Whitney Episode 1.15 Lance!

Whitney and Lily are at a coffee house where spoken word poetry is currently underway. The poet on stage does not impress them as he sounds like an "illiterate ghost." Whitney and Lily are shocked to see that the next poet is Lance, Roxanne's ex-husband! Whitney and Lily have hated Lance ever since he cheated on Roxanne and caused their painful divorce. Lance begins his poem; it's a love letter to Roxanne about how much he misses her. Whitney can hardly stand to listen to him, saying "That microphone is gonna get a cold sore within an hour."

Neal is working late in the office with a co-worker who is ignorantly making racist jokes about Neal's ethnicity. Neal mentions he is heading home to visit his parents when his co-worker asks, "Where in India are they?" Neal flatly responds, "Akron, Ohio." Later, Neal talks to Mark about what he should do about his racist co-worker. Mark tells him the co-worker can't really be racist because most of the things he is saying are complimentary, like Neal's proficiency for math and his politeness. Neal fights back; it's still racist; "he assumed I had certain qualities based on my skin color." They decide that Neal should speak up next time it happens. "If it's one thing racists love, it's hearing they are racist and then apologizing for it," Mark says.

Whitney slams the door in anger as she arrives home. Neal and Mark turn off the TV and ask what's wrong. She tells them that Lily and she just ran into Roxanne's ex, Lance. Mark perks up at the mention of Lance's name saying, "Did he ask about me?" She explains how Lance was reciting a poem about wanting to get back with Roxanne. She's not sure what to do. Should she tell Roxanne? Alex is upbeat about the possibility of Lance returning to the group; he used to be one of his best friends. Mark is hurt that Alex would have another best friend beside him; he walks into the kitchen in search of chocolate to cover his pain. Whitney is afraid if she tells Roxanne that Lance is back it will open up old wounds; Roxanne has finally gotten her life back on track since the divorce. Alex advises Whitney that she has to tell Roxanne; it's not worth keeping that big of a secret from your best friend.

Alex pours himself a cup of coffee when Lily suddenly barges in. "I need to use your bathroom," she tells Alex as she hurries towards it. Alex tells Lily that Whitney is not home, but all the "girl stuff is in the left drawer... and PLEASE don't look in the right drawer." Lily walks out with a look of sorrow on her face; she lost her engagement ring and thought it might be in the bathroom. She's searched everywhere with no luck and can't tell Neal because he always accuses her of being "flighty." Alex tries to calm Lily down and helps her brainstorm where she could've left it.

Whitney knocks on Roxanne's apartment door to tell her about Lance, but finds he's already there as he walks in from the bedroom. Whitney is extremely upset to find him at the apartment, but Lance tries to be lighthearted and forgiving. Lance tells Whitney that he understands her feelings, but he's changed and evolved. Roxanne tries to diffuse the situation by explaining to Whitney that they've been back together for three weeks and she really does believe Lance has changed. He's thoughtful, self-aware and even has a job. Whiney reminds Roxanne that they made a pact; Whitney can punch Roxanne in the face if she ever got back with Lance. Roxanne appreciates Whitney being a good friend, but the pact is off. Whitney fights back that you can't just call off a pact; that's why it's called a pact! "We're three weeks in, and I'm really happy," Roxanne firmly states to Whitney.

"It's a whole new world!" Whitney exclaims to Alex as she storms into her apartment. "Roxanne is back with Lance, and I just downloaded a country song on purpose." Suddenly, Lance walks into the kitchen to Whitney's surprise. It seems Lance has an extra ticket to the Bulls game, and Alex is joining him. Whitney is not happy about Alex hanging out with Lance, but Alex fights back that if Roxanne has forgiven him then they should too. Lance apologizes to Whitney again for everything he's done in the past; he wants to know what he can do to make it up to her. Whitney tells them that she made a promise to Roxanne that she would never let her make the mistake of getting back together with Lance and she's keeping her promise. "You're really undoing the yoga class I took this morning," Lance retorts.

At a bar, Alex asks Lily how her engagement ring search is going. "Not well," Lily responds; she has to keep her left hand in her pocket at all times around Neal. They join Whitney who is brainstorming ways to break Roxanne and Lance up. Alex understands that she's trying to be a good friend to Roxanne, but he reiterates that Lance has changed and if Roxanne can forgive him, then they should too. Mark agrees with Whitney on getting rid of Lance; he's hurt that Alex has a new best friend to see Bulls games with. "People don't change," Whitney states. Alex, Lily and Neal disagree. People do change, and Whitney has changed the most out of all of them. Whitney did not believe in monogamous relationships before, and now she's currently in one. "Lance is a liar. Who's going to help me prove it to Roxanne?" Whitney asks. Mark firmly agrees to help, to Whitney's dismay.

At a bar, Neal is finally about to stand up to his racist co-worker when he is introduced to an accountant named Ira Stein. Neal puts out his hand to greet Ira, a nerdish white male, until a large African-American corrects him; he's Ira. Neal is embarrassed about the mistaken identity as his co-worker calls Neal out for being racist. Moments later, Lily finally confesses to Neal that she’s lost her engagement ring. Neal calms her by saying it's okay; the ring was a fake. He thought she might lose the ring, so he had a fake duplicate made just in case. Lily's demeanor changes to severe anger. "I've been walking around with a fake ring for the past three months?!" Lily thought she was allergic to platinum because her finger kept turning green from the ring! Then she suddenly remembers where she left it - at the dermatologist's office.

Lance opens his apartment door to find Whitney. She tells him that in order to be fully accepted back into the group she needs an hour alone in his apartment. If he's truly changed then he has nothing to hide from her snooping. Lance reluctantly agrees. Later, Roxanne arrives to tell Whitney she's gone insane for snooping around Lance's place. Whitney shows her the evidence that she's found: mysterious panties and strange jewelry. Roxanne embarrassingly reveals that they are both hers. Whitney is not deterred; she's heading over to the dumpster to go through his trash. Finally Roxanne puts her foot down. She appreciates everything Whitney is doing, but she is choosing to believe Lance has changed. She may be wrong, but she's hoping for the best and she needs Whitney to hope as well. Whitney finally gives in, "Okay, new pact. When you're happy, I'm happy. But if he cheats on you again, this is the last face he is ever going to see." Roxanne smiles at her friend as they hug. "Pact on."

Roxanne, Whitney and Alex are at the coffee shop for Lance's latest poetry reading. Lance takes the stage and dedicates his latest poem to a person who's just come back into his life. Roxanne blushes as she thinks he means her, but Alex quickly counters that Lance probably means him. Lance starts his poem, an angry diatribe about Whitney. She quickly stands up to go on stage. "I've got a little poem called Lance, I went through your browser history."