ll be able to spend with him before…” she trailed off.
“Yeah, I know. Let me see what I can do, okay?”
“Okay.”
“How are you doing? Did you have a busy morning?”
She debated whether or not she should tell him, stepping into the backseat of the black sedan waiting for her by the curb. After all, he would be taking over from their father pretty soon and would probably be in charge of overseeing Waystar’s Charitable efforts.
“Oh, yeah. There was a slight hiccup with some parts of the budget but I’m handling it.”
“Are you sure? You know you can tell me if you need any-”
“Yeah, I’m sure. I’ll sort it out.”
“And about today, are you feeling okay? I know you haven’t seen Dad or Rome or Shiv in a while.”
“Yeah, I’m fine Ken. I’m sure it’ll all go over smoothly.”
A lie. Nothing in their family ever went smoothly, they were chaos personified.
“Yeah, it will. Listen I’m pulling up to the office so I’ve gotta go. Love you dude.”
“Okay, me too,” was all she got to say before the dial tone reached her ears.
She stared at the blank phone screen for a second, before looking up.
“Hey Joe, can you please stop by my place first? I need to change before we head over to dad’s.”
“Right away, Ms. Eleanor,” came Joe’s response as he started the car and began pulling out of the parking space.
“Thank you,” she said, a familiar and comfortable silence falling between them. Joe was, like her, not a person of many words.
She looked out the window to take in the scenery, watching people walking down the street listening to music, chatting, or, in some cases, jogging.
She wondered about each of them, what they were having to deal with and what their lives were like.
“Joe, how’s your family? They doing okay?”
“Yes, Ms. Eleanor. My Tracy will be getting married soon, we’re all looking forward to it.”
“That’s great, I’m so happy to hear that.”
He sent her a smile via the rearview mirror in lieu of a verbal response, which she then reciprocated.
Silence filled the car for a few minutes before the car stopped, stationed in front of her building.
“Here we are,” Joe said, pulling her out of her thoughts.
“Oh, right, thanks Joe, I won’t be too long,” she replied, gathering her things and opening the car door.
“There’s no rush, I’ll be here waiting,” he reassured her. She sent him a grateful smile before closing the door and entering the building.
After checking in on her cats and quickly showering, Eleanor stood wrapped in a towel in front of the bathroom mirror, examining her face.
She looked tired, that much was obvious. The bags under her eyes were a deeper hue than usual, and her brown eyes looked dull, practically lifeless. She looked inside one of the bathroom cabinets, finding her makeup bag and internally debating.
Eleanor wasn’t one for makeup, usually. She didn’t loathe it or think herself above it, she had just never gotten into the habit of wearing it beyond daily application of tinted sunscreen and eyebrow gel.
She was debating whether it was even worth it to try and cover up the fatigue on her face, because she was sure to hear a comment or remark about it from one of her family members regardless.
After a few moments of indecisiveness, she shifted gears, opting to walk over to the closet and look for a change of clothes instead.
Her usual attire consisted of more casual choices, as this was what she was most comfortable in. She had made it a point to have a free-dress policy at her foundation, because she wanted people to feel as comfortable as possible. She knew what it was like to have to dress to play pretend, and she loathed the feeling.
Comfortable was not an adjective she could use to describe what it was like to be around her family, so her usual attire was a no-go. She slid the hangers to the left, looking deeper to find the clothing her family would be more likely to approve of.
She finally found a beige pantsuit and a black long sleeve t-shirt, a compromise between the corporate attire her family sported and her preferred way of dressing. She hoped the t-shirt would be overlooked.
Looking over at the clock on her nightstand, she saw that it was 12:35pm, which meant she had very little time left to prepare if she wanted to make it on time.
“Crap”, she muttered, pulling on her shoes and rushing into the bathroom.
With very little time left, she opted to do her usual tinted sunscreen and made an attempt at concealer and mascara, before hastily making her way to the front door, grabbing her purse, coat, and gift bag on the way out.
“Sorry Joe, I lost track of time,” Eleanor explained as she stepped into the backseat and buckled up her seatbelt.
“No problem, Ms. Eleanor, I believe we’ll still make it on time”
“Early is on time, on time is late, and late is UNACCEPTABLE” she thought as Joe drove, annoyed at herself for not being quicker in getting ready.
The annoyance quickly diminished as they got closer and closer to her father’s home; the anxiousness and anticipation creeping up in full force. She fidgeted with her clothing, tapping her foot up and down.
Joe looked over at her through the rearview mirror, but said nothing as their eyes met.
Not wanting to draw any concern, she opted to instead fidget with the bracelets on her left hand, a nervous habit that would often go undetected by those around her.
She wasn’t ready for this, but there was no way she’d ever live it down if she didn’t show. They had been patient with her, she knew, after the break-up two years ago they had let her stay away during the holidays and the other reunions. But the grace period had ended, and now she was expected to live up to her familial responsibilities, and to pretend that everything was okay.
Her train of thought was interrupted by her phone ringing from beside her, prompting her to pick the device up and answer the call.
