Kendall Roy walked into the Waystar Royco building. The moment he got out of the elevator, he was met with a young woman rushing over to him. "Hi, Mr Roy", she greeted, trying not to sound out of breath.

"Hey, can I help you?"

"Well, no, I'm actually here to help you. I'm your new assistant. Kat Stewart, we spoke on the phone"

"Oh, right, sorry. Yes, of course. Nice to meet you. We can go over everything after this meeting"

"Yeah, of course. I'll just be around. Call me if you need anything"

"I will, thank you"

Shayla Banner ran to the office where Kendall was discussing his Vaulter deal with Frank and their associates. She finally made it and all the men turned to her, looking confused. "Are you okay?" Kendall asked her.

"I'm really sorry"

"For what?"

Before she could reply, a man entered the room carrying a briefcase. "Hi, Kendall Roy?" he said. "Yeah. Hi", Kendall replied.

"I was sent by Roman to burn some sage"

Kendall looked at Shayla and she shot him an apologetic look. "Excuse me?" Kendall said. "I'm a business alchemist", the man explained, opening his briefcase and waving something in the air. "It's a gift from your brother". "Well, it's not gonna set off the smoke alarms?" Frank questioned.

"Not usually"

"Not usually?" Kendall said. "Hey, hey, motherfuckers", Roman said, entering the room.

"Roman"

"My guy, are you saging?"

"Well, they're concerned about the alarms", the alchemist said.

"Ooh, right, yeah, the bad juju"

"But, I don't know, I can use essential oils"

"Oh, I think just fuck off. Thanks"

The man left looking dejected. Roman, unfazed, turned to Kendall. "How you doing?" he said. "Good. Good", Kendall said with uncertainty.

"Shayla, I'd love a coffee, thank you"

"Uh huh", she said, leaving the room. "I'll make sure to go over to that cart across the street".

"That's not funny!"

The Roy family were gathered at Logan's apartment for his birthday. Roman was looking bored as Connor talked about his farms to Grace and her daughter. He watched Shayla walk out of the elevator doors and instantly went over to her. "Finally", he groaned.

"What, are you bored already?"

"Yes, obviously. I'm at a birthday lunch. Does it get more boring than that?"

"I guess not. Your girlfriend not being entertaining enough?"

"Are you kidding?"

"Alright, alright, stop it. Be nice"

"Hey", Shiv greeted with Tom in tow as they entered the apartment. Tom was carrying a glossy black box like it was made of glass. "What's with the box?" Shayla whispered to Roman. "I don't know but I kinda wanna see him drop it", he replied, making her hold in a laugh. Shiv came over to her and gave her a hug. "How are you?" Shayla asked. "Fine. You?" she replied.

"Oh, just trying to kill your brother on a daily basis"

"So same as always, then"

"Yeah"

"Hey, global Tom", Roman said, shaking his head. "What's shaking? You still fucking shit up for us?" "Still cleaning up your mess, pal", Tom laughed, giving him a hug.

"Hey, sis. Politics still boring the living shit out of you"

"Yeah, you know. I'm burying the bodies, counting the cash", Shiv said.

"Look at you. You look like, you know, an actual human person"

"Thanks, buddy"

She hugged him. "Oh, what is that, date rape by Calvin Klein?" she said, pulling away from him.

"Yeah, you wish"

"You wish?"

Marsha's phone pinged and she checked it, getting excited. "He's back. He's back. Find a place", she said. "Hide for the surprise". "Oh, we're not surprising him, are we?" Roman said in disbelief. "Last time we surprised him, he took a swing at me".

"Surprise!" they all exclaimed as the elevator doors opened, revealing Logan and a very tall man beside him. "Great. Excellent. Wonderful", Logan mumbled. "Go ahead". The man went first, smiling at everyone and greeting them. "Thank you, thank you. What a surprise", Logan continued as he moved to the living room. He greeted all his children before remembering the tall man still standing in his apartment. "Oh, everybody, Craig, by the way", he said, pointing to him. "Cousin Craig". "Craig?" Shiv questioned. "It's Greg, n-no?" "Yeah, uh, Greg, um, people sometimes, like, mistakenly call me Craig", Greg explained. "So I'll answer to both". Tom attempted to give Logan his precious box but was interrupted. "Kendall", Logan stated as the man himself walked in. "You came?" "Yeah, of course. Happy birthday, Dad", Kendall said, hugging him.

"So, what's the news?"

"Good. Good. We're just at the one-yard line. Excuse me. I have to... I'll be right back. Sorry, guys"

He left the room, checking his phone. Logan approached Roman. "I hear you went down. You went down?" he said.

"Oh, yeah, I did. Not so good. It's a shit show"

Shayla subtly rolled her eyes because as per usual, a Roy family gathering had turned into a bloodbath.

Everyone was sitting around the dining table for lunch, chatting idly. "Marcie, this was delicious, thank you", Grace said. "Yeah, this whole day, very thoughtful", Shiv added. "It's been great". "Thank you very much", Marcia replied. "You're a suck-up", Roman said to Shiv, causing Shayla to kick his leg under the table and he chuckled, covering it up as a cough. Frank tapped his glass, clearing his throat and standing up. "If you'll excuse me, Logan Roy", he began. "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 sixty years. Fifth largest media conglomerate in the world. He's tough, he's wiley but he's always true to his word. I arrived, uh, to give him legal advice thirty 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. Logan Roy". "Logan Roy", they all chorused. "Thank you", Logan said, raising his glass. "So, I think it's time to play the game". "We're playing the game?" Kendall questioned.

"Yeah, it's my birthday, so, yes, we're playing the game"

"What's the game?" Greg asked and everyone started laughing. "What's the game?"

