Alice is suspicious that she may in fact have value, and she’s flirting with the idea of an old flame after they run-into each other.  

She doesn’t know how her worldview affects her life yet. Alice hates and rejects herself, she only feels comfortable and safe, or enamored by people who reject her. It’s how she knows to be treated. This conflict between Alice's new path and old comforts comes to a head upon facing a final let-down - Alice finally stands up for herself and declares her self-worth, saying "I'm not just an option. People choose me, other people like me and want to hang out with me, and want me in their lives.... I love you, but I love me too."  

The pressure has been building, but this all hits her at once. I don't think she was really able to verbalize her cognitive dissonance until that moment, where she really felt it, and it poured out of her. During Alice’s ordeal she’s endeared to Mack, seeing the way he “meets her where she’s at,” just as Cleo does. Alice is resistant to become charmed by him though, but I think we know by now that Alice’s ex-flame was an agent of conflict in her love mystery, a red herring, and that Mack is her conflict mentor, the second major relationship that affects Alice.

We mirror the mystery of Alice's personal life and growth with a fun, - A Scooby-Doo-esque story where Alice helps Mack and his band after a costumed Ghoul shows up to scare them off. Alice discovers a link between the Ghoul and Fabulism. Alice and Cleo attempt to stealthily investigate the connection.

When the gang is setting up a trap, the Ghoul appears a few moments too soon, and runs into our gang in the parking lot. They beat the living shit out of him before he's hauled away by police. 
The Ghoul is dealt with, but the girls aren't sneaky enough sleuths, and the boss of Fabulism, Harvey, finds them snooping and flips his shit. Harvey is worked up and gets physical with the girls, accusing them of working for a shady organization that he refused a clandestine deal with some time earlier.

After the girls convince him they aren't involved with whoever it is he's so hostile toward, and that they're creeping in search of anything suspicious that might tie Fabulism to criminal activity, Harvey basically says "get lost, I'll look into this, you don't want anything to do with this.” An ominous act of decency from a shifty man.