Young & The Restless Update
Recap written by Christine
At Society, Stannis sent a text to Ashland saying he overheard an argument between Adam and a guy named Billy.
Sally was on a jog in the park when she got a text from Chloe wanting to discuss the job offer. Sally typed out a text saying the situation had changed, but then she deleted it without sending it. She called Adam and sent a voice message asking if he’d decided on his next move. “Moves and countermoves. Sounds like you and Adam are made for each other,” Jack said as he walked up. Sally wondered if that was meant to be cutting. Jack said it wasn’t an insult – he was fond of Adam, and he seemed to be happy and not creating chaos, at least not publicly. Jack said that if Sally’s relationship with Adam had anything to do with that, he was happy for them both. Sally was glad to hear that, because as one friend of Adam’s to another, she was trying to figure out of she should be freaking out.
Sally was sure Jack saw the media blitz about Adam becoming CEO, but now that was up in the air after Victoria’s return. Sally thought this was unfair to Adam, who never even had a chance to get his feet wet. Jack said Victor had a long history of manipulating his children. Jack thought Victor’s cavalier approach to Adam had always been reprehensible. Sally said compared to the Newmans, the Abbotts were downright wholesome. Jack didn’t know about that. He assumed she was also worried about how this would affect her. She said she wanted this to work out for both her and Adam.
Sally said Adam was constantly being mistreated by his family, and now he was getting unceremoniously kicked out of the top spot. “Yes, I get that he’s done some messed up things in the past, but haven’t we all? Haven’t they? However, he’s the one that’s always being kept on the outside. He can never do enough, be enough in their eyes. And it just ridiculous,” she said. Jack said there had been a complicated dynamic at play decades before Sally arrived in Genoa City. She knew but she said Adam had done so much to prove himself and earn the family’s respect. She said Adam was brilliant, funny and sharp, and no one had ever treated her with this level of respect and appreciation, personally and professionally. Jack adopted a stiff smile, and Sally apologized. She said he’d been great until she gave in to her worst impulses, which Phyllis was more than happy to reveal to him and everyone else. She said she fought really hard to change her self-defeating behavior and she’d accepted the consequences and went about rebuilding her credibility. He thought she’d made real progress. She said she’d shown up and done the work and it had paid off in ways she couldn’t imagine. He said she’d always been a big dreamer. She said she was really proud of everything she accomplished, and now all her plans and dreams might be taken away, and she wasn’t sure what to do or how to feel. The one thing she was sure about was Adam, who believed in her and trusted her. Jack could hear the love in Sally’s voice, and he thought the relationship made sense, since Adam and Sally always wanted to prove themselves to the world. He said Adam was unpredictable when he felt emotionally wounded, and he tended to overreact in outsized and dangerous ways, rarely considering the collateral damage.
Nick met with Sharon at Crimson Lights and told her about Victoria’s scheme to cut Ashland out of their lives for good. He said Victoria needed Ashland and the family to believe she was choosing him over the family. Nick didn’t approve of Victoria’s methods, but he thought she played it brilliantly. Sharon said Victoria was her father’s daughter. Nick revealed that Victoria offered him a job. Sharon asked if he was going to take it and where that left Adam. He assumed Victoria would want Adam to return to Newman Media. He said Adam stormed out of the meeting, because they all knew Victor was going to reinstate Victoria as the CEO. Sharon noted that Victor just had a splashy press conference announcing Adam would be running things. Nick understood that Adam was upset to be one of Victor’s chess pieces, but he said everyone, even Adam, knew Victor’s goal was to rehire Victoria. Nick thought Adam had hoped Victor would punish Victoria by keeping Adam in charge. Nick just wished Adam would understand that being CEO of a major media company was a tremendous opportunity. Nick thought Victoria would want Nikki to be co-CEO. He said Nikki thought Victoria would want him to be COO. He wasn’t sure how he felt about this.
