EPISODE 296
Written by: Bre L Drew
June 10, 2024
Last Time on Town and Country
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The Covingtons didn't react well to the news of Jacques and Emma's elopement, as Deirdre doesn't hide her feelings for her daughter, further taken in by the conniving opportunist.
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Samuel had attempted to reach Martha, but Murray answered her phone to brag about him spending time with her and their son, much to the psychiatrist's annoyance.
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Joel received a notification from an old friend from his missionary days, causing Thora to be jealous due to her feelings for the reverend.
MILLER INN: SUITE 330
In spite of being in the middle of the morning, Jacques and Emma Laurent still find themselves lying in the king-size bed in their luxurious third-floor hotel suite.
Jacques turns to his wife. "On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate the disarray of telling your family about us getting married spontaneously?"
The petite heiress lifts her head to put on his well-crafted chest. "Well, since no sharp objects were used, I would give it a 7 for it still being a hot mess but worth the price of seeing my mother losing control."
Yesterday, the newlyweds informed her family they had eloped in Puerto Rico, which astonished them.
Her brother convinced Emma she was making another impulsive mistake, and her mother made threats against Jacques, believing he was using her even though Emma accepted his proposal since he needed to get married to stay in the country or get deported back to France.
Although Jacques strongly suspects that Deirdre's affair with Jimmy Saunders conceived Emma, he isn't sure, only going by how high-strung she gets when he mentions it.
Jacques plants a kiss on her forehead. "You know what? How about we try not to focus on the naysayers and go about our day?"
"Well, I do need to go out to Home Farm to get more of my things," she responds. "What do you have planned for today?"
"Following up on an opportunity," he says mysteriously.
Before any further questioning, Jacques makes out with her intensely, erupting into passion between the sheets.
HOME FARM
Daniel and Deirdre Covington were finishing their breakfast in the otherwise expansive dining room inside the mansion on Home Farm, their family's estate.
"I'm still furious about your sister marrying that pitiful excuse for a man." Deirdre voices.
Daniel swallows the last few remaining bites of his quiche.
"Mother, I'm no fan of the situation myself, but the more you try to convince Emma that Laurent is the wrong guy for her, the more she will want to be with him just to prove you wrong."
"So, what do you suggest we do? Throw them a party to welcome Jacques into our family." Deirdre asks sardonically.
"There must be something I can do to make all this vanish."
"I suggest you stay out of this for now," Daniel warns her. "Let us not forget that your new son-in-law is blackmailing you, so do your best to be civil to him whenever possible if you do not want whatever he has over you to come out."
Deirdre craves something much stronger than caffeine, as she realizes that she put herself in that position by bringing that Eurotrash bastard to Radcliffe, wanting Emma far away from Will Jackson, not knowing he would be holding the affair she had with Jimmy Saunders over her head for all of eternity.
And now he's deliberately using her daughter for all she's worth.
JOJO'S CAFE
I was hopin' we could find a way
To have what we had again today
Though it's been some time since you and I
It wouldn't hurt to try to find our love
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Dwele's "Find a Way" plays on the cafe's sound system while the morning rush is slowly dwindling; one of the patrons remaining inside the establishment is Samuel Gupta over in the lounge area, who is sitting on the sofa next to his good friend Tricia Lockhart.
The two were catching up since it had been a while since they had talked.
"So out of the blue, he came by to tell me he signed the papers," she informs him.
Samuel takes a sip of his coffee and then responds. "And how do you feel about that?"
Tricia chortles at Samuel; despite not being in his office, he still sounds like a psychiatrist. "I guess it's twofold," she replies candidly.
"How so?"
"A part of me is relieved that all those loose ends between Sean and I are finally tied so we can go on with our lives, but that irrational side of me will always love that man, but it was time to take our marriage out of its misery."
"Well, that's one way of looking at things," Samuel says, sipping more coffee.
"Anyway," she exhales, deciding to alter the conversation. "You heard about Lynn?"
Tricia thinks of her soon-to-be former stepdaughter dealing with leukemia.
"Yeah," Samuel answers. "We were all hoping the initial treatment would've eliminated more of the cancer."
"Speaking of relatively successful relationships? How are you and the bartending troubadour?" Tricia queries
If someone else had referred to his girlfriend as that, he would've quickly called them out, but Samuel knows that's just the way his friend is.
The doctor shakes his head, which expresses his feelings toward that question.
"That's good, huh?" Tricia asks sarcastically.
