A Stretch
The Corruption Disrupters continue the emotional bloodletting that started last week. Jenya and Pascal grill the development team on the recent bugs that contributed to the violent incident that’s still generating far too many retweets. Jenya runs down the internal Green Ball case file of user complaints and discusses platform alternatives for upcoming cases.
Amrita is apologetic about the screw up, but Duc doesn’t budge. He pushes back blaming leadership pressure to split priorities between security, expansion plans and system bloat. Jenya reminds him that he signed off on the sprint features and confirmed they passed QA. Why didn’t he talk with them ahead of time to mitigate? Pascal pulls Duc aside and reaffirms their trust in him. But he wants Duc to be cautious about always saying yes to new ideas, like the payment feature Cabot tried to push recently. “Don’t over-extend yourself,” he warns. “It’s how things topple.”
Jenya gets a call from ex-beau Derek Bonafair from Nature Stop. He’s in town for the day speaking at a Fair-Trade conference and would love to take her to a “Michelin meal.” She tries to wriggle out of it, citing all the recent work issues as an excuse. She’ll see if maybe she can make time but it’s unlikely given her current schedule. Her voice stayed measured but she certainly wore down her office carpet with all the pacing.
There’s more bad news on a video call with Chancellor Peabody from Drexel. The incubation initiative has had to rescind their partnership offer to Sherwood as flagship course creator. Tales of the Fillmore Fracas have made it to the right coast and the optics aren’t great. They’ve come to the conclusion that they simply can’t take the risk given the current political climate in their own city. When Jenya asks about other academic departments, the Public Health Department Chair says his colleagues would still be interested in piloting the program but there’s no funding at the moment. Their initiative is financially tied to the larger entrepreneurial program, unfortunately.
Carlo and Amrita, who has apparently been drafted into the Count’s do-gooding, scout the downtown site for a protest planned later in the month. They discuss the big box retailer accused of illegally denying access to health coverage for shift workers and he jots down coordinates and searches around the premises for easy egress. He’s got to prevent the issues from last time. Amrita is fired up to be out of the office and seems like she can’t wait to get in on the action. I think she’s looking for a little something more than a smooth protest.
It’s worth noting Alpha’s seems to be caught in a bit of a bind with what sort of action they can put on screen. While protesting may be a tool the Sherwood Merries would use, it’s certainly not the only one, since we’ve been led to believe that most of the users are working for <justice> behind the scenes. Dramatizing document research, legal filings and general advocacy through the byzantine system is challenging, which may be why it is rarely shown. (Maybe a spin-off film for an Erin Brockovich-type case would work? Think big Joe C!)
Then it’s off for a transfer-of-power lunch at a private club room at the top of the Mark Hopkins Hotel with its near panoramic view of the city from Nob Hill. (You can find the landmark in a number of films including The Maltese Falcon and I Remember Mama.) After making his way through the impressive marble lobby, Cabot meets Jenya and Pascal upstairs in one of the private rooms. Pascal lets him know that he’s friends with someone in the Greenwich Club and called in a favor. Cabot doesn’t like all the pretension. He prefers a no-frills steakhouse himself and thinks all the secret clubs detract from “efficient innovation” in the city.
They are soon joined by Kasia who radiates professional calm and confidence. As Pascal struggles to find an opener, Kasia puts her hand on his elbow letting him know she’ll take it from here. She thanks Cabot for all his hard work in setting up Sherwood and informs him that he’s being bought out. He smirks and lets them know that he’s not signing whatever sub-optimal deal they cooked up. Kasia presents him with a folder and explains he will be fully compensated for his investment to date, as well as a fair bit of extra for all the hard work of getting the company off the ground. Cabot looks relieved at the numbers but still wants to negotiate. It’s a good opening bid he says, but he’s got other offers.
Kasia reminds him that Jenya and Pascal would have to sign-off on any deals and this is the only one they are considering. When Cabot mentions his deep friendship with some legal heavy hitters at his charity board, Kasia remarks: “Oh you mean Clark and Russell? They’ve worked for my father for years. We’re all going to our place up in Healdsburg next week.” She shares how her entire family is in the legal profession, including her dear Uncle Dennis, a notorious bloodhound on the California Franchise Tax Board. He’s had a thirty-year competition with his best friend in the IRS to see who can bring in the bigger scofflaw.
Cabot reconsiders his options and is all smiles as he announces the deal as a win-win. “It’s a great investment for you. I’m jealous, you’ll get to do the fun stuff. But now I’ll have time to focus on my newest projects.”
He doesn’t stay for the champagne and hugs all around. So now Kasia is on board. In fact, she is the board. Need a refill, Pascal?
Back at the Sherwood office, Duc is slogging through some log files and troubleshooting his latest code. He’s on the phone with Nancy talking about looking for a house as the real estate market is dropping (barely). Now might be a good time to buy she thinks.
Carlo and Amrita are back at their desks cranking with the rest of the team. They bicker with newcomers Langston and Brady about classic NES games Bionic Commando versus Master Blaster they’ve been obsessively playing on an emulator. (In my day we relied on coaxial cables and we liked it, dammit.)
Derek Bonafair interrupts the fun looking for Jenya. They had tentative plans, he explains and Amrita promises to pass on the message. He bumps into Cabot (literally) on his way out. Cabot forgot his phone charger it seems. He checks in on what the team is working on and looks at some log files with Duc. He says nothing about his departure from company.
Later that evening, the newly minted Sherwood Triumvirate continues their celebration at the upscale Mourad restaurant. Over lamb tartare, couscous and short ribs, they share their wooly vision for the future of the company. They are still on the clock to come up with a new strategic partnership deal to continue expansion but at least they don’t have an agent of chaos on the board any more. Kasia grins an inscrutable grin.
Enter Derek, who’s tracked Jenya down somehow and shakes hands with everyone before sitting down. He remembers “Cal” of course and remarks on how they are all old friends. He’s leaving in the morning but will be back next month. Maybe for a while. After some chit chat, Kasia delicately reminds Pascal she’s got an early start tomorrow. The two head home a little tipsy, leaving Jenya and Derek alone. He makes a big show of turning his phone off. “No distractions. I came to see you, Jenya Zhao. And to listen.” Decent line, ‘Rek.
Contributory Colloquy
Jenya moving the pieces around like Kasparov gets Cabot out of her way while keeping Pascal’s just-under-the-surface emotions in check. But while it was all smiles tonight, who knows what happens when you click Kasia.exe
Kasia’s shoe game is off the charts in this episode. Her violet D’Orsay stilettos let Cabot and crew know she wasn’t playing around. Even Jenya’s eyes popped.
There is no way Cabot is gone for good. Even with the specter of a potential audit, he wouldn’t bounce that easily, would he?
Duc’s “Protect the Shield” defense against any critique is why corporate IT departments are generally despised. He better not treat Nancy like that!
Alpha newbies Langston and Brady don’t have much to do this season but I dig their friendly shit-talking. I’m on board with Brady’s idea to change the NBA three point shot to be worth 2.5 points. “It’s totally overvalued now and has destroyed the league. It’s a bug to be fixed.”
Great contrast between the dueling fancy-pants Derek and Pascal. ‘Rek is all dark solids and establishment tailoring while ‘Cal favors dreamy colors and Italian cut blazers. More fashion dialectic!
Midomi correctly ID’d Françoise Hardy’s Je veux qu'il revienne playing in the restaurant scene. Some of the Yé-Yé stuff is really swinging if you’re in the mood for it.