"So what exactly can I do for you this morning, Miss Gabor?"

Elliot sat back in his chair, eying his companion with a mixture of surprise and confusion. "It's early - very early, actually. I didn't think you kept office hours."

It was the next morning and, mindful of all the paperwork still left undone, he had headed to the company first thing to tie up as many loose ends as he could. It was now just past eight o'clock, and in the middle of his file reviewing, the flighty, petulant owner of Misfits Music had descended upon him, thick wavy hair pulled back into a casual ponytail and a suspicious lack of exotic make-up touching her cheeks. She looked, he mused, almost normal without it - and yet there was still that predatorial glint in the green eyes that reminded him that yes, she was indeed a Gabor.

"I have a lot of things to do today." Pizzazz snapped, dropping down into the seat opposite. "And I'm not going to waste any time in doing them."

"That could apply to both of us." Elliot gestured to his in-tray. "Seems like everyone in the building dropped me a memo yesterday. I'm just trying to clear some of the backlog."

He eyed her keenly. "Yourself?"

"Why are you looking at me like that?" There was a wary, defensive note in the singer's voice and Elliot frowned, shaking his head.

"Like what?"

"Never mind." Pizzazz grabbed the top document out of his pile, glancing it over and dropping it back down. "How much more of this junk is there to be got through?"

"I've been here about an hour already - maybe another hour, or an hour and a half's work." Elliot considered. "I'll have it done by the time you girls are through in the studio, if you wanted me to coach Jetta some more afterwards."

"Yes, you'd better see Jetta." Pizzazz's expression became thoughtful. "After all, if she's going to get into her thick head what running this place is all about, she's going to need as many pointers as you can give her."

"She's not doing badly." Elliot owned. "You know I still have my reservations about all of this, but considering everything, she's picking up bits and pieces that will hold her in good stead. Who knows? With a few more months of training..."

"There won't be any more training after this." Pizzazz cut across him, shaking her head. "You've both had plenty enough time to hand over the reins and I advise you to think about doing that this afternoon, when you see her."

She reached a hand into her pocket, pulling out an envelope and pushing it across the desk.

"You'll be leaving Los Angeles tomorrow morning. I've got you a seat on the eleven am flight to DC."

"What?" Stunned, Elliot scooped up the envelope, opening it and tipping out a single airline ticket. "But...Miss Gabor, I thought you realised that this was a bigger job than just a quick fix! If you want Jetta competent to run this company in any capacity, then she needs a whole lot more training on the business basics! And with the place still in some upheaval...are you sure this is what you want?"

"Don't pretend you like being here." She was every bit the spoiled brat today, Elliot decided, as she folded her arms across her chest, fixing him with another patent Gabor glare. "You hate Los Angeles, you hate us and you hate this music company. You're here because Daddy sent you and you've outlived your usefulness. If you've not had enough time with Jetta, that's your problem. I've given you plenty of opportunities to train her. And my patience with your company has about expired...so make sure you gather your things and you catch that flight."

Elliot's brows knitted together in consternation.

"I just don't want this project of yours to fail." He said at length. "And it seems awful soon to be..."

"Well, you're not the one who makes those decisions in the long run. I am." Pizzazz's eyes flashed fire and she brought a hand down on the desk hard, making him jump. "So how about a little less questioning and a little more agreement, huh?"

"It's just short notice." Elliot set the ticket on one side. "Have you spoken to your father about all of this?"

"Daddy doesn't make the decisions here. I do." Pizzazz's eyes glinted at this, and Elliot instinctively knew he'd chosen the wrong tack. "But just to set your stupid head straight, I made two decisions when I fired Eric's sorry ass all the way to Canada. One - no more men would tell me what to do with my company. And two, no outsider was going to run it. You're a man and an outsider, and you've done your job. Besides, do you think I haven't noticed how you fawn around Stormer like some lost puppy? It's enough to make me vomit. She doesn't need you or your kind of trouble messing up her head, and that's final. So finish up, pack and get the hell out of my hair. Is that understood?"

"I don't fawn around anyone." Elliot objected hotly. "Mary and I..."

"Mary and I." Pizzazz mimicked. "Don't give me that. Men are only looking for one thing and you are not going to mess up the Misfits by thinking you can get it, do you understand? Romance and relationships are not Misfit values and I won't have any of it. We're here to focus on music and you're enough of a distraction as it is, turning up with your bits of paper to be signed and finding excuses to drop into practice sessions and ogle her under the pretence of needing my authority. Well, if you needed my authority that badly, you're probably not cut out to do this job long-term anyway."

Elliot stared at her, struck silent by this hot-tempered, embittered speech. Then, at length, he got to grips with himself.

