Bitch Session

## Plot

Dave accidentally overhears the staff mocking him.

## Summary

Dave's phone jack isn't working properly, and Joe is on the ground trying to fix it for him as the calls cut out constantly. Joe is bent down out of sight when Bill pops his head in and Joe looks up, giving Bill pause saying he'd come back at another time. At the morning meeting, Dave informs everyone that there will be no more paid cab rides leaving work to go home. He accuses Beth of making several stops to pick up her friends and then going to the club, but it's actually Matthew. Beth took a two way trip to New Jersey to buy a radio on sale for 43% off.

Joe is trying to help Bill as his microphone has gone bad, but all Joe is able to do is change the pitches to make Bill's voice really high or really low. Bill wants to play a prank on Matthew, so he tells Joe to patch him into the intercom and as Matthew is getting his morning coffee, Bill's loud voice comes on the speaker but the trick doesn't work. With just his coffee cup in his hand, Matthew tells Bill that he failed but when Beth asks him for the time, Matthew forgets he has his cup in hand and as he turns it to look at the time, dumps coffee all over his shirt.

Meanwhile, in Dave's office he is trying to talk on the phone to go over accounts with clients when the phone keeps cutting out. He gets under his desk to check out the cord, and calls for Beth who thinks he is playing hide and seek because she can't see him. He pops up and talks to her for a few seconds and asks her to get something for him, then goes back under the desk out of sight again. Joe and Matthew walk in, thinking the office is empty and they begin to make fun of him and the way he holds his coffee cup. Soon, the rest of the crew joins in and they all make fun of his suit, with Joe asking Lisa if he gets it in the little boys' section. As they are all joking, Dave is still under his desk out of sight hearing every word. Shortly, Catherine starts to walk behind his desk and finds him there but without giving away that he's there, she tries to steer the conversation into a more positive light about Dave. She leaves, and the remaining crew put in a play called Dave: The Insane Maniac with Bill playing Dave, who walks in on his knees making fun of Dave's shortness. After their play is over, everyone leaves and with Dave still hiding out under his desk, he calls his mom.

Later that day, Dave and Jimmy are out to lunch and Dave is telling him about what happened. Mr. James is drunk and tells Dave he loves him and then proclaims it out loud to the entire restaurant. Jimmy tells him he needs to grow thicker skin, and should confront them. Back at the station, Dave asks everyone if they have any problems with how he runs the station. Everyone says they don't. He then says he was worried about coming off as an insane Norman Rockwell bible school maniac, which is what Lisa referenced earlier when they talked about his suit. He then says he was hiding under the desk the whole time, but Bill and Beth are upset that he was eavesdropping on them. Mr. James tries to interfere, but then calls the situation pathetic and says he will distance himself from Dave and he leaves.

Afterward, Lisa goes to check on Dave and finds him laying on his desk. He says he is resting up for a sale at Baby Gap. She tries to tell him they were just kidding around, but they end up fighting and she leaves. In Bill and Catherine's studio, Joe is still trying to get the acoustics working. He thinks he has fixed it when Bill talks into the microphone and it sounds perfect. Bill tells him the Unabomber would be proud. After Joe leaves, Bill reveals to Catherine that he just used his voice to fix the problem instead and Joe didn't do anything.

Later that night, Mr. James is holding a meeting in his office to go over the incident at the station earlier of what they said behind Dave's back. He tells them he will look for a new news director tomorrow, replacing Dave. Matthew stands up and says if he fires Dave, then he quits. He asks if anybody else is with him twice, but nobody stands up. Bill tells Mr. James that Dave is the best news director he's ever worked with, so Jimmy decides to keep Dave on but tells the group to be more careful about where they hold their bitch sessions. After they all leave, Jimmy pulls back a curtain by the window to reveal Dave standing there. He had been listening the whole time. Mr. James walks him out and then asks him what he thinks about what Lisa said about him. Dave said he doesn't know if they can work things out because she really hurt him. After Dave leaves, Jimmy pulls back another curtain to reveal Lisa.