ALEXANDRA ANDY AUDIENCE BARTENDER BATISTA BRANDED_GUY_1 BRANDED_GUY_2 BRODY CARLOTTA CASSIE COTTON CROWD DEREK DISPATCH DREA DRIVER EMT JACKSON JAHIL KELVIN MATEO MAURICE MEGAN MIKE_MIKE MISS_BRUCE MISS_RUBY NINA NOAH OLIVIA RYAN SIMONE STAR VALET WOMAN XANDER STAR Okay, so last time you all saw Star. CARLOTTA I still believe in Take 3. Y'all still under contract, you owe me another album. NINA You're starring in the movie with Noah. SIMONE Mateo's been all over that reporter in the office. CARLOTTA I figured out who your investor is. Xander? XANDER I need you to run a little money through the club. CASSIE I told you I was going legit. ALEXANDRA Her sister Bianca died in the plane crash. Now, obviously, I can't bring her sister back. ALEXANDRA Thank you. DEREK You remember anything else? MISS RUBY He had a brand on his shoulder. MIKE MIKE Bankhead Crew all day. NOAH I want independence. I'm going with Cassie and Maurice. BATISTA You asked me to check the county jails. I also checked the John Doe's. These were your father's. BRODY I love you Star. And I always have. STAR So what do y'all think? SIMONE I mean, it's all right, but I liked the other one better. STAR Okay. MISS BRUCE It's midnight. Will y'all just please pick a damn song? So we can get to rehearsing. Orange Night is in three days. ALEXANDRA Look, I just don't think this is the right sound for a gun control fundraiser. STAR Well, whatever it is, it's gotta to be a banger. ALEXANDRA Yeah. STAR Mateo's invited a bunch of industry heavyweights and we got our solo stuff coming up. SIMONE I mean we can't do solo anything until we get this Take 3 album and give it to Miss C. STAR Right, but you're working on a movie. She's working on solo tracks. I gotta have something for me and the baby after this album drops. MISS BRUCE Oh shoot, Star, I forgot to give you this from accounting. I think it's your royalty check from your single. STAR You forgot? MISS BRUCE Bitch, it ain't my damn check. ALEXANDRA So how much money did you make dissing us? STAR Let's see. SIMONE I'm gonna get what I want out of that check. STAR You can get a little something. SIMONE Yes. STAR But the rest of it's for studio time- yo, you got to be kidding me. ALEXANDRA What? STAR Maurice made himself a producer on the song. He took half my money. MISS BRUCE Now you can go buy you some real sequin. MAURICE Oh yeah, the game was done. Whole stadium knew it. Them boys needed a half a yard to win. KELVIN Yo I remember that play like it was yesterday. You jumped over the offensive line like Superman and bam! The ball was loose. MAURICE Hey, if you got to end it. End a champion. KELVIN Ha-ha, I know that's right. MAURICE Yeah. Cheers. WOMAN Cheers. KELVIN Cheers. Hey yo, bro, when we lost you to injury that year, we lost a beast. MAURICE I came up all right. Found out the music game's my real passion. Now I got my own label and a new club. DREA And I'll be in this club poppin' these bottles like I pop out those babies. KELVIN KELVIN Hey, yo, get your mind right. MAURICE I'm good. DREA Bitch! I heard you were back in the A. MEGAN Hi. I didn't want to miss your b-day. DREA Ah, thank you. MEGAN Been too long. Hi, Mo. MAURICE Megan. It's good to see you. You back for good? MEGAN Yeah. My law firm's on Peachtree. MAURICE So, what do you think about the spot? I've been working hard to build my own company. A new life. Trying to be a better man. I was hoping we could still have that talk. NOAH Oh my god, sorry I'm late. Man. How you doing. Came through the front, man, I got mobbed. MAURICE You're lookin at my hottest artist at Karma Sound. Noah here's about to put us on the map. NOAH Man, cut it out. How you doing? MEGAN I'm a big fan. Megan Jetter. NOAH Oh, M-Maurice's sister? MEGAN His ex-wife. MEGAN Bye. NOAH Man, how'd you mess that up? MAURICE Long story, bruh. COTTON Mama, it is after midnight and you still up working? CARLOTTA Look, I got four months to make Gravity Records solid and make sure my artists don't lose their deals. Okay, Mateo can't wait for me to slip