04x23 - Once in Love with Elyse

[Madeleine]

♪ I bet we've been together ♪

♪ For a million years ♪

♪ And I bet we'll be together ♪

♪ For a million more ♪

♪ Oh, it's like I
started breathing ♪

♪ On the night we kissed ♪

♪ And I can't remember ♪

♪ What I ever did before ♪

♪ What would we do, baby ♪

♪ Without us ♪

♪ What would we do, baby ♪

♪ Without us ♪

♪ And there ain't no nothing ♪

♪ We can't love
each other through ♪

♪ What would we do, baby ♪

♪ Without us ♪

♪ Sha la la la ♪

This is wonderful, Paul, it really is!

A Twin Towers with a... with a connecting walkway on the seventeenth floor!

I mean, this is brilliant!

Well, you know, I just thought it was more aesthetic than the single tower concept.

Oh.

Kid's a genius.

Well, you don't have to tell me.

I've been working with him for a year.

You are so good, Paul!

Thanks, Elyse.

It was really your idea originally.

I just... just expanded on it.

Oh, no, no, this is much better than my design.

You are- you're just so good!

Thanks.

No, I mean it, you really are!

You want me to just leave it this way?

Listen, I better get home and get started on the budget estimates for this design.

Do you have the account figures, Elyse?

Oh, they're upstairs.

I'll be right back.

You know, Paul, this, uh, really is a superior design here.

Oh, yeah, right. Thanks.

Listen, Ray, can I talk to you for a second?

Sure.

There's really been something bothering me.

I just gotta... gotta tell somebody.

Has to, uh, has to do with... with Elyse.

What's the matter?

Well.

We've been working together for about a year now, very closely.

You know, we share an office, we work on projects, we... we have lunch.

Somewhere along the line here, a problem has developed.

She getting on your nerves?

I'm in love with her.

At least she's not getting on your nerves.

Ray, I'm not kidding around.

I don't know how or when it happened, but it did.

Paul, that's impossible.

You can't be.

You're not in love with her.

Ray, I think about her every minute of the day.

I wake up in the middle of the night.

And she's been in my dreams.

She's the object of my complete, total passion.

I even have this recurring fantasy about taking her to Europe.

Hmm.

Maybe you are in love with her.

Sometimes I'll be, you know, I'll be working at my desk, and she'll come up from behind me and she'll lean over my shoulder, and her hair kinda brushes against my cheek.

It smells so nice.

And she has this, this little laugh, you know, kinda like, uh...

Ahaha!

Well, it's better than that, actually.

Pull yourself together, Paul.

Look at this house.

She lives here.

With her husband.

And her four children.

I know.

I think that trip to Europe's out of the question, Paul.

I know.

Don't you see?

I know I can't be with her.

That's why this is such t*rture for me.

But I can't escape it!

Ray, I'm completely, totally, head over heels in love!

Hi Ray.

Hi Paul.

Steve, Elyse's husband.

Hi, Steven.

Nice to see you again.

Nice to see you.

Looking good.

Hey, you too.

What do you say?

Hi, sweetheart.

Here are the accounts, Ray.

Great, thanks.

Listen, I gotta be on my way.

I'll see you tomorrow.

Okay, thanks.

Bye-bye.

Bye.

Nice to see you again, Steve.

You too, Ray.

Uh, Paul...

Take care.

So, Paul, did I hear you saying you were in love?

Huh?

No, no.

Uh, no.

Me in love?

I... I hate love.

Look at Andy.

I bought him this new outfit today.

Oh, that's adorable!

Oh, what a cute little guy!

Ah, come on, he looks ridiculous.

Imagine him walking into a bar looking like that?

Here, would you take a picture of us, Paul?

Oh, sure.

I'd be glad to.

That was good!

All right.

Yeah, all right.

And so, to recap, Paul's two-tower concept has numerous advantages, both in terms of space efficiency and aesthetics.

Now we both feel it is the strongest all-around concept for the building.

It's a brilliant design!

Ted, I'm happy to give this account to your firm.

That's great, Susan.

I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

Oh, we did it!

Oh, Paul, it's so exciting!

More than you know.

