Young & The Restless Update
Recap written by Christine
Ashland was in Victoriaâs office. He thought he was alone, so he placed a call and told his accountant that he needed $500,000 in cash, in an hour. He claimed he wanted to buy a wedding gift for Victoria. The accountant raised concerns about the IRS. Ashland didnât care about all that. He insisted that the man find a way to give him the money. Ashland turned around and was caught off guard to see Victoria standing behind him. He ended the call. Victoria was curious about this wedding present, and she asked if sheâd have to wait until Italy to find out what it was. He knew she was tough enough to stand the suspense. He also knew that Nikki would be arriving shortly, so heâd make himself scarce so they could talk. He hoped Nikki had time to adjust to him changing his name, but he also understood Nikki had concerns, as any loving mother would. Victoria hadnât discussed this with Nikki, so she didnât know how her mother felt. In the end, it didnât matter, because Nikki made her own decisions. Ashland loved Victoriaâs independence, but he also knew it was important for her to have Nikki help with the wedding, and that meant it was important to him too. She knew he told the truth to protect her relationship with her family. That meant a lot to her, but she couldnât control the way her family reacted to this. He said most people went their entire lives without realizing that you couldn’t control how people thought or felt. He asked her to lunch later, and she said that depended on whether he told her what he was up to or not. He smiled and said not a chance. He left.
Victoria looked at the portrait, then she flashed back to Ashland giving it to her. Nikki arrived and gasped when she saw the portrait. She thought it was beautiful, but she wondered what Victor would think of it. Nikki said it made quite a statement. âAs it should. Newman is mine, now,â Victoria stated.
After Nikki and Victoria talked business, they moved on to talking about the wedding. Nikki showed off pictures of the new landscaping at the Palazzo, and Victoria was pleased. She marveled that her wedding was really happening, just the way she envisioned. Nikki asked if there was some reason Victoria thought that wouldnât, or maybe shouldnât, happen. Victoria snapped that she didnât have any doubts, and she accused Nikki of projecting. Nikki said it was just a little unsettling to hear about Ashlandâs secret. Nikki said she and Victor were survivors of their father’s cruelty, so she could relate. Victoria said that Ashlandâs childhood was hell, and she respected him more for overcoming it. Nikki asked if it didnât bother Victoria that it was so easy for Ashland to lie to her. Victoria said that Ashland had been telling this invented story for so long, it started to feel real to him. It was a coping mechanism, and she didn’t judge him for that. She said now Ashland knew he could tell her anything. It bugged her that Ashland felt like he had to confess. Nikki asked if Victoria thought Ashland ever wouldâve told her on his own. Victoria grumbled that theyâd never know, now that Billy backed Ashland into a corner. Nikki wanted to make sure Victoria was making decisions for the right reasons. Victoria said she was marrying Ashland because he made her happy and he understood her in a way no one else did. She gestured to the picture and asked who else wouldâve thought of that. While Ashland didnât say it, Victoria thought it was obvious that he was thinking about what would happen if he died. He gave her something she could look at every day to remind her of how he saw her. She added that Ashland was planning another big and extravagant surprise, which she accidentally overheard him arranging. Nikki remembered that, when she and Victor first got together, he loved nothing more than dazzling her with extravagant gestures.
Nikki said sheâd be there for Victoria, no matter what she chose to do. Victoria asked if this was Nikkiâs way of saying the wedding was a mistake. Nikki didnât think there were right or wrong answers. She thought she should trust her instincts and trust her strength to get through anything that happened. Victoria trusted Ashlandâs love for her. His original name didnât matter to her, because she knew what was in his heart.
At Society, Billy and Lily talked about how much the kids would enjoy the tourist attractions in Italy. He admitted that the wedding would be a blast too. She warned him not to get himself uninvited from by taking his investigation too far. He assumed she thought Ashland would go after them and ChancComm. He said he wasnât intimidated by Ashland, but she suggested he should be. He pointed out that Victor never followed through with his threats to come after ChancComm for the expose on Adam. She said Victor still held an intense grudge against him, and if things got ugly between Billy Ashland, Victor would take Ashland’s side. Billy said Victor saw Ashland as a younger version of himself, especially since Ashland had been so ingratiating with Victor. Lily assumed Ashland sized Victor up and decided heâd make a better friend than enemy. Billy said heâd never sucked up to anyone, especially Victor. Lily loved that about Billy, but she didnât want him to take any unnecessary risks. Gaines walked in, and Billy discreetly told Lily that this was the guy he saw meeting with Locke earlier.