up. COTTON Yeah, like you did at Karma the other night, huh? Mama, this has got to stop. You got to take a break. CARLOTTA Would you quit playing? COTTON Mama, you been repping and running since Jahil passed. I just want you to get one good night's rest. You are all I have. Please, Mama. CARLOTTA Okay. Okay, baby. COTTON Mama, this let's get this out. JAHIL Get down! CARLOTTA Oh my god, you're hit. CARLOTTA STAR What's up, Maurice? Hey, Maurice! You don't see me right here? Why don't you tell all your little fancy friends how you feel so untalented that you got to steal from other people. MAURICE Yo, what the hell are you talking about? STAR You co-produced my song? MAURICE Yeah, I gave you the beat. I was behind the board. I positioned the release. I pushed you to get the lyrics out. STAR That's gonna cost me way too much. You not taking half my money. Noah, watch your back. MAURICE Yo, can you please escort her out? STAR When you take from me, you're taking from my baby now! JACKSON Now, come on. Forget this dude, come on. STAR Which means you're stealing from the wrong one, and you should know that by now! I'm good, Jackson. I can kick myself out. No, I'm good, I'm good. JACKSON What are you doing? STAR Touchdown, Maurice. JACKSON Come on. MAURICE Security, what am I paying you for? DEREK Hey. ALEXANDRA You were out late last night. Out playing cop again? You know that scares me. DEREK I was just hanging with my boys. But now I'm here. And that's all that matters. ALEXANDRA Good. DEREK No, no, no-no-no-no-no-no-no-no-no-no. ALEXANDRA It's Olivia. She wants to know if I want her to bring me a coffee. We're hanging out today, so. DEREK Tell her you don't need a coffee. I'm waking you up this morning. ALEXANDRA Okay. Well. DEREK Okay. ALEXANDRA I'm still gonna text her back. DEREK ALEXANDRA Look, she's still grieving her sister. All right. I get that she can be anxious, I still can too sometimes. DEREK I know, but she's like coming off way too strong. ALEXANDRA Really? DEREK Like. ALEXANDRA Yeah. Shh. DEREK Intensely. ALEXANDRA Yeah, it's okay. Why are we still talking about it? Hm? Come here. OLIVIA Why are we still talking about her? Derek, come here. NOAH All right, all right. It's a nice office, huh? Man, last night was crazy. MAURICE I love seeing my old team. I only get up with them cats once a year. NOAH No, I'm-I'm talking about Star. She went in on you. MAURICE She's got revisionist history. Bum her. Have a seat. I'm focused on the future. "Noah Brooks Night" at Karma is going to be the hottest night at the club. NOAH That's what I wanted to talk to you about. I-I was thinking we put that on hold until I get my next album going. MAURICE No, I need you on stage once a week. NOAH Look man, I didn't sign up to be no cash cow for Karma. You promised me creative freedom that I couldn't get at Gravity Records. MAURICE Oh, creative freedom is about what you sing. You got that, bruh. But I also need you to headline the club. NOAH You mean to tell me I traded in one plantation for another? You're trying to play me. MAURICE Now, you know it ain't like that, Noah. NOAH Come on. MAURICE Freedom comes at a price. ANDY CASSIE Ease up, Mike Mike. His ass ain't going nowhere. Plus, I need you to pick me up some cash and bring it back here, okay? MIKE MIKE What about him? CASSIE I got some time to babysit. MIKE MIKE All right. CASSIE Scream and see what happens, bitch. ANDY I'm not a snitch, Cassie. CASSIE I know you're not. 