Monday, November 24, 2008, Episode #5447

Owen urges Donna not to reject him again.

In his office, Owen keeps trying to seduce Donna. Neither of them knows that Eric and Thorne are watching. Eric wishes they had put a microphone in place so they could hear what's being said, so Thorne provides his own dialog, betting that the duo is saying, "Let's get naked." Owen tells Donna that she deserves better than Eric and asks her not to reject him again, but Donna pushes him away and tells him to stop right now. Eric is pleased that Donna rebuffed Owen's advances, but Thorne is less enthused and notes that Donna "barely" pushed Owen away. In the office, Donna tells Owen, "My heart is with Eric. I'm not going to betray him." She tells Owen that she wants to work with him and be his friend, but they need to set up boundaries since she won't risk her relationship with Eric. "Fine, we'll do this your way," Owen sulks. As Donna bids Owen good night and leaves, Eric tells Thorne that Donna passed the test. Thorne argues that Donna almost crossed the line, but Eric qualifies that she didn't, so he will never again question Donna's love for him. Thorne suggests that Donna might still mess up if given more time, but it's clear to Eric that Donna isn't interested in Owen. Thorne scoffs at his father's attitude, noting that Eric never had to question Stephanie's loyalty. Eric responds that he and Stephanie will always be part of each other's lives, but he loves Donna. He calls the receptionist and asks her to notify his lawyer Gloria that he's halting the divorce proceeding, Eric then reiterates to Thorne that he intends to spend the rest of his life with Donna.

Thorne tries to get through to Eric.

After Eric leaves, Thorne stays in the office to look at some head shots. He has two books open; one appears to be turned to a head shot of the male model that Thorne thought looked like Owen during the spring line auditions, while the other shows blond female models. Eric returns, having forgotten some sketches he wanted to work on tonight. Thorne looks away from his head shots and sarcastically asks if Eric has time to work on sketches with two women waiting at home for him. Eric states that he intends to resolve that situation tonight. Thorne hopes Eric isn't planning to just kick Stephanie out and urges Eric to please not do this tonight, but Eric simply bids his #2 son good night and leaves.

Steffy thinks she's on to Rick's game.

Across the hall, Rick drags Steffy back into his office so they can talk. Steffy orders him to let go, but Rick insists on being heard and tells her that he's sorry for kissing her. Steffy blasts him, reminding him that she's dating Marcus while he dated her sister and was engaged to her mother. She also points out that her dad would be furious if he knew what Rick just did. Rick asks her to calm down and hear him out. He claims that he's just been so lonely since Taylor dumped him, but he feels a little better about that while talking to Steffy since she reminds him of Taylor. "That is messed up," Steffy retorts, but Rick thinks she should be flattered that he sees her mother's strength and smarts in her. Disgusted, Steffy tells him to stop buttering her up, since she can tell that he's working her. But Rick insists that he's not and tells her that he really is still getting over her mom dumping him.

Marcus calls from Paris.

Steffy gets a call on her cell phone from Marcus, who has just arrived in Paris. [In typical soap fashion, he has arrived across the globe in mere hours.] Steffy asks him how Paris is. Marcus tells her that he still doesn't completely get why Rick sent him over here, although he's grateful for the chance to learn more about Forrester International. After Marcus ends the call so he can get ready to check in at Forrester International, Steffy puts two and two together and calls Rick on the carpet for suddenly sending Marcus away. She asks if it was always his plan to ship her boyfriend off and then come on to her. Rick denies the charge, but Steffy sees that she's being used to get to her father and orders Rick to just admit it. Rick continues to dodge the questions, but Steffy advises that she won't be a part of whatever schemes he has going in that twisted mind of his. Rick tells her that something died inside him when Taylor broke up with him, and he suggests that Taylor would not have just rejected him unless Ridge somehow made a move on her. He explains that his feelings run deep, since he hates Ridge not just for taking Taylor away from him, but also for the many times Ridge hurt Brooke. Steffy tells him that blaming her dad is a cop-out, just as his kissing her was wrong.

Rick confides in Steffy.

Rick tells Steffy that she's right and he's sorry. Steffy asks what happened to him, since he used to be a good guy. She recalls the day at the Bikini Beach cabanas where he gave her advice about making love to Marcus and she actually took his advice and held off. But now he's become a power-hungry jerk who is out to get her dad and is even willing to use her to do it. Rick again blames Ridge, but Steffy warns that he;s letting his anger take over his life. Rick laments that he just wants to do right by Eric as president, but he feels like he has no friends. Steffy says she can be his friend, but there have to be some ground rules, including him agreeing never to use her again, "This rage will destroy you, and I don't want to see that happen to you," she warns.

Stephanie gives Donna a surprise.

At the Forrester mansion, Donna is taking a bubble bath with an eye mask covering her eyes. When she hears someone come in, she thinks it's Eric and invites him to join her, but it's actually Stephanie. Stephanie starts giving Donna a massage, which Donna enjoys. Donna then asks "her honey bear" to give her a kiss, but Stephanie pushes her underwater instead! Shocked, Donna sees Stephanie there, mocking her, and asks why Stephanie is there. Stephanie says she was looking for Eric and found Donna there, predicting that Donna will be out of the house within a week. After praising her own skill as a masseuse, Stephanie wonders if Donna's physical assets or hair are real. Donna insists that Eric loves her, but Stephanie dismisses her, stating, "You're all boobs and no brains." She accuses Donna of only offering Eric sex, but Donna says that's only part of what she and Eric share.