Episode Report Card Niki: D | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT My Brilliant Career
By Niki | Season 1 | Episode 20 | Aired on 04.09.2000
Cut to Grace in the kitchen, on the phone, whining to Lily that "this is important." I assume that she's referring to her date with Jared. Lily still won't budge and tells Grace that she needs her to be flexible (oh no -- she's already picking up the Crusty lingo). She promises they'll talk about it later. Another call -- THE CALL -- comes through, and Lily cuts Grace off. Then she cuts off Esther Dyson, too.
Later that night, Lily comes home to find a plate of leftovers waiting for her on the table. It's been lovingly wrapped in plastic. Grace comes into the kitchen as Lily's reheating her dinner, and oh-so-selflessly offers to stay with Jake for the week, while Lily settles into her new job. Lily says Jake wouldn't go for it. Grace says she already asked him, and that he said it's fine. Lily still says no. Grace launches into a tantrum, while ironically complaining that she hates the way Lily treats her like a baby. Lily simply ignores her rant. Seeing this tactic is failing, Grace shifts into a lower gear, snuggling up to Lily and rubbing her shoulders. She tells Lily that getting rid of her and Zoe for the week would mean she could focus on work. It would make her life so much easier. Lily gives in and calls Jake to confirm the plans. He tells her she's under a lot of strain, and he's happy to help out. Lily's silhouetted in the doorway, and we can see the girls in the room beyond. They're all giddy about staying with Jake, and this seems to make Lily feel really good about herself. She rubs her forehead like she's got a headache this big.
The next morning, Lily's at work so bright and early that none of the computers are running, and there's only a couple other people there. She smiles to herself while drinking her latte and looks, for a moment, like someone in one of those "take a moment just for you" coffee ads. She takes advantage of this quiet time to tidy up the office, and then she starts farting around on the computer. It looks like she's come a long way from a couple weeks ago, when she needed help finding the "menu" on her desktop. Now she's cruising through spreadsheets and surfing the net. She finds an article on the Esther Dyson, the big important woman who's so famous that no one's heard of her.
Cut to Rick, who's ready to perform his supporting role for the week. With all the practice he's been getting, I'm sure he'll nail it. Lily's called him from work, and he assures her that she didn't wake him up. He holds out the phone to the gurgling coffee maker to prove his point. His Krispy Kreme mug is there on the counter, taunting me again. Lily tells him that she just wanted to thank him for the orchids, and she apologizes for not getting the chance to call him the day before. She also tells him he's really thoughtful, and that she loves him.