'Cause you not going to be around. Damn, I really liked you, Andy. I mean you could sing like a songbird, and your bed skills was on point too, but you had to mess that all up. ANDY I was just desperate. CASSIE Desperate. And now you done cost me my sister. I mean my own blood wants to destroy me all 'cause of you. ANDY I'm sorry. CASSIE Don't be sorry, 'cause once I clean this cash and get rid of yo' ass, I'm done with this life. I'm gonna be a whole new Cassie. ANDY I'm happy for you. CASSIE Good. ANDY Cassie, don't put that- CASSIE Babe. ANDY NINA Do we really need to be spending all of this money sponsoring Orange Night? MATEO Look, this is an introduction to Atlanta high society for us and our company. Hm? CARLOTTA Hey, can I talk to you guys for a minute? MATEO Yes, anything for Carlotta. You want to discuss why everyone is talking about how the head of Gravity Records lost it at a nightclub? CARLOTTA I'll get them talking about something else. A music and multimedia festival. Concerts, film screenings, exclusive parties. I'm calling it Rhythm & Bells. It's something I've been working on ever since we lost the tour. All I need is the perfect host. Now we already have Ryan French hosting Orange Night. His popularity and credibility bring numbers and gravitas to any event. He'd be the perfect person for Rhythm & Bells. MATEO Well, I hope so. Because your six month window is closing very fast. CARLOTTA Rhythm & Bells Fest is money in the bank. Trust me. MATEO For your job's sake, you better get it done. NINA Simone - wait up. You've been avoiding my calls. SIMONE Yeah, well, I saw that you and Mateo were kissing, so I guess you've just accepted whatever he had to say about that reporter. I just think you deserve better. NINA We are in an open relationship. But we do have rules and he broke them. SIMONE I'm sorry, I didn't mean to judge. NINA It's been a long time since I had a friend look out for me like that. I was actually calling about Orange Night. Mateo, he gave a ton of money to have us honored in front of Atlanta's elite crowd. And I want you to introduce us. SIMONE Me? NINA Mm-hmm. SIMONE Why? NINA For the exposure, I mean, you're the star of our first feature. SIMONE Yeah, but I-I don't do well speaking in front of people. I-I can't do this. NINA Just be that same badass that you were when you walked into that room and pitched yourself for the movie. I know you can do it. VALET On my way. CARLOTTA Ryan French, Carlotta Brown. Gravity Records. RYAN Oh, see my producer for bookings. CARLOTTA Uh, listen, actually I want to book you to be the official host of Gravity Media's winter festival. RYAN Gravity Media? Owned by Mateo and Nina Ferrera? Yeah, I'll pass. CARLOTTA Can I ask why? RYAN They slapped their logo all over my event, booked a performance for Take 3, and then invited all these industry folks. Orange Night is about keeping our children from dying. CARLOTTA Mateo likes to do things big. RYAN Yeah, well, it's shameless self-promotion. I create platforms to impact people's lives. CARLOTTA And that's what Rhythm & Bells is. Actually, Mateo changed the performance to Alex Crane. It's all about rising from the ashes. RYAN Alex Crane? Well, that's more appealing to me. CARLOTTA Listen, why don't you let me introduce you to him tonight? We'll see how it goes. RYAN Deal. CARLOTTA SIMONE I mean, y'all, I'm telling you this speech is long. MISS BRUCE What's the big deal, you sing on stage all the time. SIMONE This is different. STAR How? You don't even got to stay on key. MISS BRUCE Oh, she don't do that no way. SIMONE ALEXANDRA Don't even listen to her. STAR Carlotta, you get a chance to talk to legal yet about Maurice? He's taking money out of my pocket and I'm not. CARLOTTA Star, you gonna have to handle this yourself. STAR Okay. CARLOTTA Okay, look. We got a change of plan. Alex will be performing solo at Orange Night. SIMONE Wait, why just Alex? CARLOTTA I'm trying to land Ryan French to host the winter festival. The only way he'll sign on is if he believes that Gravity Media has a strong social impact. Alex has the strongest message. STAR The rich girl is going to sing about gun violence? ALEXANDRA Yeah, says ghetto Barbie. CARLOTTA Look, Alex, I know you've been writing and you've been journaling about your experience. Maybe it's finally time you show us what you've been working on. ALEXANDRA It's not ready. I'm not ready. STAR I stay ready. CARLOTTA This is not up for debate. Alex, you need to finish the song. And Star, you're benched this go-round. Are we clear? STAR Yep. I'll go get my money. Like I always do. ALEXANDRA And I got a song