What if the narrator of The Devil Wears Prada was too busy changing her outfits to get upset by her boss? What if the Shopaholic got locked in Lucky's shoe closet? What if Plum Sykes had to get a real job? Find out in Stephanie Lessing's fabulous first novel about climbing the ladder (at a thinly–veiled fashion magazine) without breaking a sweat––or a heel.

When Chloe gets her dream job as assistant to the assistant at Issues Magazine, she is in hog heaven. Her sister, however, is ready to keel over at the very thought of her own flesh and blood slaving away to further the patriarchy and sell cellulite cream. Chloe pays her sister's ranting no mind, which is exactly the same amount of attention she pays to her grasping, desperate boss and the swamp of office politics she's unknowingly waded into. Sure, filing pedicure receipts and making coffee exactly the same colour as a camel (one hump, not two) is hard work. But as long as she has a key to the shoe closet, how bad could things be?

Well, bad. Chloe's bumbling lovability and miraculous gift for accessorizing has attracted just a tad bit too much attention, not only from the Editor–in–Chief and his boss, the Publisher, but also from a small but dogged group of underfed beauty editors who can't stand that they can't get a rise out of her. But when they publicly slander her, are they telling the truth? Has Chloe's sweetness been just an act that lets her steal shoes (lots of them), tell lies (whoppers) and undermine her idiot boss in the hopes of getting her job?

Wouldn't you like to know?

Chloe Rose is living the dream. She is the newest assistant to theassistant at Issues Magazine, and she has a key to the shoe closet. Her natural talent for accessorizing, not to mention her happy-go-lucky attitude, are attracting lots of attention. Everyone is being so nice to her!

Could life get any better?

Well ...

It's just that filing pedicure receipts all day can be hard work, and Chloe's starting to get the feeling that maybe all those underfed beauty editors don't like her as much as she thought. And is it a problem that both the Editor-in-Chief AND the Publisher seem to be following her wherever she goes? And that hatchet job she just read in the latest issue about a grasping assistant who is trying to sleep her way to the top — could that have been about her?!

Is it all true? Has Chloe Rose's sweet, bumbling lovability just been an act she uses to steal shoes (lots of them), tell lies (whoppers), and undermine her idiot boss in the hopes of stealing her job? Maybe, but more likely ...

She's Got Issues

Stephanie Lessing is a former Copy Chief at Mademoiselle, and has freelanced for Mademoiselle, Vogue, Glamour, Vanity Fair, Conde Nast Traveler, and Self. Miss Understanding is her second novel.