last thing I have to say about Nat's story for now

She turned to see her office manager, Dana, at the door.

            “Nat? Will wants a word.” Nat must have blinked too much because then she added. “We are having issues with our intercom system…” and she named the quotation hand gesture “and the telephone system and our Local Area Network.”

            Nat made a face and Dana rolled her eyes and they both laughed.

            “Opening day jitters I hope.” Nat said as she walked out of her office with Dana over to the inner office William had commandeered. The door was open and revealed the formerly windowless rear wall of the office had been removed and replaced with pane glass one that towered over the open floor space of the interior court of the building. Nat felt a pang on jealousy and it must have been clear on her face since James grinned from ear to ear in triumph at his conquest in gaining this office all the while Nat thought he was fighting for hers. That little shit.

            “Oh come on Nat.” He said swiping back a lock of his light brown hair. “This way everybody wins.”

            “Oh yeah?” Nat retorted. “Where you put Dan?”

            “Dan?”

            “Our in house Pro Dick?”

            “Oh- yes- Dan. Well I haven’t seen Dan- are you sure he is here?”

            “Nope, haven’t seen him, besides it’s the first come first serve rule of survival here.”

            “Uh-huh.” Nat said taking one of the client chairs. “So, what’s up anyway?”

            “Well as I sit it we got two or three major problems to consider before we can proceed with business as usual.” Will held up two fingers, Nat almost stopped him but decided it was a waste to point out that obvious point.

how not to spill coffee or shoot your boss

The partners decided that it would best for everyone if a new building housed the SIRS Division of Walford, Raker, Jones and Anderson. So Walford called one of his buddies up in the courthouse who let him in on a city planning meeting and Walford offered to by the Kingsley Warehouse on Ninth and restore it for the city beautification project which everyone was thrilled would not be turned into lofts due to it being within spitting distance of the city’s courthouse and jail. This was a great plan for the city of Cartersville as the locals had come to think of themselves as metropolitan as the nearby cities of Nashville and Chattanooga.

            It took about a month of fast work to prepare the building which had already experienced some revitalization attempts over the previous years. During that time, Nat was so busy with the move that she all but forgot about Dan and Marc. She took to consulting the floor plans and feuding with William James over who would get the corner office facing the courthouse and who would get the one overlooking the river. The other two administrative offices would be windowless at least to the exterior of the building. It wasn’t until William pointed out that Marc wasn’t the office with the river view that Nat realized this would be a fight to the death over the courthouse view office.

            Nat enjoyed feuding with William over it and they went back and forth until William asked where they would put Dan Myers. She suggested with a wicked grin the closet office facing the alley. William laughed at that seeing her immediate dislike of the man. After Nat had won over James into giving her the corner courthouse office- a deal made with the devil in tight corners and narrow alleys of which Nat was sure that she would live to regret, she quickly forgot about Dan Myers and concentrated on closing her open cases that would not transfer into her new job role as managing Partner of SIRS.

            The first day of operations at the newly minted Kingsley Anderson Building, she came out onto the administrative floor to see her assistant and office manager arguing with the interior designer over his odd placement of their office stations. She gave them a thumbs up gesture of support as she swiftly swerved out of range of interception and bypassed the skirmish that would be sure to follow. She could not resist the suppression of a smile as she spotted the open door of her new office.

            Once inside she looked at the new oak desk caddy-cornered in the office her leather chair between the vast picture plate windows looking out over the courthouse and the town central square facing it. It could have been a miniature version of the open fantasy courts of law she once dreamed of before following her father’s advice to practice law where people knew her instead of racing of to Boston or New York. She placed her brief case and hung her coat and fought the urge to take a spin in her new leather chair. Instead she stood in the center of her office on the newly refinished hardwood floor and meditated a moment reflecting on this moment of success. Her reverie was interrupted by a knock at her door.

that was April's fool and now this is Nat's Fool

He caught her inspection of his work place and toasted her with his hot chocolate before turning his attention to the head of the table where Samuel Oakfield had just sat down. Mr. Oakfield cleared his throat and the room grew quiet.

