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[singer] ♪ Feel the love

[singers] ♪ of Christmas

[singer] ♪ In the air

[singers] ♪ Of Christmas

[singer] ♪ Light a glow

-[singers] ♪ Of Christmas
-[singer] ♪ Everywhere

♪ Give 'em all they want
for Christmas ♪

♪ All I want to do
is spend this time with you ♪

[cell phone buzzing]

Mom?

Darling, is that you?

You called me.

What time is it anyways?

It's after 8:00 am already.

That's 5:00 in the morning here.

Oh, that's right.
I always seem to forget.

Forget?

You lived here
practically your entire life.

Where's Aunt Debbie?

Oh, well, she's still asleep
of course.

So why are you calling me
so early even If it was 8:00?

I wanted to talk
about Christmas.

But that's not for a few weeks.

Um, that's never too soon.

Look, Mom,
we've talked about this.

Not this year, okay?

Darling, we made a promise
to each other.

No matter where we were,

we'd always spend Christmas
together.

I know, but this year...

of all years.

Well, there's always going
to be something.

Look, Mom, I gotta get ready.
I gotta go.

But it's only 5:00 am there.

[sighs]

Good morning, Charlotte.

Donte, you're early,

even for you.

I just wanted to see
if you had a chance

to look for those prospectuses?

I did. I did indeed.

And?

Some interesting candidates.

Some I wouldn't have
even considered.

Such as...

CyberSanta.

How much are we into them for?

Not much, yet.

Yet.

You wanna convince
the next round to finance it?

I do.

Interesting choice, Donte.

This is not pure internet play.

That's what makes it
interesting.

-How?
-I like their business model.

Her tech is solid,
market's wide open,

smart and young CEO.

With Christmas decorations.

Not just decorations.
All thing's Christmas.

[sighs]

Where is your holiday spirit?

[sighs] I'm not totally onboard
with this one.

But you have earned the right
to pursue this forward.

I want you to keep a good eye
on them.

-I always do.
-No, no, no, no, no.

More than usual, Donte.

I want you personally involved.

No surprises.

Set up a meeting today
with the CEO.

Today?

CyberSanta's on Los Angeles.

It's less
than a two-hour flight.

[chuckles] Okay.

There are other investments
I can check in on.

That's exactly
what I'm talking about.

If you want to be in
on this one,

I want you all the way in.

Like I always say...

I know, I know.

Fortune favors the bold.

Exactly.

[dramatic music]

Great. Just have the numbers
on my desk.

Uh-huh. I'll review them
when I get in.

All right. Thanks.

You have a call with Bradley
about shipping delays.

Already had it.
Spoke to him on the way in.

I'll follow up.

I'll have William handle it.

What's next?

You have an 8 o'clock with sales
and 9 o'clock with marketing.

And then, you need to make time
to review

the splash page
for this weekend.

And then you have a lunch.

If I can get the word out
until Christmas Eve--

We need time to not only test
the system, but--

There is no way I'm going
to get the analytics in time,

which is exactly what I need.

Just to make sure the apps
was enough time to review.

Hey!
We need to discuss a launch.

Alexis, we're already working
around the clock.

And unless my team
has more time--

Okay. Stop.

Do you need anything else
from me?

No.

But tonight, don't be late.

Wait, tonight?

You'll have drinks
with Donte Rogers

at River Road Capital.

Right. Right. Right.

He's only in town
for a little bit.

I know you cannot reschedule.

Oh, of course not.
I'll be there.

Okay.

Who wants to go first?

I absolutely have
to have more time.

Okay. Stop. Gemma, go.

You need to leave.

Oh, shoot.

I wanted to go home
and change first.

-Why? You look nice.
-[scoffs]

I've been wearing this
for the past 12 hours.

Sweating in it the entire time.

You're not going on a date.

Donte Rogers is one
of our investors.

I know that.

Still, I mean,
it wouldn't kill you

to go out every now and then.

I'm out all the time.

You know what I mean. On a date.

Look, I appreciate you looking
out for me, but I'm fine.

We just need to get past
Christmas.

[sighs]

I'll see you tomorrow.

Good luck.

[festive music]

Ms. Willis.

Alexis.

Pleasure to meet you, Alexis.
I'm Donte Rogers.

I hope you weren't waiting long.

Not at all. I just arrived.

It's just really hard for me
to leave the office these days,

the closer we get to Christmas.

It's far being for me
to disrupt our investment.

I appreciate you setting aside
some time for me,

especially now,
so soon before the holidays.

Well, I doubt it's good form
refusing our backers.

No, I suppose not.

But at River Road,

we really do like to pick up
ourselves good partners.

And you have been.
I really mean that.

Well, how about we get the, uh,
business chat out of the way.

We don't have to talk about
sheets and cash flow all night.

Sounds good.
I emailed you the reports.

Oh.

I had all of the departments
run reports,

so if you have any questions,

naturally,
you can give me a call.

Okay.

I will go over
the numbers tonight

and I will be
with the partners tomorrow.

What? The partners?

Yeah. Uh, this is how it works,
Alexis.

When you take on investors,

you suddenly have
a lot of people

looking over your shoulder.

Well, just remember,
it's Christmas time.

Uh, speaking of which.

I hope you don't mind
that I took the Liberty.

-Thank you.
-Oh, um, what are they?

Uh, the bar calls them
Christmas trees.

I'm guessing it's vodka
with creme de menthe.

Well, whatever they are,
they're delicious.

Cheers.

Oh, my God. I love that hotel.

I met clients there many times.

It's clean, bars open at night,
which I like.

Reminds me a little bit of home.

Where you grow up?

Not where River Road is located.

You make it up
to the Bay Area much?

Not as much as I like.

When I was a kid,
we drove up to Monterey.

My father loved the coast.

Is he...

Yeah, he passed a long time ago.

I'm sorry.

Thank you.

And your mother?

Oh, trust me,

she's very much
intimately involved in my life.

She actually just moved
to Florida about a year ago

to live with my aunt.

She said she needed a change.

-Mmm.
-But what about you?

You have family?

Parents are both
retired school teachers.

One brother, one sister.

Are they in finance too?

No, not unless you consider
hitting me up

for loans to be finance.

[chuckles] Right.

Ah, well, I had a great time.

Thank you for the drinks.

Thank you. So did I.

We'll talk tomorrow.

Good night, Donte.

Good night, Alexis.

[festive music]

Oh, finally.

Mom?

[Cecilia] Hello, darling

Am I dreaming?

Oh, hardly.

Oh. You know, you didn't have
oolong tea in the cabinet.

It's a good thing
I brought my own.

[scoffs]
What are you doing here?

Well, it's Christmas.

What did we always say?

And what did I tell you?

We talked about this literally
yesterday morning.

Alexis, you didn't really think
I'd listen to you, did you?

-Evidently, not.
-[Cecilia] Hmm.

So, how did you even
get in here?

I have a key. It's still
my house too, technically.

No, you moved to Florida
to live with your sister.

I told you, I was just
trying it out for a while,

see if I like it there.

[Alexis] You've been there
almost a year.

I don't see the rush.

You know,
you coulda just called me.

And what would you have said?

Hmm.

And while
you were getting ready,

I put my things in my room.

But it's not your room anymore.

It's the guestroom.

Oh, don't be ridiculous.

You know, I never realized it,

but might be a little small
for my workout,

so I may do that
in the living room.

Since when do you work out?

You know what?

I don't have time for this.
I have to get to work.

Mmm-hmm. Okay. Okay, darlin'.

We'll catch up
when you get home.

So what are you gonna do
all day?

Oh, don't worry about me.
I could entertain myself.

