Younger

Get closer.

Lips almost touching.

We want the almost kiss, people. You need me to show you?

I had no idea there was so much involved in a cover shoot.

Yeah, well, romance novels keep the lights on

for the rest of literary fiction.

The cover is everything.

That's it!

That's the money shot!

Oh, Charles.

Charles, come see what we've got so far.

Show us some options.

That's a good one.

Uh-huh. Okay.

Sword or no sword, what do you think, Charles?

Your call.

Uh, but let's make sure that we have

these models under contract for the next five books.

Five books?

I don't understand.

Uh, Belinda's dead.

Tom Clancy's been dead for years,

but he's hotter than ever.

Empirical can continue to publish

Belinda Lacroix posthumously at our discretion.

As long as the readers keep buying,

we will provide the H.E.A.s.

H.E.A.s?

"Happily ever afters."

We just have to find a new writer to carry the torch.

Oh, maybe a torch instead of a sword.

No, no. Back to the sword.

Here you go.

Wow.

Nice technique.

Thank you.

So I have some big news.

- I quit working for Maggie. - What?

Mm-hmm. Yeah, I don't really have time

to be anyone's assistant anymore

because I have a show of my own coming up.

- That's amazing. - Thank you.

Yeah.

Do you want to come see my studio tonight?

I have to bring over a canvas,

and I could really use a big, strong man

with big, strong biceps to help.

Yeah, no problem.

Oh, my... Wow.

I've created a giant mess.

What now?

I have a date tonight with Zane Anders.

The hot editor at Rivington?

Why is that a problem?

Because I also might be poaching

one of his biggest authors, Lachlan Flynn, as we speak.

Okay, yeah, that's a problem.

Do I tell Zane or not?

Well, how about not go out with him at all?

I was kind of hoping for, like,

"have your cake and eat it too" kind of advice.

Okay, well...

All right, nothing is certain yet with Lachlan.

And the date tonight with Zane could totally suck.

The date's not going to suck.

But I understand why Lachlan wants to leave Zane.

His numbers over there are dropping,

and he's got to go somewhere.

Well, business is business, and personal is personal.

Exactly.

I can keep them separate.

Sure.

You come out here every day?

I know, it's far. I just...

I really need the peace and quiet to paint.

I just use this meditation app,

but this works, too.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

Wait, your studio is a mansion in Croton-on-Hudson?

You're so funny.

No, it's actually just attached to my parents' house.

I'm meeting your parents?

Oh, come on, don't be weird.

I'm not capital-I introducing you.

Here we are.

Hmm.

Here's Mom.

My, God.

Get a muffler, child.

- Hi. Baby girl. - Aw, Mom.

And hello, sexy man friend.

Stacey, this is Josh.

Josh, this is my mom, Stacey.

Perfect timing. We were just sitting down to dinner.

No, Mom, we're not gonna stay for dinner.

Josh, I've had to force-feed this beautiful waif...

Stop!

Since she was in diapers.

We're dropping a canvas, and that's it.

Ah. I hope you like squid-ink risotto.

She over-parents me.

Just excuse her.

You are just full of surprises, huh?

But they're cool surprises, right?

Right?

Here it is.

Wow.

- Cool, right? - Yeah.

Has my baby showed you her art before?

Mom, let's dial it down from an 11 to a 4.

What? I'm not allowed to be proud of you?

I have to pee.

Don't say another word till I get back.

You know, that one, she, uh... she makes a mean macchiato.

I give Amy a lot of credit

for working at that... that coffee shop.

She is a true artist.

She's keeping it real.

Did you... did you say Amy?

Oh. Sorry.

Amy is her real name.

She changed it to Montana when she moved to Brooklyn.

As one does.

She experimented with different styles

in art school,

but this is what is getting her

her first show.

A painting with a state on it?

The state of Montana.

Uh-huh.

The stuff that's underneath the stencil...

does she paint that, too, or...

No, of course not.

It is what is known as appropriation.

Appropriation.

We started off

by giving her a few pieces from our collection,

but since then, she has assisted other artists

who gift her their work.

It's a genius concept.

She's really pulling it off,

and she's... all by herself.

Only thing we pay for now are the lawsuits.

Let's see what this one is.

Wait.

Is that a Maggie Amato?

That poor woman.

She was a bit of a-a hit in the late '90s.

Don't you just love her work?

Wait. Are we talking about Maggie or Montana?

You are so funny.

I am trying really hard

to get her into the Whitney Biennial

because I am on the board,

But don't tell her. She would kill me.

She's so modest.

Yeah, well, she, uh...

she's definitely done a good job hiding this from me.

You didn't see anything.

Huh? Act surprised at her show, okay?

Amy! It's risotto time!

Come on.

I need to find a replacement

to write under the Belinda Lacroix moniker.

My authors wouldn't go near it.

- Why? - Writers who do romance

are in hiding, online.

They self-publish their sexual fantasies,

and then they take their kids to soccer practice

and cook dinner for their overweight husband.

Yes, but one of those women turned into E.L. James.

I would love to find the next "50 Shades" writer

among the Internet sea of fan fiction out there.

Okay, you got to be more specific.

Are you looking for someone who writes historical,

paranormal, time-travel, and/or Amish romance?

There are Amish romance novels?

Yeah. Trust me.

- It all goes down in the buggy. - Oh.

You should do yourself a favor and spend an evening

on the site "Smart Bitches, Trashy Books."

You sure know a lot for denying you have anything

to do with the stuff.

Well, what else am I supposed to do

alone on a Friday night after an entire bottle of rosé

and seeing an ex on Instagram

with his new boy toy in Costa Rica?

Four Seasons. Papagayo.

- I'm sorry. - I'm fine.

Next time you ask me out for a drink, make it something good.

Okay? Bye.

I can't believe you brought me to a cigar club.

That's skating as close to douchey as you can get.

Oh, come on, Peters.

Cuban cigars are pretty literary.

Oh, really? How is that?

In the cigar factories,

workers used to pay someone to read to them

while they rolled the leaves

to engage their minds while they met their quotas.