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𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍

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Cora hadn't been to the Pierce's Long Island property since she had been a teenager, but very little had changed about the building. It had been a place of wonder when she'd been a child, the old money style that the Pierce's flaunted was aesthetically in opposition to the more contemporary nature of the Roy's summer home, and the few times she had visited when she'd been young, she'd spent most of her time playing hide and seek in the dumb waiter and hunting for secret passageways. The only real difference she could note was simply that the place felt a lot smaller than it did in her memory.

The Roys had filtered onto the property and had quickly gotten to work breaking the ice with the rival family, as they had been instructed to by a belligerent and highly strung Logan. Cora had found herself standing nearby the expansive spread of morning tea that had been laid out for their arrival, nibbling pensively on a scone, her stomach in knots. She'd received specific instruction from Logan to be by his side when he arrived, and the patriarch was lagging behind after having landed in one of the Roy's company helicopters.

As she swallowed a particularly dry bit of scone, trying not to immediately break into a fit of raspy coughs, she felt a familiar towering presence appear by her side. She turned, her free hand instinctively smoothing the skirt of her navy velvet dress, craning her head to give Greg a small nod of acknowledgment. She wasn't exactly sure how he'd managed to nab an invite to the Pierce's, but she could hardly complain. With the acquisition negotiations on the horizon, Cora had been blown off by Roman more than a few times, and Kendall had kept his icy attitude towards her for the time being.

Shiv, meanwhile, had suddenly become far more involved at Waystar after she'd been fired from her political job, and thus, Cora had started to run into her more often. Each time seemed to involve a series of jabs from Shiv, all of which went completely over Cora's head, but she wasn't about to start asking. She could only expect the anger was coming from the attention Logan was beginning to throw her way.

"Hey!" Greg chirped. "Whatcha eating there?"

"A scone." Cora replied. "It's pretty unremarkable."

"Yeah, but I guess it's kind of an old person-y type food and those are always gonna be a bit tasteless." He replied, adjusting the waistband of his slacks. "My grandpa, he's always eating pale food like biscuits with no jam, porridge with no honey, no berries either. One time he took me to a diner and he ordered pancake with n-"

"Cordelia!"

Both Cora and Greg jumped at the sudden interruption. Logan Roy had emerged through the doorway, shadowed by his wife. His eyes scanned the room in confusion for a moment before they found her. Cora swallowed.

"Uh, can you hold this for me?" She muttered, handing Greg the half-eaten scone before he could reply.

"Yeah sure." He said, taking it. Moments later he screwed up his brow. "Hey, do you want me to just can this or ... ?"

Cora didn't reply, instead she was striding across the room, her posture pulled rigid, fiddling with her hair as she walked, which she'd had blown out in anticipation of the meeting. The instruction to look the part had been implicit, but Cora had read it loud and clear. Nan Pierce had spent the past ten or so years reading exclusively about Cora in the tabloids ran by Logan's company. She had to look reformed, refined, and most of all, stone cold sober.

Logan greeted her with a tight smile as she arrived in front of him.

"Hello dear," he said warmly, patting her on the shoulder. She tried not to reflexively dodge the touch, given how unnatural the show of affection was. Instead, she forced a rather toothy grin onto her lips, the dimples of her cheeks making a surprise appearance.

"Hi," she replied, wanting to kick herself for how nervous she sounded. She was having flashbacks to the past, when she and Shiv would run into Logan mid-business call, freezing on the spot and quieting their laughter as he shot them both a look of reproach. "How was the ride?"

"Oh, fucked as always. Turbulent." Logan replied with a nod. "Long Island is a fucking dump, I tell ya. But no need to discuss that right now. I have some people to introduce you to."