            “As I am sure you all know, our two firms are coming together in a new merger. WRJ and A has agreed to our terms that we continue operations as normal save that we serve their interests first. Sherman and Oaks will take on the new name of SIR incorporated. And our investigation division will be given over to WRJ and A to be at their immediate disposal.”

            There were some murmurs around the table.

            “And in return, the new SIR inc. will get access to the WRJ and A client list and receive a nice tidy sum of fifteen million dollars which will be distributed between our executive board and owners.”

            Now there was clapping around the table from Marc and his associates. Dan was not clapping and looked puzzled. He held up his hand and the executives quieted down. Mr. Oakfield looked over at Dan from where he was shaking John’s over enthusiastic hand.

            “Yes Daniel- what is it?” He asked in a mystified tone- was that panic in his voice.

            “What does S-I-R stand for Mr. Oakfield?”

            “Why that’s easy Daniel, it stands for Security Investigations Raker.”

            “I thought that Sherman had specifically said that if the company was to be renamed that it had include his name?” Dan’s gaze went from exec to exec and finally back to Oakfield.

            “Now Daniel, you know as well as I do that Sherman was willing to sell his share in the company and surely something as minor as his name not being included in the title.” Oakfield looked a bit tired like this was an old argument. The man looked to be seventy, tall thin with dark gray hair and narrow face like that of the actor Edward Herrmann.

            “Sherman wanted it left in for Jack’s sake not his own, he wanted Jack to have a legacy.” Dan countered looking back at Oakfield directly now.

            Silence reigned at the table, Nat looked around in confusion, the other partners who were there shrugged, Mark and his fellows looked very uncomfortable now; John looked like he was ready to flee at any second. Nat wondered how this curmudgeon of a man could be so insolent to his boss and not get fired. Then Oakfield sighed in defeat.

            “Daniel, I am sorry- perhaps I should have remembered that.” He spread his hands in a placating gesture palms up, I am sure that Ms. Raker will agree to add Sherman’s name back into the division title.”

            And Dan just nodded and sipped his hot chocolate and Oakfield moved on! Nat was flabbergasted that an underling could pull a stunt like that and survive- probably Dan would get chewed out later- maybe the jerk would get fired and she would never have to see him again. She wondered at that thought, what had made her take such a dislike to him? Then Dan caught her staring at him and winked at her with a nod and grin and she knew that this was one of the smuggest men she had ever met.

            Next, the particulars were hammered out with the execs and the partners exchanging reports and banter with one another. Throughout this part, Dan sat quietly and observed it all. Nat soon forgot he was there as he had become so still. She only remembered him when she would glance across the table for some reason or back at one of the partners.

            Finally, Oakfield cleared his throat and nodded towards, Jim Anderson, one of the senior partners. Jim Anderson, a tall thin man with a severe expression, straightened his tie and shuffled his papers. He restacked them and divided them as he gathered his thoughts.

            “First let me say that I am pleased to announce Natalie Bryant and William James will oversee our new division SIR or SIRS.“  He said and looked up at Oakfield who in turned nodded at the modification. “For Sherman and Oaks’ side of SIRS, Daniel Myers and Marc Maxwell will oversee the day to day operations.”

            Nat nearly spilt her coffee, hearing that not only would she not be rid of the man but he was coming here to her offices. She glared across the table at Dan who fortunately was unaware of her gaze and looked at Anderson with a mildly surprised expression. He glanced over at Marc who shrugged as if to imply that it was news to him.

