Monday, February 05, 2007, Episode #4991

Rick warns Stephanie not to underestimate Nick.

Rick is in an office at Forrester Originals, wheeling and dealing to obtain some badly needed fabrics. Stephanie walks in and overhears the phone conversation, and she's pleased to see him throwing himself into his work. Rick sarcastically responds that he wants this venture to be a success for his father's sake. Stephanie commends him on his duet with Phoebe at the party last night; Rick tells her that he only did that for his mom. Stephanie infers from his comment that he wishes his mother was still married to Nick. What he wishes, Rick fumes at La Forrester, is that she didn't push Jackie off her balcony or publicly humiliate her! He reminds Stephanie that Forrester Creations was as much his legacy as Ridge's, maybe even more so since he is Eric's son by blood. But that's been taken from him thanks, as usual, to Stephanie making a mess of things with one of her plans. Stephanie admits that he has a right to be angry, but she also thinks he is old enough to understand that life sometimes gets messy, and all you can do when it does is move on. Rick fears he might not be able to move on; Stephanie says that's his problem, but he says it's the family's problem, since they've invested everything they have in this new company. The worst part is that they are pitted against Nick, who Stephanie has underestimated twice already with disastrous results. He knows he is always looking over his shoulder for Nick, and he suggests Stephanie do the same.

Rick is then called to a meeting; after he leaves, Stephanie remembers her recent encounter with Nick in the new showroom, where he told her he was her spotlight. She wonders if Rick might be right about Nick.

Bridget tells Phoebe about Rick's playboy lifestyle in Europe.

Elsewhere in the building, Bridget gets so caught up in her work as "design consultant" while helping Phoebe dress that she forgets she has her pager clipped to her coat. Phoebe tells her to relax; she points out that Bridget's off duty from the hospital now, so the two of them can share some girl talk like they were back in high school. After Bridget responds with some faux gossip, Phoebe tells Bridget to stop teasing. The teasing reminds Phoebe of Rick, who she admits has his nice side, too, like when he sang at the party last night. Bridget points out, "You both sang," but Phoebe laughs that she was just there to make sure Rick didn't sing "Unforgivable" instead. Phoebe then flashes back to her talk with Rick on the terrace last night after their duet; she tells Bridget that she had fun singing with Rick, especially because of the high they were both on afterwards. She recalls how Rick looked at her on the terrace after with those soulful eyes, and she couldn't believe that this was the same Rick who she always used to pest at family gatherings. Bridget thinks Phoebe sees Rick differently now that she's all grown up, although she's not surprised, since Phoebe is now the type of girl Rick is typically drawn to. She recalls how she used to visit Rick in Paris while she was studying in Copenhagen, and all he'd have to do is smile to get some hot, young model on his arm.

Phoebe warns Rick that she won't be played by him.

Bridget gets paged to the hospital and has to leave, so Phoebe is alone as she undresses. Stripped down to just her undies, she flashes back again to her talk with Rick last night after their duet, but she's shocked back to reality when Rick enters the room! Embarrassed, Phoebe grabs a robe and outs it on as she tells Rick not to ever walk in on her again this way. Rick asks why she's being such a prude. She points out that she's nearly naked. Rick reminds her that he's been in this business for years now, so he's seen many models in their undies. And probably in less, Phoebe guesses. Rick asks what she means. Phoebe responds by asking him why he came backstage; if he was looking for Bridget, she remarks, his sister just left, and... Rick cuts her off and tells her that he wasn't looking for Bridget; he was looking for her. He wanted to hank her for last night. He thinks she knows how much he dreaded being at that party, but it turned out to be a lot of fun thanks to her. Phoebe snipes that he can probably find a party anywhere he goes. Rick asks what she means by that. She says it's nothing and asks if he can excuse her, since she's running late. Rick senses something wrong and asks what she's late for. When Phoebe gets all flustered trying to answer his questions, Rick asks if there's a problem. Phoebe replies that there is, and he's the problem: with all his talk about Paris and the stars and models, she sees him for the playboy he is, so she's warning him that she won't be played by him!

Yvette St. Julienne is unimpressed by Nick's offer.

Over at Forrester Creations, Storm and Jackie wait with Nick for Yvette St. Julienne to arrive. As Storm comments what a coup this will be if Nick can pull his plans off, Nick's assistant announces the arrival of Ms. St. Julienne. Yvette comes in with her business manager and exchanges lots of air kisses and french greetings with Jackie, who introduces her old acquaintance to her son Dominick. Nick thanks Yvette for making the trip. Yvette and her business manager cut to the chase and ask Nick what this meeting is all about. When Nick says he has an offer for them, Yvette and the business manager are pleased that they were correct in their suspicion that Nick wants to buy her boutiques. Unfortunately, the business manager explains, they are not for sale. Nick asks them to at least consider his generous offer and asks Storm to show the Europeans the offer sheet. Yvette and her business manager look the offer over, but they are stunned and disappointed at how low it is. Nick tells them not to be so hast, because he's done his homework. He knows that Yvette's stores have been bleeding red ink for months, to the point where the St. Julienne boutiques are nearly broke. Jackie chimes in that Yvette should know how fickle the fashion industry is, so she thinks a smart businesswoman would know when to stop worrying about her bottom line and focus on staying solvent. The business manager argues that this is nowhere near what the boutiques are worth. What they WERE worth, Nick corrects him.

Jackie and Nick lay their cards on the table.

Yvette suggests that they stop playing games here. She points that everyone in the industry knows about his vendetta with the Forresters, including his buying their company as part of his revenge plans. Jackie senses the tension and tries to diffuse it, reminding Yvette that in this business, timing is everything. "It's a savvy businesswoman who knows when to dig her stilettos in or cash in -- go off and buy herself a more comfortable, stylish pair," Jackie suggests. Yvette asks how long she has to consider the offer. Nick gives her one week. Yvette remind him that her business alone will not allow him to break the Forresters. Nick suggests she forget the Forresters and do what's best for her. He thinks that she knows she won't get a better offer than this, so he suggests they finalize this right now by signing the papers while she's here in L.A. Yvette gives in and signs.

Stephanie warns the Marones that she knows they're up to something.

After Yvette and her business manager leave, Nick and Jackie consider that they signed one more distributor. Jackie admits she never believed it would happen, but Nick's plans are falling into place. What plans? Stephanie asks as she walks in the office door. Nick hides the contract behind his back and asks Stephanie why she's here. She replies that she thought he and his mother might still be plotting to destroy her family, so she decided to pay them a friendly visit and tell them to forget it. She reminds Nick that she knows more about this business than he does and has a lot more friends in the business. Jackie asks what they might be up to; Stephanie asks if it has anything to do with the document behind Nick's back. She warns that she has the means to find out what they're up to with her connections. Before Nick or Jackie can respond, Yvette comes back in, having forgotten her purse. Stephanie thinks she has it all figured out: she thinks Nick and Jackie brought Yvette here to convince her to carry their inferior merchandise and forget about St. Julienne's long personal and professional relationship with the Forrester family. Before Yvette can say anything, Nick points out that anything that happens in this office is confidential.