Practically in tears, Amanda Cryer bursts into the apartment she shares with her friend and classmate Candace. Amanda has failed another exam. "I'm never going to be able to do this," she says. "I can't be a lawyer."
Candace tells Amanda to look in the mirror and tell her what she sees. "A loser," Amanda says.
"Wrong," Candace says. "You don't know the power that God gave you."
Amanda says she doesn't have any power, but Candace begs to differ. "As long as there are men on this earth, you have power, but not looking like this," Candace says. "You're going to put on something low-cut, some makeup on. Then you are going to go to the good professor and convince him to give you a makeup test."
Amanda says she can't do that—she doesn't have enough confidence. "You'd be surprised how much confidence a little lipstick and six-inch heels can grant," Candace says.
As Amanda is changing into the clothes Candace has picked out for her, Candace gets a call from her brother, Benny. He's got a big date that night and wants to borrow Candace's sports car—the one she got from blackmailing Amanda's father, Judge Jim Cryer. Candace says she'll drop it off for him and hangs up when Amanda is ready.
Candace blindfolds Amanda, walks her into the bathroom and removes the blindfold for the big reveal. "Oh, my. I look great," Amanda says. "Now what do I do?"
"You go see him and convince him to give you a makeup test," Candace says. "You walk in, you flirt, and you cry if you have to."
Candace's prep session is interrupted by another phone call. She takes it in the other room. It's Amanda's father, with whom Candace has been conducting a secret affair. "So you want to see me?" she says.
Jim tells her to meet him at the Madison Hotel. Candace agrees. "I have to drop my car off at the school first, and then I'll be on my way to you," she says.
At the Cryer household, Hanna, a housekeeper for the Cryer family, arrives at work to find her fellow housekeeper, Celine, in the kitchen. Things have been tense between the two women, but today is different. "I get you this job, and you stab me in the back?" Celine says.
Hanna has no idea what she's talking about. Celine says their boss, Katheryn Cryer, told her she was making Hanna household chief of staff.
Hanna is floored. Celine continues to rant. "You've been driving her around and bending over backwards kissing up, tying her shoes," Celine says. "I didn't know you were that kind of person, Hanna."
Katheryn calls Hanna from the other room. "I wonder what she would think if she knew your little secret about your daughter," Celine says.
Hanna meets Katheryn in the next room. Katheryn tells her she reviewed Hanna's résumé and noticed she had two years of college. That, combined with her excellent work, earned her promotion to chief of staff. It also comes with a 20 percent raise.
Hanna begins to object. "The only words I want to hear from you, Hanna, are 'thank you,'" Katheryn says. "If Jim wins the election next year, we will be in the Governor's Mansion. You may as well get trained now. You're taking the job. It's done."
At the Madison Hotel, Jim and Candace are basking in the afterglow of their afternoon together. "What did you do to me?" Jim asks.
"You were sleepwalking through life, my friend," she says. "I woke you up."
Jim says that when Candace threatened to go to the press, he was angry—but that he also thought it might not have been the worst thing to happen to him. "My life is monotonous, so enclosed," he says. "First, marrying Katheryn Hardgrave and the pressure from that, then being a judge and now running for governor. But I think it would be much more peaceful if I got rid of it, all of it, gone."
Candace says he wants to throw away everything she's ever wanted. "Find freedom inside of your situation," she says. "That's what I had to do."
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Jim asks how Candace got to be so smart. "You could have run a Fortune 500 company with your drive and tenacity," he says. "You should put those skills into something good."
Jim then asks why she's there with him, adding, "Aside from the fact that I know you're probably planning another scheme."
Candace says she feels safe with him. Jim says she appears to have daddy issues. "I didn't know my father. He walked out on my mother when I was 3," she says. "I saw him twice: once for my ninth birthday, and the other time was when I was 11. He was in the back of a police car for hitting my mother. I've never seen him again."
"Is this where I'm supposed to extend the sympathy?" Jim asks.
"I don't need your sympathy. I have your wallet," Candace says playfully.
Later, at the Cryer house, Celine berates Hanna for not folding the towels properly.
"What's wrong with you?" Hanna asks. "Look, I didn't go into his closet."
Celine says this has nothing to do with Jim. Celine had previously told Hanna to stay away from all of his things. Hanna doesn't know Celine and Jim once had an affair.
Hanna says Celine seems more protective of Jim than of her own husband. "Don't say anything about Roberto," Celine says. "I didn't talk about the fact that your kids have two fathers."
Hanna says she was kidding and didn't mean to offend Celine. "No, you didn't mean to offend me; you just meant to destroy my livelihood," Celine says.
Finally, Celine cuts to the chase. "Are you trying to sleep with Jim?" she asks.
"Are you crazy?" Hanna says. "Girl, you need help."
At the college, Amanda approaches professor Canon in her new outfit. "Can you please, please let me take this exam again?" she asks. "I need to pass in order to graduate."
Professor Canon considers her request. "Come back tonight after 7 o'clock, and I'll give you a makeup exam," he says.
"Thank you, professor," she says. "Thank you."
Across town, Benny is driving Candace's car on his way to pick up Darci, a woman from church his mother set him up with. Suddenly, he sees police lights in his rearview mirror and pulls over.
The officer tells Benny he was speeding despite the fact he was not. The officer then asks whose car he's driving. "My sister's. She let me borrow it for a date," he says. "I promise I won't speed if you can just let me go with a warning."
Watch this scene unfold
Meanwhile, the other officer's police dog starts barking. Benny is ordered out of the car, and the dog uncovers 2 kilos of cocaine hidden under the seats.
Benny is arrested. "This is a lot of cocaine," the officer says. "We're talking major jail time."
