AN: Thanks so much for everyone who read and reviewed. I appreciate hearing from you guys so much! Hope you like the next one, we're almost done here with day five.

Michael and I stared at each other, the rain pouring down on our heads, neither of us sure what to do next. Michael tilted his head at me. "Well, I think we should probably get out of the rain," he finally said.

I nodded. "Yup."

We began to walk towards the tent that held our personal belongings when I heard another voice behind us.

"Hey, guys, wait up," Ryan jogged up. "I'm coming with you."

Michael grinned ecstatically. "Ryan!"

I, however, gave him a skeptical look. "What, does Charles have a message for us or something?"

"No," Ryan said astounded that I even suggested that. "No, I quit too. It was time. I mean, I have a master's degree in art history that is not being used to its full potential. And, I thought, you know now's the time to go off and see the world. Maybe I'll go to Thailand. Or Fort Lauderdale. But I am free now and that's the important part."

"Did you quit just so you could get away from Kelly?" I asked.

"Don't judge me, Pam," Ryan said. "You quit too."

"Yeah, but for good reason," I shot back.

Ryan rolled his eyes at me.

"I think Ryan is right," Michael agreed. "We are now free. Free to do anything we want in the world. Whatever we want. Only, I'm going to need more money to do it. I have some in my savings. Maybe I should sell my condo, but where would I live?" Ryan and I exchanged looks as Michael continued to ramble. "I could always live in my car. But how would I pay for gas. Oh, I'm going to have to sell my Sebring and live in a box. Oh my god, what did I do!"

Michael was beginning to freak out, pacing back and forth screaming 'oh god!' repeatedly.

"Michael, it's going to be alright," I said in a comforting voice.

"It's not going to be alright," Michael cried. "I quit my job, Pam. What am I supposed to do? I'm not qualified to do anything else. I'm going to be a homeless person. A homeless person with a nice car but that's not the point."

"Come on, Michael," I said placing an arm around his shoulders. "Let's get you inside. Hey, Ryan, are you coming with us?"

Ryan, who had completely ignored Michael's melt down, was playing with a discarded, old soccer ball. He shrugged his shoulders. "Sure, why not," he said, continuing to concentrated on playing with the ball as we made our way to a tent.

Once inside, I gave Michael one of the blankets we usually place over the art at night so he cold warm up. He still hadn't calmed down.

"Michael, look, it's not the end of the world," I said. "You know, we can take the day off, collect ourselves and then look at this as an opportunity presented to us. I'll even help you. We'll make a list of places that you and I could possibly work at and then go through and figure out what we want to do. See? It's not that bad."

Michael nodded, though he still whimpered. "Okay, Pam, if you say it's going to be alright, then maybe it will be."

I patted him on the back. "Of course it will be. This it the opportunity to do anything you want. Is there anything you've ever wanted to do?"

"I could be a stand-up comedian," Michael said a little less weary than he had been before. "People are always laughing at me."

I nodded encouragingly but didn't think that was his best choice of career path. "I was thinking maybe something that would use more of the skills you've obtained with your past jobs. Like…" my voice trailed off trying hard to think of a job that Michael would actually be good at.

"You know what we should do," Ryan said, keeping his eyes on the ball he was kicking. "Start a strip club."

"Ew, Ryan, no," I said scrunching my nose.

Michael's eyes grew wide. "Yeah, or a bowling alley. I've always loved bowling."

"Or, a strip club slash bowling alley," Ryan suggested.

I looked at Ryan in disbelief. "That is a stupid idea."

"It's a brilliant idea," Ryan argued. He kicked the ball hard at me and before I could react, it hit my shin. I felt a tingle of pain up and down my leg.

"Really?" I said annoyed. "Was that necessary?"

Ryan shrugged, not caring.

"Oh, oh, I have an even better idea," Michael exclaimed. "We can start our own museum! We already know a ton of people who sell art and maybe we can get some of the pieces from SIA. I know I can get my grandmother to invest in our museum. Pam, you're an artist, you display some of your art. You can have your own little section."

"I think it's a great idea, Michael," Ryan agreed. "We should do that."

I let out a little sigh and shook my head. "Yeah, I don't think it works like that."

