Evel

Yeah?

Did you borrow my car last night?

Mm-hmm.

I've explained about how everything works, right?

All the little quirks,

keeping a sixty-year-old V8 running smoothly.

Kari, are you going somewhere with this, or?

I'm wondering,

did I forget to tell you that you have to turn the lights off

when you park the car?

Is it my fault, I have a dead battery?

Shit, did I?

Okay, well I'll get it fixed, or charged, or whatever.

Just get a cab.

I'm in a cab.

Why is there a guy sleeping on the couch?

Mm, that's just Pete.

Not what I asked.

Pete snores, that's why he's on the couch.

Now, do you want to talk about what's really bothering you, or?

No, I'm pissed about the car and the guy, and...

Okay, all right, fine.

Well, if that's true, then you can

just yell at me when you get home.

Now go to work,

crush your meeting, and then see how you feel.

In the meantime, I'll see if Pete has a friend.

You're welcome in advance.

We strongly recommend this approach.

It will effectively delay

and stonewall them for at least a year,

at which point we divide and conquer.

Yeah, yeah.

Seriously?

This is all you've got after six

months and two million in billings?

We have an alternate proposal, actually.

Oh, and by we, do you mean you?

Aren't you a secretary?

First year associate.

Oh, first year associate.

Well, let's hear it and make it good because time is money and

at the end of your next sentence, I'll have made

more money than you will in your entire lifetime.

Look, I...

we feel that there would be significant advantages to

settling all of your outstanding lawsuits immediately.

There is no we.

Zip it!

So surrender, your plan is surrender?

This is not what I want this--

Did I give you an order, woman?

All right, let's hear more about your surrender plan.

All the suits, the patent infringement,

your tool division's faulty induction chargers

that drain batteries,

the workplace harassment class action,

the accident proof claim from those involved in accidents

and the A-list actor who got run over by a car

that was supposed to be off.

B-list, at best.

Look, it doesn't matter.

Wrap everything up at once and settle.

Yeah, but that doesn't square up with

what your chair just recommended,

is that I can push these suits for years.

Yes.

But you're gonna lose most, if not all of them.

And the plaintiff's attorneys know it,

and they're looking at a five year stretch

or longer of being out of

of pocket before they even get a whiff of a payday.

But if you do it now,

they'll push their clients to take 20 cents on the dollar.

That'll be...

180 million, at least.

220 with our fees.

Now you see that

is a great thought experiment.

But I don't see how it translates to the real world.

Because you're gonna need a lot less money

in the near future.

Now that's something I haven't heard before.

Under the terms of your prenup--

-Stadner. -Hey!

Sit!

For the first time today, I'm actually interested.

Now this I wanna hear.

Am I getting a divorce, Madam Secretary?

Is there something you know that I don't?

Your net worth is made up almost

entirely of your Empire stock holdings.

According to your prenup,

your wife is entitled to a third of the

value of that stock at the time of filing.

At the moment, your stock is massively

overvalued based on the perception of its future value.

Settling these lawsuits will cut the stock price by over 40%.

File papers on your wife after it tanks, and you've cut your

divorce payout from a third of your assets, to--

To 20 cents on the dollar.

Exactly.

Except that nearly halves my wealth

and pulls me out of the three-comma club.

Temporarily.

Is this a joke?

You aren't confident you can bring the stock price back up,

get all the truck bros back into sports cars?

The Predator's a muscle car.

EV muscle car.

You've got brains.

And balls.

Thank you.

Both of which I hate in a woman.

Debra, a word.

What the fuck was that?

He wasn't buying your approach.

Were you trying to bail me out?

Yeah.

And I apologize.

Apologize? You jeopardized the biggest account we have.

Right.

Well apparently Everett Lom doesn't care

what I think or share my opinion.

What?

So I'm not--

Yes, you're working on the account.

Starting now, I need you to deliver some

papers for Lom on a deal he's closing today.

You want me to courier contracts?

Is that beneath you?

No, no, not at all.

I just,

I don't have my car today.

My roommate borrowed it, left the lights on and now it's dead.

Well, that's not a problem.

Lom is sending over one of his latest cars

for you to test drive and to get you there.

That way you'll get better acquainted with product.

Here you go.

Get going, it's a few hours away.

Drive safe.

Speaking of your roommate,

how are those allergy pills I recommended working out for her?

Uh...

She's been using them, she says they're fine.

Good.

Good to know.

Thank you for the opportunity.

Kari Stadner?

Yeah.

Marcus, Empire.

Is this your first time in an autonomous vehicle?

Yeah.

We have a few things we should go over.

Let me introduce you to the Empire Predator EL.

Probably a little more car than you're used to.

Sure.

Fill me in.

Operating a self-driving vehicle isn't all that complicated.

Why don't you come on over here and I'll get you started.

Scan this.

Why?

Smart scan.

We're gonna turn your phone into the car keys.

Okay.

-Hmm. -Great.

Now, everything that you might need...

Messaging, music, anything that you want.

Tap the start button in the app, you're off and running.

So it's gonna take me from here to there?

This thing isn't,

it's not exactly legal on surface streets yet,

but you get this thing on the 400 North,

far enough out, the car will seamlessly take over.

And what if something goes wrong?

Nothing ever goes wrong.

Aside from the 15 lawsuits.

Funny.

The important thing is that you will be completely safe.

This car has a titanium-enforced body,

strongest frame on the market.

You drive this thing through a tank,

you're not gonna put a scratch on it.

Good to know.