You know, Paul, when I first came back to work a year ago, after having Andrew, I was really scared.

But then I got teamed up with you, and, well, you are so bright.

You're so talented.

You're such a joy to be with every day.

I... I just want you to know how much I... I love, I really love working with you.

But sometimes I, you know, I wonder how you... how you feel about me.

You- you do?

Oh, I know it's silly, but I just think that maybe, you know, if you had your choice you'd rather not be with me.

Elyse, I would rather be with you than anyone in the world.

Really, do you mean that?

I do.

I mean it.

I mean it.

A lot.

You are just the sweetest man.

You know what we should do now?

We should celebrate.

Celebrate, yeah.

That was exactly my thought.

So, any ideas?

Wanna go to Europe?

So then he yelled at us for passing notes in class.

I said, "Mr. Norris, this is not fair.

You always yell at me and Stacy for passing notes.

You never yell at Brenda, and she passes notes all the time."

Well, Brenda gets really mad at me 'cause I told on her.

I said, "Brenda, what's the big deal?

He knows you pass notes."

It's quite a gripping tale, Mal.

Come on, guys, and this, this dinner is in Paul's honor.

He shouldn't have to listen to our petty family squabbles.

Well, we're all just about done, anyway.

Whose turn it it to clear?

Yours, Dad.

Hey, listen, Paul, I'm playing in a soccer game Thursday afternoon.

You wanna come and watch?

I mean, aw that's nice of you, Jennifer, but I have to work late on Thursday.

Aw, that's too bad.

Be kind of fun to have a cute guy cheer me on.

I'm free on Thursday.

Great.

Have a nice day.

You know something, Paul?

What's that, Steven?

I really think she has a crush on you.

What?

She does, I can tell.

You can?

Yeah.

Happens all the time.

It does?

That's just the way she is.

She's never really gone for guys her own age.

Listen, Steve, whatever feelings she may have, I've done nothing to encourage it, I swear.

Well, of course not.

It's perfectly natural for someone her age to have a little crush on an older man.

Who are you talking about?

Jennifer.

Who are you talking about?

Jennifer.

Who else could I possibly be talking about?

Could I have a sip of this water?

Paul?

Is something wrong?

Yes.

Steve, I'm a nervous wreck.

I'm wracked with guilt.

I gotta get this off my chest.

What?

Let me put it this way.

Right now, you have every right to punch me in the nose.

In fact, I deserve it.

Go ahead.

Let 'er whale.

What?

I'd really rather not!

All right, then.

I'll punch myself in the nose.

Paul, Paul.

Look, would you please tell me what's going on?

Steve, I'm in love with your wife.

From afar, yes, but I'm in love with her nevertheless.

There.

I said it, okay?

Now.

Go ahead, punch me in the nose.

Look, settle down, huh?

Okay?

You're in love with my wife?

I really don't know what to say.

I know "good luck" is wrong.

That punch in the nose starting to look good, huh Steve?

Paul, come on!

You've done nothing wrong here.

Steve, I... I want to take your wife to Europe.

Europe?

I'm not talking about some ten-day cruise, either.

I'm talking about, you know, a month.

Six weeks, maybe, depending on the weather.

Can get chilly up in the Scandinavian countries, so.

Of course if we went in summer, then that-

Paul!

I'm sorry.

Does Elyse know about this?

No.

Maybe it'll be easier if you just tell her how you feel.

No.

No.

No way.

I can't. I'd be ashamed, embarrassed. I can't just tell Elyse about this!

I heard my name.

Were you talking about me?

Um, sort of?

Nothing bad, I hope.

Don't worry.

Ready for some champagne?

Uh, listen, I've gotta... I gotta go.

But it's still early, Paul.

No, really, I have to go.

Thanks for dinner.

It was... it was great.

Take care.

Goodnight.

What did you say to him?

Hey, Alex, how's it going?

Shh-shh-shh-shh.

What are you watching?

Uh, CNN.

They're running a tape of the president's press conference from earlier today.

That's telling 'em, Dutch.

He was just talking about this new Star Wars defense system, Dad.

It is great!