While Ryan and Michael began discussing various ideas for their new museum, I called Jim.

"Hey, where are you?" I asked. "Are you still at the festival somewhere?"

"I am in my car going to get some dinner," Jim replied. "Why, are you finally out of that horrible meeting?"

"Yeah," I grinned into my phone. "I mean the meeting is still going on but I am no longer a part of it."

There was a silence on the other end. "What happened?" he sounded concerned.

"I, uh, quit my job."

"Quit? Pam, is everything okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, everything's fine," I replied. "It's just that Charles is a sexist jerk. He told me all he wanted me to do is look pretty and say what he wanted to the press."

"Jerk," Jim agreed. "What? I can't believe he said that. Well good for you, standing up for your self."

"Thank you," I said. "There was no way I was going to stand being treated like that."

"Good for you," Jim said. "So, do you want me to bring you some dinner? My treat."

I paused. "I can pay you back, no big deal."

"Are you sure?" Jim asked. "Just thought— never mind, what would you like to eat?"

We hung up after dinner was figured out. But as I closed my phone the reality of having quit my job begin to settle in. When I lived with Roy, my whole life depended on him. I did have a job at the time, but Roy and his income governed every major life decision. And before that, it was my parents. I hated having to depend on someone else and these past six months had been liberating on so many levels. I knew that Jim was offering dinner one time and that he respected me enough to do things on my own. But now I had no income and not even an idea as to where to start to look for one.

"Oh, my god," I said feeling a little faint. Michael and Ryan stopped their discussion. "I can't do this."

"Do what?" Michael looked confused.

"I have to get my job back. I can't be without a job."

"Too late, sister," Ryan commented with a smirk.

"No, I have to get my job back," I said beginning to panic. "I mean, how am I supposed to pay rent? It's almost the end of the month and I don't have enough for it. And if I do go to Pratt, how am I supposed to pay for that? I don't want to rely on anyone else for money."

"But Charles is a meanie," Michael said. "There are better things than him. That's why we quit, right?"

I shook my head. "I could have handled it, right? At least until I found something that I could do. I'd still have an income. And health benefits. And a job I liked. Oh my god, I really liked my job. This is horrible, why did I do this? I'm never this impulsive. I was just pissed off. They shouldn't hold you accountable for when you're pissed off."

"Well, Pam," Michael said, unusually calm. "Like you said, this is now an opportunity for us. We'll find something better, you'll see. We'll sit down and make a list-"

"Screw lists," I muttered.

"Well, I don't think that you'll be able to get your job back," Michael said honestly. "Unless Charles is gone, you have to deal with the consequences of your actions."

An idea struck me. "Michael, that's it!

He looked confused but happy. "Yes, of course it is."

"You don't know what she's talking about," Ryan pointed out.

"True, but I inspired it," Michael said.

"No, listen, we can get our jobs back," I said wondering why I didn't think of this right off the bat. "All we have to do is get rid of Charles."

"Get rid of Charles," Michael grinned. "We should get rid of Charles!"

"I'm on board," Ryan said. "Let's do it."

"Alright guys," I said feeling good. "Let's get rid of Charles and get our jobs back."

"So, you guys are going to take on Charles Minor?" Jim asked. He had just arrived and was handing me my cheeseburger and fries as we explained to him the idea that we had come up with.

"Yeah," I said, nibbling on a few fries. "I mean, it was a little hasty to quit our jobs. But we shouldn't be the ones who have to leave."

"He should leave," Michael added. "We know this museum and who is he to change everything on us? Who is he to come boss us around."

"Yeah," Ryan added more so because he could.

Jim's eyes grew wide and he smiled. "Well, then, do you guys know what you're going to do?"

I exchanged an uneasy look with Michael. "Uh, we haven't exactly thought it out that far yet. We just know that we're going to take him down so that we can get our jobs back."

Jim chuckled. "Well, I'll tell you what. I will use my super skills as a reporter and get you a run down on the guy. See what kind of things I can dig up. I mean, everyone has a few skeletons in the closet, right?"

"Oh, Jim, you don't have to do that," I said, knowing it wasn't professional of him to help us out.

Jim gave a shrug. "Hey, what's the point of dating a reporter if you can't put it to use, right?"