Sharon brought Nick to the park so he could have some fresh air while he thought. He said that if he took this job, his hours would be a lot less flexible, so he’d have less time with Christian. Sharon noted that they had young kids when he worked for Newman before, and he balanced work and parenting. He said if he went back to Newman, he’d be stepping away from New Hope, and he really enjoyed that work. She said improving people’s lives by building affordable housing was exactly who he was. He contrasted that to re-joining corporate America, Newman style, and all the chaos that went along with that. She reminded him that he said he’d be able to mitigate a lot of that, influence the family’s decisions and manage the family infighting, and possibly prevent something like what Victoria just went through. She thought that protecting the family and the family business would be fulfilling in a different way. She said Noah would be able to fill in the gaps at New Hope. He said that it would make him comfortable to know his son was there to continue the mission. Noah was a fast learner who knew the place inside and out. Sharon said that this could be a good opportunity for their son. He thought it sounded like she thought he should take the job at Newman.
Since Sharon had historically been supportive of Nick’s decision to strike out on his own, he wondered what changed. She said he was stronger and more centered now, and the blinders were off – he saw his family for who and what they were. She suggested he was older and wiser, and they smiled. She said in the past, working in that environment changed him into someone he didn’t want to be, but now she thought he would be able to change the environment. She said that making this decision for the sake of his family could be the most fulfilling thing he’d ever done. She knew him well enough to know that he was going to go back to Newman. Nick stood, staring off into the distance, and Sharon nudged him and smiled. He thought she was right – he’d been heading in this direction for awhile. He said he needed to hear her advice, that he wasn’t crazy for considering this. He thought she was right and that this was the correct decision.
At Newman Enterprises, Victoria’s portrait was back on the wall. Nikki straightened it and said it was in its rightful place. Nikki thought that Victor would be so happy the painting he commissioned was back on the wall. Victoria said she and Victor were in a good place after a nice long talk. Victoria asked Nikki to be her co-CEO again, and she accepted. Nikki thought this was an important transition for the family – they’d all be working side by side in the company Victor built. They talked about the possibility of Nick joining the company. Victoria said Nick supported her through the entire ordeal even though he didn’t understand or agree with her decisions. She said she needed people like that around her – with unquestionable loyalty. Victoria wasn’t going to push Nick, but she thought it would be wonderful if they all worked together with Victor as their advisor. Nikki said there was a dangerous wildcard who could blow everything up.
Nikki was talking about Adam. She wasn’t lobbying for him to have a seat at the Newman Enterprises table, but he had been abruptly pushed out, and he needed to feel valued. She said they’d have to handle the situation carefully. Victoria said that after Adam was done licking his wounds, she’d happily have him back as CEO of Newman Media. Nikki said that Adam might view it as an insulting demotion. Victoria said it was Adam’s choice, but if he came to work for her, that would satisfy Victor’s desire to have the family work together, while making sure Adam couldn’t affect the decision making at Newman Enterprises. Nikki said if Adam decided to stay, he’d be miserable and try to undermine Victoria at every turn. Victoria knew Adam was a menace, but she wasn’t going to lose sleep over it.
Jack ran into Nikki at Crimson Lights. He told her he didn’t want to get into it over Diane, but she went on a short rant about Diane anyway. Afterward, Nikki said right now she had other things on her mind, though, like her family. He heard her family was going through a lot, but he kne Victoria came back without Ashland, so he was sure she must be relieved. She said they were glad Victoria was out of that horrible man’s clutches.
Stannis tipped Ashland off that Adam was at the coffeehouse, so Ashland went there. Ashland approached Adam on the patio and pretended it was a chance meeting. Adam asked what Ashland wanted. Ashland said he wouldn’t give the Newmans the satisfaction of fleeing every time he saw one of them. Adam wondered why Ashland was in town – surely he couldn’t still be chasing Victoria after the way she worked him over. Ashland claimed he was here to pick up his belongings from Victoria’s house. Adam said Victoria might have put them out on the curb. Ashland assumed Adam knew what it was like to be kicked to the curb, now that Victoria returned to reclaim her rightful place on the throne.
Ashland could just imagine Victor welcoming his precious daughter back into the fold, proud as a peacock about her pulling off another remarkable coup. Adam didn’t know why Ashland was rhapsodizing about a woman who scammed the hell out of him. Ashland admired the way Victoria played the game. He thought it was clever of her to trick him into signing away the rest of the money he got from her father. He noted that paying him off had been Adam’s idea. Ashland complimented the skill with which Victoria lied. He said it was the kind of deal Victor himself could’ve thought of. Ashland was sure that when Victoria talked to Victor, she’d pointed out that the payoff was Adam’s plan and that her plan was more like something Victor would’ve conceived of. Adam said it wasn’t like Ashland didn’t have it coming. “Victoria played us both to get exactly what she wanted,” Ashland said.