to write, like I always do. CARLOTTA I know it’s long, just all right. MISS BRUCE You all right, C? You need a little girl talk to take the edge off? CARLOTTA I'm fine, Bruce. Just close the door on your way out. MISS BRUCE All right, boss lady. NOAH Hey, you. STAR Hey. Maurice send you here to talk to me? NOAH No, I just left some things in the studio. He’s strong arming me, too. STAR Then walk away. NOAH STAR I’m serious, Noah. You just signed that contract. Find a way to unsign it. NOAH That’s easier said than done. What’re you gonna do? STAR I mean, you know me. NOAH STAR I’mma hit him where it hurts. I just got to find out what he cares about, other than himself. Which is a difficult task. NOAH Uh-huh. Yeah, I’ll see you later. STAR Be careful. MAURICE You always wanted to be your own boss. Congrats. MEGAN I said I wanted a lot of things. Some of it came true, some of it didn't. MAURICE Yeah, and I want to make that up to you. I know I messed up when I got injured. Football has been all I have for so long and then it was gone and. MEGAN And you tried to replace it with other women. MAURICE I'm sorry. The only reason why I'm a champion is because I never gave up on the game until I played every last play in the book. That hasn't changed. I need your respect back. Maybe that can start with dinner. MEGAN I am not ready for that yet. MAURICE Well, I'm here when you are. MEGAN CARLOTTA I understand but I need all the press around Orange Night to focus on Gravity Records' social justice impact. L-Let me call you back. What the hell they doing with Jahil's trailer? Excuse me, this is private property. W-What the hell are you doing? COTTON I told them to take it, Mama. Hanging onto the past ain't getting either of us anywhere. CARLOTTA You had no right to do that without asking me! Don't you touch that RV. DRIVER I'm just here to do my job, ma'am. CARLOTTA If you put your hands on that RV, I will rip you to pieces. I promise you that. Now get the hell off my property! COTTON Mama. ALEXANDRA Look, Olivia, I don't think we can really work on your music today, I'm sorry. OLIVIA Uh, are you kidding? I'm getting an up close and personal look at how Alex Crane writes a song. This is everything. ALEXANDRA OLIVIA Hey, D. What's up? DEREK Hey. I was, uh, I was trying to see if you want to grab something to eat. OLIVIA Oh, she can't. Carlotta gave her a solo at Orange Night. We have to write. DEREK Congratulations. ALEXANDRA Thanks. OLIVIA Aw, y'all cute or whateva. ALEXANDRA DEREK Can you give me a minute with my girl, please? OLIVIA Yeah, sorry. I'm being intense. ALEXANDRA It's okay. DEREK You don't even seem like you into it. ALEXANDRA I mean, I'm writing a song about the crash. And the pain and guilt from it, so yeah, it's weird. And I don't know if I'm ready for everybody to see that side of me. DEREK I mean, if anybody can do it, you can do it. ALEXANDRA It'll also really help if you and Olivia are there. DEREK Don't you think you're doing a little much with this Olivia girl? ALEXANDRA Why are you so worried? DEREK 'Cause I can be. Just be careful, okay. I got to go. But I'll be there to cheer you on. ALEXANDRA Okay. NOAH Uh, I'm sorry your-your assistant said I could come in. MEGAN I'm sure she did. Um, to what do I owe this surprise? NOAH Um, I was looking for some professional advice. MEGAN And you think I can help? NOAH Definitely. Um, I was hoping you could take a look at my contract with Karma. MEGAN Maurice's club. NOAH I need somebody who knows him. Like, knows his weaknesses. Because I feel like I'm getting the short end of this deal. Is that going to be a problem? JACKSON Star, you know I can't have you wildin' out like that anymore, now that you're pregnant. STAR First of all, I'mma do whatever I want. And just 'cause I'm pregnant doesn't mean I'm about to go soft on people. And last time I checked you don't make enough money to take care of a baby. So I kind of got to do what I got to do. JACKSON Okay. Well whatever you're doing I'm in. This is our baby. STAR All right. I got