sinking ships - succession

chapter twenty-seven

     The weekend passed.

It was now Monday and she was on her way to Norway with her family and the top crew at Waystar. They were meeting with Lukas at the retreat to discuss the deal. It was something set up by Roman since he was the one in contact with Lukas; Rose still ignored him.

She had her sunglasses on as she sat across from Kendall on the jet. She was on her laptop looking at all the media pieces that came out that portrayed her father in a negative light. She then warned Hugo to get it under control.

Rose had no idea that it was Kendall that ordered the media pieces to boost his own image. She had no idea he could stoop so low nor how he would stoop even lower in the coming days.

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When they arrived in Norway, she was brought to the cabin on the highest hill and it was the biggest. She didn't stay in it long before her assistant, Brenda, said that Lukas wanted to meet up top with the team. She merely looked out at the view from the full glass windows before turning and leaving.

She got taken on a golf cart to the aerial tram. Then she piled into one with her siblings along with Frank, Karl, and Gerri. The old guard seemed particularly nervous about the deal.

"Hey, you wanna walk the deck once more? Talk the angles, the foreseeable unforeseens?" Frank asked.

"No, we're good," Roman replied.

"Are you good, Rose?" Shiv asked as she looked at Rose who had her black shades on while leaning against the rail of tram and looking out the window; she seemed pristine...regal.

Rose rolled her eyes beneath her sunglasses, "Why wouldn't I be, Shiv?"

"Well, he's your boyfriend or, sorry, I forgot...ex-boyfriend," Shiv clarified. "Isn't he going to know the angles you're going to pull?"

"No," she said simply.

Shiv raised her eyebrows, "No elaboration?"

"No," she said again before turning her head to Kendall as she teased with a small grin. "The only thing to worry about is Kenny saying something dumb."

Kendall shook his head, "I...That's not...That's not me, Rose."

She hummed in amusement before Frank advised, "You know your Dad would often start with a joke just to establish..."

"I know, Frank," Rose said. "But that's not what we're doing."

"Well, maybe, it's unwise to play hardball," Karl suggested.

"I think Rose knows what she's doing, Karl," Gerri said, backing up Rose which made Shiv roll her eyes.

"I know that but..." Karl started to say but saw Rose raise her eyebrows. "Never mind."

Rose grinned a bit as they got off the tram. They entered the building at the top of the mountain and Lukas was already there as Kendall pointed out, "Hey, hey, there he is."

"Oh, wow, look at you all. Rolling deep, huh?" Lukas chuckled as he joked. "Rock Steady Crew."

His eyes were solely focused on her as he walked towards them. He noticed the red of her hair which he'd already seen from all the paparazzi photos following the death of her father but seeing it in person was entirely different. She let her natural waves fall down the length of her back. The hair color that matched the hue of her lips made her look elegant, timeless. A classic beauty that no one could ever match.