A series of unfortunate events prevents Joan from being there for Toni (again) as the custody hearing takes a surprising turn.

Joan becomes fed up with the ""boys' club"" mentality at work, as her opinions are ignored and she is passed over for important cases. When she believes that William has deliberately stolen her idea, she blows up at him in front of everyone, leading to a rift between them. Meanwhile, Maya discovers that Toni and Lynn's yoga instructor is a little too ""hands-on"" in his approach toward his students.

Toni and Todd's relationship is thrown into flux after she inadvertently mentions marriage. When Toni goes into hiding, Todd seeks the assistance of her friends, who convince him that Toni loves him and help him confront his own feelings for her. Meanwhile, William finds himself extremely attracted to Sharon, leading to an odd face-off with Monica.

When Maya moves into her new place, Joan ditches the housewarming for an A-list party. Toni and Todd try to come to a settlement.

Maya befriends a fellow single mother, a janitor at the law firm's building. They quickly make a connection, but Joan finds the woman's attitude irritating; and fears that her example could negatively impact Maya's relationship with Darnell. Meanwhile, William pretends to work at Lynn's office because he misses the camaraderie of a workplace; and Lynn tries to scam her co-workers out of money by pretending it's her birthday.

Toni remains in a state of despair over her split with Greg, while a guilt-ridden Joan continues to keep her involvement in the break-up a secret. She confesses to Greg, who still wants nothing to do with Toni. William worries when Yvonne heads off to Jamaica to attend Sinbad's music festival. The girls decide to go to Jamaica as well, as Joan hopes that Toni will meet someone and get out of her funk. Sean and Joan argue, as he feels she should either confess the truth or mind her own business. Maya gets her groove back after a bikini wax, and Lynn falls in love with a bellhop and decides to stay in Jamaica. William shows up and surprises Yvonne with a marriage proposal. Toni hits it off with NFL star Terrell Davis and accepts his proposal, although she admits that she still loves Greg. Joan finally confesses that she told Greg about Toni's engagement to Clay, prompting Toni to attack her and storm off. Joan returns home to find Sean and Toni in a compromising position.

Maya's cousin Ronnie and his boyfriend, Peaches, tell Maya that they have spotted Darnell in a compromising position with a woman at the Red Lobster. It is the same woman that Joan once saw with Darnell years earlier. Maya confronts Cecily and learns that she is having an affair with Darnell. This leads the distraught Maya to declare that she and Darnell are now ""even"" and move back to the house, where she and Darnell make a decision about the future of their relationship. Meanwhile, William obsesses over the fate of a missing suitcase.

Lynn and Maya confront Joan about her jealousy and overall bad attitude regarding Toni's wedding. Joan is upset when Toni announces that Reesie Jackson, her college roommate, is coming to town to be a bridesmaid. Joan had forced Toni and Lynn to swear never to speak to Reesie again after she stole Joan's boyfriend, Brian. She is livid when she learns that Toni and Lynn have not only stayed in touch with Reesie, but are the godmothers of her two children. Joan gives Reesie the cold shoulder. She rants that Reesie stole her chance at a perfect life with a husband and kids. Reesie reveals that she has contracted AIDS from Brian. He had unprotected sex with men, refusing to take along condoms because he was in denial about the fact that he is gay. The girls try too hard to comfort Reesie, and freak out a little when she cuts herself while chopping vegetables. She assures them that they cannot contract HIV this way, but Joan initially remains a little skeptical. Toni picks out her

Toni's family comes to town, and Toni worries that her mother will embarrass her in front of Todd's parents by voicing her objections to their Jewish background. Mrs. Childs becomes dejected about the bickering between Toni and her older sister, Sherri--whom Toni refuses to include in the bridal party--and falls off the wagon. Meanwhile, William worries that he will lose one of his few male friends when the man begins dating Maya.

When Joan decides to shut down the J-Spot, the restaurant starts bringing in money when William flips it into a sports bar.

Joan begins dating a client, Frank Anderson. Everything seems to be going well until a crazed woman shows up at the office looking for Joan. She tells Maya and Lynn that she trailed her husband to Joan's house. Joan angrily breaks up with Frank in public. She later learns that Toni has been using her house to rendezvous with her married boyfriend and assumes that she was wrong to suspect Frank of wrongdoing. However, Toni's boyfriend soon delivers some surprising news that sheds new light on the situation.

