EPISODE 361
Written by: Bre L Drew
October 1, 2025
Last Time on Town and Country
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Jacques and Aaliyah found themselves growing closer as the struggles in Jacques' marriage to Emma intensified.
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Tommy witnessed Courtney spontaneously embrace Jacques.
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Tricia asked Samuel to have an informal therapy session with Jolene to deal with her years of abuse from Wade.
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Mala wasn't thrilled to hear from Jai that Samuel had developed feelings for Jes, stating she would have to talk to him herself.
COVINGTON GROUP
The afternoon finally arrives on this weekday, and employees throughout Covington Tower in downtown Radcliffe descend to their various destinations for lunch. Meanwhile, Aaliyah Gupta takes a strong sip of her energy drink at her desk outside her boss’s office while typing enthusiastically on her computer. Given the importance of the task, it seems she will be here through lunch.
Seconds later, Jacques Laurent steps out of his office in one of his signature tailored suits—worn with a style that makes him stand out. Aaliyah notices, not only as a recovering designer but also as a woman, though she mentally shakes her head at that thought for obvious reasons.
“Look, I know I can be demanding at times, but I didn’t know I’d drive my assistant to do that,” Jacques says in his notable French accent.
“Do what?” Aaliyah asks, puzzled.
He nods toward both her canned energy drink and the bag of baked potato chips lying on her desk.
“Venturing to the vending machine, really?” he says, half-kidding, half-deprecating.
“Is that a hint of snobbery I detect in your voice?” Aaliyah counters. “Just because it isn’t a lunch from The Chateau doesn’t mean it can’t satisfy you.”
“I highly doubt it.”
A chuckle escapes from Aaliyah’s mouth, which makes Jacques laugh too—just as Jes Choudhury approaches in a copper satin button-down skirt with a black pencil skirt and a black blazer paired with a purse in hand.
“What’s going on here?” Jes asks, drawing both Jacques and Aaliyah’s attention and slowly breaking the amusement.
“Oh, I was just, uh, confronting Jacques’ preconceived notions about items from the vending machine,” Aaliyah explains to the woman who has been her lifelong family friend, though never particularly close, leaving her to wonder, what is she doing here?
“And I was rebutting,” Jacques adds smoothly.
Jes notices something more between them but tucks the suspicion away for now.
“I just came all the way up here to see if you were interested in going out to lunch,” she says.
Aaliyah looks from her boss to Jes. “As much as I’d like to, I have plenty of work to get done.”
Jacques clears his throat with practiced charm. “Well, what if you were freed from the shackles of paperwork? So be it. And if it pulls you away from those snacks—another plus, as you Americans say.”
Aaliyah shrugs, not exactly enthusiastic, but she complies. “Okay.”
Also on the twentieth floor down the hall, inside Courtney Covington Sullivan’s spacious office suite, she and her younger brother, Tommy Covington, sit on opposite sides of her desk, going over business regarding one of the company’s developments.
“I’ll make sure the crew gets that particular note,” the young male executive says while punching the reminder into his iPad.
“Okay then,” the female CEO states.
Tommy looks up from his tablet, letting a lighter moment slip in between them. “So, how’s being a mom going?”
Knowing instantly he’s talking about the fact that her teenage stepson Evan has come to live with her and Steven,
Courtney raises her brows. “Well, it’s not what I bargained for, and it’s certainly an adjustment, but only time will tell,” she says, doing her best to sound optimistic.
“But?” Tommy interjects, knowing his big sister too well to miss that she’s holding something back.
Courtney straightens in her chair and then speaks. “Let’s just say he’s not the adorable little boy I first met all those years ago. Now he’s this surly teenager.”
“Well, that sounds like how I was at that age—and about a million teenage boys around the world,” Tommy says.
Courtney gestures with her hand to indicate she’s already said something like that before, about her brother’s past behavior reminding her of her husband’s child.
“Well, good luck to you then,” Tommy adds.
Courtney tucks strands of her brown hair behind both ears. “Speaking of family, how are Jeremy and Jordan?”
“At this point, I’m glad Jeremy is still at the age where he is still enamored with toys. And as for Jordan, she’s the same,” he says more wistfully.
He can’t help but still feel physically attracted to his wife in spite of secretly being involved with his first love, Tanner.
The thought pulls him back to the covert plan he and his father are plotting to oust Jacques from the company. He recalls walking into this very office and seeing an embrace between Jacques and Courtney.
“What is going on between you and Jacques?” he asks suddenly.
Courtney is caught off guard, clearly not expecting the question, leaving a loaded pause as the scene comes to an end.
WHEELER BUILDING: APT #303
"All right, I'll call that tidied up… Did I just say tidied up?" Samuel Gupta mutters, shaking his head at himself. The handsome—and currently, unfortunately, single—psychiatrist gave an observant look around his third-floor apartment in the Wheeler Building. After getting ready for the day, he finally tackled the pile of dishes in the sink and folded the clean laundry he had left sitting out. Usually more put together, he had been putting it off lately, weighed down by his workload and a so-so mood.
Grabbing his keys from the countertop, Samuel prepares to leave. His plan is to stop by Tricia’s apartment, hoping to gently encourage her mother, Jolene, to open up about her struggles with domestic abuse—a concern Tricia had brought to him recently.
Before he could reach the door, a few rounds of knocking interrupted him, instantly shifting his plans. He opens it to find someone he didn't expect.
“Mom, hi,” he greets quickly.
“Hello to you too, my favorite son,” Mala Gupta replies in her distinct British accent.
