Original subtitles

- [Brian] Do you think people can be truly happy

if they don't love what they do for a living?

- [Jason] Maybe, but I wouldn't want to have to try.

- [Brian] I realize everyone doesn't have the luxury

of following their heart.

- [Jason] No, they don't.

- [Brian] But that's the American dream.

- [Jason] Well, it's the American myth but the reality is,

it's pretty much the privilege of the privileged,

[Brian] Which I guess we are.

[Jason] Thanks to the luck of the draw,

where we were born and to whom.

- [Brian] People don't think about that enough.

- [Jason] Well, not the lucky ones anyway.

(slow guitar music)

- Patti, Patti, please, listen.

Your faith in me gave me the confidence

to leave Carlton, Simmons and Davis and open my own firm.

I know, I know, I fucked up.

I fucked up "Vanity Fair", I swear it won't happen again.

No, no, no, a boutique agency can meet your needs.

Really, after all these years

you're firing me over the phone?

Yeah, yeah, I know, I know.

You could have had your people do it.

I thought I was your people.

Please, Patti, please, please.

Fuck!

- She was our biggest client.

- But she's not our only client.

- But she's Patti Lupone.

- It's okay.

- No, it's not okay, it's a fucking disaster.

- You're scaring our support staff.

- They should be scared.

After all the fucking publicity I got her over the years.

- She's one client.

- Who is the reason half of them came with us,

probably more than half.

- And who, because she was so high profile,

took up a lot of un-billable time and resources.

- Luca's got a point.

This could be a good thing.

It will make room for two, maybe three A-list clients.

- Exactly, and I know just who we can pursue.

- Are you actually trying to spin me?

Because you both are way too good at what we do

to not know what's gonna happen when this hits the streets.

That after six months Patti Lupone left us

and went back to Carlton, Simmons and Davis.

- Which is why we need to calm down

and do for Brian Stone and Associates

what we do for our clients when they get into trouble.

- Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding.

You've worked with him a while,

have you ever seen him like this?

- He'll be alright.

We presented him with a good plan

on how to deal with this bump and he liked it, so.

- Are you spinning me now?

- He's stressed about a lot of things

and after all the years he worked with Patti,

he felt blindsided like it was personal, not business.

- But it was business.

- And by tomorrow, he'll have processed it

and he'll be fine.

- Tomorrow, really?

- Yeah, well, the day after tomorrow tops.

- I sure hope this idea that Brenda and Luca has

to spin this thing works

because I don't have another one.

- Then it will.

But you know the person you should be talking to

about this is not me, it's David.

- Yeah, right.

Because telling him my business may be about to implode

would do wonders to our relationship.

- He is your boyfriend.

- God, you know how I hate that word for people over 20.

- Almost as much as you hate "Hello Kitty"?

- More.

- Well you've made it clear

you're not ready to call him your partner.

- Nope. - And he's not your husband,

so what word would you prefer?

- I don't know.

It doesn't exist, someone needs to invent it.

- Your ability to imperceptibly change the subject

has always pissed the hell out of me.

- What?

- The point was, do you think David

is only interested in you because of who your clients are?

- I think that no grown up wants his whatever that word is

that needs to be invented to be a failure.

- Oh god, are you really taking yourself

down that rabbit hole again?

Losing a client does not make you a failure.

- I fucked up Jason and my whole business could go under.

- Everybody fucks up Brian, I did.

I'm sure David has.

Besides, you started out by saying

what a great plan Brenda and Luca had come up with.

Something else is going on.

Do you want to talk about it?

Fine, just keep walking.

- You know, I was a fuck lot more supportive

when you were the one going through shit.

- What do you want?

- I want you to be here.

You, to help me through this

and to hold me like you used to.

- You don't think I want that?

- And I want you to have fought harder to stick around.

I know, I know,

you thought I was being selfish so I backed off,

I played the it's his decision game to the hilt.

It doesn't mean it's what I wanted.

- After all these years of working for her,

you must be privy to some pretty juicy dirt.

So, what I would do is anonymously,

slowly and steadily release every piece of it and kick back.

And laugh.

- It would definitely send a message

to any other client who was thinking about leaving.

- Yeah.

- And to every prospective client that I can't be trusted.

- I guess, but it would be fun.

- Yeah, it would be.

- You could just drop one or two little things, you know.

Not enough to cause a full on

Kevin Spacey career disruption

but just enough to create a little public perception issue.

- There are so many reasons I love you.

- I don't have that kind of dirt.

- What kind of dirt do you have?

- I can't break client privilege like that.

- She's not your client any more.

She left you, the bitch.

- Even so. - God!

I hate a man with integrity.

- That's why we're so good together.

- Jason and I were good together, even when we weren't.

- So, as Brian's friends,

we demanded that we get to pass judgment on this...

Jason.

- Only strangely, we couldn't find anything wrong with him

except that he refused to call us Paul One and Paul Two

like most people do,

and insisted on calling us Thing One and Thing Two,

like in those Doctor Seuss books.

- Which did not please us.

- It did not please us in the mall.

- Did not please us down the hall.

- Did not please us with a ball.

- It did not please us. - [Both] Not at all.

- I'm starving. - I don't even know why we came.

Wait, I remember why we came, come here.

We came because we loved him so much.

- I love you.

- Okay

And now we can go. - Okay.

- You and David could be good together too.

- I hope so.

- You can't compare what you had after 15 years

with what you've got after six months.

You have to get there,

which means you have to start sharing the bad

as well as the good with him.

- We need another round. - [Paul] Absolutely.

- Can I get two more pinot noirs and a Santera Tequila?

- And a pint of dirt on Patti Lupone?

- And to top it all off,

I had to talk Brian and Luca off the ledge.

I'm so tired of being the strong black woman

for everyone in my life.

- I don't ask you to be the strong black woman for me.

- No, you don't Sofia.

- But, I'm happy to be the strong Columbian woman for you.

- At least until your visa runs out

or they find some other way to deport you.

- Well they won't deport me.

They only deport Latinas of color.

- Welcome to America.

- Shut up and relax.

(jazzy music)

- I can't help it.

I'm worried about what's going on at the office.

I mean yeah, I put on my famous Luca smile.

I filled the room with my well-documented positivity

and I offered up every inside

and outside of the box solution I could come up with

but what if Brian Stone and Associates goes under?

Did I make a mistake not going

with one of the big, established firms?

(dog whines)

No, I didn't and no, I didn't just do it

because I think Brian's cute.

Since working there, he's been a mentor to me.

And I honestly think it was the right career move.

Honestly, and if everything goes well it definitely will be.

But if it doesn't...

I can't get distracted by ifs.

I need to live in the now and now,

Daddy's going dancing Asta.

Don't wait up for me. (dog barks)

And no doggy Grindr hook ups while I'm out.

- Ah, I'm sorry I'm so late.

- I understand client dinners.

- I'm so exhausted. (Brian laughs)

- How did it go?

- Ah, they're so fucking privileged and so fucking boring.

If they didn't have four homes and a yacht,

each of which they redo on a regular basis...

But (groans) you gotta hold onto the big ones.

- Or die trying!

- So how was your day?

You sounded stressed when I called.

- Oh, we lost a client. - Who?

- It doesn't matter.

Whenever Jason lost a client he'd say,

"it gives me the opportunity to take on someone new".

- Bingo.

- That's a great attitude. - Yeah.

- Still, it never feels good to be left.

- No, it doesn't.

(slow thoughtful music)

♪ You'll always be my forever ♪

♪ Down deep inside of me ♪

♪ You'll always be my forever ♪

♪ You're all I'll ever need ♪

(slow thoughtful music)