Lynn finds herself extremely attracted to a poet, and is stunned to learn that he has been celibate for five years. Ellis refuses to leave the house after fans on the Internet trash him and label him a sellout. William tries to win back the girls' trust following the Christmas Eve debacle.

Joan becomes jealous over Toni's engagement, and takes out all her frustration on Ellis, whom she begins blaming for all of her problems. She also resumes training for the Los Angeles Marathon just weeks before the event in an attempt to take her mind off Toni. Intimidated by Toni's expensive registry, William, Lynn and Maya pool their resources to come up with a wedding gift.

William and Sharon decide to continue their relationship, even after he re-joins the firm. Joan discovers that the two are together, and inadvertently blabs about it to Sharon in a moment of anger. Sharon breaks up with William, who shuts out Joan. Joan tries to rectify the situation, only to make things worse. Maya is desperate to find out what is going on when Joan fails to share the gossip with her. Meanwhile, Toni asks Lynn for tips for her wedding night.

Lynn persuades Toni to accompany her to Virginia, where she seeks Sandy's help before a presentation aimed at receiving a grant for her AIDS documentary. During the visit, Lynn meets her grandmother and learns a shocking secret about Sandy's health. After discovering how much money William is now earning, Maya tries to become his assistant in the hopes of improving her salary and returning to school. However, William will only sign off on the arrangement if Joan gives her approval.

Joan cuts loose two of the men she's dating when she develops feelings for an NBA player. A traumatic event lands Toni behind bars.

Joan sees Maya's husband, Darnell, in a possibly compromising situation with another woman. Her gut tells her that something may be going on, but she agonizes over whether to share this information with Maya. Meanwhile, Toni begins dating a white city councilman who is also running for mayor. He becomes fascinated with her hair after she reveals that she wears a weave.

Sean grows uncomfortable with Joan's relationship with Davis, as he feels that she flirts with him too much. After she confesses that they once shared a kiss, Sean upsets Joan by ordering her to stay away from Davis and 847 for good. Meanwhile, Toni angers Greg by displaying some of his paintings at the restaurant; and Darnell becomes impatient when Maya is reluctant to resume sexual relations with him after her surgery.

The girls instantly detest William's demanding girlfriend, Monica. Joan in particular is up in arms after Monica convinces William to renege on a promise to make her co-counsel for a big case because he would look better in the partners' eyes if he handled it himself. Joan seeks revenge on William, and the girls later confront Monica. Toni keeps running into plastic surgeon Dr. Todd Garrett. Although the two seem to have hit it off, Toni refuses to date him because of his lack of height.

After Maya covers the bill for a pricey dinner, Darnell decides to pursue his dream career. William makes a mess when he pitches in with repairs.

The girls and William make lists of the qualities they want in their ideal partners. When everyone goes to an art gallery, Joan is amazed to find a man who meets all of her qualifications, but her friends later warn her that she may have frightened him with her aggressiveness. At the same gallery, Toni runs into an ex-flame who is tending bar; and William has another meeting with possibly unstable cop Yvonne and considers giving her a try. Lynn, meanwhile, becomes obsessed with a painting of a red triangle.

Joan is upset when Sean must go out of town for Valentine's Day. Her frustration grows when she is unable to get in touch with him. Davis, who has recently reunited with his fiancée, stuns Joan by kissing her and offering to end his relationship to be with her. Maya, Toni and William spend the day with their significant others, and William frets about finding a card that doesn't send too strong a sentiment. Lynn volunteers for a suicide hotline and makes a date with one of the callers.

Ellis goes all out to give Joan a magical Valentine's Day, but the couple's future is put in jeopardy when he learns that his ex-girlfriend is about to have their child. Toni finds her Valentine's Day card from Todd offensive, and fears that he is only dating her because she is black. William cannot bring himself to tell Monica that he quit the law firm.

Joan promises to support Toni as the wedding approaches, but repeatedly neglects her in order to deal with her latest drama involving Ellis, who has failed to tell her that the mother of his child has been cast as his love interest in his movie. As a result, Toni tells Joan that she is not welcome at the wedding. Meanwhile, Sivad feels threatened by Lynn's past with William and orders her to move out of William's house; and Mrs. Childs fiercely tries to keep Maya away from Toni's med student brother, Antoine.

Joan and Toni fight when Toni claims Joan's good fortune has made her a bad friend. Williams learns how to play video games.