BALANCE OF POWER
COUNCILWOMAN WITH A DIRTY SECRET GETS EXPLOITED BY CORRUPT BUSINESSMAN
SCENE OPENS on a limited city council non-public place of job where a councilwoman, Janice Monroe (Angela White), is laborious at work. She looks confident, and sharply carrying a polished nonetheless no-nonsense trade swimsuit. We search her work for several seconds from a male survey POV, until her concentration is broken by a telephone name on her place of job cell telephone. She picks up, and though we don’t hear the sounds from the earpiece, Janice pulls the cell telephone away from her ear in effort from an obvious shouting on the more than a few live of the line. She asks the particular person on the more than a few line, Invoice, to composed down and uncover what’s the field. She does her simplest to rating herself as she listens, breathing deep and fiddling with her swimsuit and hair. She listens and replies, and from the one-sided conversation, we secure the affect that Invoice is a trade owner calling to bitch about shedding a city contract order. Invoice had spent weeks negotiating terms and one other firm swooped in and bought the order on the ideal 2d. Janice locations on a mettlesome face and tries to tell him that all the issues was above board, and that the successful order was appropriate on the next rate than what Invoice’s firm was offering, nonetheless Invoice insists that or no longer it’s no longer probably, he has ties alongside with your complete native suppliers and there’s now not any manner anybody else in city could maybe match his order. Janice reprimands Invoice telling him that if he desires to meet formally to discuss the tell, he’s welcome to time desk an appointment, nonetheless she warns him that he’d better specialize in twice earlier than speaking to her like that again or he risks closing the door on future negotiations. Invoice tells Janice that he’s no longer the most efficient one who thinks issues were fishy recently, and that she’d better needless to tell or no longer it’s her constituents who pay her payments per week. Via gritted teeth, Janice thanks Invoice for being a enthusiastic citizen, and slams the cell telephone support within the cradle in frustration. As quickly as she’s hung up, Janice’s mettlesome face and confident posture dissolve, and she or he collapses support into her chair and locations her head on her desk in tears. CUT TO TITLE PLATE
We cut support support to Janice’s place of job an indeterminate time later. She’s stopped crying and is support at work, though with none of the boldness or decision she exhibited earlier. She is clearly having trouble concentrating, rubbing her eyes wearily and swearing to herself beneath her breath. Earlier than lengthy, the door to her place of job opens and in struts Garrett (Zac Wild), a cocky smarmy-taking a thought businessman who strolls up to greet her and — in prefer to sitting on the chair facing her – sits straight on the nook of the desk. Having a thought miserable, Janice quietly strikes her papers and varied clutter away from his intrusive create seated on her desk. She tells Garrett that she’s very busy presently, and asks what he wants. He says that he’s certain she has time for a limited chat, she continually manages to secure time for him. Having a thought bothered and anxious, Janice gets up from her seat and goes to shut her place of job door discreetly. When she seems support, Garrett is now sitting in her seat. She asks him to secure out of her seat, nonetheless with none of the forceful tone she passe on the cell telephone earlier. Instead, she looks pathetic and determined here. Garrett offers her a greasy smile and pats his lap, telling her there’s hundreds of room if she desires to be a part of him. She turns her head, disgusted. With out taking a thought support at Garrett, she asks what he wants. Garrett explains in a patronizing tone that he’s no longer feeling overjoyed with their fresh affiliation. He wants one other prefer. Janice seems flabbergasted — she’s already paid him off twice, and she or he appropriate colluded to secure his firm his 2d city contract at a technique greater rate than market worth. Garrett says sure, that is dazzling, nonetheless that is basically more to attend his trade, nonetheless now he’s getting wired and he feels he desires to work on his non-public ticket, per chance even secure into politics himself. He wants an endorsement from her to speed for his appreciate direct on the city council. Janice coldly says totally no longer — she can be able to’t endorse a candidate and not utilizing a political abilities and dubious ties to felony order. It’ll device too remarkable consideration, and must be profession suicide for her. Garrett tells her he thinks she’s exaggerating, and feels he’d secure a mammoth candidate. He’s even reach up with the devoted campaign slogan, ‘Possess The US Garrett Another time’ he jokes. Janice pleads with him — he must be realistic. She’s given him all the issues he’s asked for, to the level where folks are beginning to secure suspicious. Garrett says that that can now not his field, and he asks her where all that trouble about getting caught was about a months ago when she was embezzling funds from the public place of job for her non-public employ. If simplest she’d been more careful then, she’d never be on this scenario now. But she wasn’t, and all this is appropriate the universe’s manner of balancing issues out. Janice gets more determined — if he desires to support his leverage, he has to be neat about this. She will be able to’t attend him if she gets indicted. Per chance they are able to even merely revisit his proposal in about a months, after issues appreciate an different to die down. Garrett admits that she makes safe factors, nonetheless he’s appropriate no longer a affected person guy. What is she going to give him to support him happy within the interim? Janice seems totally broken down — she doesn’t appreciate the rest left to present him. He’s already taken all the issues from her — he’s robbed her of her independence, her pride, her happiness. What would maybe be ready to be left for him to preserve? Garrett stands up from the place of job chair and says that he can specialize in of one factor, and reaches out to stroke her breasts with his hand. Janice flinches and takes a step support. No, he can’t ask her to attain… That!S He’s a married girl, she could maybe never attain that to her husband.G Arrett shrugs and wonders out loud if her husband could maybe be any happier to search out out she’s a thief, and a liar, appreciate to discuss with with her in detention heart… Practically in tears, Janice asks Garrett how he’ll even be so cruel, to ask her to attain this.G Arrett merely shrugs and says ‘on story of I’m in a position to.’ Janice makes Garrett bellow that if she lets him appreciate his manner with her, he’ll support down with all his demands.H E has the same opinion he’ll support down… For now.H E asks within the occasion that they’ve a deal and she or he says sure.I N an instantaneous, he strikes in on her with a sleazy grin nonetheless on his face.