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Michael's paper company is doomed. DOOMED! He simply can't stay in business with the low prices he's charging. But all the people upstairs at Dunder Mifflin know is that he's stealing all their clients and it's starting to hurt. So David Wallace shows up from Corporate to work with Charles on solutions. With Jim and Dwight partaking in the meeting, Charles belatedly realizes that his protégé is insane, and Wallace decides the only thing to do is to offer to buy Michael out. Jim, who already knows the Michael Scott Paper Company is screwed because Pam told him, calls them up to hear the offer, which Michael negotiates brilliantly. He scores not only sixty grand, but their old jobs back. Except for Pam, who will be rejoining DM as a salesperson. So everything is back to the way it was, only better. As long as no one ever finds out Jim knew about Michael's weak position all along. But now is not the time to worry about that. If ever.
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Want more? The full recap starts right below!It's 4:30 in the morning, and Michael uses some packaging tape to stick a sign on the door of a shabby delivery van. "I'm just a 44-year-old with a paper route." Are we sure he's ready for that kind of responsibility? He goes to pick up Ryan, and does that obnoxious thing where he keeps pretending to pull away every time Ryan reaches for the door. Ryan THs about the 5:00 a.m. deliveries. "Ever since I've gotten clean there's something about fresh, morning air that really makes me sick." At Jim and Pam's, when Pam comes out the front door with a goodbye kiss from Jim, Michael yells out, "Whoa, Halpert! Boner patrol!" I think it's just his PJs.
But where did the van come from? Pam says it was from a used car lot. "We think it says 'Hallelujah Church of Scranton' in Korean. It was either this or an old school bus with an owl living in it." It's already light out when Pam asks for coffee. "Milk and sugar," Michael says, handing back a giant cup. Yes, that's all that's in there. No coffee. Pam spits it out. Michael drinks it every morning, apparently. At the client's, Michael schmoozes the client while Pam and Ryan stack the boxes in the parking lot. And try to chase away a very confused Korean woman.
Credits.
Charles comes out into the bullpen, upset about all the clients they've been losing to Michael Scott Paper Company. Andy unwisely pipes up that he's been there the shortest. "I just think the bar should be lower for a newbie?" Charles is not impressed. "But I think it's important that you know it," Andy points out. In a TH, Charles painfully admits, "Maybe it's my fault." "It's not your fault," Dwight snaps from his old position, leaning against the file cabinet. He's just beginning to explain about a memo he wrote asking for ideas for saving money when Angela pops in to say she's cracking down on expense reports. "Waste not, want not," she says. "Well said, Angela," Charles manages. "Been there, done that," Dwight murmurs once she's gone.
A very tired Michael Scott Paper Company is considering options. Ryan pushes for a delivery guy, but Michael likes the idea of sleeping lofts over the desks.
David Wallace tries to quietly enter the branch, but of course Dwight leaps to attention, loudly saying his name. Charles comes out of the conference room in a hurry to greet Wallace and suck up. This doesn't escape Jim. Indeed, he does the longest kissing-head clip ever. Charles starts to usher Wallace into the conference room, but first Wallace want to address everyone about how he thinks the problems presented by the MSPCo are temporary. It's Phyllis who says, "Maybe, and I don't know, if you'd just returned Michael's call, none of us would have lost clients." Wallace admits that might be true, but they're on it. He starts to call Jim in to the conference room, but Charles quietly makes his case for Dwight, so both get invited to the meeting. "Come along, afterthought," Dwight tells Jim.