Portia Martine Berman

Jess goes against Nick's wishes and makes it her mission to get the loft's cantankerous landlord (guest star Jeff Kober) to like her. In doing so, she inadvertently jeopardizes their living situation and the guys are forced to admit they've made some "unofficial" changes to the apartment. Meanwhile Schmidt tries to decipher what he thinks are mixed signals from his boss Kim (guest star Gillian Vigman).

Jess fears she and Russell (guest star Dermot Mulroney) don’t share the fiery passion he exhibits with his ex-wife Ouli (guest star Jeanne Tripplehorn). Meanwhile, Cece is not yet willing to admit her true feelings for Schmidt, so she encourages him to go on a date with one of her Russian model roommates. Then, a down-in-the-dumps Nick channels all of his energy into a new vegetable garden.