“Hello?”
“Hey Nell,” greeted a familiar voice.
“Hey Angie,” she responded, adjusting the phone between her shoulder and ear as she began digging through her purse. She could hear her kids laughing and screaming in the background.
“It’s 12:47.”
“Yes it is, you’re very astute.”
“Nell,” she scolded.
“Sorry, I’m just…,” she trailed off, not knowing the right word to use.
“Nervous?”
“Yes, nervous.”
Nervous was an understatement but she still couldn’t think of the right term so she opted to use that one.
“I know they’re a lot, but remember that it’s only for a few hours at most and that Connor and Kendall will be there.”
“Kendall’s a maybe at best, he’s swamped at work,” she remarked, finally finding the bottle of pills near the bottom of her purse.
“Shit, really? Connor it is then.”
“Connor it is then,” Eleanor repeated before placing one of the pills in her mouth and taking a sip from her water bottle.
Truthfully, Connor was probably her preferred sibling out of them all. Sure she and Kendall had the most contact, and they were close, but their relationship was more codependent, with her serving as his confidant and support system. She often felt like she had to keep it together for him, to keep him from bordering too close to the edge.
Connor had always been more of a father figure than a sibling, but he was the kindest to her by far, and they often bonded over the ways they were both overlooked. They had an understanding in being the caretakers. They just understood one other.
But Connor was also someone who was undoubtedly comfortable in his skin, and who knew how to carry himself wherever he went. The same could not be said for Eleanor, who stood out like a sore thumb wherever she went, with her awkward nature and reserved demeanor. In this way, he could never truly understand her.
“Nell?”
She had gotten lost in her own thoughts. Again.
“Yeah, sorry, still here.”
“It’ll be okay, you can leave early if you feel overwhelmed. I’ll call you when I’ve put the kids to bed, to check in, okay?”
“Mm-hmm, yes, sounds good. Thanks.”
“Okay, good luck. Bye.”
“Bye.”
She didn’t doubt Angie would keep her promise of calling at the end of the night, but she knew how the conversation would go.
Angie was her best friend, but ever since she had gotten married and had kids, Eleanor felt she had enough on her plate without having to deal with her shit too. So she opted to keep a lot inside, not wanting to be a burden to anyone, especially not the people she loved most in the world.
She hadn’t known she had been holding her breath until her father’s building came into view, causing her to inhale sharply, her stomach feeling like someone was burrowing into it.
“We’re here, Ms. Eleanor,” Joe called over to her from the front seat.
“Thanks Joe.”
“Is 6 still okay for pickup?”
“Yes please, I’ll keep you posted if anything changes,” she responded, opening the door and stepping out.
With a wave goodbye, he started the car and departed, leaving Eleanor standing in front of the huge building where her father resided.
She let out a gasp of surprise when she turned to come face to face with her oldest brother. Or face to chest, since he towered over her.
“Hey kiddo, looks like we got here at the same time.”
“Hey Con, looks like it.”
“Early is on time,” he said, letting out a small laugh.
“Great minds think alike,” she responded, reaching up to wrap her arms around him in a hug.
“You look good. The pantsuit is a nice touch.”
She averted her gaze, focusing on the chewing gum someone had recently left stuck on the concrete.
She felt exposed, like he could see right through her. And she hated it. She let out a shiver of unease, the cold air seeping into her bones.
“Are you cold? Let’s head inside, yeah?” Connor said, his caretaker instincts kicking in.
She nodded, giving him a small smile as she stepped around him to head inside.
The elevator ride up was quiet at first, with Eleanor looking at the changing floor numbers and Connor looking at his sister, concern evident on his face.
She could feel him observing her, but she refused to be the one to break the silence.
After several more moments of this, she finally caved, turning to look at him.
“Is something the matter? Is there something on my face?” she asked him, her tone a mixture of panic and annoyance.
“Uh, no, it’s just um, you look nice.”
“You said that already, Con.”
“Yeah, but I just mean, you don’t look like you,” he explained, gesturing to her outfit.
“Oh.” She didn’t quite know how to respond to that.
“Is it because of--,” he began.
“I just thought, it’s a special occasion, it being dad’s birthday and all, so I should probably dress to impress, y’know?”
Her eyes met his once more, and she tried to convey as much sincerity as she could so he would believe her.
She wasn’t sure if he did, but he dropped the subject with a nod of his head and a pat on her shoulder right as the elevator doors opened.
They were met with Marcia standing right by the elevator, clearly having been informed that they were on their way up.
“Hello, hello,” she greeted Connor as he stepped out of the elevator, Eleanor trailing behind him.
“Hi Marcia, good to see you,” he greeted, giving her a kiss on each cheek as was their customary greeting.
“I knew you two would be the first to arrive,” she teased, turning away from Connor and towards the younger Roy.
“Hello sweetheart,” she murmured, stepping forward to envelope her stepdaughter in a tight hug.
“Hi, Marcia,” Eleanor responded, her voice muffled as her face was hidden within Marcia’s shoulder.