Cora obliged as Logan wrapped an arm around her waist, her cheeks glowing bright red, as she was wheeled towards one by one to stand before each of the Pierce cohort. As she smiled painfully through the introductions, she could feel the eyes of the Roy siblings following her throughout the room. They had assembled at the far end, muttering amongst themselves as Shiv and Kendall watched her unabashedly. Roman, who had brought Tabitha along for the weekend, at least seemed less concerned with the way Logan insisted on parading her around. When Cora extended her arm to shake the hand of PGM's CEO Rhea Jarrell, she was certain that she heard Kendall openly scoff.

Finally, they found themselves in front of Nan Pierce. By then, Cora had somewhat stopped squirming at the unnatural proximity she had with Logan, and was relieved when Nan opened her arms to invite Cora into a tight hug.

"Oh, look at you! So healthy." She gushed. For the second time that day, Cora was surprised her cheeks didn't suddenly combust from the heat generated by her embarrassment. As she pulled away, she slid a strand of hair behind her ear, taking an uneasy inhale.

"Hi, yes. It's so nice to see you again."

"It's so nice to not see you on the pages of those trashy magazines anymore!" Nan replied, shooting a not so subtle look at Logan. The man cleared his throat, raising his bushy eyebrows as he placed a firm hand on Cora's shoulder.

"Cordelia is on the board in lieu of Frank."

"Oh yes, it's a real shame about him. I gave him a visit recently, actually, in hospital. Have you been there often, Logan?"

"Well he's not going anywhere at the moment, is he?" Logan replied gruffly. "In the meantime, we have had Cordelia managing his place and she's fit in really quite well. We're considering taking her on fulltime."

This was news to Cora, though she suppressed the urge to look surprised. Instead she gave a polite nod.

"How awfully charitable of you, Logan." Nan replied, her eyes meeting Cora's. "In what kind of position?"

"That much is yet to be seen." Logan replied. "Perhaps if PGM is able to come to the table, then we'll have a better idea of where Cora can go to roost."

"It seems like we have a lot to discuss."

Logan grunted under his breath in reply, before turning to Cora. "Dear, do you want to run along back to the buffet table? Nan and I might take this thing outside."

Cora stopped short of sighing in relief. "Yeah, of course."

"I'll have to catch up with you in private too, Cora." Nan said before Cora could duck off from the conversation. "Save some time for me tomorrow, will you?"

"Sure. I'll look forward to it."

Cora did not head back to the buffet table, instead she stalked the length of the room before she found the doorway, slipping out into the corridor. The Pierce's staff had begun unloading the various pieces of luggage the family had brought with them, and the long hallway was now lined with suitcases and duffel bags, a few of which were being wheeled down further into the property. Cora considered following after one of the attendants to ask which room she had been assigned to but thought better of it, instead beelining for the front door.

The gravel crunched beneath Cora's black loafers as she paced slowly away from the entrance of the house. Across the circular car park, the Roy's drivers gathered in loose formation, smoking cigarettes in the stiff chilly air. She was considering walking across to them to ask for a smoke, something to stave off the queasy feeling in the pit of her stomach, when she heard footsteps, quick and sharp, moving towards her. Confused, she turned to see Shiv stalking away from the entrance of the Pierce house, arms crossed against her chest, head tilted forward and eyes locked onto Cora. Cora swallowed, mimicking the placement of Shiv's arms as the other woman stopped in front of her, a steely look on her flushed pink skin.

"What the fuck is your problem, Cora?"

"Excuse me?" Cora said, flinching at the aggression in Shiv's voice.

"Seriously. Are you going to play dumb?" Shiv continued. "Do you think this is all a joke?"

Cora's mind was wheeling. She hadn't thought that her presence next to Logan would elicit such a violent reaction from Shiv. She knew the woman was a daddy's girl to say the least but she'd also assumed Shiv would be mature enough to know that Cora's hands were tied. There wasn't such a thing as saying no to Logan Roy, especially when she sat on the board. Her confusion must have read as obvious because Shiv let out an exasperated sigh, shaking her head.

"Are you really pretending that the way Kendall has been acting isn't the product of whatever's been going on between the two of you?"

