(soft ambient music)
- [Narrator] Have you ever thought
if you might be at the right place at the right time?
- Whoa! (car horn honking)
- Hey, watch out! - Watch it!
- The street signs are there for a reason!
(soft orchestral music)
- [Narrator] That was Jacob,
And no, it's not the first time
Anthony will cross paths with him,
He was meant to be there,
Often, we're meant to be in a place
to do good and make a difference,
How often do we say,
"How can I make this world a better place?"
Maybe just one person at a time,
(cell phone alarm chiming)
(message sent notifications)
- Late again?
- Late night,
- [Barista] No, where have I heard that one before?
- Can't imagine,
(light piano music)
Hey, have we met somewhere before?
- No, I don't think so?
- [Anthony] Really; 'cause you look so familiar,
- Pretty sure I'd remember you,
See ya! - Bye!
- Hey, do you live around here?
- Look, you seem nice, but to be honest,
it's a little early for me and pickup lines,
so enjoy your latte,
- [Anthony] It's dark roast,
- Forget it honey, she's not your type,
- Sorry, I got held up,
- Well, the next time we schedule a board meeting,
we'll make sure to take your social calendar into account,
(all laughing)
As I was saying, ladies and gentlemen,
last quarter was very positive,
We experienced unique business--
- I know you're not a morning person, but seriously,
- Cut me some slack,
Didn't get home 'til 3:00,
- Are you for real?
You gotta show me how you do that,
You talked to that girl for, what, 15 minutes?
- 30, I talked to her on her way home, sort of,
Nothing happened,
- Something to share?
- Oh, I was just explaining to Mr, Frampton here
that while we did see a mere 20% user growth
during that time period, quality's as important as quantity,
- Yes,
Yes, but the final numbers won't come down
until we aggregate the reports,
In the meantime, you can be assured that the underground
is performing at its highest capacity,
And with a new shared space rolling out shortly,
you can guarantee your investors that we will continue to be
one of their most profitable ventures,
All right, thank you, ladies and gentlemen, thank you,
- That's what the dotcom CEOs told their board,
(Anthony laughing)
- Anthony, can I see you for just a second in my office?
Thank you,
- Thanks very much,
- Ma'am, it's always a pleasure,
Thank you, gentlemen,
- Boom,
- That's a cheap bribe,
So, is she worth it?
- You want the details now?
- No, not really,
Are you gonna see her again?
Nevermind, I don't know why I ask,
- Look, I'm sorry about that,
I know it's not fair to you and the guys,
- You were 15 minutes late
to a rather important board meeting,
Every time you pull a stunt like that,
your reputation takes a hit, Tony,
I don't want people to start questioning
your dedication to this company,
- (laughing) If anybody has questions
about my dedication to this company,
I'm happy to point them in the direction of our user count,
- No one's questioning how much you do,
But, Tony, that group we just met with,
they have one real interest in our company
and it's what we can do for their investments,
- And we're number two in the marketplace
and we're trending fastest-growing company in the last year,
- Yeah, last year; that's last year,
They don't care about last year, Tony,
they care about this year,
And acting like we don't care doesn't help,
- I was 10, 15 minutes late at the most,
- If it were just me, you could come in here
strolling through at noon for all I care,
You'd get the job done, and you're good at it,
But the reputation of this company,
it's based on the reputation of its members,
and I don't want people to start asking
why I still have you around,
- Okay, look, I'm sorry,
Putting the reputation of this company on the line
is the last thing that I wanna do,
- I know,
Just, please, when you're out there living it up,
just remember this company's why you can,
- Yes, Dad,
(phone ringing)
- [Receptionist] Nick?
- Mmm,
- [Receptionist] The accountant is here to see you,
- Again?
- [Receptionist] I think it's urgent,
- (sighing) When is it not?
All right, send him in,
- Oh, hey,
Have we hired any new people recently?
Maybe like a redhead about our age?
- No, I don't think so,
Why?
- No reason,
- This isn't gonna be an HR problem, is it?
- You walked into the board meeting 20 minutes late!
And look, dude, I gotta be honest,
It's your fault,
Nick wouldn't have half the reason to be the jerk that he is
because he wouldn't have half of what he has
if it wasn't for you,
- Yeah, wasn't The Underground pretty much your idea?
- It was our idea, I just came up with the name,
- [Chris] And half the investors,
- And who came up with the other half
and built the company platform and programmed the thing?
- Programmed it, seriously?
We programmed it!
I get it,
I got your back,
We grew up together,
The brotherly devotion thing,
Dude, Nick is not the poor kid from down the block anymore,
You gotta cut yourself some slack,
stop acting like he's your boss, because he's not,
- Actually, technically, he is my boss,
and he's your boss too, and yours, and yours,
But, you know, he's right,
I need to take things more seriously,
I need to take everything more seriously,
- You feelin' all right, Tone?
You got a temperature or somethin'?
- You spent the last 10 years
making the Underground what it is,
It's time to enjoy the success, live the dream, baby,
- Live the dream, is that what we're doing right now?
- Bigger picture,
Look, we've got money,
we've got the best internet company on the planet,
we've got the digs, I'm really good-looking,
(laughing)
- Don't push your luck!
- Look, if we're on top of the world,
then why doesn't it feel like that?
- Ah, see this?
This is the Sunday philosopher,
- Sunday philosopher? - Mm-hmm,
When Tony was in college,
he used to get in these long debates
about the meaning of life,
Well, it's too early,
I'm not drunk and I don't wanna hear it,
- Yeah, you wonder why Nick has issues with you,
- He has problems with me
because I don't put up with his attitude,
And he has problems with everyone else
because he's a self-righteous jerk,
- That self-righteous jerk
made it possible for you, Chris Frampton,
to imagine that one day you'll be living the dream
with someone like that,
- [Chris] Challenge accepted,
- This is gonna be fun, - Uh-oh, damage control,
- Really?
- Evening, ladies,
You're enjoying yourself thus far?
- We were, - Well, I just happen to have
two select invitations to the 10th level of the Underground
and I don't know what to do with 'em,
- Are you kidding me?
That's the most exclusive level of the Underground,
You get all kinds of deals and discounts,
How did you get those?
- You Underground?
- [Woman] Oh yeah, like every single day,
- Well, I'm watching you like every single day,
- That's not at all what he means to say,
Do we need to revisit your power of introduction?
- Do we need to revisit how much you suck as a wingman?