But you don't have a car.

So? I'll take the bus.

You can't take...
no one takes the bus.

-Then I'll hail a cab.
-You can't just...

I'll be fine.

Ah, don't worry.
Don't worry about me.

I'm gonna check in on you
later today.

-Okay?
-Mmm-hmm.

-Hello?
-Did I wake you?

Only, yeah, from sleepwalking.

[laughs]

Are you in our L.A. office?

Just at the hotel.

Did you have a chance
to review the documents?

I skimmed them last night.

I'm in the middle of
giving them a closer look now.

Well, I've had a chance
to review them.

Okay. And?

And you were right.

The finances are all in order.

And there's no red flags
that I can see as of right now,

so I emailed the partners.

That's good.

Mmm-hmm.

So Donte, what's the CEO like?

-Alexis Willis?
-Mmm-hmm.

Um, I mean, her whole bio's in
the prospectus that you have.

I know that, Donte.

But you've had dinner with her
last night.

Drinks.

Dinner, drinks,
what's the difference?

What's she like?

She's a serious businesswoman.

[chuckles]

You know me too well.

Yeah, well, I figure there's
some reason you're asking me.

She's young and inexperienced.

She's smart and driven.

Those are two factors
I'd bet on any day.

Maybe.

But you and I both know
plenty of smart men and women

that had no business
running a company.

Well, what are you saying,
Charlotte?

That you'll replace her?

I'm not saying anything.

But you have to realize
that if we invest real money,

we have to make sure
that our card is hitched

to the right horse.

Get it?

Oh, that's quite the metaphor.

Fine.

Our sleigh
to the right reindeer.

Is that better, Mr. Christmas?

Very funny.

I'm not saying
she's not the right person.

Maybe she is.

But you're the one there
on the ground.

You have to make the call.

And I will, Charlotte.

You better.

[sighs]

We need more manpower.

Do you think the icons
are user-friendly

or do you think the pull-down
will generate more sales?

Alexis, are you listening to me?

Huh?

I said we need to hire
more people.

Oh, no. Out of the question.

Our financials are under
a microscope with River Road.

Hence, why we need
to hire someone.

Okay. It's not just about
generating sales.

I need to show them
an impressive ROI.

In order to do this,
we must keep expenses low.

Then, hire an intern.

What?

An intern.

Free labor.

You know how many kids
just out of college

would kill to work
at a start-up like this?

[groans]
I don't have time right now.

Well, I'll take care of it.

You don't have to worry
about at thing.

How was drinks?

It was fine.

Mmm-hmm.

What? What does that mean?

Mr. Rogers, on the phone,

his voice sounded sexy.

Uh-huh.

Okay. He was very nice.

Very professional.

I saw his picture
on the website.

Sari, what are you
trying to say?

Nothing. Nothing.
Just that, you know,

we could have worse-looking
investors than Donte Rogers.

[sighs]

-[knocking on door]
-[Cecilia] Knock knock.

I brought lunch.

You never eat lunch.

Sari, this is my mother.

I thought your mother lived in--

Florida, yes. She does.

Oh, well, hello, Mrs. Willis.

I'm sorry.
I'm your daughter's assistant.

Oh, darling.
You call me Cecilia.

How did you get here?

I called a cab.

Oh, um, I need to meet
with Brock.

Excuse me.

She doesn't eat lunch?

No time.

She's gonna work herself
to death.

Yeah, she's under
a lot of stress right now.

Well, whenever I speak with her,

she tells me
everything's going okay.

It is. It is.

We just...we have one chance
to make this work.

One Christmas
for our investors to decide

if this a sustainable business
or not.

Oh.

Yeah.

And there's an executive
from the company here this week

to get a firsthand look
at our company.

Oh.

No wonder she's so stressed out.

We need more people.

But we can't afford it.

All the new hires
go straight to IT

because if something happens
to the app...

[imitates explosion sound]

Where could you use the help?

[Sari] Marketing, mainly.

We need to be smart about
spending our advertising dollars

to get the most bang
for our buck.

Hmm.

Let's eat.

[festive music]

[laughter]

[Cecilia] Oh.

Oh, hello.

It's your lucky day.

You're going back to Florida?

Very funny.

I'm going to work for you.

Excuse me?

I said I'm going
to work for you.

What are you talking about?

Well, I've been talking to Sari.

She said you need help,
so that's why I'm here for.

Hmm.

You can't work for me, mom.

Why not?

Well, for one thing,
I can't afford you.

I'm working for free.

Well, you can't work for free.
That's illegal.

Not if I'm an intern.

-Uh, Sari.
-Mmm-hmm. Yup.

-She hired me.
-Mom, you were vice president

in marketing before you retired.

Exactly.
So you know I'm qualified.

Yeah. Overqualified.

Don't look a gift horse
in the mouth,

especially around Christmas.

No. Just...no.

Look.
You need help, I can help you.

What do you have to lose?

You know, Alexis Willis,

I'm about to tell you something
you might not want to hear.

I love you more than anything.

I've always believed in you.

But you can be
as stubborn as a mule.

Well, it runs in the family.

So...how can you help?

[mellow music]

-May I help you?
-Oh.

Well, uh, I guess that depends
on what you're offering?

I'm sorry,
this isn't retail outlet.

This is a warehouse
for an online company.

I know.
I just started to work here.

Where, here?

In the other building, yeah.

Well, welcome.

William Malone,
warehouse foreman.

Oh, well, Cecilia.

A pleasure.

Please don't take this
the wrong way

but you don't look like
the typical CyberSanta employee.

I could say the same thing
about you.

-[Cecilia chuckling]
-Indeed.

I have an in
with the head of the company.

So what are you doing over here?

Well, I figured
if I'm going to working here,

I may as well get
the lay of the land.

Would you like
the grand tour, then?

Oh, isn't what you see
what you get?

Hardly.

Oh.

Come on.

You won't believe it.

Oh.

[telephone rings]

-Yeah.
-Donte Rogers on line one.

You want me to tell him
you're unavailable.

Uh, no. Put him through.

Hold on.

Donte, how are you?

I'm fine.
Hey, Alexis. How are you?

Well, first tell me
some good news,

then I can tell you how I am?

I reviewed the numbers
you supplied

and I shared them with my team.

So far, so good.

Listen, I'd like
to come by the office tomorrow

-if you wouldn't mind.
-Um, yeah. Sure.

But, uh, is anything wrong?

Nothing at all.

I just like to get a sense
of the company firsthand.

Standard operating procedure.

Yeah, sure.

I mean, I have
a very busy day tomorrow

but I'm sure I can move
some things around.

Oh, no.
Not on account of me, please.

Um, I don't want
to get in the way.

I'll just come in, look around,
and talk to your direct reports,

then we can chat
when you have some time.

Uh, yeah, sure. That'll be fine.

Okay.

Thanks, Alexis.
I'll see you tomorrow.

Yeah, no problem.

[playful music]

[laughs]

Hey, hey, hey. Hang on.
One second, please.

May I?

Oh. Oh. Oh.

There.

-Merry Christmas.
-[laughs]

When in Rome, I guess.

That's one thing
we're not short of.

Christmas spirit.

So, have you been here
from the beginning.

Yep. Since day one.

Oh. But, uh, what did you do
before CyberSanta?

I mean, the company's only
been around for a year.

Well, I've always been
in supply chain management.

Everything from, um,
central distribution

of the largest grocery store
chain in the country

to video cassette stores
back in in the VHS days.

And just before this,

I owned and operated
a solar panel storage facility.

Huh.

I figure that that would be
a good business nowadays,

with everything you read
about solar energy.