For a moment, Cora breathed a sigh of relief, but this was short lived. She felt annoyance suddenly flare, a scowl pulling at her lips.

"Wait, you're blaming me for whatever shit Kendall's been up to?" Cora scoffed. "Look, I don't know if you understand how rehab works, but I'm clean Shiv. I don't even touch alcohol. It's completely ridiculous you would even accuse me of having any control over the actions of a grown man."

"I don't even mean drugs, Cora." Shiv replied tightly. "Whatever happened between the two of you all those years ago, it clearly had an effect on him. You do know that he and his wife separated because of the article, right?"

"No, funnily enough Shiv, I haven't spent the last five years taking notes on your brother's personal life. And it wasn't my father who owned the paper the article was put in, or do you need a reminder of who owns Waystar?" She tried not to be distracted by the news, which was truly information she hadn't been privy to. "Whatever you think went on between the two of us is probably far from the truth anyway. I never slept with him Siobhan."

"Uh huh, because you're the best source for trustworthy information." Shiv said with a roll of her eyes. "Says the person who never bothered to let me know they were hanging out with him in the first place. You're really going to have me believe that you're not responsible for all of the weird shit that he's been pulling recently."

"He's a fucking coke addict, Shiv, what the fuck do you want me to do? Steal all his blow? Kill his dealer? Blacklist him from every club in New York?" Cora snapped, throwing her hands upwards in exasperation. "You know about a week ago he threw a party in Greg's apartment and I saw him using with a bunch of 20 year olds, why don't you go accost them instead of blaming me for everything when I've done all I can to clean my life up?"

Shiv let out a sharp bark of laughter. "And when exactly do you think all of that is going to come crashing down, Cordelia?"

Cora paused, letting Shiv's words ripple through her core. She felt a stabbing pain in her gut as she registered what they meant, the distrust in them, the anger. Despite all the work she had done, despite the fact that they'd once been entirely inseparable, it appeared that regardless of how much effort she had put in to improving her life, Shiv was still waiting for the other shoe to drop. She stood, mouth gaping at the other woman as the wind around them tugged at her hair, whipping the loose waves into a flurry around her. For a second she could feel the familiar sting in her eyes, the urge to breakdown, the craving that had led her down the drain so many times. There was a sudden loosening of the tight expression on Shiv's face, and to Cora's horror, she felt a hot salty tear streak down her cheek. Hurriedly, she wiped it away with the back of her hand.

"Siobhan! Cordelia!" A harsh bark from the entrance of the Pierce's house drew the women's attention away and they both turned their heads. Logan was leaning out of the doorway, waving a hand towards them, ushering them back inside. "Family meeting!"

Shiv shot Cora a look before obediently heading back towards the house. Cora waited until she had disappeared through the open doorway before suddenly stamping her feet on the ground and letting out a muffled screech of frustration, her pursed lips blocking the sound from its full realisation. Still, she was quickly made aware of the eyes of the drivers on her, a pause in their previous conversation, and she dared to glance in their general direction. Lo and behold they were indeed all staring. Crimson bit her cheeks as she swore under her breath, hunching her shoulders forward as she followed after Shiv.

Inside she found Logan and Shiv in the parlour, along with Kendall, Roman, Greg and Connor. Gerri, Tabitha, Tom and Willa were also in attendance, along with Rhea. Logan watched her as she crossed the room to take a place between Greg and Gerri, leaning against the wall and crossing her arms against her chest.

"Alright." Logan said, abruptly clapping his hands together. "Which one of you spineless little fucks squealed?"

The tone in the room which had been strained at best shifted quickly, a palpable sense of fear filling the air. All at once no one seemed to want to look at Logan, much less meet his eye. The man clasped his hands behind his back as he began to circle the room, leering at everyone one by one as he continued to speak.

"I just had a conversation with Nan Pierce. Why the fuck!" Here he stopped, his voice peaking harshly and bouncing off the high ceiling above. Cora winced, biting down on her bottom lip. He cleared his throat, lowering his voice back down. "Why the fuck does she know any of the terms of the deal we're prepared to offer?"

