03x03 - Backwards-like

[bunniefuu]

[YAWNS]

- Iss.
- Mmm?

You keep comin' closer to my side.

That's 'cause you took the good pillow.

Oh.

You know I got a weak neck.

[GRUNTS]

For real, Iss? You eatin' in bed?

I mean, the heart wants what it wants.

What else does the heart want?

♪ I know it's getting kinda late ♪

♪ But I just wanted you to stay ♪

♪ I want you to myself always ♪

♪ If I could I'd lock you in a cage ♪

- Like that?
- Ahh! Mm-hmm.

- ♪ I never want you to go ♪
- Can you just...

- ♪ The way... ♪
- Mmm.

You know a bitch likes it
extra, extra, extra spicy.

[GIGGLES]

What else does the heart want?

Huh? Uh, well,

the heart wants to be on time for work.

'Cause time is money. [LAUGHS]

♪ Money, money, money, mon-ey ♪

♪ Head good, better
give her some money ♪

♪ p*ssy good, better
give her some money ♪

♪ Attitude, give her some money ♪

Bitch, you got a blueberry
facial for your dog?

Mm-hmm. And a paw massage.

Do they take walk-ins?

'Cause Flavor Flav out here

- living better than me.
- Girl, he deserves it.

He's probably gonna go through

separation anxiety when I start workin'.

Oh, you excited? You nervous?

You hungry? I'm hungry.

I'm actually kinda hype.

I've never had all-black
coworkers before.

They probably got shea butter

dispensers in the bathroom and sh*t.

- [BOTH LAUGHING]
- You stupid.

How's your new job... ashy?

I don't have it yet. I
still gotta interview.

But I Google Mapped the
apartments, and they seem cool.

Postmates goes there.

They didn't go to your old spot?

Pssh! Once. This white
bitch didn't even stop.

Just threw my Poquito Más

out the window and kept it pushing.

Listen, I'm just glad you're
finally getting your own place.

Yeah. I mean, I'm not gonna lie,

staying at Daniel's is kinda nice.

What's so nice about
sleeping on the couch?

Um... yeah.

Ohh, girl, no.

The couch got uncomfortable,
so we just started

sleeping in bed together.

But just side by side. Platonically.

- Oh, girl, no!
- It's not like we f*ckin'.

Not even a little bit.

I mean, has the thought
crossed my mind? Yeah.

Do I think about it a lot? Duh.

Am I thinking about it right now? No.

Yeah.

But it's more than that, you know? We...

We really started connecting, and I
just don't want to mess that up.

Then why you in his bed, bitch?

My neck.

WOMAN: Ms. Carter?

Hey! That's my big boy.

Flavor Flav, how ya doin', buddy?

Issa, you know those are for dogs.

Why it got frosting, then?!

So I figure we can put the poster here

so that the applicants
can get to know us, too.

OK. "Fun Facts About
We Got Y-All Staff."

Did you know Kitty used to have a twin?

She absorbed her in the womb.

That tracks.

Did you know Matt

breeds and shows Himalayan cats?

[LAUGHS] Oh. OK.

Don't look.

Think I just saw Geoffrey Canada.

Oh, for real? That's crazy.

The work he's done with
the Harlem Children's Zone

is just amazing.

- He's a personal hero.
- Yeah, I am excited, too.

It's about time we hired
another person of color.

I literally couldn't agree more.

Though technically, I think it's illegal

to hire anyone because of their race.

Right. But we're not about to waste time

on white people... no offense.

No. We've given white
people enough time.

[ELEVATOR BELL DINGS]

Morning, Molly.

Hey, Malcolm.

- Good morning.
- Good morning.

- Welcome aboard.
- Thank you.

- Let me show you around.
- OK.

This is the main conference room,

and down this hallway are
the associates' offices.

- Hey, Molly, I'm Taurean.
- Hey, nice to meet you.

- So how are you?
- Excited to be here.

Molly, hey. I'm Felicia.

Oh, hey. Nice to meet you.

Hi. I'm Karen, your assistant.

- Oh! Girl, bless you.
- [ALL LAUGH]

Look at us. Lookin' like
a McDonald's commercial.

[ALL LAUGH]

Molly's got a job.

And this right here is your office.

Oh, great.

So go on, get settled in,

we'll see you at the morning meeting.

I'll be there.