Yeah, it was. It was.
But, you know,

I was thinking about
slowing down a little bit.

And then I got an offer
I couldn't refuse.

Oh, yeah? From who?

-This is your warehouse?
-It was.

It was.

Look, the company needed
space quick.

This fit the bill,
so I cashed out.

But then joined CyberSanta?

Uh, look. I'm not ready
to retire quite yet.

And the company needed
somebody who could handle

inventory and shipping.

Besides, I know all the
idiosyncrasies of this place.

Oh, warehouses have
idiosyncrasies?

Oh, are you kidding me?

Like, when it rains,
there's a waterfall

off the roof
of the southwest loading dock.

Now, it looks, kind of, pretty,

but you don't want
inventory sitting there,

waiting to go out.

Hmm. Well, I really appreciate
you giving me a tour, William,

but, uh, I should really
get back to the office.

Yeah, you don't want
the boss thinking

you're slacking off
on the first day.

[chuckles]

It was really nice
meeting you, William.

Yeah. Come by anytime.

It's nice to have another adult
around this place.

Hey, if you ever want to take
a lunch break,

we order in from the best sub
shop west of the Mississippi.

I may just take you up on that.

Well, I hope you do.

Here. Let me show you
the way out.

[chuckles]

[groaning]

So...is it working?

Hmm, I don't know.

What should I be feeling?

Oh, the stress melting away.

Your mind disengaging
from your physical body.

That's not happening.

You feel anything?

Yeah.
Annoyed that I'm wasting time

when I should be working.

-You know, you're impossible.
-[sighs]

You need to open your mind
a little.

I don't recall you and dad
having such open minds

when I was sneaking out
in high school.

I'm just trying to help.

You seem tense.

Yeah, well,
one of the executives

from River Road is
coming by tomorrow, so...

Oh. You mean,
that fine, young man

that you had drinks with?

How do you know that?

Sari told me.

I should've really make her sign
an nondisclosure

for inside the office.

She's a good assistant.

A terrible gossip,
but a good assistant.

Yeah. Yeah, she is.

So, I went down
to the warehouse today,

you know,
get a sense of everything.

Uh-huh.

Pretty impressive.

Well, I haven't
been down there in weeks.

Mmm-hmm.
William showed me around.

He's a nice guy. Smart.

Yeah, well, he keeps
the warehouse running smoothly

and that's all I care about.

He knows it well enough,
having sold it to you.

-What?
-William.

He used to own your warehouse.

You didn't know that?

I mean, the lawyers
handled all of that.

Well, who hired him
to keep working there?

Sari, I suppose.

Not human resources?

Sari is human resources,
amongst her many other duties.

Oh, you've been working
that girl too hard.

Oh, she loves it.

Alexis, can I give you
some business advice?

As long as it doesn't
have anything to do

with working out or meditating.

Go on.

[sighs]
Now, since I've been here,

you've been working nonstop.

-I told you, I just--
-I get it. I get it.

But mainly,
I've just seen you pouring

over number spreadsheets.

Nuh-uh. I know. I know.

You have to answer
to your investors,

and I know,
I know you need to impress them.

But you can't do it all alone.

You need to rely on your team.

Delegate a little to others,
besides Sari.

Anything else?

Nope.

Don't work too hard.

-Good night.
-[woman] Mmm-hmm.

[dramatic music]

[Donte] Morning.

-Are you on your way?
-Of course.

Let's see if this company
starts early too.

I'm sure they do, Charlotte.

Really tried to get
a sense of them.

I want to holistic analysis.

You know, I've done this
once or twice before.

Actually, you haven't.

Not if I want someone
to run the numbers

and offer for an opinion,
you're my man.

But it's not often that you get
this up-close in personal.

And that's exactly
what I need with this company.

I understand.

And Donte...

I know. I know.

Fortune favors the bold.

Hmm. You're the man.

[sighs]

And I thought I got up early.

Well, you said
it was a big day for you,

so you need to get ready.

I'll just fix your breakfast.

Well, I am ready,
but what I'm not is hungry.

You need to eat breakfast.

It's the most important
meal of the day.

It is not.

A dietitian from Kellogg's

came up with that slogan
in 1917.

You remember that?

See? And you always said
I never listen.

You know what?
Never mind what I said.

-[phone beeps]
-It was good marketing.

Now, you need to eat.

-Oh, no.
-What?

It's Donte.
He's already at the office.

Oh. Okay.

Oh, you know coding?

I've pick up a couple things
along the way.

-Wow.
-Yeah.

-That's crazy.
-Donte. Hi.

I wasn't expecting you
this early.

Oh. This doesn't matter
really for me.

I like to get a head start
on things.

I just wish I would have been
able to get you settled.

Not at all.
Brock here was just walking me

through some particulars
with the app.

This guy knows a lot
about code for a bean counter?

[laughs]

Why don't you finish telling me
about credit card info

stored in the database later on?

-All right. Sounds good.
-Okay.

Is there someone
I can set you up with,

a department that we could
meet with together?

No, no. Like I said,

I just want to get
a sense of everything.

I'm going to set my laptop
and do my thing,

but maybe we can touch base
in a few hours?

Yeah. Sounds good.
Whatever you need.

Okay. Thanks, Alexis.

Thanks.

Good morning.

Hey, you did some
interior decorating.

Nice.

You didn't do this?

-Nope. Not me.
-The cleaning people?

I thought you could use
a little more Christmas spirit.

-That's all.
-You did this?

-Mmm-hmm.
-When?

Um, just now,
while you were talking to Brock

and, uh, that other man.

That other man
is our primary investor.

Hmm.

What?

I've never seen
an investor look that fine.

You were right, Sari.

Mother.

See? I told you.
Listen to your mother.

Okay. Enough of this.

I need to meet with Gemma.

Sari, find something
for my mother to do.

Trust me, it doesn't
make sense not to advertise

on all the largest
social media websites.

I understand.

But some of them will not give
us the analytics that we need.

And some consider it
their proprietary information.

But we can track the sales
that come from their site.

That's good,
but not good enough.

When I submit
reports to River Road,

I need specific data
in addition to gross sales.

And gross sales
are what's important.

That's how we're gonna grow.

They're important but...

Oh, Sari asked me
to bring you these.

-Ah. Thank you.
-Mmm-hmm.

Look, I feel we're missing out
on the opportunity.

We have buys on eight
of the top ten websites

and three of the most popular
social media sites.

No one is going to fault us

for how much we're
spending on that.

Oh, excuse me. Excuse me.

Um, how much of your
advertising budget

is spent on digital?

Um, 100%, obviously.

-Hmm.
-As I was saying.

Hmm, but that's a mistake.

And I...excuse me?

I said that's a mistake.
A big mistake.

Well, why do you say that?

Well, because you're missing
an enormous market,

an enormous opportunity,

simply because
you just don't understand it.

Okay, now.

I graduated from USC
with a Masters Degree

in PR in Advertising.

And before that, I worked
at the top search engine

optimization company
on the West Coast.

You ever bought billboard space?

No. We don't have time
for that anyway.

Fine. Fine.
What about print ads?

Of course not.

-Air time on the radio?
-What's your point, mom?

My point is that,

well, you're neglecting
an entire demographic.

A demographic with a lot
of disposable income.

-We've done our research.
-Really?

Well, it just so happens
that I still read magazines.

-I still listen to the radio.
-[inhales deeply]

Now, legacy media
might not be sexy,

but you'd be crazy not to make
it a part of your strategy.

Especially since it sounds
like your investors,

they are impressed by breadth.

Go on.

Studies show that recall on ads

generated by search engines

are in the single digits.

The low single digits.

Now, the recall on radio ads
is over 50%.