I laughed. "Oh, right, I forgot why I was dating you."

"See, I told you," Ryan commented. "You know what we could do guys. Start a nasty rumor about Charles and get it into the press. Something that will totally take him down. Pam's already a media whore, so she can be the face of the rumor. The one that talks to the press."

"We're not going to spread lies and sink to low schemes, Ryan," I told him disgusted by his attitude. "And I'm not a media whore."

"Well, that can be debated-"

"So," Jim interrupted. "How do you guys usually pick your director, through the board right? Why don't you just talk to them about what's going on? Convince them that they shouldn't hire the guy. Little hassle and drama there."

"What's the point if there's no drama?" Ryan asked.

I scrunched my nose at him. "Wow, Ryan, that explains so much about you. Anyway, I think Jim's right. We have to talk to the board members and convince them that Charles is wrong for the museum. Alright, how should we start?"

"Holly," Michael said enthusiastically. "I know she'll be on our side."

"Alright," I said. "I also think we should get a hold of David Wallace right away, too, because-"

It wasn't the ringing of Ryan's cell phone that interrupted me. It was the fact that during the middle of my sentence, he flipped it open and began talking. "Yeah, hey, I'm not busy," he was saying to the person on the other line. "Yeah, I just quit my job. No biggie. We're going to take down the museum anyway. Serves them right."

I gave Jim an astounded look and he shrugged his shoulders not sure what to say. Even Michael looked annoyed. "Ryan!" I yelled. "If you don't want to be apart of this, you can leave."

Ryan placed a hand over the receiver. "Pam, please don't interrupt me when I'm on the phone."

I balled my fists, ready to punch him but I thought better of it and moved on. "So, Michael, do you happen to have David Wallace's contact information?"

"I have his personal cell number," Michael said, getting his phone out.

"How did you get his personal number?" I asked as Michael began scrolling down his contact list.

"Jan," he said simply. "I was her personal assistant, so I always had a direct connect to David Wallace."

"Oh my god," Jim exclaimed. His eyes were wide, a broad smile on his face. "I've got an idea, I-" he paused thinking it over. "I've got to go." He collected his things then gave me a swift kiss on the forehead. "I'll give you a call when I've got it, okay?"

"Okay," I said nodding, though I wasn't sure what Jim was thinking. Without another word, Jim rushed out of the tent leaving me alone with Ryan and Michael.

"Well, he sure is weird," Michael noted.

"Okay, okay," I said returning my attention to Michael. "David Wallace."

"Alright, I'll call him," Michael said holding the phone to his ear."

"Do you think I should do that?" I asked.

Michael waved his hand at me signifying that he would do the talking. "I'll do it, I'll do it," he said. "Hello, David Wallace, this is Michael Scott. It is very important that you call me back, I have an urgent matter to discuss with you." Michael hung up.

"Voice mail?" I asked disappointed.

"That was weird," Michael said. "It only rang once before I got his message. Usually it keeps ringing."

I groaned. "Do you have any other contacts?" I asked.

Michael shook his head. "Jan didn't like me to have contact with the board. I'm not sure why. I could always try David Wallace again."

"Why don't we just look them up in the company directory online?" Ryan suggested, even though he was still talking on the phone. "I have my laptop here, let me get it."

Despite the fact that Ryan was a major pain, I was glad we were making some headway. Ryan retrieved his laptop out of the bookbag he had brought, sat on the ground, and opened it up. But instead of actually looking anything up, he continued to tell crude stories to whomever he was talking to. Grumbling as I did so, I went to fetch the computer away from Ryan.

"Hey, this is my laptop, I will do it," Ryan insisted.

"You're not doing anything," I argued. "You're just sitting there talking on the phone."

"I'm waiting for the wireless to connect," Ryan said.

"The computer isn't even on," I pointed out.

I went to grab the computer but Ryan swatted me away and finally turned the thing on. Michael and I waited patiently as it looked like Ryan was actually focused on finding the list of board members.

After about five minutes of us waiting, Michael spoke. "Hey, do you ever wonder why we always get these tan tents?" he asked looking around. "Why don't they make them in bright pink or neon green?"

"Okay," I said having enough of it. "Ryan, give me the computer."

