Pressure to fill a cosmetics-counter job has Drew a shade irascible--especially after interviewing an applicant with "unusual" make-up habits.

Things look ho-ho-hopeless for Drew when the store's employees--including Kate--go on strike during the holiday rush, and he's forced to hire scabs to replace them.

Drew again finds his work coming between him and Lisa, when his negative evaluation of her job performance causes her to reevaluate their relationship.

Drew serves as acting store manager while also fulfilling his regular duties. He is outraged when the store declines to make him the permanent manager, instead hiring Nigel Wick, an Englishman who makes it clear that he would rather be anywhere but Cleveland. Wick makes a stamp of Drew's signature and makes it appear as though Drew is responsible for cost-cutting measures such as the elimination of employee discounts. He coaxes Drew into agreeing to be the ""bad guy"" by offering him a promotion to assistant manager and a new desk. However, Drew draws the line after Wick tries to fire all of the employees with seniority right before their pensions kick in. He claims that the employees are staging a revolt, and Wick wins the staff's approval by eliminating all of ""Drew's"" cutbacks. Oswald and Lewis search for a way to fill a large order of Buzz Beer, which is due in just a few days. They put the neighborhood children to work bottling and delivering beer, much to Drew's horror.

Drew's hopes of a relaxing holiday weekend are crushed when Mr. Wick makes Drew in charge of Winfred-Louder's Thanksgiving Day parade. Crunched for time, Drew has to make a deal with Mimi that she can be the "snow queen" in the parade if her father's trucking company supplies the equipment for the floats. Unfortunately, Mr. Wick chooses someone else to be grand marshal and Mimi sabotages the parade.

An employee is killed by a speeding car while trying to cross a busy intersection in front of the store. Dexter K. Roberts, a popular salesman famous for his great parties, is brought in to take over her job. Drew feels left out when everyone leaves to have lunch with Dexter while Drew is in the copy room. Dexter then embarrasses Drew in front of the staff by using him as the guinea pig for his magic tricks. Dexter throws a big party for his co-workers, and even invites Lewis and Oswald. Drew and Mimi are the only ones who do not have invitations. They run into each other at the Warsaw that night and discuss the pain of being outcasts. They become furious and decide to crash the party and ruin everyone's good time. Dexter reveals that he had actually left invitations for Drew in his pockets during the magic trick. However, Mimi was not invited because of her attitude. She wants to trash his house, but Dexter says that he has called the cops and orders her to leave. He pleads

Drew's plans for a promotion may be put on hold when Kate plays a birthday prank on him and alters training videos he made to impress the store's board of directors.

Winfred-Louder employees risk their lives get to work each day because the crosswalk from the parking deck to the store is at an intersection near the freeway. When a member of the Optimists Club is severely injured while trying to cross, Drew demands the store build a skywalk to the employee garage. When his complaints are ignored and Lewis and Oswald are hurt while trying to cross, Drew decides to take drastic measures by going on a hunger strike.

Drew returns disheveled and frustrated after a convention in Las Vegas. After losing his luggage and all of his money, a waitress named Diane took pity on him and they went out for drinks. She took Drew to a rock and roll chapel to get married and he went through with it, thinking it was a drunken prank. Unfortunately, the ceremony was legal. Diane admits she needed to get re-married in order to keep custody of her two kids. She convinces Drew to pose as her husband for a week to fool the social worker.

When the employee representative to the board is forced to retire, Drew, Mimi, and Larry are thrilled over the possibility of taking over the position that offers a considerable raise and requires little work. The competition to impress Mr. Wick, Mrs. Louder, and the board of directors turns from friendly rivalry to an outright brawl.

Kate is annoyed the guys offered a date with her as a prize in a contest for Buzz Beer. Mr. Wick finds the winning bottle cap and Kate reluctantly goes through with the date. The guys are stunned when Kate and Wick seemingly fall for each other. Little do they know, Kate and Wick are playing a prank as revenge for the contest. However, Mr. Wick may not be pretending.

After a disastrous trip to New York to sell Buzz Beer, the gang makes a shocking discovery: The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) has been replaced as the weekend midnight movie with The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994), leading to a drag-off in the streets with Mimi and her Priscilla cronies.

