Selling The OC returns for Season 3 today on Netflix and what a time to be alive. While fans will be clamoring to find out the resolution of Alex Hall’s and Tyler Stanaland’s “will they or won’t they” relationship, there are tons of other personal and professional dramas between the brokers of the Oppenheim Group to keep audiences invested and entertained. The most obvious example is the conflict between Austin Victoria and Seam Palmieri in Episode 3, which almost escalated into a physical fight after Victoria confronted Palmieri at the Oppenheim Group offices.
The crux of their issue is a unique one. Palmieri claims that Victoria and his wife, Lisa Victoria, invited him over for dinner, drugged him with marijuana cookies, and tried to instigate a three-way—all while their young daughters were asleep upstairs. Wild, right? Victoria himself has denied Palmieri’s allegations, claiming that it was Palmieri that invited himself over for dinner and that they made homemade, weed-free cookies and played some Oculus. As you can imagine, both Palmieri’s and Victoria’s wildly different versions of what went down that fateful night were the subject of much gossip among the Oppenheim Group’s relators. Honestly, who can blame them? That rumor is juicy!
Victoria’s growing frustration with the rumor mill led him to confront Palmieri during a busy day at the Oppenheim Group’s offices when many of the staff were present. To his credit, Victoria asked Palmer to step outside for their conversation. As Victoria asks Palmieri to “own what to what he’s said,” Palmieri denies that he has started any “rumors” and swiftly starts to leave, recognizing that this is not the time or place for this conversation. After Palmieri makes his initial exit, Victoria storms back into the office. “He’s making up bullshit, and he’s a fucking coward,” Victoria tells his curious co-workers bluntly.
Soon, Palmieri returns to face Victoria, and they promptly step outside. As Palmieri insists that Victoria “stop playing games” and tell him why he’s upset, Victoria says he’s “overstepped a boundary,” clearly not wanting to repeat the three-way allegation. As the two continue to raise their voices, the rest of the team listens intently from inside. Observing this, the men close the glass door to continue their conversation, but the brokers can still hear every word.
“You’re not hot, bro,” says Victoria angrily after Palmieri accuses him of making a move on him. “I would never fucking hit on you.” Soon, Palmieri claims Victoria is “trying to flip the script on [him]” and is ashamed of “being open.” Victoria puts his finger on Palmieri’s chest, which causes realtors Gio Helou and Stanaland to jump up and intervene. As the two separate Victoria from Palmieri, Victoria yells at Palmieri “don’t talk about my family or I will fucking destroy you.” “What kind of work environment is this?” asks Palmieri in frustration.
Honestly, that’s a valid question. Decider’s own Nicole Gallucci conducted an investigation during the show’s inaugural season to determine whether the Oppenheim Group had an HR department because interoffice flirting and deliciously bad behavior ran rampant. During the press day for Selling The OC Season 3—at which Palmieri was not present— we took the opportunity to ask boss Jason Oppenheim if his offices had an HR department. “Fair question,” began Oppenheim. “I think Austin didn’t read the handbook that got circulated because we have policies in place.” He added: “Maybe he skipped a couple of paragraphs.”
To his credit, Victoria was incredibly apologetic for his actions. “I regret the way I did handle the situation,” he said. “I do apologize for the way and where [the confrontation] happened,” Victoria continued. “That’s not in my character.” Victoria further elaborated on the incident, calling it his “Will Smith moment.” “He brought my family into it and I’ll do anything to protect my family.” Though it wasn’t apparent at the beginning of the conversation if Palmieri had been let go from the Oppenheim Group, Victoria pretty much confirmed Palmieri’s exit from the company: “I’m glad that he’s gone, and I’m glad that there’s no more lies to be spread.”
When we asked Alexandra Jarvis, who was present on that fateful day, for her take on the situation, she remembered the “intense” argument between Victoria and Palmieri going from “0 to 60 in three seconds.” “It was very uncomfortable,” recalled Jarvis. “My heart was pounding.” When asked if there was any follow-up from any sort of HR department, Jarvis explained: “We’re all 1099 independent contractors, so it wouldn’t make sense [to have a department].” “Jason [decides] who’s going to stay in the office and who’s not.”
So, there you have it! There are no HR staff at the Oppenheim Group, but Oppenheim did take the necessary steps to ensure that his relators have a safe (but still dramatic) place to conduct business.
