Thursday, March 13, 2008, Episode #5269

Pam thanks Eric for agreeing to bring Stephanie back to the company.

In Eric's office, Pam thanks her brother-in-law with a hug for agreeing to bring Stephanie back to the company. Donna comes in and pretends that she hasn't overheard the conversation between Eric and Pam, so she feigns surprise when Pam proudly announces that her sister is coming back to Forrester. After Eric qualifies that he'll have to check with the lawyers first due to the terms of the buyout, Donna remarks that she thinks that's fair, and she promises to find a way to co-exist with Stephanie here at the office if Eric brings her back. "That's awfully generous of you," Pam sweetly responds. When the phone rings, Pam bolts over to the desk and answers it, taking a message for Eric. After Pam ends the call, Eric tells her that she didn't have to do that, but Pam says it was her pleasure to help. Eric explains that their new receptionist, Margie, is on a break, so he asks Pam if she can fill in and cover the phones until Margie gets back. Pam happily agrees. When Donna asks Eric to come down to the art department to look at some new photos of him for their ad campaign, Pam quietly asks if that will include the nude photo of Eric on Donna's ledge. Before Donna can answer, the phone rings, so Pam races outside to the receptionist desk to answer it.

Margie's first day is also her last.

When Margie returns, she's surprised to find Pam sitting at her desk answering the phones. When Margie asks who she is, Pam explains that she's the new receptionist. Margie seems surprised, so Pam explains that Mr. Forrester asked her to inform Margie that things just weren't working out. Margie is confused, since today was her first day, and Eric told her she could take a break. Pam tells Margie she's sorry and bids her goodbye. When Margie lingers for a moment to digest what's going on, Pam asks, "What part of the word 'scram' don't you understand?" and orders Margie to leave before getting back to the phones. When Eric returns and sees that Margie's not back, Pam lies that she smelled tequila on the new girl's breath and fired her. Eric seems surprised and says that he'll have Donna call the temp agency to find someone, but Pam says she actually enjoys this and asks Eric if he could give her the job. Eric worries that her mother Ann needs her back in Chicago, but Pam states that her mom is traveling for a few months, so she'd love to take this job and feel more like part of the family. Eric agrees to let her have the job.

Donna asks Eric how he could hire Stephanie's "twisted sister."

When Donna sees Pam sitting at the receptionist desk instead of Margie, she asks what's going on. Pam gives Donna the "good news" that she's just been hired for the job by Donna's "honey bear." Stunned, Donna rushes in to ask Eric, who confirms that he hired Pam when issues came up with Margie. He points out that they needed someone quickly who could handle the phones, but Donna asks why that person had to be Stephanie's "twisted sister," who recently threatened to kill her.

Eric asks Donna to forgive Pam for him.

Pam comes to Eric's door and asks if she's interrupting. Eric tells her to come in, because this is about her. He explains to Pam that Donna has reservations about her working here. Pam supposes this is about the threats she made when she arrived and tells Donna that she's really sorry about that. She already apologized to Eric, but she thinks Donna is the one who really deserves the apology, and she readily admits that she felt so overly protective of her big sister Stephanie that she lost her temper and said some things she didn't mean. When Donna seems hesitant about accepting the apology, Eric asks her to do it for him, so Donna agrees to forgive and forget just this once. Eric then suggests that the two ladies go out for coffee after work to get to know each other better. "I think that'd be lovely," Pam sweetly responds, so Donna has no choice but to agree.

Bridget lashes out at her mother.

Bridget barges into the living room of the Marone mansion and asks Brooke, "How dare you just stand there and stab me in the back like that?" She can't believe that her mother shared the things she told her in confidence with Nick just now. Brooke insists that she was just trying to protect Bridget from getting hurt by Nick again, but Bridget refuses to believe a two-faced mother who lied to her and went behind her back to try and keep her and Nick apart. Brooke admits that she only said those things to Bridget when she realized Ridge was listening to her last conversation with Bridget at home. When Nick hears that Brooke lied to Ridge rather than admit the truth, he's livid. Bridget is equally furious and accuses Brooke of being cruel. When Brooke says she didn't mean to be cruel, Bridget supposes her mom is "confused" again and calls Brooke cruel, narcissistic, insensitive and very, very selfish. Brooke asks Nick if he's going to say something. "I think your kid has a point," he answers, asking Brooke why she can't see that she crossed the line. Bridget says this is between her and Nick and orders her mom to stay out of their business. Before Brooke can respond, Jack starts crying. Brooke offers to get Jack a bottle, but Nick says he'll do that and suggests that Brooke stay here and settle things with her daughter.

Brooke insists she acted out of love.

Alone with Brooke, Bridget demands the truth. Brooke insists that she acted out of love, but Bridget isn't buying it given what she overheard and blasts her mom for again wavering between Ridge and Nick. "You can't have it both ways," Bridget states, begging her mother not to take Nick away from her again. She's fed up with the weird way her mom juggles men around and argues that she deserves her chance at happiness this time. "Don't you dare try to take that away from me again," she seethes. She recalls all the times Brooke jumped from Ridge to Nick and back again because Brooke thought it was "destiny," fuming that she thinks her mom's belief in destiny is just a way of keeping her options open and keeping both men on a string. She can't believe that she once sacrificed her marriage to Nick so Brooke could have a chance at happiness with the sailor, only to then watch Brooke blow the opportunity that was handed to her. But even so, she's going to give Brooke one more chance: she tells her mom to decide, right here and now, if she wants Ridge or Nick. "It's now or never," she challenges. Standing at the top of the stairs, Nick looks down and says that's a hell of a question. "I'd kind of like to hear that answer myself," he remarks.