The Fine Print

After moving to Florida to become Director of Dreamland Park, Rowan slips into a staff meeting to observe how the managers and employees work together. A young woman also slips into the meeting late, sitting next to him. He discovers from the man in front of them that her name is Zahra. She makes comments about the lack of board members’ care for their employees and the state of the park, and this angers Rowan. They argue, and Rowan threatens to fire her, revealing his position of authority. Undaunted, Zahra insults him just as he is introduced to the rest of the employees.

Zahra prepares for a day of work as she tells her friend, Claire, about Rowan’s behavior, reflecting on the fact that Rowan is the reason why the Dreamland employees still have unfairly low wages and bad health insurance. Zahra works at the Magic Wand Salon as one of the stylists who make children look like their favorite characters. When the doors open, she is assigned to a girl in a wheelchair, and Zahra works hard to make the girl feel special. Meanwhile, Rowan has arrived at the salon and asks Zahra’s boss, Regina, all about Zahra. Henry, the floor attendant for the day, alerts Zahra to this fact. Zahra hopes that Regina will keep her personal dislike of Zahra to herself.

Rowan thinks unhappily about being forced to live near Dreamland and to work in the park, which holds unhappy family memories for him. At a meeting with the head park Creators, he demands that a new plan for the park be finalized within six months: one that will increase ROI by at least 5%. He agrees to open the annual employee submissions for park suggestions and plans early that year. He also agrees to consider only the best projects after the Creators have sorted through them. His father, Seth, calls, trying to learn why Rowan suddenly wants to be Director and why he has submitted a large funding request; before they hang up, he insults his son in the way that Rowan has come to expect from Seth’s abusive upbringing.

Claire urges Zahra to submit a proposal to the Dreamland open employee submissions. She reminds Zahra of her talent and suggests that she use the competition to move past the feelings of insecurity she developed after her ex-boyfriend, Lance, stole her ideas and used them as his own. (Lance also cheated on her.) Zahra agrees to submit a proposal on the condition that Claire apply for the open position in the kitchen of the park’s Michelin-star restaurant. Later, as she struggles to think of ideas for the proposal, Zahra turns to wine and then writes a proposal that openly criticizes the Nebula Land project, the idea that Lance stole from her and then altered. Intending to use this file only as a way to get her feelings out before writing something else, she clicks “save,” only to discover in the morning that she has actually clicked “submit.

Rowan calls Zahra for a Saturday morning meeting. As Zahra arrives, she believes that she is about to be fired for her proposal. Instead, Rowan gives her a contract to become part of the Creator team, giving her a raise and calling her proposal bold. Zahra tries to refuse at first, believing herself unworthy of holding a place on such a venerated team. However, Rowan insists that he will not let her leave the office without signing. After some straight-faced but humorous comments from Rowan, Zahra finds herself appreciating his blunt demeanor.

Rowan watches Zahra as she reads the contract, wondering why he feels attracted to her. She reveals that she knew his grandfather and that they spoke several times, but she does not reveal how they knew one another. Later, Rowan, Cal, and Declan meet on a video chat to discuss progress on their respective plans. Afterward, Rowan searches employee records to discover how Zahra knew his grandfather. He discovers her original submission of a plan for Nebula Land three years ago, alongside a note from his grandfather about setting up a meeting to discuss her rejection and improvements to her proposal. He also notices that the successful, accepted plan for Nebula Land was submitted a year later by someone named Lance, and he decides to find out why someone other than Zahra submitted that plan.

At dinner with her family and Claire, Zahra shares the news of her promotion, and they celebrate. On her first day, Rowan leads Zahra to her new department with a silent, informal tour of the Creator space. She is introduced to her team and given a cubicle, and as she revels in her new space, Rowan catches her celebrating. Rowan helps her with her computer, and they each find themselves privately contemplating the increasing attraction between them.

Zahra finalizes her presentation for the weekly meetings that the Creators hold with Rowan to propose park projects. She worries over her lack of artistic skill with her mock-up and wonders again if she is good enough for the team. The other Creators’ presentations are adequate but do not contain any outstanding ideas. Zahra’s nerves build nonetheless as she waits to present. Hers is the final presentation, and all the Creators are engaged and pleased. Even Rowan is impressed—although not by her mock-up—and he tells the other Creators that he expects presentations more on par with Zahra’s next time. During the meeting, she gives him attitude in front of the others, so he dismisses everyone but her. Their subsequent confrontation causes heightened frustration and emotion, and Rowan spontaneously gives in to his attraction and kisses her. After they break apart, Zahra flees from the room.