𝗔𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗢𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗥𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲

𝗳𝗶𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗻

   IT was still in the earlier parts of the morning when Jan Levinson-Gould entered Brooklyn's office. Brooklyn gave her a polite smile of acknowledgement before returning back to her phone call.

   "I'll have to call you back...alright, bye." She hung up and placed her folded hands in front of her. "What can I do for you, Jan?" She asked. Not one to mince words, she got straight to the point.

   "First of all, good morning, I came here to tell you that we are closing the Scranton branch." She explained. Brooklyn felt her heart drop, her mouth felt dry, and the tips of her ears were hot. Jan took her silence as a sign to continue. "The board voted last night to close your branch." Brooklyn let out a breath through her nose.

   "What will happen to our staff, if you don't mind me asking?"

   "A small number with be transferred to Stamford, while the rest will be given a severance package." She nodded.

"Have you decided who's getting transferred yet?" Brooklyn had been working so hard to prevent this and for it to happen so soon felt like a punch in the gut.

"We have yet to make official decisions, but I can tell you that you aren't not one of them." Brooklyn's eyes widened. "Corporate is willing to negotiate on a position with you in New York." Jan quickly added with a smile, as if that would make her feel better. Brooklyn was torn, on one hand she felt like a failure for letting her branch be the one to close, on the other, she felt proud that she was accomplished enough to gain corporate's attention. "I have yet to tell Michael, so I'm trusting your discretion to keep this under wraps until our decisions have been finalized." And with that, Jan left.

There was no way Brooklyn was going to let Monica Smith have the last laugh, after all the shit Brooklyn talked, she was going to back it up. She picked up the phone with a smirk, banking it all on the last trick up her sleeve.

   "It is an outrage." Michael grumbled begins his clapped hands. "That's all. It's— they are making a huge, huge mistake. Let's see Josh replace these people. Let's see Josh find another Stanley. You think Stanleys grow on trees?" He asked. "Well, they don't, there is no Stanley tree. Do you think the world is crawling with Phyllises? Show me that farm." He nodded. "With Phyllises and Kevins sprouting up all over the place, ripe for the plucking." He gave the camera a hard glare almost as if he expected it to reply. "Show me that farm."

   Brooklyn sat cooped up in her office, her fingers moved across her keyboard with fervor, and the phone rested between her head and her shoulder.

   "I mean, we've been working on this for weeks, don't back out now." She spoke. "You can't let them-" from outside her door, that she now wishes she would've closed, she heard Michael announce 'it's over' to everyone.

   "You still there?"

   "Uh—yeah." She hopped right back into her previous rant.

   "It makes perfect sense that it would happen today," Ryan nodded "because I just received this in the mail. A thousand business cards with this address and phone number." He smiled sarcastically.

   "I don't want to blame anyone in particular." Angela stated. "I think everyone's to blame."

   "If I get to stay, and Ryan is laid off, I will kill myself." Kelly declared, mascara was running down her cheeks, an obvious sign of her distress. "Like 'Romeo and Juliet'. The Clare Danes one."

    "Hey, did you hear?" Pam stuck her head into Brooklyn's office.

    "Yep, she told me right before Michael." Brooklyn smiled.