06x10 - Hussle & Motivate

[bunniefuu]

♪ Level up, I know you see me comin' ♪

It's return of the mack!

Back from winter break,

which for me, was more
like a winter grind.

This semester, I'll be
laying the foundation

for a brand-new, exciting venture.

Negotiating Annika's deal
for "Social Submarine"

may have lit the fuse on our breakup,

but it gave me the confidence
I needed as a manager.

So now, I'm starting my own company.

I've been investing in myself.

I got bespoke business cards
Patrick Bateman would k*ll for.

And because I'm my father's son, boom.

- [BELL RINGS]
- Look good, feel good.

- But not so much physically.

I been crashing on the Gamma couch

because I'm still on
the outs with Aaron.

As for the girls...

- ♪ So level up ♪
- ♪ So level up ♪

- ♪ There's no time to waste ♪
- ♪ There's no time to waste ♪

[MUSIC SLOWS DOWN AND STOPS]

[TENSE HIP-HOP b*at]

As for Zaara, Lauryn, and Kiela,

they're figuring life out
as children of our divorce.

There's a reason most titans
of industry are lone wolves.

Do you think we'd have Tesla today

if Elon Musk wasn't the
world's loneliest man?

Now I've got a hot,
new client on the line,

and I've just gotta do
is reel that marlin in.

♪ ♪

Andre Johnson.

Are you ready to take
it to the next level?

BOTH: ♪ Watch out, world ♪

♪ I'm grown now ♪

♪ I'm grown ♪

♪ Learn something new every day ♪

♪ I don't know so I'ma feel my way ♪

♪ Got the weight of the world on me ♪

♪ But no regrets ♪

♪ This is what I say ♪

BOTH: ♪ Watch out, world ♪

♪ I'm grown now ♪

♪ I'm grown ♪

♪ You can't tell me nothin' ♪

BOTH: ♪ My heartbeat is so loud ♪

♪ ♪

♪ Mama, look, I'm grown now ♪

♪ I'm grown ♪

♪ ♪

So if I was your manager,
I'd take all that TikTok hype

and I would use it to get
you a college tour, okay?

And then we would leverage
all the buzz from that

to get you a record deal, right?

And when your album comes out,

you've already got an
army of fans waiting.

Uh-huh?

I mean, look at Chance.


Then he uses that to
book a great college tour

and then in 2016,
"Coloring Book" is a hit.

That's three Grammys right there, boom!

Then 2019, boom. All-time wife guy.

Okay, well, that... that
part is definitely optional,

but I can get you
started right away, okay?

I'm a Gamma and this year,

we are co-hosting the Greek Freakend,

which is sort of like a homecoming

for all of the Black frats
and sororities in SoCal.

It's gonna be insane.

Has the college tour grind

paid off for you and your other clients?

So trust is key, so I'm
just gonna level with you.

You would actually be my first client

that I don't have a
pre-existing relationship with.

Oh. What do you mean?

Well, I...

I represent my ex-girlfriend
and my best friend.

I just... I'm not a big sh*t yet,

but I would always treat you like one.

♪ ♪

Honesty does go a long way with me.

You know what?

If you in, so am I.

- Freakend, baby. Let's get it.
- Yes, sir.

Word! So we got ourselves a deal?

Got ourselves a deal, man.

- Did you ever do this hairstyle?
- Hi, girlies!

Did you have a good
Christmas in New York?

Did you, like, ice skate
at Rockefeller Center

and have tea at the Plaza?

Bitch, do I look like Elouise?

Luca threw the Christmas
ham out the window

because apparently,

he's a raw vegan now and my mom cried.

It was amazing.

When it's not your toxic family,

it's just like immersive reality TV.

[MOODY POP MUSIC PLAYING]

♪ ♪

Oh, no. Is that a
post-breakup wallow playlist?

[SOFTLY] Yeah.

- How's Annika been?
- Well, one minute, it's "Andrew who?"

And the next minute,
it's, "Can you please read

this six-page letter that I wrote him?"

She's barely left the
suite since we got back.

