"No, you don't understand. I am invited. Please can you just check with your manager? There's usually a guest list to these types of things right? Check that," Tilly pleaded to the security guard who was denying her entry into the charity gala.

She had rushed her afternoon meetings in order to arrive on time tonight, leaving work to pick up the Oscar de la Renta dress she had organised to rent. She picked it up on the way home, showered, shaved and blow dried her hair before tackling her makeup. The dress at full retail price was close to $17,000 so she was relieved that renting it was $1200 for the night plus a security bond using her credit card in case of damages. It was the most beautiful dress she'd ever had the privilege to wear, a simple black off the shoulder gown with intricate boning down the torso.

She hadn't anticipated spending so much on one dress but after seeing the outfits of previous years attendees she realised the event was on a much grander scale than what she initially thought. Rocking up to the RECNY in a fucking Zara dress would be a dead give away that she didn't belong. Tonight was an occasion she had to splurge on, not knowing when she would ever have the opportunity to brush shoulders with New York's wealthiest tycoons again.

So it was to her dismay that she had put in so much effort for the last minute event only to be turned away on arrival. In a bout of frustration she groaned and spun around on her heel to try and think of a way to get inside. She had messaged Greg on LinkedIn before she left the house but he hadn't been online in hours. Unfortunately, she had no other way to contact him.

"Matilda my little strategic firecracker! Don't you scrub up well? Shiv, this is one of my new little minions in the office," Tom joked from behind her, approaching the security gate arm in arm with Siobhan Roy. He assured her he was joking about his comment once he received a pointed glare from his fiancée.

A wave of relief washed over her as she figured Tom would be able to inform the security guards about the legitimacy of her invitation. How could they possibly say no to someone who's about to marry into the family that funded the entire night? As the guard waved both Tom and Shiv through, Tilly followed after them, staring down the security guard with a cocky eyebrow raise as she passed him.

"Thankyou Tom, Greg said I could come tonight but he must have forgotten to get my name added to the guest list," she sighed, walking slightly behind them as they neared the red carpet set up for guest arrivals.

"That's because Cousin Greg is my plus one. Plus ones don't get to bring other plus ones, but because you did a good job today and you're not a walking name tag, I'll let it slide," he said jokingly.

Now that was a nickname she certainly hadn't heard when referring to Greg... Cousin. Was this an inside joke or niche reference she was on the outside of? She tried to deduct some sort of reasoning as to why Tom call him Cousin Greg. Potentially she thought, it was due to his longer than usual hair where Tom had likened him to Cousin It from The Addams Family. It definitely seemed like a plausible explanation in her mind, Tom says inappropriate things all the time.

"Is this a de la Renta?" Shiv asked Tilly, breaking the moment of silence between the trio whilst they waited for the walkway to clear.

"It is, how could you tell?" The younger girl smiled.

"I thought I recognised it from last years capsule collection. It's nice," she said with a soft smile before an event coordinator was ushering her to walk the red carpet.

Shiv walked in front of the photographers like she was born for the limelight, probably because she had been used to it for majority of her life. Growing up as the only Roy daughter was difficult for her, always fighting for a seat at the table and begging to be taken seriously as a woman and as a business leader. She was privy to paparazzi snapping pictures of her in the streets or posing for photo shoots to accompany interviews with the likes of GQ or Forbes magazine.

Greg was, according to Tom, 'weirdly early' to the event, being there before the caterers had even started setting up. He looked nice, seeing him in a sleek tuxedo that looked fairly tailored to his body compared to his every day work suits that always seemed either too long or too short on him.

His gelled back hair however, was a topic for conversation. It made him look like James Bond; one of the bad Bond's from back in the day, not the suave current films. After todays 'death pit' bombshell, Tom was trying to act 'normal' around Greg, which ended up looking like a super awkward, over exaggerated version of himself.

Shiv finally managed to pull Tom away from taunting his assistant to lead them towards their table at the front. Greg looked at Tilly like he'd just seen an Angel descend from the heavens. Her hair wasn't overly styled like many of the women in attendance, her dress was fit for a queen and her eyes... God, her eyes. He could have sworn he saw them twinkle the first time they made eye contact tonight, like a Japanese cartoon character.

"You look..."

"I look...?" She repeated, smiling up at him with curiosity.

"Beautiful, you look beautiful I mean," he stuttered, sitting down in the chair Greg had pulled out for her; trying to be both chivalrous and 'fancy'.

The gala didn't officially start for another few minutes so as they waited for the lights to dim and music to sound, Tilly asked Greg why Tom called him 'Cousin Greg' earlier in the night. She almost chuckled when she asked, dumbfounded as to why his boss called him such a dumb nickname. He um'ed and ah'ed throughout his story, beating around the bush until he finally admitted his connection to the family paying her salary.

Being related to the Roy's was not something she would have guessed from Stoner Greg; the guy who threw up on kids.