We're gonna build these space weapons that can sh**t down Soviet missiles.

Now, if the Soviets build space weapons that can sh**t down our missiles, we can build bigger space weapons.

To sh**t down their space weapons.

And if they build bigger space weapons to sh**t down our space weapons, we're gonna build even bigger space weapons.

To sh**t down their space weapons that sh**t down our space weapons.

Finally, something sensible is happening.

Are you almost done, Alex?

Yeah, we wanna watch MTV.

I mean, uh, not MTV.

Something better than MTV.

I happen to be watching the President of the United States, Mallory, show a little respect.

Dad!

Have you two finished your homework?

That's a low blow, Alex.

Have you girls finished your homework?

Dad!

Go finish your homework.

Yep, come on, finish your homework, chop chop, let's go.

What a gyp!

Ah!

Boy, is he great!

I bet you feel a little silly about not voting for him now, huh, Dad?

The shame is almost too much to bear.

Oh, hey, honey, why are you so late?

Oh, Paul called in sick today.

We were working on a deadline, so I had a lot to get done by myself.

I see.

Um, did you talk to Paul?

No, you know, but I tried to call him several times, but all I got was his answering machine.

He was kind of upset when he left here last night.

I hope nothing's wrong.

Let me try him again.

Wait a second, honey.

Before you call, um, there's something you should know.

What?

Well, um, last night, uh, when Paul and I were in the kitchen, uh, he was talking about you.

Oh.

Oh, I knew it.

Working with me is holding him back, isn't it?

Now I asked him about it and he denied it, but that's it, isn't it?

He doesn't like working with me.

Oh.

No, that's not it.

The man has fallen in love with you.

Oh, that's it.

He's fallen in love with me?

Now wait, wait, wait a minute.

Be more specific, Steven.

What did he say that made you think he fell in love with me?

Well, for one thing, he wants to take you to Europe.

Now?

Well, no.

In the summer.

That way it won't be cold when you head up north to the Scandinavian c-

The point is, Elyse, the man is completely in love with you.

Is he in love with me?

Huh.

My goodness, that's remarkable.

Elyse, um, Elyse?

Hmm?

This is bad news, remember?

Oh.

I'm sorry, honey, it's just, well, it's been a long time!

No one's felt like this for me for over twenty years!

Well, not counting you.

Count me, Elyse.

Oh, I'm sorry.

Hello.

Oh, hi, Ted.

What!?

Where is he now?

Oh, okay.

Thanks, Ted.

That's my boss.

He said Paul has just walked into the office now, said he is quitting the firm.

Effective immediately.

Paul.

Hey.

How's it going?

We have to talk.

Gee, I'd like to, but I'm, you know, kind of in a rush here.

Steven told me, you know, how you feel about me.

I don't know what you're talking about.

Well he said that, you know, that you're in love with me.

In love with you?

My goodness, no, that's-

That's absurd.

I didn't say I was in love with you.

I said some nice things about you.

I probably used a few glowing, flowery phrases.

He probably misunderstood what I meant.

He said you wanted to take me to Europe.

Yeah, sure.

All I meant by that was that I really, really appreciate the great work you've been doing.

And I just, you know, I wanted to show my appreciation by doing something nice for you.

Like buying you a box of candy.

Or taking you to Europe.

Look, Elyse, you're a married woman.

I like you, but I'm certainly not in love with you.

Okay, so why are you quitting?

Well, you know, I'm a little burned out.

And, you know, I thought maybe I should be traveling for a while, maybe-

Paul, would you be honest with me?

I'm being honest with you, Elyse.

Look, if you want to believe that I'm leaving because I'm in love with you, fine, you know, believe that if you want to.

I couldn't care less.

Paul, it makes no s-

What?

Leave me alone, will you?

All right, okay.

If you wanna quit on these terms, that's fine.

I can't do anything about it.

But you know, I cannot execute this project without your help, so at least fill me in on the details of your part of the work.

Fine.

Okay.

Okay, the two towers.

The two towers need separate...

All right, the two towers need separate ventilation.

If I were you, I'd call in a consultant on that.

What about the new fire code?

How does that affect the beam structure?