He fills her in about how he tried to reach her yesterday, but Murray answered her phone instead, insisting she could speak to him before letting him know she and their son were together at the pool at the Miller Inn. He already doubts his girlfriend's ex's motives.
Tricia lifts her head to notice someone entering the cafe, then back to him. "It looks like you might get your chance after all."
Samuel forms a confused expression before spotting the particular person near them.
"Hey, I got your text," Martha Saunders says to her boyfriend.
The permanently dyed brunette is wearing an ivory asymmetrical-neck long-sleeve blouse and dark pants, and she has her purse in her possession.
"It looks like someone has some explaining to do," Tricia mentions cryptically.
"Don't you have some work you should be getting back to?" Martha retorts to her sister's rival.
Samuel gives his friend a look to indicate they need to speak alone.
The cafe manager says her farewell to her friend while taking off to the other side of the cafe, leaving the couple together.
"I sense this might be a rhetorical question, but did Murray tell you he answered your phone yesterday?"
Martha tries to figure out what he is talking about since she spent most of yesterday at the pool with him and SJ.
​
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COVINGTON GROUP
"Of course, we will be honored to get started on your golf development, Mr. Lange, but my associates quoted you the amount it will take us to get started on construction." Courtney Covington Sullivan remarks to the businessman over the phone.
The CEO is behind her desk in the office suite on the twentieth floor of the Covington Tower, located in downtown Radcliffe.
Usually, the head of the company wouldn't deal with these types of deals; however, since his difficulty was proving too much for her fellow employees, she decided to handle it herself since he wanted it at a lower rate.
After hearing more protests from the Floridian businessman, mostly known for his golf and resort chains
"Yes, I know you've given my grandfather and father many years of trade."
While rolling her eyes, she hears a rhythmic knock on the door, which she gratefully covers with her hand.
"Enter," she permits.
She then puts the phone back in her ear, hearing the continuous rants of Mr. Lange.
Jacques peaks inside, seeing her on the phone. "Is this a bad time?" he mouths out to her.
Courtney is now on hold. So she can speak freely. "Oh, I'm just handling matters with an important client. I cannot wait for my time off next week for my little brother's college graduation."
"Work is never done for a CEO, is it?" he mentions.
"Tell me about it," she answers. "So, what can I do for you?"
Her aunt's new husband lightly clears his throat. "Remember the other day when you told me if there was anything you could do for me, you would?"
Still, with the phone near her, she nods. "Is it legal?"
The suave Parisian chuckles ruefully. "I'm no criminal, Courtney. I wanted to know if there is any work I can seek here."
Before Courtney can further discuss this with him, she hears the familiar voice coming back onto the line, pleading with her to lower the bid, while Jacques remains there listening.
JOJO'S CAFE
By now, Tricia had gone back to work, standing beside Thora McKnight behind the counter, both thankful they weren't serving anyone at the moment.
"Tricia, can I run something by you?" the older blonde barista wearing a pink twist-front t-shirt and blue jeans with a black apron tied around the waist.
The cafe manager indulges her employee and the mother of one of her dearest friends. "Sure, as long as it doesn't have to do with wanting a raise," she says half-jokingly.
"Yesterday, someone from Joel's past contacted him over social media."
"And?" Tricia asks indifferently. "It's not like it's a woman, and you're into the man."
At first, a grin appears on the manager's face, but when she realizes that a look of amusement doesn't appear on Thora's face; she knows otherwise.
"Oh, you have a thing for the man of the cloth?"
Thora dips her head slightly, confirming.
"Look, I know a woman my age shouldn't be acting like a jealous schoolgirl crushing on her friend. But we have gotten closer in the last few years, and I suppose I have feelings for him."
Tricia places her hands on her hips and tilts her head. "But you think this person from his past is a woman he's still hung up on?"
"I suppose," she states.
"I'm clearly not a relationship expert by any stretch of anyone's imagination, but the only way you're going to find out is if you ask the man yourself," Tricia advises.
"I figured that," Thora concludes.
A young mother and her toddler child in the stroller form a line.
"Now let's get back to it," Tricia notes.
"So, you called me back yesterday?" Martha reiterates
"Yeah, let me show you," he answers matter-of-factly.
He pulls his iPhone out of his back pants pocket and navigates to his call log, which he shows to his girlfriend as proof.
Martha sees her name, the time, and the date before looking back at him.
"I know you wouldn't lie about something like that; you aren't that kind of person, Samuel," she confesses. "It's just that I thought Murray would've told me about it. That's all."
Martha wonders if Murray's motive has to do with him possibly being into her again and wanting to be a family with their son, although she has no intention of that.