The top architect, dressed in a black long sleeve knit top under a dark purple jacket and dark pants, was carrying one of her trademark oversized purses. She steps inside without waiting for permission, leaving Samuel to close the door behind her.
“I’m your only son,” he corrects dryly.
“I know,” she said, her tone shifting to its usual seriousness. “I was at a site nearby and thought I’d drop by. I wasn’t sure you’d be home.”
She glances around, realizing this was her first time in the apartment since he had taken the lease from Jai, who moved into the cottage with her after they remarried last year.
“Is something wrong?” Samuel asks. He knew his mother wasn’t one to appear unannounced, so whatever this was, it mattered.
Mala set her purse on the end table and folded her arms. “That depends on what you have to say when I bring up a certain subject.”
Samuel frowns, unsettled by her cryptic response.
“I know you’ve been in some sort of state since your breakup with Martha.”
The mention of his ex made it clear this conversation would last longer than he anticipated.
“Mom, I assure you, whatever state I was in about Martha, I’m feeling more like myself,” he says determinedly. “And I’m trying to move on.”
“With whom?” Mala asks pointedly.
Samuel blinks, thrown off. “Well… technically, no one at the moment.”
“But if there is someone?” she presses, voice careful but insistent.
His eyes narrow. “I’m just going to presume Dad told you about my interest in Jes. And before you say anything, yes, I know she’s practically family. And yes, she’s involved with Antoine. But given his track record, I don’t believe it will last—and when it doesn’t, I’ll be there. First, as her friend, and if she wants, something more.”
Concern shadows Mala’s face. She steps closer to her son, still several inches shorter due to his height advantage since adolescence.
“Please, do not go down that road. It would only complicate matters,” she said firmly, leaving Samuel slightly taken aback.
“What are you talking about?” he asks.
Before she could respond, her phone chimes in her purse. She fishes it out and answers, speaking briskly about work matters. Samuel exhales, frustrated by her evasiveness. His mother often held high expectations for her children, but she had never interfered in their love lives—until now.
Ending the call, Mala looks at him candidly. “I have to get back to the site and handle an issue. But please, keep in mind what I’ve said, all right?”
She rubs his arm in lieu of a hug before heading out, leaving Samuel perplexed. He lingers in thought for a moment, gathering himself before leaving.
WHEELER BUILDING: APT #424
Meanwhile, one floor above in the Wheeler Building, Tricia Lockhart faces her mother, Jolene Wood, after telling her that Samuel will be coming down to talk about the abuse she’s suffered at the hands of her husband, Wade, all these years. The two stand across from one another in the galley kitchen, both already dressed for the day.
“Look, I understand you’re worrying about me, but like I told you before, I don’t need no shrink, Tricia,” the older brunette says, taking a sip from a bottle of water.
Tricia resists showing any look of displeasure as she gathers her keys and bag. She plans to head out once Samuel arrives, since he believes it’s best for her mother to air out what she needs without her presence.
Jolene reflects quietly on Wade stopping by the other day—a fact she hasn’t told Tricia, knowing her daughter would track him down, and she doesn’t want to stir that hornet’s nest.
The café manager notices her mother’s tension.
“If you want to get better, you have to fight for yourself, and that starts with talking to someone, okay? So once Samuel gets here, I’ll head out to the café,” she adds.
Jolene sighs and settles onto the barstool. “Guess yoga will have to wait.”
COVINGTON GROUP
By now, the petite businesswoman stands up from her chair, goes to the mini bar, and pours mineral water into a glass before turning to her brother, replying to his statement about her and their aunt’s husband.
“Well, if memory serves me correctly, last time I walked in, you and our uncle by marriage were showing—oh, what should I call it? —an intimate moment,” Tommy says.
“What are you implying, Tommy?” she presses.
Tommy realizes he may have taken it further than he initially intended, but he knows he cannot go back now.
“You know where I’m going with this, Courtney,” he finally says.
“Just back it up there, okay?” she replies defensively. “First of all, you did not catch Jacques and me doing anything inappropriate. And second, nothing was going to occur that way. I cannot speak for Jacques, but I have remained faithful to my husband.”
The word faithful makes Tommy dwell on his own current situation.
“Does Jacques see you in that way?” he asks cautiously.
Courtney crosses her arms over her chest, having had enough of this discussion. “Like I told you before, I cannot speak for Jacques. But I do not see him in any way other than what our relationship is. What is this really about?”
“You just need to watch him, that’s all,” Tommy warns, not elaborating further.
“I’ve got it,” Courtney says somewhat firmly. “How about we get back to work, shall we?”
As she sits back down at her desk, consuming the beverage, Tommy can tell she’s shifting the focus, but he lets it slide—for now.
Now in his office, Jacques sits at his desk, reviewing documents pertaining to the Miami deal he has been working on for some time. His latest delivery from The Chateau—a toasted panini with a side green salad—rests neatly on the other side of the bureau.
A knock sounds at the door.
Without looking up, Jacques smirks. “If it’s more vending machine snacks, I’m staging an intervention.”
The sudden silence makes him lift his head, expecting Aaliyah—but instead, someone else entirely is standing there.
“Vending machine snacks?” Emma Covington Laurent says
Jacques is slightly taken aback by the unexpected visit from his wife, with whom he currently shares a peculiar, strained status in their marriage.
Emma steps inside, clearly sensing something is amiss.
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END OF EPISODE
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ON THE NEXT EPISODE OF TOWN AND COUNTRY
Emma tries to make an effort.
Jes advises Aaliyah.
Tricia confides in Sean.
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