"Hello? Milly?"
"Good morning, Miss Planner. Did something happen?"

"Yeah. Elder Crown's assistant Harper called out sick. Too many long nights lately with everything that's been going on. Riots, half our distribution centers getting shut down, Wild Cards, blah blah blah. You know. Anyway, he's got a bad cold or something. Would you mind coming to the Tower today to fill in for him? A little early? I'll call up one of our backup notaries to take your place, so don't worry about that."
"I don't mind, but there's not anyone better than me? What about the Hounds?"

"No, no. They're taking a leave of absence. The fight at Cut Throat HQ really took the wind out of their sails. The Elder needs someone reliable and I trust you to do a good job."
"I can do it. But he's really mean... I don't like it when he yells."

"That's just what he's like. He's the boss, so we've got to deal with it. I'd do it myself, but I'm busy with the new managers."
"Yeah. It's no problem. I'll be right there."

"He should only need you for a couple of days. Thanks a lot!"
"See you later."

It was a bright day with lots of clouds and a slight cool breeze blowing through. Milly loved a nice sunny day, but it didn't do much to improve her mood. She was starting her day in the worst possible way. She had to get to work earlier than she was used to, she had to dress up in a suit when she preferred nice breezy dresses, and she had to spend the day with the nasty and foulmouthed boss from hell: Elder Crown.

He was her least favorite Elder, really. Elder Omen was nice, Elder Presence reminded her of her dad, Elder Drifter was kind of cute when he wasn't acting like a disgusting cross between a monkey and a pig, Elder Witness was annoying, but he was okay, and Elder Mirror was bad, but at least he was a good dancer. Elder Incarnate was too creepy for his own good and Milly suspected he secretly liked the idea of a little girl being in charge of him. But at least he was asleep most of the time. Elder Crown, though, she just hated him.

He would insult her and Miss Planner every chance he got, he was too loud, he smelled bad, and he looked at Milly like she was an insect which made her feel very self-conscious and uncomfortable. He thought people were sabotaging him when they weren't. She'd never seen him smile or laugh or say thank you to anybody except his assistant Harper. He talked constantly but not in a useful way and the things he said were stupid, he refused to retire even though he was too old and weak to take care of himself, and he constantly complained about what other people were doing even though he did almost nothing useful himself.

But Milly always did what Miss Planner told her to do. She took pride in that. So she tried her best to steel herself for the challenging day ahead.

Milly made it to Elder Crown's office a good five minutes early. She knocked on the door and heard a high pitched "Come in!" in return. She opened the door and saw Elder Crown sitting at his desk with a scowl on his face.

"Good morning, sir. I'm-"
"I know who you are. You're that blonde rat's lackey. Come in and close the door."

"Uh, yes sir."
"Sit down, girl."

Milly sat down in one of the two chairs in front of the desk and waited for Elder Crown to tell her what to do. A moment passed in silence. Then the old man stood up and pointed a bony finger at his computer screen.

"Curses! I can't read the damned computer screen! Girl, come over here and read this to me!"
"Yes, sir. Let's see... this e-mail is from the Hands of Light, for their charity dinner tonight..."

"Delete it. Next."
"Okay. This is from Elder Presence, it's... an update on the security division..."

"Print it out. It's printer EL-1 on the network. Next."
"No problem. There we go. Next e-mail is from... David, he's from the new manager team... it's an introductory e-mail he sent out to everyone in the organization..."

"Delete it."
"Yes, sir. Next is from Elder Incarnate..."

"Delete it."
"Okay... and here's one from Hound Zero... it says, uh, 'supreme Elder Crown who is destined to rule over all, I've detected two of the Controllers' spies. One has infiltrated the Garden of Life's Creation Agency, and one is inside the Hands of Light. I will report back when they are dead.' There, sir..."

"Good. Next."
"Ray from the production division sending over all the numbers for our Nuke's quality over the past three months..."

"Does it look satisfactory?"
"I don't know how to read this chart. For last week it says... 55%?"

"Damn it. Worthless. Print it out. Next."
"Uh... there aren't anymore."

"I was expecting an e-mail from the Sage of Hatred. He didn't send me anything? Type it in, put it in the little box above the e-mails."
"Hatred... no, no new e-mail. Last one from him is from last week. Do you want me to go get him, sir?"

"No. Make me some tea."
"Do you have a machine that does it?"

"Idiot. All you have to do is heat some water and put the little baggy inside! If that's too complex for you, go get some from the cafeteria! Black tea with milk! Shall I write that down for you, you mindless cow!?"
"I can remember! Sorry, sir! Right away! I'll get you that tea!"

Milly stood up from the chair and ran out the door. She heard Elder Crown screaming from behind her.

"One more thing, you dunce! While you're grabbing the damned tea, get me some cookies as well! Oatmeal is my favorite! Do you understand!?"
"O...okay! I'll get you lots of yummy cookies and tea to drink, sir! I'll be right back!"