"He told me you were in the pool with SJ, but it seems he was gloating about you three spending time together."
Martha shakes her head at her ex's choice of what he did. "I'll straighten it out with him so nothing like this will happen again."
"How about us?" Samuel changes the subject. "Are we good?"
The two hadn't spoken much since Samuel wasn't pleased that his girlfriend started to hang out more with her former lover and their child.
"We are."
"Enough that I can take you to dinner one of these nights."
"How about tomorrow night?"
"Sounds good," Samuel says approvingly.
COVINGTON GROUP
Jacques moderately paces around the office suite, while Courtney does her best not to become impatient with the client over the phone.
"Well, we do not want you to take your business elsewhere... Mr. Lange, what if?"
She soon gets cut off from conversing with him when Jacques abruptly takes the phone out of her possession.
"Hello," he says.
Courtney gestures for the device, but Jacques lifts his finger to indicate he's got this.
"Mr. Lange, you are now speaking with Jacques Laurent... Yes, I'm hoping we can negotiate a fair price. Oh, come on, I think the quality Covington puts into their work speaks for itself, and besides, if you go with someone else, you do not want to rock the boat with the company you've said you've done business with for decades."
Courtney reaches for the phone; however, Jacques dips his head with a satisfied glare. "That figure sounds reasonable, so I'm going to go ahead and put you on Courtney."
He winks at her while she ends the discussion by hanging the phone on the receiver.
Courtney has a look of amazement on her face. "You did it! You got him to agree to a fair price."
"When I worked for my family's shipping company, I often dealt with egotistical men while doing business, but the best thing to do is to let them know you are willing to work with them within reason."
"Thank you," Courtney says. "So, when can you start?"
"You mean that?"
"Something tells me you have what it takes to succeed here, and after you handle Mr. Lange, you will have many more deals closed."
Jacques keeps his enthusiasm in check, though he is relieved that he has obtained employment. Even though he has plenty of money from Deirdre, it's time to make a name for himself in the corporate world.
Courtney extends her hand. "Welcome aboard,"
The pair shake hands firmly.
HOME FARM
Daniel and Deirdre walk out of the dining room together and into the living room when Emma steps inside the mansion, though she isn't happy to see her mother and brother, knowing they would try their damnedest to convince her to end her marriage.
The younger businesswoman is wearing a floral-printed balloon-sleeve shirt dress and slide sandals, carrying her straw tote bag and sunglasses perched on her forehead.
"Before you carry out whatever Machiavellian plan you have, I'm only here to pick up more of my things to take to the suite," Emma informs them.
Deirdre moves closer to her only daughter, hoping she can get through to her.
"I get that Jacques seems like this ideal guy, but he is not the right guy for you."
"Well, I guess I give you points for the concerned mother act," Emma retorts. "But you will never be able to convince me I should end my marriage to Jacques."
"An annulment would be a start," Deirdre vocalizes, causing Daniel to shoot her a look, indicating what they discussed earlier.
"Sorry to disappoint you, Mother, but not only Jacques needs to stay married so he can remain in the country, but we consummated, so an annulment is out of the question." Emma delightfully taunts.
Deirdre folds her arms with complete disgust. "There is no need to be vulgar, Emma."
"What I think our mother is trying to say is that no one here is judging what you've done," Daniel remarks.
"I guess there is a first for everything," Emma mutters.
Daniel could see the desperation in his mother's eyes, knowing something must be done at this moment.
"Emma, you don't need to get any of your things."
"Why is that?" Emma retorts
"What if Jacques moves in here?"
Deirdre quickly doesn't hide her disappointment in her son for even going along with this.
"Tell you what? How about I float your little offer to my husband, and in the meantime, I get some more of my belongings just in case he says no?"
Emma then proceeds up the staircase towards her bedroom.
"What in the hell are you thinking?" Deirdre laments.
Daniel hears Emma shut the door to her bedroom before speaking, not wanting her to overhear them.
"It is better to keep them, especially Laurent, underneath this roof so we can have a better watch on him and hope that whatever stunt he will eventually pull makes whatever he's blackmailing on you look like child's play so Emma can eventually open her eyes and dump that opportunist once for all."
Deirdre is unsure about her son's ultimate plan, but she won't continue to stand for being blackmailed and her daughter getting hurt by Jacques Laurent.
​
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END OF EPISODE
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ON THE NEXT EPISODE OF TOWN AND COUNTRY
College graduation is here for Tanner, Tommy, Elijah, and Aaliyah, prompting many emotions.
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