"No," he said pulling it away from me.

Ryan couldn't juggle the computer and his cell and I was able to snatch the computer out of his hands. "Ryan!" I cried in disbelief when I saw what was on the screen. "You're supposed to be going to the museum website, not looking at pictures of naked girls."

"Oohh, naked chicks?" Michael cooed and glanced over my shoulder interested.

Ryan didn't even defend himself, just rolled his eyes at me and went back to talking on his phone. I pulled up the museum website and easily found a contact list for the board members.

"Find Holly," Michael insisted.

I scrolled down but noticed that the list hadn't been updated in about three years. Holly wasn't on the list as well as a few others that had been recently elected.

"Looks like we're just going to have go down the list of who's still there," I commented. "Here, let's start with Russell Brown."

"Oh, Russell," Michael said. "He's a great guy. I'll give him a call." Michael began to dial the numbers on the screen.

"Maybe I should talk," I insisted but Michael waved my hand away.

"Hello, Russell, this is Michael Scott," Michael started sounding very business like. "What are you doing for dinner this evening…how about we meet for IHOP, I know they're having a discount tonight for…right…right…sure, we'll be right there." He closed the phone. "And that's that, we have to get over to IHOP. He's agreed to meet with us."

I looked excitedly at Michael. We were really going to do it. We were really bringing down Charles. In no time, the three of us were crammed into Michael's Sebring and headed down the street towards IHOP. Thankfully, the restaurant wasn't busy nor did it take very long for Russell to meet us there. Soon, Michael and Russell had ordered a very large dinner and were joking about life at the museum long before I had arrived.

I didn't eat anything, because Jim had brought my dinner earlier, I spent most of the meal trying to get Michael to focus on the topic we needed him to. Thankfully, Ryan was so invested in his texting that he sat off to the side mostly ignoring us.

"Yeah, so those were good times," Michael said digging into his pancakes.

"They really were," Russell said with a laugh.

I motioned for Michael to get on with it. "You know, Russell, Pam has some thoughts about the museum she'd like to share."

I hadn't anticipated being the one to talk to Russell, someone Michael knew more than I did, so I stared blankly at the man before I spoke. "Well, Russell, you know now that Jan is gone the museum is in a bit of a flux and a few of us," I motioned to Michael and Ryan, "are a little worried about the direction it's going in."

Russell frowned as he slathered his pancakes in syrup. "I have to agree with you there. Jan was always…questionable but she did her job. I think the museum needs a jump start in the right direction."

"Exactly," I said. "And I'm not so sure Charles Minor is the correct direction to take the museum in."

Russell stared at me, the syrup gushing out on to his plate. "What? Charles Minor? As in from the Natural History Museum."

I nodded. "Yes."

"What the hell is David thinking?" Russell said clearly upset, slamming the syrup bottle down. "I don't like that man's politics and I don't like what he's done to the NHM. Is he really in charge?"

"He's at the festival right now," I explained. I then retold what the meeting with Charles had been like, leaving out the part where Michael and I quit. The further I went, the more red-faced Russell became. "So, yeah, we were hoping that we could get enough board members to vote against him," I concluded.

"Well, you don't have to convince me," Russell said. "You have my vote against him and I'll talk to David my self about the situation."

I grinned, feeling giddy that we were making some progress. We only needed five of the board members to make the majority. One down, four more to go.

Not only did Russell let us know that he was on our side but as he and Michael finished their pancakes, Michael was able to get out of him contact information for the rest of the board, meaning we didn't have to go on a wild goose chase trying to find the rest of the members. We thanked him profusely and made sure he knew to come to the festival's disco party that was being held that night. He assured us he would and told us to give him a call if they needed anything else.

The first person Michael wanted to get a hold of was Holly. Even though I was a little skeptical about Michael contacting her, Holly seemed reasonable enough the few times I'd met her, so I let Michael call her. Unfortunately, she didn't pick up, despite Michael calling her twice and leaving two very long messages for her to call him back. In his message he did mention that we would all be at the disco party tonight but I wasn't sure how well Holly would react knowing that she had already turned Michael down once that day.

