Wednesday, November 12, 2008, Episode #5439

Ridge vents to Taylor.

At Forrester, Stephanie continues to object to Eric's shutting Ridge out by naming Rick president. Rick reminds Stephanie that Ridge had the chance to share the presidency and turned it down. Eric agrees and defends his decision to his ex-wife. Over at Brooke's, Ridge vents to Taylor about Eric's giving in to Rick's sob story, which he compares to the one Thorne often gave Eric about being in the shadow of the favorite son. Massaging Ridge's shoulders, Taylor reminds him that he never asked to be treated like the favorite, so she thinks it's unfair for Eric to punish him by making Rick president. Ridge agrees that Eric is punishing him unfairly. He just hopes that Brooke can set the record straight when she makes her speech during the announcement. Taylor asks Ridge when he's moving back in there. Ridge bitterly responds that he may not be able to move back for a while, since Rick has a very long road of fake recovery ahead of him. Taylor asks what he means, so Ridge lays out his theory that Rick has been able to walk for some time and is faking paralysis to gain sympathy. Taylor asks why Rick would do that. For revenge, Ridge answers, speculating that the whole thing is a charade created by Rick to get him out of the company and out of Brooke's life.

Thorne and Stephanie watch the announcement.

Back at Forrester, Jake and Marcus signal Eric that they're ready to begin. Eric starts out by introducing himself, Rick and Brooke. When Brooke starts to speak, her mike squeaks; she apologizes for making such a mistake on a live broadcast, but Eric points out that they're taping this and decides to start over. After Jake says they're ready, Eric starts again. After getting the introductions out of the way, Eric announces that he's pleased to introduce his son Eric Forrester Jr. to the world as the new president of Forrester Creations. As Eric raves about Rick, Stephanie and Thorne watch from the sidelines in disbelief. Rick steps up to the podium and thanks Eric, promising to exceed all expectations as the company's new president.

Brooke praises both Rick and Ridge in her speech.

Eric then turns the podium over to Brooke, who starts off by praising her son's strong leadership qualities. Joking that she first saw the potential in Rick when he was elected president of his fourth grade class, she extols all the abilities and skills that she feels will help Rick run the company by Eric's side for years to come. After dubbing her son and her ex-husband "a winning team," Brooke moves on to say a few words about their outgoing president and his contribution to the company. She states that Ridge is taking time off to focus on design, so the company will still benefit from his talent. "We wouldn't be here without him," she praises, calling Ridge an extraordinary man who is the cornerstone of Forrester Creations. Referring to Ridge as a visionary and an inspiration, Brooke states that he "is Forrester Creations." Standing behind his mom, Rick seethes at her effusive praise of Ridge.

While Jake edits the recording on his computer to prepare it for upload, Rick takes Brooke aside and scolds her for using his big moment as an opportunity to build up Ridge's ego. Brooke hardly sees a few words about Ridge's design prowess as anything to complain about. In fact, she thinks their buyers will appreciate knowing that Ridge is still designing for them. Rick reluctantly agrees. Brooke tells Rick that she hopes he and Ridge will be able to work side by side someday. After Brooke walks away, Rick fumes, "I'm sorry, mom, but that is never going to happen."

Eric thanks Brooke for her kind words about Ridge.

Brooke goes to tell Eric that Jake is almost ready to post the podcast to the web site. She finds him in his office with Stephanie. Eric wishes Ridge had agreed to share the presidency and thanks Brooke for her kind words about Ridge. He hopes hearing that will prove to Ridge how important he still is to the company. Eric then leaves for a meeting. Stephanie also thanks Brooke for what she said about Rick. Brooke confides that she's proud of Rick and she's sure he'll be a great president, but she can't deny that Ridge is the glue that holds the company together and wanted Ridge to hear that from her. Stephanie appreciates Brooke saying that and thinks Ridge will, too. When Eric returns from his meeting, he finds that Stephanie is still there. She explains that she waited so she could apologize for what she said earlier. She recalls how she promised not to pressure him about any decisions he has to make, so in that light, she wants him to know that she'll support his decision regarding Rick and the company. "Even though it's a big mistake," Eric qualifies. Stephanie agrees that she thinks it's a mistake, but she knows it's his decision. She just hopes Rick appreciates the sacrifice Eric made regarding his relationship with Ridge. Eric thinks he and Ridge will be OK, but Stephanie isn't so sure that Ridge will be able to forgive Eric so easily.

Jake accepts Rick's offer of help.

Jake is finishing the final edits when he gets paged to attend to an I.T. emergency. Since Jake said he was almost done, Rick offers to finish the editing and upload the podcast. Jake thanks Rick and heads off to attend to his problem. Hobbling over to the desk, Rick sits down in front of the computer and plays back the digital recording. When he gets to the part where Brooke praises Ridge, he whines, "Oh, barf." Hearing his mom's comments, Rick thinks he can make that speech even better by removing any mention of Ridge's name. As the wheels turn in his head, he edits the part where Brooke mentions Ridge's name from the recording.

Taylor tries to comfort Ridge, who is furious after viewing the podcast.

Back at Brooke's, Ridge turns on his laptop so he and Taylor can watch the podcast. Taylor marvels at the fact that anyone can see this, even overseas, but a disappointed Ridge bristles at the fact that Eric didn't even mention him. Taylor suggests that Eric didn't say anything because he knew Brooke would. Ridge eagerly waits for Brooke to start her speech, but he's again disappointed when (thanks to Rick's edits), Brooke doesn't even acknowledge him. When the edited version makes it seem like all Brooke's praises were directed at Rick, Ridge fumes at the "load of crap" that he just heard about how "Little Ricky... the whiny little bastard" is the backbone of the company. He gets even angrier when he recalls that Brooke said her loyalties would be very clear in her speech. Taylor agrees that it was wrong, but she wonders if maybe Brooke just wanted to let this be Rick's day. Ridge is offended that Brooke would say those things in an announcement intended for all their employees and buyers. Taylor doesn't want to leave Ridge alone in this state, but he assures her that he won't be alone for long, since his "devoted fiancee" is on her way home. Taylor tells Ridge to call her anytime and exits, leaving Ridge alone in the house to think about what he just heard.

Rick marvels at his handiwork.

In Ridge's office, Rick marvels at his handiwork, predicting that Ridge will be furious when he hears the uploaded version of the announcement. Jake comes back and asks how everything went. Rick assures that he took care of anything. Jake thanks him again and leaves. Rick then sits at the computer, predicting his mother and Ridge are about to have a major misunderstanding. He then deletes Brooke's original speech, hoping no one will figure out what he did.