- I'm usually not playing wingman,
Ladies, allow me to introduce Chris Frampton,
lead programmer at the Underground,
- Seriously?
- And I'm Anthony Seaton, director of marketing,
- Oh, he's the co-founder too, if that impresses anyone,
- Wow, can you believe this, Kate?
- Not really,
- Believe it; this guy makes your life
more safe and secure every single day,
- I do my best,
- And what exactly do you do, Anthony?
- You know what, I think I'm gonna head out,
It's getting late,
- But you just got here!
- I have a long day tomorrow,
It was really nice meeting you both,
- Again, you mean,
We met this morning,
- This morning, dude? - Kate?
- It was nice meeting you Anthony, Chris,
Night, Sheri,
- See ya,
- It was something he said, right?
- So, you Underground,
- Every single day,
- Well, like I said,
I am watching you every day, but in a good way,
- Chad, - I'm kinda like Batman,
- Chad?
- Yeah, it was nice to meet you,
- Good morning, you're here early,
- Am I?
- Just got in design options
for the promo campaign for Level 13; wanna see?
- Sure,
Nice color palette!
- Hey, we are the Underground, right?
Dark's our thing,
- Yeah, these look great,
I'll pass 'em up to Nick for approval,
- So, how'd it go last night?
- Same as usual,
Chris made a new friend,
- (laughing) Really,
because I heard she called him Chad all night long,
- Once or twice, (laughing)
- And that she went home with you,
- Nothing happened,
- Sure,
- I'm serious, - I'm sure,
Let me know what Nick says,
Oh, and here are the latest numbers, if you're interested,
- Good news?
Not good news,
- Not exactly bad,
Users down another 10%, but that was expected,
- Any grumblings from yesterday from the investors?
- Nothing from the investors, but word from sales
is that if Hodge & Gates doesn't get more return,
they "won't be returning,"
- Yeah, well their clickers are not our problem,
It's up to them to create compelling advertising,
- You try telling them that,
- What's this?
- What?
- Looks like a cease and desist,
- Really?
- Has Nick seen this?
- I presume so,
- On time today,
Well, maybe Chad doesn't have to worry,
- Oh, you heard about that, huh?
- Oh yeah, a beautiful woman disses Chris all night
just to go home with you,
I'd pay people to tell me stuff like that,
- You know, if you came out with us once in a while,
you might actually see it for yourself,
- (coughing) Mm-hmm,
Risk my reputation
as the stone-hearted, iron-fisted CEO of The Underground?
No, I don't think so,
- Yeah, they don't see it that way, (laughing)
Anyway, nothing happened,
- [Nick] Uh-huh, I'm sure,
- Have you seen this?
(soft piano music)
- C-and-D?
Yeah, we get these all the time,
- Yeah, it's not just a typical C-and-D,
It's from StrataShare, blocking Level 13 rollout,
- Well, it's not like the idea of shared space
is exclusive owned by StrataShare,
- Nick, we modeled half of Level 13 on StrataShare's model,
- Yeah, sure, we modeled half of it,
We didn't copy it,
Don't worry about this,
Listen, just focus on getting our user accounts up,
That's what matters right now,
- It's kinda hard to sell the original and innovative rep
when you're being sued for stealing,
- Oh, no-no-no,
Hey, original and innovative,
that's only half of our mystique,
We're also The Underground,
Think you can sell that to our advantage?
- If you say so,
- I do say so,
Now, go on, I think our buddy Chad
wants to know what didn't happen last night,
- Nothing happened! (laughing)
(message sent notification)
Oh hey, Father, let me help you,
- Thank you,
That'd be wonderful,
Whew, - Where ya headed?
- Just around the corner to the center,
- The center?
- You know, the community center behind the cathedral,
- Right, the center,
- Exactly,
(light upbeat piano music)
Well, here we are,
You know, our church serves the community
in a variety of ways,
This center dedicates its time
to the kids in the neighborhood,
providing afterschool activities,
mentoring, and tutoring, among other things,
Come on,
Good afternoon, everyone,
- Good afternoon, Father, - Good afternoon, Father,
- This young gentleman--
- Anthony,
- Anthony has been kind enough
to help us with the evening treats,
- [Woman] Thank you,
- Hey,
I guess one of these is yours?
- Thanks,
- Is everyone here?
If so, we should probably go ahead and get started,
Anthony, you're more than welcome to join us if you'd like,
- You're welcome to stay, you know,
It's a brainstorming session
for some of the programs at the center,
- I don't know if-- - Sure,
considering your online expertise,
We've come up with some amazing ideas,
- Well, you know, it's--
- You know, we could really use your help,
- Well, you're gonna have to fill me in,
- Something tells me you can handle the basics,
Mr, Underground,
(message sent notifications)
- [Father] Good night,
Take care,
- Thank you, Father,
- Thank you, so good to see you again,
- Good to see you,
- Gotta tell ya, some interesting ideas, Mr, Seaton,
Thank you, - Thank you, of course,
- Nice job,
- I have my moments,
- Listen, about the other night, I'm sorry,
It's just that bars aren't really my thing,
- Don't be,
You know, I heard as much,
- From Sheri?
Yeah, she mentioned you walked her home,
- Nothing happened!
- [Katie] I know!
- I walked her home!
- Apparently, you were the biggest disappointment
of her whole life,
- That's one I've never heard before,
Hey, do you wanna go out?
I do know this great little shop around the corner,
- No, I don't think that'd be such a good idea,
- Why not?
- I mean, I'm just not really your type,
- My type?
- [Katie] Yeah, you know,
- So you're calling me a player?
- No,
- You did!
You know, there's something in the Bible about that,
John 7, judging on appearances,
- I wasn't,
- Yeah, you were, but maybe you're right,
Just let the father know I'll email him about those things,
- Anthony, I'm sorry!
(slow piano music)
- New print proofs,
- Would you call me a player?
- What?
- You know, would you call me a player?
- (laughing) Not to your face,
- Thanks,
- What up, mama?
- He, on the other hand,
- Don't you have something to file?
- I think she loves me,
- Well, would you call me a player?
- Yeah,
Yeah, your name's in the Wiki,
It's your picture,
What?
- I just, is that what everyone thinks?
