Mel is shocked when Joe offers to marry Elena in order to keep her in the country, and refuses to take part in his scheme. But when it looks like everything will fall apart, Mel takes charge in order to protect both of them. But will Joe really go through with the wedding?.

Mel is irritated with Joe's visiting girlfriend, Elena, when she starts monopolizing him, leaving little time for the rest of his duties. However, Mel soon befriends her, which leads to trouble between Elena and Joe. But then problems arise back in Russia, leading Elena to rely on Mel and Joe even more. Meanwhile, Ryder volunteers to help Lennox with an experiment, which requires him to only eat vending machine food, but he soon regrets his helpfulness.

Lennox starts an internship in Mel's office, and hits it off with a fellow intern - who happens to work for Mel's biggest rival, leading Mel to accuse Lennox of switching sides. And Joe finally finds a job in the financial industry - but working overnight as an online consultant for a Russian company. Series star.

Mel is anxious about her mother Monica's first visit in years. But when Joe tries to help smooth over their relationship, he gives Monica some advice that infuriates Mel. Meanwhile, when Lennox tries to get out of gym class, her teacher assumes she's pregnant.

Mel's attempts to teach Lennox to drive don't go very well, so Joe offers to take over teaching duties. But Mel refuses to let him, so Joe resorts to teaching Lennox in secret. But Joe's lessons go even worse when Lennox gets into a minor accident, leaving Joe to cover up his secret driving school. Meanwhile, Mel and Ryder strike up an unusual and confidential arrangement.

Ryder decides he wants to invest in stock, and turns to Joe for advice. But Joe is adamant that Ryder's stock pick is a bad idea and decides to show him how risky investing can be by not buying it. But when the stock turns out to be a winner, Joe scrambles to hide the truth from Ryder. Meanwhile, Mel is smitten with her new boyfriend Sam, who happens to be Haskell's father, but must keep her happiness under wraps when Lennox and Haskell break up.

Mel lets her date Travis believe she is an amazing chef, without mentioning that it was Joe who really made their delicious meal. However, when Travis asks to watch her in the kitchen, Mel is forced to turn to Joe to help her out. Meanwhile, Lennox is shocked to realize her friend has a crush on Ryder, but Ryder is surprisingly interested, horrifying Lennox even more.

Mel's friend Jackie decides she wants to have a baby, and while looking for a father for her child, settles on Joe, leaving Mel and Joe to scramble to change her mind. Meanwhile, Lennox and Haskell make their first joint purchase together when they buy a rare book. But when they discover the book is worth more than they thought, they disagree about what to do with it.

Joe tells Mel she is way too picky when it comes to dating, and offers to set her up with his friend. But in return Joe wants Mel to help him score a date with her charming friend Ariel, leading to an uncomfortable double date for the group. Also, Lennox decides to start her own blog after being kicked off the school website, but it consumes all of her time, leaving her boyfriend Haskell feeling ignored.

Mel wants to break up with her boyfriend, Donald, but feels guilty when he says she's the best thing in his life. So she turns to Joe for help boosting Donald's confidence so she can safely dump him. But Joe's lessons go a little too well and Donald turns into a version of Joe, horrifying Mel even more. Meanwhile, Ryder's girlfriend Holly confides a secret to Lennox and asks her to keep it from Ryder.

Mel punches a man when she sees him hassling Ryder, leading her to become known as "Battling Burke," which delights Mel's campaign manager (Mazar) and helps her image. But Mel's new persona has unintended effect on Ryder. And Lennox attempts to befriend a new girl at school, but the girl takes advantage of Lennox's kindness, which dismays Joe.

Joe thinks that Mel is having an affair with a married man and seeks to expose her. Lennox's friend has a boyfriend, Haskal (Gregg Sulkin), that has been crushing on her and she tries to find the right words to tell Scarlett. Ryder looks for a perfect birthday present for Holly.

Joe takes over Mel's finances and becomes convinced that her credit card statements reveal she is having an affair with a married man. Lennox tries to get along with her friend's new boyfriend, but is at a loss when he reveals his crush on her, and Ryder stresses about what to get Holly for her birthday. Series star.

Mel and Joe attempt to respect each other's privacy after they have a quarrel about boundaries. Elsewhere, Lennox dreads working on the spirit committee at school, but her attitude changes after she meets the president of the club, Aidan (Cody Linley).

Mel is feeling the pressure of balancing the massive home renovation with her duties at work. Determined to have the house fixed as quickly as possible, Joe convinces a reluctant Mel to put him in charge of the construction. But Joe's management style only makes things worse. Meanwhile, Lennox is thrilled when her school wants to put on her original play, but the reaction is not quite what she had hoped.