Thursday, December 17, 2009, Episode #5714

Jackie M wins the showdown.

On THE CATWALK, Donna and Pam report that the votes are in, so they'll announce the winner of the fashion challenge after the break. Each co-host throws in another plug for their respective employer and the show goes to commercial. At Jackie M, Nick and Bridget anxiously wait for the winner to be announced. Annoyed at having to wait until after the commercial to find out, they share a kiss to pass the time. When the show returns, Donna and Pam prepare to announce the winner. Donna opens the envelope, but Pam grabs it from her and reveals that the winner is Jackie M! Jackie, Owen and Stephanie come to the stage and join Whip and Pam in their moment of triumph. Backstage, the Forrester crew is clearly upset, especially Bill. On stage, Pam thanks the thousand of viewers who made the right choice while Donna thanks everyone for tuning in and closes out the show. Pam and Whip put their hands on their heads like cat ears and meow as the show fades to black.

Donna and Brooke discuss the outcome with Katie.

While the Jackie M gang talk with the press about their "green" product that brought them victory, the Forrester contingent figures out what they're going to say to the reporters about their loss. Kate fears that the press will hound Bill. Donna doesn't see why, since they all did their best, but Katie suggests that Ridge might have been less then enthusiastic about his part in the campaign. Brooke assures Katie that Ridge would never undermine Steffy's efforts, but Katie notes that they still lost. "My husband really, really hates losing," Katie laments as she goes to console Bill. She finds him stewing over the loss, since he doesn't produce THE CATWALK to give Jackie M free publicity. He thinks they might have won if Ridge had been busy designing instead of plotting to buy the company back.

Steffy tells Thomas why she's not disappointed.

Serge and Pam spot Donna on the set and ask why she's not at home consoling her husband. Donna retorts that the success of a promotional video doesn't always reflect sales, but Pam and her buddy disagree and predict that it will soon be lights out on the Glamour campaign. As Pam and Serge saunter off, Justin approaches Donna and tells her that she did a good job. She reminds him that they lost. Forrester lost, Justin qualifies, but she was still the star of the show. Meanwhile, Thomas tracks down Steffy and notices that she doesn't see very disappointed about the outcome. She confesses that deep down, she doesn't care about losing, since they actually lost everything when Bill and Katie took over Forrester.

Nick and Bridget react to the victory.

In his office, Nick smooches with Bridget to celebrate the victory of their green fashions. Stephanie comes in with champagne but sees that the lovebirds have already started. Bridget gets flustered by the interruption, but Stephanie tells her that she has every right to celebrate after what she and Whip have done for this company and the fashion industry. Nick points out that he tried to sell "green" concepts when he ran Marone, but he couldn't do it, so he's impressed that Stephanie and Whip sold it here. Stephanie credits their brilliant P.R. Campaign and beautiful designs. Nick makes a note not to question Whip's judgment anymore, as the P.R. guru's crazy ideas aren't so crazy.

Taylor shares the moment with Whip.

Back at the TV studio, Whip spots Taylor watching him while he gives a comment to a reporter. Once he wraps up the interview, Whip excuses himself and rushes to catch Taylor. He asks her if she's going to leave without congratulating him. Taylor claims she's just one more voice in the chorus, but Whip tells her that her voice is the one he's waited to hear all day. Taylor tells him that he looked good up there. Whip thanks her and tells her that her daughter gave him a run for his money today. He admits that he saw the votes and his victory over Steffy wasn't a landslide. He hopes Steffy is OK and tells Taylor that he'll understand if she needs to console her daughter right now. Taylor thinks Steffy is a big girl and doesn't need Mommy fussing over her. Whip kids that she can fuss over him all she wants. He knows she came to support Steffy, but it means a lot to him to share this moment with her. Taylor tells him she feels the same way and congratulates him. They look at each other and kiss.

Ridge and Eric start work on their plan.

In Ridge's office, Eric goes to turn on the TV to find out how the CATWALK challenge turned out. Ridge wants to focus on their plan to design the worst collection in the company's history and convince Bill that it's quality stuff. Eric thinks the idea is crazy, but they have to try it. Ridge is sure that Bill's stockholders will want him to unload Forrester quickly if their next line tanks. Eric thinks Bill, with his poor fashion sense, might fall for it, and Bill also might turn Katie over to his way of thinking. However, he fears that Brooke and Donna will realize that the designs are garbage. That's why they have to tell their spouses, Ridge proposes. Eric is concerned since their wives are Katie's sisters, but Ridge is sure Brooke and Donna will agree that Katie is in over her head. Ridge reminds Eric that Bill manipulated the system to get control of the company in the first place, so it's only fitting that they manipulate Bill this time. Sitting down at the table, Eric takes a pad and starts sketching, and he quickly produces a garish, tacky over the top design that he knows their clients would never buy. But Bill will look to them as the experts, Ridge points out, and he won't realize how bad these designs are. Eric laments that the only way to recover the company he built is to tarnish his reputation. Ridge points out that Bill got the company through underhanded means, so they need to do this and take the company back. He's sure Brooke and Donna will be on board once they explain, and that will pave the way for them to regain control of Forrester Creations.