- That's what everyone thinks is awesome,
- Not helpful and not awesome,
- There's that Sunday philosopher look again,
Hey man, I already told you,
you built a good life for yourself,
You need to stop worrying about what other people think,
- Yeah, it's not so much what they think
as whether or not that's really what I am,
Being the company Casanova wasn't exactly in my life plan,
- Casanova, really?
No one uses that anymore; it's old-school,
- You're right, thanks,
(message sent notification)
- [Chris] Is that Sheri?
- No,
What'd you wanna see me about,
- Yeah,
Some of the guys heard a rumor
that StrataShare is trying to put a stop to Level 13,
- Nick says it's nothing to worry about,
- Nick says,
- Yes, Nick says,
- Okay,
Keep me in the loop?
- Sure,
(message sent notification) - I'll see ya later, bud,
- [Anthony] See ya,
- Megan, you got my files?
- So, your friend, is he still with the company?
- Yeah, he's the CEO,
- That's really incredible you guys have stayed together
after all these years,
- Yeah, well once you've been through Catholic school,
you pretty much bound through anything,
- Yeah, what school?
- It's up in Kennesaw,
- My grandma lives in Kennesaw;
actually, right next to a Catholic school,
- Wait, not that house up on the hill
with the Christmas lights?
- She is known for her Christmas lights,
(laughing)
- You're Saint Kate,
- Hmm?
- Katie Stanton?
- What, you don't remember two little neighborhood hoodlums
who used to just peer over the fence at you and your friends
when you were sunbathing during the summer?
- Wait a minute,
You're Anthony?
Anthony Seaton?!
- And you thought I was hitting on you,
- You were hitting on me!
I see things haven't changed,
- Well, I am taller and a millionaire,
- So, I guess it was you and Parker,
your friend, Nick Parker,
- Seaton and Parker, still making trouble 20 years later,
- Wow, millions of dollars of trouble,
This is gonna blow Grandma's mind,
She thought you two delinquents
would end up in jail for sure,
- We were very close,
A couple times, actually,
- You know, I gotta get back to work,
But thanks,
Thanks for lunch,
- You are never gonna guess who I ran into,
You know that redhead I was talking about?
- You ask me about a lotta women, Tony,
- No, the one from the other day,
Anyway, I was at the community center and--
- What were you doing at a community center?
- I was delivering coffee,
Anyway, I run into none other than Saint Kate,
- Saint who?
- Kate!
Katie Stanton!
Little Old Lady Stanton's granddaughter,
Geez, I think we bugged the snot outta her
when we were little,
(laughing) Tormented her as much as possible,
- Tony,
- I mean, I think we made it our personal goal
to make her life miserable the summer we turned 10,
- Tony,
- She's the girl-- - Anthony!
- I mean, she's the girl, Saint Kate,
- Anthony! - So cool!
- I really don't care what girl you scored with last night,
- What?
- I am two hours away from my quarterly budget meeting
and you're late again,
I still don't have your reports on my desk,
- Finished it last night,
You'll have the final numbers on your desk by COB today,
- Tony,
Tony!
(sighing)
(car horns honking)
(indistinct TV chatter)
(doorbell ringing)
- Where did you find this?
- An album at home,
My mother kept it,
She sent me a bunch of stuff
when she moved outta the neighborhood,
I know, right; my mother, who woulda thunk?
- [Anthony] Man, I forgot we took this!
- I think it was at one of those church festivals
they had every year,
Mrs, Stanton made us take it, remember?
I think she thought we were just teasing Kate,
- Dude, we were 10,
- Oh, I'd like to see what she looks like now though,
She's the reason you were at the church center
the other day, wasn't she?
- Sort of,
- Sort of? - What?
- (laughing) Sort of, - What?
- I don't know,
It's been a long time
since you've done anything with the church,
- [Anthony] Yeah, I kinda got away from it for a while,
What's that?
- [Nick] This is why I went off this morning,
I'm sorry, it caught me by surprise,
It's a court injunction, filed by StrataShare
preventing the Level 13 rollout,
- Nick,
- Copyright, patent infringement,
You name it, they're claiming it,
- Well, what's our defense?
- Developed our own version, which is true, and it's strong,
Doesn't mean when this thing hits the wire
there won't be a heck of a firestorm,
- Eh, The Underground is way too popular,
Our users are not gonna take this lightly,
- If only they judged case law, we'd be set,
Too bad they don't,
- Well, I'll just get with PR in the morning,
draw up a game plan,
- Sounds good,
I gotta roll, but I wanted to explain,
- Nick,
- Yeah? - Thanks,
- See you in the morning?
- Yeah,
- Sorry I'm late,
I had this meeting that ran over,
- How'd it go?
- It went okay,
- Yeah?
- How about you?
- Eh, it's fine,
Heard about the StrataShare, huh?
- Yeah, Underground News Network,
- Right, up-to-the-minute everything,
You know, it's really not a big deal,
We get these things all the time,
- I'm sure you do,
But if what they're alleging has any truth to it,
well, how's Nick handling it?
- Fine, I guess,
Like he handles everything,
- With panache and charm?
- (laughing) Hardly,
- So, when are we gonna all hang out?
- I don't know, he's a pretty busy guy,
- I suppose he never got married,
- Married?
No, he's definitely not the marrying type,
He's a workaholic,
- That's too bad,
I remember him always being really nice
when he wasn't calling me names
or breaking into Grandma's pool,
- You mean, he was a total dweeb,
- [Katie] He wasn't the only one,
(laughing)
- Hey, do you know,,,
Do you know some of the kids in this neighborhood?
- Possibly,
I mean, I work with a lot of 'em at the center,
- Yeah,
You know a guy named Jacob?
- Jacob,
- Yeah, he's like 15 or 16,
he's kind of obsessed with shoes
and he has a problem with jaywalking?
- What?
- Yeah, nevermind anyway,
Doesn't matter,
- Is he someone you wanna mentor?
- Mentor, no, no!
(message sent notifications)
Dude!
- Hey,
- Dude, word,
I,,,
- Uh-huh,
- Look, I got something I need your help with,
You think you have some time?
- With what?
- I don't know, there's coffee involved,
- [Jacob] Ew, gross, man!
- Soda?
- How about one of them fizzy waters?
- Fizzy what? - Do you want my help or not?
- Yeah!
Yup, I do; fizzy water, you got it, bud,
Come on, let's do it,
Fizzy water?
How many siblings again?
- Two younger,
I've been taking care of 'em for about four years,
- So, you've been taking care of 'em since you were 12,
- Ain't no big thing,
They're good kids, keep outta trouble,
- And you?
