Dialogues / Workplace Drama
Thirty Minute Sync
Diane has to lay off the best person on her team. Jordan read the calendar invite and figured it out before walking in. Jordan has questions, and Diane owes real answers.
A small conference room. Glass walls, blinds half drawn. A closed laptop and a folder on the table. DIANE is already seated. JORDAN enters, sees the folder, and stops.
JORDAN
Oh.
DIANE
Hey. Come on in. Close the door.
JORDAN
Is Marcus from HR coming?
DIANE
He's, uh. He's on his way.
JORDAN
So yeah. Okay.
DIANE
Jordan, sit down.
JORDAN
I'm gonna stand for a second.
DIANE
That's fine.
JORDAN
The calendar invite came from your assistant. You always send your own. And it said "Sync," with a capital S, and you don't capitalize stuff. And the room's booked for thirty minutes and you don't do thirty-minute anything.
DIANE
You should've been a detective.
JORDAN
I should've been a lot of things.
(beat)
Is it just me?
DIANE
I can't talk about other people.
JORDAN
That's a no, then. Just me on the team.
DIANE
Jordan.
JORDAN
Because you've got what, eight of us? And Priya's been on a performance plan since June. And Tom does half of what I do and everybody knows it. So I'm just trying to understand the math.
DIANE
It's not about performance.
JORDAN
Then what's it about?
DIANE
It's a restructure. The whole org. They cut a number, and the number came down to me, and I had to fill it.
JORDAN
With me.
DIANE
Yes.
JORDAN
Why?
DIANE
Sit down and I'll tell you.
JORDAN sits.
DIANE
You're the highest salary on the team under director level. You got the raise in March. The one I fought for.
JORDAN
So the raise is why.
DIANE
The raise is part of it.
JORDAN
You gave me a raise, and that made me expensive, and now I'm the one that's easy to cut. That's, wow. That's a real full circle.
DIANE
I know how it sounds.
JORDAN
Did you fight this one?
DIANE
Yes.
JORDAN
How hard?
DIANE
Hard.
JORDAN
How hard, Diane?
DIANE
I offered to take a pay cut myself. They said that wasn't the kind of number they were looking for.
Pause.
JORDAN
Okay.
DIANE
Okay?
JORDAN
I believe you. I don't know if that helps.
DIANE
It doesn't, really.
JORDAN
What's the package?
DIANE
Marcus has the details. It's twelve weeks. Health through the end of the year. Your unvested stuff, that's gone. I'm sorry.
JORDAN
What about the Callahan launch?
DIANE
What about it?
JORDAN
It's in three weeks. I'm the only one who knows how the data layer works. Nobody else has touched it.
DIANE
We'll figure it out.
JORDAN
You won't, though. Tom can't do it. He'll say he can, and then it'll be Tuesday night before launch and you'll be on the phone with me.
DIANE
I won't call you.
JORDAN
You will. And I'm telling you now, I'll answer. And I'll charge you. Consultant rate. Which is a lot.
DIANE
(almost a smile)
Noted.
JORDAN
Write it down. You're gonna want that in the file.
DIANE opens the folder and actually writes something.
JORDAN
One more question.
DIANE
Go.
JORDAN
Did you know when you did my review? Last month? You said I was the future of the team.
DIANE
I didn't know.
JORDAN
Would you have said it anyway?
DIANE
(beat)
Yes. Because it was true.
JORDAN
Okay.
JORDAN stands, then stops.
JORDAN
I'm gonna need you as a reference.
DIANE
Anything you want.
JORDAN
I'm gonna need it to be a really good one.
DIANE
It'll be the best one I've ever written.
JORDAN
Yeah. Well. You said that about the raise.
Marcus knocks on the glass. JORDAN sits back down, straightens up, and waits.
End of script
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