Introductory speeches, a short interpretive dance number and some charity owner commanded the audience of the room for about thirty minutes, although Tilly couldn't actually see anything being so far away. Greg still towered over everyone despite being seated, so he whispered commentary to her to explain what was happening.

Of course she could hear what was going on, she just liked hearing his explanation of the performances, "Okay, um so there's all these like, red people? Like people wearing red... Dancing. Oh! Oh they're on the floor now. They're dancing on the floor," he whispered.

Half of her didn't believe him when he was related to the most elite family in New York. She didn't believe that his grandfather was Logan Roy's brother, nor did she believe him when he insisted that he had been to many of the siblings houses. The other half of her however, wondered if that's how he remained a part of Waystar Royco despite his incident. If they were able to pull strings for him, maybe they'd pull strings for her one day. She just needed a connection strong enough. It was a playful back and forth between the two, Tilly poking and prodding Greg about how she didn't believe him and daring him to prove it.

As soon as the lights came back on for a ten minute intermission, Greg was determined to prove his relation to the Roy's. Standing from the very back tables in which they were seated, he outstretched his hand for Tilly to take. She didn't think twice about what it may look like if she was seen holding his hand, she was too eager to see if he was lying about being a hypothetical Roy. He pulled her through the crowd, like a kid dragging their teddy bear along the floor by its limp wrist. Except this teddy bear laughed and told him to slow down, her heels prohibiting her to walk as fast as the 6'7" man taking strides that doubled in length to hers. It felt like management training once again; they were some of the youngest ones in the room, so they had to stick together.

"Uncle Logan? I just wanted to say good luck and uh, introduce you to my friend Tilly... Well, colleague. We work together, strictly professional," Greg shuddered.

"Right, well that's very thoughtful of you Greg but you must excuse me, I have to go and find Marcia. Nice meeting you," the patriarch of the family said politely before telling Roman to slow down on the drinks as he walked past.

Roman repeated what his father had said but in a comical imitation, sticking his middle finger up and rolling his eyes. He then turned back to Greg and Tilly with a cheeky smirk plastered on his face, ready to say something equally as inappropriate as it would be offensive - yet he was cut off by Greg.

"Romulus? I-Is that like, your full name? Romulus?" Greg questioned, his brows furrowed as he looked down at Roman.

"God no."

"Romulus was an ancient founder of Rome with his twin brother but when they disagreed, he killed him right?" She added, looking back at Roman.

"Yeah, it's like Pop nicknamed me with the hopes that I murder Shiv one day," Roman joked.

"You could always say that it uh, your nickname- You could say it was after the strain... Of weed? Romulus. It's a... It's the name of a specific strain," Greg rambled, realising that he hadn't delivered the punchline of his joke in a way that indicated he was trying to be humorous whatsoever.

In a moments just too long of silence, the lights started to dim once more to indicate the speeches section of the night would commence and that people take their seats. Roman left the two without saying even a mutter of a goodbye, leaving Tilly and Greg to venture down to the back.

Logan Roy decided last minute that he was to speak on stage, declaring that after his stint in hospital, would not be retiring - as many expected from the sickly 80 year old. Instead, he was going to remain very much in charge of Waystar Royco. This news surprised majority of the guests in the room, but most of all it surprised his children. In particular, Kendall.

Kendall had been denied the CEO position already, assuming that his father was promoting him and going into retirement a several weeks ago. Logan, then decided to stay on indefinitely. Then he gets sick; retirement is sure to be the only option, right? Wrong. He comes back. So, hearing his father announce his commitment to the company felt like he was being denied again. Kendall assumed that without his father actively in the company, it would be easier to weed him out and take over.

People moved freely around the room once again, a fair chunk of the group beelining to the bar to top up their drinks. Tilly was one of those people, as seen by Kendall from afar. He felt numb, still sitting in his seat and trying to figure out how to breathe again. He was drowning in a tsunami of emotions, all stuck inside his head as he remained looking cool, calm and collected on the outside. He didn't know how 'that strategy girl' had scored an invite to the RECNY, it baffled him that he knew everyone in the room but her.

Why is she here?

She turned around to the elderly man next to her, wearing a burgundy plaid suit, a suit that Kendall believed was assaulting to the eye. He wondered what they could even be talking about, watching the girl fake a smile as he brought two more people into the conversation, also wearing 'old people suits'. He knew these men. He knew the types of bullshit that came out of their mouths. Kendall figured that he was probably telling her about his new pacemaker that could make him last forever in bed. Or perhaps telling her he could eat pussy better than any man she'd been with because he could remove his dentures.

Kendall slowly made his way across the room after he witnessed one of the men putting his arm around her waist. She was much, much younger than them and Kendall knew that this group of men from Logan's 'Wolfpack' were morally questionable. She was leaning away from him, obviously uncomfortable with how close this stranger had gotten to her. As Kendall got nearer, he noticed the man's hand drift lower, leaving her lower back and getting into 'lawsuit territory'.

