1: INT GRAZIOZO CAMPBELL CLOTHING LLC. QUINCY, ILLINOIS - DAY

We slowly, slowly pan ACROSS a small kitchen and storage space room illuminated by fluorescent lighting. In the middle of the room GINA GRAZIOZO sits with a laptop, a binder full of paper, a calculator, a cup of COFFEE and a notebook on which she is writing. She switches her attention between the COMPUTER, THE CALCULATOR and the NOTEBOOK. Seemingly, rounding up numbers. She takes a sip of her coffee before nearly spilling some.

                            GINA

                        Fuck.

                       

Enter TOMMY IMANI, dressed business casual with a suitcase in his hand. Gina turns around to see him.

                            GINA

                        Hey.

                       

                            TOMMY

                        Hey.

                       

Tommy sits down across from Gina and opens his suitcase, Gina pays him no mind until it's opened. He begins handing her documents.

                            TOMMY

                        Here's those..

                        Pell applications

                        you were looking for.

                       

                            GINA

                        Oh, yes, yes!

                        Thank you, bro.

                       

Tommy closes his suitcase after handing her the papers. He points at her

cup of COFFEE. Gina is typing pretty seriously on her keyboard.

                            TOMMY

                        Can I get a cup?

                       

                            GINA

                        Yeah, yeah. Of

                        course!

                       

She scrunches her face and hand waves to him as if to say "You're fine to

do as you please". As Tommy gets up to grab a cup, Gina starts to become

slightly agitated. Tommy is pouring his cup.

                            GINA

                        Tommy, I fucking

                        swear man. This

                        shit with Mavis,

                        man.

                       

Tommy is mid swig before his attention is diverted back to Gina.

                            TOMMY

                        Hm?

                       

                            MAVIS

                        This fucking taxation.

                       

Tommy walks back over to sit with Gina.

                            TOMMY

                        What's the matter?

                       

                            GINA

                        What she didn't tell

                        you about this?

                       

Tommy shakes his head slightly. Gina is upset by this and scoffs.

                            GINA

                        Ugh! She's putting

                        an extra five points

                        on our sales prices

                        to make up for some

                        bullshit with Cookie,

                        can you believe that?

                       

Tommy is taken aback, he hesitates.

                            TOMMY

                        What shit with Cookie?

                        You mean with Denny?

                       

                            GINA

                            (agitated)

                        Yeah, some bullshit like

                        that. I guess like-

                        He- He still hasn't fucking

                        paid up to Mavis now she's on

                        our ass now. And Fifi and

                        Sawbuck and the boys, too.

                       

                            TOMMY

                        Really?

                       

                            GINA

                        (upset)

                        Yeah! Really, I mean,

                        yeah I get covering our

                        losses, but the fact is-

                       

Gina turns around to see if anybody is near the door, Tommy looks too.

                            GINA

                        The fact is though,

                        we're up by fifteen,

                        sixteen percent almost.

                        She knows we make a profit

                        and yet, she's only asking

                        now cause she knows we're

                        up and that shit with the

                        band. She's already talking

                        about investing more, we

                        can't cover that.

                       

                            TOMMY

                        I'll bring my end down,

                        how does that sound?

                       

                            GINA

                        Yeah, but that's

                        not gonna cover

                        what she's asking

                        for. She wants

                        twelve-k by the end

                        of the year.

                       

Tommy is about to light a cigarette but looks up, confused.

                            TOMMY

                        Twelve?

                       

                            GINA

                        Yeah.

                       

                            TOMMY

                        For what?

                       

                            GINA

                        I don't fucking know!

                        She said recouperated

                        losses, I asked her okay,

                        why don't you sort

                        that shit out with

                        Unkouth? they owe both

                        of us a share of that

                        money, you know? You

                        know what she said to me?

                       

TOMMY tilts his head up.

           

                            GINA

                        Your end is your

                        responsibility.

                       

                            TOMMY

                        (hesitant)

                        She's not wrong.

                       

                            GINA

                        (furious)

                        Yeah, well I never

                        asked to be fucking

                        extorted, okay? I

                        made the deal thinking

                        I wouldn't get fucked

                        over here.

                       

                            TOMMY

                        No, yeah, you're right.

                       

GINA stews in justified anger and confidence.

                            TOMMY

                        (cont'd)

                        But, you know how

                        she is. She's a

                        walking parasite.

                       

                            GINA

                        (sharply)

                        So, why'd you give her

                        the job then?

TOMMY is taken aback by GINA's choice wording and quickly tries

to formulate a rebuttal, while GINA just stares.

                            TOMMY

                        Look, the most I

                        can do is lower my

                        end, like I said,

                        and maybe exert a

                        lot of pressure on

                        Denny. Okay?

                       

GINA is calmer now but still looks at TOMMY as if the plan is

null and void.

                            GINA

                        How much is your

                        end gonna be now?

                       

                            TOMMY

                        fifteen-hundred.

                       

GINA is quelled by this stark drop, but still is rather skeptical.

                            TOMMY

                        In the meantime,

                        fill out those grant

                        applications.

                       

                            GINA

                        Right.

                       

TOMMY who has finished his cup of Coffee, goes to wash it in the sink.

We pan over to him and through him we see GINA staring him down impatiently.

                            TOMMY

                        Your girl, what does

                        she think?

                       

                            GINA

                        Roxy's fucking pissed.

                       

                            TOMMY

                        Yeah. Shit.

                       

                            GINA

                        She's the one having

                        to deal with her, not me.

                       

                            TOMMY

                        (confused)

                        Why not you?

                       

                            GINA

                        She's not gonna

                        listen to me.

                       

                            TOMMY

                        Oh, and what makes

                        you think she'll

                        listen to your CFO?

                       

GINA ponders, than looks away and scratches her nose.

                            GINA

                        Fu-uck.

                       

                            TOMMY

                        No, I know. Look, i'll

                        talk to her i'll handle

                        it.

                       

GINA, defeated, goes back to typing. She takes a sip of her coffee.

               

                            GINA

                        (sigh)

                        Alright.

                       

TOMMY begins to pack his stuff up, he begins to leave but not before lending

GINA a side-hug, barely reassuring her. He leaves the room, the camera slowly

pans in on GINA, who is left unsatisfied and stressed out.