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𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐘-𝐅𝐈𝐕𝐄

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"I just can't believe Kendall hired him. Like he had to have known he was her ex, right? God, they probably met on her 16th. This is low, even for him."

Shiv and Roman were seated in one of the otherwise empty boardrooms as they waited for Cora. All three of them had woken up to both the news of Cora's appointment as well as a text from Gerri, asking for them to all attend an impromptu meeting. Shiv held a coffee cup in one hand as she reclined in against her leather seat, while Roman was swinging back and forth in his, tapping his fingers against the glass table below. He had his phone opened to a Twitter timeline of the latest updates about the current Waystar fuckfest, refreshing it every so often with his index finger. The latest update? Cordelia Vernon, 33, leaving her apartment for her first day as Waystar CEO.

"I mean, he was an abusive piece of shit as well, not that Kendall knows that but it's an added layer of ... Y'know, fuckery." Roman replied, glancing up from his phone to face his sister. "But I mean, what's the worst he's gonna do? He rattled her, sure, but it's not like he can do any real damage."

Shiv narrowed her eyes, an uncertain smile slowly spreading across her lips. She shook her head as she spoke. "He's ... What? Arthur's not abusive. He was just ... A dick, right?"

"Yeah ... Sure." Roman prolonged the word, swinging in his seat. "You don't think so because you never noticed. I don't know if you knew this, Shiv, but you were actually pretty self-centred during your teens. I'm afraid it never really wore off either."

"Uh, fuck you. She was my best friend. I'd know if he was abusing her. She would've said."

"I'm not denying that Siobhan, I'm just saying you didn't notice the things I did. Case and point; the fact you've never commented on Cordelia's mild eating disorder."

"Cora doesn't have an eati-"

"Name one time you've seen her finish a meal." Roman replied. When Shiv could only stammer in response, he wagged a finger at her. "See."

"She just has a small appetite!"

"Uh huh." Roman replied. "Just pushes the food around the plate for fun, does she? Come on Shiv, no one enjoys coffee with no creamer and salads that much. And the staring in the mirrors? It's really obvious actually, pretty embarrassing you've never noticed."

Shiv pouted. "You're really enjoying this, huh? If you noticed all of this shit, why did you never bother saying anything?"

He could think of more than a few reasons. Not wanting to be seen as creepy, knowing everything he said would be met with denial, or as in the case of Arthur, the potential to further exacerbate the issues at hand. Should he have? Probably. But Roman couldn't think of a single adult in his life at the time who would have taken him seriously, bar maybe Frank. Yet even there he'd been sceptical, even from the peripheral vision of a youth, it had never sat right with Roman that Frank had married Reagan and overlooked the neglect she had directed towards her daughter. And even now, after age and experience had better informed his understanding of his childhood, he found it hard to fault himself.

"Yeah, I dunno. My bad." He replied, thankful that he had just spied Cora passing by the glass walls of the meeting room they were in. He gestured his head to his sister, who begrudgingly turned her chair to greet Cora.

Cora had woken up on the wrong side of the bed. Her head was throbbing like none other, courtesy of the bottle of whiskey she'd drunk the previous night in order to get some sleep. It had worked like a charm, problem was that her body had punished her for it with the hangover of a century. The cure? A couple more swigs, the remaining liquor emptied into a flask and stored in her handbag. It was easier to deal with the whiplash of being rocketed into the public eye when one was marginally tipsy.

She collapsed into one of the chairs, putting her face into her hands as she kneaded her forehead. A pair of large sunglasses masked her eyes, shaded by a broad brimmed hat. On her body she wore an A-line dress of sage green linen, a pair of platform sandals on her feet.

"What's with the get up?" Shiv muttered, gesturing to Cora's outfit. "Did we catch you en route to Milan?"

Cora lifted her head, staring blankly at the redhead. Slowly she lowered her sunglasses, hissing under her breath as she took in the light of the room. "I dressed for the photo op." She replied, her voice noticeably dulled. "The press were camping out overnight at my apartment complex. One of the photographers started a fight with the doorman. It was a whole thing."

"Yeah, pretty astute of dad to announce it on the spot." Shiv replied. "Loved waking up to that HuffPo article."

"Can I have the hat?" Roman said, poking at the brim.

Cora jerked her head away from him, placing the sunglasses back on her face. Just as she opened her mouth to reply, Gerri appeared in the doorway, followed by two people Cora had never seen before. She straightened upwards as the trio walked to the front of the room, studying Gerri's accomplices. Roman seemed to take her distraction as an invitation, snatching the hat from her and placing it on his head before spinning around to face the front. Cora rolled her eyes behind the shade of her sunglasses, self-consciously beginning to fix her hair with her hand.

