Not Suitable for Work Episode 6 and 7 Recap: Novelty Mugs, Steaks, and Tears

In episodes 6 and 7 of ‘Not Suitable For Work,’ the central pair of neighbors living and working in New York continue to make dubious choices in their lives and careers. AJ jumps straight into an affair with her boss, Bill Gibson, wherein they’re the epitome of professionalism in the office until they fall into bed together at night. On the other hand, Abby continues working with Austin Blanchett, keeping all her eggs firmly in one unreliable basket. On the other hand, Josh makes certain discoveries about his neighbor’s love life and, unfortunately, also his father’s. Meanwhile, Kel continues going where his passion leads him, and things outside of Davis’ control threaten to push him off the precipice of heartbreak. SPOILERS AHEAD!

AJ and Bill Define Their Relationship

Even though AJ had previously assumed, perhaps naively, that she would not be a part of any complicated workplace romances, she now finds herself in what is possibly the most complicated dynamic of them all. Over the course of the past week, she and Bill have been regularly hooking up while maintaining a perfectly professional veneer during their daytime interactions. However, while the R&D analyst is quick to label their relationship as dating, Abby wisely points out that Bill’s reluctance to take her out on dates or let her stay the night suggests otherwise. As this is unfolding, a petty argument between Kel and his roommates, involving their lack of respect for his chosen career, compels the aspiring actor to monetarily move out of the boys’ apartment and crash at the girls’ place.

As a result, Kel inadvertently gets involved in the passive-aggressive conflict brewing between AJ and Abby regarding the former’s involvement with her boss. Both women rant at him about their grievances with the other, and his confused impartiality gets mistaken for support by both. Eventually, this erupts in a bigger confrontation. Fortunately, for Kel, by then Davis and Josh have come to their senses and are begging for him to return home. As for Aj, despite her frustration with her friend, she realizes there is some merit to Abby’s concerns. For the same reason, she ends up confronting Bill about their lukewarm aversion to commitment and asserts that she has no interest in continuing their fair unless it actually turns into a relationship. Regardless of his previous reservations, Bill ultimately realizes he wants to keep AJ in his life. Therefore, the duo officially begins dating, even if it’s only in secret for now.

Josh Realizes His Father Isn’t All That Perfect

When Kel momentarily moves out of the apartment, Davis and Josh begin to see the error of their ways pretty much immediately afterward. They have been overlooking his contributions to their home, which involves everything from cleaning and cooking to buying basic necessities like razors. Still, the duo tries to hold onto their pride for a little while. During this time, Josh becomes so entangled in the menial difficulties of his own life that he keeps ranting about the same to Elena, his co-worker turned tentative girlfriend. Consequently, he ends up missing out on a big update in her life. As it turns out, Elena has managed to get a promotion to a managerial role in the network. In light of the new development, she also ends things between them.

Josh can’t exactly fault her for the breakup, just like he can’t fault Elena for using her brief introduction with his father to snag the career-climbing opportunity. However, he does soon find a reason to blame his father himself. For Josh, David Teitelbaum is a hero who can do no wrong. That is, until he finds out that his father is planning on divorcing his mother. Worse yet, his reasoning behind ending their marriage seems to be the fact that the latter has gotten older, regardless of the fact that he himself is much older than she is. Once Josh begins detesting his father for the same reason, his hero-worshipping of David becomes near-impossible. Thus, he decides to finally stand up to his father. Still, the fact remains that if he gets confrontational enough, his lifestyle, which is paid for by his father, might come under danger.

Kel Lands a Role on Broadway

After the roommate debacle, Kel sets his sights on one specific goal: landing a role in a Broadway play, being directed by Jeremy O. Harris. Nonetheless, when he shows up to the audition, he realizes the opportunity isn’t an open call. Instead, he needs to have an agent book the gig for him. However, Kel, a novice who is balancing being a high school substitute teacher with weekend classes, is a novice without any professional representation. It isn’t until he learns about two of his students playing hooky to catch a production of Hamilton that the actor comes to a conclusion of his own. Sometimes bending the rules in pursuit of one’s passion isn’t so bad.

Therefore, Kel comes up with an idea. He convinces Davis to pretend to be his agent and book him for the Jeremy O. Harris audition. His friend has no qualms about spinning some tall tales, and he ends up reaching out to the production as Chez Riveira, a made-up agent, to get Kel an audition in the books. When the actor shows up for the opportunity, Jeremy O. Harris swiftly lets him know that he’s aware of Chez Riveira and his Agency’s fictionality. Still, he was impressed by the actor’s tapes and decided to give him a chance. Ultimately, Kel doesn’t land the role, and it ends up going to LaKeith Stanfield. Even so, he gets selected for a different, minor role, booking him his first gig on Broadway.

Austin Screws Abby Over

After parting ways with Vanessa by landing Austin as a personal client, Abby’s professional life begins to revolve completely around the actor. It helps that he keeps coming back to her for his stylist needs and even lands her a spot in his upcoming anti-ketamine campaign. While Abby tries to keep avenues open simultaneously by making connections and updating her resume, things don’t really go well for her in that regard. Even though Vanessa had taken her betrayal fairly easily, the rest of the fashion community doesn’t accept the younger stylist’s swooping of a client. Therefore, she becomes all but blacklisted from the fashion scene in NY.

This forces Abby to continue focusing on Austin’s future and her place in it. She tries to get him a brand ambassador campaign with a prominent fashion designer. Initially, the actor agrees to the idea, despite his previous aversion to the fashion world. Nonetheless, one apartment visit makes things clearer. As it runs out, Austin has no intentions of actually going through with the campaign. In fact, he has already hired a new stylist at the recommendation of Sofia Coppola. His decision doesn’t arrive as a result of any intentional malice. Yet, that only makes it worse, since it means he has ruined Abby’s future carelessly and without any guilt. It’s safe to say, this is bound to have a brutal, possibly fatal impact on the duo’s future dynamic.

Davis Receives Some Bad News

During AJ’s early hook-ups with Bill, the latter ends up accidentally sleeping over at the other’s apartment. Therefore, he has to rush out in the morning when he bumps into Josh. Although he doesn’t realize it initially, the journalist soon realizes what the encounter actually means. Therefore, he and Kel decide to break the news of AJ’s apparent relationship with Bill to Davis together over a time-honored tradition of Steaks and Tears. The ritual involves the trio going out for steaks whenever one of them has to deal with some heart-shattering news. However, the actual dinner ends up getting crashed by Josh’s misery over his parents’ divorce. As a result, Davis remains oblivious to the development in AJ’s love life when her mother, Amy, visits the city for her daughter’s birthday.

During this visit, Davis ends up crossing paths with Amy. As the two spend some inadvertent time together, the mother reveals that AJ has told her about her crush on some guy from work. While this crush is obviously Bill, Amy assumes it must be her daughter’s next-door neighbor and ends up giving him the wrong impression. Consequently, Davis decides to make his big romantic gesture and finally ask AJ out with a big bouquet. Naturally, he leaves his roommates no choice but to blurt out the news of AJ and Bill’s relationship to save their friend from a major faux pas. In the end, the boys don’t get to eat their feelings and hide their tears behind steak. Still, perhaps their ability to share their grief together openly is for the better anyway.