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Setting: At Santana's apartment in her living room.
Characters: Mason and Santana
Premise: As soon as Mason and Veronica were alone in the auction room, Mason,
nearly violent with her, accused her of having worn a wire when they were alone the
other night. She swore that she wasn't. He takes her back with him to the
presidential suite to search for the bug. When Mason finds a 'decoy' microphone
hidden in the suite, he profusely apologizes to Veronica for having misjudged her.
After Veronica left, Mason found Peter and admonished him for having allowed the
room to be bugged.
Later, Mason goes to see Santana for comfort. He's also there because he believes
that Santana is seeing Cruz. This bothers him since he's been actively pursuing
Santana for several years without success, having lost her to Channing at one point.
Santana is in fact having an affair, but it's not with Cruz, it's with C.C. Capwell.
Santana wants to keep the affair a secret while C.C. would like for everyone to know
about it.
(Santana answers her door to find Mason on the other side.)
Mason: Hi, I was hoping I could bother you for a drink. (He enters the apartment.)
Santana: Sure, Is scotch okay?
Mason: Scotch is fine, no ice, neat. I wasn't sure I was going to find you at home.
Santana: Well, here I am.
Mason: (Sits down on the couch). Yeah, I know you had a hot date this afternoon,
Somebody whose initials could be C.C.
Santana: (With her back turned to him as she pours his scotch, she looks alarmed.) What?
Mason: Cruz Castillo, perhaps?
Santana: (Relaxes.) As a matter of fact, you're wrong. (Hands him his drink.)
Mason: As a matter of fact, I doubt it.
Santana: Well, you can believe whatever you want. (She sits down on an opposing chair.)
Mason: (Sounding tired.) It's been quite a day. Quite a day.
Santana: Good?
Mason: Um, good and bad. Just about everything that could happen did. (Smiles sadly.)
Just about everything.
Santana: For example?
Mason: Well for example I may have just made one of the real estate deals of the decade. I
have purchased some precious coastline property that my father wanted for years. It didn't
come easy either. I had to do a lot of research. I had to sit it up, make a lot of inquires, this
time I have topped everything and everybody.
Santana: Well, then why don't you sound happy?
Mason: Why don't I sound happy? Because I blew it.
Santana: You blew it?
Mason: That's right. (Gets up and starts pacing the room.) It seems that there's always been
a balance in my life. Everything that went well for me was always sabotaged by something
that went bad. And this time, since I went all out, no hold bar to do something really
good-well, you guest it, the bad thing is coming in all out, no hold bar. Am I making any sense
at all?
Santana: No, not really. What happened?
Mason: You wouldn't be interested.
Santana: Sure I would. Tell me.
Mason: It's just that I was indiscreet, I guess. I was in a place where I felt pretty comfortable
taking to someone and I said, (pauses and scowls,) some things.
Santana: What kind of things?
Mason: Just some of my more negative feelings about being C.C. Capwell's son. Some of
my frustrations, wasn't all or even most of what I feel, but it was enough. And somehow, I
don't know how yet, it got recorded.
Santana: (Shocked.) What?
Mason: Oh, yes.
Santana: You mean that somebody was recording your conversation and you didn't know
about it.
Mason: Well, blackmail doesn't usually work if you warn the person in advance.
Santana: That's terrible.
Mason: (Laughs.) Well it's not very nice, is it? I've been told that the tape is going to be
played for my father on his birthday.
Santana: (She stands up and walks over to stand next to Mason.) Can't you stop it?
Mason: Someone wants him to hear it badly enough, he'll hear it.
Santana: (Sympathetically and with the tone of someone aware of the severity of the
situation.) Mason.
Mason: He'll be livid. Family loyalty is revered by the Capwells above all else. Well, anyway I
could use a little company tonight and I was hoping I could take you out to dinner.
Santana: Oh Mason, I'm sorry. I really have to get some work done. I just can't.
Mason: Can't talk you into it?
Santana: I tell you what I can do. I could fix you a snack or something. How about an omelet?
Mason: Oh, sounds terrific.
Santana: Okay, just give me five minutes. I'm going to change.
Mason: Fine, I need to make a phone call. Is that all right?
Santana: Sure. (Leaves the room.)
(Mason calls the man he had following Cruz that day. The man reports that Cruz had been
at an oilrig all day, alone. Therefore, Mason realizes that Cruz could not have been the man
Santana had been with earlier.)
Santana: (Returns to the living room wearing a different outfit.) Cheese or Herb?
Mason: (Coming out of a deep thought.) What?
Santana: Your omelet.
Mason: Herb. (He's scowling again.)
Santana: Herb it is. Something wrong?
Mason: I just realized something.
Santana: What's that?
Mason: You have a secret lover.
Santana: What?
Mason: You have a secret lover and I want to know who it is.