For print ads,
it's only slightly less.

Alexis, this is ridiculous.

Whether we use print,
radio, whatever, now,

we can add a discount code
so that we can clearly see

just how many sales
are generated through

each of these impressions.

Don't these campaigns
take time to create?

I mean, we're literally
two weeks away from Christmas.

Well, they can.

But they can also be done
quickly and effectively.

Gosh. We don't have anyone staff
that can do that kind of stuff.

Now, you do.

[chuckles]

Hey.

What the heck
do you think you're doing?

My job.

And your job is to make me
look like a fool?

Not at all.

No. With that.

You did just fine on your own.

You know what?

I don't care
whose mother you are.

You've been here a day.
And you're an intern.

If you would just listen,
you'd understand

that I'm trying to help you.

Now, if we can work together,
that's great.

If not, my daughter's company
is much more important

than your feelings.

Excuse me.
I have work to do.

[scoffs]

[gentle music]

I am so sorry,
but I don't think

this place serves
Christmas Trees.

Well, since I try not to drink
during work hours,

I think a peppermint latte
will suffice.

Hmm. Not of fan of the three
martini lunch, huh?

You know, I didn't believe
people really did that.

I'd be under the table.

Back in the day they did,
believe me.

[laughs]
I guess they were old school.

Speaking of which,
I met your newest intern.

Okay. Donte, look.

She has nothing to do
with the company.

There was a situation
where she just showed up and--

No, no, no, no, no.
Don't explain. I love it.

You do?

Yeah. I mean she's experienced.

She's so likeable,
obviously intelligent.

Plus, you can't beat
the business model.

The business model?

Yeah, you don't have to pay her.

[laughs] Okay.

Anyways, did you see
what you came here for today?

I did.
Yes, um, like I said before,

it wasn't anything specific.

I just like to visit
the companies

in which we're investing
so I can understand them

at a granular level.

Granular?

[chuckles] Sorry.

I swore I'd never fall victim
to investor-speak,

but I, kind of, forget
we're in our own little bubble.

But you like it, right?

Like what?

The job. Doing what you do.

Working for a venture
capital firm.

I do. Yeah.

I like the idea of it, you know,

it's exciting to see something
you helped bring into existence,

start to flourish.

I hear a but coming.

[Donte] No, no.
I can't complain.

It's just the bureaucracy
like you find in any industry.

That's why I like
being on the road.

It's much nicer to get
a sense of the company

beyond the numbers.

And that's important?

[Donte] Oh, extremely important.

It's one thing to get
a look at balance sheet.

It's entirely another
to get up close in personal.

Are you trying
to tell me something?

-Like what?
-I don't know

that even if our numbers
are good--

No, no, I'm not trying
to tell you anything,

I swear.

So tell me, why CyberSanta?

The name?
No, no. The name's great.

Business itself, what's the, uh,
what's the origin story?

Well, I used to work
for an ecommerce company,

a startup.

And it was crazy,
as you can imagine.

I was working
nights and weekends

and holidays were coming up.

I realized I didn't
have time to eat,

much less go Christmas shopping
and buy a tree.

So then I got the thinking--

One-stop shop
for everything Christmas.

Uh-hmm. But first,
I had to do a little research.

And what I found was,

was that although people
loves Christmas,

they hate getting ready for it.

So then, I thought,
what if there's a way

that people shop for the holiday

and have everything
shipped right to them?

And for that,
you need the warehouse.

[Alexis] Exactly.
People don't wanna go

to a million different places,

often in the freezing cold

for wrapping paper, tinsel,
gingerbread men.

And shopping for gifts?

So that was the other
part of it.

By combining our proprietary
search engine

with an easy-to-use
ecommerce site,

people were able to shop
directly through us.

So not only were we able to get

a percentage of sales
from retailers,

we were able to bring in
advertising dollars on companies

once they understood our reach.

Very smart.

-So you quit your job?
-[Alexis] Not at first.

I used all my savings,
cashed out my 401K,

and hired some developers

to create the initial
website and app.

Once I was sure
that it was viable,

I went looking
for some seed money.

And that's where we came in.

That's where you came in.

[laughs]

So what now?

Well, um, I've got to visit
some other companies

we've invested in.

But I'll be back.

Okay.

I, kinda, like it here.

Yeah.

[merry music]

Oh, my.

Hey, everything good?

Oh, everything's good. [laughs]

I already have some ideas
that I think can work.

Oh, good.
Well, I'll give you a ride

and I wanna hear all about it
at home.

Um, actually,
I have a previous engagement.

What?

A date for dinner.

Wait.

With who?

William, from the warehouse.

Uh, I'm meeting him soon.

Wait, I haven't
had a date in over a year.

You just got here
a few days ago.

[laughs] What can I say?

The men can't resist my charms.

[laughs]

Besides, I see something brewing

between you and that
venture capitalist.

That's strictly business.

Famous last words.

Okay. Have fun tonight.

Uh-hmm.

Don't wait up!

[Christmas music]

[singer]
♪ Oh, oh, yeah, yeah

♪ Oh, oh, oh

♪ Merry Christmas...

Well, I hope that was okay.

I mean, it wasn't exactly
fine dining, but--

Better than okay.

You know how many
business dinners

I've been to where
I've left hungry?

I didn't realize
this was a business dinner?

Oh, I'm sorry.
I didn't mean to make you think

-that I was--
-[William laughs]

-I'm kidding. Come on.
-Oh.

-[chuckles]
-But seriously,

what's the real reason
you came to work here?

For the life experience.

If I tell you,
you won't say anything?

[sighs]

My last name is Willis.

No relation to Alexis Willis,
is there?

Only by blood.

She's my daughter.

That explains everything.

[laughs] I was only gonna stay
with her for the holidays,

you know, spend some time.

But after seeing what she did,

I thought I could be of help.

You think that's silly?

Me? Absolutely not!

People like you and I, we're not
ready to be put out to pasture.

That's how I feel.

But honestly, you know,

that is a new world out there,
isn't it?

To say the least.

In my first job,

I had to type
the shipping manifests

on a manual typewriter.

Oh, wow. You are ancient!

[laughter]

At least when I started out,
you know, in marketing,

we had a computer.

And, of course, you know,
it wasn't connected to anything.

Because there was no internet.

Because there was no internet.

[laughs]

You know when thought
I had really made it?

When?

I got a phone in my car.

Never mind that it took up
the whole center of the console,

it wasn't portable,
it was big as a suitcase.

But I felt like a movie star.

Do you remember leaded gasoline?

Of course.

Can you drive a stick shift?

That is what I learned on.

What about track cassettes?

Cassettes? I remember LPs.

[laughter]

Vinyl, baby.

Oh. Oh, William,
I had a wonderful time.

Well, I promised you,
you wouldn't go home hungry.

Well, on that, you delivered.

It was a nice change.

What was?

To be out with a grown-up.

Hey, take it easy.

You're gonna make me
feel like an old man.

[laughs]

Just like that,
I feel like a teenager again.

[Christmassy music]

Hey.

Hello.

How did you get home?

William drove me.

So how was it?

It was nice. Really nice.

I should get to know him more.

-Yes, you should.
-Uh-hmm.

As well as your
other employees, too.

I know my core team.

Gemma, Brock, Sari,

CFO, head of human resources.

Look, I don't have time
to get to know everybody.

This is a business,
not a sorority.

Alexis, can I give you
some business advice?

After today,
I'd be a fool to say no.

I understand what a crazy time
this is, I really do.

But you need to make
your employees feel

that they're valued.

You know, not for them,
but, you know,

that's a benefit as well,
but for you.

