[knock on door]
Hey, Smitty.
What are you doing here? Where's Aunt Nicole?
I was dropping stuff off for cotillion,
and since Nicole's not around, I was gonna leave her a note.
Okay, boomer, why not just text her?
You are giving me the same grief I get from my kids.
Including the boomer comment.
Well, if the antiquated mindset fits...
What can I say? I'm old-fashioned in some ways.
[chuckles] I suppose a writer actually taking time
to write a note makes sense.
Putting pen to paper is a dying art, and I wish to preserve it.
I bet Aunt Nicole appreciates all your efforts.
I'm here on a drop-off mission myself.
Paperwork for the Dupree Heritage Foundation grant
I helped one of my clients apply for.
But now you got me feeling like leaving it here
without a note is impolite somehow.
Here. Why don't you give me a piece of paper,
and I will write a note to Aunt Nicole myself?
Samantha, I'm sorry you feel like
I keep letting you down, but I can't give you what you want.
Why would you do that?
You know June wouldn't have ran out of here like that
if she wasn't crying or something.
Bully much?
What on earth did I just walk in on?
Madison, do you have a couple minutes?
Sure. I'm on my break, so chat away.
I was just wondering how your Parkinson's research is going.
Incredible. I'm learning a ton.
And there's some brain protein research
that is absolutely mind-blowing.
And there's a good chance we'll be able to start
a clinical trial by the end of the year.
Wow.
Okay. I had no idea.
The team's making progress much faster than any of us expected.
And how would a patient get chosen for this trial?
Oh, well, that's complicated.
There's a whole stack of paperwork,
plus a full workup to see if the disease
is still in an early enough stage
for the treatment to actually help.
Right.
And if the patient had a connection
to an employee at Garland,
would that be a conflict of interest,
or would they still be eligible?
Is this about Grayson's mother? You've mentioned her before.
Yeah, it is. No pressure.
I just, um, you know, I wanted to get an idea
of how this all works.
Excuse me. Are you Dr. Madison Montgomery?
Yes. Can I help you?
You've been served.
♪ ♪
Uh, I asked Caroline to retrieve
this volume from the law library.
How come you're the one who brought it?
Well, I decided to relieve your very busy assistant
of this task so I'd have an excuse to come
say hi to my handsome husband.
Well, I hope you don't feel that you need an excuse
to come and talk to me about anything, good or bad.
You know, if something or someone
is causing you trouble,
I'd want to hear about it right away.
Everything's wonderful as far as I'm concerned.
Our future is looking brighter than ever.
Hope I'm not interrupting.
Oh, no, of course not, sweetheart.
I was just telling Hayley she's always welcome in my office.
-Same goes for my daughters. -The more the merrier.
Good, because there's something you need to see.
The bookings for Heart Attach are up over last month,
and I expect next month to be even higher.
Hmm.
I guess I should've put a woman in charge
of that business a long time ago.
This woman at least.
You know, you do have a knack for marketing
to female customers.
You have female customers in all your businesses.
Think about how much more money you could be making
if you let me get involved in them, too.
Are you sure you want that?
I mean, you're just dating me
and running one of my legitimate businesses,
and that's caused a huge rift between you and your friends
and you and your children.
Leave my family and friends to me.
You have been finding one excuse after another
to business-block me for months.
I may have to use all my seductive powers
to convince you to see things my way.
Well, far be it from me to stop you from trying.
[phone buzzes]
Business. Sorry. I have to take this.
Never apologize for keeping your eye on the prize.
Boss. I wanted to make sure you, uh...
Hi, Lynette.
The listing agent with the Logan Circle penthouse
can show us the property this afternoon if you're free.
Wonderful. I'll text you the address and see you soon.
Okay, bye.
Oh.
Hey, Randy. And, Joey,
uh, we'll pick up where we left off when I get back.
I'll hold you to it.
Lynette is shopping for penthouses now?
Where did that sneaky link of yours find that kind of money?
I am not so old-school that I carry around my own paper.
There you go.
This is a prescription pad.
I guess I should've looked at it more closely.
No, I should've known better than to ask you for paper.
In my experience, men carry as little as possible.
