Page 8 of Back Up Plan

Jess knocked next, “Hey boss, could we go over the schedule?”

Ari nodded and flipped open her e-calendar.

“So, you’ve got a meeting this afternoon with the partners for your first quarter performance review. Then, you’ve got a call with Laura Connor’s foreign rights agent to discuss royalties for the newest manuscript. You should be receiving a call from the studio regarding Kylie’s next film, but they may need to push to Monday. Would that work?”

Ari tilted her head as she considered, “Tell them Monday would be tough but Tuesday first thing could work.”

“Your schedule is open on Monday…” Jess said as she looked through the shared calendar, hoping she hadn’t missed anything.

Ari nodded, “Yeah, it’s just good to seem busy.”

Jess looked confused, promoting Ari to add, “They seem to think we’ll take their call whenevertheywant. But by pushing them a day and giving them an early slot, we’re kind of saying ‘You’re important to us but notthatimportant.’ They need to think Kylie is so booked that she deserves an even higher premium than her last.”

Jess nodded vigorously and took down the note.

“Not to add on, but do you want me to send you the bio of the sound tech for Kylie’s session this week?” Jess said.

Air had completely forgotten to find out more about the over-eager tech. But really, she knew even without a bio, she’d be able to assuage the tech’s excitement with ease.

She shook her head, “No, I’ll figure it out later.”

Jess opened her mouth to argue but decided against it and nodded before heading out.

“Thanks, Jess,” Ari called after her. She checked her watch and grabbed her laptop. Her meeting with the partners was set to start in five minutes, and she wanted to ensure that she was prepped for the evaluation.

Walking toward the glass conference room down the hall, she waved to a couple of the other agents and their assistants who used to be her peers. It was strange to see how far outside of their ecosystem she’d drifted. While internally, she felt like the same-old Ari, the idea of grabbing drinks with her former peers seemed almost taboo.

She walked into the conference room and set her laptop in place, pulling up notes on recent client updates and plans for the next few months.

The long, glass table had clearly been cleaned that morning, not a single finger print smearing the surface. Ari almost felt bad touching it.

Just as she was finishing setting up, Sydney Danes, Mark Osama, and Tara Simmons waltzed through the threshold.

“Good morning,” Ari said as she stood.

Each of the partners gave a polite greeting and sat across from Ari, their backs strategically to the door so that none of their subordinates could see what they were saying or doing. It conveyed a sense of secrecy and authority that they wanted to preserve.

“Well, Ariel. How are you feeling so far?” Mark started.

Ari smiled — she never went by Ariel, but the overly-formal partners preferred full names.“I’m proud of the work I’ve done so far. My clients are fully integrated into my team at this point. We’re looking at a new studio deal for Kylie early next week, and hoping to get some deals on the other clients in the coming weeks.”

Sydney nodded, “That’s all great news. Anyone that you’re scouting?”

Ari hesitated, “Well, I wanted to ensure that all of our existing clients felt safely shepherded to my team before adding on anyone new.”

Tara shrugged, “New talent is always waiting to be discovered. You did a lot of that as John’s assistant, correct?”

“Absolutely, it’s definitely in my sights as the transition ends,” Ari said as her eyes drifted past the partners to a buzzed blonde head near reception.

Is that her?

“And how is Jess?” Mark added.

Ari stumbled, “Jess… Jess is great. Very eager.” Ari looked to the partners, trying to ignore the wandering woman who neared the conference room. As she came closer, Ari knew for certain it was Cass.

She waved to Ari as Sydney said, “Ariel, we have noticed a decrease in your productivity. It’s not uncommon for new agents to underutilize their team. Do you feel you’ve fully engaged Jess’s talents?”

Ari replied, trying to shake the anxiety building in her chest as Cass approached, “I’m excited to involve her in more of the process at this stage. I was hesitant to call on her help too often with individual client tasks as I wanted each client to get to know me.”

---