"If that's what you want." He said mildly. "Then I'll be sure to do as you say. In truth, it would be nice to go home for Christmas, and see something of my family over the holiday season. I won't pretend that doesn't appeal. But when I do a job, I like to do it wholesale. You kicking me out like this is going to leave a lot of things undone. Smart as Jetta is, I'm not sure she's ready for such a huge undertaking. I've already warned her that other members of staff - departmental heads and the like - they might not take her seriously. She's young, she's a rock musician by trade and she has no experience in this business sphere. I'm worried that if you throw her in too soon, this company won't survive."

"I'll take that risk." Pizzazz said coldly, her eyes like ice, and Elliot sighed.

"All right." He said resignedly. "Send Jetta to me when you're done practicing and I'll get through as much stuff as I can this afternoon. That's the best I can do...but you're the boss. If you're really adamant, then I'll be on that flight tomorrow. You can explain to your father why."

"Believe me, I'm perfectly capable of that." Pizzazz assured him. "Good. Fine. Then that's all I wanted to say. And since you've so much junk to sort out, I suggest you get to it, huh? Just because it's your last day on the job, it doesn't mean that you can slack off."

With that she was gone and Elliot let his breath out in a rush, glancing down at the remaining stack of papers. He frowned.

"I won't be sorry to leave." He admitted to himself aloud, pushing back his chair and moving to the window. "The climate stinks, and Harvey's daughter is impossible. No, that's an understatement. She's completely delusional, and that's a fact. Working for her is taking every ounce of my tact and my patience...the sooner I get home, the better."

He glanced down at the front forecourt, taking in the rest of the Misfits as they made their arrival to the music company. His gaze fell on Stormer and his frown deepened.

"Delusional, but sometimes far too damn perceptive." He acknowledged. "I'll regret not getting a chance to get to know Mary better. We seem to have chance encounters, and that's all - but maybe I can speak to her before I go. It would be nice to stay in touch - write, maybe phone. We seem to click and I like her company. She's the one person in this madcap city that I actually have time for. Fake as people seem to be in LA, she's not, and I like that."

He sighed, turning back to the desk and his pile of remaining work.

"I better get cracking." He realised. "If I'm going to teach Jetta anything else to keep this wretched company afloat, I'll need as much time as possible to do it!"


Pizzazz, for her part, had made her way slowly down the stairs to the main studio, pushing open the door as she waited impatiently for her colleagues to join her. She had not spoken to any of them the night before, and had awoken early, the shock of her previous day's discovery still fresh in her mind. In her panic, it had been easy to fix on Elliot as a potential source of more trouble, and as she perched herself on the unit, she grimaced.

"Good riddance." She muttered. "Men are garbage. All men. Except maybe Daddy. Now I have to try and fit in a visit to some discreet clinic inbetween practicing and whatever else and I just don't have time to do everything! Plus, how much is it going to cost me to keep this thing quiet? Can those people even be paid off? I dread to think. Dammit, Eric, you'd better be damn glad you're not within firing range right now. It's guys like you that make me wish murder was legalised in this state."

"You look troubled, my dear."

Her father's voice made her jump and she glanced up, shock flooding her features at the sight of him. At her expression, he smiled, coming across the room to greet her properly.

"Am I to understand my message didn't get to you?" He asked amiably. "I sent word on ahead that I'd be spending a while in Los Angeles, but I wasn't sure the girl took the note down properly when I phoned this morning."

"I haven't checked my messages yet." Pizzazz admitted. "And no...Daddy, honestly I'm surprised to see you. What brings you to LA now? Don't you have some big business deal winding up in Maine or something? Isn't that what your secretary told me the last time I called?"

"Your memory is good, but no, we came to terms over the phone last week and the gentleman flew in to sign papers here." Harvey shook his head. "No, I came to see how my daughter was coping with the rebuild of Misfits Music."

His smile widened.

"Well, by the looks of it." He added. "I'm pleased. Pleased and proud to see it, my girl."

Pizzazz looked taken aback.

"It ain't been so hard." she said, forcing more nonchalance into her tone than she felt. "Things are slotting together fine now. Just fine. So much so that I, er, I'm sending Elliot home. You know, with Christmas and...and all..."

She trailed off, gauging her father's expression.

"I thought he'd rather be with his family." She added quietly.

Harvey reached out to take her hand.

"Well, we all should spend Christmas with family, huh?" He said playfully. "But don't be afraid to call him back in the New Year, if the need arises. Jetta, I'm told, is a smart young lady - but green. I don't want you piling more work on yourself while she's getting to grips with how things work."

"Believe me, I won't be." Pizzazz said with feeling. "And I don't intend on bringing him back, Daddy. He's done all right, sure. He's helped. But he's your man. He's not mine and I don't want him here. I don't want any guy telling me what to do. Eric spent too long doing that, and look how that ended up! I want someone who isn't going to rip me off and I don't trust Elliot one bit. He's a jerk and he keeps smarming up to other employees like he wants to do more than just talk to them. So he's going home, and we'll manage. I'm not completely incapable, you know...we'll cope."