We then decided to move down the list. Michael, as it would turn out, had a knack for talking with the board members. Apparently, having worked so long with Jan and Jan having been able to schmooze the board herself, Michael had picked up little tricks and tips on how to individually approach each of the board members. The more Michael was able to work his magic, the more I understood not only why Michael had been kept around for so long but why Jan had as well.

The next board member we went to visit was Todd Packer, a man whom I had know for a long time but tried to avoid as much as possible due to his rude behavior and his sexist remarks towards woman. When he first was elected, back when I was first married, he told me that I should have children right away because he thought I would make a great MILF someday. Ever since then, whenever he came to the museum, I pretended as if I had work that needed to be done.

Michael, however, liked the guy and we used that to our advantage. Todd Packer was an easy sell. "It's like this," Michael said to him as we settled in for a drink at one of the local bars. I had a feeling that Packer had been in that particular bar most of the day. "If Charles Minor stays, we are losing the lifestyle that we've grown accustomed to living."

"What lifestyle?" Packer teased before gulping down more beer. "You have neither a life or style."

"This guy's good." Michael laughed along with him. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, but besides that. You let Charles Minor become director, no crazy parties any more. He wants to take those away."

"No!" Packer slurred. He was obviously drunk, even if it was just after five.

"Yes," Michael insisted. "He doesn't even want us to have our fifteenth anniversary party."

"He can't take away our anniversary party," Packer argued, upset at that fact, though I figured it was mostly the alcohol talking. He pounded his fist on the table. "The man must go!"

"The man must go," Michael held his glass of ice water high.

Ten minutes later, Todd Packer agreed to do what he could to get rid of Charles Minor. Unfortunately, he was little help to us because eleven minutes later he was passed out on the floor. At least we got the vote against Charles.

I was a little concerned when Michael insisted that the next member be Billy Merchant. Billy was in a wheelchair and I had never known Michael to act professionally on any occasion that involved someone who had any kind of disability but to my surprise, Michael pulled it off, not once mentioning the fact that Billy couldn't walk. Instead, Michael focused on the fact that Charles was set on stereotyping people and refused to listen to what other people had to say. Billy hadn't seen a problem with David's appointment of Charles in the first place but after listening to what Michael had to say, he let us know that he would take our side if it came down to it.

"Wow, that was really impressive," I said as we were leaving Billy's house.

"What?" Michael asked, wide-eyed and grinning. He knew what I was thinking, he just wanted me to say it.

"I'm just amazed how you handled yourself in there," I told him.

"He's a human being too, you know," Michael reminded me. "God, is that all you see, his wheelchair?"

"No, not at all," I said rolling my eyes. "I mean I'm impressed that you were able to see past that."

"Well, I have a secret about that," he admitted as we were getting in the car.

"What's that?" I asked.

He looked around to make sure no one was watching then made Ryan and I promise to tell no one. "Jan kept secret files," he said finally. "I have files back at the museum on all of the board members. Listed in there are color-coded items what to mention and what not to mention when dealing with the board members. Jan made me memorize it."

"Wow," I said, so much was clicking into place. "Well, I guess she knew what she was doing."

"Yeah, and she told me that if I didn't follow it, she wouldn't have sex with me anymore," Michael continued. "And I really wanted to have sex with her. Especially after the boob job."

"And now we're back to normal," I said thinking that there was always a catch.

"Alright, who should we go after next?" Michael asked once we were all inside the car. "There's Mr. Scofield, the oldest member of the board, who hates change so he'll definitely be opposed to Charles or we could go with Dan Gordon who's kind of a moron and will follow anyone with the highest bidder. Of course, if we can get a hold of Holly-" Michael stopped mid-sentence when his phone rang.

I could hear David Wallace's sketchy, angered voice over the line. "Michael, are you calling board members and harassing them about Charles?" he asked.

"No, David," Michael said timidly. "But Charles has got to be stopped."

As David went into some sort of rant, my phone rang. I answered when I saw that it was Jim and he began talking the instant I answered. "Pam, I'm not sure where you guys are but get over to the Natural History Museum. I've uncovered something amazing."

"So, what did David say?" I asked as Michael headed towards the Natural History Museum.

"He was not at all happy," Michael replied. "Apparently, he thinks that Charles is wonderful. So, I told him to gather the board and meet us back at the festival in an hour."

