Chapter 1: A New Era Begins

"Well," Corey sniffs, tilting his head dismissively, "you're probably our best option right now."

The irony of a dismissive attitude is that it has no actual bearing on reality. The news that Edgar is stepping into Kathy's role in Accounts Payable sets off a chain reaction of events, some of which he finds amusing, while others leave him fuming. Once they posted Kathy's position online and filtered through the uninspiring candidates, it was just six days until the current AP lead bid farewell. This is comedic point #1.

Now, with Edgar's promotion, someone must fill his former role as data coordinator, and had he been one of those left behind in the stores, he would share the outrage of his colleagues. Instead, he can’t help but laugh at the news: Pierre O'Brien is the chosen one. They didn't even advertise the position; they simply handed him the keys.

"What on earth made them think he could handle this job?" Valerie wonders aloud in Edgar's office, right after the announcement.

"Shouldn't they at least have posted the job?" Dale adds with a crooked smile. "I mean, this is kind of a big deal, right? Shouldn't we get someone with computer skills?"

"Absolutely, they should have!" Valerie responds. "I might have even applied!"

She is the third person to express this sentiment, with the first two being much more insistent. Marian from vitamins, who has taken to smirking at Edgar, treating his new role as a joke, was particularly irate. However, she seems to struggle with grasping the complexities of the workplace.

"Why didn’t you guys post the job?" she demands. "I would have been great at it! Some of us deserved a chance!"

"That decision was out of my hands," he shrugs, "I don’t make those calls around here."

These revelations are nothing short of riotous. But as Edgar considers what this means for him, the humor fades, replaced by frustration. Essentially, this signals that anyone can fill his role—anyone at all. Corey has hinted at this notion during his brief tenure as vice president, but witnessing it unfold is bewildering. If they’re willing to hand over the reins to Pierre, it implies that his contributions were undervalued.

Dale often remarks, "I really don’t understand this place," and Edgar feels the same bewilderment. How can one go from being praised as a key player in the company's success to watching the least qualified employee take over, all in a matter of days?

And to top it off, Edgar has only six days to learn his new position while training Pierre. The plan? Edgar will spend five mornings at Bellwether learning from Kathy and then his afternoons with Pierre. The following Friday, he'll have a full day to wrap things up.

On Pierre's side, he believes that although this promotion comes with a substantial pay raise, it will be a far simpler job. Within just a few hours, he realizes this is indeed the case. For instance, he has run out of contact lenses and is waiting for a new pair. Despite the distance between him and Kathy, he can still barely make out what she’s doing as she shows hi