Friday, July 27, 2007, Episode #5112

At Forrester Originals, Ridge and Ashley are still kissing when his phone rings. Ridge tells Ashley to leave it, but she thinks he should see who it is. Ridge takes the call and finds that it's Jarrett from EYE ON FASHION. Ashley tells him to go ahead and talk to the reporter while she takes care of some things.

Rick tries to explain to Phoebe...

In the lab, Rick asks Phoebe how she knew who his "other woman" was. Phoebe explains that she realized it just now when she heard Ashley say "au revoir" and recognized the voice from his PDA message. She wants to have a word with Ashley, but Rick tells her not blame Ashley for this. He explains how he and Ashley met and grew close in Paris, when she came to meet with him about a fragrance for Forrester Creations. Then Ashley came to L.A. and started working at Forrester Originals, but they decided to keep things professional so as not to make things uncomfortable. "For me," Phoebe surmises. Rick says that he only wanted to protect her, especially with her father looking for ways to keep them apart. Phoebe admits she pushed Rick away when he blamed her dad for Shane's death, and she guesses that's when Rick turned to Ashley instead. "Did you kiss her?" she asks.

...but Phoebe is still hurt by Rick's revelation.

Rick tells Phoebe how devastated and hurt he was when she broke up with him, especially after everything they'd been through. So he thought things were over with her when he decided to take a business trip to New York with Ashley. But he doesn't want any more secrets between him and Phoebe, so he has to tell her the truth about that trip. He recounts how he and Ashley never landed in New York, since he told the pilot to take them to Mexico instead. Phoebe is aghast that less than 48 hours after she broke things off with Rick, he was sleeping with Ashley in Mexico. She wonders how what they shared could mean so little to him and asks Rick if he's still thinking about Ashley, the woman who gave him what he needed. Rick tries to tell her that it wasn't like that, but Phoebe tearfully bolts out the door.

Ridge is stunned to learn that Ashley was Rick's "other woman."

Phoebe makes a beeline for Ridge's office, where she tells her dad that he was right about Rick and the other woman. "They were having an affair," she sobs. Ridge tries to comfort his daughter, who wishes she had listened to him when he tried to warn her. She knows she should have seen it, since it was right in front of her face, but Rick and Ashley were so good at hiding it. Ridge is stunned to hear that Ashley was Rick's "other woman" and asks if Rick and Ashley are still involved. Rick claims they're not, Phoebe laments, but she doesn't know if she can trust anything Rick says now. She weeps that she believed Rick when he said he'd never hurt her again, which is why this hurts so much. "Why did they do this to us?" she tearfully asks as Ridge tries to comfort her.

Ashley fears that Phoebe might already be telling Ridge the truth.

Ashley pops into the lab and finds Rick alone with his thoughts. She asks where Phoebe is. "She ran out," Rick responds, lamenting that Phoebe was upset when she left. Upset about what? Ashley asks. "Phoebe knows," Rick responds, explaining that Phoebe knows all about Paris and everything after. Ashley asks where Phoebe is; when Rick says he doesn't know, Ashley fears that Phoebe might be telling Ridge. "What if she tells him before I have a chance to talk to him?" Ashley fears. She races to Ridge's office, where he's alone with his thoughts about what Phoebe told him. She calls out Ridge's name, but she can see the anger and disappointment in his eyes when he turns to face her.

Taylor warns Stephanie about Thorne.

Taylor drops by the Forrester mansion to see Stephanie. Stephanie assumes that Taylor's not happy about Brooke working for Nick these days, but Taylor assures her former mother in law that Nick's working relationship with Brooke hasn't lessened his commitment to his wife and their baby. Besides, she thinks Stephanie should focus less on her family and more on Thorne right now. Stephanie asks what's wrong with Thorne, so Taylor explains how she encountered Thorne at the Bikini Bar last night. Stephanie remarks that Thorne was on a date, but Taylor thinks something more serious is going on.

Stephanie asks Taylor what she should do.

Taylor suspects that Thorne is still hurting from Darla's death almost a year ago, a death she had a part in, but Stephanie thinks Thorne is upset at his falling in love with Taylor, only to have her choose their family's enemy Nick instead. Taylor concedes that she had a share of blame for Darla's death, something she has to live with for the rest of her life. But at the same time, she thought Thorne had finally moved on, for Aly's sake. Given what she saw last night, she thinks she was mistaken about Thorne having moved on. Stephanie asks if Thorne is drinking too much. Taylor recognizes the symptoms, since she is a recovering alcoholic herself, although she finds it tragic that the man who got her to go to A.A. might be drinking. Stephanie asks what she should do; Taylor advises her to keep an eye on Thorne and support him, since he needs help, and she urges Stephanie to call her when that happens.

Thorne is still despondent at the Bikini Bar.

At the Bikini Bar, Thorne orders another drink. Donna says she would drink too with a mother like Thorne's. Thorne responds by ordering a drink for the lady and moving from the bar to a table. Following him, Donna finds it interesting that he calls her a lady when his mother calls her and her sister sluts, whores and tramps. Thorne tells her to ignore his mom, but Donna thinks that's hard given how Stephanie took what means the most to Brooke in the world. She asks Thorne how he'd feel if he lost what meant the most to him, but she then apologizes when she remembers that Thorne already has. Thorne admits he often thinks about how his life would be if Darla was still here. It's been a year, but despite what they say, time has not healed all his wounds. So he's tried to gather up his life and move on, but he can't be OK when the person who was his life is gone. So all he has left is an empty glass of booze and a broken heart. He calls himself pathetic and starts to pop some more pills. Donna asks what the pills are, but she then tells Thorne to forget it and gets up to leave. Thorne tries to follow, but he stumbles. The bartender and Donna both rush over to help Thorne. The bartender offers to call a cab, but Donna says she'll drive Thorne home if the bartender will help her get Thorne to the car. The bartender agrees and they lead Thorne out of the bar.