[DEEP BREATH]

[SONG PLAYING]

♪ So they can't see me comin' ♪

♪ You know I'm all that, all black ♪

♪ Blend in with no contrast ♪

♪ So they can't see me comin' ♪

♪ So they can't see me comin',
they can't see me comin' ♪

♪ Until I make the news ♪

[INSTRUMENTAL TRACK PLAYING]

[MUSIC CONTINUES]

Hey, where you sample the chorus from?

Rock group from Iceland.

[LAUGHS] This n*gga D.
King on some Nordic sh*t?

You know, n*gg*s ain't really ready

for all that instrumentation.

"What you know about
these mandolins, cuz?"

OK. Yeah, that's what's up.

Mm-hm. You think Spyder
will f*ck with it?

Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah.

We just gotta touch it up a little bit.

Cool. What you thinkin'?

Like the melody is nice,

but it could go harder in some spots.

You know, sometimes the flute
gets a little too jazzy.

I mean, it's a jazz flute.
That's what it does, it jazzes.

Nah, nah, I hear you, I hear you.

Also the drums on the
bridge sound a little low.

You should just strip all the other

stuff away and just loop those.

I mean, I kept them low
on purpose though.

Nah, I feel you, but
Spyder likes his bass.

- Hmm.
- Is it cool if I... ?

Oh, yeah. Hop in there.

- Yeah, man, on "Cut the Check,"
- [b*at PLAYING]

I tried to keep it real minimal.

He likes for his voice
to be the main melody.

- Right.
- [ADJUSTING MIX]

[PLAYING STRIPPED-DOWN b*at]

Whoo hoo, that sh*t kinda
bump! What you think?

I mean, you know, it
does loop. It loops.

So, look, Spyder comin'
through day after tomorrow,

we'll just play this for him then.

Yeah. Cool.

♪ Better ♪

♪ That's what you make me ♪

♪ Together ♪

I've been working at a charter school

for a couple of years now,

but the curriculum is really limiting.

As an after-school program,
we have a lot of freedom.

And a lot of Frieda! [LAUGHS]

- I'm Frieda.
- Oh. Nice to meet you.

Here's an informational packet.

OK, great.

- Thank you.
- Thank you.

Are we in the North Pole?
'Cause we're slaying!

[LAUGHS] That was fun.

I can't believe things
are going so well.

We've met so many great
applicants, it's not even lunch.

Yeah. I'm gonna go get something to eat.

- You want something?
- No, I'm good.

- Hi!
- Antoinette.

[SMALL MARCHING BAND PLAYING]

ALL: ♪ Hey! ♪

♪ Hey! ♪

♪ Hey! ♪

- [MUSIC STOPS]
- [CHEERS, APPLAUSE]

MAN: All right, everybody!

- Give it up for...
- ALL: The b*at Crew!

Ladies and gentlemen, we're at booth ,

so come kick it with us.

Thank you so much.

[CHEERS, APPLAUSE]

- You k*lled it.
- Thanks.

- You k*lled it. Proud of you.
- Hi.

I just want to say, that was incredible.

Those kids are so talented.

Facts, no printer!

- [LAUGHS]
- OK.

- So, what do you guys do?
- What do we do?

We work with musically gifted
kids in the neighborhood.

We give 'em private lessons.

We expose them to
different kinds of music.

To opera, to jazz, stuff like that.

That's so cool.

I remember when I was ten,
my mom took me to see

- Ladysmith Black Mambazo.
- OK.

I still don't know what a
Mambazo is, but it was dope.

God, this must open up
their world so much.

God, yeah. These kids have
performed at Hollywood Bowl,

at Disney Hall, Randy's Donuts...

- I been to one of those places.
- Yeah?

I'm sorry, you lookin' for a job?

Oh, no, I already have one.

But what you guys are doing is amazing.

- Thank you.
- You must feel so...

Issa!

[SINGSONG] We have a line.

OK. Um, I gotta go.

- Really nice to meet you. Thanks.
- Nice to meet you.

Hey, Karen?

Can you please let the
IT department know

that they still need to install
DocuSign on my computer?

- Oh, we don't use DocuSign.
- Huh?

You can encrypt and send with Adobe,

but that's like a whole thing,
so we just use a courier.

Really? DocuSign is so much faster.

Sorry.

Pickups are usually : , noon, and :

But if Rashad's doing the
run, it's more like : .

He lucky he cute.

Ohh. OK.

- Everything OK?
- Yeah, it's fine.

We just did things a different
way at my old firm.

And over here are the mailboxes.

You'd be responsible for
keeping this area clean.