to find a way to get back into Karma. XANDER Mmm. CASSIE XANDER Now that is sexy. CASSIE It's a lot. I'm not in the mood, X. I'm not in the mood. Look, this is too much damn money. I'mma look suspect trying to clean all of this cash when you know I'm tryna go legit. XANDER Relax, babe. CASSIE I mean, can't I just pay you back for the loan you gave me to start the club? I mean, I can make that happen. I just need a second. XANDER Well you won't have to do that if you just clean this cash. CASSIE I said I was trying to go legit. Did you not hear that? XANDER Now, why are you trying to be somebody you're not, Cass? You're a thug. A cold-blooded killer. But you are who you are, and that's never gonna change. CASSIE Don't tell me who I am! I'm not cleaning your money. Get the hell out of my office and go back to your wife with your slimy lookin' ass. XANDER Okay. CARLOTTA This a work night. I can't pregame. MISS BRUCE Don't think I don't know you need this drink. That Mexican held your heart and your mind is messed up. CARLOTTA How many times I got to tell. MISS BRUCE I know, Peruvian, child. CARLOTTA Just I never imagined he wouldn't be around. I pray to God and ask why. But maybe it ain't for me to know as long as God knows. MISS BRUCE Yeah. See, I'm gonna say this with love and I ain't being funny. Bitch, you look tired. Promise me you you're gonna get some rest. You can't keep walking around with all this pain in you like that. You got to figure out how to release it. You ever thought about going to get some help? CARLOTTA Look, I told you I prayed about it. Okay? I'm good. At least I'm I'm getting there. MISS BRUCE All right. But right now we got to get you to this benefit. Get out of here and go murder them hos tonight. CARLOTTA You know it's a gun violence fundraiser, right? MISS BRUCE Uh, well I mean I don't mean murder, you know, I mean like go slay them hos. CARLOTTA Slay 'em? Can't even find a word. MISS BRUCE Bitch, just go get the trophy. CARLOTTA You know, thank you, baby. Thank you, I'm gonna go get that trophy and hopefully some money. JACKSON Lady Hulk is not letting us in the door. So let me go in first, I'll figure it out, and then I'll slip you in. What are you doing? What are you doing? STAR I'm not drunk! JACKSON Okay. STAR I told you I'm not drunk. JACKSON All right, you're not okay. STAR I'm not. JACKSON All right, all right, all right. STAR You never listen or we could just do that. CASSIE I want you to get on the first thing smoking and never show your ass in the A again. ANDY You gonna let me live? CASSIE This ain't about you, it's about me. There ain't no such thing as one kill before I go legit. Because if I were to do that, I would prove everybody right. But don't make me regret it. Old Cassie ain't far away. MATEO Have you landed Ryan French? CARLOTTA I'm gonna introduce you to him now. Now, you start the conversation about Rhythm & Bells Ryan. Mateo Ferrera. Mateo, Ryan. MATEO Hi, Ryan. Pleasure to meet you, man. This cause is very close to our hearts. RYAN Is it? Or does it fix your PR nightmare? What, Joyce Sheree pulls a gun on Star Davis and suddenly you're throwing money at Orange Night. MATEO No, we're trying to be part of the solution. CARLOTTA I'll try to smooth Ryan out after the performance. He's a big fan of Alex's, so hopefully her song can speak to him. DEREK Thank you. Hey, you know anything about Bankhead Crew? BARTENDER No. DEREK All right. JACKSON Why do I got to be the lookout? STAR 'Cause I know how to snoop. And I know what I'm looking for. Years in foster care. Plus, my daddy was a con, so I guess it's in my blood. JACKSON Please don't teach our kid that. STAR I'mma teach her whatever she needs to know to survive. JACKSON Listen, I know you feel like you can't count on anybody since Brody's gone and now Maurice but just just know that I got you. STAR You really felt like right now was the time for this conversation? JACKSON Damn. STAR I keep forgetting this fool won the Super Bowl. Gotcha, bitch. BRANDED GUY 1 Keep Bankhead out your