The first unknown figure was a girl in her early twenties. Mousy and petite, her brunette hair pulled back in a pair of French braids. She was dressed modestly, a white blouse, red blazer and brown corduroy skirt, an outfit that was corporate in the cut of her clothes but not in colour. She was greener than Cora, that much was obvious, even without the deer in headlights look she wore on her face.

The second figure was somehow more fish out of water than the first, though from the look he wore on his handsome features, he was unaware of this fact. Wavy black hair framed a face that was far more suited to an Abercrombie and Fitch ad with the body to match, the seams of his white button up straining against the tension caused by his bulky form.

Gerri clapped her hands together, drawing the room's attention to her. "Ok team, obviously things are ... Less than ideal at the moment, but the ship has officially sailed and we're forced to deal with the crew that we have."

"Loving the nautical metaphor, Ger." Roman chirped, his eyes fixated on the male of the pair. "But, uh, what's with the fresh meat?"

"Well, Logan thought that with the increase in responsibilities, at least publicly facing, it would be best if we brought on some assistance. This is Peter. Roman, he'll be your assis-"

"Assistant, bodyguard, personal trainer." Peter said, interrupting Gerri. His voice dripped with the casual tones of a West Coast accent. "Anything you need, bro, I got you."

Roman grinned, nodding his head in approval. Gerri cleared her throat, annoyed by Peter's enthusiasm but continuing nonetheless. "And Cora, obviously you'll need some help as well. This is ... Well, this is Olivia Carlisle. She'll be your personal assistant."

"I sadly only have one job title." Olivia said, stepping forward and extending a hand for Cora to shake. "But I've heard I'm pretty good at it, so you're in safe hands!"

Cora stared at the girl's hand, her mind blanking. Carlisle? It couldn't be. The look on Gerri's face betrayed the truth, equal measures of concern and apprehension. She blinked and she was back the night of the overdose, her hands forming fists in the shag carpet below her as she realised the man on the couch above her had folded in two. The taste of fear, bitter in her mouth, lingered now as she slowly extended a clammy hand to loosely shake Olivia's.

"Don't mind her, she doesn't encounter commoners often." Roman said as Olivia retracted her hand. Cora ignored his stare, folding her hands on the table in front of her.

"Oh it's no problem. I'm actually a little bit of a fa-"

"And me?" Shiv said, cutting the conversation short. If she'd not been across the table from her, Cora would have kissed her. Olivia opened her mouth, then thinking better of it, respectfully returned to her position besides Peter. Gerri pursed her lips.

"Yes, well your father has created a special position for you. President at Waystar. So you'll be helping with strategy and such alongside myself and Karolina."

"Ok, so a superfluous title to keep me happy." Shiv replied with a nod. "Got it."

Gerri pursed her lips as she struggled to find the right rebuttal. "You'll have a position and level of impact that reflects your experience."

"Pulling out the experience card? Smooth Ger." Roman snorted as he eyed his sister. "Right for the jugular with that one."

"We're making do under the circumstances." Gerri's voice was clipped, unable to hold back her annoyance. Cora couldn't really blame the woman. The situation was a mess, unhelped by her own snap decision to take the role. Had she had much of a choice? No. It was evident that employing the Carlisle girl was a sharp nudge in the side to remind her of her place.

However, as much as the bind she was in was uncomfortable, she also couldn't deny the thrill of having finally put her foot down. Seeing Arthur had been a harsh reminder of how she'd allowed her life to be dictated to her. Her mother's apathy, Shiv's possessiveness, Logan's blackmail, Kendall's manipulation. She had been made to squeeze and fit so many agendas, it was exhilarating to finally be in a position where she might be able to start squeezing back.

"Did you hear that, Cora?" Gerri's voice broke her from her thoughts. Cora started, quickly trying to give the appearance of someone who hadn't spent the last few minutes staring into space.

"Not quite."

"Dad wants you to throw a coming out party." Roman's voice was jovial, but his gaze was tense. Come to think of it, now that she really looked, so did Shiv and Gerri. Cora fidgeted uneasily beneath the sudden attention.

"A debut," Gerri corrected. "Break out the little black book. Karolina and I will arrange a general guest list but Logan wants you to inject it with some youth. High society, millennial journalists, maybe some people in tech that swing Democrat."

"So no ATN viewers? Got it." Roman interjected. It was obvious by the expression on Gerri's face that she was done with the meeting, though Cora barely noticed the discord, panic filling her chest.

"Ok, so uh, what's the timeline for this debut?"

"Logan wants it arranged by tomorrow evening."

