The Department Head

“Yeah, I gotta go sweetheart. Sorry, I've got a really important call coming in.”

Thomas most certainly did not have another call coming in. What he had coming in was trouble in the rapidly approaching form of Sarah Bridges. Bridges was the head of the Agency's television division, and Thomas could see her though the half glass wall making a beeline for his office. That was a bad enough sign in and of itself, but the scowl on her face removed all doubt as to the nature of this visit. Thomas tried to make himself look as busy as possible on his computer as he watched her draw near out of the corner of his eye.

Sarah barged in through his office door, glaring daggers. Before Thomas could say anything she was on him.

“What do you think you're doing Valenti? Did you think I just wouldn't find out?” Her voice was even and steady, but cold and hard as ice. She had come to a stop just on the other side of his desk, arms crossed, looking down at him. Sarah was impeccably dressed in a dark gray feminine blazer with matching slacks, and a white blouse that was tailored to fit her tall slim figure. Her dirty-blonde hair was pulled back into a neat, braided low bun.

“I'm sorry Sarah, but what is this about?” Thomas was trying to keep his own anger out of his voice. He hated her looking down at him, but he decided that getting out of his seat would seem confrontational. Sarah had the seniority and the influence to make his life miserable if she so chose.

Sarah's eye's narrowed, “This is about you trying to pick up a TV show instead of passing it along to my division. What do you think you're playing at?”

Thomas tried to hide his growing anger and panic. How'd she find out? He hadn't breathed a word to anyone else in the office, and that idiot Robert had been out of the office nearly all day. He tried to keep his cool.

“I'm...not quite sure where you got that from Sarah. I have reached out to a couple of my clients about working on a new TV project, but I certainly wouldn't try to represent a show behind your back.” Thomas always thought a half-truth was easier to pull off then a full lie.

Sarah put her hands on the edge of Thomas' desk, and leaned over it, bending over until her face was nearly level with his. Thomas leaned back in his seat, but Sarah's face was still uncomfortably close, her green eyes boring into his. Her arched eyebrows were knitted and her thin lips pressed into a slight scowl. Her slim face was capped with a small pointed chin, and her thin nose was slightly upturned. Her whole face just reinforced the aura of superiority she exuded that Thomas absolutely despised.

“Thomas, I hope for your sake you're telling the truth.” Her voice was nearly a whisper now, but no less venomous. “If you have lucked upon a little project that you shouldn't have, I'll give you until the end of the day to pass it along to my department, no questions asked and no hard feelings. However if you try to keep it from me, you'll be out of here so fast your head will spin.”

Sarah stood back up straight, spun on her smart, but sensible 2” black heel, and tore out of the office as quickly as she had come. She kept up her “angry power walk,” until she knew she was out of sight of Thomas Valenti's office. Once she turned the corner down the hallway to her own office, she relaxed somewhat. She still kept her brisk measured pace, but she let the anger melt from her face and shoulders, and now she looked just busy, not furious. As she walked back to her own office, Sarah wondered if she had maybe come down a little too hard on Valenti. The thought lasted but a moment before she shook her head slightly, as if to push the idea away. This wasn't the first time he'd tried to pull a fast one on her, and she had wanted to make it abundantly clear that she wasn't going to tolerate this again. She shook her head again, more at herself this time, then anything else. She couldn't afford to second-guess herself like that. She was the only female department head in this agency, and she knew from hard-won experience in the industry that any weakness she displayed would be exploited. Her hard-nosed manner hadn't won her many friends among her coworkers, but she didn't care if she wasn't loved professionally. She'd much rather be feared.

As she hurried back to her office, she heard a small commotion coming from the break room so she poked her head in. Someone had evidently bought four dozen doughnuts for the office, and apparently the interns had just discovered them. They were eagerly digging in. As she watched she realized that one of the junior agents was there too...Robert, if she remembered correctly. For some dumb reason he was trying to balance a doughnut on his nose and it had the interns in stitches. The doughnut fell, rolled across the floor, and stopped near the door, alerting the small crowd to her presence. The frivolity quickly died. She raised a quizzical eyebrow, but no one offered any explanation, until Robert vaguely waved a hand towards the boxes and lamely offered “Doughnuts…?” She simply shook her head disapprovingly, while suppressing a smile, then continued on towards her office. She knew the value in maintaining office morale, but she also had a reputation to uphold.

******

Thomas watched Sarah go, determined to hold his cool until she was out of sight. Even then, he waited until he spun his office chair towards the outside window before he let his emotions break. How the hell had Sarah found out? Even worse, what was he going to do about it? Thomas knew she wasn't the type to make a move without proof, which meant if push came to shove, she had evidence that Thomas had attempted to represent a TV show on his own instead of passing it to her department like he was supposed to. It was not a good look for a junior agent, and he doubted it would do him any favors if she went to his supervisors.

Thomas thought he basically had three options. Number one, he could turn the show over to Sarah's department like he should have done all along. However, if he did so, he would be passing up on a potentially massive payday. Number two, he keeps the show, and tries to plead his case to his superiors. Thomas was convinced this would be a losing battle. His immediate supervisor was a bit of a push-over, but Thomas was sure Sarah would bypass him anyway and go straight to Thomas' department head. Thomas certainly didn't want to chance his professional career on that fight. Sarah had quite a bit of pull around the office. Number three, Thomas could quit his job, go independent, and continue to represent the show. However, if he went that route there was a very real chance that Double H Productions would back out and seek other representation once they realized he no longer had the full backing of an established agency behind him. Thomas's hands clenched and his fingernails dug into his palms as he continued to look out his office window, cursing Sarah for ruining an amazing opportunity for him.

As he sat there staring out the window, Robert reappeared, carrying two doughnuts, one in each hand.

“There’s a couple boxes of them in the breakroom. Free!” Robert responded to Thomas' questioning gaze. “Want one?”

Thomas slowly shook his head no. Robert shrugged his shoulders, and plopped down in his desk chair. Thomas fought to suppress his rage as his coworker begin to noisily smack his lips while eating a doughnut, powered sugar falling down onto his tie. And it was that moment that Thomas made up his mind. He just couldn’t stand it any longer. He couldn’t stand the clients he currently represented, he couldn’t stand waiting around to advance his career, and he most certainly couldn’t stand sharing an office with Robert for one minute more.

Thomas spun back to his desk and tried to ignore Robert starting in on the second doughnut. He popped a thumb drive into his computer and began to copy all of the client contact information he was privy too. If he was **** to strike out on his own he needed any advantages he could secure. Sure, there was a lot of chaff in that list, but he could sort out the wheat later. As the files copied, he glanced out of the corner of his eye to make sure no one was watching him through the glass half-wall. He half-expected Sarah to suddenly reappear, but thankfully no one seemed to pay him any mind. His eyes flicked over to his coworker, but Robert was busy sucking the powdered sugar off of his fingers. Once the copying was complete, Thomas grabbed the drive and his cell phone, and swept out the door. He could hear a surprised Robert calling his name, but he ignored it as he hurried to a little used side stairwell, and began to descend. It was do-or-die now, and he needed to shore up his position as best he could before the hammer came down.