Roman hummed under his breath, raising a hand. Cora felt her stomach dropping suddenly, like she were moment before the first plunge of a rollercoaster, swallowing back the suddenly taste of bile that invaded her mouth. Logan swivelled towards him.

"Yes?"

"Well," Roman said, cocking an eyebrow, "who's to say it wasn't Frank, who miraculously woke up from his coma to sabotage you before immediately falling back into it?"

Kendall sniffed, shaking his head. "C'mon man, bit below the belt."

Logan narrowed his eyes. "Do you think this is funny, son? Is this your version of a confession?"

Roman raised his arms in the air, blowing a raspberry as he averted his eyes. "No way, dad, nope. Just trying to keep the positive vibes up, given how the Pierce's are a bunch of fuckin' blowhards."

"I don't give a shit about your personal opinions." Logan snapped. "This is business."

Shiv piped up then. "I mean, dad, speaking of Frank, how do we not know that someone isn't chummier with Nan Pierce than she's let on?"

Cora rolled her eyes, expelling an exhausted sigh. "Come the fuck on."

"Poor use of pronouns, Shiobhan." Roman interjected. "They and them would've made it way easier to claim plausible deniability."

"Sticking up for her." Shiv replied tightly. "Predictable."

"Oh no." Roman said. "By all means, I'll gladly join the shit on Cordelia club. I hear Kendall's president."

Kendall ran a hand through his hair, tilting his face towards the ground as he shoved his hands into his pockets.

" ... You know, I think Shiv might actually have a poi-"

"Really?" Cora snapped, narrowing her eyes towards Kendall. "God, do you two have any other hobby other than scapegoating?"

"Well don't be so easy to scapegoat." Kendall countered under his breath.

"Enough!" Logan's voice tore through the room. For a moment, it felt as though it had almost rattled the foundations of the Pierce home itself. "It wasn't fucking Cordelia, I can tell you that much. It was one of you three."

He jabbed a finger in the air, pointing it directly at the siblings. All three exchanged looks, straightening up suddenly. Connor looked from his father to the trio, a frown creasing his brow.

"Hey, wait a second, why am I not being included?"

Logan turned to his eldest with a harsh grimace. "Are you volunteering?"

Connor shook his head, shrinking back towards Willa, who wrapped an arm around his midsection.

"Fucking thought so." Logan muttered, turning back towards his other children. Kendall was gritting his teeth, eyes flickering towards Cora, trying to meet her gaze. She forced her eyes to the floor. "Right, so are we coming clean?"

Pin drop level silence filled the room, so tense that Cora suddenly became self-conscious of her breathing. Again, she could feel Kendall's gaze on her, his eyes boring into the side of her head. She sucked on her bottom lip, willing herself to not return the look.

"No?" Logan barked. "Fine. Have it your way. But don't you fucking worry, you're on borrowed time, I guarantee you."

There was a tense energy as everyone began to filter out of the room. Cora found herself lingering behind, wanting to avoid running into any of the Roy siblings. She needed to sit down in isolation for at least five minutes and gather her thoughts. Already so much had happened and she'd barely been at the Pierce's for an hour.

"Cora." Kendall's voice sounded through the corridor as she emerged when the crowd had disappeared. He'd been waiting for her near the entrance, balancing himself on the edge of one of the large suitcases. With her back to him, she grimaced, closing her eyes. Slowly she turned. It didn't take a genius to guess what he wanted, and part of her didn't want to take the bait. As he paced forward, she massaged her knuckles, listening to the tentative pop of her middle and index fingers.

"What? Are you going to try to herd me?" Kendall's face remained blank at the jab. Cora rolled her eyes. "Goat. Get it? Herding goats. Scapegoats."

"It's ... People herd sheep. No one herds goats. Where did you hear that?"

Cora huffed under her breath. "Yeah, whatever."

