KISS KISS GOODBYE
Episode 3: “That Just Screams Scandal”
FADE IN:
EXT. LUXURIOUS HOTEL HALLWAY – NIGHT (FLASHFORWARD: 4 MONTHS LATER)
(low, panicked)
This wasn’t supposed to happen.
(flat)
And yet, here we are.
INT. PRESTIGIOUS CONSULTING FIRM – MORNING (PRESENT DAY)
(leaning over)
Oh no. That’s your “I know something I shouldn’t” face.
(deadpan)
I don’t have a face for that.
(mocking)
“Internal Review of Fiscal Discrepancies.” Wow. That just screams scandal.
(sighs)
It’s nothing—
(grinning)
So you do know something you shouldn’t.
(leaning in)
Trouble in paradise?
(ignoring him)
Julian. What’s going on?
(low)
Something’s off. Money’s moving in ways it shouldn’t be. And Sophia’s acting like it’s business as usual.
This firm is built on questionable ethics. You’re just now surprised?
This isn’t just numbers. Someone’s covering something up.
(flat)
And you want me to help you figure out what.
(smirks)
You’re the best at uncovering things.
Wow. No foreplay, straight to the flattery.
Fine. But if I end up fired, I’m haunting you both.
Noted.
INT. SOPHIA CALDWELL’S OFFICE – LATER
You’re overstepping.
(smirks)
That’s what makes me good at my job.
Julian, let me give you a piece of advice. Ambition is a dangerous thing when you don’t know whose path you’re crossing.
EXT. ROOFTOP BAR – NIGHT
(scoffs)
So let me get this straight—you two are investigating potential fraud in a firm that literally thrives on moral ambiguity?
Correct.
(smirking, drunk)
Great. I give it two weeks before someone winds up dead.
INT. AVA’S APARTMENT – LATER THAT NIGHT
Dim lighting. The muffled sound of the New Year’s Eve party rages in the background. The camera moves down the hallway, past partially opened doors—glimpses of people inside, unaware of what’s coming.
Then, a figure stumbles into the hallway. Dressed in formal attire, slightly disheveled. Breathing hard. Shaken.
Another figure follows. More composed. More dangerous.
FIGURE 1
FIGURE 2
A beat. Fireworks explode outside. Light flashes through the windows.
Then—a SCREAM from the distance.
The two figures freeze. The moment everything changes.
Hesitation. Then, Figure 1 bolts, disappearing down the hallway. Figure 2 lingers, watching them go, before calmly adjusting their cufflinks.
CUT TO BLACK.
TITLE CARD: KISS KISS GOODBYE
A morning haze. The corporate battlefield in full swing—people rushing between meetings, phones ringing, deals being made.
At her desk, Ava Liu scrolls through her email, unreadable. Something is off.
DANNY (O.S.)
Ava barely glances at him.
AVA
Danny plucks a printed document from her desk, reading it before she can snatch it back.
DANNY
AVA
DANNY
Before she can answer, Julian walks past, clipboard in hand, in full work mode. Ava clocks the tension in his shoulders.
Danny notices, too.
DANNY
AVA
Julian hesitates, then hands her a folder. Inside: Confidential reports. Numbers that don’t add up.
JULIAN
Ava frowns. Danny, suddenly very interested.
DANNY
JULIAN
A beat.
AVA
JULIAN
Danny mock gasps.
DANNY
Ava rolls her eyes but takes the folder.
AVA
Danny grins.
DANNY
A sleek, intimidating office. Sophia Caldwell, COO, sits behind her desk, perfectly composed. Julian stands in front of her.
SOPHIA
JULIAN
Sophia eyes him, then leans back in her chair.
SOPHIA
A warning.
Julian holds her gaze, unreadable.
A hidden spot overlooking the city. Ava, Danny, and Ethan nursing drinks. Ethan looks particularly wrecked.
ETHAN
DANNY
ETHAN
Danny and Ava pause. A shared look.
A little too on the nose.
Ethan laughs, oblivious.
Ava stares at the confidential report, deep in thought. A whiskey glass in her hand.
Her phone buzzes—a message from an UNKNOWN NUMBER.
UNKNOWN: You should stop looking into this.
Ava’s expression doesn’t change. She takes another sip.
And then deletes the message.
FADE TO BLACK.
TO BE CONTINUED...