When your employees feel valued,

they feel empowered, important,
they work harder.

And right now, you need them
working as hard as they can.

I mean, you're right.

Uh-hmm.

But you know our situation.

We can't afford to give our
bonuses or raises. Not yet.

Well, you don't need to.

It's the little things
that matter.

-Like?
-Take a break for a bit

then meet me in the kitchen.

[singer] ♪ Cooking up some love
this Christmas... ♪

Ooh.

How come I don't
ever remember you

making cookies when I was a kid?

Oh, well, I was busy working.

[chuckles] You know,
if you would have told me

I'd be baking cookies
for my staff,

well, ever, I tell you,
you were crazy.

[laughter]

Cheaper than raises.

-And tastier, too.
-[Cecilia] Uh-hmm.

[Alexis] But you don't think
this is, I don't know...

-What?
-...frivolous?

Oh, there's nothing frivolous
about happy employees.

Just wait 'til tomorrow,
you'll see.

So what's with that
fine, young man

from the investment firm?

-Donte?
-Uh-hmm.

He's headed back to the Bay.

And then?

And he said he'll be in touch.

[sighs] You know what?

I don't understand
how these investment funds work.

I mean, they give you money,

then decide if they wanna
get in business with you,

seems backwards to me.

Yeah, I know.

First,
they'll give you a little,

it's called seed money.

And then they'll look at all
of their prospects,

and if they're good,

they'll invest more, if not...
[tongue clicks]

Ooh. Well, that seems
like a waste of time.

I mean, if you believe
in something,

you should just go all in.

[Alexis] I wish.

But they invest in dozens
of companies.

And out of all of them,

only a few make it.

Well, you know,
it's a great idea, Alexis.

CyberSanta.

I know, and, you know,
I don't tell you enough,

but I think you have done
a wonderful job.

-Trust yourself.
-Aw.

Thanks, Mom.

[laughter]

Okay. So now, let's finish up
with these cookies.

Now, we both--
we both have a big day tomorrow.

[Christmas music]

Where'd you get
these cookies from?

They look delicious.

Chez Willis.

You made them yourself?

Well, with a little help
from my mother.

Smart move.
A little sugar goes a long way.

Ooh.

You texted me?

Yeah, I was hoping
you could bring

some of these plates over
to the warehouse workers'.

Gladly.
Just don't expect any back.

You know, my people
are like vultures

whenever it comes
to a good snack.

Oh, here, let me help you.

-Can we talk?
-Yeah.

But, first have a cookie.

Okay, what is it?

I just wanted to apologize.

For what?

For yesterday.

The way that I reacted
to your mother's ideas.

I thought about it
for a long time last night.

And?

And they're pretty good,
actually.

I mean,
she might be onto something.

Look, Gemma,
you're my VP of marketing.

I need you.

I mean, if it wasn't for you,

we wouldn't be where we are
right now.

But I have a responsibility
to this company

to consider every idea
that might help us,

no matter
where it might come from.

Yeah. Yeah, I know that.

I was just being...

I don't know what I was being.

But I'm fine now.

And I just want you to know
that I'm with you.

And I am sorry.

[singer 1]
♪ Here comes the snow

[singer 2]
♪ All they want for Christmas

[singer 1] ♪ Have some food

[indistinct chatter]

[singer 1] ♪ Mistletoe

[singer 2] ♪ All they want
for Christmas ♪

-[singer 1] ♪ Santa's shoe
-[singer 2] ♪ Santa's coming

[singer 1] ♪ Everything old

[radio DJ] And that was
Block 'o Blues here on WBLZ.

It's your Mo Beta Blues Station.

I'll be right back
with more of your favorites

after a word from our sponsor.

[woman] It's two weeks
after Thanksgiving

and you still haven't started
your Christmas shopping yet?

You know what you need?
Cyber Santa.

Cyber Santa. That's right.

[singer] ♪ Let's give 'em
all they want ♪

♪ For Christmas this year

♪ You better watch out...

[Sari] Yes. The orders
need to be coming in ASAP.

I don't know why it's delayed.

[telephone ringing]

One second. Hold on.

Yes? She's on line five.

Okay. I'll transfer you now.

[woman] Cyber Santa
is your one-stop-shop

for everything Christmas,
from decorations to gifts.

They have everything you need
for the holidays,

either in their fully
stocked warehouse

or through partnerships
with every major store

you can think of.

-Oh.
-Here you go.

Thank you, darling.

[telephone ringing]

Can you--
can you hold on, please?

Yes. Did you go through?

Okay. Well, let me...
lemme try again.

Line two. Okay. Thanks. Bye.

[man] Cyber Santa, huh?

I wish I would've known
about them before.

Now, I can stop worrying

and just enjoy
the holidays again.

Thanks, Cyber Santa.

[woman] Cyber Santa,

Christmas with a click.

[cheers and applause]

Yeah, we did it.

Wow.

Have you seen the predictions

for Clear Tell's
Public Offering?

-Of course.
-Ah, pretty impressive.

Yeah. If they hold,
then it's very impressive.

-Yeah.
-Is that why you called me back

to talk about Clear Tell's
Stock price?

Not exactly.

Cyber Santa
is making the partners nervous.

Why? They've seen
the same numbers I have.

Numbers are just numbers.

-It's the intangibles.
-Okay. What intangibles?

-What are we talking about?
-Well, for one,

Cyber Santa
is a seasonal business,

which means that the sales
vary wildly throughout the year,

it's a young company,

which means there's no history
to rely upon.

And the CEO, inexperienced so--

Charlotte, we keep saying that
she built the company.

Excuse me.

What's going on, Donte?

What are you talking about?

We butted heads on deals
bigger than this.

A lot bigger.

And I have never seen you
this emotional.

I like this company.

You like this company?

I think it's a smart investment.
That's all.

Uh-hmm.

So what's the verdict?
Are we out?

We're not out yet,

but I won't sugarcoat it
for you.

It doesn't look good.

Will you please let me know
as soon as you hear something?

Absolutely.

Donte,

if this really
is about business,

don't make it
about anything else.

What if it isn't?

Then you have a decision
to make.

[Alexis] The last few days
have been exhausting.

Hmm, but exciting, right?

So how can you be so sure?

About what?

That any of this is gonna work?

I mean, not to put
any pressure on you,

but the future of my company
is riding on it.

I guess I just have confidence.

In your ideas?

And in you.

-Your father.
-What about Dad?

He would've been so proud
of you.

I doubt it.
He was always so hard on me.

That's because he knew
what you were capable of

and he expected it from you.

I know what you've done
with Cyber Santa.

He would've thought
it was extraordinary.

[phone vibrates]

It's Donte.

Well, go ahead.

Don't look at me. Answer it.

-Hello?
-Alexis. Donte Rogers.

Donte. How are you?

I'm well. Listen,
I hope it's not too late.

I figured if you weren't
in the office,

you'd be up
doing work somewhere.

Right. You are.

What can I do for you?

Well, it's been a few days.

And I guess I just
didn't want you to think

that I had abandoned you.

That's the last thing
I thought, Donte.

Good. 'Cause I'll be back
down there soon.

-Oh.
-[Donte] Yeah.

Is that okay?

Yes. I mean, sure.

If that's what you need.
Of course.

Uh, yes.
I think that would be best.

Donte, is everything all right?

You sound funny.

I'll be honest with you, Alexis,

we've been having
some discussions here.

About?

Well, it's...
there's some concern

with the viability
of the business.

It seems you're carrying
a lot of overhead

that's only really justified
in December.

Well, that's the nature
of our business.

I mean, it's Cyber Santa

and we have revenue
throughout the year.

I know. I know.