"Look, we need to tal-" he began, but Cora quickly raised a hand, shaking her head.

"I am exhausted. I don't want to have to deal with any of you or Roman or Shiv's weird fucked up Oedipus complex daddy issues before dinner." She replied pointedly.

"Oedipus complex would be if I had mommy issues." Kendall countered. When Cora rolled her eyes in reply, he spread his hands in confusion. "You don't even know what I'm going to say."

"Well, judging by the past couple of weeks, it's either going to be an insult or to ask for a favour that you haven't earned."

"I'm just double checking you're not going to throw me under the bus." Kendall said curtly. "Like you said, we haven't exactly been on the best of terms but I hope you have some integrity."

She let out a harsh sigh. "Geez Kendall, I didn't know a business deal that you weren't even guaranteed was so important to you. If only you had half the commitment to your grudge as you did your marriage."

He narrowed his eyes at her and Cora couldn't help pressing her lips together. It had been a low blow, the first real inference to their past. She braced herself for an insult, a passive aggressive comment, anything, but instead Kendall sighed, shrugging his shoulders forlornly.

"Do whatever you're going to do Cordelia, but we both know who called ahead."

She swallowed, a rueful chuckle on her lips. "And we both know how important honesty and loyalty are to the Roys." Cora muttered. "I guess we'll see if it comes up again."

Kendall didn't reply and Cora didn't wait to court further conversation. She turned on her heel, the rubber soles of her shoes whooshing softly against the polished floors as she went in search of her room.

________

The evening arrived quicker than Cora would have liked, rest of the afternoon swallowed by small talk with Nan Pierce and Rhea Jarrell, followed by a long stroll on the expansive greens with both family's entourages.

Though she'd managed to miss her earlier in the day, Cora finally spotted Naomi Pierce among the fray. She'd shot the blonde a tight smile but had neglected to approach her, as she'd appeared almost suddenly at Kendall's side. Cora couldn't help but feel a sharp pang in her gut at the sight of the two of them together. Naomi's addiction problems were no secret, the tabloids had had a field day, and it was both bizarre and strangely threatening to see the two of them getting along.

By the time dinner rolled around, Cora had retreated to her room for a quick shower in the tiled ensuite, wrapping her hair in a floral shower cap to try and retain the smooth waves in her dark tresses. Towelling herself off afterwards, she stood in front of her bed and stared at the two outfits she'd laid out for herself. Both dresses were ones she'd picked up from Saks in anticipation of the dinner, yet neither were in-line with her style. Indeed, neither had the velvet dress with its Peter Pan collar that she'd worn earlier, but Cora had been distancing herself from the previous silhouettes of her socialite days with their hems that danced on her thighs and necklines that dipped low.

Now she was looking at a choice between an Oscar de la Renta gown made out of the same material as a doily, and a Feragamo dress that she was quickly realising would make her look like a Sith lord. Regretting that she'd let the Saks retail worker convince that both were "conservatively chic", she picked up the purple dress, shaking it out to run her eyes up and down it.

The long dining table was mostly seated by the time that Cora arrived, absently scratching the crook of her arm through the long sleeves of the dress. The polyester of the dress was proving both stiff and itchy. Logan stood from his seat in the middle of the table, pulling out the empty seat to his right. She gingerly slid into her seat, nodding to Nan who was sitting directly across from her, between Rhea and Shiv.

"Cordelia!"

Cora jumped, turning to her right, eyebrows shooting upwards in surprise to see Naomi. From the corner of her eye, she could see Kendall across the table, sipping on wine and eyeing the two women as Cora shifted her body to better face the blonde woman.

"Hi!" Cora chirped, wincing at the heightened pitch of her voice. "Long time no see."

"Yeah, definitely. I don't think I've seen you since you did lines at Palermo's New Years Eve party!" Naomi replied, spreading her lips to worm a wolfish smile. "Kendall was saying earlier that you're sober though, boohoo right?"

