The salary was higher than any she’d ever made, and would make life easier for her and her kids. The new agency’s list of clients was excellent, and she had a suspicion that two or three of her important writers would go with her, much to Bob’s chagrin.
They wanted her to start in two weeks and she had agreed. It was too painful for her to stay now. Everyone felt sorry for her, she could see it on their faces and in their eyes.
She gave Bob two weeks’ notice, and he nearly fell out of his chair when she did. She was the head of the literary department and he relied on her. She ran it efficiently with military precision, paid close attention to every one of her clients, and kept a watchful eye on the younger agents, who represented less important writers. He didn’t see how he could manage without her. His only option was to put Hailey in Francine’s job, but he wasn’t sure that she was ready for it. Francine had more experience. Hailey managed beautifully as second-in-command, but being head of the department was a much bigger job. He begged Francine not to leave, but she had made up her mind. She didn’t feel that she could do a good job anymore where she was, with a dark cloud hanging over all ten years of her employment. It was too heavy a burden to carry. And she was excited about her new job. She was going to look for a new apartment in Manhattan. In desperation, Bob offered Francine a sizable increase if she would stay. It was less than the other agency was offering her, and what she really wanted was a fresh start in a new place. She declined Bob’s offer and apologized for the abrupt change. She felt she couldn’t stay.
Bob was panicked when he talked to Merriwether about it. More than ever, she had become his chief adviser and his most trusted employee and friend. Together, they had also decided to take Dan’s name off the agency. They were going to call it Benson Associates, and hoped that people would forget quickly that Dan had ever been a part of it. Bob was trying to bring a fresh look and feeling to the agency, while maintaining stability, which was hard to do with Francine leaving on such short notice.
Merriwether came up with an idea to boost morale. She said they needed some kind of happy event to bring them together and raise spirits, which would be an even bigger challenge once everyone knew that Francine was leaving.
Bob decided to make Jane a full-fledged agent, under Hailey’s supervision. It was early to do so, but she was doing well, and had a good eye for new authors. She had already suggested three to them, and Hailey and Francine both agreed with her choices. Bob and Merriwether both felt she would grow into the job. And he made Hailey head of the department. It was a big responsibility for her, and a big decision to accept it, knowing the time it would take from her life at home and her kids. Bob offered her a raise she couldn’t afford to refuse. It would make a huge difference for her kids.
Merriwether suggested having Bob host a staff barbecue at his house in Greenwich. They all needed something fun to look forward to. Francine’s announcement that she was leaving cast a pall on all of them, and the staff were touched by the invitation to a party at Bob’s home. He put Merriwether in charge of the party and told Martha what he planned to do. She was going to be out of town for a golf tournament in Jamaica, so the timing seemed perfect. She had no desire to be there. Hailey invited Phillip to go with her, and he thought it was brave of Bob to host the event. Through Hailey, he had heard all the details of the upheaval at the agency. Jane invited Benjie. He wasn’t happy about her promotion, because he knew it meant he would see even less of her, but she was on a career path now, and nothing was going to stop her.
The party was scheduled for the week after Francine left. Francine’s departure was silent and discreet. It was very emotional for her the day she left but it was a relief too—the nightmare was truly over. Bob, Merriwether, Hailey, and Allie came to say goodbye, walked out with her, and hugged her. She took nothing with her. She threw everything away.
Bob had invited Francine to the barbecue, and she decided not to go. Her time in their midst was over, and she wanted to put it behind her.
Allie had invited Eric to come too, but he was nervous about it because he knew Bob was upset that he and Allie were still dating. Eric didn’t want a confrontation with him. And by sheer bad luck, the paparazzi were still hot on their trail, and they were in the tabloids every day that week. No matter what they did, they couldn’t get away from the photographers who were following them to the gym, the dry cleaner, and the grocery store. They couldn’t go out for a meal. Bob was particularly annoyed when the tabloids called her “Eric Clay’s high-flying, gadabout agent girlfriend.”
“You expect our clients to take you seriously, or the casting directors you’re sending our clients to?” Bob said angrily, pointing at one of the papers. “You’re single-handedly destroying your career, Allie, for a twenty-six-year-old kid you won’t be dating six months from now. This is insanity. He must be fabulous in bed for you to risk everything you’ve built here.”
“I’m not risking anything. I’m dating a man I love. We’re not out doing drugs and going crazy. We go to the gym and stay home at night. They’ll get bored with us.” But they hadn’t so far. It created tension in the relationship and Bob was harping on her constantly that she was throwing her career out the window. She and Eric had a terrible fight about it one night. He said the same thing, and that he didn’t want to be responsible for destroying her career. Eventually she’d hate him for it. They’d both been drinking, and he’d had a stressful week in rehearsal for his series. He wasn’t getting along with his leading lady, and he took it out on Allie. In a burst of flame, Allie said fine, why didn’t they break up, if he was so worried about her career. Not risking her career had finally won the argument. Afterwards, she wasn’t sure if it was what he had wanted, or what she did. They both ended up in tears, and he went back to his apartment that night. He hadn’t slept there in months and couldn’t even find sheets to put on the bed, and he didn’t come back to Allie’s in the morning. He was devastated, and so was she.
She sent him a text in the morning, and didn’t go to the gym because she was too hung over and didn’t want to see him.
“Are we broken up?” she asked him by text. He took an hour to respond, being equally hung over and feeling sick about the fight the night before, but he had said he thought it was better for her. She had spent twenty years building her career as an agent, and he didn’t want to be the one to destroy that for her. He knew how much it meant to her. He figured Bob Benson was right. He was crying when he answered her.
“Looks like it to me. Do you want me to find a new agent?”
“Whatever,” she answered, and spent the rest of the day in tears, heartbroken over their breakup.
The barbecue in Greenwich was the next day. She wasn’t going to go, she was too upset about Eric, but Hailey called her and said she had to. Allie told her that she and Eric had broken up, and she was in no shape to go anywhere. Hailey said that as head of the department, Allie had to show up and put a good face on it, for Bob’s sake. So she booked a car and driver, and took a Xanax before she went. She was in a daze by the time she got there, and started drinking as soon as she arrived. Everyone at the agency had shown up and there was an atmosphere of celebration after weeks of mourning. Merriwether was right. It was what they all needed. Jeff had come with her, and looked like he was sulking. He was convinced that her job was destroying their marriage, when in fact he had done most of the damage himself.