I cannot tell you how many times Jacob has asked me
to stash his things in my purse when we go out.
So much for old-school. I'll just shoot Aunt Nicole a text.
[phone buzzing]
I should do that, too, so I can deal with this.
-All right. See you later, Naomi. -See you.
Hey, what's up?
Smitty, I need your help. Can you meet me at the hospital?
I think I can do that.
Stop fighting me on this. This is something that I have to do,
but it's only gonna work if you do your part.
Okay, then. Thanks for trusting me on this.
Vodka soda, please.
Sneaky link. All right, Joey,
you are invited to the cookout.
But I don't know where Lynette gets her money from.
All right? She must have something socked away.
But it can't be much. Bill took on her case pro bono.
Bill charges an arm and two legs.
I'm sure a lot of folks can't afford his rates.
Yes, but Bill and his wife have been paying
for Lynette's hotels.
Now, I know I don't pay you enough to afford
a penthouse in that neighborhood, so that's out.
So, odds are,
her and your good buddy Hayley Hamilton
is footing the bill for Lynette Wise's luxurious new digs.
Which means...
Bill...
is actually paying the bills.
I suppose.
Well, the, the attorney esquire is convinced that Lynette
is victimizing his wife.
If she's hunting for apartments on the Hamilton dime,
that lends credence to his suspicions.
Forgive me, but I've never seen Hayley as one with
too much of the milk of human kindness.
So whatever Lynette is holding over her head,
it's big.
Don't worry. I would never expect you
to have the good sense to tell me what that is. It's okay.
I love a good puzzle.
This is better than sudoku.
I'm being sued for medical malpractice.
Well, that has to be a mistake.
You are meticulous about patient care.
I don't even know who this patient is.
No, I've certainly never treated them.
Well, maybe it's all a mistake.
Naomi. Oh, thank God you're here.
I need an emergency legal consult.
What happened?
Can a doctor be sued for malpractice
by a complete stranger?
Well, we live in a litigious society
in which anybody can sue anyone for anything, so yes,
but it's very unlikely they'll win.
Here.
Jurisdiction...
Where's the para on violation of the duty of care?
Okay, the basis of this claim is certain statements
made on a website owned by a Willow Adams.
Do you know anybody by that name?
That's my mother.
Samantha just high-key guilt-tripped June.
SAMANTHA: I-I didn't mean to.
How do you think she would feel after you just
ripped her to shreds?
I wasn't, I wasn't thinking.
I just-- It just, it just came out.
Tyrell, go check on your mother. I'll talk to your sister.
Am I a really terrible person?
Of course not.
But you are gonna need to help me understand.
It's not like you to go off on your mother,
least of all in a public place. What happened?
I'm not, I'm not really sure.
One minute, I'm asking her to go to my cotillion again,
and she said no again.
And next thing I-I know,
all these emotions that I didn't even realize
that-that were there, they just came... pouring out.
Can you give those emotions a name?
Disappointment and...
okay, maybe some anger.
Both of those make sense.
Anybody who went through what you did as a kid
would have emotional scars.
And they can show up in a variety of ways.
I thought that I had made peace with my mother giving us up.
I understand that she felt like it was the only choice
that she had and that she did it for us.
That's right.
And you forgave her for that.
Well, there are a lot of people in your shoes
that wouldn't have been able to do that.
But...
now that she's back in my life,
I want her to be a part
of the most important moments in my life.
And when she doesn't, it...
...it just feels like I'm being abandoned all over again.
Oh, sweetie, you are absolutely not being abandoned.
That will never happen again. I swear.
[chuckles]
Congratulations, sweetheart, on officially
signing the deal with Fenmore's.
I am so proud of Naomi's work on this agreement.
It's watertight.
I mean, and to think, in one year ChelseaKat has gone
from a spark in your and Kat's eyes to a line of accessories
that will be available at every branch
of a major department store and on their website.
HAYLEY: Congratulations, Chelsea.
Fenmore's a great store.
I love shopping there.
Oh, and your father and I
would love to take you to dinner sometime to celebrate.
Well, any celebration about ChelseaKat
would have to involve Kat, and, Dad,
I know that things are a bit tense
between her and you right now,
so for the sake of family harmony,
I'm gonna pass on dinner.