Marcia let out a small chuckle, taking half a step back before cupping her cheeks and placing a kiss on each one.
It was no secret that Eleanor was Marcia’s favorite out of Logan’s children. It wasn’t a hard competition to win, really. Connor was too close in age to her to be seen as a child, and her other two brothers were indifferent and sometimes unkind to her. Shiv downright hated her, often making her disdain for her known.
“It has been too long,” Marcia murmured before finally stepping back to stand beside Connor, smiling at her.
Eleanor shuffled her feet as innocuously as possible, her stomach churning. She had never been a big fan of physical touch, both of her parents had never been affectionate, and the past couple of years had cemented her discomfort with it.
Marcia meant well, she knew, but such a maternal gesture sent her stomach into a whirlwind, suspicion arising in the back of her mind despite how genuine her father’s wife was being.
She gave a small smile of reciprocation, letting out an exhale of relief when a housekeeper walked over, whispering something into Marcia’s ear.
“Okay, thank you,” Marcia said before turning back to Connor and Eleanor.
“Roman is here, coming up now.”
“Nice to see him be on time for once,” Connor remarked, receiving an eye roll from Eleanor.
Her eyes met Connor’s as the elevator doors opened, both anticipating what their rambunctious brother would do and say on arrival.
“Hey look it’s shithead number one and shithead number two!” Roman exclaimed, pointing first at Connor and then at Nell.
“Language, Rome!” Grace scolded from behind him, placing her hands over her daughter’s ears as he laughed.
He ignored his girlfriend’s comment, stepping forward to give Marcia a quick embrace before turning to his younger sister.
“They gave you time off from your prison sentence?” he mocked, jabbing a finger into her shoulder.
“It’s not a prison, Rome. It’s a nonprofit, but I can see how you’d mix those up,” she retorted, glaring at him.
“You should consider taking some time off regardless sis, looks like it’s really wearing you out, " he said, gesturing towards her face.
Her glaring intensified, prompting him to let out a laugh.
“Okay, shit, I’m sorry. It’s good to see you, really,” he said, stepping forward to envelope her in a hug and pressing a kiss to her forehead.
“You too,” she replied, giving his shoulder a squeeze.
Roman hadn’t changed much since she last saw him. He was still small, he was the smallest of all the boys and taller only than her. He wore the same suits and parted his hair the same way. She figured his time in California over the past year meant he would have changed a lot, but he hadn’t. She didn’t know whether that was a good thing or a bad one.
Change could be good, sometimes.
“You and Grace still going strong, then?” she asked her brother while greeting Grace and her children with a wave.
“Yeah, looks that way. What about you? Brought any arm candy for us to ogle at?”
She let out a snort at that. She’d only ever had two serious partners, but Roman had always laser-focused on them.
“Not a chance. Dating’s the last thing on my mind at the moment,” she replied.
“Oh come on, spill. What about what's-his-name, Jeremy?”
She felt herself tense involuntarily, her lips pursing and her gaze averting for a millisecond before she caught hold of herself once more.
But that millisecond had been enough for Roman to notice.
“Holy shit, that bad, huh?” he asked.
“Fuck off,” she hissed, turning and walking into the sitting room where everybody else had gathered.
“I have five farms, and underneath all my farms runs a big, giant, aquifer that’s like an underground lake,” Connor told Isla as she approached.
“That’s so cool!” she responded, eyes wide in awe.
“I have pumping rights! That means I get to take the water,” he whispered excitedly.
“Cool!” Isla exclaimed.
“And it’s very important because someday water’s gonna be more precious than gold and people are going to kill each other to try to get that water,” Connor continued, too wrapped up in his excitement to factor that he was speaking to a child.
“Oh, hey, hey! Come on, don’t!” Roman intervened. Grace pulled her daughter towards her as Eleanor placed an arm around Connor’s forearm, guiding him towards her.
“Con, maybe don’t talk about people killing each other in front of children,” she murmured softly.
“Right, right, sorry,” he responded, turning back to Isla and apologizing.
“But I’m gonna have the water, and I’ll share with you,” he added in a whisper.
Eleanor’s eyebrows furrowed at her brother’s oddity for a moment, but her attention was quickly deviated to the elevator doors opening once more, a burst of red hair entering her line of vision.
Shiv had arrived, her boyfriend trailing behind her as she greeted Marcia.
“Hi!”
“Hi! How are you?” Marcia greeted, leaning in for a hug.
“Good, how are you?” Shiv replied.
“You look great, what a beautiful color. Right Nellie?”
She stood stunned for a moment, not anticipating being spoken to as she watched their interaction.
“Hmm? Oh, yes, it’s lovely,” she complimented, tightening her hold over the glass of water in her hand in an attempt to ground herself.
“Thank you, same. Love that,” she said to Marcia, gesturing to the purple dress she was wearing before turning and looking at Eleanor.
Whatever she had been planning on saying to her older sister was interrupted by Tom.