- I've never been in trouble, if that's what you wanna know,
- Well, you're doing a lot better
than I was doing at your age,
- (scoffing) You?
You're lying,
- No, I actually got into a lotta trouble
for boosting a car when I was 14,
- Seriously, you've stolen a car?
- [Anthony] Well, I didn't steal it, it was a prank,
but that's what the record says,
- Why'd you let yourself get caught?
(laughing)
- I didn't let myself get caught,
- You can't even do the bad stuff right,
How'd you do it?
- [Anthony] What?
- Get to where you are; you know, the good life,
Ain't no rich kids boosting cars at 14,
- Well, I had people who pushed me to do better
and someone who relied on me to do the same for him,
- And just like that, instant millionaire?
- No, there was a little bit of work involved,
And I was lucky, or blessed,
You know that guy that I was talking about?
Well, I relied on him too,
- Is he still around, that guy?
- Yeah, he's my business partner and best friend,
- It must be nice, having someone like that,
I've gotta go,
- Jacob,
You know, if you ever wanna talk or shoot some hoops--
- Maybe,
I've gotta go,
(traffic roaring)
(car horn honking)
- You have any other thoughts
about our company's official position about StrataShare?
- No, that sounds good to me,
- All right,
I think we're good to roll with these,
I'll let you know
as soon as I hear something else from legal,
You okay?
- Yeah, sorry about that,
- You're dreaming about redheads again,
- What about programming?
- [Nick] What about it?
- Should I tell them that six months of work's
about to hit a brick wall?
- Is Frampton hassling you?
You tell him too much,
- He's head of programming,
- Yep,
Tell him to worry about programming,
Leave the business to the bean-counters,
That's what I do,
- Now, Chris is just worried about his team,
and it's not like he doesn't have any reason to be,
- If he's really worried, he can talk to me,
Otherwise, it's business as usual,
We're gonna beat this thing, Tony, one way or the other,
Have a little faith,
- I do,
- Mr, Seaton?
- Sorry, Anthony; Father!
- Hey, I received the information you sent
about the marketing elements,
Thank you again,
- Oh, you're welcome,
- Miss Stanton told me
that you were asking about Jacob Martinez,
- I was just curious,
- Can I ask why?
- Maybe it's none of my business,
He just reminds me of somebody that I used to know,
- Well, look,,,
Well, you know, our center does offer mentor programs,
And if Jacob is willing,
I would say it would become very much your business,
- I can tell you from firsthand experience,
the last thing Jacob wants is help from someone like me,
- [Father] Someone like you?
- Someone with fancy shoes,
- Shoes?
- [Anthony] (laughing) Long story,
- Well, look, on the surface it may seem
that Jacob keeps his distance,
But if you do speak from firsthand experience,
you also know that the truth about someone like Jacob
is much more complicated than it appears to be,
- Good afternoon, Father,
- Take care, Mr, Seaton,
God bless you,
(dramatic music)
- Hey, hey!
- Put that thing away!
(speaking foreign language)
- Back off, Holmes, this don't concern you,
- Oh yeah, right; it does,
This dude's already called (inaudible) on you,
You're gonna be locked up!
- Hey, hey, it's not worth it,
(indistinct shouting)
Jacob, thank you,
Is that your crew?
- What?
- Your gang,
- What are you, 50 or something?
No, they're just some dudes from around here,
I mean, they're always pulling stunts like that,
- What, like mugging people?
- They ain't gonna hurt nobody,
They're just stupid,
Stupid people do stupid things, you know,
- No, I don't know,
Those stupid kids'll get thrown in jail or worse,
You know, you'd really be surprised,
- What?
- Yeah,
I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth,
- Born,,,
What?
- Where are we anyway?
- Oh, you weren't born with a GPS?
- Ah!
Where's the church?
- It's just a couple blocks that way,
I mean, it's not like every building in this city
has a giant steeple attached to it,
- Sense of humor too!
You get that hanging out with your gang?
- See ya later, Prada,
- Hey, wait up,
I know you didn't have to do that back there,
You coulda gotten hurt,
- So could've you, jumping in front of dudes with knives,
Loco!
- Why'd you do it?
- I don't know, you looked like you needed the help,
I mean, seriously, look at yourself,
- You remember what you said the other day?
You don't know nothin' about me,
You might be surprised,
Let me know if you wanna chat sometime,
- Okay,
(traffic roaring)
- Hey, Anthony,
What the hell happened to you?!
- Rough night,
- Oh, rough, huh?
- What do you want, Alex?
- So, Megan and I were chatting
and she mentioned that the rollout is gonna be delayed
because of all this StrataShare stuff?
- Timeline hasn't changed,
Still is in beta as far as you're concerned,
Same rules apply,
- See, there's the problem,
I've already been incorporating it into my sales pitches,
- What's the protocol with products still in beta?
- Don't sell,
- They don't sell,
- Du-du-du-du-du-du,
I've had a really bad year, man; I need this,
- We all do, but the status of the product hasn't changed,
Until it does,
you're gonna have to deal with The Underground as is,
- [Alex] Yeah, that's not really working for me right now,
- You have to make it work,
If you can't, we can take it up with Nick,
- [Alex] Geez Louise, touchy,
(soft upbeat piano music)
- So, did your grandmother remember me?
- I think her exact words were, "That little hoodlum?
"Well, God does work miracles,"
- That's better than I was expecting,
- What were you expecting?
- Well, at the very least, "You can never see him again,"
And at the most, I figured she'd wanna press charges,
- She wouldn't do that!
The statute of limitations ran out long ago,
- Very funny,
- [Katie] Did you mention to Nick
that we ran into each other?
- I did; he remembered you, of course,
and he even dug up an old photograph
that your grandmother took of us,
- From the anniversary fair?
I remember it!
- [Anthony] You do?
- (laughing) Yeah!
- Oh, he also mentioned that your grandmother's
head of Stanton Enterprises now?
- She took over the company after Grandpa passed,
You know, I think you should still get that looked at,
It's gotten worse since you got here,
- It's nothing,
- Being mugged is not nothing,
- I've had worse than a black eye, trust me,
- Still, there's a threat to the community,
people need to know about it,
- Ouch, easy!
