As soon as they were inside his office, R.F. closed the door behind Don and Cosmo.
While R.F. paced around the room, Don leaned against a wall and crossed his arms and Cosmo perched on the arm of one of R.F.'s plush chairs.
"So what's the story, R.F.?" asked Don.
"Yeah," said Cosmo, "What seems to be the problem? Any coughing, achey joints-"
"Cos," said Don with a shake of the head and only a slight smile.
Cosmo grinned, slid into the chair, and looked expectantly at R.F.
"Boys, we have a problem," R.F. said finally.
"So we've heard," said Don.
R.F. continued as if he hadn't heard Don.
"It's Warner Brothers."
"What now?" asked Cosmo. "Have they found a way to print movies in color now?"
"Now let's not talk crazy, Cosmo," said R.F. "No, this problem has to do with "The Big Apple."
He paused and looked from Cosmo to Don.
"There's been a leak. Someone told the entire plot of our movie to Warner Brothers." He stopped and slapped the surface of his desk. "They've already been working on their version of the movie and it will be released long before ours. By the time "The Big Apple" hits theaters we'll look like the ones who stole the story and we'll lose our shirts"
"But this is terrible! What are we going to do?" asked a distressed Don. "We're all set to film! Cathy will be crushed! R.F., you can't let this happen!"
"R.F., do you have any idea who might've done something like this?" asked Cosmo.
"Actually, I do," answered R.F. "And her name is Jean Larson."
A stunned silence hit the room before Cosmo started laughing.
"Oh, R.F., you can't be serious!" said Don dismissively.
"Yeah," said Cosmo with a smile. "Jean Larson? What's the worst thing she's ever done? Overbake an apple pie? Help too many old ladies across the street?""
Don and Cosmo both began laughing heartily but quickly stopped when they saw that R.F. was not joining in.
"We've discovered," said R.F., "That Jean failed to mention to us that she used to work for Warner Brothers."
"She worked for Warner Brothers?" asked Cosmo, his blue eyes wide with disbelief.
"But that's our biggest competition!" Don protested. "To go from them to us-- it's crazy!"
"That's not the worst of it," said R.F.
"Dare I ask?" Cosmo inquired, sounding surprisingly comical.
"We've looked into it and it seems that Jean has been in contact with Mick Snyder," said R.F. He paused, stopped pacing, and looked up at Cosmo and Don. "The head of Warner Brother's Studios."