Nick crosses to his desk, but before he gets there he’s
startled by a voice.
MAN'S VOICE (0.S.)
Nice suit.
Nick whirls around to see Mr. Nagopian sitting on the sofa.
Off to the side stands a LARGE MAN in a suit.
MR. NAGOPIAN
You’re much better dressed than your “co-CEO” Dale.
NICK
Thank you. And you are...?
MR. NAGOPIAN
Alex Nagopian. International Venture Partners. He stands and shakes Nick’s hand. NICK Oh. Right. It’s nice to finally meet you. Nick nods at the big guy in the corner.
MR. NAGOPIAN
This is my associate, Ghoukas.
NICK
Hi... Ghoukas.
(then, to Nagopian)
Thank you for believing in what we're doing here.
MR. NAGOPIAN
Believing is my business. And how is business?
NICK
So far, so good. We’ve got a big pitch lined up. Could be great for-
MR. NAGOPIAN
Good, good. Well, we’re not here to get in the way. We just came by to remind you that your repayment is due tomorrow.
NICK
Re-what, now?
MR. NAGOPIAN
Your repayment. Didn’t Dale explain to you the terms of our loan?
NICK
Loan? You made a capital investment. Didn’t you take a ten percent stake in the company?
MR. NAGOPIAN
Why would I want ten percent of “the Shower Friend?”
NICK
Shower Buddy.
MR. NAGOPIAN
Friend, Buddy. It’s a stupid idea.
NICK
Then why did you invest in it?
MR. NAGOPIAN
I didn’t. I simply loaned you and your friends a million dollars for a month. And tomorrow, you owe me two million dollars.
NICK
I think there’s been a misunderstanding--
(pushing his intercom)
(MORE)
NICK (CONT'D)
Jennifer, can you get Dale and Kurt in here, please?
MR. NAGOPIAN
It’s all in the paperwork Dale signed on your behalf.
NICK
So what is this? Some kind of scam?
MR. NAGOPIAN
A scam? No one forced you to borrow a million dollars from us.
NICK
There’s no way we can make a payment like that by tomorrow. The money you gave us is all invested in the company.
MR. NAGOPIAN
In that case, I wouldn’t be surprised if something unpleasant happened to you and your friends.
NICK
Are you threatening us?
MR. NAGOPIAN
Of course not. I’ve just noticed that the people who fail to repay me tend to have accidents. And strangely, Ghoukas is often the one who finds them.
NICK
That’s a threat!
MR. NAGOPIAN
It’s not. Have some sympathy for poor Ghoukas. He’s the one who’s always finding these horribly disfigured bodies.
GHOUKAS
I kill them.
MR. NAGOPIAN
Ghoukas! We’re doing a conceit.
Ghoukas shrugs.
MR. NAGOPIAN (CONT'D)
All I’m saying is, if you fail to repay me by tomorrow, something terrible may or may not happen to you and your friends.
GHOUKAS
I’11 kill you.
MR. NAGOPIAN
Ghoukas!
NICK
All right, you know what? This is the stupidest shakedown ever. If we die, how are we going to pay you back?
MR. NAGOPIAN
From the life insurance policies Dale signed.
NICK
He didn’t say anything about life insurance policies.
MR. NAGOPIAN
That’s probably because he didn’t read them.
NICK
Fuuuuck.
MR. NAGOPIAN
Don’t worry, Nick. One way or the other, I’ll get my money.
He pats Nick on the cheek and starts to exit. Ghoukas heads
out right on his heels.
MR. NAGOPIAN (CONT'D)
Ghoukas, please. You don’t have to walk that close.
Ghoukas stops walking. Nagopian exits. Ghoukas stands
there, unsure what to do.
MR. NAGOPIAN (0.S.) (CONT’D)
Now you’re too far!
Ghoukas heads out.
Nick slumps in his chair and distractedly grabs a Nickurdale
stress reliever ball. He squeezes the hell out of it for a
beat.
Dale and Kurt enter.
DALE
Hey, was that Mr. Nagopian I saw leaving? Why wouldn’t he say hi? That’s weird--
In the blink of an eye, Nick grabs Dale and slaps
the face.
DALE (CONT’D)
Ow!
NICK
You fucking idiot!
Kurt steps between them.
KURT
Hey, hey. What’s all this?
Nick reaches past Kurt and smacks Dale again.
DALE
Ow!
NICK
You killed us! We’re all dead thanks to you!
DALE
What did I do?!
KURT
What did he do?
NICK
Nagopian? That “venture capital” guy he got our money from? He’s nothing but a loanshark! Dale signed papers saying that tomorrow we owe him two million bucks backed up with life insurance policies. If we don’t pay, we die.
Kurt turns to Dale and looks at him for a moment.
also smacks him across the face.
DALE
Ow!
Nick slaps Dale again.
DALE (CONT'D)
Stop it! How was I supposed to
know? There was so much to read!
KURT
You goddamn moron.
him across
Then he
NICK
I knew I shouldn’t have listened to you guys. I gave up my career for this.
KURT
You're worried about your career? What about our lives? Did this Nagopian actually threaten you?
NICK
Basically. Ghoukas definitely did.
KURT
What’s a Ghoukas?
DALE
We should go to the cops.
NICK
And tell them what? That Nagopian handed us perfectly legal loan documents which you forged our Signatures on? All that does is send you to prison.
DALE
It does? KURT I’m fine with that. DALE Hang on. NICK
I’m fine with it, too. But as far
as Nagopian’s concerned, we still
stole a million dollars from him.
You don’t think Ghoukas is going to
kill us?
DALE
What’s a Ghoukas?
NICK
(to Kurt)
If we liquidated everything right now, how much cash would we have?
KURT
About three hundred grand.
NICK
That means we have three days to come up with 1.7 million dollars.
KURT
So, basically, we’re riding a cat without a candle.
NICK
What? What is that?
KURT
It’s a saying. It means we’re fucked.
DALE
I think I’ve heard that.
NICK
No, you haven’t.
KURT
It’s a common expression. It’s from the olden days.
NICK
It’s from the no days. Why would you ride a cat? And why would a candle help?
KURT
I don’t know. I didn’t come up with it.
NICK
I think you did.
DALE
Guys, please. The longer we fight, the more we’re riding a cat without a candle!
Nick’s assistant, JENNIFER, pops her head in.
She goes.
JENNIFER
Guys? The SkyMall people said they’re on their way.
KURT
Shit, that’s right!
NICK
Hang on. This could be a good thing. If we sell these guys on the Buddy, we could get enough up- front money to pay off Nagopian.
DALE
So, we've just gotta nail this pitch.
KURT
Or we die. No pressure.
The guys exchange tense looks.
SMASH CUT TO: