There was so much to do. Caroline sat behind Humphrey's desk in the main GrangerGuild building - it wasn't her desk, not yet - signing everything Brynne put in front of her after a little explanation of it from a representative of the company's legal department. So far, she'd done nothing that could be called unsettling for the company in general ....at least, not personally.

The resignations had flooded the in-tray thick and fast this morning, so that the majority of her time since coming in at half past eight had been spent sorting through these requests to leave and deciding which she should honour. The obvious ones were, well, obvious - everyone of managerial level or above who had openly supported the various bids made by other members of the company for the position she now held.

Daniel Landsborough had visited her this morning and asked to be be placed somewhere in lower management, outside the city; this, Caroline had agreed to. He was a good man, if a little too easily swayed by his colleagues, and substantiated rumours within the Guild said he had only made his bid in an effort to keep Junior out of power. Bogart Nephriedes was another matter; as far as Caroline was aware, security had had to forcibly escort him from the premises after she had fired him, due to some unauthorised rummaging in his former office. The office was, of course, being thoroughly searched now, and every scrap of paperwork was being meticulously examined.

Junior was something else entirely. There'd been no sign of him since the meeting on Friday, something which was making Caroline very nervous. She had no idea what the wily bastard was up to; she could only hope that the measures she'd had put in place immediately after the Friday announcement had been enough to keep him from interfering with the evidence of his embezzlement and misappropriation of company funds.

And, of course, she'd stolen his PA. She grinned to herself, watching Brynne skillfully manuoevre the legal team out the door before returning once again. This had been her intention all along - she'd known how badly Junior was treating Brynne, but had had no power to do anything about it until now. At least as Caroline's secretary, Brynne was guaranteed to be able to see her daughter for more than one hour a night, maybe longer on weekends.

No sooner had the two women relaxed over lunch, than they heard a familiar raised voice outside the doors.

"You will not keep me from seeing my own flesh and blood, you jumped up little toad of a woman!"

Brynne groaned, rolling her eyes as she checked her watch.

"Ten o'clock," she mused. "He must've come in and gotten a shock when there was no coffee waiting for him."

Caroline offered her a tense smile. "Uncle Bert sitting behind his desk might have been a little difficult to swallow, too."

"Good point. Want me to let in the raging beast?"

Caroline nodded, and Brynne rose from her seat, moving over to the door, behind which Junior was still ranting at the security guards who were denying him access. It was best to get this over with as quickly as possible, for both women there. Pulling open the door, she eyed her former employer with distaste.

"Mr Granger?" Brynne asked, quiet voice cutting through his tirade like a wave of silence over a crowd. "May I remind you that this is the CEO's office, and you have no jurisdiction to be berating her staff in that manner. If you do not calm yourself, you will be removed from the premises."

Junior gaped at her, evidently thrown by the sight of his former PA standing cool and calm in the doorway of the big office, reprimanding him for his behaviour. He rallied, though, raising a finger toward her as he turned.

"You are out of work," he informed her. "You're fired. I know it was you that gave them the key, you little -"

"Junior." Caroline's voice rang out from inside the office. "I would not finish that sentence, if I were you."

Stalled into alert silence once again, Junior glared at Brynne, who waited until the colour of his face had at least faded from red before stepping to one side and silently offering him access to his new boss. Scowling, the former Head of Finance stalked past her and into the office, throwing himself down into a chair without being invited.

"What is the meaning of this?" he demanded of Caroline, not even seeing how thin her lips were set, nor how stiffly she held herself behind the desk. A wiser man might have rethought his approach at this display of barely contained anger from the usually soft-spoken young woman. "I come into work this morning, only to find my PA gone, my offices in a state of uproar, and Bertie - Bertie! - sitting at my desk as though he owns the place! There are auditors rifling through every little thing over there, not to mention my private office at home! What game are you playing, Caroline?"

She drew in a slow breath, forcing herself not to lower to his level and shout back. When she did answer, it was cool and calm, almost exactly the tone Brynne had used when greeting their irate cousin.

"It has come to my attention that over the course of several years, you have been embezzling funds from GrangerGuild in order to pay for a succession of mistresses, Junior," she told him, inwardly crowing in triumph when all the blood drained from his face, leaving him staring at her in horror. "As of nine o'clock this morning, you are no longer an employee of the GrangerGuild Conglomerate. Your former position has temporarily been taken over by Hubert Granger, who will be conducting a formal review of all ingoings and outgoings within your department. Your assets have been frozen, your holdings taken out of your name, and your son reinstated into the Guild. Oliver's stipend has also been reinstated, as has the former sum of Laura's stipend. Your salary has, of course, been stopped; you will now receive a stipend directly from this office, calculated to conform to your needs of living. Suffice it to say, it is significantly less than you have been spending."

She rose to her feet, frowning down at the man in front of her, who seemed to be folding in on himself as she spoke.

"This is an internal affair, Junior. You are family, and it is only concern for Lola and Ollie which is keeping me from letting the press drag you through the mud with a public statement of everything you have been up to. If, however, I hear that anyone has come to harm because of you and your temper - anyone at all - I will turn the whole matter over to the Watch, and believe me when I say, I will prosecute. Are we clear?"

Ashen-faced for the second time in the presence of the iron-willed force of nature that was the Old Man's favourite granddaughter - an iron will no one had really come into contact with until today - Junior swallowed, stunned into silence. He didn't nod, or give any acknowledgement of her words, but that silence from him suggested that this was, perhaps, the last straw in what had been a truly dreadful few days. He rose slowly to his feet, adjusting the hang of his suit, and made his way to the door.

As it opened, he paused, looking back at Caroline, who was still standing, watching him leave with an expression that could only be called unreadable. A true poker face, learned at the knee of the old man Junior had thought was already beaten down only a few days ago.

"It would appear I underestimated you, Caroline," he said quietly, his tone so flat as to be utterly monotone. He seemed about to say more, but stopped himself, only nodding once to her before letting himself out.

As the door swung shut behind him, Caroline sank down into her chair, trembling as she breathed out a huge sigh of relief.

"Well," Brynne drawled from her place beside the desk, "that was ....interesting."