Had her ears been ringing before, or had it been a sudden onset? Cora bit the inside of her cheek to stem the panic which threatened to spread across her face. She had assumed that she wouldn't be thrown in the deep end so quickly, especially since her hiatus from the public eye had naturally erased her from the contact of the very people Logan wanted her to enlist. She'd have to find a way to fast track her return to the scene, but how?

The solution to her predicament whispered in the back of her mind. For the moment, Cora forced a smile to her face, though whether anyone in the room bought her confidence was yet to be seen.

The meeting ended then, with Gerri hurrying off to speak to Karolina Novotney, the head of Waystar's PR team, with Shiv in tow. Cora's head throbbed as she pushed out of her chair, hugging the strand of her back to her chest as she beelined for the bathroom.

"Hey wait up!"

Cora turned to see Roman, balancing on one leg as he leaned out of the doorway, holding her hat. Cora hesitated. She could tell from the look on his face that this wasn't just about handing her back her possession. Part of her feared he might be able to read her mind as to just why she had rushed off so quickly. Gingerly she made a grab for the hat, Roman pulling it back to dodge her attempt.

"Easy now." Roman said, slowly bringing it back into reach. "Not so fast. I dunno if you heard in there since you were daydreaming, but Gerri wants to discuss the kill plan."

"The kill plan?" She had no idea what he was on about.

"Yeah, the kill plan. The plan to kill Kendall. Sorry I don't have anything punchier, I'm thinking on the fly." Something about his tone told her that this wasn't as simple as he was making it sound. She recalled the moment on the yacht when he'd attempted to ask her something but had backed away at the last minute.

"Well, can we do it later?" She said quickly, unable to stave off the uneasiness that had swept her.

Roman opened his mouth, stopping short. He frowned when he began, searching her with his eyes. "Listen, you shouldn't stress, Karolina and Gerri will sort the venue and all the catering bullshit."

"It's not that, I'm not stressed. It's that ... I gotta actually ... Pee. Right now, I gotta go pee." Cora replied. Roman was unconvinced, snorting in response.

"Do you have the bladder of a geriatric? A UTI? Is having a leak going to take more than five minutes?"

"I'm on my period." Cora blurted out.

"Ok, disgusting."

"Nice, Rome." Cora muttered, rolling her eyes. "Point is, I can't talk right now."

"Sure. Dinner tonight, then. Got it." Cora said, nodding enthusiastically. He seemed satisfied with this, relinquishing the hat. She pulled away from him, almost colliding into Olivia, who'd been standing uncomfortably close behind her. The girl's face contorted as she realised her mistake, opening her mouth to begin apologising. Cora shook her head. "Don't worry about it, honest mistake. I really gotta get to the bathroom though."

"Oh, ok! Uh, I'm wondering what task I can start on though, if that's ok? I really can't wait to get started, this is all so exciting. A party! So much planning to do, right?"

"Yeah, totally." She was beginning to feel a migraine coming on. Cora kneaded her forehead as she racked her brain for a task. "Actually ... Yes. Yeah, I got something for you. I need you to get in contact with Violet Ingram. She's a-"

"I know who she is." Olivia replied, nodding enthusiastically. "I can do that! Sorry, I won't keep you any longer."

Alone in the bathroom stall, Cora lowered the seat lid and sat down on the edge. She opened her bag, pulling out the flask she'd stored earlier, unscrewing the lid and throwing her head back. The alcohol singed her throat, but she fought the urge relent against herself, her eyes watering as she gulped the whiskey down like water.

She wiped her mouth with the pack of her hand, taking in a shaky sigh. Already she could feel the loosening of her muscles, the relief that the burning sensation in her chest brought her. Slowly she closed her eyes. She could do this, she just needed some help. This wasn't relapsing, she wasn't out of control, this was survival. She needed this. It was the mantra she had repeated to herself every time the guilt threatened to erase the numbing effect alcohol had on her system. Besides, it wasn't like she'd even managed to get properly drunk. No, she was in control. Of this, of everything. She was going to be alright.

Cora stashed the flask away after another gulp, her phone vibrating incessantly in her purse. She picked it up, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear as she unlocked it. The headlines unfurled on her screen, the urge to reach for her flask again suddenly overwhelming.

Cordelia Vernon 'irresponsible, reckless, desperate' pick for CEO, Kendall Roy states.

Waystar stocks suffer considerable dip after appointment of Cordelia Vernon as CEO.

Kendall Roy 'the markets know', on Vernon announcement.

"Desperate?" She muttered beneath her breath incredulously. So this was how it was going to be. Fine. She'd handle this. She'd bite back.