Lily thought Gaines looked ordinary, not sinister they way Billy made him sound. Billy said Locke and Gaines were definitely in confrontation yesterday, but theyâd tried not to make a scene. Lily said that it may have been a business deal gone sour. Billy reminded Lily that Ashland had been charming when they talked business with him. It was clear to him that Ashland didnât like Gaines. He said their new friend would be very useful. They didnât know Gainesâ name yet. Lily saw the waitress take Gainesâs credit card, and she distracted the woman and took a peek at the card. Lily returned to the table with a name â Jesse Gaines. Billy looked the name up online, and found a Jesse Gaines Jr. from Toms River, NJ. They assumed that was their guy, because the TV stations Ashland bought when he first started were in Toms River. Gaines walked by, and Billy noted that he was younger than Ashland. Lily theorized that he worked at one of the stations. When Gaines left, Billy and Lily followed.
At the Grand Phoenix, Jesse gave the hotel manager his name and suite number, so she could see if he had messages. Billy lied and said his dad used to work with a lawyer named Jesse Gaines in New Jersey. Jesse Jr. said that may have been his dad. Jesse took over the law practice when his father passed away. Billy introduced himself. Jesse, of course, had heard of Jabot. He wondered what business their fathers wouldâve had. Billy suggested it was for fragrance manufacturing, but Jesse said his dad wasnât involved in anything like that. Billy said maybe it was advertising â newspapers, magazines or news stations. Jesse said his dad did work with a couple news stations. He thought it was amazing that Billy would remember Jesse Sr., whoâd stopped working when Billy had to have been very young. Billy said his steel trap memory was a curse. Billy asked what brought Jesse to town, and he said it was personal. Lily was in the vestibule. She saw Ashland walk in and greeted him loudly, alerting Billy. Billy said Jesse must be here to meet Ashland.
Jesse reiterated that he was in town for personal reasons. Lily wasnât able to stall Ashland any longer, and he went inside. He found Billy telling Jesse how beautiful this town was. Ashland said Jesse was one of his lawyers, here to help with the merger. Billy said that Jesse took lawyer client privilege seriously and didnât say a thing. He said he and Jesse were talking about Jesse Sr. who did legal work for TV stations, apparently the ones Ashland owned. Billy said it was awhile ago, before Camilla Rhodes passed away. He asked if Ashland knew Jesse Sr. Ashland stated that Jesse Sr. was a good man, then he and Jesse left. .
Ashland and Jesse ended up at the park. Ashland said all he could get today was half a million dollars in cash. Heâd give Jesse that another half million every month for the next five months, totaling the three million Jesse demanded, and their arrangement would end. Jesse didnât believe a man like Ashland didn’t have access to his funds. Ashland said it wasnât about access â he didnât want to draw undue attention to their arrangement. The point of blackmail was to keep it quiet. Jesse asked what if Ashland died before he paid up. Ashland vowed to live long enough to make Jesse wealthy. Jesse said it was obvious that Billy was suspicious, and heâd likely love to write another Adam Newman style article. Jesse asserted that the secret of how Ashland managed to buy Camillaâs stations and the revelation that heâd been paying Jesse to keep it a secret, would make a juicy story. Jesse wanted the $500,000 today, and unless he got the other 2.5 million within three days, heâd go to Billy and sell the story to ChancComm.
Nick got out of the shower looking for Phyllis, but she wasnât in the suite. He found a note she left with a lipstick kiss on it saying sheâd see him downstairs. Nick flashed back to the entire talk he and Phyllis had regarding Jack being in love with her. When heâd admitted he wasnât sure their relationship was solid, she kissed him and said she knew how to prove to him that things were good between them. After the memory, Nick went downstairs and told Phyllis he was glad they were okay. She replied that they were better than okay. They talked about last night, when they put the Jack thing aside, and she said that Nick really outdid himself last night. He grinned and said youâre welcome. She had one last thing to say about Jack â her heart ached for him, but she thought heâd find the perfect match, like she and Nick did. Nickâs expression made Phyllis ask if he agreed that they were the perfect match. He nodded and said yes, of course.