We just have to adjust the beam structure to accommodate wider ducts.

That'll mean an extra support system that can hold-

Paul!

Can't believe I just did that.

I tried to kiss a married woman.

I'm a degenerate, a felon.

Paul, it is all right!

We just have to talk!

I knew I would do this sooner or later if I didn't get out of here!

Damn it!

Why did you have to come down here?

Why couldn't you just let me leave in peace?

Oh, great, I'm glad you're both here.

Oh yeah?

Why?

Well, the truth is, I felt a little bad about before, when I got you into trouble with Dad for not doing your homework, and I wanted to do something to make it up to you.

So, uh, here.

It's a ten-dollar check made out to you from Aunt Helen.

She gave it to me for my fourteenth birthday.

I found it in my desk.

Anyway, I endorsed it over to you on the back there.

Any bank should take that.

Why don't we go watch some MTV, huh?

It's on me.

Right.

Okay.

Listen, can I borrow 10 dollars?

Oh, Steven, I feel just terrible.

This man is throwing away his career because of me.

Look, you can't blame yourself, Elyse.

Oh, I know. I just wish there was something I could have done.

Paul, come in.

Thanks.

Well, I guess I should probably um...

Well, I mean...

Oh, boy, how did it get so late?

I should have watered those plants hours ago.

Smooth exit.

Yeah.

Elyse, right now I'm very ashamed of myself.

But I just... I just couldn't walk away and let things end on a bad note like that.

I am so glad that you came back.

Elyse, I'm not a frivolous person.

I don't... I don't fall in love easily.

You and I have been together eight hours a day, five days a week for the past year.

Every moment of it has been exhilarating.

I mean, we talk about our lives, we open up to each other, we...

We help each other be creative in our work, we...

We laugh, we dance.

We've never danced.

No, that's true, not together, but sometimes, when you go out to get coffee, I dance.

The point is, I've never felt so natural and so comfortable with another person.

I can't imagine ever loving being with anyone the way I love being with you, Elyse.

That is so sweet, Paul.

I'm glad you think it's sweet.

I'm just going to go home, finish packing, and leave the country now.

Paul, stop!

Please, let's try and analyze this.

Let's try and make some sense out of it.

Good luck.

Did you ever stop to think that maybe you're misinterpreting your feelings for me?

That maybe it's not really me that you love, but just something that I may represent to you in some way?

No, it's you.

Well, I'm married, Paul.

I'm happily married, you know that.

I could never reciprocate the feelings you have.

Now doesn't love, real love, have to be a two-way street?

Well, maybe technically, I suppose.

You just think about it, it really does.

Let me see if I'm following you on this.

What you're saying is, you're saying that you are happily married.

Our being together is an impossibility.

You're saying that maybe that fact alone means that what I feel for you is something other than love.

Yes, that's exactly right.

In other words, I'm in love with the kind of person you are, with the qualities you possess, but not actually with you.

Yes, you got it.

You're saying that after all, I'm twenty-eight, you're in your forties.

Forty. Just forty.

You're saying that I'm in the prime of my life, whereas you, you're several stages beyond that.

That's not... that's not quite what I mean.

I mean, you could almost be a grandmother.

We made a breakthrough here.

Let's not belabor it.

I'm sorry.

But you do understand the point I'm getting at.

I do, Elyse.

Although I have to admit, I... I still feel the same way about you, but at least now I have some way to deal with the feelings I have, a little bit.

Good.

So you can stay at the firm.

We can stay partners?

I'll give it a try.

But you have to promise not to lean over my shoulder while I'm working.

Why not?

Trust me.

Don't do it.

Okay.

Oh, Elyse.

To close this chapter, there's one thing I need to know.

What?

Well, under other circumstances, if you were single and met me, am I the kind of guy you would have taken an interest in?

Oh, Paul.

The fact that someone as exceptional as you, as special as you are, could have those kind of feelings for me...

Well, it makes me feel very flattered and very touched, and makes me feel very good about myself.

I really mean that, Paul.

So is that a yes?

You would have taken an interest?

Yes, that's a yes.

Maybe even have gone... have gone with me to Europe?

Why not?

Wow!