Wednesday, March 26, 2008, Episode #5276

Donna frets over her darkly bronzed tan.

At the Golden Glow tanning salon, a panicked Donna cries out for help as she desperately tries to open the tanning booth door. Outside, Pam quietly giggles with glee. Seeing the attendant coming back, Pam rushes off. Hearing Donna's cries, the attendant stops the sprayers and opens the door. A frantic Donna bolts out of the booth and goes to get dressed. Soon after, Donna looks at herself in the mirror and stares at her dark bronzed skin. The attendant looks on, insisting that she doesn't know how this happened. "Maybe because I got locked in there and it kept spraying?" Donna hysterically responds, asking how long it will take for the tan to fade. The attendant says that it will take seven to ten days and warns Donna to stay out of the sun to keep it from getting worse. "Oh, great!" Donna sighs. When the attendant offers a free coupon, Donna threatens to call in her brother the lawyer if the tan doesn't fade. Donna then grabs her purse and storms off, leaving the bubble-headed attendant curious about Donna's attorney.

Eric tries to reassure Donna.

Pam arrives back at Forrester and takes her place behind her desk. Eric comes out of his office and asks Pam if she's seen Donna, since he's been trying to reach her. Pam plays dumb about Donna's whereabouts, holding back a giggle until Eric is back in his office. Soon after, Donna comes off the elevator. Pam feigns surprise about Donna;s skin tone and asks what happened. Donna doesn't say anything and just storms into Eric's office, leaving Pam to chuckle about how her plan succeeded. Inside the office, Eric sees Donna and asks what happened. Donna tearfully explains what happened with the tanning booth. Eric hugs her and assures her that everything will be OK. Neither one of them sees Pam open the door to peek in and smile at the sight of Donna sobbing. Donna weeps to Eric about how terrified she was and frets that it all happened while trying to look beautiful for him. Eric assures her that she's beautiful as he holds her and asks what he can do to help.

Pam plots her next move.

Pam enters the office and tells Eric that she has his dinner ready: chicken, with white meat only, just the way he likes it. Donna starts sobbing furiously at Pam's remark. Pam asks if she said something wrong. Eric asks her to just put the dish down and leave. Pam puts the dish down on Eric's desk and returns to her own desk. While Donna keeps crying about how awful she looks, Pam sits down at her desk and takes out the company calendar again. She looks at Donna's schedule and sees that hair coloring is next on the agenda. She starts to cackle mischievously as she plots her next move.

Ridge asks Taylor to think about Phoebe.

Standing outside Taylor's house, Rick recalls hearing Taylor tell Ridge that she's not in love with Rick. Inside, Taylor tells Ridge she has nothing else to say about her and Rick and instructs him to report back to Brooke that Rick is safe from her "evil clutches." Ridge thinks Brooke has reason to worry. Taylor sarcastically snipes that she sure believes that of the woman who stole two husbands from her own daughter and asks Ridge not to get her started on how Brooke has interfered in her life. Rick slips back in the door and listens as Ridge tells Taylor that seeking payback through Brooke's son makes no sense. Taylor tells him to stop talking that way, since she already told him that Rick is just a supportive friend who brought a little light to her life when she felt all alone. Since she knows where to draw the line, she sees nothing wrong with her being friends with Rick. Tired of explaining herself, she asks Ridge to leave. As Ridge turns to leave, Rick ducks back outside. Ridge asks Taylor to just remember that a lot of people will get hurt if she crosses the line, including their daughter. He then leaves. Outside, Rick stands in the bushes and watches Ridge exit. Once Ridge is gone, Rick peeks in the window and watches Taylor.

Brooke fears that Rick will pay the price for Taylor's mania.

Brooke anxiously waits in her office for Ridge to return. When Ridge arrives, Brooke asks if he talked to Taylor about Rick. Ridge says that he did, and he has to tell her that what's happening with Rick and Taylor is real. An agitated Brooke asks if that means that Taylor is going to keep seducing her son to get back at her. Ridge tells her that Taylor assured him that she wouldn't get intimate with Rick, but Brooke is sickened by the mere thought of Taylor making love to Rick. Ridge tells her that they'll just have to trust Taylor to do the right thing. Brooke explains that Rick dropped by earlier and boasted of his big plans for the evening, including his hope to make love to Taylor. Ridge doesn't believe that Taylor will let that happen, but Brooke wonders if they can trust Taylor, since she isn't convinced that Taylor's feelings for Rick are real. Ridge reminds her that Rick is a grown man who can choose who he wants to be intimate with. Brooke is taken aback that Ridge isn't more upset, especially because of how this might affect Phoebe. Ridge tells her that they should just let this play out, especially since he reminded Taylor of what this might do to Phoebe. Brooke, however, feels that Taylor has gone off the deep end, and she doesn't want to see Rick pay the price for that. Ridge assures her that he believed Taylor when she promised not to cross the line and let her and Rick go beyond being just friends, but Brooke doesn't look totally convinced.