Well, I just wanted to be supportive.
No, Hayley. It was kind of you to offer.
[phone buzzes]
Hey, Madison.
MADISON: Hey. I-I don't want to freak you out, but
we might have to postpone the wedding.
Why? What's happened?
Do you not want to marry me anymore?
No, of course I do. I just...
I just don't see a way around it.
Okay, just take a breath and tell me what's going on.
I'm being sued for medical malpractice,
which I'm absolutely not guilty of.
But when we get married,
our assets will be community property.
So, if I lose, you could end up losing everything, too.
We are not postponing anything, okay? Just chill, babe.
I know exactly how we should handle this.
You got here fast.
I was in the area.
What was so important that you needed an unscheduled meeting?
I risked coming to the hospital because I wanted to figure out
what's going on with Grayson.
He refused to meet with me.
He said something about people getting suspicious,
but when I asked him for details, he hung up.
[footsteps approaching]
-June, are you feeling better? -[sighs]
I'm okay.
Samantha spoke her truth to me.
And it may hurt a little,
but it's better than a lie.
Why are you crashing out over cotillion?
It's not that big of a deal.
I get that you may not care about it,
but why can't you respect the fact that I do?
NICOLE: Each of you needs and wants different things.
You need to find a way to reconcile them.
By upsetting June for no good reason?
By talking through things together.
Is she trying to shrink our heads?
[laughter]
Your heads are just fine.
I do think you need help with your communication skills.
You're a family, but because you spent so much time apart,
you lost the ability to talk to each other.
I think you need to find it.
Grandma has a point.
What we're doing right now isn't working.
I think the stress of cotillion is forcing you to deal with
unresolved trauma from your past.
Cotillion is supposed to be a positive experience,
not traumatic.
You said that you were worried that you would embarrass us.
It's not like you're gonna have to do the foxtrot.
All you got to do is sit there. There's nothing hard about that.
But, baby, I-I don't think you're hearing
what I'm, what I'm saying or-or what I mean to say.
Wait. Um...
I want to get this communication thing right.
I'd like to speak to my kids alone, if that's okay?
Of course.
And I have full confidence that the three of you
will work through this.
Okay. Um...
Samantha.
Here's why there's nothing easy
or simple about me going to your cotillion.
Grayson, I'm sorry you felt so crappy,
you had to leave work early.
Listen, I was, um, I was just talking to Madison
about her Parkinson's research,
and I know you haven't had a chance to speak with her yet,
but I really think you should tell her about your mom.
I think she might be able to help.
Oh. Well, here's hoping you just
ate something that disagreed with you and...
you feel well enough to come back to work tomorrow.
Call me if you need anything, okay?
Yeah. See you soon.
I bet you anything Grayson's not sick.
He just told her that for a cover story.
Meanwhile, he left the hospital
for the same reason he's avoiding me.
I think I found some information
that'll help us pinpoint exactly
who it is Grayson's trying to avoid.
What is this?
I'm sorry to be dumping this on all of you.
No, no, no. Think nothing of it.
It's just one of the advantages
of marrying into a family of lawyers.
What do you think?
That it's more complicated than it appears.
So you're worried, Naomi?
No, but I think Dad would agree we need
-to be cautious in our approach. -[phone chimes]
Well, I am going to leave you lawyers to do your thing.
And listen, Madison, I am so sorry
you have to deal with this.
There is a special place in hell for scammers.
Agreed.
Okay. Well, now, Madison,
please tell us how this all came about.
My mother posted on her blog that garlic and ginger
were natural ways to treat a fever
and that her neurologist daughter
Madison Montgomery endorsed that treatment.
-And did you? -No.
All I did was admit during one of our many arguments
that some people use them as remedies.
I never said they were effective treatments.
I recommend medication for all of my patients who have fevers.
Unfortunately, a woman read the blog
and tried to treat her child's high fever
with garlic and ginger.
CHELSEA: Oh, no.
The child went into septic shock and nearly died.
Turns out, the fever was a result
of an untreated infection.
Okay, so she claims that she relied
on statements that you allegedly made,
to her detriment.