I just wanted to give you
a heads up.

I'll see you soon.

Yeah.

Well, everything okay?

Yeah, it's fine.

It's fine.

Do you have anything important
to say?

Nope. Not at all.

I mean, other than he'll be back
in town in a couple of days.

Hmm.

What?

No, nothing.

I just want you to be careful,
that's all.

-Be careful of what?
-Of Donte.

I hate to surprise you,

but I have been
in relationships before.

And that's what this is?

I mean, yeah.

But it's a business
relationship.

Alexis, I know
you have feelings for Donte.

I don't want you to forget
the man has a job to do.

So, what are you trying to say?

I'm not trying to say anything.

I just...
I don't want you to get hurt.

I promise you I can handle it.

I know you can.

And I know there wasn't anything
you can't handle.

I just want you to be careful.

That's all.

Okay.

[Christmas music]

If I have to call you
one more time,

I'm telling you...

what do you think you're doing?

-Come with me.
-Why?

-Just come with me.
-Why? What's wrong?

When did our radio ad air?

Yesterday
during the midday drive.

You were there. You heard it.

Oh, and then again this morning.

-Huh?
-Why?

I want you to see something.

What?

These are our orders
in the last 12 hours.

And this is a graph of our sales
over the past month.

Oh, wow.

Let's go tell Alexis.

Okay.

[Gemma] Hey.

-What's wrong?
-Our sales,

uh, they're off the charts.

It's the radio ads.

Our sales are up 300%.

Well, can we handle it?

Mia, I need the dolly over
on aisle three.

You gotta get those boxes
on the loading dock right now.

I see you received the orders.

They just kept coming in.

I thought it was a mistake.

-Can we handle it?
-We'll see.

Jackson, you gotta grease
the conveyors.

They're gonna be running 24/7.

-[Jackson] Right, boss.
-Don't worry.

We'll be fine.

Oh, we have a problem.

-[Alexis] Mono?
-Mono.

Her agent says
she's extremely contagious

for at least 10 days.

Who gets mono anymore?

[Sari] You know, I still have
all the headshots on my desk.

We could just
find another model.

There's not enough time.

The shoot's this afternoon.

So, change it 'till tomorrow
or even the next day.

No, we can't.

We're on really tight deadlines
for those print ad.

The shoot has to happen today.

So get someone off the street.

There must be a million women
who will wanna do this.

-Yeah?
-Well, yeah,

but not the type that we want.

And what type is that?

Sophisticated, classy,

sexy without trying too hard.

Why not let Cecilia do it?

-Yeah.
-Very funny.

Well, I'm serious. Why not?

We need a professional model.

What do models do?
They stand there, right?

And wear a Santa hat
and display the products

that our vendors
have made as replacement.

I'm pretty sure that Cecilia
could handle that.

Will you do it?

Be your model
for your print ads?

Oh, that's the craziest thing
I ever heard.

So, you'll do it?

As I told you before,

I'll do whatever you need.

Yes.

[Christmas music]

Ooh, your skin is so pretty.

Thank you.

For someone your age.

Say that again, you won't like
where I stick that powder brush.

Oh, I'm sorry.
I didn't mean it like that.

I'm just teasing you, sugar.

There's my muse.

Oh, Ian, I want you
to meet Cecilia Willis.

She was kind enough to step in
when our model canceled.

So you're no pro?

Not even close.

[Ian] Yeah.

Yes, yes, yes.

She'll be fine.

Good.

Is this your revenge?

My revenge?

For meddling?

This wasn't my idea.

This was your boyfriend's.

My boyfriend?

You mean the man
from the warehouse?

-The foreman?
-Cecilia,

you're a Cyber Santa
employee now.

What's that mean?

It means
there's gonna be gossip.

But don't you worry,
that William?

Hmm, wee.

He's a sweetie.

-Oh.
-Are you almost done?

Few more minutes.

[Gemma] All right.
Well, hurry up.

Ian's on the clock
and he doesn't come cheap.

Oh. Maybe I should call
my agent too.

Okay.

Yes, yes.

Work it Ms. Christmas.

Oh, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.

[Ian] Oh, beautiful.

Lovely.

Pretend like you won a prize.

[singer] ♪ In a one horse
open sleigh ♪

[Ian] Yes. You are the winner.

[singer]
♪ Jingle all the way...

Give me Mr. Santa.
Give me Krampus.

Yes.

Perfect.

[singer]
♪ Dashing through the snow...

[Ian] Love it. Love it.

Oh, beautiful.

[singer] ♪ Open sleigh

Perfect.

-[William] So, was I right?
-What? About what?

About that being one of the best
subs west of the Mississippi?

[laughs]

Well, I can't argue with that.

Although we don't have that many
great sub shops in Florida.

Cecilia, when are you going back
to Florida?

Hmm, around New Year's,
I imagine.

Oh, why? You're trying
to get rid of me already?

The opposite, in fact.

So, is there a man back there
waiting for you?

-Don't be silly.
-[William] What, silly?

I'm sure there's a lot
of gentlemen

who are very interested
in you, Cecilia.

None that I'm interested in,
at least.

So, what? You need
to get back to a job?

No, I retired a few years ago

and I still do
some consulting, but--

So, why are you leaving?

Why don't you stay?

I'm sorry to interrupt you two.

Oh, what?
Did you come to collect me?

Yes, but to also show you these.

Not bad, Cecilia.

You might have a second career
ahead of you.

[Cecilia] Uh, well do with these
what you will and burn it.

Oh, we already are.

Gemma is in the office
finalizing the proofs

and then we're uploading them
to various outlets.

Well, uh, why don't you two go?

I'm sure you're exhausted.

You sure?

What about you, William?

How are you managing things?

Managing, don't worry.

If your orders keep coming in,
I'll keep shipping 'em out.

[laughs]

Uh, I'll see you tomorrow.

Uh-hmm.

Good night.

Um, uh, you know what,
um, you go to the car,

-I'll meet you.
-What's wrong?

Hmm, never mind.

Just...I'll meet you.

Did you forget something?

Oh.

You have some mustard
on your lip.

-Hey, Donte.
-Did you get them?

Did I get what?

Check your email.

Okay.

What am I looking for?

[Donte] Click the link.

Photos from the recent shoot.

-Is this your model?
-Uh-hmm.

Well, I hope you know
what you're doing.

I'm being bold, Charlotte.

It's being bold.

Yes, you are.

Donte's here.

Now?

And he's looking
particularly fine.

Tell him I'll be there
in a minute.

Ugh.

I've always been aware of radio,

but it's always struck me
as some sort

of old fashioned medium.

I mean, in hours,
literally hours

of launching the ad,
our sales shot up exponentially.

The cost-benefit ratio was more
than we could ever imagine.

And then when we added
print ads into the mix,

which is quite a funny story
in itself, it has--

Have dinner with me.

Wait, what?

Have dinner with me tonight.

Please.

Um, I was actually in the middle

of giving you an update
on our progress.

You can give me the rest
of the update tonight.

I promise.

What do you say?

I say pick me up at 7:00.

I'll see you tomorrow.

It's not even 6:00 yet.

I have a business dinner
tonight.

That's not on your calendar.

Goodnight, Sari.

[Gemma] Oh, that looks great
right there.

-Hey, is everything okay?
-You did a great job.

-Uh-hmm.
-Oh, well, more good news.

It seems Cecilia here actually

could have a second career
in modeling.

Check this out.

I put in the photos
from her shoot

on the online ads,

and it increased the click rate

by 25% already.

-[Alexis] Good.
-Yeah.

-Great work.
-[laughs]

Oh, you leaving?

Uh, business dinner.

I'll see you at home.