I think she's, like,
afraid of seeing Andre.

Well, I mean, even with no chance

of running into Zeke after our breakup,

all I wanted to do was hide out and cry.

Then maybe we should take her out? Yeah?

Because this really cannot go on.

[UPBEAT FUNKY MUSIC]

♪ ♪

Is that a Douglas Frederick
Edwards victory dance I see?

My good brother, you are looking
at the soon-to-be 5% stakeholder

and hospitality
director of the Bar None.

What? No way. You talked to Ray?

Oh, yes, I talked to Ray and I laid out

how the DougOut has
already boosted revenue 26%,

and things went exactly as planned.

- Wow, man. Congratulations.
- Thank you, buddy.

The power of manifestation is real, man.

- Oh, yo, and...
- It's real.

Yo, make sure you free up this Saturday.

Sloane is gonna throw a little
celebratory outing for me.

Okay.

Maybe you could invite
Edie, double-date.

Unless that's too serious
for your casual situation?

- No, it's... it's cool.
- [CHUCKLES]

It's cool, you know?

And plus, it'll give me a chance

to box out any other
clowns on her roster

and show her I'm a good
hang in the streets,

not just in the sheets, so...

[DRAMATIC HIP-HOP b*at]

I'm glad you're
recovered, but that's nasty.

Yo, Pop. What's the A/V situation?

We need subwoofers so loud

the neighborhood think it's The Big One.

All right, so the audio guy said

he could offer a
hearing damage guarantee.

- Okay.
- But not on paper.

Okay. Sounds scary, but promising.

Get after that.

Cole, how we doing on the posters?

Look at those!

Yeah, well, I did a Greek theme.

TK is Zeus and all the little
people are the Cal U students

electrified by his
music-slash-lightning bolt.

It is evocative. Let's
get those up everywhere.

Oh, also I've already handled the press

and TK's car service, so
we're good on those fronts.

Hey, real quick, real quick.

You want me to put your
friends on the comp list?

You know, that hot lesbian chick,

the hot activist,

and the hot girl who dated Zeke?

- They can come if they want.
- Word.

Gotcha. In the before times,

I probably would've dropped
the invite in the group chat,

but things have been
pretty much tumbleweeds

since the breakup, so
I'll send some solo texts.

Would you guys want to share some apps?

Andre liked to start with
the chili cheese tots.

And then he wonders
why he has hemorrhoids.

I mean, [BLEEP]! It's the chili cheese!

Spinach dip it is.

- Okay.
- [TWO NOTIFICATIONS CHIME]

- [SMOOTH UPBEAT MUSIC]
- _

Are you... are you guys
not gonna answer those texts?

Wow. You know, happy
hour's almost ending.

Lauryn and Annika, you want
to go grab another round?

Come, come, come, come, come. Let's go.

Wait, did Andre invite
you to this Freakend show

that his new client's performing at?

Yep. We should go, right?

Just... I feel bad.
I've barely seen him.

It's like the judge is making us choose

between Mommy and Daddy.

Well, Mommy has just
been crying all the time,

and Daddy's throwing a party.

If Annika finds out, she will freak
or, worse, insist on coming.

Oh, my God. None of us
can handle that right now.

Okay. So we just won't tell her.

[APPROACHING FOOTSTEPS]

Are you guys going
to the Greek Freakend?

- What's Greekend?
- I can't go to Greece.

I have class.

The event Andre's helping
to produce this weekend

that he just texted Lauryn about.

[QUIRKY TENSE MUSIC]

Um, no. I don't think so.

Yeah, no. It sounds sweaty.

So sweaty. I... [SIGHS]

- I don't even want to go.
- Okay.

Maybe we can do something together.

♪ ♪

- For sure, yeah.
- Sounds cool.

I thought divorce
was supposed to be fun.

Like, two Christmases and
a super-hot, young stepdad.

♪ ♪

[MISSY ELLIOT'S "WTF [WHERE THEY FROM]"]

Shorty what?