mouth, bruh. BRANDED GUY 2 'Sup. BRANDED GUY 1 Come on, bruh. What's good? DISPATCH OLIVIA Hey. ALEXANDRA Hey, uh, have you seen Derek yet? OLIVIA I haven't seen him, but I got you all day. And I don't want you to think I'm coming on too strong or intense like he thinks. ALEXANDRA Why would you say that? OLIVIA I just feel like Derek doesn't get why we're so close. And, you know, I get it. He wants you all to himself. ALEXANDRA OLIVIA Here. SIMONE Welcome everybody. NINA There you are. Listen, Mateo had me rewrite the intro so as not to offend Ryan French. SIMONE No, no. NINA What? SIMONE I have this one memorized. NINA Breathe, Simone. It's okay, we don't have time to print it out, but the teleprompter's gonna guide you. SIMONE I can't read that. I'm gonna be sick. RYAN Welcome. Thank you for your support and attendance for the gun control issue in our state. You are twice as likely to get shot to death in Georgia than in New York. With a rate of 4.9 deaths per 100,000 residents, we must act now. CROWD Yes. RYAN Please allow a moment of silence for those we've lost to gun violence. Hope Dawson, LaVonda Finklea, Scott Marthone. JAHIL Get down! RYAN Jocelyn Shepherd. CARLOTTA Oh, my God, you're hit. RYAN Vesel. CARLOTTA Somebody call 9-1-1! Just push down on him. RYAN Norris Lowe. Dean Delawalla. Thank you. AUDIENCE CARLOTTA This is not what we had planned. MATEO Go fix it, please. ALEXANDRA What the hell was that? OLIVIA Oh, my God, I'm sorry. I-I thought I was helping you. Please don't be mad, are you mad? ALEXANDRA That was, that was messed up, but just don't cry, okay? OLIVIA I just knew you were nervous and. Me and Bianca, we used to do that sometimes. ALEXANDRA That was supposed to be my first solo performance. Just don't pull another stunt like that and and we're cool. OLIVIA Thanks. CARLOTTA Ryan. Ryan. RYAN You said Alex was gonna share her message. That's a PR stunt. CARLOTTA Listen. Rhythm & Bells will be different. RYAN Yeah, you said that about this. CARLOTTA It will be different because it-it's mine. Look, my life has not been easy. The love of my life died in my arms. Now the only way that I keep it together is by finding purpose in my work. We could do some real good with Rhythm & Bells. That's not who Mateo is. But it's who I am. RYAN And I'd only be working with you? CARLOTTA My word. RYAN I'm not making any promises. Let me check my schedule. Stop smiling. I'll be in touch. NINA I came here with my mother at age 10. I couldn't understand what the teacher was saying. It's okay; I get it. SIMONE Look, I'm not illiterate or anything like that. I'm just not good at it. And the teachers would just pass me on to be the next person's problem. NINA Well, let me help you. SIMONE No. Don't tell anyone. And don't tell Mateo. Or else he'll replace me in the movie and that's all I've got after Take 3. NINA But Simone, I. SIMONE I got to keep your secret. You can keep mine, too. STAR How much do you think we could get for it? Was he a good player? JACKSON Probably like, $50 grand. And after you pay me, you'll have a little left for studio time. STAR You are so bold, you know that? You finagled your way into this entire situation. JACKSON And you used my lips to get in the door. I feel violated. STAR Uh-huh. JACKSON Come on, you know we had fun on tour. And it wasn't just hooking up. STAR Okay. Tell that to the broken condom. MAURICE Aw, isn't this cute? I know you jacked my ring, Star. STAR Unless you brought your lawyer here to give me back my song rights, get out my yard. MAURICE Jackson, talk some sense into your girl. I don't want to call the cops, but I will. STAR Call the cops, Maurice. JACKSON Okay, listen, I'm not telling her anything 'cause she's right. But, we're gonna squash this here, no need for cops. MAURICE Yeah, good luck with all that crazy, homie. STAR Don't ever, ever take nothing out my hands again. You needed to stay in your lane. JACKSON Star, he probably has cameras all over his club. And what? The mother of my kid's gonna go to jail? Over something so stupid? We'll find another way. STAR We won't do nothing. There's no "we," Jackson. JACKSON Don't do this. STAR Good night. JACKSON Star. ANDY MIKE MIKE Yo. Hey, bitch. Where you think you're going? ANDY MIKE MIKE Damn. CARLOTTA Andy? What're you doing here? Oh, my God-- Oh! Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Come here. ANDY CARLOTTA What, what, what- What's the matter? What. ANDY I did what you told me to do. But I think Cassie. CARLOTTA It's o-it's okay, I got you now. Just, just hold on, I'm not gonna let nothing happen to you, okay? ANDY I'm gonna be all right? CARLOTTA Yeah, you're gonna be all right. I got you. I'm, I'm not gonna let you die, all right? Cotton, somebody! Call 9-1-1! I'll save you. I'mma save you. CARLOTTA Put some pressure on this. S-Stay down, baby. You okay, baby? CARLOTTA ANDY CARLOTTA It's gonna be all right. Andy? Andy. Andy. Come on, not again, not again, not again. Not again, not again. Oh Oh. EMT Coming through. You got it? STAR How did this happen? CARLOTTA Andy was into it with some bad people. And he didn't say anything until he was already drowning. I failed him. SIMONE No, you didn't, Miss C. ALEXANDRA Miss C. MISS BRUCE Is that Mateo? Tell that damn Latin dictator you ain't in a state of mind to be working. CARLOTTA It's okay. I got to meet, uh, Ryan at 300. And, and then I got to get ready for this big sponsorship meeting tomorrow. I'll be fine. COTTON No, Mama, you won't be fine. Look at you; you vibrating more than your phone is. CARLOTTA I got work to do. MISS BRUCE C. XANDER I don't treat you right. Never have. CASSIE Don't try to play me this morning, X. XANDER You always held me down. And I promised you the world and I gave it to somebody else. CASSIE You think I'm nothing. And you know what? Maybe I ain't. Maybe I am who I am. XANDER I'm sorry. CASSIE Keep your sorry. STAR Andy died last night. JACKSON I heard. STAR He had a silver spoon in his mouth and he still couldn't make his life perfect. Look, I get why you gave the ring back to Maurice. I just hate getting played. JACKSON I get it. You've lost a lot, Star. STAR But with this kid coming I can't afford to lose anymore. I got to stay on top, that's why I hustle so hard. JACKSON Or you could keep asking me for help. STAR Hmm. JACKSON I have a home studio. It's nothing special, but it works. STAR You're just now telling me this? JACKSON Yes, Miss No Handouts. Plus, I get to kick it with you. But if you don't want to. It's, you don't. STAR You talk so much. You know that? Let's try something. JACKSON What? STAR Let's see how long you can go without talking. JACKSON Right now? STAR Right now. MAURICE Mm-hmm, my man. NOAH All right, all right, what's up, baby? It's time to renegotiate my deal. All right, I'm only doing two shows a month at Karma and I need something bigger than your stage to make up for the international tour I lost. MAURICE Now, you got it all backwards, player. Negotiations end once you sign. NOAH That's funny, 'cause, m-my new lawyer seems to think otherwise. MEGAN If you can give my client what he wants, he's willing to compromise on some of these deal points that give him tremendous leverage. NOAH Mm. Got to love that leverage. MAURICE What the hell is this? MEGAN It's a preliminary meeting. To get past some of the awkwardness. MAURICE Can you excuse us for a minute, Megan? NOAH It's okay. MAURICE You sure you want to do this? NOAH Come on, man. This is strictly business. See, you could say no to me, but she She got your ass begging like Keith Sweat. And she fine. Real fine. Enjoy tonight! Yeah, thank you man. Yeah. ALEXANDRA Where have you been? I was worried, Derek. DEREK I got arrested. But before you freak out, sitting in that precinct got me thinking. I can't keep going like this. ALEXANDRA Look, I know you're trying to find the dude that hurt Ruby, but if you get hurt in the process- I can't lose anybody else. DEREK I'm done with it. ALEXANDRA You promise? DEREK I promise. ALEXANDRA CARLOTTA Oh. COTTON Mom, I'm not letting you stay up late working. Mama.