"I have every confidence in you, my child." Harvey assured her. "I just want you to know that the option is there."

"What did you mean, by the way, about spending Christmas with family?" Pizzazz asked. Harvey beamed.

"Well, since I'm in town, I thought I might as well stay over the holiday season." He admitted. "I will have one or two business affairs to see to while I'm here, but we don't usually spend Christmas near one another, Phyllie, and it's about time we did. Don't you think?"

"You haven't called me Phyllie since I was seven." Pizzazz bit her lip, then, "So you're going to stop at home? I mean, won't we drive you crazy with the noise?"

"Perhaps, but it's Christmas and I'll make an exception for you." Harvey laughed. "Plus, your New Year's Eve parties are legendary, so I'm told. It would be a shame to completely miss that."

"New Year's...?" Pizzazz looked blank, then a mixture of horror and consternation flooded her features. "Oh dammit. I'd forgotten about that!"

"Forgotten?" Harvey eyed her keenly. "My dear, I thought I was the Gabor who spent more time working than playing...or am I wrong?"

"Everything's just been so manic." Pizzazz ran her fingers through her hair, loosing the band and letting it fall unheeded to the floor. "Invitations went out months ago. I guess I'd better talk to Matilda tonight...oh, another thing to worry about!"

"I'll speak to her for you, if you like. I'm headed there now." Harvey offered. "And I can hear voices, so no doubt you'll be getting down to some music. I'll get out of your way."

"Yeah. Yes, we have a song we want to push out before Christmas." Pizzazz agreed absently. "I guess I'll see you later, huh, Daddy?"

"Of course." Harvey nodded. "Maybe I can treat you and your girls to dinner, to celebrate the rebirth of the music company. What do you think?"

"I'll run it by them." Pizzazz managed a smile, inwardly wincing at her father's innocent choice of words. "Thanks, Daddy."

"Nothing is too much for my girl." Harvey winked at her. "Especially when I see her following more and more in her father's footsteps."

He kissed her on the cheek, and then retreated from the studio, closing the door carefully behind him.

Pizzazz muttered a curse.

"Of all the Christmases to spend with me, he chooses this one." She muttered. "I'm not following in your footsteps, Daddy! I'm not a damn businesswoman! I make stupid decisions, I seduce worthless guys and now I'm knocked up with no clue what to do about it or who I can trust! And I'm not sending Elliot away because I care about his family or because I think we can cope without him. I'm sending him away because he's a man and because men hurt you! How the hell am I supposed to take care of things now, with my father right on my doorstep all the time? He'll sniff it out for sure, and then what will I do? I'm getting more and more caged by the minute...what the hell am I supposed to do?"

"Sing, that's what you usually do."

Roxy pushed open the door of the studio at that moment, making her bandmate visibly jump. "Hey, cool out, huh? I was just answerin' your question."

"Well, it was a private rant and it was a rhetorical question." Pizzazz snapped, as Jetta and Stormer followed their platinum companion into the studio. "How much were you eavesdropping on?"

"Nothin'. Just heard the last line." Roxy shrugged. "Why? Did I miss something worth hearing?"

"No. Just...listen up." Pizzazz shook her head. "All of you. Daddy was just here. He's stopping in LA over Christmas."

"He's spending a holiday with you?" Jetta raised an eyebrow. "Is he dyin' or somethin'?"

"No, he just wants to spend some quality family time, I think." Pizzazz rubbed her temples. "Just when I thought I had enough to do."

"So Papa's crashing the party? Big deal." Roxy shrugged. "He's never bothered about us much before. I wouldn't sweat it."

"Roxy's right." Stormer agreed. "Plus, it might be nice for you to have him this year. I mean, it has been a hell of a year all round."

Tell me about it." Pizzazz said darkly. "And we're wasting more time gassing over it. Jetta, when we're done, you're to go see Elliot. He'll be leaving in the morning, so you have today to cram and then that's it. I'm bored with him. He's a jerk."

"You're sending him away?" Jetta's eyes almost dropped out of her head. "Do you want to kill this bloody company? I'm not nearly ready to take on the job, Pizzazz!"

"Then you better work hard this afternoon." Pizzazz was unmoved. "And as for you," She turned her attention to Stormer, who had been eying her with consternation. "Don't look at me like that. So I've sent your new playmate away a little early...well, tough. Believe me, it's for your own good as much as anything. Men are trouble."

Stormer sighed.

"Does he know yet?" She asked. Pizzazz nodded.

"Yes. He knows." She agreed. "Now, that's enough on him for one lifetime, I swear! Sooner it's back to being just us the better."