"Excuse me gentleman, I need to steal the lady away for a second," Kendall said as he stood next to Tilly, putting his arm out to let her leave the circle of men. "You're lucky I saved you back there, they're like fucking leeches when it comes to attractive women half their age."

She followed alongside him as he weaved a path for them through the crowds of people. When they had gotten to a clear space in the room, Kendall turned back to the men she was with who were all still staring at them. Noticing that she seemed quiet and still on edge, he asked if she wanted to step outside for some fresh air in which she nodded quickly.

"D'you want one?" He said pushing open the large set of glass balcony doors whilst pulling out a small metal cigarette case from inside his blazer.

She didn't smoke.
In fact she hated the smell of tobacco, more than she hated the smell of marijuana which most people found peculiar. Regardless, she figured any exposure to a Roy could reap benefits to her success at Waystar. Depending on who you ask though, it could also be an opportunity for career suicide.

"Please," she replied, picking up the bottom of her dress to walk outside.

They approached the retaining wall of the balcony, Kendall leaning with his back against the rail as Tilly looked out admiringly over the sprawling New York skyline. She hadn't had much of a chance to explore her new hometown but she doubted that this city would ever cease to amaze her. It was the city of all cities, a place where even the biggest people could feel small. She had sacrificed a lot in her life to get here so she promised herself to soak it all in every chance that she got.

It was a view all too mundane for Kendall. He wasn't phased by the subpar view they were surrounded by, especially in comparison to the one in his office or from his penthouse in the Upper East Side overlooking Central Park. His apartment was in the tallest building north of 72nd Street, and given he was at the highest floor, he had the best view. He grew tired of it though, wanting a new place to live as his current residence reminded him of too many old memories.

"They didn't do anything fucking, creepy back there right?" He asked.

"Just seedy comments and innuendos. Nothing I'm not used to."

Her smile seemed genuine as she brushed him off, although it was a smile Kendall recognised in himself and his siblings. The smile that people gave to mask their true emotions, the smile that told people 'I'm okay' when you were crumbling inside.

Kendall excused himself from the railing as his phone vibrated in his jacket pocket, stepping away to answer the call from the mother of his children, Rava. Matilda couldn't help but overhear; they were the only two people on the balcony so it was hard to tune out. It was a short conversation, blunt and to the point with minimal effort on Kendall's side. She heard him mutter the words 'I know' and 'I'm sorry' a fair bit before ending the call with a 'tell them I love them'.

"You know I never got your name... Joining the meeting late and all," he said walking back to her and putting his phone inside his jacket pocket.

"It's Tilly- Well, Matilda... Neumann, I just transferred to New York from Florida. I worked in parks and cruises down there," she said politely.

"Tilly..." he repeated quietly.

They fell naturally into a comfortable silence. It wasn't awkward, it wasn't unsettling. It was just, silence. The echos of a lively bustling city below them mixed with the gentle breeze and subtle sips of their wine. Kendall joined her in leaning against the railing and stared out at the city, allowing him to clear his mind for the first time in a long time. Maybe he had gotten so numb that he shut down, like he was beyond melt down from being denied CEO yet again. Maybe he just had so many thoughts rushing through his head that they blurred into background noise. Or maybe, he felt comfortable not having to put on his mask and fake a smile around her.

"I didn't know you had kids," Tilly said curiously.

"Yeah, uh, sometimes I forget I do too," Kendall said in an attempt to make a lighthearted joke. Although if anyone was to calculate how much quality time he had actually spent with his children, his joke would seem to ring true.

"So, are you... Married then?" She asked, growing weary of the fact she might have overstepped a boundary by asking.

"No. I mean, kind of... Well yes, uh, technically I am married but we've been separated for two years. Like, we don't fucking, live together or anything."

"Good to know," she said subtly.

Still holding the metallic cigarette case in his hands, he gently slid a cigarette out for Tilly as the side of his mouth curled into a delicate smile. She thanked him before she balanced the cigarette between her lips, leaning forward for Kendall to hold his trusty Zippo lighter at the other end.

"Hey, for what it's worth. I'm sorry that your Dad announced that he's staying CEO tonight, I know you were really gunning for it," she said whilst exhaling a cloud of smoke.

"Yeah, I mean- Yeah, that really fucking..." Kendall begun, struggling to find the words to explain how he was feeling and ending his sentence with a gunshot sound, holding his fingers to his head.

"He's old, he'll be gone before you know it and the board will realise you're the obvious choice," she shrugged, inhaling from her cigarette with her lips smiling around it.

"You think I'm the obvious choice?" He said turning his head towards her and looking down at her with hopeful eyes.

"Yeah, of course," she agreed quietly, looking at him in his eyes.

All night people were avoiding making eye contact with Kendall, as if they were scared of being turned to stone. He knew that with power came intimidation but he found it refreshing that Tilly not only treated him like a real person, but she believed in him.