How to shoot a Wedding but not the Groom

1. Come at least an hour before the wedding.
2. get wedding program sheet- you will need this for names and to know what to look for Rick to Play before wedding procession
3. go upstairs- turn on TV lights
4. check sound board: make sure the following levels are up:
1. Channels 1-3 are at 0-5- these are the wireless mikes
2. Lectern 0-5
3. Left prayer same
4. Choir 20

5. Turn the following equipment (if necessary):
1. Turn on all the camera monitors
2. Turn on program and preview monitors
3. Turn on the Panasonic HDD player
4. Turn on Black HP computer
5. Turn on the DV capture device
6. Turn on LCD TV

6. Check cameras: controls, zoom, pan tilt
7. Check DV capture device (located on shelf behind Silver HP): make sure the analog light is on-push silver button until light moves from digital to analog

8. Go to Black HP:
1. Log in
2. Double click on studio launcher icon
3. Select pinnacle studio- wait for it to load
4. Select capture tab
5. If you get a message that no capture device is detected than exit program, check DV capture device-verify analog setting, start pinnacle again (if you don’t do this it will cause problems with capture). Repeat steps b-d.
6. click start capture
7. enter name of those being wedded
8. click start capture

9. Go to Panasonic HDD- get remote: at this point the LCD TV should auto tune to the Panasonic.
10. verify that you see the church on LCD (if not then take remote and do following):
1. point remote at Panasonic (not TV) you will look at TV but use remote towards Panasonic
2. select Direct navigator button- which will bring up a menu
3. select return button and you should see church on LCD TV
4. press record on remote or record button on Panasonic HDD

11.  Shoot wedding: Rick Sidey will start playing 20 minutes of... (before the wedding start time
12. After the wedding has ended run cameras at least 15 minutes and get b-roll footage of activities following wedding- more on that later.
13. stop recording on Panasonic HDD and PC
14. turn of same equipment (if necessary)

Things to cover while shooting and things to know

·        sometime there will be a quintet, quarter playing by baptismal font, if so- move left prayer mike near them- bring up the level downstairs-not necessary up stairs, play camera time between Rick and other musicians

·        Often Rick will have a trumpet player with him- doesn’t worry about miking them –the choir mikes will pick them up. Repeat same process as above.

·         Make sure to get the procession of mothers before the wedding formally starts and people shots interspersed with the music

·        During the wedding do not forget the reading from the lectern

·        Make sure to get close-ups of the wedding couple

·        MAKE SURE YOU GET THE KISS

·        Following the wedding look to get the newlyweds and witnesses signing the documents- this is almost always down in the first row of the left choir at the back- usually can get a good shot unless the photographer is an idiot and gets in the way

·        I always shoot them taking pictures and looking for laughter and reaction shots

·        Take about 15 minutes and shut down- these are for B-roll which I will add to the edit.

·        Do not use the CG- I will add titles in the edit process

·        Have fun but not too much fun- remember this is for them- we want to impress the family of the newlyweds with our camera ability

·        Don’t freak if you mess up- I can usually fix even the worst mistakes as long as I have a recording.

·        Good luck and thanks

Natalie makes a snap judgement

Dan began to speak, but Nat held up a hand to stop him and walked away to talk to one of the execs who had just entered. He was sharp and smart in an Armani suit with cuffs and well groomed black hair and deep blue eyes. Nat walked up and introduced herself in a serious fashion.

            “Hi, I am Natalie Bryant, Junior Partner.” She held out her hand which he took in his own firm cool grasp.

            “Mark Maxwell, VP of Marketing and Development.” He smiled his perfectly even pearly whites. “I see that you’ve met our poster boy for gay rights.”

            “Dan?”

            He laughed a deep musical laugh and Nat warmed to him immediately.

            “No Jonathon.” He replied looking over at Dan and John talking quietly.

            “Oh, well yes, he’s a bit much to take.”

            “Yes, well, John just came out and he’s trying to find his zone. And we all are having to adjust with him.”

            “Dan Myers Esquire seems to have it well in hand.” As soon as she said it she wished she had counted to ten first. She bit her lip to stopped from screaming in terror at her mistake. Mark just grinned and shook his head.

            “Dan is cool, I don’t know about the Esquire part, sounds like a Jonathan embellishment- Dan is the one who got John to come out anyway- so he’s the only one who didn’t need to adjust.”

