S3E15 · The Bubble

Complete story — includes the ending

Leslie and Ben are reveling in "the bubble", the beginning stage of a relationship when everything is simple and fun. That is threatened, however, when Leslie's notoriously tough mother Marlene ( Pamela Reed ), a Pawnee politician, meets with Ben to discuss a business request. Leslie initially makes Ben nervous for the meeting and Marlene believes him to be weak. When Leslie tries to prepare him for a follow-up meeting, Ben is so confident that Marlene ends up becoming attracted to him herself. Fed up, Ben admits he is secretly dating Leslie, much to Marlene's amusement. Meanwhile, Chris instigates changes to the parks department, that include making Tom work on city hall's dreaded "fourth floor", which frustrates him. The changes prove counter-productive, and Ron approaches Chris with a compromise that puts almost everything back to normal.