Thursday, February 05, 2009, Episode #5495

Eric and Ridge reflect on their new collection.

At Forrester, Eric and Ridge fit a pair of dresses on some models. After sending the models on their way, Eric sighs that he could fix one of the dresses if he had more time. "We're out of time, and frankly, we're out of ideas, too," Ridge retorts, griping that they wouldn't have to be rushing a new collection onto the runway if Rick hadn't gotten away with giving away their designs. Eric tells him to let it be; he doesn't think finger-pointing will accomplish anything when they need to focus on getting the new line ready and firing back at Jackie M. Ridge blames Sally Spectra for their woes; he thinks they would have been on their guard against some kind of sabotage if Sally was still in the game. Eric agrees that they were always vigilant where Sally was concerned. But now Jackie is in charge there, Ridge points out, and she apparently took over Sally's business ethics as well as her building. Eric concedes that Jackie might have a few Spectra-style tricks up her sleeve, but those won't mean much as long as she has Clarke Garrison as her designer.

Jackie tries to keep Nick from talking to Madame X.

At Jackie M Designs, Jackie tries to drag Nick out of the room so he can get back to work, but he wants to know more about the mystery designer who holds their company's fate in her hands. Madame X (aka Bridget) assures him that her designs will inspire him. Nick asks the mysterious madame to take off her sunglasses, but she claims that her eyes are incredibly sensitive to light. Jackie gets a call that Jarrett Maxwell from EYE ON FASHION has arrived to interview Madame X. She ushers the madame behind a screen and tells her to be ready to strike a pose on cue. Jackie then comes out from behind the screen to greet Jarrett has he enters the office. The smarmy reporter is curious as to why she'd want to replace Clarke Garrison after the spectacular collection they just previewed. Jackie explains that Clarke's success made her realize that this is the time to add some additional new talent to the roster. Jarrett asks who this fresh face is. Jackie turns on a light behind the screen so Jarrett can see the silhouette of Madame X. Intrigued, the reporter wants to speak to the new designer, but Jackie informs him that Madame X is going to remain a mystery for now and let her designs speak for her. Jackie then shows him some of Madame X's designs and lets him take one to include in his article. Jarrett is impressed by how daring the newcomer's work is. Jackie hints that this is the kind of work that the world can expect from her company in the future and whispers, "Jackie M has arrived."

Jarrett tells Eric about Jackie M's new designer.

After leaving Jackie M, Jarrett makes his way over to Forrester to get some comments from Eric and Ridge for his story. Ridge asks what the story is about. Jarrett explains that it's about the success of Jackie M. Eric reminds Jarrett that one successful collection doesn't make a fashion house, and Ridge adds that the designs Jackie M just previewed are not typical of what they can expect in the future from Clarke Garrison. Eric agrees that Clarke will not design anything like that collection ever again. Maybe not, Jarrett agrees, but Jackie M's new designer Madame X just might. After Jarrett recounts his brief encounter with the mysterious madame, Eric and Ridge think it sounds like a publicity stunt. "I guess we'll see, won't we?" Jarrett states. Ridge asks Jarrett if there's anything else to the story, so the reporter shows the Forrester men the sketch that Jackie gave him to include in his article. Eric doesn't think a single sketch will show the impact that this person will have on the fashion industry, although he admires the line work in the sketch and sees something familiar about it. He asks Jarrett to do him a favor and let them know "off the record" once he learns who Madame X really is.

Madame X tries to duck Nick's questions.

Back at Jackie M, Jackie raves about how much Jarrett loved Madame X's work. She thinks Jarrett's article will have customers clamoring for their next line in no time. Jackie then gets a call from Clarke, who wants to meet the new designer. She's about to usher Madame X out the door when Nick asks if he can have a moment alone with their new hire. Madame X says she'll stay to talk with Nick, so Jackie leaves. Alone with the new designer, Nick peppers her with questions about her background. When she says she trained all over the world, Nick asks if that includes Copenhagen, since he hears hints of that in her accent. The madame tries to duck the question. Nick then asks who the lucky guy who inspired these passionate, breathtaking designs is. Her fake foreign accent slipping, Madame X tries to excuse herself. Nick apologizes if he's getting too personal; it's just that her designs are so sensual that he thought a man inspired them, although he guesses she's known a few losers in her love life. Madame X agrees that she's had a few clunkers and asks Nick what he likes about her work. It's incredibly precise, Nick answers, like a surgeon about to operate on a patient, or like a young doctor making a life-saving diagnosis. Or maybe it's like an up and coming physician who made a wrong career choice and is looking for a new line of work. With a big smirk on his face, he removes Madame X's sunglasses and asks, "Did you really think that you could fool me, Bridget?"

Rick and Steffy try to explain their feelings.

Taylor is livid when she realizes that Rick is involved with Steffy. Steffy tells her mom and her grandma that she and Rick are in love, but Taylor thinks that's ridiculous. Rick and Steffy insist that they came together while grieving, but Stephanie doesn't buy that and reminds Rick that she knows he kissed Steffy to get a rise out of Ridge. Rick insists that things changed when Phoebe died, but Taylor doesn't want to hear him even say her late daughter's name and asks what's wrong with him. "Do you hate me that much?" she blasts. While she hasn't blamed him for Phoebe's death, she refuses to let him take her other daughter away as part of some sick form of payback against Ridge. Rick and Steffy try to explain, but Stephanie cuts them off and accuses Rick of being so sick that he doesn't even see what he's doing. Rick tells her to stay out of this, but Taylor agrees with Stephanie that Rick has let his anger toward Ridge consume him. She thinks Rick keeps wondering if there was something different he could have done before Phoebe got in the car, and that's only fueled his anger to the point where he needs some serious help. That's why she won't let him use Steffy as a weapon to get back at Ridge and Brooke or to get over his feelings for her. Rick states that this isn't about revenge and insists that his feelings for Steffy are genuine. Steffy agrees, but Taylor points out that Rick said the same thing about his feelings for her not that long ago. She thinks it's a pattern where Rick pursues women like Ashley, Phoebe and her knowing that it will hurt Ridge, in the same way that Rick's mother went after Eric, Ridge and Thorne. "It's wrong and it's unhealthy," she sobs, vowing to protect Steffy from Rick.

Stephanie and Taylor tell Rick and Steffy to end their relationship.

Rick tells Taylor that she gave up any right to tell him who he can be with, but she accuses him of going after the one thing she has left to pay her back for rejecting him. Steffy states that she found a man who understood her grief and her pain, so she'd think that would make her mother happy. "What happened to Marcus?" Stephanie asks. Steffy says that Marcus is a great guy, but she found that what she felt for him was a crush and wasn't love. Taylor asks Rick if his feelings for her were just a crush, perhaps one fueled by his hatred for Ridge. Steffy asks her mother to stop, but Taylor insists that Rick's behavior is driven by his hatred of Ridge, including his going after women who he knows will destroy Ridge. She doesn't want Steffy to be the latest woman on that list. Steffy says she's not that naive and insists that her feelings for Rick are real. She tells her mother that she's not Phoebe, so she doesn't have to be protected. Taylor doesn't even want to think about how Ridge would react to finding out about Rick and Steffy. Steffy says that she's also worried about her dad's reaction to this relationship, but Stephanie says that there is no relationship. Rick and Steffy both disagree. Steffy says that she thinks every night about how this relationship will hurt her father and her family, but there has to be a way to make it work, because she won't give Rick up. She begs Taylor to accept her choice, but Taylor says that she can't, and she won't even try to understand it, either, since she knows Ridge will never accept Steffy sleeping with Rick.