And suffered damages accordingly.
If I'm found liable, I could lose my research fellowship,
maybe even my medical license.
I've worked my whole life to get here. Losing my career...
It would devastate her, Dad.
[sighs] Well, based on my experience,
there's a simple way to make all this go away.
Baby, it warms my heart
that you want me to attend your cotillion.
But I don't think you've thought it through
how me being there will reflect on you and your brother.
You remember how that Francesca girl accused you
of not having home training because I was homeless?
I'm not about to let that incredibly basic Chessy
run my life, and neither should you.
I get that you're worried that you won't fit in,
but going to country clubs and all that stuff,
it-it's something that you learn.
Tyrell and I both did it, and you can, too.
If that's the issue,
I can show you which forks to use.
It's a system behind it,
but it's easy enough to figure out.
SAMANTHA: Yeah, yeah, and-and I can
buy you, like, the most perfect dress.
Oh, my God. You're gonna look so beautiful all dressed up.
To you, maybe.
But I am sure that bigmouth girl
opened her big mouth and told everybody all about me.
And for those who haven't heard, they'll just look at me.
Hear how I talk and...
...see an addict.
A bum.
That's not who you are.
To a lot of people, baby, that's all I'll ever be.
[crying]: And I am sure
that if I show up to that cotillion,
that all those fancy people at that country club are just...
They're not gonna see you two as Duprees.
They're gonna look at my beautiful, wonderful babies
as trash.
And I love you too much to let that happen.
I'm not rejecting you.
I'm not abandoning you.
I'm protecting you.
Thank you for rescuing me from an impromptu visit
from both of Bill's annoying daughters.
Didn't you used to be friends with one of them?
Don't remind me. All those Hamiltons are work.
Well, here's a little something else for you to work on.
I just found out that Lynette
has no intention of leaving town.
As a matter of fact,
she hired Vanessa to help her find an apartment.
What? That bitch promised to leave if I paid her off.
Word? A blackmailer lying?
Now, who could've seen that coming?
All you did by paying her off
was make her bolder than she was before.
Now she knows she's got you where she wants you.
I don't even want to think about how much
this is gonna cost me.
I overheard Vanessa mention something about a, a penthouse
in Logan Circle, so I imagine a lot.
I could wring Lynette's lying ass.
No, coz.
Let me handle Lynette, all right? I got a better idea.
How can I make this go away?
Offer the plaintiff a generous settlement to drop the case.
You're suggesting paying this woman off?
It's called a settlement, and it's done all the time.
Look, we could move to have this obviously bogus suit dismissed,
but getting a decision could take months.
And if you lose, then you're looking
at what could be years of litigation.
Hmm? And in the meantime you think that this plaintiff
won't be making videos and sobbing
to every podcaster that she can find?
And, hey, listen, Madison is right
to be concerned about even a baseless lawsuit like this one
that could damage her reputation.
You know, it's better to nip this in the bud.
The research I'm doing is at the forefront of the field.
Journal editors will be reaching out.
Foundations will want to partner.
We're already being mentioned in policy circles.
No, I-I can't put this work in jeopardy.
A malpractice suit?
That would make me look less than credible
and undermine the whole project.
Well, there you go. Settlement's your best option.
Mm...
I disagree.
I mean, the facts are on Madison's side.
This woman chose to get medical advice from a random blog
instead of taking her child to a doctor.
Any jury would find her
unsympathetic if not outright negligent.
BILL: Hey, you got a lot more faith in juries than I do.
I've seen them go along with all sorts
of far-fetched arguments.
You know, Madison-- she could be taking a big risk here.
My way minimizes that.
And encourages baseless litigations.
Nuisance lawsuits like this are basically
a legalized version of a shakedown.
And if you give in to it,
you're only incentivizing people to file more of them.
Not to mention, settling could look like
an admission of guilt.
Look, if the plaintiff wanted to right a wrong,
she would have sued Madison's mother, too.
I mean, she's the one who put out the statement.
Yeah, no, this is about money, pure and simple.
You pay, they go away.
If Madison wins in court, her name would be cleared.