Rick tells Taylor that he heard her talking to Ridge.

Back at the Bel Air mansion, Taylor is deep in thought when she hears the doorbell. She answers and finds Rick standing there with flowers and the take-out food he brought from Cafe Russe. Pretending that he was delayed at the restaurant, Rick suggests they dig in. He takes out some candles and lights them, explaining that he brought them because he promised Taylor a night she'll never forget. Taylor agrees that this will be a night she'll never forget. As they dine, they chat about the odd turns their lives have taken recently, including Rick's being there to support Taylor. Rick tells her that he just wants her to be happy, and he believes that he can do that. Taylor senses that he doesn't seem like himself and asks if he's upset that his mother knows how he feels. Rick denies that there's anything wrong, but Taylor urges him to open up to her. When Rick asks if she's asking him as a friend, Taylor asks what he means, so Rick tells her that he sees them as more than friends. He confesses that he overheard her conversation with Ridge earlier and asks her to be honest with him about how she feels. When Taylor doesn't answer, Rick turns to leave, but Taylor stops him and asks him to please talk to her about this. Rick asks what there is to talk about, since he heard what she said. Taylor apologizes that he had to hear that, but she thinks they have to be realistic. She knows that part of them wants to take a chance and see what happens if they pursue their feelings, but another part of them tells them that it's not exactly right.

Taylor tells Rick that they can't be more than friends.

Rick doesn't see anything that's not right, but Taylor reminds him of his past relationship with Phoebe. She worries how her daughter will react and wonders if maybe Brooke was right that she let this go too far just to get back at Brooke. Rick doesn't believe that, but Taylor points out, "It doesn't take a psychiatrist to see that there are problems here." Rick doesn't care, as he only cares about his feelings. Taylor thanks him for being a savior for her through one of the worst times in her life, but she thinks it would be crazy to think that they could be anything more than friends. Rick says that he's didn't imagine what he felt when he kissed her, and he thinks she felt it, too. Taylor protests that she has grown children, and that she and Rick are at different points in their lives. Rick suggests that she's thinking too much about this and asks her to be impulsive, and he shows her what he means by kissing her. Sensing how she feels, Rick tells Taylor to just enjoy the moment. Taylor says she is, maybe a bit too much. She fears that this just feels wrong, especially when she thinks about how Phoebe would react. Rick tells her that it's not wrong. Taylor tells him that she cares for him deeply, but she can't let this happen. She asks him to please go. Rick walks to the door, pauses for a moment in the doorway and then leaves, leaving Taylor sitting at the candlelit table, sobbing.

Lauren Fenmore and her husband Michael Baldwin greet Ashley and Felicia.

With today's B&B out of the way, let's check in with Ashley and Felicia as they visit Genoa City on THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS. The ladies rejoin the RESTLESS STYLE party in time to be shocked, along with the rest of the crowd, as the great Victor Newman enters the room. [B&B viewers who don't follow Y&R might remember when Victor crossed over to B&B and helped Brooke make Ridge jealous in 1999.] Reporters swarm around Victor to ask what his part in this venture is, since his son Nicholas is partners with Jack Abbott in running the new magazine. Jack wants to confront "The Mustache," but Nick tells Jack to let him handle his father. While Nick asks his dad if he intends to scare other advertisers away like he did Eric Forrester, Ashley and Felicia mingle in the crowd. When Lauren Fenmore comes in with her husband Michael Baldwin and ex-husband Paul Williams, she spots Felicia and runs over to greet her. Ashley of course knows Lauren, Michael and Paul and greets them, but Felicia has never met either of the men, so Lauren introduces them. After talking about Victor's grand entrance, Paul takes Ashley and Felicia to get some drinks. Jack and Sharon approach Lauren to ask if she'd like to write a fashion column for the magazine. Michael barks that his wife is too busy, but Lauren says that might not be so and asks the Abbotts to give her a call.

"The Mustache", Victor Newman, catches up with Ashley.

As the party moves along, Ashley spots Victor [who B&B viewers might remember is Ashley's ex-husband] and goes over to tell him how sorry she was to hear that he and wife Nikki are now divorced. Victor brushes the divorce off as being all Nikki's doing and asks Ashley how her daughter Abby is. [B&B viewers may not know that Abby was conceived using a sample of Victor's sperm that Ashley acquired through questionable means.] When Ash tells him that Abby is doing well, Victor asks if Abby might be able to visit his ranch and go horseback riding with him the next time she's in Genoa City. Ashley thinks Abby would love that.