Good night, Gemma.

Um, good night.

I really love you in that top.

[singer] ♪ Ooh

♪ Oh, yeah

♪ Ooh

I know I keep going on
and on about it,

but it was a brilliant idea.

Ideas, really.

Truth is,
with all of our experience

with the most
cutting-edge technology,

we never would've thought of it.

That's why I'm an investor,
not a creative.

I never would've thought
of that either.

Yeah, but you still
need the insight

to judge the companies
correctly.

And the people, too.

Mr. Rogers,
if I didn't know any better,

I think you were flirting
with me.

Have I been doing that bad
a job?

Uh, I thought
I was being pretty transparent.

Look, Donte,

obviously I enjoy
spending time with you,

but to what end?

What do you mean?

I mean,
you're heading back north

once your review is over
and I have a company to run.

Where could this relationship
really go?

Well, do we have to know
where it's going?

I like you, Alexis.

I think you like me too.

Can't that be enough for now?

I've never been a fan
of long distance relationships.

Well, what if I didn't go
back up to the Bay Area?

What would you do? Stay here?

-Maybe.
-Don't be ridiculous, Donte.

Once you're finished...
oh, and by the way,

you're being suspiciously quiet

about the developments
of River Road.

Have they really not made
a decision yet?

Alexis, do we have to talk
about work all the time?

Well, no.

Not all the time.

[dramatic music]

What? What is it?

Um...

Mom?

Mom, what are you doing?

Shh, just make yourselves
comfortable.

-Mom.
-Don't mind me.

Out.

Okay. Okay. I'm going.

Good evening, Mr. Rogers.

Oh.

I am so sorry about that.

-Don't worry.
-Oh.

It's okay.

I'm gonna make us a drink.

All right.
Um, oh, can I use your bathroom?

Yeah. It's down the hall.
First door on your left.

Okay.

[sighs]

What were you doing?

What is this?

Alexis, I'm so sorry.

When were you going to tell me?

I was gonna tell you,
I just didn't want

-to ruin our night together.
-You didn't think I wanna know

that the future funding
of my business

has been denied?

[Donte] Like I said,
I was gonna tell you,

I just...

I didn't wanna ruin this.

[Alexis] I don't care
about any of this.

I wanna know
why this decision was made.

I mean, gosh,
we did everything you asked.

We hit every benchmark,
exceeded all expectations.

It's just business.

Don't you dare
give me those cliches.

Read it.

I don't wanna read it.

I want you to tell me why.

Everything you said is true.

You've done a great job,
but you're a first time CEO.

After a thorough review,
the partners decided

that a business like yours
with really only one market

is just too hard
to sustain in the long run.

And what about you?

Is that how you feel too?

-It doesn't matter how I feel.
-Of course it does.

I understand their argument,
but I believe in you.

You have a funny way
of showing it.

Alexis, please.

I mean, why couldn't you
have just been honest with me?

I was gonna tell you.
I swear, I was.

I just didn't want this
to ruin what we have.

No, what we had.

How can I ever trust you again?

Alexis, come on.

Go.

-Please.
-I said, go.

For what it's worth.
I meant what I said about us.

I don't wanna ever
see you again.

[sighs]

Oh, how much of that
did you hear?

Enough.

Baby, I'm so sorry.

What? No brilliant advice?

No, not now.

Since I assume you've already
had plenty to drink.

How about the next best thing
to drown your sorrows?

What's that?

Sleep.

Hmm.

Why aren't you dressed?

What's the point?

You're going to work
looking like that?

I'm not going to work at all.

What are you going to tell
your employees?

Let 'em think their jobs
are safe just a little longer.

Huh?

Wow.

Oh, I never,
never had you paid for one.

For what?

A quitter.

You can take your pop psychology
right home with you.

It's not pop psychology,
my dear. It's the truth.

So what comes next?

A speech about how I owe it
to myself.

And I should buck up

and get myself together
and forge ahead?

No.
You owe it to your employees.

-Excuse me?
-You owe it to your employees

to, Gemma and Brock to Sari.

To William.

To me.

I don't owe anybody anything.

I bled for that company

and I did everything possible
to make it work.

Yes. Yes, you did.

And now you have
to continue to do so.

Didn't you hear
what Donte said, mom?

It's over.
River Road is out.

River Road isn't the only
venture capital firm around.

I'd have to go back
to the beginning.

So, go back
to the beginning then.

I don't know
if I have that in me.

Alexis. Alexis, listen to me.

Now, just because
you've lost faith in yourself,

I haven't lost faith in you.

[Charlotte] Hey, Donte. Hey.

I've never seen you
sulking before.

I'm not sulking.

Okay. Stewing.

Is that better?

We made a mistake.

We should have backed them.

Maybe we should have.

But either way, you were
too close to the situation.

That's nonsense.

-Is it?
-Of course, it is.

Donte, you let
your feelings for someone

cloud your judgment

and you've never
done that before.

Those things aren't
mutually exclusive, Charlotte.

I can care about Alexis

and still think Cyber Santa
is a great company.

Perhaps you're right.

But there's nothing we can do
about it now.

The decision has been made.

Yeah.

Did she take it badly?

That's an understatement.

How'd you tell her?

I didn't.

She saw your text, the one
that said we're officially out.

Ouch.

Sorry about that.

Not your fault.

Donte, are you happy here?

Are you letting me go?

No. For what?
For being childish, immature?

Come on, now.

We've known each other
for a long time.

You know how valuable
you are to this company.

What?

Do you need me to stroke
your ego and tell you again?

No.

You have to admit
you've changed

since you first met
with Cyber Santa.

And you can deny it
all you want.

It's the truth.

Maybe it is.

Maybe I just discovered
what's important.

And where do you think
you're going?

Fortune favors the bold.

Didn't you know that, Charlotte?

That's gross.

Oh, I went to the place--

Can I have everyone's attention?

I'm afraid I have some bad news.

Despite how hard
we've worked,

despite everything
we've hoped for,

our investors have decided

not to continue
their relationship with us.

-Oh.
-What?

Wait, what does this mean
exactly?

It means we keep working.

We do exactly
what we've been doing.

And it also means
that you're gonna have

to have some faith in me.

Is the company going to fold?

Not if I can help it.

Look, I'm not
gonna sugarcoat anything.

If you wanna leave,
I wouldn't blame you,

but I'm gonna do everything
in my power

to keep this company afloat.

Look, we built
something special here,

and I'm not willing
to give that up just yet.

Hmm.

I'm getting to work.

Well, me too.

I'm in.
We believe in you, Alexis.

[Brock] Okay. Let's go.
Hey, let's go.

All right.

[Alexis]
I'm talking Christmas trees,

lights, everything.

Hold on one second.
Did you get that?

Okay. I need everyone
on deck, please. Okay?

I need all the lights,
all the Christmas trees.

This is it. This is the one.

Every snowman
comes with a hat

and the can of spray snow
with every Christmas tree.

[Sari] Well, I think the ad
would've been better

if it had been placed closer
to the front of a magazine.

Yeah.

It's by the time
people get to the end,

sometimes
they won't even see it.

And I think we paid top dollar.

Okay.

All right. Well, let me know.

Make sure
they fold the branches.

Don't let them bend it.

You know, if they bend,
it defeats

the whole purpose
of the Christmas tree.

And I thought
I knew what hard work was.

You did. This is just
hard work version 2.0.

Well, what?
Did I use it wrong?

You were brilliant today,
you know?

I was desperate.

Hmm, I've seen desperate.

You were brilliant.

Well, thank you.

But I'm afraid
I might be a little too late.

Oh, there's only so much
you can do, Alexis.

