CYRUS is
escorting CAROLINE out of the hospital after DAN exploded earlier when seeing
her. Cyrus has stopped abruptly!
CYRUS
You're in
danger, Ms. Hart.
CAROLINE
Huh? What are you talking about?
CYRUS
I just had a
premonition.
CAROLINE
Excuse me?
CYRUS
I'm a
psychic. And you're in serious
trouble! I feel like something awful is going to happen to you.
CAROLINE
Are you
insane? If you don't get away from me in
five seconds, I'm going to report you to your supervisor.
CYRUS
Ma'am, I'm
only trying to help you.
CAROLINE
Help me? By scaring me to death? Look, I don't believe in psychics! Now if you would excuse me!
Caroline
exits the hospital.
As Caroline
exits the hospital she runs into long-time enemy, Paul Ramos.
PAUL
Well, well,
well! Look who we have here!
CAROLINE
Paul!
Paul grabs
Caroline by the neck. She gasps.
PAUL
Do you
realize that you made the biggest mistake of your life, Ms.Hart!
CAROLINE
Let me go.
You're hurting me.
PAUL
You don't
know the meaning of pain, Caroline!
He waves
MIRANDA's letter in front of her face.
PAUL (Cont'd)
Does this
letter look familiar to you?
CAROLINE
(Barely able
to breath)
No!
PAUL
No? I can refresh your memory if you'd like.
Just then
CYRUS walks out of the hospital. Paul quickly releases her and she falls back
into Cyrus' arms.
CYRUS
Ms.
Hart! Is everything all right?
CAROLINE
(Shaky voice)
Uh - yes, I'm
fine.
CYRUS
Are you sure?
CAROLINE
Yes! Look, I have a family situation I need to
deal with right now. Could you please go?
CYRUS
Sure.
CAROLINE
Thank you.
He walks back
into the hospital.
PAUL
Wise choice
not getting him involved.
CAROLINE
What do you
want, Paul?
PAUL
What do I
want! It's not what I want,
Caroline! It's what I didn't want! You have been making too much trouble for me
lately. I know you talked to Brett
Cooper and that’s why he didn’t sign the contracts with L&R.
CAROLINE
No, I didn't.
I swear, Paul! What are you talking about?
PAUL
Oh, yes you
did! Don't you lie to me! After all these years, you are still doing
everything you can to undermine my business and personal life.
CAROLINE
I have no
interest in your life whatsoever, Paul. Except for my nephew.
I hear the two of you have been having some trouble lately. I would hate to see you lose him forever.
PAUL
Are you
threatening me, Caroline?
CAROLINE
When are you
going to tell Dante that he’s adopted?
Don’t you think he has a right to know?
PAUL
Look,
sweetheart, don’t you even think about telling Dante that little secret or I'm
afraid you'll have to pay -- just like your sister did.
CAROLINE
What did you
say about my sister?
PAUL
You heard me.
Caroline
charges toward Paul with her fists.
CAROLINE
You son of a
bitch! I knew you killed her! You murderer!
I knew you killed my sister!
Paul grabs a
hysterical Caroline tightly.
PAUL
Shut up! Stop it!
Relax! I never said I killed
her! I said you're going to pay like she
did! And just think about this for a moment!
If I did kill Julia… It's been quite some time
now and I've never been accused! This would mean, I'm a man who has gotten away
with murder, wouldn't it? Who says I
can't do it again?
He pushes her
into the wall.
CAROLINE
You bastard!
PAUL
I hope I meet
you in a dark alleyway someday. You
better watch your back, sweet Caroline.
Paul walks
into the hospital. Caroline stands alone
and begins to cry feverishly.
BARBARA is
sitting in the living room when MANNY walks in, startling her.
MANNY
Hello there.
BARBARA
Damn! You scared the hell out of me. Who are you?
MANNY
I’m
Manny. And let me guess, you’re a friend
of Paul’s.
BARBARA
What’s it to
ya? What are you doing here? Are you one of the new landscapers?
MANNY
(laughs)
No. I’m family.
BARBARA
Family?
I’ve been dating Paul for four months now and he’s never mentioned a Manny
to me.
MANNY
Well, I’ve
been away from
BARBARA
Brother! Paul doesn’t have a brother. What’s going on here?
MANNY
I’m sure Paul
tells everyone he’s an only child. He
just says that to avoid talking about me at all. What is your name by the way?
BARBARA
I’m
Barbara. Barbara Whitman. So what are you saying, Manny? You and Paul don’t get along?
MANNY
That would be
an understatement. Paul and I have never
seen eye to eye on a lot of things. We
actually haven’t spoken in five years.
BARBARA
I see. And what made you suddenly return to
MANNY
(not wanting to get into it)
You know
what? I’d probably better be going. If you wouldn’t mind, don’t mention to Paul
that I was here.
BARBARA
You want me
to lie to Paul?
MANNY
Not lie. Just don’t say anything about seeing me
today. I want my return to be a surprise
for him.
BARBARA
I don’t think
I like the sound of that.
MANNY
I’m not back
here to start trouble with my brother, Barbara.
I promise you that. Now can you
keep this under wraps for me, just for a few days?
BARBARA
Alright.
I guess so. But if you make
trouble, you’re going to have to deal with me.
Got it?
ARDEN and
DANTE have just arrived.
Come on,
please be here.
DANTE
If you want
to give your brother my cell number to reach you, that’s okay.
Oh, I
couldn’t do that.
DANTE
Why not?
I’ve already
imposed on you enough. I don’t want to
use you any more than I already have.
DANTE
You’re not
using me. Any help I’ve given you has
been because…
Because
why? You’re not going to sleep with me,
Dante.
DANTE
Jesus, where
did that come from? Do you think that
all I’m after is a quick roll in the hay?
Trust me, I could get that from anyone.
Isn’t that
what all men want?
DANTE
Look, I’ve
had a few one-night stands in my life, but I’m not trying to get into your
pants. I just want to help. That’s all.
Dammit. He isn’t here again.
DANTE
He’s probably
at work. Can we stop by there?
I don’t know
which hospital he works at.
DANTE
He works at a
hospital? Is he a doctor?
Yes. Dr. Brian Morgan. I’m sure no one thought there would ever be a
doctor in my family.
DANTE
Why not?
You know, I
don’t really want to talk about it. I
appreciate the ride into the city and all, but you don’t have to stay with
me. I’ll be fine.
DANTE
But where
will you go? You said you had no money,
and we haven’t found your brother yet.
I’ll find
some place to stay. Don’t worry about
it.
DANTE
Why would you
make an offer like that to me? You don’t
even know me!
DANTE
I don’t
know. Something tells me I can trust
you.
You’re making
a big mistake, Dante, trusting me.
DANTE
Why would you
say something like that?
Look, I’ll
leave a note for my brother with your number.
Maybe he’ll call today and we won’t have to worry about the guesthouse.
DANTE
And if
he doesn’t call?
If he doesn’t
call, then I’ll accept you offer to stay in the guesthouse. But I don’t want to be a
mooch. Maybe I do something to
repay you.
DANTE
(laughs)
Hmmm.
I’ll have to think about that.
ANGELA has
just sat down at her desk when she sees an envelope that wasn’t there an hour
ago.
ANGELA
What’s
this? An envelope with
no name?
Angela opens
the envelope and pulls out a letter and beings reading.
ANGELA
Dearest
Angela. I have been watching you from
afar and I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to do that. Your beauty is overwhelming and I can’t get
enough of you. XOXO, Your beloved.
Angela puts
down the letter.
ANGELA
What the hell
is this all about?
Angela’s
phone rings and she picks up.
ANGELA
Dr. Givens.
DAMIEN
Hello
doctor. It’s your brother.
ANGELA
Damien, where
the hell have you been? I was about to
send out the dogs for you.
DAMIEN
I’ve been
busy, sis. You know how it is.
ANGELA
Oh no, please
tell me you are not in love yet again.
You only pull this disappearing act when you’re sleeping with
someone. Who is she?
DAMIEN
You think you
know me so well.
ANGELA
No, I know I
do. You know I’ll force it out of you so
you might as well spill it. And please
don’t tell me you’ve gone back to that Janette or whatever her name was. She was a total bimbo.