“Hey Nell!,” he exclaimed, stepping forward to engulf her in a hug. The action happened so quickly that she froze for a few moments, before hesitantly wrapping her arms around him in return.
She had forgotten that Tom only had one volume setting: loud.
“Hi Tom,” she greeted, her voice muffled as her face was pressed into his bicep.
“If you don’t let go soon you’ll end up crushing her to death,” Roman remarked as he passed them.
Tom laughed the comment off, straightening up as she detched herself from the embrace.
“What you got there?”, she asked, gesturing to the box he held in one arm.
“Oh, this? Only the best gift for Mr. Bossman,” he answered, a huge smile on his face as he reached over to open the box.
“What do you think?”
The gift in question was a watch, a very expensive one by the looks of the Patek Phillipe brand name on the box. She met Tom’s gaze, seeing his eagerness.
While her brothers considered Tom a nuisance for the most part, Nell really liked him. It had taken some time, as he did come on a little strongly when they were first introduced to him, but he had always been very kind to her, perhaps to compensate for the unkind treatment she received from others in the family, but she couldn’t really be sure about that.
What she was sure about was that she found kinship with him, because they were both outsiders within the family unit. Nell had the Roy family blood and name, but it was obvious to everyone that she didn’t fit, and Tom was ostracized because he hadn’t been born into obscene wealth like they had. Thus a bond had been formed.
It was because of this bond that Eleanor found it difficult to be honest with him. Her father didn’t care for material gifts, or any gifts really. No gift was going to get Tom the approval that he wanted from Logan Roy.
She despised lying, but he looked so elated, the hope in his eyes driving straight into her.
Sometimes lies can be morally permissible, if they spare pain.
“It looks great. I’m sure he’ll love it. Good job,” she said, giving him a reassuring smile.
He laughed in elation, closing the box and walking over to greet Marcia and Roman.
“Thanks for that, he’s been freaking out about getting Dad the ‘perfect gift’ all morning.”
She turned to face Shiv as she said this, giving a shrug and a small smile.
“No biggie.”
“It’s good to see you, Nell. I’ve missed you,” she greeted, stepping forward to hug her older sister.
“I’ve missed you too,” Nell admitted, squeezing her baby sister as much as possible given their height difference.
“You okay?”, Shiv asked as she pulled away from the hug.
This was not a very emotional family, but Shiv knew that Eleanor was not one for physical contact, and if she was hugging her this tightly it was probably for a reason.
“Yeah, fine.”
“You sure?”
“Never better,” Nell said, giving a thumbs up for emphasis.
There was a moment of silence, Shiv making direct eye contact with her, analyzing her, before she nodded.
“She really went all out, huh?” Shiv’s tone was mocking.
“Shiv, be nice, please.” Nell pleaded.
“I am being very nice , sis, the nicest ,” she responded, her tone now condescending. Nell’s reply was to let out a sigh of exasperation, not wanting to contribute to her sister’s criticism of their stepmother.
She understood Shiv’s skeptecism and the lack of warmth she held towards Marcia, but she didn’t understand why she always had to poke the bear.
Eleanor herself hadn’t been quick to warm up to Marcia when she first started dating their father, but after several years of marriage she had proven herself to be genuine in the care and nurturing of their Dad, and that was good enough for Nell to accept that she was well-meaning.
As Roman approached to greet their younger sister, she turned to the dining room, looking around in an attempt to busy herself.
She was confused when she noticed there was an extra table setting, curious as to who else Marcia had invited.
“Marcia, why are there 15 table settings?” she asked.
“Oh, your cousin will be joining us,” Marcia explained, further deepening Nell’s confusion.
“Cousin? What cousin?” she asked looking over to Shiv for any recollection but receiving none.
“A cousin Greg, Marianne’s son,” Marcia elaborated.
“Oh, okay.”
Nell was aware of Greg’s existence, but she hadn’t seen him since she was a child and he a baby, so she was still confused as to why he would be coming, but said no more of it.
“Everybody, he’s back, get ready. Find a place, hide for the surprise!” Marcia exclaimed, shoving them all towards the elevator.
“We’re surprising him?” Eleanor asked, her question falling on deaf ears.
She knew her father hated surprises, and he would definitely hate seeing them all crowded so close to the elevator upon arrival. She was also closest to the elevator within the group, so if he decided to lash out she’d be getting full brunt of it.
“Oh, he’s gonna love this. I think last time I surprised him he took a swing at me.”
Eleanor turned to Roman, eyes wide, but only received a laugh from him at her reaction.
She turned her gaze forward as the elevator doors opened, everyone shouting, “Surprise! Happy birthday” from behind her.
Her father looked pretty much the same as he had the last time she had seen him. Same blue eyes, same fisherman sweater, and the same gray facial hair. His presence was as commandeering as ever.
“Great. Excellent. Wonderful.” he muttered as he stepped out of the elevator, with Colin behind him and a giant of a man trailing after them both.
He was quite clearly not happy.
