Wednesday, February 14, 2007, Episode #4998

Felicia and Thorne fret about Ridge's proposed next steps.

At Forrester Originals, Eric, Stephanie, Ridge, Brooke, Thorne, Felicia and Rick gather to discuss their options now that Nick has locked them out of the couture market. They can't believe Nick managed to find the means and the capital to pull that off. Ridge suggests that their best option is to slash their prices and sell their designs in department stores. Felicia protests that going retail will coast them their reputation, and Brooke and Thorne fret that selling to retail customers would mean that they'd have to slash prices so drastically that their profits would get cut in half. Ridge argues that half is better than nothing, but Eric refuses to see the standard of quality he's spent a life time building cheapened by selling his designs in malls. If they compromise now, they'd have to take even more cuts on subsequent collections until their name on a design would be worthless. Stephanie agrees with Eric, so Ridge suggests another option: he points out that there are corporations that would pay big money for the Forrester name and brand, so this might be the time to sell the name. Eric is equally displeased by that suggestion and suggests another alternative; he's always dreamed of owning his own specialty stores across the world to sell his designs, so maybe this is the time for them to open their own high end boutiques.

Jackie shows a bit of regret.

Over at Forrester Creations, Jackie, Donna, Storm and Clarke join Nick for a champagne celebration of the Forrester family's downfall. Donna reads a press article praising Nick and Jackie's fashion coup and proposes a toast. Nick echoes her sentiments but warns that they can't get complacent, since he's sure the Forresters will have some reaction to the news. Buying all the couture boutiques has left this company vulnerable financially, he stresses, so they have to stay focused. The others are up to the challenge and toast their success. Nick sees Jackie is a bit pensive and guesses that it's because of what their coup did to Eric. Jackie reminds him that Eric poured all his time, money and passion into his new company, so this loss must be devastating. Nick reminds her of the pain the Forresters caused her and asserts that the whole family, including Eric, earned their due by letting that happen. He asks Jackie to toast to their success; she does so, but the look on her face shows she's doing it reluctantly.

Taylor is pleased by Nick's gift.

As the celebration continues, Nick gets a call from Taylor, who says that she just received a beautiful bouquet of multi-colored roses. Nick states that he thought she deserved a reminder that today was Valentine's Day. Taylor thanks him and asks if he knows what all the colors mean. She points out the pink and yellow roses, which Nick correctly answers stand for admiration and friendship, respectively. And then there are the red ones, Taylor adds. Nick feigns surprise at there being red roses, but Taylor confirms that they're there and thanks him for the gesture. Nick admits that it might be hard to get reservations now, but he thinks he can arrange something if Taylor would like to join him for a Valentine's Day dinner; Taylor happily accepts.

Clarke and Donna wonder what the Forresters will do now.

Nick then returns to the celebration, where the others speculate on the Forresters next move. Storm suggests that they could sell to department stores and slash prices, but Clarke doesn't think Eric would do it. Nick thinks it's probably Eric's best option, since it would be a mistake to pour more money into a floundering business like Forrester Originals. Donna praises him again for doing what he had to do, since the Forresters never saw it coming.

Phoebe is surprised whsn she learns who sent her mom flowers.

Back at Taylor's house, Phoebe comes down and sees the beautiful roses her mother got. As soon as she finds out that Nick sent the flowers, Phoebe insists that her mother send them back. She doesn't see how her mom can accept these form the man who destroyed her father and grandpa's new business venture. Taylor points out that Ridge and Stephanie should have known Nick would retaliate for their publicly humiliating Jackie, but Phoebe still doesn't think that her mom should be taking flowers from Nick, especially not red roses, which signify love, on Valentine's Day. Taylor points out that there are also yellow roses in there, which stand for friendship, and Nick IS her friend. She sits Phoebe down and explains that she was really in love with Thorne and was looking forward to spending her life with him. But then life threw her another curve ball because Thorne needed something else, so she now has no choice but to move on. Later, Taylor comes downstairs, dressed up for dinner; as she approaches the door, she fantasizes about Nick arriving to pick her up. In the fantasy, he compliments her on how good she looks and asks if she's afraid of him. When Taylor responds, "Should I be?" Nick answers with a passionate kiss!

Rick stands by Eric's suggestion.

Phoebe arrives at Forrester Originals, where Ridge and Eric continue to debate their options. Ridge thinks Eric must be kidding about opening their own boutiques, but Rick chimes in that doing that years ago would have only added to their company's worth. And it would have prevented Nick from locking them out of the market, Eric adds. It would also be pricey, Ridge argues, but Eric thinks it would be worth mortgaging everything to save their image and their dignity. Ridge thinks Eric isn't thinking clearly, but Eric asserts that he is. Ridge admits that he's the ultimate risk taker here, but he thinks it's too big a risk. But it could be a home run, Rick argues, criticizing the way Ridge rushes in like Barney Fife (the bumbling deputy on the old TV series "The Andy Griffith Show") any time anyone else wants to take a risk. Rick guesses it must Ridge's huge ego that makes that happen. Tired of the bickering, Brooke goes out to get some air.

Ridge refuses to be part of Eric's plan.

Eric tells Ridge that they can do this, but Ridge is still hesitant. Thorne and Felicia admits that buying their own boutiques is risky, but they can't imagine a scenario where they sell their name and give up their children's legacy. Rick says he's siding with his dad, but Stephanie agrees with Ridge that she's not sure it's worth the risk. Ridge suggests that Eric finally retire and forget about the stress, but Eric thinks retiring would only add to his stress. Ridge sees no value in throwing good money away after bad and still believes selling is their best option, since their name won't mean much once Clarke's hack designs hit the streets with the Forrester Creations name on them. He declares, "I can't stop you from opening your chain of boutiques, but you'll do it without me!"

Brooke tries to get through to Nick.

At Forrester Creations, Brooke barges into Nick's office, despite his assistant Mariah's attempt to stop her. Nick tells Mariah it's OK. Brooke asks him if he's enjoying his attempt to find justice, since she sees nothing just about tearing a family apart. Nick points out that the suffering can end once the Forresters surrender to him. Brooke scolds him for acting like this is some war, with his obsession with making Stephanie and Ridge stand trial for their high crimes. "Why shouldn't they?!" Nick shouts, criticizing Brooke for again wanting to help a family that's caused her nothing but pain. Broke asks when this war will end and pleads, "If you ever loved me, you will put an end to this war before it gets worse." Nick reminds her that everything he has could have been hers, but she walked away from him. And now his war of revenge is affecting everyone, she protests, especially her son and her fiance. Nick argues that Rick just doesn't want to see her hurt by Ridge again, but Brooke tells Nick she doesn't need protection from Ridge, from Rick or from him. Nick asks why she's here. She tells him that she wants him to carry Forrester Originals in Jackie M. Moving close to him, she urges him to see that this war has to end, and he has the power to make that happen, Nick doesn't think this seems fair; Brooke admits it isn't, but she's still asking this of him.