Tenants just leave
PennySavers everywhere.

Where's the trash?

That'd be Trina in A.

[LAUGHS]

Shouldn't laugh. Trina got problems.

So...

you don't have any experience
managing apartments?

Well, no, but I'm a
great problem-solver,

I did a ton of research, and
I'm confident I can handle it.

- Research, huh?
- Mm-hmm.

Did you learn how to work a plunger?

Don't you just kinda...

plunge?

- There's more to it than that.
- This is part-time?

Sure, but you gotta be on call.

It's a lot of wood.

So this is renting for ?

Well, not if you're
the property manager.

For you it'd be .

I'm sorry, seven-fif-what?

Look, your references checked out,

you got a college degree,

and not on of them online
shits like the gardener.

How you gonna learn about
horticulture on the 'net?

ROGER: So, you want it?

♪ Just so good at being in trouble... ♪

I'm just saying,

Khalil took all the
musicianship out of my track.

I put the strings in there for a reason.

Um, actually, those are mine.

Oh ho ho ho! I'm sorry, baby.

You know I been listening to
that Nordic music, right?

Yeah, from Nordic... land.

That's the sound I
wanted to come through.

And it's like, it's my
motherfuckin' track.

People gonna think I'm about
that simple sh*t, you know?

I hear you. For what it's
worth, I thought it was a bop.

And when you get to the next level,

you can do whatever you want.

I don't know.

Hey, if you ever need a bitch
to play the tambourine,

I'm available.

Oh, you available?

- For the right project.
- Mm-hmm.

Hey, I meant to tell you,
um, I got a job offer.

To manage an apartment.

[LAUGHS] What?

More importantly, I can move out

and finally find my own spot.

That just sound like hella work.

You managed to lock yourself
out of my place four times?

Five. 'Cause one time it
happened back-to-back.

So you're gonna be doing that,

working at We Got Y'All,

and driving Lyft? That's a lot.

Yeah, but you been so cool,

I don't want to keep
bumming it at your spot.

You're not bumming. All right?

You're not bumming.

I like you bein' there.

Why don't we just, you know,

try keepin' it like it is?

What you gonna do when tenants
don't pay their rent, huh?

You gonna shake somebody
down? You ain't tough.

- I can be tough.
- Uh-huh.

[CHATTER, LAUGHTER]

Yo, who the f*ck took my clothes?!

[DRYER BUZZER GOES OFF]

Hey, I am gonna go for a walk

at lunch, if you want to join me.

I am in a Fitbit challenge

with my mother-in-law,
and I cannot lose.

Well, I was actually gonna
work through lunch.

I want to get a head start
on the Coleman case.

I can help if you want.

I'll just put the Fitbit on my
dog. She ain't gonna know.

Oh, wow, OK. Thank you.

- No problem.
- Appreciate it.

Wow. Um, I thought these boxes
were going into storage.

Your office is the storage.

Ha ha. OK.

It's just, at my old firm,

we used offsite storage.

It's actually convenient
when you get used to it.

Oh.

[MUTTERING]

♪ It's time to take
motherfuckin' flight ♪

♪ Cuz it's feelin' like
one of them nights ♪

OK, first, no in-house courier.

Then they sling loose files

in my office like it's a damn Kinkos.

And y'all, I got to log
my own billable hours...

by hand.

Like, did I get a demotion?

You got problems with white firms,

problems with black firms...
you runnin' out of races.

First of all, there are
Mexican law firms, too.

I see them on the back
of buses all the time.

- r*cist. Mm-mm.
- MOLLY: My point is,

why do black businesses always
have to be on the struggle?

TIFFANY: I'm with Molly on this one.

We have to do better.

We can't just leave it all
up to Chadwick Boseman.

Right? If you're gonna be a
black law firm in Century City,

then be a Century City law firm.

It's like when black
people buy big-ass houses

and can't furnish it.

My uncle got an , -square-feet house

and just a bean bag.

OK, you're being mad
judgmental right now.

Are you sure you're not
looking down on them

because they're a black law firm?

We are harder on ourselves

than white people sometimes,

because we've been conditioned

not to trust each other.

Where'd my drink...

Did you steal my drink?

Kelli, the bartender took it.

The black one.

See? Like Tiffany... you love Beyoncé,

but did your ass sign up for Tidal?

Of course I did. I just
don't ever go on it.

KELLI: And I hate to admit it,

but even I have a white accountant.

- Kelli, what?
- Don't "at" me!