I mean, there's some situations
that are beyond your control,

but you inspired
those people today.

If there's anything
that they can do for you,

they will.

I hope so.

Uh-hmm.

So, what's on tap for tomorrow?

Meetings
with venture capitalists.

I can't believe you got 'em
on such short notice.

Me either.

I just hope it's not
indicative of their quality.

Oh, anyone would be crazy
not to invest in Cyber Santa.

From your lips to God's ears.

Oh, speaking of lips.
Oh, I forgot the hot chocolate.

I hope you have marshmallows.

Big day.

[sighs] Don't I know it?

Wish me luck now.

Oh, you don't need luck.

Okay. Good luck.

Good luck, anyway.

Thank you.

[Sari]
Your 10:00 am meeting

with the venture capitalist
is here.

I put him
in the conference room.

Wait, I don't have a--

[phone ringing]

I am sorry.
There's nothing on the calendar.

But...wait, what is this?

Is this some kind of joke?

Couldn't be further.

Look, I don't have time
for this, Donte.

I have investor meetings
lined up all day.

-Thanks to you.
-Yeah.

So I can't do whatever this is.

This is one
of your investor meetings.

River Road
pulled out of Cyber Santa

that's what you told me.

Oh, no. Wait.

That's what you didn't tell me
per the documents.

I don't work
for River Road anymore.

What?

[Donte] As of last night,
I quit.

Wait, why?

Well, the long answer
is I wanted to be able

to decide on investments
using my own metrics.

Sometimes a gut feeling's
a lot more important

than anything
on a financial report.

That's what being on the road,

seeing companies
up close has taught me.

And the short answer?

The short answer,
I did it for you.

I thought about what you said,

and you were right
about everything.

But Alexis,
the most important thing,

the one thing
I need you to believe

is that I meant
every word I said about you.

But without River Road,
how are you able

to invest in companies
on your own?

River Road
isn't the only game in town.

I made a lot of contacts
over the years

with a lot of other companies
who would love

to finance my investments.

And Alexis, I want Cyber Santa
to be the first one.

I'm sorry, but no.

Wait. No?

I'd love your investment.
We all would.

But I can't be in business
with someone I don't trust.

I never lied to you.

But you didn't believe
in me either.

That's not true. I...

it wasn't my call.

I'm sorry.

[dramatic music]

What was that about?

Donte left River Road.

He started his own company
and he wanted

Cyber Santa
to be his first investment.

Well, that's amazing.

Yeah.
Well, I turned it down.

What? Why?

He never believed
in the company as much as I did.

Alexis, Alexis, listen to me.

Cyber Santa is your company.

No one is going to care
about it more than you do.

Yeah. But that's what I need.

And you have that in Sari,
in Gemma, in Brock, in me.

Now, for an investor,
you need someone like Donte.

He's putting
his money where his mouth is.

That's the biggest vote
of confidence you can ask for.

More important than that,
he cares about you.

All right.

What should I do, Mom?

You go and grab that man

before he walks out
of this office.

Of course, we can get it
for you by Christmas.

Just gimme your address

and I'll make sure
because she wants it.

[Alexis] Donte,
giving up so easily?

Look, I'm sorry.

You don't need
to be sorry, Alexis.

Well, I was wrong.

You did believe in me.

I was just so angry
I didn't see it.

I don't blame you.

You were right.

Cyber Santa
deserved that financing.

If you gimme a chance,
I'll get it.

I promise you.

I believe in this company
and I believe in you.

I have to ask, what changed?

I mean, everything
you've said in there--

I got some very good advice.

Huh?

Dare I ask from whom?

[laughs] Would you believe it?

An intern.

[singer] ♪ Fresh-worn clothes,
mistletoes ♪

♪ It's my favorite time
of year ♪

♪ We hang holiday lights

And I think it's...

Can I have everyone's
attention please?

Hey.

All right.

I just wanted
to congratulate all of you

as the numbers
continue to come in

on this Christmas day.

I'm thrilled to say
they've exceeded

all of our expectations.

-Oh.
-Yes.

I can't thank all of you enough

for being here
on Christmas together.

-Let's do it again next year.
-Whoo!

And with the full year
to prepare,

I think next Christmas
will be even better.

-All right.
-Yes.

Good.

Ho, ho, ho.

Wow.

So you really are staying?

I'm staying.

I think together
we can do some great things

with this company.

So, it's purely
a business decision?

Oh, there is one other factor.

I think I might be falling
for the CEO.

Huh?

[William] So, Cecilia,
now that your daughter's

business is a big success,

I guess you're going back
to Florida, huh?

I don't know.

It seems like now
she may need me more than ever.

Yeah, I imagine so.

Hmm. You know,
but only on one condition.

-What's that?
-She gives me a promotion.

So, you're really thinking
about staying?

Well, I don't know.
What do you think?

I'm biased. I mean,
you're incredibly valuable

here in the warehouse

and you are the prettiest
intern I've ever seen.

Oh.

Oh, wait a second.

Oh, Cyber Santa
doesn't have any rules

about coworkers dating, do they?

I mean, I am an intern.

[Alexis] Not for long.

I was hoping
we could make this arrangement

a little more permanent.

I'll even let you
do your workouts

in the living room.

I think I'll need my own place.

As long as you'll stay.

I'll stay.

We got a lot
of work to do next year.

So, we've wanted
to run this by you,

you got a connection.

I think these will sell
really well on Cyber Santa.

-Okay.
-[Donte] Check it out.

[Alexis] Oh, wow.

-It's beautiful.
-Right? Yeah.

I think it'll do well too.

I think
people are gonna like it.

Huh.

[phone ringing]

Beautiful. What?
What is it?

It's Charlotte.

Charlotte?

-Have you spoken to 'em?
-No.

Uh, should I answer it?

Yeah.

Hello?

Donte. Hi, it's Charlotte.
How you doing?

[Donte] I'm fine, Charlotte.

I'm actually
with Alexis Willis right now.

Ooh. Even better.

Put me on speakerphone, please.

Okay.

Hi, Alexis.

So I wanna
congratulate you both.

I've been following
your progress

very closely in the trades.

-Thank you.
-Thank you.

So, looks like
I made a mistake, huh?

Well, we can't
always back the right reindeer

can we, Charlotte?

No. No, we can't.

But we can try to make it right.

So, I wanna offer you financing
for Cyber Santa.

Financing that will ensure
that the company can maintain

its business and prosper
and grow for years to come.

What do you think?

I think that's something
we would seriously consider.

That's exactly
what I wanted to hear.

We'll chat again soon.

Oh, Donte,

I should have listened
to what you always say.

What was that?

Fortune favors the bold.

Oh, my God.

Merry Christmas.

[singer] ♪ Here comes the snow

[singers]
♪ All they want for Christmas

[singer] ♪ Had some food

[singers]
♪ All they want for Christmas

[singer] ♪ Mistletoes

[singers]
♪ All they want for Christmas

[singer] ♪ Santa's shoe

[singers] ♪ Santa's coming

[singer] ♪ Everything old

[singers]
♪ All they want for Christmas

[singer] ♪ Becomes new

[singers]
♪ All they want for Christmas

[singer]
♪ So this year let's make

♪ Their every wish come true

[singers]
♪ Every wish come true

[singer] ♪ All I wanna do
is spend this time with you ♪

♪ Let's give 'em all they want

♪ For Christmas this year

♪ You better watch out
'cause it's almost time ♪

[singers] ♪ To make
their dreams come true ♪

[singer] ♪ Give 'em all they
want for Christmas this year ♪

♪ All I want is to spend
this time with you ♪

[singers]
♪ All they want for Christmas