Plot
Joyce (Jacqueline Logan), a capable and attractive secretary in a large business organization, is in love with Jimmy (William Collier Jr.), a handsome but careless stock clerk at the same firm. The pair share a deep affection, but Jimmy’s lack of ambition prevents them from marrying.
When Jimmy inevitably loses his job through negligence, it is Joyce who secretly intercedes to secure him a new position. Jimmy calls her excitedly, speaking of something important he wishes to ask. Joyce, believing it to be a proposal of marriage, quits her own job in anticipation of starting a new life as his wife.
To her heartbreak, Jimmy only wants Joyce to become his secretary in his new role. Though disappointed, she agrees, too much in love with him to refuse.
In his new position, Jimmy proves no more reliable than before. Time and again, Joyce rescues him—handling customers with tact and efficiency, smoothing over his mistakes, and creating the impression among his employers that Jimmy is thriving. Their boss, Campbell (Edward Hearn), impressed by Jimmy’s apparent progress, even introduces him socially to his sister Gladys (Thelma Todd).
Ambitious for pleasure rather than achievement, Jimmy begins pursuing a nightlife of gaiety with Gladys, neglecting both his work and his loyal sweetheart.
When Jimmy fails to appear for an important business conference where he was expected to give a report, Joyce takes the risk of covering for him, presenting the report herself and explaining his absence with a fabricated alibi. Just as she secures his reputation, Jimmy walks into the office, exposing the lie.
Instead of gratitude, he lashes out at Joyce for usurping his place. Their quarrel is overheard by Campbell, who learns the truth—that it has been Joyce, not Jimmy, responsible for all his supposed success. Disgusted, Campbell fires Jimmy on the spot.
Time passes. Jimmy, adrift and unemployed, is on a downward path, while Joyce has established herself as an independent and successful “bachelor girl.” Yet despite the years apart, neither has extinguished their love.
By chance, they meet again. Joyce, radiant and accomplished, finds Jimmy chastened but determined. He admits his failings and resolves to start from the bottom once more, working honestly to make himself worthy of her love. Joyce and Jimmy are reunited—this time with Jimmy set on earning, through hard work, the life together they once thought impossible.