- (laughing) They do,
But if anything points towards those kids
being connected to the church, it could be a problem,
We're doing a lotta good here, Anthony,
and I wanna keep doing good,
- I know you are, Kate,
You're such a good woman,
And that kid who helped me out, Jacob,
I mean, he really went out of his way to help me,
He coulda really gotten hurt,
- I'm glad he didn't,
(Katie laughing)
- I should go,
Thank you, thank you, thank you for everything,
- [Katie] Keep it,
- Well, goodnight,
- Night,
(laughing)
(soft orchestral music)
- [Father] Mr, Seaton,
- Father,
- So glad to see you again,
What brings you by?
- I needed to talk to you,
- About Jacob Martinez?
- Sort of,
Father, I was (pausing) mugged, attacked,
a couple nights ago 10 minutes from here,
- Oh,
It's an unfortunate way of life around this parts,
That's why we started the center in the first place,
But for every bit of good we do,
we have challenges to face as well,
You said Jacob was involved?
- Only that he might've my life,
- You know, that actually doesn't surprise me,
- Really?
- No,
You see, Jacob comes from a broken home,
but he's tried his best to keep his family together,
A few years ago, he started pushing his younger siblings
into the center's program,
He brings them by and picks them up nearly every afternoon,
- Yeah, but he doesn't participate,
- To our eyes, Jacob's a child,
But for his family's sake,
he's had to grow up much too quickly,
- That's a shame,
- It is, but it's the reality for him,
It was a hard thing for many people to understand,
- Eh, not when you been there,
- [Father] And you have?
- I know someone who had to grow up too quickly,
and he survived,
- Maybe because he had someone in his life
who helped him too,
Jacob, I'm afraid, isn't as lucky yet,
- I mean, would he listen?
He seems like the type of person
who doesn't wanna be seen as a charity case,
- I understand,
But what'd your friend say?
- Yeah, but, I mean, I was his friend,
I mean, I still am his friend,
- There you go,
Maybe that's all you need to become for Jacob too,
Look, I know it's a lot to ask, but consider this, Anthony:
God put you on this path for a purpose and you in his,
If you think he served your life,
maybe you could return the favor,
(train whistle blowing)
- You think it's really that serious?
- Major investors pulling out?
Yeah, that's pretty serious,
Why didn't I see it sooner?
- Well, you see it now,
so maybe you can do something about it,
That's what matters,
- Since we were kids,
we always trusted each other for everything,
And now, it feels like I've failed him,
- Well, maybe in a way he feels he's failed you too,
That's the reason why
he's shouldering the burden on his own,
Feels like he has to be responsible
for everything all the time,
- Hey, Nick!
- Hey!
Hey, sorry I'm running a little late,
- No problem, this is Katie Stanton,
Mrs, Stanton's granddaughter,
- Saint Kate, who could I forget?
Good to see you, (laughing)
- Nick Parker, I cannot believe it!
- You can't tell me this is the same pigtailed
freckle-faced girl we used to torment as kids,
- I see you haven't lost your charm,
- You thought I was charming?
- You thought he was charming?
(Katie laughing) - She thought I was charming,
- You know, if you'd asked me
where I thought you two would've been 15 years ago--
- Down the long road to delinquency,
- Hey, we clean up pretty well, don't ya think?
- Yeah, you certainly do, - Well, I do,
I don't,
- You do, - You kiddin'?
(train whistle blowing)
- All joking aside, my grandmother was very impressed,
- How is your grandmother, by the way?
- Not so well,
She suffered a stroke a few years ago,
so she has to be monitored,
She stays at home now, but she won't give up the business,
- It's hard to think of your grandmother
as anything but invincible,
- Believe me, she still is,
- Stanton Manufacturing,
There was a company that was a true winner,
- The new CEO has it pretty well in hand,
If I had to guess, I think my grandmother
would prefer to work with her nonprofits
and leave the business to him,
- What's she work with?
- [Nick] Scholarship programs, for one thing,
That's where I got mine,
- Oh, you know, Nick, I didn't know that,
- Grandmother didn't grow up wealthy,
She empathized with those who needed a chance
to rise above their situations,
I'm glad her programs have been put to good use,
- I wouldn't be where I am without them,
- She'll be glad to hear that,
- You know, more stories like yours
would really help forward programs
like the ones my grandmother pushes for,
- So, why don't we tell them?
I mean, we've also wanted a not-for-profit leg
of The Underground, right?
- Yes,
- [Nick] We just never had a cause to push for,
- And because starting a nonprofit is not exactly easy,
- Yeah, but if we had a jumping off point,,,
I mean, why don't we tell the stories
of kids who were left behind?
I mean, the online portion, that'd be easy enough to get up,
- Showcase the faces of those truly underground,
- Yeah, I like that,
Relevant, it's a worthy cause,
And, I mean, how black-hearted do you have to be
not to care about kids?
- Okay, who are we gonna get to run this brilliant idea?
- You,
I thought you, with Katie's help,
- Whoa, whoa, whoa,
We cannot just pile on another project,
especially with all the things
we have going on at the company,
- The company is in hand,
But this, Tony, this is exactly what we need,
both inside and outside the company,
- [Anthony] And how we gonna get the funding, huh?
- Well, (pausing)
I was thinking we'd ask your grandmother,
only if you think though
it's something that she could really get behind,
- [Anthony] No, we cannot just go asking
for a bunch of money just because we think it's a good idea,
- Truthfully, Stanton Charitable Foundation
has been looking for ways to modernize,
An online initiative that partners with
one of the biggest social sites on the web
may be just what they need,
- Then it's perfect,
A perfect coincidence,
- Maybe there's no such thing as coincidence,
(Katie and Nick laughing)
(traffic roaring)
Hey, sorry I didn't call you back last night,
I was on the boat,
- I know,
Have you had the chance to talk with Alex
and about the status of the company?
- Alex mentioned something about the merger?
- There's a rumor going around
that we could be closing our doors by fall,
- Where'd you hear this?
- Alex said he's been asked to hold off on his fall pitches,
- Alex in sales,
He's the new authority now on the status of our company?
Look, if there's anything you need to know,
y'all will be the first ones to know it,
Right now, there's nothing you need to know,
- Jesus,
Black eye,
- Hey, have you seen Nick?
- He called in,
- [Anthony] What, why?
- He didn't say,
- Huh,
Okay, thanks,
(soft upbeat piano music)
- You know, if you wanna learn more about his family
or the neighborhood, you could always come volunteer,
- I don't know, I don't think I'd make the best mentor,
- Why?