“Hi, Hi, Hi. Okay, okay, give me room.”, he muttered, pushing past them all to walk inside the sitting room, Marcia at his heels.
Eleanor watched him mutter something to her, probably vocalizing his dissatisfaction at being bombarded by the elevator, before moving to stand by the wall, behind everyone else.
She watched Marcia take her fathers coat and some files before he turned to face them all.
“Connor, primo!” he exclaimed, reaching over to give her eldest brother a brief hug, ignoring the gift bag that Connor tried to hand him as he moved onto his youngest son.
“Romulus! Romulus! Look at you, you look fantastic,” he greeted, reaching over to hug him as well.
“Yeah of course,” came Roman’s reply, resulting in an eye roll from his younger sisters and a smirk from their father, who turned towards his youngest child.
“Siobhan. Sweetheart.”
He spoke with tenderness, reaching over to engulf her in a hug. Shiv had always been his favorite, and she reveled in this as she had always been the most like their father.
“Where’s Tom?”
“He’s here, he’s just there,” Shiv replied, gesturing to her boyfriend beside her.
“Oh well, never mind,” their father remarked, resulting in a painfully transparent laugh from Tom.
And then it was her turn.
“Well, well, what do we have here?” her father remarked, causing everyone to turn their gaze towards her.
She felt exposed, everyone’s eyes on her as she looked at her father. She wished the earth would swallow her whole in that moment.
“Hi, dad. Happy birthday,” she greeted.
There was a moment of silence, and she felt her heart rate increase as she waited for his reaction.
He stepped forward, causing her to inhale sharply.
There were several more steps until he stopped before her, reaching forward to wrap his arms around her. She let out a deep exhale in relief, returning the hug.
He tightened the hug for a moment before leaning back and pressing a kiss to her forehead.
“It’s good to see you, kitty.”
She winced internally at the use of the nickname, but nevertheless gave her father the brightest smile she could muster.
“It’s good to see you too,” she responded.
Someone cleared their throat behind them, prompting them to look towards the obscenely tall man that had walked in with her father.
“Everybody, this is… Craig by the way. Cousin Craig,” he announced, gesturing towards his nephew.
Eleanor furrowed her eyebrows, sharing a look of confusion with Shiv, her younger sister turning her attention back to their father.
“Craig? It’s Greg. N-No?” she asked, looking between the two men.
Their cousin looked like a deer caught in headlights, stammering out, “Yeah, Greg. People sometimes like mistakenly call me Craig, too -- so, I’ll answer to both.”
The awkwardness seeped through the room, causing Eleanor to turn away, looking for some respite. She looked over to her fathers bodyguard, standing closest to her at the back of the room.
“Hello Colin,” she greeted, sending him a warm smile.
“Hi Ms. Roy,” he replied, reciprocating her smile.
“How have you been? How’s the family, you gotten to see them at all lately?” she inquired.
“Good, they’re all good. I saw them a couple of days ago so that was good,” he replied. She nodded in understanding.
“And you? How’s the nonprofit coming along?,” he asked.
“Don’t you already know?”, she teased, eliciting a small chuckle from him.
Colin always had his ear to the ground, looking into things for her father, and she had no doubt that he had been keeping tabs on her despite the lengthy time they had gone without seeing each other.
“It’s polite to ask. And I didn’t just mean your work, how are you doing?” he asked, gaze expectant.
“Fine, it’s all been good,” she said, hoping he’d buy it.
“Mm-hmm, that’s good,” he replied. It was clear he didn’t believe her.
She smiled once more at him, before stepping forward to make her way to Connor.
She was halfway towards him when she heard the elevator door open once again, her father turning his attention to the newcomer.
“Kendall? You came?”
She froze, turning towards her older brother, who stood before their father.
“Yeah, of course. Happy birthday, Dad,” he responded, reaching forward to embrace him.
“Uh-huh,” her father said, displeasure shown on his face.
A realization struck Eleanor then, blood rushing to her face.
Kendall had followed her advice, showing up for their father. But he had left negotiations for a deal pending, essentially choosing family over business.
To any other person, this would seem like the obvious choice, but their father was not any other person.
This had been a test, and Kendall had failed.
She pivoted from approaching Connor to approaching Kendall, hastily making her way towards him and her father.
“Hey Ken, can I talk to you for a second?” she asked, slightly breathless.
Both men looked over at her, right as Kendall’s phone went off in an incoming call.
“Hey, Nell, one second okay? I just need to take this,” he explained, beginning to turn away from her.
“I just need to tell you--” she began, being cut off when he reached over to kiss her on the cheek, then turning on his heel and leaving.
Her father had also turned away from her and back towards Marcia and Roman.
“I hear you went down. Did you go down?” she heard him ask Roman.
“Oh yeah, I did. Not so good. It’s a shitshow,” Roman responded.
She let out a sigh as she made her way over to Connor, who was speaking with Greg.
He turned towards her when he saw her approaching, gesturing towards her as he said, “Greg, this is Eleanor. Nell, meet cousin Greg.”