They got driven out to helicopters waiting to take them to the baseball field. Shayla joined Roman, Grace, Isla, Marcia and Logan in one helicopter. Isla was playing a game on a phone and Roman touched her head, making Shayla smile. "Rome, what are you thinking, son?" Logan asked him. "On the thing? She's very smart. She'd make good picks. Family first". "Sure", Roman mumbled. "I'm sure".

"But, what's your cut?"

"Um... No, no. God, no. Dad, no, it's your firm. It's not what's in it for me. But, you know, what is in it for me?"

"I've love to get you back in"

"It's just, um, it's tough. Last time, it was very tough with Frank over me in LA"

"Frank's very important to the firm"

"Oh, no, sure. Of course, I understand that. It's just, uh, I had a lot of ideas at the studio. As you know, I'm quite an innovative thinker and I was, um... I was met with a lot of resistance"

"Is this, uh, still the film thing?"

"No. What, Robot Olympics? No. Dad, it's not about one fantastic idea. It was a culture. There were many of them"

"What would be your dream offer?"

"It's not that. I want to run the damn show. I do. Until it opens up, Chief Operating Officer. I guess... I guess that's Frank, huh?"

"Mmhmm"

"Mmhmm"

"You okay?" Logan asked Marcia. "Sure", she whispered. "You?" Roman and Shayla locked eyes, he gave her a nod and she looked away.

The helicopter landed in a large field where cars were parked and a tent and chairs were set up. Everyone got out of the helicopters, approaching the field. After some chatter and drinks, they started playing. Kendall stepped up to the bat and hit the ball but stopped when his phone rang. "Sorry", he said, answering it. "Boo! Boo", Roman exclaimed. "Shayla, boo him". Shayla shook her head, trying not to smile. "Yeah, okay, sorry", Kendall said. "I gotta run. It's the crunch. Frank, will you be link man here? Dad?" "Of course", Logan said calmly from his chair. Kendall hugged his kids goodbye. "Well, if Kendall's going, we need one more to make it fair!" Roman pointed out before noticing a kid watching them close by. "The kid. Hey! Hello! Hello! Kid. Yeah. Yes. You. You. You wanna play? Dad, can he play?" "Yes. Sure", the kid's father said, tapping his arm.

"Thank you, Dad"

The kid tried to bat the ball but couldn't. "You're gonna be fine. Relax, don't worry about it", Roman reassured him. "Can you hit a ball?" "Yeah", the kid replied.

"Great, because I will give you one million dollars if you hit a home run. I'm dead serious, ok?"

"For real?"

"Oh, great. Get the NDA ready", Shayla muttered to herself. "Yes, for real. A million dollars", Roman said. "Honey, where's the...your bag?" He rushed over to get Grace's bag. "What are you doing?" Shayla whispered to him. "I'm gonna give the kid a million dollars if he can hit a home run", he said. "I just said it. You're not paying attention, are you?"

"Okay, let me rephrase that. Why are you doing it?"

"Alright"

He grabbed the cheque book, ignoring her question, making her roll her eyes. "I don't know why you're smiling. I am dead serious", Roman said, writing in the cheque book. "I will give you one million dollars, cash, for a home fucking run". "Rome, don't be an asshole", Shiv said.

"I'm not being an asshole. I want him incentivised. This is fun. It's a game. Jeez, stop being so serious". He ripped out the cheque and showed it to everybody. "Witnesses. Good luck. I believe in you. Alright, let's do this! One million dollars. Okay, come on"

The kid batted the ball and started running. He kept running but at the end, he was tagged by Tom. "Bad luck, kid", Tom said, sounding quite deadpan. "No! No!" Roman exclaimed, sounding highly amused. "Oh, no! You were so damn close! That was so close! Oh, my goodness! Oh, that is so sad! Oh, I'm sorry. I can't give it to you. That would have counted, by the way. That was almost a home run, if you went all the way around. But it was a really good effort. Really. Quite tremendous". He ripped up the cheque and handed him a piece. "Take this. Go back to your life. It's a quarter million. Enjoy", he said. "You're a dick", Shayla said to Roman when he walked by her.

"You know you love it"

"Fuck off"

He laughed and she shoved him.

Shayla watched as Colin made the family of the kid sign an NDA and almost laughed at the sheer predictability of it all. Everyone prepared to get into the helicopter to go back home. "Connor! Shiv Roman!" Logan yelled. "The other helicopter". Roman kissed Grace goodbye and stole a glance at Shayla over her head before going over to the other helicopter.

Shayla opened her fridge and pulled out a bottle of white wine. She reached into her cupboard for a glass and just as she was about to pour, her phone rang. She looked at the name and groaned, answering it. "Roman, I told you not to call me after hours anymore", she said.

"I don't care"

"What's wrong?"

"My dad... He, uh... Well, they think he had a brain haemorrhage. I don't know what's gonna happen, if he's gonna be okay, I just... I just need you here"

"Okay. Okay, I'll be there as soon as I can"

"Yeah. Okay"

"Rome?"

"Yeah?"

"It's gonna be okay, I promise"

"I'll see you when you get here. Bye"

"Bye"

Shayla wandered around the hospital, eventually finding Roman in the hallway. "Hey", she greeted softly. "You okay?"

He shrugged, avoiding her eyes.

"Okay. Do you know anything yet? Have they said anything?"

"Nothing"

"Okay, maybe that's good because no news is good news, right?"

"Stop. Just stop. I don't need to hear that right now"

"Okay. What do you need right now?"

"I don't know"

She looked at him for a second before wrapping her arms around him. He hung limp for a second, not knowing what to do before wrapping his arms around her and letting himself be comforted. 

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