And a sympathetic witness, which a mother
and her sick child most definitely are,
can knock even the best legal arguments
out of a jury's head.
All right? And plus we're forgetting
the-the personal element here.
You know, this is gonna be hard to fight
if your mother insists that you actually made those statements.
Madison, your mom will back you up, right?
My mother hears what she wants to hear.
She probably thought that's what I was saying.
Whatever you want to do, you've got my support.
How do you want to handle this?
Deanna.
Sorry, your mother's not here.
I'm glad, because I wanted to talk to you alone.
Well, you've already made your opinion of me very clear.
I don't know what else we have to talk about.
Just this.
Stay the hell away from my mother.
Hi.
So... what are you up to today?
[scoffs]
Um... nothing that's any of your business.
Unless you're wondering if I have the time to listen
to an apology for you walking out on Joey and me,
in which case my calendar's free.
I am not going to apologize
for trying to give my best friend a reality check.
If you are referring to the choices I've made
and their consequences, I am very well aware of those.
I don't need criticism and condescension.
I don't need you to act like my mother.
I need you to be a supportive friend.
And if you can't be that...
...we have nothing to say to each other.
This picture-- it's a list of Grayson's colleagues at the lab.
We know his boss in the plasma ring is a woman.
And so one of these female lab employees,
they might be the higher-up in the red market organization
that can bust this whole thing wide open.
And how did you get the name, Smitty?
We agreed you wouldn't do any investigating
-until you talked to me first. -There wasn't any time.
I saw an opportunity, and like any good reporter, I took it.
So what the hell did you do?
I can't have heard you right.
You are not about to end a decades-long friendship
over a tense double date.
It was more than that to me.
And the fact that you don't get that says a lot, doesn't it?
You should understand by now how much Joey means to me.
I am very well aware of that.
After all, if you are willing to prioritize a man
that you have been seeing for months
over people who have loved you for years,
including your children,
then obviously you have made him your priority.
I don't like the judgmental tone in your voice.
This is not judgment.
This is me watching my best friend come perilously close
to sacrificing everyone who has mattered to her.
In your judgment.
For a man she has only known for a matter of months.
For a man I love!
You used to know what it felt like to love a man that much.
But I guess now...
I'm the one in a committed, monogamous relationship.
For a change.
You know, what-what really hurts...
is, you didn't even try to be polite to Joey at dinner.
I did try, but then he started
insulting Carlton and all plastic surgeons.
And need I remind you, the father of my children
is a plastic surgeon?
Or are you and Joey on the same page about that as well?
Of course not.
But I think Joey only lashed out because you were acting like
you were better than him.
I absolutely did not.
You may not have even realized you were doing it.
A little Dupree can't help coming out every now and then
when you're dealing with someone
from the other side of the gates.
Joey may not have the education and pedigree
of you and your two doctors with benefits,
but he loves me fiercely.
That is all that matters.
You don't know me very well, Deanna.
But I don't take orders from anyone.
Now, I understand you're going through a rough time.
It's difficult for you to see your mother
with someone other than your father.
But that doesn't give you the right
to dictate her personal life.
Now, you wouldn't appreciate it if she tried to keep you
from seeing someone that you cared about, would you?
She'd have no reason to.
Every guy I've dated has been a college student like me.
And I hope she would step in if she felt that
I was being drawn to someone who's...
...unsuitable.
[scoffs] You know, I think if you got to know me better,
you'd see that your mother and I are actually very suited.
For instance, we're both entrepreneurs.
I may be young, but I'm not an idiot.
Everyone in the DMV knows exactly
what kind of entrepreneur you are.
Rumors.
They can be very ugly
and often baseless things.
How would you feel if someone judged you
based on what they've heard?
Now, you must love your mother very much
to be so protective of her.
But you don't have anything to worry about from me.
I adore everything about her.
Her intelligence, her zest for life,
the way she fights for the people that she cares about.
I would never do anything to hurt her or what she's built.
Don't condescend to me.
I wouldn't dream of it.
But I understand why you're concerned.
Talk is cheap. So how about this?
What do you say if I prove to you who I really am?
Tyrell.
-Girl stuff, right? -Yeah.
June... I'm so sorry that people
have been so cruel and judgmental to you.
