Bye, Felicia
Two Mondays later, it hits:
VARIETY EXCLUSIVE: Comedy Gold or Fool’s Gold? NDA Agent Felicia Mercer Under Review for Bid Fabrication
By Taylor Marsh
NDA Management is facing internal scrutiny after multiple buyers alleged that literary agent Felicia Mercer fabricated competing bids to inflate the value of high-profile comedy script deals.
A weeks-long investigation by Variety has uncovered documentation suggesting that, in at least three separate negotiations, Mercer misrepresented competitive interest—positioning her clients as targets of multi-buyer auctions when no such offers existed.
“We were told a streamer was making a preemptive play,” said one buyer, speaking anonymously. “Turns out, they hadn’t even been pitched.”
According to internal sources, NDA leadership was unaware of the full scope of the alleged misrepresentations. “There were questions. But nothing that stuck—until now,” said one person with direct knowledge of the situation.
Several insiders also allege that Mercer may have leveraged her internal clout to suppress concerns. According to multiple sources, she is said to have dangled future favors, threatened professional retaliation, or hinted at internal quid-pro-quo arrangements to dissuade colleagues from speaking up. “There was this unspoken understanding: if you played ball, your projects got traction. If you didn’t, they vanished,” said one former NDA staffer. “People were scared to push back.”
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
While no formal accusations of bribery have been filed, the agency’s review is said to include a broader audit of Mercer’s communications with both buyers and colleagues.
The office feels like a crime scene without a body. Phones buzz quietly. No one says her name. Even the interns know better than to make eye contact. From behind her glass walls, Wendy watches it all, satisfaction building as Felicia storms past toward the boardroom.
The moment Felicia enters, she sees them: the senior partners lined up like stone figures around the gleaming table. She falters. Their faces give nothing away. A tribunal cloaked in silence.
“This is a hit piece!” she shouts. “Lies and fabrications. Someone’s trying to take me down.”
“We understand this is difficult,” one of the partners says, calm and clinical. “But the issue isn’t whether it’s true. The issue is that it’s public. Take the rest of the week, Felicia. We’ll circle back.”
Through the glass, Wendy watches her stumble out of the boardroom, diminished somehow, catching herself on the edge of a desk. For a second, their eyes meet across the floor, and Wendy sees it: devastation, quickly curdling into confusion, then splintering into something quieter. Blank. Defeated.
Wendy leans back, a slow smile blooming. This is the moment she’s waited for—the moment the ground shifts and giants fall. Felicia wanted to teach her a lesson? Good. Lesson learned. Just not the one Felicia intended.