Her Cardboard Lover

Terry Trindale, a songwriter, spots Consuelo Croyden at a Palm Beach casino and finds the courage to tell her he’s attracted to her. Consuelo rebuffs his advance, leaving him hopeful but rejected. This first encounter seeds a complicated dynamic that drives the plot.

To settle a gambling debt of 3,200 dollars, Consuelo hires Terry as her secretary and asks him to work off the amount. As part of the arrangement, he must also pose as her fiancé to ward off unsolicited suitors. The deceptive setup binds their fates closer together.

Terry assumes the role of Consuelo's pretend fiancé to deter her former fiancé, Tony Barling. He also acts affectionate toward Consuelo to make the ruse convincing. The arrangement plants a foundation for real feelings to develop.

Tony recognizes Terry from the casino and refuses to believe Consuelo loves someone else. His suspicions mount as he watches Terry's behavior around Consuelo. The tension sets up the looming confrontation between the men.

Tony convinces Consuelo to join him on a friend's yacht, hoping to test her loyalty or rekindle their past romance. Consuelo wavers, torn between Tony and the man posing as her fiancé. The yacht invitation heightens the stakes for the faux engagement.

Terry intervenes and reminds Consuelo of his responsibility, keeping her from boarding the yacht. He asserts his claim and protects her from being pulled back into Tony's orbit. The moment deepens their emotional entanglement despite the deception.

Four weeks pass and Terry refuses to accompany his songwriting partner Chappie Champagne to New York City to promote their tune. Consuelo, once angry and possessive, offers to cancel the rest of Terry's debt so he can go with Chappie. Terry departs, leaving Consuelo to face her lingering feelings alone.

Moments later, Consuelo receives a call that she thinks is from Tony inviting him to the house, but Terry arrives in disguise instead and berates her for her lack of self-control. He refuses to admit the truth about their relationship, fueling the quarrel. The deception collapses into a heated confrontation.

Tony arrives on the scene and finds Terry in Consuelo's satin pajamas in bed, triggering a violent confrontation. The two men clash, and the brawl ends with both of them arrested. The courtroom drama soon follows.

During their hearing for disturbing the peace and assaulting a police officer, Chappie arrives with money from selling their song to pay Terry's fine. The financial rescue shifts the mood toward reconciliation and keeps the trio entangled in a web of secrecy.

Amid the hearing, Tony proposes to Consuelo, hoping to anchor her. She realizes her true feelings are for Terry, complicating the love triangle further. The revelation foreshadows an uncertain future for all three.

Later at the airport, Consuelo’s plan to stop Terry from leaving results in a bogus grand larceny charge against him, carried out with Chappie’s involvement. Terry is arrested, but the charge is dropped and he and Consuelo finally embrace.