Lipstick Jungle Episode 2.03 Chapter Ten: Let It Be

With the skyline of NYC behind them, Victory and Rodrigo take the ferry around the harbor on their date. Just as they are about to share a moment, Joe Bennett calls and interrupts them. Back at Nico's apartment, Kirby pays her a visit. While discussing dinner options, Kirby suggests they go out on the town, but Nico is hesitant. She confides in him that she's not ready to face the public as a widow.

At Wendy's apartment, she, Shane and Sal are watching a cut of their Lennon project. Shane asks about the possibility of getting a meeting with the director for consideration to score the film. Sal suggests that Wendy can make it happen, like she did before. However, because Shane didn't know that Wendy had made it happen last time, it creates tension between the two.

Victory and Rodrigo share some intimate moments on the couch after their date. Just as Victory invites him upstairs to her room, he lets her know he has a 10-year-old daughter waiting for him at home. Caught off guard, Victory takes a moment to process that notion. Back at Wendy's, she is trying to tell Shane that his works speaks for himself, whether she helped open a door for him or not.

Nico, Wendy, Sal, Mike and others gather to meet their new boss, Griffin. He encourages each division to use the other to help build, promote and strengthen their reach to audiences. Nico is called out regarding a fashion spread that has caught some negative attention. After the meeting, Nico addresses Griffin, who quickly reminds her that despite her desire for his job, he got it, not her.

Victory and Dahlia are discussing the future of her line when Dahlia notices the flirting between Victory and Rodrigo. She quickly lets Victory know that a "handyman," as she calls him, is not the type of man Victory Ford should be dating or seen with. As her publicist, she reminds her that dating a contractor will not get her on Page 6. At the Bonfire offices, Nico and Mike share an elevator ride. Nico reveals a bit of insider information to Mike. Apparently Griffin is going to bring in his own team, and she doesn't plan to stick around to get the axe.

Joe Bennett introduces a new Russian designer, Tatiana, to look at the store for ideas. Victory is not pleased with Joe's tactics for getting attention and makes it clear; clear enough for Rodrigo to take notice of their relationship. Wendy returns to the office from lunch with Victory. Her assistant interrupts to let her know some shocking news. Noah Mason, her actor friend playing John Lennon, was taken away in an ambulance from the set and died.

Wendy walks outside the office building to catch her breath, but Sal and Josh aren't far behind. Griffin has requested a meeting with Sal immediately. The Internet was reporting that Noah was in treatment for cancer. Wendy assures Sal that he had nothing to do with her decision and she will handle it. Mike is in Nico's office reading the apology letter that Griffin requested she add to the next issue of Bonfire. However, Nico letting Mike think she intends to send it for Griffin's approval, when she isn't. Nico's assistant interrupts them to share the news about Noah. Nico rushes out to go find Wendy, leaving Mike alone in her office.

After Nico leaves, Mike takes the liberty of sending the apology letter in an email from Nico's account. Griffin is questioning Sal about Noah's illness. Sal denies knowing that his physical insurance form was forged. Ellen, Joe's assistant, pays Victory a visit at the store. Victory questions why Joe is funding another designer; Ellen asks if she's bothered because he is funding another designer or because the other designer is beautiful. Ellen then adds that Joe would probably rather be invested in only one.

Nico and Kirby are on the street when they run into a friend of Nico and Charles'. In an awkward exchange, Nico makes it clear that she is not ready to introduce Kirby as anything but a photographer's assistant. At the Parador Offices, Wendy is finishing a press release when Griffin pays her a visit. He lets her know that the company will be suing Noah's family to recoup their loss on the insurance claim for the movie.

Wendy is ready to come clean to Griffin, but both Victory and Nico are trying to steer her in another direction, to get her to protect her job and herself. At the Bonfire office the following day, Nico discovers that the "fake" apology letter she never intended to send to Griffin was indeed sent. When she confronts Griffin, he says he leaked the letter in order to drum up potential sales and isn't interested in Nico's issues with Mike.

After an awkward exchange with Rodrigo the day before, Victory tries to get his attention. She senses his hesitation, and Rodrigo suggests that they talk. He asks her about her past with Joe Bennett, and says he wants to "take a beat" before continuing to date. At Parador, Wendy asks Griffin to come into her office. She comes clean about forged the papers. In return, Griffin fires her; she committed insurance fraud. Stunned, Wendy sits at her desk.

At the restaurant opening, Dahlia introduces Victory to her dinner date. Apparently Dahlia set her up without her knowing. Just as Victory tells Dahlia to stay out of her personal life, Joe Bennett walks into the event with Tatiana the Russian designer on his arm. At Parador, Wendy is trying to reach Hector but hasn't had any luck. Back at the restaurant opening, Victory tells Joe she is over him and to stop playing games.

Mike lets Nico know that he has accepted a lateral position with another publication's digital division. Nico, ecstatic, tells Mike that the ship at Bonfire isn't in fact sinking and she won't be leaving. Nico just successfully played Mike Harness and feels good about it. Kirby returns home to find Nico on his porch. He apologies for sending her flowers and complicating the situation. Nico lets him know that the fact that they are in such different places in their lives and not knowing where their relationship is going scares her. Then she decides to take him out to dinner, to a crowded restaurant.

Victory pays Rodrigo a visit at her store later that night to tell him she knows exactly what she wants, and it's him. They make love on the floor of her new store. Wendy, Shane and Maddie are at dinner when Hector's office calls. His assistant lets her know that Hector concurs with Griffin's decision to let her go. Stunned, she stands quietly in the streets of NYC.