"Michael!" I exclaimed. "We don't even know what Jim's found yet. Don't you think that was a little premature?"

Ryan spoke up. "Hey, if I'm going down, I'm going down big."

Michael pointed at him. "Exactly. You're in this now, Pamcakes, you better get used to it."

Ten minutes later, we were heading up to the museum. It looked like it was closed for the day, but Jim stood at the entrance waiting for us, a huge grin on his face.

"Are we going in?" I asked when we came up the steps to meet Jim.

"Can't," Jim replied. "Closed for the day. Actually, we're meeting someone here."

I eyed him suspiciously. "What are you up to?"

Jim rubbed his hands together excitedly. "Well, Michael gave me an idea," he answered, nodding at a proud looking Michael. "I mean, who else knows everything that goes on in the museum? The director's assistant, which is who I called."

As if on cue, a tiny, older gentleman with glasses approached us. "I'm, uh, looking for Jim Halpert."

Jim stepped forward. "That would be me. Vikram, right?" he asked, helping the older gentleman up the stairs.

"That's me," Vikram replied. "You're the reporter who spoke to me on the phone, right?"

Jim nodded. "That's right. Can you retell the story that you told me?"

We all listened intently as Vikram began to speak. "Mr. Halpert tells me you want to get rid of Charles just like we did. We are glad to be rid of him, but I do not wish him on anyone, so I will tell you what I know. Charles's background is in retail, not art and he's worked his way up to executive but has never stayed at one company for very long. It seems as though as soon as he reaches the highest position he can get, he takes off."

"Alright," I said nodding. "But that doesn't help us much."

"Ah, but this is just the beginning," Vikram continued. "So, he comes to this fine establishment here," he pointed to the museum behind him. "Why? I suspect because the economy is doing badly right now and there is more money that he could earn at a stable, government funded museum then in business. I'm not entirely sure why he chose the Natural History Museum specifically but I doubt his intentions of helping our museum out were far from wanting to be helpful."

"Alright, enough talk," Michael whined. "What's the point?"

"The Natural History Museum is going broke and it is all because of Charles Minor." Vikram said plainly.

"What?" I asked slightly in disbelief.

Vikram looked relieved that someone was on his side. "The first thing Charles did when he got there was cut staff. This was to save money, but the museum doesn't run so well being understaffed and because of that, the museum has lost more money trying to make up for all the mistakes made then it would have spent paying for a full staff. And the director of the museum got a pay raise due to a smaller staff. The rest of the staff took a pay cut."

"Oh, my god," I said, a hand to my mouth.

"There's more," Vikram continued. "Did you know that there haven't been any new exhibits in over a year? You see, a lot of the major exhibits don't change, but the ones that do usually have a local flavor to them, you know, the history of Scranton and stuff. But Charles refuses to support any kind of local interest; therefore, they've put a stop to any local based exhibits. A lot of people in the community have been offended by this and refuse to support the museum, meaning that attendance has been down. On top of all that, the one million dollars he raised? Only ten percent of that was used for the museum. The rest of it was to give him and the board members a bonus. I did the math and that comes out to about ninety thousand dollars each, which is a high amount for a small town museum board and director. Also, the ten percent used was not used to fix things, such as keeping the museum sterile so that the fossils and other artifacts could be preserved longer, it was mostly used for outside aesthetics."

"Oh, my god," I said. We all stared at him, shocked looks on our faces.

"And that is why we pushed him to you guys," Vikram concluded. "It was a conscious effort by the museum staff to get him out of there so that we can restore the museum to what it once was. It's been such a cherished little museum and it's a shame what that man has done to us. I hope that he does not do the same thing to you. I was unable to talk before because Charles threatened to send me back to India if I ever spoke out."

I was astonished by Vikram's story. I could see the love he had for his own museum and how much he hated working for Charles but did so somewhat in fear. "It's alright, Vikram. Hopefully, we'll be able to take him down. Thank you so much for talking with us."

We all thanked Vikram and Jim assured him that any information gathered from him would be strictly confidential. We then concluded we had to get back to the festival to share the information with David Wallace. The reason Vikram was alright with sharing his story was so that we could hopefully run Charles out of Scranton all together. I could tell that only after a few days of him not being there, the Natural History Museum was slowly getting itself back together.