            Nat looked from Dan to Mark and back to Dan in shock.

            “Dan is of course our best investigator, so I guess it goes to reason that he would figure it out first.” Mark continued not seeing her expression.

            Well that poor man, Nat thought, Dan had obviously outed him and he was struggling to cope. The room began to fill for the meeting and they took their places. As Irony would have it, Nat ended up sitting across from Dan.

            He sat easily in his chair with a semi slouch, grinning as if still laughing at the earlier joke which she obviously was intended to get but didn’t. That made her mad, what was so funny anyway? She looked at the table in front of him; Dan had brought a cup of something brown- hot chocolate over with a doughnut and a napkin. No notepad, laptop, PDA or anything.

            Adversely, Nat had a cup of coffee which was placed next to a legal pad and two pens. She had her tape recorder ready to go next to it. On the other side her Blackberry awaited her with its calendar ready. She looked from her space around the table only to observe that Dan was the only one with nothing but his refreshments in front. Her opinion of him dropped another notch, even John had a laptop open in prep for the meeting on the coming merger.

Back to Nat's Story

The first time Nat met Dan was at the annual fall board meeting of Sherman and Oaks, a security and investigation company that her law firm employed almost exclusively. Nat was one of the junior partners in the firm of Walford, Raker, Jones and Anderson and had been working her way up the ladder since leaving the Attorney General’s office after a two year stint with them following law school. She had been eager to get into private law and make some real money after the two years of public scorn working for an unpopular boss and sexist hierarchy. One of the firm’s senior partners was a brilliant woman, Claudia Raker and it was she who had courted Nat over to signing up with them.

            Since then, Nat had worked very hard to be best associate and now junior partner in the firm. For the most part she had succeeded, in part by winning almost all her cases and settling those that could not be won. She knew that becoming senior partner would just take time and had to adjust that the time would not be anytime soon. Her dedication to the work had left little to no time for socializing.

            Dan, as it turned out was the lead investigator at Sherman and Oaks and had a reputation for dogged persistence in pursuing a case. A trait that would have been admirable in a well dress professionally minded handsome man of which he was not in any form or fashion. Rather, Dan was a slightly overweight man with a receding hair-line, a brick jaw and sloppy attire. He wore lose clothes no tie and jeans into the boardroom and slouched against one wall. Nat would have dismissed him as a lesser gopher if it had not been for a professionally dressed and obviously gay admin who insisted that she meet the best investigator in the firm.

            “Now you have to meet Dan- he’s the greatest.” The Gay admin almost squealed- yes squealed like a teenage girl. He cleared his throat as he practically skipped over to the slobbish man leaning against the wall. “Danny?”

            “John?” The man said straightening to look at him with a lopsided easy grin.

            “Danny, this is…” and he motioned Nat to advance. “Miss Natalie Bryant, one of the rising stars at Walford, Raker, Jones and Anderson.” And he produced her with a flourish of his hand as if he was showing a new car.

            “Miss Bryant, John speaks highly of you.” Dan said his lopsided grin spreading to a knowing smile as if he were letting her in on a joke.

            “Hello Dan-“ She replied feeling out of step.

            “Oh, sorry, Natty.” John quipped realizing he hadn’t completed the introduction. “This is Daniel Myers Esquire…”

            Nat ground her teeth, she hated anyone calling her by “Natty” or Nat or any familiar in the work space. She forced a polite smile and extended he hand.

            “The pleasure is all mine, Natalie.” Dan said taking her cool hand in his own warm one.”Don’t let John  faze you, he means well, a bit too friendly though.” And he wiggled his other hand while holding onto hers as well.

            “I see.” Nat replied more coldly than she meant to as the reclaimed her hand unconsciously massaging it as if his grip had been to tight rather than the warm comfort it had conveyed. “Esquire?”

            “An embellishment.” Dan said as he shrugged and John giggled in pleasure- yes he actually giggled. Nat decided that she disliked John immediately for fawning all over this underdressed slob and his easy manner. He wasn’t charming; in fact he was like a old neighbor who knew you too well.

