Tuesday, April 07, 2009, Episode #5536

Bridget is surprised by Owen's "meeting attire."

Bridget meets Owen at a cabana at Bikini Beach and is surprised to find him dressed for their business meeting in his swimsuit. Owen explains that he thought they could squeeze in about 20 minutes of surfing first before they discuss how to market her new line. Stripping down to the bikini she wore under her clothes, Bridget tells Owen that she's the last person to come up with a marketing campaign, but he thinks she's the perfect person to tell him what comes to mind when she thinks of her new line. Bridget chooses terms that are less seductive, like "cool elegance," but Owen thinks something with a bit more fire like "sleek" or "sizzling hot" will work better. He tells her that they need to come up with something powerful here, since he needs to impress Jackie if he wants to keep this job. Bridget suggests that they table this discussion for now and grabs a surfboard so they can hit the waves. Owen does the same and happily follows her to the ocean.

Bridget tries to treat Owen's wound.

Soon after, Bridget and Owen return to the cabana to tend to a cut Owen sustained on his shoulder while surfing. Owen tries to act macho about the whole thing, but Bridget tells him to hush so she can tend to his wound. She looks around for a first aid kit, since she no longer carries any medical supplies in her car and needs some peroxide. Owen spots a bottle of tequila, so Bridget fetches that to clean the wound. While she does that, Owen starts asking questions about lockjaw. After Bridget describes the symptoms, Owen says that he feels his jaw freezing up and asks her to check it out. Bridget leans in to take a look, and Owen draws her in for a passionate kiss! Bridget pulls away, reminding Owen that they agreed not to do that again. Owen suggests that they review that decision, since the kiss felt good. Bridget apologizes to him; it's just that she was taught that "nice girls" don't have flings or one night stands, and there's also the fact that the two of them work together to deal with. Owen guesses that she's not over Nick yet. Bridget says that it's more than that. It's just that she has so much emotional scar tissue to get rid of from her life. Owen thinks she's making a mistake. He knows what it's like to fall for the wrong person, but he thinks she might miss out on the right guy if she pulls away any time she starts getting close. Bridget explains that she feels like she's "damaged" and needs to make some repairs first, and that's not going to happen overnight. She asks Owen to give her a bit more time. Owen reluctantly agrees and gives her a hug.

Taylor tries to explain to Stephanie.

Stephanie has her things brought to Taylor's house so she can move in. Pleased that her friend accepted her offer to live here, Taylor says she's glad Nick brought this up to her. Stephanie asks what she means. Taylor explains that idea to have Stephanie move in was all hers, but it came to her after Nick urged her to check in on Stephanie. Stephanie bets that Nick made her sound like some kind of charity case and rants that she doesn't need his pity, or Taylor's, either. Taylor tries to explain, but Stephanie grabs her boxes and says she'll be gone within the hour. Taylor begs Stephanie to stop and listen for a moment. She assures Stephanie that Nick was genuinely concerned about her, as was Eric when they spoke about it. Stephanie scoffs at Eric's sudden concern given that he gave her the boot. She rages that Eric knew nothing about business or marketing when they first started out, so she made all the decisions in those areas so he would be free to create as an artist. She can't believe that she spent years building up his career only to be shoved aside for a pair of bleached blondes with size "d" melons who squirt all over him!

Jackie chats with her son.

Nick checks out his mother's new loft. "Would you quit having a midlife crisis so I could have one?" he asks Jackie, curious about what inspired her decision to move. Jackie says that she hated the penthouse. She only took it because it was Massimo's idea of what was "appropriate" for her. Nick notes that the place seems a bit big considering that she was supposed to be downsizing, and he thinks even he might consider living here. Jackie tells him to keep his "monster of a house," but Nick still wants to know what - or who - made her decide to move here. Jackie doesn't mention Owen and tells her son that she moved to please herself. Nick likes her enthusiasm and wishes he could bottle it, since he saw Stephanie earlier and La Forrester looked like she could use some cheering up. Jackie asks what had her arch-nemesis in a snit, so Nick explains how Eric shoved Stephanie aside and fired her from Forrester. Jackie asks just what Stephanie did in the first place, anyway. Nick tells her how Stephanie helped Eric get his start in this town only to be booted later for a younger woman, but he doesn't think they have time to dwell on that now. He thinks that have to figure out a way to impress Fabrice, an important distributor who could help raise their sales. Jackie thinks that might be hard, since she and Clarke had some less than kind words for Fabrice after he panned Clarke's last collection. Nick urges her to write a note of apology, since they need the man's support if they're going to stop bleeding money. Jackie is sure he'll come up with something.

Katie gets a few barbs directed at her by Jackie.

After Nick leaves, Jackie decides to go over to his house to see Jack and is surprised to see Katie there. Katie explains that she decided to work from home when the sitter needed a few hours off. Jackie asks where her grandson is. Katie says that he's sleeping but invites Jackie to wait until he wakes up. Jackie decides to do just that and sits down. She observes that Katie is eating some pistachios; she's surprised, that Katie is still eating the nuts now that she's snared Nick. Katie retorts that she and Nick both like the nuts, and they have many other things in common as well, even if Jackie doesn't want to believe that. Jackie explains that she still can't accept that Katie is the right woman for Nick. She urges Katie to look her in her heart - or more accurately, her brother's heart - and ask herself just how deep Nick's feelings for Bridget still run.

Nick has an "indecent proposal" for Stephanie.

Nick goes to Taylor's house to ask for her help pitching an idea to Stephanie, but Taylor isn't sure she likes his idea. Stephanie comes in and scolds Nick for running to Taylor about her. Nick tells her that he was a bit surprised that he did that, too, since always thought he'd be thrilled to see her desperate and lonely, but life decided to throw him a curve and here he is. Stephanie asks if he's been drinking. Nick says that he hasn't been, but he thinks they'll have something to celebrate real soon, since he's here to make Stephanie an "indecent proposal." Stephanie is a bit intrigued by his choice of words, but she says she's not interested.