[À LA NENE LEAKES] I said what I said!

Look, you sound negative. OK?

Just give it time.

Change is hard.

Amen to that.

I mean, I love my baby...

do I love not fitting
any of my clothes? No.

Do I love that y'all have a
group chat without me? No.

- Wha... ?
- No, we don't.

We definitely do. For sure.

It's fine. It's fine. It's fine.

[LAUGHING] It's fine. It's fine.

It's fine. It's fine.

It's. Fine.

- OK.
- OK?

This... is my new journey.

And Molly, maybe this is yours.

[SIGHS] I guess.

I just hope you're not complaining
like this at your job.

No, just to y'all.

WOMAN: Carter, party of four.

And a half!

There gonna be twelve
more months of this sh*t?

Wait, what?

So, none of you replied to
my email about Palm Springs.

Or did you guys talk about
it amongst yourselves?

Hmm.

_

Issa, I can see over your shoulder.

No, that's about something else.

Girl, we got your email.

And yes, the Airbnb works just fine.

KELLI: Oh, speaking of
needing places to stay,

Issa, an apartment came through.

It's in your budget,
only got a half-bath,

but there's a YMCA up the block

where you can shower after : .

Ooh, that sounds promising.

Yeah, actually, I'm good.

I think I'm gonna tell Daniel
that I'm gonna stay longer.

Oh, brown bread! And they got a mix?

I'ma Yelp that.

Wait. Staying longer?

Why?

I told you not to sleep in his bed.

- KELLI: Unh-unh!
- Really?

So you figured out how
to pay him after all.

Dat-dat-dat-dat-dat! Ass.

No. See, y'all don't understand.

We're not even sleeping together,

and we're getting along great.

So what's the problem?

It's Daniel. You and Daniel
is always a problem.

But it's not this time. You know why?

Because we're talkin' and sh*t.

He's been there for me,

and I think I'm finally seeing
him for who he really is.

You're seein' him because you
don't got nut in your eye.

Ooh, duck confit. Yes.

What Kelli...

is trying to say...

is we care about you!

- Yeah.
- And we don't want to see you

end up in something that, you know,

- is not...
- ... great.

Y'all, this is the first time

that there's nothing in the
way of us getting together.

- So isn't that worth exploring?
- ALL: No!

Y'all are just gonna
Greek chorus on a bitch?

- ALL: Yes!
- Ya dumb bitch!

I just, I think it's on us

to support low-performing schools.

Especially when the federal
government doesn't.

Exactly. And programs like
yours have tangible results.

- So tangible.
- Yeah.

- Wow!
- Wow!

- [BOTH LAUGHING]
- "Wow."

It is so good to meet you right now.

We Got Y'All is in the middle

of an exciting transformation,

we have an ambitious five-year plan...

[WHISPERS] You wanna?

Oh, yeah, good things come in fives.

Yeah.

Five-dollar foot-longs,

um, Five Guys Burgers,

um... not all food, just...

Toes...

Antoinette, you should meet Joanne.

- OK. Sure.
- OK?

- I'll be right back. OK.
- OK.

I like your sweater.

Oh, thank you! I found it outside.

- At a flea market.
- Oh. [LAUGHS]

I shoulda led with that.

So, how do you like it here?

Oh, it's... it's great, yeah.
It's cool. I like it.

How is it for you?

You know. They are how they are.

Oh, yeah. I know.

But honestly, it's like any job.

There's the good, the bad...

Yeah. So how long have you worked here?

Uh, five years.

Wow! So you must really like it, then.

[TYPING]

_

_

We started the monthly meetings

to evaluate our client base.

We needed a new way to
discuss case strategy.

It's also an opportunity for
us to mentor the first-years.

I love the collaborative approach.
The teamwork, all of it.

Guys, I'm so excited to get started.

So, where's Malcolm?
What, is he on CB time?

[POLITE LAUGHTER]

I love us. We are so black up in here.

Can't even start on time.

Actually, Malcolm usually takes a call,

and we get the meeting
started before he comes in.

Oh. Right. Of course.

Maybe at her old firm

they started every meeting on time.

[ALL SNICKERING]

DANIEL: Appreciate you, dawg.

Good-lookin', good-lookin'.

- What's up, n*gga?
- What's up, my G?

- You straight?
- You know.

- Good to see you, man.
- Yeah, yeah.

You remember my boy Daniel

from the club the other night, right?

Yeah, yeah, the night my boy got sh*t.