As a violent storm looms over Cleveland, the store lets all employees with families go home early to spend time with their kids, leaving the single employees to fend for themselves at work. Upset over the situation, Drew proposes creating a union for single employees. Everyone runs for cover in the basement as a tornado approaches but Mr. Wick is caught in the store right as the twister strikes. Mimi sees a golden opportunity when she finds Mr. Wick traumatized and disoriented the next day.

Drew decides to turn over a new leaf by becoming more assertive. He taps into the boardroom to see the footage of his meeting and hear his evaluation. Drew ends up getting more than he bargained for when he and Mimi see Larry and Mrs. Louder having sex in the boardroom. Meanwhile, Mimi still has a confused Mr. Wick living at her house and Kate and Oswald begin secretly dating.

Just when Mr. Wick is getting back on his feet, Mimi tricks him into thinking another storm has hit the city. She continues to run the store by signing Mr. Wick's name on all the orders. Drew becomes suspicious of Wick's disappearance so Mimi issues a memo that says he's fired. With a heavy heart over losing his job, Drew keeps pursuing real estate agent Nicki Fifer (who thinks he's a loser for being unemployed) while Kate and Oswald break the news about their relationship.

Mr. Wick is roped into dog-sitting Mrs. Louder's prized show dog; it's very valuable because of its unique coat and breeding capabilities. Wick ditches the responsibility by leaving the dog with Drew without consulting him. Kate drops the dog off at Drew's and doesn't have time to leave a note. When Drew gets home, he assumes the dog is a stray and takes it to the vet. Kate returns later and is horrified to find the dog shaved and neutered.

Drew's pastor convinces him to volunteer at a seniors' center, where the residents have a reputation for being difficult. Mr. Wick hears about it and convinces Mrs. Louder to require all the employees to "volunteer" at retirement homes for the good publicity. Gus, a resident at the retirement home, talks Drew into taking the seniors to the store so they help with inventory. Gus takes a bunch of photographs and tells a local news station that Drew is abusing the residents. The elderly start picketing Winfred-Louder and Drew is at risk for losing his job.

Mr. Wick is panicked upon finding a memo he thinks is about firing him. Wick convinces Mimi to plot a phony sexual harassment scheme with him. Mimi will claim Wick harassed her, file suit against the store, and the both of them will split the winnings on a tropical island. Wick makes a "pass" at Mimi in front of Drew. When Drew refuses to be bribed into silence, Mrs. Louder demotes him to the sales floor. Drew becomes suspicious of Mimi and Wick when he finds out they opened a joint bank account in the Cayman Islands.

The gang is bummed when Drew's refrigerator breaks down. Drew convinces Mr. Wick to put up a beautiful new fridge as a prize in the annual employee games. Drew and Nicki team up in hopes of winning a new fridge. but heavy competition from the undefeated Mimi and Larry turns the games into a serious fight to the finish.

Drew and Nicki plan to videotape themselves having sex. The next morning, Drew's parents come to town to celebrate his engagement. Drew tries to tell his mother about a problem with his relationship but is constantly interrupted. Drew eventually tells Beulah he has called off the wedding. She begs Drew to go through with the bachelor party and break the news to George afterward because of how depressed he's been.

After Mr. Wick is injured at work during an elaborate and cruel plan to fire an employee, Drew is placed in charge for the week. Drew adopts a "no firing" policy that works wonders until employees start taking advantage of Drew's generosity. The store starts to fall to ruins just as Mrs. Louder's return looms.

Mrs. Louder calls Drew to tell him he's been chosen to coordinate hiring for the new stores in Europe. The catch is Drew has to get to the boardroom within 10 minutes to secure the position. The universe seems to be against Drew's success as numerous obstacles, including a broken elevator, an irate customer, and a blocked staircase, get in his way to the boardroom.

Drew receives a letter from Steve with a check to help since Mimi lives with him. He wants back with Mimi but she is dating Larry so Drew arranges a meeting. Then a one-night stand Steve had in his world travel arrives and Steve tells Mimi.