"You know what this reminds me of?" Michael asked as we headed back the car. "That time Jan got a bonus for-"

"Stop," Jim said quickly. "I don't need to know."

Michael gave him a strange look. "What? It wasn't anything bad, just Jan cut the budget on-"

"Michael, stop incriminating yourself," I said giving a smile up to Jim.

Michael still didn't get it but thankfully we arrived at the parking lot. I ended up riding with Jim, leaving Michael to tell all of his stories to a bored Ryan. Not too later, we arrived back at the park, a very angry looking David Wallace waiting for us.

"You guys quit?" David started yelling the moment we walked up. "I expect that when you have a problem, that you come to me. But you can't just quit like that." He turned to me and gave me a frown. "You know, Pam, I'm disappointed in you. Michael and maybe Ryan I could expect this from-"

"I'm insulted by that," Ryan interjected.

David ignored him. "But, Pam, you've been such a strong worker. We would hate to lose you over a tiny dispute."

Just then, Charles walked up. "Oh, I see it's our disgruntled ex-employees."

"Now, Charles," David said reasonably. "I don't want to call them former employees unless they have good reason to be called that."

"Oh, David, come on," Charles said. "They're being insubordinate and disrespectful. We can find a much better PR person. And I think I could go without having Michael as an assistant." Charles threw his head back and laughed as if none of this was a big deal to him.

"Hey Charles," Jim piped up. "Next time you want to throw a reporter out of one of your meetings, make sure you don't have anything to hide. We just talked to your old assistant and found out a few interesting things." Jim took a tape recorder out of his pocket. I didn't think he had recorded the conversation with Vikram, and his wink to me showed that he didn't, but Charles's face fell as he saw the tape recorder. We knew we had him. "I think I'll let you guys handle museum politics on your own," he said giving me the tape recorder and bowing out of the conversation.

I grinned when I saw that there wasn't even a tape inside. "You see Charles, we would like our jobs back," I started.

Charles rolled his eyes. "I am not afraid of anything that you might have on that tape."

"Well," I said tilting my head. "Maybe you should be. See, here's the thing, Michael, Ryan and I love our museum. Sure, there are little things that need to be changed and maybe Jan leaving was over do but we do run it quite smoothly. And I think David wants the best for the museum as well."

David looked at me confused. "Pam, I'm not following you here."

"What I'm trying to say is that Charles is not good for the museum," I told him. "He's only met us one day and doesn't have faith in any of us. He wants to change something that isn't really broken, just messed up a little. And he wants to make a little money off of our hardship."

"Oh, come on," Charles protested.

"I don't want what happened to the Natural History Museum happening to us," I explained. And before Charles could start talking back, I began recounting the information I had just learned. The longer I went on, the more Charles's jaw dropped. "See, David, do we really want to take the same risk and lose more like the NHM?"

Charles was about to defend himself when David spoke. "You know Charles, I think we're done."

"But David," Charles gaped.

David rubbed his forehead in frustration. "No, this whole week has been one headache after another. Look, Charles, you seem like a good guy, but I'm not ready to upset the whole apple cart for you. Thank you for trying to step in and help but I think we are going to go in another direction."

Charles stared at me cruelly for a moment before finally accepting what was happening. Then he just walked away. Out of the park and out of our lives.

"All right, you three," David said to us. He didn't look happy but he did seem a little relieved. "I'll tell you what, you guys can have your jobs back without a problem. I mean no paper work was done, so it's as if you've never left. And I will, myself, do a better job of picking a new director. But next time, you guys come directly to me, alright? And do not run off and quit!" We all nodded. "Alright," David said relaxing. "I think we can now concentrate on getting this disco party started. I'll see you guys in a little bit after I've talked with the other board members."

The minute David left, the three of us begun to congratulate each other with high fives. We had done it, really done it. I felt good, my job was secure and I trusted David would do a better job with the next person he chose as director. But if nothing else, it felt nice to win one that day. And as Michael, Ryan and I gave hugs and patted each other on the back, I saw Jim in the distance, looking proudly at us.