“Hi,” he said, outstretching his hand in what she presumed was a handshake.
“Hi,” she replied, waving her hand and ignoring his outstretched one with a smile.
“Nell doesn’t do touch, she’s a bit of a germaphobe,” Connor explained, offering an excuse for his sister.
“Oh, okay,” Greg said, dropping his hand and giving a small smile to them both.
“Con, what’s in the bag?” she asked, looking down at the gift bag her brother still clutched in his hands.
“Hmm? Oh, I got Pop some sourdough starter,” he explained, handing her the bag to look into.
She saw a tupperware container within the bag, but didn’t take it out as the gift was not for her.
“Sourdough starter?” she questioned, slightly confused by the choice of gift.
“Yeah, it’s to make bread the old fashioned way, y’know, like they did in Scotland,” Connor explained.
“Oh, that’s really thoughtful, Con,” she replied, moved by her brother's considerate nature.
“Let’s go show him, yeah?” he said, gesturing over to where her father and Shiv were talking.
“Con, maybe it’d be better to do it later,” she said, but he was halfway across the room, leaving her standing with Greg.
“Sorry, I’ll be right back” she apologized, turning to follow her brother.
“Oh wonderful,” she heard her father say as she approached.
“What is it?” he asked just as Roman reached into the bag, pulling out the tupperware container.
“It’s a-- it’s a goo. It’s a fucking goo,” Roman remarked, smirk evident on his face.
Rome--” Nell warned, giving him a pointed look.
“It’s sourdough starter,” Connor explained, focusing on his father as he waited for a reaction.
“Amazing!” Roman mocked.
“I thought you might like to make something. Never mind, forget it. It was an idea. I thought you might like it.”
“I do, I do,” their father replied, looking down into the tupperware.
“I just don’t know what the fuck it is,” he added.
“It’s sourdough starter… to make bread without yeast, the old way,” Connor elaborated.
“Oh, oh, okay. Old bread, thank you,” their father said, dismissing the gift by handing it over to Marcia.
Nell watched her brother’s shoulders slump, dejected. She reached over to place her hand in his.
“It was a nice thought,” she whispered, tugging him away from their father and to another side of the room.
“Everyone, lunch will be ready in ten,” Marcia informed them all, before her father stepped forward, a stack of yellow envelopes now in his hands.
“Listen, just two minutes before lunch in the study. Kids, can you give me two minutes?” he asked, looking around the room at each of his children.
She met Connor’s gaze, a silent debate being conveyed in their eye contact. He smiled warmly at her, gesturing for her to follow him, the two of them being the last of the siblings to enter the study.
She looked around the study, seeing Shiv leaning on the desk, Roman laying upside down on one of the chairs, and Kendall standing off to the right. Connor situated himself by the window, facing the doorway where she currently stood.
After a moment of deliberation, she opted to stand beside Kendall, returning the smile he sent her way as she walked over to him.
“What do you think it’s about?” Shiv asked, directing her question towards Kendall.
“I don’t know, he stopped by the office earlier but it might not be about that,” Kendall replied, gaze fixed on the bag clutched in Eleanor’s right hand.
“What’s that?” he asked her, nodding towards the gift bag.
“Hmm? Oh, it’s a gift. I haven’t had a chance to give it to him yet,” she explained, adjusting the bag to hide it behind her.
Roman rolled his eyes when he saw her do this.
She ignored him, facing the door as she saw her father step into the study.
“Dad?” Shiv spoke up.
“Yes?”
“Yeah, what’s the deal?”
Eleanor leaned in, curiosity overtaking her as her father opened his mouth to speak.
But he was interrupted by Kendall.
“Hey Dad, Nell has a gift for you. Maybe you should open it before we get into the business of it all.”
“Oh, n-no. I’m sure this is very important, Ken. It can wait.”
She saw her father let out a small sigh, clearly not enthused at having business interrupted.
“All right, let’s see it then.”
He extended his right hand, waiting for the gift bag to be handed over. She took small steps forward, heart beating erratically.
She would have much preferred to have him open it on his own or with Marcia, where she wouldn’t have to see him openly expressing distaste or disappointment.
The gift exchanged hands, and she stepped back, fidgeting with her bracelets as she waited with bated breath.
He removed the tissue paper haphazardly, letting it fall onto the floor as he reached inside, pulling out a canvas.
There was silence, him looking at the painting, Eleanor looking at him, and the siblings watching the interaction.
“It’s… nice, kitty. Where’d you get it?”
“Oh, I painted it. I know it’s probably not very good, but I just thought you’d like it.”
More silence, him analyzing the painting.
“Mm-hmm. And what’s this house here?”
She stepped forward, moving to stand beside him to see what he was pointing at.
“It’s the beachhouse, in St. Ives. The one from when we were kids.”
She cleared her throat, trying desperately to not show her anxiousness at his reaction.
He stared for a couple more moments, running a finger over some of the landscape.
Then he turned his head to look at her, leaning forward to press a kiss to her jaw.