And Now for something completely different!

The Misadventures of Captain Zoom

SD F/X: WHOOSH

NARRATOR: Continuing our adventure, Captain Zoom and Rocket Lad are trapped in the dungeons of grime where the evil Dr. Maligned has them in his Quantum Articulator trap and is about to launch them into the time vortex.

F/X: CRANKING AND METAL SQUEAL

ROCKET LAD: Gosh Captain Zoom- how’re we gonna escape this debacle.

F/X: CLINKING OF CHAIN

CAPTIAN ZOOM: Never fear Rocket Lad, I have a plan.

LAD: What plan? How could you have a conceivably have a plan?

ZOOM: If I can just move this chain-

F/X: CHAIN CLINKING

LAD: What are you doing Captian Zoom

ZOOM: Well Rocket Lad, I am shifting my left hand in the chains binding us to the articulator table  to reach my accessory belt to get at my leatherman Toolkit 2000- so that I can separate the wires connecting the electro-lock on our bindings to the Time Vortex Projector thereby causing a cascade effect and thus freeing us.

F/X: ROARING

DR. MALIGNED: There is no escape, Captain Zoom-ha ha ha.

F/X: ZAPPING AND SPARKING

LAD: Gee Captain, how did you become so adept with that Leatherman Crimp Tool 2000?

ZOOM: Well Rocket Lad, I got adept with the Leatherman Crimp Tool 2000 by drinking my own special brand of chocolate milk Zoom Juice. Which makes you faster and stronger than the bad guys.

LAD: Wow, I wish that I had drunk my Zoom juice.

F/X: EXPLOSION

MALIGNED: No! This cannot be! It’s Inconceivable! It’s-

F/X: MORE EXPLOSION AND HISSING AND YELLING

F/X: SOUNDS FADE INTO SILENCE

LAD: Golly- it is sure dark in here. Captain Zoom? Where are you?

F/X: CLINKING THEN RIPPING CHAINS

ZOOM: I really don’t know Rocket Lad, but I suspect that the lights are out.

LAD: Of course the lights are out you fool!

ZOOM: Rocket Lad- I don’t like your tone of voice.

LAD: Argh! I don’t like my tone of voice- it’s squeaky and girlish!

ZOOM: Rocket Lad- what has gotten into you?

LAD: It must be Dr. Maligned, yes; he must have done something to me.

ZOOM: Really?

LAD: No, I am really miffed- you moron!

ZOOM: Oh.

LAD: Why is it that you always state the obvious! Of course the lights are out you buffoon! But why? Where is Dr. Maligned?

MALIGNED: I am right here!

F/X: SCREAM, SHUFFLING, SMACK

LAD: Help Captain Zoom! Save me.

ZOOM: No.

LAD: What?

ZOOM: No, you called me a moron.

LAD: What?

ZOOM: You called me a moron.

LAD: I-

MALIGNED: Boys. Can we get back to the story?

LAD: What story? Do you means this is all some kind of sick fantasy where I am the helpless sidekick of a fruity superhero?

ZOOM: That is it. I quit. Dr. Maligned you can do whatever you want with him or her or whatever.

F/X: FOOTSTEPS, DOOR SLAMS

LAD: Uh-Oh

NARRATOR: Does this spell the end of the Magnificent Duo, Will Captain Zoom renew his contract? Will Dr. Maligned kill Rocket Lad? Will-

LAD: No! You can’t let it end like this- we need a better cliffhanger-

NARRATOR: Will Rocket Lad get a grip and learn some humility-

F/X: MUSIC FADES UP

LAD: Wait, what do you know about it anyway-

MALIGNED: Maybe I will get better lines next time.

LAD: No.

NARRATOR: Tune in tomorrow Kids and don’t forget to drink Your Zoom Juice!

LAD: No, no, no!

F/X: MUSIC ENDS.