Ashland said that Victor saw Adam as a convenient placeholder and never had any intention of taking him seriously. He said they both got lied to by someone they thought they could trust. Adam said at least he didn’t get fleeced for 250 million. Ashland said Victor took Adam’s power and respect, which was way more valuable than cash. Adam said Ashland had to know Victoria would never take him back. Ashland didn’t understand why Adam continued to think Ashland was interested in reconciling with the woman who just conned him. Adam said surely Ashland wasn’t going to try and sue for the money Victoria reclaimed, since that would be a losing proposition after he lied about cancer. Ashland wasn’t interested in a court case. Adam asked if Ashland was out for revenge. Ashland was sure Adam was out for revenge after what his family had done. Ashland mused that he and Adam wanted the same thing.
Adam went to Sally’s office and apologized for not returning the calls. She understood he had a lot on his mind. He told her about his run-ins with Billy and Ashland. Adam thought Ashland was doing something that could turn things back in Adam and Sally’s favor. He said Ashland kept implying they were after the same thing, which was stripping Victoria of everything she had. Adam said Victoria took everything from Ashland and humiliated him. Adam knew how that felt too. He said Ashland wanted to make Victoria pay and make her life hell. He said that if Victoria was under attack, she might make costly attacks that he could capitalize on. Adam wondered if he could help speed things along. Sally thought the ultimate goal was for Adam to be CEO. Adam said that wasn’t his goal anymore. He was finished trying to prove to his father that he was worthy. “Victor has insulted me and used me again and again. And my sister’s loved every minute of it. She’s confident in her place and secure no matter how much I have tried to prove myself,” he said. “I’m done trying. I just want to see my dear little sister crash and burn, and I want to see my father go down with her,” Adam revealed. Sally looked concerned.
Chelsea and Billy got a table at Society. She commented that Adam stormed out of the restaurant past her without acknowledging her. Billy said that Adam had a bad day. He didn’t want to talk about Adam, though. He asked how Chelsea and Chloe were doing. Chelsea said she decided to take a much-needed break from fashion to preserve her friendship with Chloe. Chelsea said she partially had Billy to thank, because their conversation earlier gave her a lot of clarity. She said she’d been saying yes to everyone recently out of fear of letting everyone down, especially Chloe. He knew that feeling.
Chelsea wanted to do something for Billy to repay him. She knew he was caught off guard by her honest opinion of his podcast. He said she told him that she wallowed in self-recrimination and that he was dour. She believed Lily was the one who used the word dour. Chelsea said that she also said Billy was one of the funniest people she’d ever met, and she’d seen every facet of Billy Abbott. She thought she could help his podcast grow by telling him what it needed. He felt that was generous of her, but he said he worked alone, delving into his psyche in the middle of the night. She suggested that was part of the problem. He wanted to hear her out since the last time she gave him a critique it was right on the money. She thought she could help him broaden topics and have a different tone. He admitted that the latest research said his audience was plateauing, so maybe he could use a little help. Victoria walked in, and Billy ended the meeting with Chelsea, because he and Victoria had to discuss the kids. Chelsea welcomed Victoria back and left.
Victoria sat with Billy. He was glad she’d finally seen Locke for who he was and cut him loose. Victoria said it wasn’t easy to convince people that she still loved Ashland and that she was willing to walk away from everything for him. The part she regretted the most was how tough it was on everyone she loved. He assumed she was talking about her parents, and he said they were tough as nails. Victoria wanted Billy to use The Grinning Soul podcast to reveal the ugly truth about Ashland’s cancer scam. She said it would be coming from an anonymous podcaster. Billy said that would mean revealing the truth of what Ashland did to Victoria. She said it would be worth it to close all the doors on Ashland and ensure that he couldn’t ever do this to anyone else.
Ashland was in a bad mood when he went back to his room at the Athletic Club. He slammed the door shut and groaned.
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