Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor

Bradley, tell me how old you are, please.

28 years old.

- What do you do for a living? - In-home sales.

Okay. And Lisa, what about you?

I'm 28. I'm a teacher.

Okay. Teacher.

And how long have you guys been married?

10 years.

Okay. At least we're in agreement about that.

Do you have any children?

No.

No children.

Do you want children?

I do.

Okay.

Bradley?

I just think we need to be in a better place

before we bring somebody else into it.

Okay.

Do you wanna say something, Lisa?

I love him. It's just that I think people change. Don't you agree?

Yeah. They do.

I often feel like we become a lot of different people

before we actually settle into who we are.

Especially when we're young.

We were 18.

I'm not the same little girl that was in love with him in high school.

But I still love you.

Tell me what you want me to do. I promise I can change.

Tell me, please.

Just don't do that.

I can't do this.

I'm sorry.

Bradley, don't. I'm sorry.

I don't wanna hurt him. He deserves better.

Better than you?

Yeah.

Why do you feel that way?

He's a good guy.

He's consistent and loving.

But I feel like we're roommates and not husband and wife.

You met someone?

And he's showing you everything you've been missing.

This new guy, he excites you.

He buys you flowers and he tells you that you're beautiful.

He says all the things that Brad doesn't.

It doesn't matter to me. I'm not here to judge you.

I just think, if you're honest with me,

then we can get to the root of the real issues.

I'd like to tell you a story.

About my sister. If that's okay.

Judith. That was her name.

I knew her so well. We were so close.

We were raised in a very small town.

And our mother, Sarah,

she took us to church five days a week.

And twice on Sundays.

There wasn't a lotta time for fun.

And boys? Forget about it.

From the moment Judith and Brice met,

something sparked between them.

They became inseparable.

They were the yin and yang to each other.

Now, Sarah tried to keep a strict hand on Judith,

but Judith was in love.

And so was Brice.

Yes, she's asleep. I promise.

Let's go. Come on.

Stop.

You see, love, for Judith,

seemed to be different from other people.

For her, it was all-consuming.

It was breath to life.

Most times, they didn't even notice that Sarah was watching them.

Gonna see you tomorrow.

Somewhere along the way, she decided she couldn't fight this.

Maybe this was meant to be.

Or in her own words, "Maybe it was God's will."

Judith was so worried when Brice asked for her hand in marriage.

She just knew her mother would say, "No." But she reluctantly said...

Yes.

I'll tell ya, if smiles were dollars,

they would have had millions.

Bye!

At last, they were together.

And life began.

They found this cute little place together.

I won! No, I won!

They didn't have much, but they had each other.

So slow. Come on! What you waiting for?

And they were more in love than ever.

Brice's lifelong dream was to work in a small pharmacy

that maybe one day he could own.

And Judith, well,

her dream was to become a marriage counselor.

But that wasn't easy.

So in the meantime, she found work with Janice Wise,

the millionaire matchmaker.

- Good morning. - Bonjour.

Good morning.

Your 8:00 a.m. is on his way up.

- He's early. - Yeah.

Okay. Merci.

Here you go. Yeah.

Look at those shoes.

Yeah? I didn't notice. Thank you.

I wasn't talking about hers, I was talking about yours.

They look like orthopedic shoes.

Judith, we've been going over this for weeks.

Look around this office. What do you see?

A bunch of women with hair from India?

Look at me, Judith.

What you should see is people in this office care about what they look like.

Unlike you.

We have over a billion dollars

walking in and out of these offices looking for love.

We have a standard to uphold. This is not our standard.

Okay, Ava,

I don't have to wear fancy dresses or fancy shoes

to prove that I'm qualified to do my job.

Yes, you do.

- No, I don't. I have a degree. - Yeah, you do.

- A degree? - Yes.

A degree on the wall without labels on your back is nothing.

Where are you from, new girl?

Belvedere.

Where the hell is that?

In the South.

The South. That explains it.

You grew up below the Mason-Dixon.

Okay, Ava, you really should take a Valium.

You really need an iron to that skirt.

What?

I did.

Say no more. That blouse. It's telling it all.

So does your dress.

What's wrong with my dress?

Can you even breathe, Ava?

You don't breathe in Herve.

Follow me, Mr. Madison, Janice is waiting for you.

Oh, my God.

Who's that?

You're killing me. You don't know who that is?

No.

The third largest social media inventor since Zuckerberg?

Class-Meet? What planet are you from?

What is he doing here?

Please, don't tell me he's here to get fixed up by The Madam.

She is no madam. You need to bite your tongue.

She's a matchmaker and she's very good at her job.

Yeah. So are pimps.

Come. Please.

Stay right there. I know she was talking to me.

Whatever.

Here we go.

Yes?

Ava, this handsome young man is looking to find a lot of answers

as to how we do things around here.

Take notes, please.

Are you looking for a date?

I'm sure this handsome face has no problem getting dates.

Well,

I'm actually in between relationships right now.

So you could use our services?

Well, I prefer the old-fashioned way of meeting women.

You like to pay?

No, that's not what I meant.

What exactly do you do?

Me?

Yes.

I'm the in-house therapist.

This is Judith.

Judith.

Well, Judith, you are who I'd like to speak to.

Judith, Harley is looking to invest in my company.

We want to take Wise Counsel online and international.

Okay.

Well, before I make that type of investment,

I like to be quite certain of what I'm getting myself into.

I totally understand.

And Judith will take great care of you.

Ava, clear Judith's schedule.

Judith, please, answer any questions Mr. Madison may have.

Sure. Come right this way.

All right.

Bye. Nice to meet you.

So you gonna start today?

I think so. Thank you so much.

Don't thank me yet. Did you show her what she's gonna do?

Yes, ma'am. She'll be working the register and stocking the shelves.

I check the register at random every day,

so you're gonna have to account for every dime.

- No problem. - Random!

I got it.

Brice tells me you're from Boston?

Yeah.

You don't sound like you come from Boston.

Do you know Boston?

No. I've never been there. Yet.

What part of Boston?