Is it the church?
- No, it's not the church,
I,,,
I just haven't been a shining example
of a faithful Catholic recently,
You noticed that,
- I made a mistake, Anthony,
You're a wonderful person and I almost missed it,
Thankfully, God doesn't give up on us
as quickly as we give up on ourselves,
- But you weren't wholly wrong,
I mean, after college, I just kinda let it all go,
How do you pick up your faith after that?
- I think, in a way, you've already started,
- It's just that simple?
- You may not have attended church,
but God has attended to you,
As far as he's concerned,
you're as welcome in his home today
as you were 20 years ago,
- And the people?
- What they think doesn't really matter,
They're human,
We're all human, which means we're not perfect,
God's love that is,
Trust in him and look to him
to help you work among his people,
- Yeah, that sounds a bit idealistic,
That's what threw me off of church in the first place
is a lotta people embrace the doctrine,
but as they walk outta the building,
they just kinda let it go,
- Do you think that of me?
- No, you're different,
- Why not?
I've made bad choices,
- Yeah, but you're a (pausing) Christian,
- I'm one type of Christian,
There's so many others
with so many different gifts to offer,
But we're all human and we make mistakes,
You know, a person who truly believes in Christ
loves first and foremost, loves and forgives,
Trying to remember to do that
is the challenge of walking God's path,
- You have so much faith,
- I have trust,
God is good and he's looking for us
to find that goodness everywhere we can,
especially in ourselves,
You just have to have faith that you can,
You know, maybe this opportunity with Jacob
is something he's given you to help you see it,
- Not bad, Prada!
- Hey, not bad?
That's a class move!
- Yeah, maybe if you're like a hundred years old,
- (laughing) You think you can do better?
- I'll bet you five bucks,
- You're on,
- Check,
(panting)
You owe me like five bucks times like a hundred,
- A hundred?!
- Okay, more like 200,
But you're not bad, for an old guy,
- And you're almost good enough
for me to play for real next time,
- (laughing) Okay,
Dude, you need to take about two breaths
before you have yourself a heart attack,
- Kid, you're really gonna need to get some new shoes
so that you can (pausing) play basketball,
- Sure, I'll put them on my Christmas list next year,
- No, seriously, man,
You ever consider playing in Father Thomas's rec league?
You're pretty good,
- I mean, I don't have time for all of that,
I,,,
I got stuff to do, you know?
- Like what, hang out with your gang?
- Hey, hey, hey, I'm sorry,
What are you gonna do, you gonna run away?
You think that's how adult handles things?
- Oh, because you played one game of basketball with me
and all of a sudden you think you're my father?
- I don't wanna be your father,
I just think you have a lot more potential
than those kids you hang out with,
- You don't know anything about me,
- I do know that you were crazy enough
to square up with a guy with a knife,
And I know you're a smart kid,
You don't need somebody to tell you what you already know,
Maybe you just need somebody
to remind you to be a kid once in a while,
All right,
See ya, Shoes!
- Thank you, Mr, Haines,
No-no-no, that sounds great,
No, well, we just need to let our investors know
that, well, this little matter's gonna go away, quietly,
and the sooner, the better,
Yeah,
No-no-no, thank you for the update,
All right, thanks,
Thank you, yes, have a good morning,
Buh-bye,
Lord, I've never met anyone
who could spew as much hot air as Frampton,
but I think I just met his match,
- I'm sure Chris will be happy to hear that,
Hey, where have you been?
- I had some, just some business to take care of,
- All weekend?
- Well, you know, I thought you'd be out doin' your thing,
so I didn't wanna bother you,
- Why are there so many variations being run?
- When this thing rolls out, Tony, it has to work,
I mean, really, it's gotta work,
- But at three times the operating cost?
I mean, that high-- (Nick laughing)
- What, have you been sneaking away
to meetings with our accountants?
- I get the budget reports, Nick,
I can see the numbers myself,
- Look, even if this injunction goes through,
they don't have a snowball's chance
of making it stick anywhere,
- Are you willing to bet the company on that?
- [Nick] Oh, come on, don't be melodramatic,
- It seems like you're hedging your bets on an if,
That's not like you,
- You seem really concerned
about the ins and outs of The Underground,
That's not like you,
- [Anthony] If I wasn't concerned about The Underground,
it wouldn't be where it is today,
Why do I have to remind you of that?
- No, you don't,
You don't,
But I've got this handled, Anthony,
When did you stop believing that?
- About the same time you stopped taking me seriously,
- I didn't stop taking you seriously,
Tony, you managed that all on your own,
- [Anthony] Real nice,
(message sent notification)
- All right, what are you thinking next?
- All right, the online portion of this not-for-profit
is gonna be twofold, okay?
First, the online portion is dedicated
to creating profiles for kids who need help,
- How do we find these kids again?
- We reach out to local shelters, centers,
community centers, churches,
and find out what their kids need,
- Donations,
- That's just the beginning,
but it's really so much more than that,
I mean, Underground users live their lives online, right?
Why not let them give online?
- How?
- Well, we let them choose the initiatives,
I mean, it could be anything that they want,
Brainstorming for days,
- Sounds good,
All right, phase two,
- We take it outta The Underground,
We screen their initiatives and help them execute,
It's like a Kickstarter for kids' programs,
That's where the capital comes in,
- All right, sounds plausible,
- I mean, can you imagine what our users could come up with?
I mean, people are always willing to give,
but in this case it doesn't have to be just money,
It could be anything,
It could be basketball shoes, it could be music lessons,
it could be a gym space to start up a yoga program,
I mean, as long as we monitor and maintain,
the possibilities are endless,
- What's your hesitation?
- Can we do this now?
- What do you mean?
- I mean, I'm not gonna spend all my time
starting an initiative when my focus needs to be elsewhere,
- Where else would it need to be?
- On our company,
- Anthony, I told you--
- No, you didn't tell me,
You didn't tell me about BlueSpec,
You didn't tell me about Spectracore,
- [Nick] 'Cause it's not your job to have to worry about,
Don't worry about what my job is!
Why are you keeping me outta this?
- Anthony,
I'm not trying to keep you out of anything, Anthony,
for the last time,
- I know I haven't been
the best of business partners lately,
- Anthony, I've never,
I've never thought of you as a bad business partner,
but this is what I do,
I salvage things,
I make something out of nothing,
That's my gift,
You, I've watched it my entire life, Anthony,
you take the ordinary and you make it extraordinary,
That's your thing,
I have faith that you'll make this work
Have a little faith that I will too,
- I do too,
But faith doesn't mean you go it alone,
- I've never thought of myself as going at it alone,
You have my back,
You always have,
- Then why all the secrecy?