♪ The dance that you doing is dumb ♪

♪ How they do it where you from? ♪

♪ Ayy! Triflin'! ♪

♪ Stickin' out your tongue ♪

♪ Girl, but you know you're too young ♪
♪ A bunch of girls do it ♪

[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]

♪ ♪

Freakend, baby! Whoo!

It has been a grind, but luckily,

I am the world's most attentive manager,

so it has been smooth sailing with TK.

All that's left to do

is to check in on my
guy and enjoy the show.

- This is so nice, Sloane.
- Thank you!

I got a really good work
relationship with the winery,

so they always hook me up.

Work relationships. Hookups.

Yeah, that's a story
I know all too well.

You know what I'm talking about.

I really wish Edie could've
been here today, guys,

but I guess I'll just have to toast

to your success twice as hard solo.

It's all good, man.

I mean, did Edie say
why she had to bail?

Oh, yeah. She did.

She said last minute that she
had too many papers to grade.

Timeless cover story.

Did she decide that hanging
with her boy toy's best friend

felt too serious?

Have I breached the fragile
boundaries of our relationship?

Oh, excuse me. Arrangement?

I don't know. Who's to say?

[LAID-BACK JAZZ MUSIC]

Kinda just sitting in
the dark on this one.

You can... you can just
drown your situationship anxiety

with this orange wine.

- Please. Take it. Yeah.
- Mm-hmm.

Good year.

It's a bad bitch breakup recovery kit.

Like first aid for your heart.

Aren't we supposed to be
doing something together?

We will tonight.

We will greet you on
the other side with pizza

and the rom-com of your choice.

But first, you know, it's time to heal.

We've got sage to cleanse
your room from his energy,

a guide to hip-opening
stretches to release,

you know, pent-up feelings,

a tarot deck, and a
guided journal for healing.

Mm-hmm. Let the heart mending begin.

Go. Go in there and do all that.

- Have fun.
- [DOOR CLOSES]

[JOY CROOKES' "FEET DON'T FAIL ME NOW"]

♪ ♪

♪ I been posing with red skies ♪

♪ Retweeting picket signs ♪

♪ Put my name on petitions,
but I won't change my mind ♪

♪ I'm keeping up appearances ♪

Guys, you were right, okay?

How long have I even been in here?

Wow. 28 minutes?

Time really does heal.

♪ ♪

Where the hell are you b*tches?

♪ Tell me who fresher
than me, I'll wait ♪

♪ Got a couple hundreds
that I keep in the safe ♪

♪ This is not a game, so
you know I don't play ♪

I love Dad weekend! This is amazing.

Not now.

Andre, hey.

I'm sorry that we have been busy with,

um, other stuff, but we
are 100% here for you today.

Oh, I'm all good. I
haven't even noticed.

You know, I've just been so focused

on handling all this stuff for TK

and planning for my business.

Probably won't even be able
to hang out that much today.

Just grind, grind, grind.

Well, you haven't missed much.

Honestly, Annika's been a lot.

I'm just... I'm solid. I'm like a rock.

I been grinding so hard,

I'm like a seventh grader
at his first school dance.

[CHUCKLES]

By the way, does she
know that you're here?

Oh, well, uh, we actually
told her we weren't coming,

- so we left her with a few distractions.
- Yeah.

- Mm.
- If she knew we were coming,

then she'd insist she's
okay to go, but she's not.

One thing I don't need
are my friends lying to me.

I can decide for myself
what I can handle.

[TENSE MUSIC]

♪ ♪

Um, we'll find you later.

♪ ♪

- Aaron, you okay?
- Hmm?

Yeah, no. I'm fine.

I'm fine.

I just still can't believe

Edie hit me with that flimsy-ass excuse.

Right, we're still on that? Okay.

You know I know what's
going on here, right?

She wanted to keep things casual,

and obviously, she caught feelings,

so now she's tryna play mind games,

act like she doesn't care,
but I see right through that.

Or she's just a grown woman
who knows what she wants,

and isn't looking for more.

Nah, that can't be
right. I don't think so.

No, I do agree.

I think you're so used to Zoey
playing mind games with you,

you don't know that

you don't have to read
between the lines with Edie.

