Brenda: Whew! Yes! Ned! That was fresh!

Ned: *sigh* I’m not Ned…

Brenda: Oh right…sorry…Eddie…

Ned: I’m Eddie.

Brenda: Eddie...I know.

Ned: Obviously we have to run through this one more time.

Brenda: NO. We are not running through this. I’ve got it.

Ned: You sure?

Brenda: Yes! You are Eddie Maine and you work as a salesman for a pharmaceutical company. Right? You were brought up in a loving simple little family by your doting mother and your adoring grandfather. I…I am a friend of the family’s daughter, who’s also a business associate of Eddie’s, who I regard as my surrogate brother…awww. You know I can’t believe though you had the chance to make up ANY story in the world and this is what you come up with. I mean where was your imagination Ned?

Ned: Well…I…first of all I didn’t think that Eddie would survive this long and secondly it was spur of the moment.

Brenda: Well I think that we should come up with something much more interesting to tell Lois. Let’s tell her that I’m your mistress. (She laughs.) Come on…No wait, wait, wait. Let’s tell her that I am the illegitimate daughter of your father by some woman, some heiress he met in his world travels. Come on Ned let’s make it more interesting.

Ned: I’m not Ned…I’m Eddie.

Brenda: Oh…right.

Ned: And no switching stories. Besides, I already told Lois all about you. After you picked up the phone, remember, and talked to her in the Grille.

Brenda: Oh right. Was she curious who I was? Was she jealous?

Ned: No she wasn’t jealous. Lois isn’t like other women. She’s very complex.

Brenda: Well I can’t wait to meet her. Yea…

Ned: Brenda…please…(Brenda begins to laugh.)…please please don’t make me regret doing this.

Brenda: You know I’m still not really sure why you ARE doing this.

Ned: Well because Lois felt…left out in my other life and because you said you were dying to see Eddie Maine perform with the Idol Rich AND because you swore you wouldn’t jeopardize my cover.

Brenda: I’ll be good.

Ned: Yea…sure.

Brenda: I will…I will…I’m actually kinda flattered that you’re trusting me with this whole story of yours.

Ned: I don’t trust you. I didn’t have a choice. Lois…you have to understand that Lois has killed herself to put this band together. I mean she’s put everything into it. And she’s introduced me to her family and you know they’ve been terrific to me and so I just figured that I…well…the least I could do was give her a glimpse of my other so called reality.

Brenda: Hmm…I see so you’ve run out of excuses and now you’ve come up with me. Right? This girl isn’t just your manager is she? Are you sleeping with her? Huh?

Ned: (laughing) Please! We have a very professional relationship.

Brenda: You are aren’t you? You’re sleeping with her aren’t you? I get it. I get it. Look this is not just Eddie Maine covering his rock ‘n roll butt is it? You got a case of the guilts.

Ned: That’s ridiculous. Guilt is incompatible to my personality.

Brenda: I know…and that’s why this is so astonishing to me.

Ned: No that’s why this is so ridiculous.

Brenda: OK…OK…alright…so listen just humor me and tell me about Lois. I mean come on tell me about her. I mean this girl must be important to you or else you wouldn’t be going to all this trouble for her. Right? Huh? I mean what is it with her? Is she…What is she a means to an end for you? Huh? Is she a challenge? Come on Ned…is she fun and games? What? WHAT?

Ned: It’s not that simple. Lois is very hard to describe.

Brenda: Well try.

Ned: She’s pure energy. I mean when she puts her attention on something there’s no stopping her. That’s why I’m in this mess. She’s absolutely committed.

Brenda: To what?

Ned: To whatever she feels strongly about at the time.

Brenda: Oh and at the time that’s you isn’t it?

Ned: And the band…and the future…

Brenda: …OHHHH

Ned: …OF THE BAND.

Brenda: Right…right…so is she pretty?

Ned: Not like you’d expect.

Brenda: Uh oh.

Ned: She’s unusual. She’s…um…kinda dark and exotic. She has the most unbelievable eyes. Eyes that hypnotize. You just sort of melt into them. I mean she’s absolutely exquisite actually…once you get past the fingernails. She has an incredible mind. It’s like keeping up with a speeding train. And she has a great sense of humor. We laugh all the time. I mean I have more fun with her than I’ve EVER had with anyone in my life. And to top it off she has integrity. Which of course puts a lot of pressure on me. But…it doesn’t really bother me. I think because she believes in me. I mean she really really believes in me. She doesn’t have any preconceptions or ulterior motives. She as a pure spirit. She shines…inside and out. (He finishes and pauses before noticing Brenda staring at him.) What?

Brenda: Who are you? Oh my goodness…

Ned: What?

Brenda: You are in love…

Ned: (hesitating) Yea…I am…

Brenda: Oh…this is so great.

Ned: Tragic huh?

Brenda: No no no this is gonna be fun. Let me just ask you something though. If you fell this way about Lois what is all this business with Katherine about?

Ned: Katherine’s a friend. She’s smart, and we…well we see eye to eye on a lot of things and of course now she’s working for ELQ and so were thrown together…

Brenda: Wait a minute. Wait a minute…Ned! What are you doing? Do the words I’m taken mean anything to you? I mean listen. You can’t blow this just because Katherine happens to be around.

Ned: I don’t wanna blow this with Lois.

Brenda: Uh…listen to me you have to tell her the truth.

Ned: Ugh…

Brenda: No no I’m not kidding.

Ned: I can’t.

Brenda: You have to.

Ned: It’s not possible…I’m not ready to…to give up Lois.

Brenda: Why would you have to give her up?

Ned: Cause you don’t know her. When she finds out that I’ve been lying…

Brenda: Oh right the integrity part.

Ned: Mmhhhhmmm…you catch on fast.

Brenda: But you know what if she’s in love with you…

Ned: She’s not in love with me. She’s in love with Eddie Maine.

Brenda: Oh…yea…well who could blame her?

Ned: Excuse me?