On the Tuesday, August 4 episode of “Beyond the Gates,” Carlton (Robert Christopher Riley) sensed some two-timing, Eva (Ambyr Michelle) copped to a fear of post-surgery intimacy, and Hayley (Marquita Goings) plotted to relocate her murder while the younger generation of Dupree women went on a scavenger hunt to bring her down.
Nicole Didn’t Do The Carlton
Carlton surprised Nicole (Daphnée Duplaix) by arriving at her office. She noted that she hadn’t seen Carlton for a while owing to his visiting professorship at Banneker Med. Carlton apologized for the time away and offered to take Nicole out. However, Nicole professed exhaustion and offered Carlton a rain check, wanting him to see her as a “sultry temptress” instead of a “snooze queen.” Carlton agreed to defer their date and hoped that Nicole would dream of him once she went home and went to bed, bidding her goodnight.
Moments later, Kial (Greg Vaughan) entered Nicole’s office, and she lit up; the two smirked that they were both exhausted that day because of their bedroom antics the night before. Kial didn’t want to keep Nicole from getting any more sleep, but Nicole smiled that she didn’t want any space between them. Kial replied that he also was getting used to them waking up together.
As they headed out to the elevator arm-in-arm talking about the naughty things they were going to get up to that evening, Carlton emerged, saw Nicole leaving with Kial, and frowned.
All I Wanna Say Is That They Don’t Really Care About Us
Jacob (Jibre Hordges) ran into Izaiah (Lami) at the club, praising his little brother for stepping up for Eva since her life-saving surgery. Izaiah reported that Eva’s recovery was going well, but he was disappointed that, of late, their romantic interludes had been PG-rated at best. It seemed that Eva was almost afraid to make love.
At Uptown, Eva treated Noah (Nick Hagelin) to dinner following his successful first day at the clinic; because of his experiences in the music industry, he had known how to treat someone having a drug overdose in the lobby. Eva conceded that she’d doubted Noah’s abilities, and Leslie (Tricia Mann-Grant) breezed by wanting to be told she had been right about him. Getting her praise, Leslie suddenly brought up Eva’s liver surgery, which Eva didn’t think was appropriate.
Noah said that he would have watched out for Eva had he known she was working while recovering. Eva said she felt useful at the clinic and appreciated not being hovered over like at home…just as Izaiah approached and overheard. After Eva assured Izaiah that she loved how he took care of her, Leslie continued to emphasize Eva’s procedure, with Eva deeming it overdramatic. Leslie softened and replied that Eva being in the hospital had been the most frightening experience of her life. Izaiah decided Eva needed to go home; they tried to talk Noah out of staying behind and talking to Leslie, but he didn’t seem to take the hint.
Once alone, Leslie wanted to get to know Noah better and advised him not to be modest about his talent. Noah sighed that his father didn’t fully believe in his musical dreams, and the conversation turned to what Leslie had said during his interview about having had a mother in show business. Leslie expounded on how Barbara had been so broken by her time in the industry that she hadn’t felt she could raise her child and therefore gave Leslie up to a friend. It had made Leslie stronger, she said, and that was why she wanted Noah to believe in himself.
Leslie made sure to mention that Anita had been the one to betray Barbara. Noah was stunned since he hadn’t gotten a negative impression of the superstar when he had met her; when Leslie went on that Nicole also was just nice for show, Noah became concerned about the kind of woman his father was dating. Leslie claimed that Anita owed her, and therefore, perhaps, she could get Anita to open some doors for Noah.
Hip-Hop Police
At Naomi’s house, Dani (Karla Mosley) felt it would be karma if gold-digger Hayley ended up penniless because of any no-adultery clause Bill might have inserted into their prenup. Naomi (Arielle Prepetit) decided that, having spent so much time at Bill’s office recently because of Madison’s case, it gave her a plausible reason to make an appearance there – and snoop around. After Naomi left, Kat (Colby Nixon) wanted to install hidden cameras in strategic places so they could catch Hayley and Randy/Sammy in the act. Jacob suddenly entered, wondering why he was coming home to his wife’s family but not his wife.
Naomi made excuses to Caroline (Ellie Wang), finding out that Bill hadn’t come into the office and saying it would be easier to craft documents on Madison’s behalf from Bill’s desk. Caroline was satisfied and left Naomi to her own devices – she had just located Bill and Hayley’s prenup on Bill’s laptop when Tomás (Alex Alegria) walked in, irritated that Naomi had once again made herself comfortable at the firm. He didn’t readily believe Naomi’s claim that she was there to do work for Madison and kept giving Naomi attitude.
Assuring Tomás that she was not a threat to his job, Naomi suggested that, since he had just returned from Puerto Rico, he should go spend time with Kat, with Bill not in the office to impress. Naomi closed her search and left, while Tomás decided to take Naomi’s advice. Back at Naomi’s house, Kat was thrilled to hear from her “Booski” and agreed to come to the firm to see him.
After a reunion hug, Tomás immediately grumbled about how Naomi seemed to be after his job, despite her denials. Knowing Naomi had been there to nose around, Kat promised Tomás that he had nothing to worry about. The couple touched on how shaky things had been between them before Tomás had left, so he suggested that they neither discuss marriage nor living together, which seemed to be sources of conflict. Kat was in total harmony with that idea.
Tomás still wondered why Naomi had been at Bill’s desk, so Kat finally divulged their theory about Hayley cheating with Randy/Sammy and that Naomi had been in search of a prenup. Kat knew that Tomás resented Hayley for nearly getting him fired with her assertion that he had hit on Lynette, so she asked the junior attorney for help obtaining intel that could take Hayley down. Tomás opted not to get involved, feeling that Bill would forgive his family for ruining his marriage yet blame Tomás. Kat understood and accepted Tomás’ invitation to go back to his place.
Hot Fun In The Summertime
Naomi returned to Jacob, whose detective instincts had told him that Kat, Chelsea, and Dani were up to something. Though Naomi didn’t want to get into it, she eventually told Jacob that she suspected Hayley was cheating on Bill. Jacob reminded Naomi that all she and the others had was speculation and circumstantial evidence, but when he heard that Randy worked for Joey, he was ready to jump in and help. The only thing he didn’t want was for the impulsive Dani and Kat to go off half-cocked.
Chelsea (RhonniRose Mantilla) found Caroline at Uptown and inquired if Hayley would be joining her. Caroline glumly remarked that she barely saw her friend Hayley anymore, and Chelsea found that notable, since Hayley didn’t seem to have any other girlfriends. Chelsea baited Caroline, hinting that, with Bill always working, Hayley must be spending her extra time with someone; Caroline caught on, but Chelsea told the partial truth that she just wanted to make sure Hayley was around if Bill should have another health episode. Caroline consented to let Hayley know if she saw Hayley out with anyone.
At the country club, Bill’s hand shook while Hayley was away from their table freshening up. When she returned, she said that she had apologized to Chelsea and Naomi for him. And, since she had done him a solid…she wanted him to book them a flight to St. Bart’s without delay. Bill (Timon Kyle Durrett) hedged, and Hayley became belligerent. The lawyer finally confessed that, with him having collapsed again (and not telling anybody), plus still not knowing why he had ended up in the hospital, he just didn’t feel comfortable getting on a plane and traveling anywhere.
Hayley feigned concern and instead proposed going somewhere local like Highland Beach…rather than Rehoboth, where Bill and Dani had bought their beach house. Bill could see that Hayley was jockeying for him to check out properties in Highland since they hadn’t ended up with their vacation property in St. Bart’s; Hayley did not object. Then, Dani showed up at the Hamiltons’ table and declared that Hayley was clinging to something that was hers, which she wanted back.
Dani meant the pair of sunglasses she had left at her ex’s house, and Hayley produced them…broken. Bill offered to buy Dani new shades, while Dani put Hayley on notice for mistreating her daughters by throwing them out. “The Dupree girls are here to stay,” Dani stressed to Hayley, who nearly frothed at the mouth.