I had to learn this with Sloane.

- You did.
- Yes.

Look, bro, the key to
a mature relationship

is just honest communication.

Oh, I guess I just feel kinda bad.

Because she keeps coming
back for the free trial

instead of subscribing.

I know that you have a lot to sort out,

but in the meantime, between-time,

maybe your answer is at the bottom

of this next bottle of wine.

Mm.

♪ Yeah, I'm gon' surf ♪

♪ We gon' surf ♪

♪ It was like homework ♪

♪ My wrist got work ♪

♪ I'm gon' surf, we gon' surf ♪

- [CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
- ♪ Surf, yo ♪

TK brought the house down!

Now it's time for me to go celebrate

with my number-one client!

[UPBEAT HIP-HOP MUSIC]

♪ ♪

Uh, you good?

Sure your friends don't
wanna stick around?

- Oh, uh...
- What's up, bro?

I'm sorry, man.

Um, really big management
company approached me

after you did, and I
invited them to the show.

And they really liked it,
so I think I might end up,

you know, signing with them.

I-I don't understand.

What do they have that I don't have?

Oh. Uh...

experience?

Oh, come on.

That's overrated. They're
stuck in their ways.

I don't know, bro.

Bro, I delivered a paid gig

within the first week of
you being signed to me.

Just let me show you what else I can do.

Look, I'm sorry.

You seem like a great guy, a'ight?

But these guys, they have a
office in the Arts District.

You don't even have an office.

I-I don't know, man. You
just don't seem too legit.

♪ ♪

All right. Bet.

I guess if I'm not your manager,

then I'm the promoter,

and the promoter doesn't take 10%, okay?

They take half of the
door. So take care, TK.

♪ ♪

[PHONE LINE TRILLING]

- [CLEARS THROAT] Hey.
- Why'd you guys bail?

I told you.

But this was supposed
to be our day to hang out.

What happened to giving me 100% support?

This felt like 12%, tops.

- We had to deal with Annika.
- Annika this, Annika that.

I am tired of being the bigger person.

It's time to get small.

When are you guys
gonna put me before her?

Okay, what happened to
being the grinding lone wolf?

I was overcompensating! Damn!

I-I'm sorry that I have to beg
my friends to care about me.

I-I feel like because I'm the nice guy,

I get screwed over.
What is it gonna take?

You guys want me to have a meltdown?

- Because here you go.
- Andre.

[TENSE MUSIC]

♪ ♪

Everything okay?

Dad is mad that we bailed.

We can talk about it later.

♪ ♪

TK doesn't think I'm legit.

But I am legit. I'm too legit to quit.

You get it.

But I found an office that is
sensible and stylish for lease.

Now that it's all that's
left to do is get a co-signer,

someone who has resources,
someone who's believed in me,

and somebody I know will say yes.

No. Absolutely not.

Dad, listen. I can
do this. I know I can.

You can't tell someone, "I can do this"

and in the same breath say,
"I lost my first real client."

It doesn't inspire confidence.

But it should.

The only reason that I lost TK

is because my eye for talent is so good

that another manager thought
he was worth poaching.

I'm just trying to follow in your path.

You started your own company.

Aren't you happy that I'm
trying to build something

with my own hands, too?

No, I'm embarrassed that I've raised

at least two kids who think

the only way to be
successful is to skip steps.

Did you look at my business plan?

But the only plan your ass needs

is to get to and from
a promising internship,

not someone to co-sign for some office.

But if I don't get the co-sign,

then I have to pay six
months of rent up front.

- I...
- Okay. Which you don't have.

Which means when your
binder plan doesn't work,

my ass is stuck on the
line for your lease.

Man, I'm trying to buy a boat.

[SOFT DRAMATIC MUSIC]

Dad, all I'm asking is
for you to believe in me.

♪ ♪

Look, I believe you're
gonna do great things, Junior.

One day.

But as your father, I can't
help you get in over your head.

[SOMBER MUSIC]

- [LAUGHING] What?
- [DOOR OPENS]

You guys got a sec?

[SIGHS] Look...

