Eleanor got a lot more than she bargained for when she took a job with Mercedes Arthag: the bitch expects her to single-handedly produce her entire magazine. While Mercedes is dawdling about with her opening editorial, Eleanor is working extra hours doing the job of an entire magazine staff by herself.

Sometimes she gets off work so late, she misses having dinner with Justin, if he has a shift at the bar. Having Mercedes perpetually interrupting her with useless 'input' just makes her days more frustrating.

In the afternoon, Mercedes has a visitor.

"I remember you," the woman says, and Eleanor is mystified at first, until the woman reminds her that they met at Mercedes' charity event. "You did a brilliant job with that auction," she compliments Eleanor. It's more than she got from Mercedes. Eleanor vaguely remembers sitting by this woman at the banquet after the auction, but she was anxious for Justin to arrive at the time & now doesn't remember the woman's name or who she is.

Mercedes comes out & greets the woman, calling her "Corrine". As soon as they disappear into Mercedes' office, Eleanor immediately looks for "Corrines" in Mercedes' contact files. There's only one Corrine there, the editor of Livin' Large magazine. Eleanor's heart skips a beat: the editor of a real magazine, a major magazine, was impressed enough with her to remember her! Getting Mercedes' little art magazine together will be worth it after all if she can use it as a stepping stone onto better things.

Eleanor ends up working late that evening & missing Justin again, putting her a bit out of temper when she meets up with Xtina at the Psychedelic Purr. Xtina is as usual whining about her romantic problems, as though it weren't perfectly obvious that she causes all her own problems just to whine about them.

When Ranier shows up, Xtina can't be bothered with Eleanor anymore. Eleanor may as well have stayed home & read a book.

So she says goodbye to Xtina, who suddenly feigns interest in her friend as she's leaving. She has to get up early & work, anyway, Eleanor really doesn't need to be out clubbing on the weekdays.

NEXT