Phyllis recalled Jack saying that he didnât want Nick to know how he felt. She understood why Jack changed his mind and decided Nick should know. However, Phyllis wondered why Jack didnât come to her and give her a heads up first. Nick suggested Jack felt like he owed it to Nick. Nick mentioned that his relationship with Phyllis had come up during a talk with Jack. Phyllis was caught off guard. Phyllis assumed that Nick told Jack that he and Phyllis were happy and that Jack didnât take it well. Nick looked uncomfortable. He said Jack probably just felt better having everything out in the open. They decided not to talk about this topic anymore. He asked her to meet him at the park later and he said to wear comfortable clothes and shoes.
Phyllis went to the park wearing something more casual than the dress she was in earlier, but her heels were definitely unsuitable for the activity Nick had planned. He was in sweats, and he said he signed up to be Christianâs flag football coach, and he wanted Phyllis to be his assistant. He said Christian wanted her to be involved. She thought that was sweet, but she was picturing just attending the games and cheering them on. She didnât know anything about football. He said heâd teach her everything. She was open to trying. He tossed the football at her, and she made no attempt to catch it, and it softly bounced off her abdomen. He promised theyâd work on this.
Nick told Phyllis that a lot of the parents she knew and liked would be there, like Julia Sweetwater and Mark Mason. She didnât look interested in spending time with either person. She thought Nick was throwing himself into this to distract from Victoriaâs wedding. She assumed he wasnât going to dig into Ashlandâs past because he didnât want to upset Victoria. He said there was more to it than that. He told her about the sadness in Ashlandâs voice when he talked about his abusive father and the mother who wouldnât protect him. She was sure it reminded him of Victorâs history with his dad. Nick confirmed that it reminded him of the time he and Victor confronted Victorâs father, Albert Miller. Albert was one of the worst people Nick ever met. Albert said terrible things to Victor, and Nick felt bad. It was one of the few times heâd ever seen Victor fall apart and cry. If Ashlandâs father was anything like that, Nick understood why Ashland did everything he could to get away. Nick didnât want to make Ashland relieve that while he was going through chemo. On the other hand, Nick talked to Rey and got his take. Nick said that, according to Rey, if there was nothing more to this story than Ashland being a scared kid trying to get away from his parents, they should found his real name by now. Changing your name was a legal process that required paperwork, and since there was no record of that, it seemed like Ashland probably didnât use the regular channels to make that happen. Nick couldnât stop wondering what that meant.
Later, after some other attempts, Phyllis caught the ball Nick threw her, and he said sheâd be an amazing coach. She told him he had to know that wasnât going to happen. She had a job at the hotel, and she wouldnât be able to commit to coaching. Sheâd let the kids down and send a bad message. Plus, she was so competitive that sheâd probably make a kid cry, and get red-carded. He said that was soccer, and she felt that proved the point that she shouldnât be involved in this. She said sheâd be at every game with snacks, though. He was disappointed, because he thought this could be a family activity. She suggested that football be a father-son thing, and theyâd come up with something else they could do with Christian, just the three of them. She added that if he needed a super-sleuth to find out the identity of a certain billionaire, she was his girl. He said they should just go back to the hotel. He walked off and didnât see her grab her back in pain as she followed.
Later, Nick and Phyllis were lounging in bed, and he rubbed her feet. He asked if she was really willing to help him find out who Ashland was. She said definitely. He asked why. She wanted to help because it mattered to him. He knew he was risking royally ticking off his sister, but this was worth it. He couldnât shake the feeling that Ashland was hiding a lot more than his name. Phyllis said that if Nick was wrong, Victoria never had to know heâd looked into it. Nick said that if they found anything, heâd let Victoria know and she could do whatever she wanted with the information. Phyllis felt that Nick was doing this out of love for his sister, and he didnât have a grudge or vendetta, like Billy. She was happy to help him. He gave her the green light to investigate.
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