Cora scoffed under her breath, trying to not feel the mention of her partying days as a particular slight. This was how Naomi and Cora's relationship had nearly always been; politely combative, classic frenemies. Things had cooled off after both women had lost their mothers, but during high school any event that contained the pair was sure to have fireworks.

"Yeah. You are too, right?" Cora replied, cocking an eyebrow. "Did you go to Mountainside? The Dunes?"

Naomi waved a hand dismissively. "I went somewhere in Utah."

"Oh, they shipped you out? That must've sucked." Cora replied, unable to stop herself from feeling a genuine glee swelling in her chest. "It's always a shame when family finds things like that embarrassing."

Naomi paused, before she giggled under her breath. Cora wasn't sure if she imagined it, but for a split second it looked as though the other woman had let her eyes flicker across the table to meet Kendall's.

"Well, you'd know a lot about family, wouldn't you?"

"Oh, you two." Roman said, suddenly appearing in Cora's line of sight with Tabitha in tow. She realised they must have been waiting for him to begin. He quickly slid into the chair beside Kendall, giving his brother a harsh slap on the back. "God this takes me back. To Cora's sweet 16th, remember?"

Cora felt herself flush, blinking rapidly. Beneath the table and out of view, she clenched her fist, digging her nails into the flesh of her palm. Naomi, thankfully, had the good graces to redirect the conversation.

"Roman, we haven't gotten the chance to talk again today, have we?"

"No," Roman said, quickly shaking his head. "Not at all. Not since old times."

"Well," Naomi said, "I'd hardly call last Th-"

There was a sudden chiming of metal against glass as Logan stood, cutting Naomi short. What a hail Mary, Cora thought to herself, shifting her attention from Roman as she turned her body to face Logan. Logan's eyes swept the table slowly, methodically, smiling as he did so. Finally, they fell upon Cora as he cleared his throat.

"I just wanted to say a few things." Logan began. "Firstly, thank you to the Pierce's, and particularly Nan, for hosting us here at Tern Haven and entering into talks about the futures of Waystar Royco and PGM. It is an honour to

"Here, here!" Connor called out from the other end of the table. There was a small ripple of laughter, which ceased as soon as everyone realised Logan had not broken a smile.

"I would also like to both give my deepest condolescences and my greatest thanks to the lovely Cordelia Vernon. Cordelia, dear, if you would."

Cora's eyes had widened with shock. She hadn't known that Logan was going to try and make any speeches in her honour, much less ones that involved her standing. As she slowly rose, she could feel all eyes falling on her. From the corner of her vision, the shock was plain as day on Kendall's face, and she could only imagine the death stare she was receiving from Shiv. Awkwardly, Logan placed a wrinkled hand on the small of Cora's back, and she felt a sudden urge to pluck one of the uncorked wine bottle from the middle of the table and begin sculling it.

"Dear, dear Cordelia. As many you have heard, her step-father, my closest and oldest friend Frank Vernon was rushed to hospital after suffering from a ... A ... Well, something quite bad." Logan coughed gruffly, quickly stepping over the faux pas. "He is in stable condition, in a coma, at one of the best hospitals in New York, I assure you all. I trust you will all send him thoughts and prayers."

"Remember when he fired him?"

Logan's head jerked to the right, resting on Roman, who was pouring himself a large glass of red wine. The man widened his eyes in an attempt to look innocent as he set the bottle down. Logan continued.

"In the mean time, Cordelia has taken on the responsibilities of her step-father on the board and is carving out a place and a path at Waystar Royco. We hope that with a partnership with PGM, that we will be able to find her a permanent position within good time."

"Looks like she lost a fight with a curtain on the way here." She heard Roman mutter to Tabitha, the comment loud and clear in the silence that Logan's pause had provided.