Maybe you're right.
Maybe people at the club will think less of me
and Tyrell when they see us with you.
But who cares?
Later for them. I don't need snobs like that in my life.
I know you're in the running to be platinum debutante.
I wouldn't want to be the reason you lose.
Having you there
is way more important to me than a title.
I am so proud
that you are my mother.
I am so sorry if I haven't said it enough
or shown it in other ways.
You made an incredible sacrifice
so me and Tyrell can have a wonderful life.
Cotillion is my chance to show you some
of those opportunities that you gave me.
I want this to be a celebration
with all the people that made me into the person that I am today.
It wouldn't feel right if you weren't there.
If this is what you really want...
...then I wouldn't miss it for the world.
Come here, baby. Come here.
it could make things worse between me and my mom.
I'd essentially be blaming her for misquoting me.
But settling would make it seem like
I'm admitting to something I didn't do.
I'm gonna fight.
So I guess that means I'm going with Naomi's strategy.
But I very much appreciate your advice, Bill.
And I'd be happy to represent you, Madison.
Well, let me be cocounsel.
You know, don't get me wrong, Naomi is an amazing lawyer,
but I suspect that the attorney who agreed to file
this sham of a lawsuit is somewhat less than scrupulous,
and it'll be to your advantage to have someone on your side
who's willing to fight dirty if necessary.
Do not worry, Madison. Everything will be aboveboard.
And it would be an advantage to you.
And a nice change of pace for us,
for Dad and me to be working for you as a team.
Yeah, something I've always dreamed about.
And it's probably the only time it'll ever happen.
Oh, the two great Hamilton legal minds working together.
How can we lose?
I could use all the help I can get.
I am incredibly grateful to you both for having my back.
Of course we do. You're family.
Your attempt to handle Lynette by handling
her private parts seemed to have made her
even more determined to stick around.
She mentioned my skills?
[laughs] What can I say?
I've always had a way with the ladies.
Yeah, in your mind.
But need I remind you that, to Lynette,
you're just another mark?
Relax, coz. When it comes to her, I have no illusions.
Sure, hooking up with Lynette was great,
but now that she's crossed the line,
I see I have to resort to less...
pleasant tactics to get her back in line.
You know what? I'm gonna take you up on your offer
to prove yourself to me.
Good.
And I know that that doesn't happen in an instant.
It's gonna take a little time for us to
get to know each other, get to trust each other.
There's one thing you can do immediately.
What's that?
Show me that you're an honest person
by telling me the truth about one thing.
[laughs]
How would you know that I am telling the truth?
I'm an excellent judge of character.
Oh, a human polygraph.
Okay. What is it?
It's a simple yes or no question.
Were you and my mom having an affair
before my dad died?
I found myself alone in Nicole's office,
and I stumbled on the password to the hospital server.
You found yourself alone? You stumbled on the password?
You really expect me to believe any of this was accidental?
-Okay, then it wasn't. -This isn't a game.
You need to be careful for a reason.
I was.
Look, Jacob, I get you not wanting me
to do anything dangerous on my own,
but Nicole is not somebody we have to worry about.
We know that she's not involved with this.
Well, she is now because of you. Damn, Smitty.
Why would you drag your mother-in-law into this?
Give me some credit, Jacob.
I knew that Nicole, for a fact, was not at the hospital.
So, this was not a risk for her or for me.
And I closed the software program
as soon as I took that picture.
She's not even gonna know that I was there.
Hi, this is Dr. Dupree.
Uh, did you happen to send somebody to my office
to update software
or make any other adjustments to my computer?
Today.
Well, a program is open on my computer
that was improperly shut down and one I never use.
If it wasn't I.T., then...
I think somebody has managed to gain access to my computer.
If they weren't after patient data,
what were they looking for?
That's the million-dollar question.
I'm the one in charge. I have the authority.
So, no more going off the script.
The results are in on whether the chemo is working.
I'm worried about how mother will react
if the news isn't good.
Just deal with her, and fast. I'll handle Bill.
My answer's no.
I am not having an affair with your father.
I'm sure Hayley thought the same thing until yesterday.
What are you talking about?
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