michael (steve carell) is throwing a party to celebrate his fifteenth anniversary working at dunder mifflin. he becomes unnerved when charles miner (idris elba), the new company vice president, exhibits a no-nonsense attitude towards him, making michael not feel like his own boss. charles establishes a good relationship with the rest of the staff; he buys everyone lunch and reveals the truth about their 401(k) plans and the possibility of layoffs, which michael withheld so as not to worry the staff. taking advice from chief financial officer david wallace (andy buckley), michael tries to become better acquainted with charles, but is unsuccessful. michael attempts to contact wallace on the phone, one attempt leading to getting transferred to charles. when charles catches the party planning committee planning michael's party during office hours, he dissolves the committee and cancels the party, saying it is irresponsible to spend company time and money on recreation while employees are being laid off. michael drives to new york to talk to wallace.