This time Logan ignored his son, but Cora could feel the heat creeping from her neck to her ears. She grit her teeth, suddenly seized with anger. Reflexively, she cleared her throat as she glared at Roman, unable to tear her eyes from him. He met her glare, impassively sipping from his wineglass. The challenge in his eyes was obvious, she'd seen it once before. Had he forgotten, just in the way he had seemed to forget about her sweet 16th, what had happened the last time he had looked at her that way?

"I have a few things to say." Cordelia said suddenly.

"Yes?" Logan muttered, sounding surprised. He quickly coughed, nodding. "Yes. Yes of course."

"I just feel like it has been a real honour hearing so many nice things about myself." Cora said, glancing down at her hands. She hadn't realised just how much she was fiddling with them as she'd been standing there, wringing the palms of her hands, tugging at her thumbs. She took a deep breath, puffing out her chest, straightening her back. "But I have to come clean, since it seems like someone else isn't exactly willing to. Not long ago, someone asked after my dear old friend Naomi's phone number. And while I was hesitant at first, I trusted this person. I thought he had Waystar's best intentions at heart."

She paused, folding her arms, looking in the direction of Roman and Kendall.

"Do you want to come clean or should I just ... " She began.

"Oh, really Cora, you don't have t-"

"It was Roman." Cora said quickly, cutting him off. She felt Logan shift behind her and turned to see that his gaze was firmly fixed on his son, his brow heavy with deep lines. For a second, a flash of anger darted across his face, perceptible but gone as quickly as it had appeared. Then, he smiled gingerly, glancing back in Nan's direction.

"It seems my son was a little overzealous, obviously."

"Obviously." Repeated by Nan. "Look, Logan, I'm not particularly interested in all of these petty little familial struggles. So your son blew the lid on your deal, so what? You know my conditions. Roman's meddling did not have a single bearing on what I'm coming to the table with. I want you to do what you probably should have done quite some time ago. I want you to name a successor."

An uneasy silence settled over the table. Cora wished more than anything that she could sit back down, but she remained still as a statue as Logan mulled over the words. Slowly, he dropped his hand away from her back and she took it as an invitation to slowly seat herself back down.

"Well, you know ... I'm not exactly 100% on my decision as of yet."

"Perhaps," Nan murmured, her voice smooth and velvety as honey. "You could think about who I told you to consider."

Nan's gaze shifted to Cora and she felt her blood run cold. She inhaled sharply, throwing her gaze down at the table, trying to tell herself that she had entirely imagined the action. It couldn't have been real, and even if it was, Logan considering anyone who was not his own child seemed preposterous. After all, wasn't the plan all along meant to be Kendall? Had that ended completely when he had chosen to try and sell his father out? It was hard to consider that, given how many years she knew Kendall had been prepping for the position. Shiv had barely any experience, and even if Roman had an edge that Kendall did not, Logan had never hid the way he viewed his youngest son.

"Dad, come on."

Shiv's voice suddenly broke the uneasy silence. Cora tilted her head upwards, watching as her old best friend smiled in disbelief.

"Siobhan." Logan said, an edge in his voice.

"Dad, seriously, just tell them. There's no point in hiding it anymore anyway." Shiv said, laughing as she eyed her father. She turned her gaze to the rest of the table, smoothing her bright red bob with the back of her hand. "He's named me. I'm his successor."

Cora gasped under her breath. Across the table, Kendall muttered something under her breath while Roman let out a hoot of laughter. Cora turned her attention to Logan. It didn't take a genius to read his expression, the disappointment weighing heavy on his face. Slowly Cora watched as Shiv's expression of incredulous amusement gave weigh.

"That isn't ... That is not set in stone." Logan replied. Slowly, he placed a hand on Cora's shoulder.

There was a scrape of chair legs against floor boards and Shiv abruptly pushed away from the table, a blur as she disappeared from the dining room. Moments later, both Kendall and Roman followed suit. Logan watched wordlessly as they each departed, before slowly lowering himself back into his seat. Beneath the table, he patted Cora's knee, leaning across to whisper in her ear.

"I knew you'd be sensible."