She froze at the action, not knowing how to interpret it, before smiling softly at him as he murmured, “Thank you.”
“Of course,” she replied, stepping back to her place besides Kendall, giving him a grateful smile before turning back her attention back to her father.
“So… on the family trust, which will decide the situation in the event of my unlikely demise…”
There was a pause, everyone listening intently.
“I’m going to add Marcy to myself and you five.”
“Woah, okay,” Shiv blurted out.
“And my seat also to go to her on my death,” he added, turning to look at the yellow folders he had brought in with him.
Eleanor shared a look with Kendall, who looked dumbfounded as Shiv spoke up, “What? Wait, that gives her double voting weight.
“Uh-huh. So I’ve got some paperwork-”
“Woah, woah, woah, what?!”
This time it had been Kendall who vocalized his disagreement, looking around at each of his siblings in disbelief.
“So, Marcia will have two votes when you-”
“ If he,” Roman interjected, straightening himself to sit upright in his chair.
“Well, no, Rome, it’s not an if .”
“Well excuse me if I don’t want him to--” Roman quipped before getting cut off.
“Well, it’s not really what we want in this case, Rome,” Kendall remarked, still looking dumbfounded.
Eleanor sighed, feeling a headache start at the back of her skull.
Family affairs never went smoothly where the Roys were involved.
“Kendall’s already signed, but if I can get you all to--” their father went on, before also being cut off by Kendall.
“Two votes? I don’t think I was aware of that when I--” he stammered, looking at Eleanor with a look of disbelief. She furrowed her eyebrows, as she hadn’t been aware he’d already signed.
“Read the small print, asshole.”
“Rome,” Eleanor scolded.
“Sorry mommy”, he replied sarcastically, resulting in an eye roll from her and a sigh from their father, who had no patience for their antics.
There was a moment of silence, all of them processing while their father looked towards them all, awaiting a response.
Shiv was the first to speak.
“I mean, this looks… I’m going to have to talk to my lawyers, just for all the implications.”
“Me too, just to get the full picture,” Eleanor spoke up, not wanting to sign anything without doing her due diligence.
“Of course, sure, take a beat,” their father replied, looking between both of his daughters.
“But look, I love the bread-goo… and the beach house painting, but this is the present I really want ,” he emphasized, staring right at Eleanor and Connor as he mentioned each of their gifts.
He knew exactly how to punch them in the gut, and she could feel the manipulation taking effect on her oldest brother, who shifted in his place.
“By 4:00, good?”
It wasn’t really a question, but a demand.
He moved towards Kendall and Eleanor, his presence commanding their every bit of attention.
“Oh, also, I already mentioned to Kendall… despite the chatter, and all things considered… I’m going to give it a couple of years.”
Eleanor inhaled sharply, the prickling pain at the back of her skull intensifying, her heart beat skyrocketing.
Her father would not be retiring. He had fucked Kendall over.
“As in?” Shiv asked, seeking clarification.
“I’ll stay in situ. As chairman, CEO, head of the firm.”
She looked over at Kendall, seeing his face fall, the look of disbelief returning tenfold.
“Dad, wh-- you, you, what?” he stammered, a look of panic coming over him.
Nell held her breath as her father turned, staring Kendall dead in the eye.
“I just said, son. Or were you not listening, as usual?”
Kendall ignored the remark, responding with, “But I’m-- you’re not, what?”
“It’s no big deal. I’m staying on, we can discuss the details.”
“You didn’t tell me.”
“We can announce you’re in pole position, pending events. A move up or whatever.” “Pending events?!” Kendall questioned.
Nell thought if his eyes widened any more than they already were, they’d bulge out of his head. She sighed, reaching over to place a hand on his forearm in an attempt to ground him as their father turned away from them.
He was done with the conversation, and there was no room for argument, from any of them.
“Okay, come on, let’s eat,” he said, walking past the doorway and exiting the room, ignoring Kendall who was calling his name.
“Oh, fuck!” he blurted out, hand clenching into fists at his sides.
Nell squeezed her eyes shut as he argued with Shiv. She felt guilty, but she didn’t know what for exactly. Mostly she felt bad. Bad for Kendall, bad for Connor, bad for herself.
Her eyes opened as she heard a laugh from her right, seeing Roman place a hand over his mouth in a poor attempt to hide his giggling. She shook her head in disappointment at his antics.
“I don’t know what the fuck you’re laughing about!” Kendall yelled, causing Nell to flinch beside him.
He had gone from disbelief and into anger at the news.
“I’m not even laughing. What?!” Roman replied, but his persistent giggling did little to help his argument.
She sent a stern look his way, causing him to exaggeratingly sit up, pretending to be serious for a second before descending back into his fit of giggles.
She let out another sigh.
Kendall looked from Shiv to her, before saying, “I mean, he can’t just… right?”
They both stayed silent, exchanging looks.
“He’s gonna blow the firm’s credibility. Did he look okay to you?” he asked, turning to fully face Shiv.