Damn, for real? He OK?

Nah.

SPYDER: So what y'all n*gg*s got?

Is it bangin'?

Hey, K, go ahead

play him that track we worked on.

[FLIPS SWITCH]

Hey, you know who got titties?

- Viola Davis.
- Here we go.

[DANIEL'S ORIGINAL
INSTRUMENTAL TRACK PLAYING]

Whoo! That's hot.

[TURNS MUSIC OFF]

Yeah, you know, we, uh... [LAUGHS]

we actually have another
version, too, though.

Right?

[SIGHS]

[KHALIL'S MIX PLAYS]

Oh. Damn, that sh*t hot, too.

[TURNS OFF MUSIC]

SPYDER: Man, I don't know.

I like the rock sh*t in the first one,

but the drums is bangin' on the second.

I don't know.

Hey, what you think?

n*gga, are you watching "This Is Us"?

[LAUGHS]

[SIGHS]

Yeah, bro, I don't know. It's tough.

KHALIL: You know what, though?

Don't even trip, my n*gga.
I got some other sh*t.

SPYDER: Word.

[PLAYS INSTRUMENTAL TRACK]

♪ On everything, I gave
everything and got nothing back ♪

♪ Ain't lookin' for no pat on backs ♪

♪ That ain't how we got
where the f*ck we at ♪

ISSA: That's him. Here he comes.

- Yes, I see him.
- 'Bout time.

SERVER: OK. Clam chowder
appetizer for you, sir,

and for the lady, the Asian
pear and burrata salad.

- Thank you.
- DANIEL: Thank you.

You notice the heavy
emphasis he put on "Asian"?

Hmm. That was rude. I don't know why.

You see that? They got here after us

and they already got they entrees.

[LAUGHS]

Where are our drinks?

I don't know, but you
know what I do know now?

I love this table.

And oh, my God, look at this view!

Oh, wait... is that Jay-Z and Beyoncé?

No, it's a mirror. It's us. We cute.

[BOTH LAUGH]

- OK, OK, OK.
- Thank you.

Anyway, I just wanted to take you out

to say thank you for
everything you've done,

for letting me stay with you...

Yeah. Of course.

And I wanted to let you know

that I took the property manager job.

So I'm movin' out.

Oh. Uh... cool.

Yeah, I just thought it would
be good for both of us.

That way we have our
own space while we...

figure this out.

If that's what you want.

OK, what's goin' on?

I feel like you've been upset all night.

Is it me?

It's just some sh*t with Khalil.

What happened?

He got mad I played my version
of the track for Spyder,

so it's whatever, it's
whatever, it's whatever.

[SCOFFS]

Why would you do that when
he knows what Spyder likes?

'Cause it's my music.

So does that mean you're not
gonna work together anymore?

I mean, it is what it is.

Really?

But that was a good opportunity.

Maybe you should... apologize.

[LAUGHS]

What?

Uhh.

I just think it's funny you
givin' me career advice.

What does that mean?

I mean, you don't really
know what it's like

to really care about what you do, Issa.

- I do care about...
- Your life is all over the place.

I always save you from some sh*t.

That's how you feel?

Sorry about the wait for these drinks.

Everything good?

- Yup, yup.
- Mm-hmm.

You gotta get up early?

My alarm's set.

You know I was just upset
about the Khalil thing.

Yeah, it's fine.

♪ I won't pretend ♪

♪ That I intend to stop living ♪

♪ Won't pretend ♪

♪ I'm good at forgivin' ♪

♪ I can't hate you ♪

♪ Though I have tried ♪

♪ Ah-ee-ah-oh-oh ♪

♪ I still really, really love you ♪

♪ Love is stronger than pride ♪

- [ISSA MOANS]
- DANIEL: You like that?

Don't.

I can't do this.

Just... doesn't feel right.

Yeah.

[BOTH SIGH]

♪ I can't hate you ♪

♪ Though I have tried ♪

♪ Ah-ee-ah-oh-oh ♪

♪ I still really, really love you ♪

♪ Love is stronger than pride ♪

♪ I still really, really love you ♪

♪ Love is stronger than pride ♪

♪ Sittin' here wastin' my time ♪

♪ Be like ♪

♪ Waitin' for the sun to rise ♪

♪ It's all too clear ♪

♪ Things come and go ♪

♪ Ah-ee-ah-oh-oh ♪

[FEMALE VOICES HARMONIZE]

♪ Ah-ee-ah-oh-oh ♪