- Because people like Alex and Frampton,
they make mountains out of molehills,
- I'm not them,
- (sighing) Tony, I'm sorry,
If it seems like I've been keeping you outta the loop,
I am sorry,
Going forward, that will change, okay?
Now, will you talk to Kate about this initiative?
- Already have,
- Don't feel like you have to treat her special
in any kinda way,
She sorta hates that,
- Of course not,
Why would I feel like I need to treat someone special
in this place?
- Grandma!
- Oh, Katie!
- Grandma, these were the men that I was telling you about,
You remember Anthony Seaton,
- Oh, I remember him fondly,
And this is your partner in crime?
I thought he might be taller and thinner,
- This is going awesome,
- Mrs, Stanton, thank you so much for seeing us today,
This is Chris Frampton,
he's our lead programmer at The Underground,
He's gonna help explain a few of our ideas,
- Well, let's get on with it,
I'm not getting any younger,
- Grandma!
- Well?
- Now, I know Kate's explained some of the details already,
but I've prepared you a report,
And with your help, I think we can begin almost immediately,
- See here,
Mmm!
Well prepared,
I think you may not be the lost cause I thought you were,
- How lost?
- Not now,
- I once recommended to his mother and father
that they look into the exchange program (pausing)
in Siberia, - You did not!
- Okay, Mexico then, (laughing)
Well, come on, let's go over some of this stuff,
- Nick,
Anthony,
Looks like we got the buy-in,
- [Nick] That's excellent,
Have Chris and his team start working on it
as soon as you get back,
All right, good work, Anthony,
- All right, I'll keep you posted,
Have a good one,
- Any word on Miss Stanton's upfront capital?
- No, we should have things shored up in a couple weeks,
- Good news,
- Hey, any word on the lawsuit?
- (laughing) Well, you know lawyers,
They'll litigate it in 10 years or so,
- How about the investors?
- They're holding, for now,
- Okay,
Just keep me posted,
- I will, I will,
(soft piano music)
(message sent notification)
- I can't believe you got this done so quickly,
Amazing job!
- Thanks?
- Yeah, dude, the merger classic,
In any case, it's going in my presentation today,
- What happened?
- [Chris] Dude,
The merger,
- Things in our future,
(laughing) I agree,
Absolutely, no, I can't wait to get the companies together,
Something's come up, let me call you back,
- What the hell's going on?
- Calm down, you're scaring the natives,
- Why didn't I know about this?
- Relax, we worked this out over the weekend,
- Worked it out over the weekend?
You don't work out multimillion-dollar mergers
over the weekend, especially with our investors pulling out,
- Ah, but they're not,
They're back,
BlueSpec, Framecore, Holmes & Gates,
Spectracore, all back,
- How?
- It turns out that news of an impending merger
with the largest cloud-share company in the market
was good for their stock portfolios, not to mention
the better-than-expected returns last quarter,
- Returns, we didn't have enough income for returns!
You didn't,
- This is not the best time
to roll out a charitable venture,
not with the merger coming,
But it's still a good idea,
We'll just shelf it 'til next year,
- This was your plan all along,
- Of course not,
How was I supposed to know
how much Mrs, Stanton was going to invest?
Besides, you're the one who sealed the deal,
and you did a good job,
- And Alex?
- Alex,
Alex didn't understand,
- Oh, Alex understood,
He understood completely,
I'm sure most of this is illegal, Nick,
- We're bending the rules a little,
- It's insider information, it's stealing!
Not to mention who you're stealing from!
- Oh please, Mrs, Stanton is a businesswoman,
If anyone in the world would understand,
she would; trust me,
- I'm not talking about Mrs, Stanton,
I'm talking about the thousands of children
you just ripped out the future from under them,
- We didn't steal anything from anybody,
Those kids are in the same place they were
before this idea popped into your head,
It's not like we were gonna change their lives
with one little online initiative anyway,
- Yeah, sure, just like no one changed yours,
- Yeah, that's right, no one changed mine,
I changed my life,
I did it, and I did it on my own,
And if anyone has any type of ambition,
they'll find a way to do the same,
Now, if you will excuse me,
I have a number of meetings to arrange
and press releases to issue,
Tony, I need to know you have my back on this,
We built this place together, both of us,
and it's our job to save it, no matter the cost,
- No matter the cost?!
(pensive orchestral music)
(message sent notification)
- Anthony?
- [Anthony] Father,
- [Father] Is everything okay?
- Not really,
- Would you like to talk about it?
- Not really,
- It may help,
- Thank you very much, I really need to go,
- Well, look, whenever you need me, I'm here,
And I don't think I have to remind you
you're never really alone,
- Just tell him I'm sorry,
- Take care, Mr, Seaton,
God bless you,
(traffic roaring)
- [Anthony] Sit down,
- What?
I thought you'd be over the moon at this point,
I mean, the merger means no more threat to The Underground,
- You heard about that?
- [Katie] Underground News Network,
- Right,
- This is a good thing,
- Right, it is,
It just means the other project needs to be put on hold,
- Well, that's to be expected,
You're gonna have a lotta details to work out
in the next couple days,
- No,
No, it needs to be put on hold indefinitely,
- What?
My grandmother's investment,
(soft piano music)
Of course,
He didn't have the money for such a gutsy move before,
What did he do, buy off the investors?
- [Anthony] Katie, I'm sorry,
- You know what's funny?
My grandma would probably admire him for doing that,
How much did you know?
- I didn't know anything; he kept me out of it--
- [Katie] And now that you do?
- What?
- He basically stole that money
from my grandmother and those kids,
and you're just gonna sit back and let him do it,
- What do you want me to do?
That's our jobs on the line, our livelihood--
- What about Jacob's life?
That money was promised for him and kids like him,
- If I shake this up,
that could mean the end of The Underground entirely,
- You know what?
Maybe I was right about you,
- Hey!
Where've you been, man?
You owe me like two pickup games,
- Busy,
- Oh, so now you're all big and important
now that your company's blowing up all over the news?
- How did you know about that?
- Underground News Network,
- Underground News Network, isn't that great?
Isn't that just phenomenal?!