As Benny is forced into the squad car, the officers nod at a detective—the detective David Harrington conspired with in reaction to Candace's blackmail attempt. The detective silently nods and sips on his coffee.
Hanna, home from work, receives a phone call. It's Darci, the woman his son is supposed to be on a date with. "I thought you were out with my son," she says.
"He never came," Darci says. "And he's not returning my calls."
Hanna is flabbergasted. "I know my son," she says. "He has an excuse for this. Let me call him."
Hanna hangs up with Darci and gets Benny's voice mail. "Benny, it's Mama. Listen, where are you? Darci just called me and said you stood her up, and I know that's not like you," she says. "Call and leave me a message to let me know you're all right. And you owe her an apology as well."
Back at the Madison Hotel, Jim is getting ready to leave. "I'll leave an hour after you go," Candace says.
"Why would you do that?" he asks.
"To protect you," she says.
Candace also says she intends to repay Jim for the $100,000 she extorted from him. "Let me know when we break even," Jim says. "Then I'm out."
Candace shakes her head. "If it were only that simple," she says.
Jim leaves, and Candace's cell phone rings immediately. It's Benny calling from the police station. "You've got to come tell these people that this is your cocaine," he says.
Candace has no idea what he is talking about. "Come on, Candace. Don't do this to me right now. I don't have time for this," he says. "Come down here and tell these folks the truth."
"Benny, I didn't know there was cocaine in the car," she says.
Benny tells her to get down to the station. "Look, I don't get another phone call," he says. "Call Mama."
Meanwhile, Hanna is calling everyone she knows to find out if they know where Benny is. As she hangs up the phone, there's a knock at the door. It's Candace. Hanna won't let her in. "You know you are not welcome in my house," Hanna says.
Candace says she has been trying to call for an hour. "Benny is in trouble," she tells her mother. "He's in jail. They found cocaine underneath the seat."
Candace says she has a cab outside waiting for them. "You go on and take care of yourself," Hanna says. "I will ride the devil to hell before I go anywhere with you."
Back at the college, Amanda has just finished taking her exam. She waits for professor Canon to grade her paper. "Congratulations," he says. "You passed."
Amanda thanks him. He asks her to keep what he did quiet. "Why did you do it for me?" she asks.
"I like you," he says. "You have a confidence issue. But once you master that, you can do this."
"You think so?" Amanda says.
"I know so," professor Canon says. "And the way you're dressed had something to do with it too. You're a good kid. And I'd rather see you pass this course and become a lawyer than have to walk around looking like that in public. Good day."
Back at the Cryer house, Katheryn is surprised to see her husband home so early. "I don't suppose you've kept dinner warm for me," he asks.
"Darling, there is nothing in this house that's warm for you," she says.
"That's a good thing because there's nothing in this house that makes me hungry," he replies.
Katheryn asks how the campaign planning is coming along. Jim says David wants to announce soon.
"And what do you want? Besides the whore you just came from," Katheryn says. "I can smell her from here."
Jim wants brandy. She pours him a glass, and he asks if it's safe to drink. "If I wanted you dead, you'd be dust," she says.
Jim thanks her. "She must have been good. You're being nice to your wife. Remind me to thank her," she says. "So when does the dog and pony show start?"
Jim says he's planning to announce in a month. "We campaign shortly thereafter," he says. "And of course, there's the tap dance of the happy family."
Katheryn asks how much smiling she'll have to do to get him elected.
"I wish you wouldn't act so excited about this whole thing, Mrs. Governor," he says.
"Don't worry, darling. When the camera rolls, you will be the apple of my eye. But until then, you're the bastard on the couch," she says. "Don't forget to make your bed in the morning before Celine gets here. We don't want any whispers, do we?"
At that moment, David phones. "Somebody went MIA today," he says. "We had a meeting with the future campaign manager, and you missed it."
Jim says he lost track of time. "That can happen when you leave your watch on a nightstand in a hotel room," David says.
David asks whom he was with. Jim evades answering. "I want you to stop seeing the criminal," David says. "You can thank me later."
"For what?" Jim asks.
"For handling this," David says. "Our problem is now a nonfactor. ... She won't be bothering you again."
"What did you do?" Jim asks.
"Good night," David says.
At Amanda and Candace's apartment, an ebullient Amanda calls Candace to tell her the news. Candace, who is at the county jail, says she can't talk.
Amanda hangs up, and there's a knock at the door. She opens it to find professor Canon. "You missed one section," he says.
"When can I take it?" Amanda asks.
"You don't have to take it," he says. "You have to give it."
Amanda is confused. "Well, when I found out that you and Candace were roommates, I put two and two together," he says.
The professor begins to force himself on Amanda. "Get out of here, or I'm going to scream!" Amanda says.
"Well, you failed," the professor says. "You might be one of the dumbest students I ever had. The only way you're getting to the bar is on your back. You want to pass the test? Or you want to be a failure?"
The professor forces a screaming Amanda onto the bed and slams the door shut.
Back at the station, David stands with the detective behind the two-way mirror. Candace is sitting alone on the other side of the glass.
"Are we even now?" the detective asks.
"Yes," David says.
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David asks if it's a solid arrest. The detective says it's airtight. David notes that 2 kilos of cocaine means a minimum 25 years in prison. The detective says he ran the arrest through the DA's office. "Good," David says. "Diana will ride this one all the way to re-election."
As David turns to leave, the detective says, "He's going away for a long time."
David stops and asks, "He? What the hell are you talking about?"
The detective motions to Candace. "She wasn't arrested," the detective says. "She's waiting to see the perp. He's her brother."
"Damn it," David says.
Hanna then enters the interrogation room. "She looks familiar," David says.
"That's his mother," the detective says.
"Hers too?" David says. "Well now..."