“Oh, come on! Ken, this is typical, it’s Dad,” Shiv countered, shrugging.
Connor stood up from where he leaned against the window, making his way across the room as he addressed them all.
“I’m out, okay? I’m not playing. Whatever you four decide, goes. Goodbye,” he said, heading out the doorway.
“Connor,” Nell called after him, but he shook his head.
“On the trust, I refuse to play. I don’t want to engage. I’m water, I flow,” he stated, turning and heading out of the study.
Nell let a millisecond pass before she too made her way to the doorway, turning to face her siblings as they called out to her.
“Nell, what?”
“I’m out too,” she explained, gesturing to the yellow envelope in her hand.
“What no-” Shiv began.
“No, I’ll go with whatever you three decide. It’s all the same to me,” she firmly stated, walking out of the study, seeing Marcia standing near the doorway.
“Lunch is coming up,” she informed her, sending her a small smile.
“Thanks, I’ll go wash my hands,” she replied, beelining for the bathroom.
She let out an exhale as she locked the wooden door behind her, walking over to sit on the closed toilet seat.
She placed her head in her hands, squeezing her eyes shut and taking several deep breaths.
After a few moments, she looked at the time on her phone, trying to calculate how long she could get away with hiding in here.
She needed time before going back out there and facing them all again.
She stood, going over to the sink and wincing as she looked in the mirror.
She looked over her reflection, noting the way the stress and fatigue were evident on her face. Raising her hands to her temples, she attempted to relax her features.
But it was a futile effort, so she pivoted her hands down into the sink, washing her hands.
She counted to 150 as she did so, watching the water run down her palms, before coming to the realization that she was wasting water, shutting off the faucet.
She didn’t dry her hands with the hand towel, instead she waved them around, getting them to air dry to lengthen her time in here.
After her hands were completely dry, she busied herself with refolding the stack of hand towels by the sink, being as precise and symmetrical as possible.
Checking the time once more, she sighed as she realized she’d been in here for almost 10 minutes, and someone would have noted her absence by now.
She let out a small yelp as she heard a sharp knock, panic overtaking her for a moment.
She turned back towards the mirror, fixing herself up as much as possible, before walking over and opening the door, coming face to face with her older brother.
“There’s four other bathrooms, you had to come to this one?”
He nodded absentmindedly, moving past her and shutting the door with a slam, leaving her in the hallway, dumbfounded.
She stood for a few moments, unmoving. She debated whether she should check in or leave him to have his space.
Then she heard a clatter, followed by several thumps and the shattering of glass. She stepped forward, about to knock when she heard a muffled scream.
Kendall was furious, and she didn’t think now would be the time to approach him. Plus, he would probably be embarrassed if he realized she had heard his angry outburst, so she turned and made her way back to the dining room, taking her seat in between Shiv and Roman.
She was silent as they ate, moving around her food with her fork to give the illusion of eating. She turned over to look at her brother every couple of minutes, concern evident on her face.
But he wasn’t paying attention to any of them, simply looking down at his food and then gazing around the room, his mind clearly someplace else.
“You gonna finish that?” Roman asked her, not waiting for a response before stabbing his fork into her chicken.
“Go nuts,” she said, moving her arm to give him better access to the plate.
Shiv leaned forward before saying, “Marcy this was delicious. Thank you.”
Marcia looked stunned for a moment, not expecting praise from her stepdaughter.
“Oh, thank you.”
“Yeah, the whole day. Really thoughtful, thank you very much,” she added, nodding encouragingly.
“Thank you very much,” she responded with a warm smile, before turning her attention back to Greg.
Eleanor huffed as she heard Roman mock Shiv’s comments, calling her a suck-up, quickly turning her attention when Frank rose, glass of wine in hand.
“Yeah, if you’ll excuse me…” he began, everyone turning their attention to him.
“Logan Roy. Born in Dundee, Scotland, 80 years ago today. Raised in Quebec by an uncle with a print shop and a few advertising billboards, and an aunt with a herd of cattle. Logan himself has made a decent way for himself these past 60 years. Fifth largest media conglomerate in the world. A pal to prime ministers, a truth teller to presidents. He’s tough, he’s wily, but he’s always true to his word. I arrived to give him legal advice 30 years ago, and I never got out the door. And since that day, I’m proud to call him a friend. So, let’s raise a toast,” he finished, lifting his glass of wine while the rest reached over for theirs.
“Logan Roy”
“Logan Roy,” they all echoed, before drinking.
“Thank you,” her father said, before turning to face them all from the head of the table.
“So, I think it’s time to play the game.”
Eleanor groaned internally, knowing what he was getting at.
“We’re playing the game?” Kendall asked, speaking for the first time since they had begun eating.
“Well, yes. It’s my birthday so yes, we’re playing the game.”
“Do we have to play the game?” Shiv asked, Eleanor nodding eagerly beside her.
“What’s the game?” Greg asked, receiving no response as they all began to stand.
Eleanor remained sitting for a few moments, trying to hold in a sigh as she finally stood, trailing behind everyone.