- Something happen?
It's not like you to just skip out on people,
- Oh, isn't it?
Because you know so much about me,
- You're not that hard to figure out, Prada,
- And you know what?
I don't think it's actually your business, Jacob,
- Oh, so you can ask me all about my business,
but I can't ask you about yours?
- It's business stuff, nothing you'd be interested in,
- Oh, maybe I wouldn't, maybe I would!
- Nice shoes, by the way,
- They're just shoes,
- They're Js for Jacob!
- It takes two of 'em to make 'em worth it,
Can't get very far playing the game by yourself,
(pensive orchestral music)
(message sent notification)
(somber piano music)
- Come on, pick up,
Katie, it's Anthony,
Look, I'm at Atlanta General,
Jacob has been in an accident,
Just come as fast as you can, okay?
I'm sorry,
This is all my fault,
- You were not the one
driving the car that hit him, Anthony,
- (laughing) I'm supposed to be helping him
and now I've hurt him,
- No, you didn't hurt him,
You need to keep praying,
You gotta be strong for him and for yourself,
- Praying; this is God punishing me,
I made all those bad choices and then this happens,
- What happened was an accident,
- If I'd-a been there; I pushed him away today,
God, I abandoned him!
- Listen, you don't know if any choice you made in the past
woulda changed what happened this evening,
I've already told you, this isn't your fault,
The only thing you can do
for Jacob at this moment is to pray,
- No,
I don't think that's enough,
I think I need to do something,
I have to do something,
- Well, how about you start by remembering
that you're only human and you're not in control here,
God is,
So, why don't you let him be in control,
- And that's just it,
God just made all this happen
and I'm supposed to sit back and relax and let it happen,
- You know, you can be angry and upset if you want to,
You could even wish that this hadn't happened,
But when it all comes down to it,
the only thing you have in your power to do
for Jacob at this moment is to pray,
So, why don't you pray for him, Anthony?
- What if that's not enough?
- See, that's the thing,
It is enough,
Now, it may not make things
the way that you want them to be,
but it is the most powerful thing
that we can do for him at this moment,
Listen, Anthony, I get it, Anthony,
I understand,
Life, it gets difficult sometimes,
But you have to understand
how important your life has changed Jacob,
And you gotta know,
he would not wanna see you regretting any of it right now,
especially right now,
- You know, it's funny,
I really don't think I changed Jacob's life,
I think he changed mine,
I just hope I have the chance to tell him that,
I mean, in reality, I'd say it's misrepresentation,
and you really deserve to know,
- So, that's what happened,
I'm half a mind to sue your company for misrepresentation,
- Then you'd be well within your rights, Mrs, Stanton,
I just thought you deserved to know the truth,
- Well, you coulda kept quiet, and it's not the first time
that somebody like this has come along,
But you could've made my money back
in a couple of months, and more,
Your initiative would be through in a year,
Nobody woulda been the wiser,
- Just one part of it,
I mean, would you want your granddaughter with somebody
who would just let it slide?
- No,
No,
But nobody would've known,
- I would've known,
- I'm gonna say a prayer for you,
You're gonna need it,
- Hey, would you mind saying a prayer for a friend of mine?
His name's Jacob and, you know, I think he needs it more,
- You know the good thing about our lord,
his spirit is enough for us all,
- Thank you,
Mrs, Stanton, thank you,
- Anthony,
- [Anthony] Yes ma'am?
- I was wrong,
You didn't turn out fine,
You turned out much better than that,
(pensive piano music)
- Where were you at yesterday?
Stratashare merger, I needed those reports,
- You know, I've always respected you,
Even when people said you didn't belong, I knew you did,
You were a better person than they thought you were,
- Are you going to lecture me now, Tony?
What's done is done,
You can't do anything to change it,
- Actually, I can,
- And what's that supposed to mean?
- I just wanna know why, Nick,
What did you hope to gain?
- I don't have time for philosophical debates, Tony,
- You want me to have your back,
answer the question,
- I don't know,
Money, success, fame, fortune;
that's what this was all about, right?
- But you had that already,
Why wasn't it enough?
- What are you talking about?
Tony, you know, I've put a lot of responsibility on you
this last month,
Maybe it's been too much,
Maybe the pressure has finally taken over,
- You're right, you have,
Now it's time that I stepped up
and take that responsibility seriously,
just like you wanted me to do for so long,
For me,
for The Underground,
and for you,
- What did you do?
- Nothing,
Yet,
I'm giving you the chance to step down
and let us handle this quietly,
- What?
- Next week, I'm gonna ask that an internal investigation
be launched on the details of the merger,
The attorneys are already on notice,
- Why?
Tony, you're gonna destroy everything we've built,
everything we've worked to build,
- I didn't destroy anything, Nick,
You were the one who took everything we honestly worked for
and put it in jeopardy,
And for what?
A bigger bottom line?
- You're gonna sink The Underground, and not just me,
You're gonna sink everybody out there,
What,,,
What do you think, they're gonna come crawling to you,
saying, "Thank you," when it's done?
- There will be fallout, I know that,
But I'm gonna do everything in my power
to make sure The Underground survives this,
Because I have faith in that team, in that team of people
who've been with us from the beginning, to help me do that,
The question is whether or not you'll be part of the team,
- I trusted you,
All my life, I've trusted you,
- I've done nothing but help you since the beginning,
And I wanna help you now,
But I can't in good faith go along with something
that I know is wrong,
I haven't lied to you,
But I won't lie for you either,
- You, of all people, wanna preach to me
about right and wrong, (laughing)
You hypocrite,
- People change, Nick,
You know, a friend of mine, Jacob,
he says you can't play the game alone,
Well, I'm done trying,
- Go to hell,
- You know, I still have your back on this,
(sighing) I hope one day you can see that,
- [Narrator] What do we want out of life?
The answer is to live,
And doing that is so much harder than it seems,
even if you live five blocks away from church,
like Anthony did,
The choices aren't always simple and they're never easy,
but I think God challenges us that way for a reason,
Our choices can't come down to what's best for me,
They have to come down to what's best for others,
Because at the end of the day,
his greatest commandment is the most simple to follow,
"Love one another as I have loved you,"
Will we be shining, happy examples of that all our lives?
No,
We're human,
We fall and we fail,
But we have the ability to pick ourselves up again
and we have his forgiveness,
which gives us the chance to try once more,
(soft orchestral music)