How to Make It in America

- Season 2

(2011)

Ben and Cam return to NYC from a successful trip to Tokyo full of optimism - and with duffle bags of hoodies for a CRISP pop-up store event. Back from her soul-searching globe-trot, Rachel realizes she still has feelings for Ben, but discovers he's seeing Julie. Rene puts up a head-turning Rasta Monsta billboard that incenses his girlfriend; Domingo expands his business beyond dog-walking.

Ben wants to get CRISP into Barneys, so Lulu promises the lads she'll introduce them to Nancy Frankenburg (Barneys' buyers eat out of her hand) at Sunday brunch at Nancy's Bank Street brownstone. When Lulu gets stuck in the Hamptons, Ben and Cam go to Nancy's anyway with a duffel of their samples. Lonesome Rachel gives Domingo a call.

Cam meets Lulu's father, Felix, a well-known artist who invites Cam to taste his pasta. Rene sets up his video shoot that will feature Debbie in short shorts; she brings her daughter to watch. Ben asks Julie the ultimate question, "Are we cool?" Rachel and Domingo go a few steps down the road to romance, and Nancy asks Ben and Cam to design the class tee-shirt for a private middle-school graduation. If CRISP accepts this pro bono assignment, can the lads get their concept past the student review team?

Relationships: a wedding, romances, a breakup, and an upset stomach. Kappo worries about a wedding toast he's to give. Rachel gives Ben a gift she's brought from Paris; he makes it clear he wants a platonic relationship. They go to a wedding together on Long Island and have great time. Where does that leave Domingo? Rene's video has gone viral so he needs cash to pay for a large order of Rasta Monsta - but he's spent his stash on a gift for Debbie. Nancy comes through for CRISP but she wants newer photos of their line, so Cam approaches Felix with a big ask.

Nancy may or may not connect Ben and Cam to an L.A. buyer who's in town, so the lads contrive to spend time with Kirsten and Kristen, two blonde party animals who are in the Big Apple on a buying trip for a major St. Louis department store. Nancy isn't keen on this effort, believing that CRISP is still too small for more than boutiques. Rene pursues Debbie's forgiveness. She gives him an assignment: can he talk to her daughter about the crowd she's running with? Rachel heads out into the Manhattan night on a bicycle without a headlamp while Ben shares a taxi with ...

With 55,000 sweatshirts to deliver to Gadzooks, Nancy introduces Ben and Cam to Yosi, her husband, who's a manufacturer. Cam has qualms about the propriety of having their business manager and manufacturer in the same family; Ben is amazed to learn that Nancy is married. Rachel pitches a piece on Roshomon to Biscuit's editor, then ignores her directive to write about a catering company. Rene hits a rough patch when a community organizer claims that Rasta Monsta belittles the Caribbean community. Can the two men come to an accord?

It's all about economic opportunities that may be elusive. Yosi offers Ben and Cam a deal that catches them off guard: Cam rejects it out of hand, and Ben talks to Nancy about it. He also puts in a call to Kirsten and Kristen. Rachel's boss isn't happy about Rachel ignoring the catering story to write about Rashomon; Rachel gives Tim a copy of the story, and he suggests 'shrooming and a shvitz. Rene wants the marijuana spray, marketed under his brand, off the streets so he can land a big distribution contract; he pushes his boys to find the source. Kappo, fearing ...

Cam and Ben aren't speaking and Yosi dangles a very big check in Ben's face. Ben has a moral as well as a financial dilemma. Rachel begs Edie to rehire her. Rene decides to play hardball with Everton but kidnaps the wrong person. Kappo plans a going-away party. Ben faces off with Yosi, then Nancy, then Cam; Rene and his men meet Everton and his men for an exchange. Rachel's Craig's List ad as a masseuse nets her more than a customer.