I'm sorry for how things
have been since we got back

and then I made you feel like

you had to put me ahead of Andre.

I don't know, I got stressed that maybe

you guys would kind of
side with Andre by default

and I'd get left behind.

Okay, listen.

We definitely should not have lied

about going to Andre's thing,

but we only did it because
we care about you a lot

and we knew you were
going through it, so...

We were just trying to protect you.

I know.

But that doesn't mean that

you guys should feel like
you can't show up for him

or that you have to sneak
around or whatever, okay?

Okay. And thanks.

Of course.

And thank you for the tarot cards.

I know that it was a part of
your little underhanded plot,

but I'm really loving my new witch era.

[LAUGHTER]

I don't know, I was thinking about

swapping the Malbec out for the Pinot.

It's just been selling
better. What do you think?

[LAID-BACK HIP-HOP MUSIC]

You okay?

Actually, there's something

I've been wanting to talk to you about.

Mm. Something serious?

Should we get out the red table?

All right, come on.

♪ ♪

So I didn't want to
tell you about this sooner

because I wasn't sure

how serious this was even gonna get.

Mm.

But I really like you,

and the longer I kept it to myself,

the harder it got to tell you.

And then you were talking about

how important open communication is.

Okay, okay. What is it?

[SIGHS] So when Avery's
dad and I first separated,

money was tight.

We couldn't even afford lawyers

or for either one of us to move out.

So we didn't.

It sounds like it was rough.

You'd think so, but for us,
it actually is a lot easier.

♪ ♪

You said is easier, like present tense.

You mean you're still
living with your ex

who's actually your husband?

Mm...

technically?

Do you technically still sleep together?

No, no, no.

He sleeps in the guest
room. I sleep in the bedroom.

Completely separate.

We live completely separate
lives outside of our son.

I'm asking you, do
you cook for each other,

do you change in front of each other?

Hey, does... does
any of that even matter?

You got me out here looking crazy.

What, you... you... you... you
here with me and then you go to him?

Respectfully, how I handle
my life and raise my kid,

that's my decision.

Mm.

And respectfully,

that's a decision I don't
gotta be a part of, so...

[SOMBER MUSIC]

We done here.

[SOMBER MUSIC]

- But... but Doug...
- Yeah, I said we're done.

♪ ♪

Are these seats taken?

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

So I just wanna say I'm sorry

about how everything went down.

And I shouldn't have snapped at you.

It's just been... [SCOFFS]

It's been a rough couple of days.

Well, I usually enforce
a zero-tolerance policy

on men raising their voice at me.

- Yeah.
- I get it.

And I also get that by rule of
proximity and ancient girl code,

you guys ended up in Annika's corner.

But I also haven't
gotten over everything.

And just because I'm a guy

doesn't mean I'm
automatically the assh*le.

Of course not,

and we weren't trying to
choose sides or anything,

but clearly, we did,
and we let you down.

We're sorry.

Even Annika feels bad
about it, just so you know.

And we're also really sorry we missed

your new star client's
performance, by the way.

♪ ♪

He's no longer my client.

Oh.

All right. Well, what
about another round on us?

Yeah. Bring us up to speed.

Okay, so I'm trying to get a
small, curated list of clients...

[SMOOTH UPBEAT MUSIC]

You know what they say.

If you want to go fast, go alone.

If you want to go far, go together.

[SOFT MUSIC]

- Sorry, Edie.
- [PHONE KEYBOARD TYPING]

You are a special woman,

and I have enjoyed what we've had,

but I think maybe our
free-love cheek-clapping days

have come to an end,

though we can continue
to clap the cheeks...

of our minds?

Of our minds? That's weird. No.

Uh, continue to clap the
cheeks as work colleagues.

I like that. Work colleagues.

Okay, maybe... work colleagues?

Academic peers? Work colleagues?

No, let's just keep it simple.

Nice. Well said, Aaron, well said.

Oh, hold on.

"Wanna come over?" All right.

Yes, I am on my way. Okay.

[INHALES DEEPLY AND CLEARS THROAT]