DAMIEN
I can’t say
anything right now, Angela. But when I
can you’ll be the first to know.
ANGELA
It’s not a
good sign if it has to be a secret.
DAMIEN
Just for
now. But she’s not like any other women
I’ve ever dated before. That’s all I can
say.
ANGELA
Fine, keep
your little secret. But stay out of
trouble, okay?
DAMIEN
I’ll do my
best.
DANTE and
ARDEN have just returned from
DANTE
Dad!
PAUL
Hello
son. I see you’ve found a new friend.
DANTE
Dad, this is
Hi.
PAUL
It’s lovely
to meet you, Arden. I hate to do this,
but would you excuse us for just a minute.
I need to have a word with my son.
Sure. It’s no problem. I’ll be upstairs.
PAUL
Thank you.
DANTE
What is it,
Dad? I’m not up for another fight with
you.
PAUL
Dante, we
need to finish our discussion. I had a
talk with Barbara this morning and she made me think that maybe I’ve been too
hard on you.
DANTE
You’re
kidding, right? This is some kind of
trick?
PAUL
This is no
joke.
DANTE
Then remind
me to thank Barbara. She must be a
miracle worker.
PAUL
Well, before
you get too excited, I’m not giving up on my dream to have you work at L&R
with me.
DANTE
Then what are
you saying?
PAUL
I’m saying
that I’m willing to make you a deal.
I’ll give you six months to either enroll back in college or to come
work for me.
DANTE
Six
months? You’re giving me six months of
freedom and then I have to do whatever you want? That’s no deal, Dad. What’s in it for me?
PAUL
As you know,
you don’t inherit your trust fund until you turn 25, which is three years
away. And I’m afraid if I don’t see you
doing something constructive with your life six months from today, then I’m
going to have to cut off your expense account.
DANTE
What? You’re going to cut me off?
PAUL
I feel it’s
for the best. You have no direction,
son. You need my help.
DANTE
Like hell I
do. I should have known there was no
deal. This is blackmail, Dad. Plain and simple.
PAUL
Call it what
you like. You’re on the clock,
Dante. It’s time to make some decisions.
DANTE
I’m not going
to let you blackmail me into doing what you want, Dad. You can forget it about.
PAUL
I would think
about my offer before you made any hasty decisions.
DANTE
I guess
Barbara isn’t such a big miracle worker after all.
PAUL
She is, but
in other ways.
DANTE
Are the two
of you actually a real couple? Doesn’t
she know what kind of man you are?
PAUL
Barbara is
the fist woman I’ve truly been interested in seeing in a very long time.
DANTE
Someone
should warn her to run for her life. Before you take it over.
PAUL
You have such
a bad impression of me.
DANTE
I have a
lifetime of experience, Dad. This blackmail scheme fits right in with all the other BS
you’ve pulled.
PAUL
Son, it would
mean everything to me if you came to work with me. Just think about it.
Damien walks
in.
DAMIEN
Oh, hi. Mr. Ramos, how are you?
PAUL
Hello
Damien. I haven’t seen you in a
while. How’s that sister of yours?
DAMIEN
She’s good.
PAUL
Excellent.
Well, I better get going. Why
don’t you boys come up to the house for dinner tonight? Barbara and I would enjoy the company.
DANTE
No thanks,
Dad.
DAMIEN
I have plans
already, Mr. Ramos. But thanks.
PAUL
Alright.
I will see you soon, Damien.
Dante, give my offer some serious thought. And enjoy your new friend.
Paul leaves.
DANTE
Ugh. That man infuriates me.
DAMIEN
What else is
new?
DANTE
And get this,
you know my dad’s new girlfriend, Barbara?
DAMIEN
Yeah.
DANTE
I think he’s
actually into her. If I didn’t know any
better, I’d think they were in love.
DAMIEN
In
love? They’re not in love.
DANTE
What do you
know about?
DAMIEN
Oh,
nothing. Just doesn’t sound like your dad. That’s all.
ANGELA is
walking to her car when she hears footsteps behind her. She turns around but doesn’t see anyone.
ANGELA
Hello? Is anyone there?
Angela turns
back around and heads for her car.
ANGELA
(to herself)
You’re
hearing things girl. Just get in your
car and drive home.