Monday, January 19, 2009, Episode #5483

Rick hears what Jackie M is up to.

At Forrester, everyone scrambles to get the new line ready. Rick rushes into Eric's office and apologizes for being late. Felicia asks him for the new fabric for the next design. Since Rick doesn't have it, Donna offers to call Steffy to bring it up, but Stephanie sees Ridge's discomfort over that idea and says that she'll have Marcus do it. Ridge silently mouths "thank you" to his mom and turns his attention back to the model wearing the latest design. Donna suggests that they check with Katie about the press release for the showing in light of what Jackie M is doing. Rick asks what she means, so Felicia scolds their president for not knowing what the competition is up to. Donna explains to Rick that Jackie is introducing an original line as a last ditch attempt to save her company, although no one quite knows where the line is coming from with Clarke as their designer.

Clarke praises Jackie for following in Sally's footsteps.

Over at Jackie M Designs, Clarke looks at one of the new designs on a model - it's the same design Ridge is fitting at Forrester - and praises Jackie for taking a page from Sally's playbook by stealing Forrester designs. Jackie explains that she didn't "steal" anything, since someone at Forrester anonymously sent her these designs, but she still wants Clarke to make some alterations to protect them from being sued. Clarke says he knows the drill and will get right on it. Jackie tells him to make it fast, since they are previewing this line tomorrow! Nick thinks his mom is jumping the gun, but Jackie thinks they need to stir up interest to keep the creditors at bay and sends Clarke on his way. Nick tells his mother that he's not on board with this until he knows who sent the designs, but Jackie stands firm on moving forward and makes a phone call. At Forrester, Stephanie discusses the collection with Thorne and Felicia, who almost wish the new line would fail so Eric would realize how the Logans are killing their company. Stephanie then gets a call from Jackie inviting her to lunch at Il Giardino.

Owen worries about his position.

Donna sits in Owen's office looking at one of the designs from the new line on her laptop. When Owen storms in, Donna closes the laptop and asks if something's wrong. Owen confides that he's worried about his position here since the surf line flopped except for Pam's bikinis, and even the buzz about those is starting to cool off. He asks Donna if she's heard anything from Eric. Donna says she hasn't, but then she gets a call on her cell phone and has to leave. Once Donna is gone, Owen sees that Donna left her laptop and opens it up, gazing at the design on the screen.

Bridget gets flustered when talking with Owen.

Bridget comes by looking for Donna, but Owen tells her that Donna just left and asks if he can help her. Bridget says that she doesn't want to interrupt, but Owen doesn't know if she can. Bridget asks if something's wrong, so Owen admits that he's feeling a bit insecure about his status here based on the lukewarm response to the surf line. He just wishes the surf line got the kind of buzz that Eric's new collection is getting. Bridget asks if he's seen her dad's designs, but Owen says that only the inner circle like Donna has access to them. Bridget advises him to look on the bright side, but Owen isn't sure there is one. Having talked enough about his own problems, Owen changes the subject and asks Bridget if she claimed she was looking for Donna as an excuse to come see him. He thinks she may have gotten the wrong idea about him when she stopped by his place the other day. Getting flustered, Bridget stammers that it was because of the bikini and the candles and... Owen cuts her off and surprises her with a kiss. Pulling away, they stare at each other and then engage in an even more passionate lip lock.

Ridge dashes Rick's hopes.

Rick stops by Ridge's office to talk, but Ridge says he's busy. Rick tells his CEO that they have something to talk about, whether Ridge likes it or not. He knows Ridge may not believe this, but he's profoundly sorry about his part in what happened to Phoebe and would gladly trade places with Phoebe to bring her back if he could. But she's gone, and he recognizes that Ridge is in a lot of pain, so he wants to know what he can do to help Ridge. He asks Ridge if there's the slightest chance that he might ever accept him, since they're family now that Brooke and Ridge are married. "Can we please just try to get past this?" asks Rick. Ridge says that he's trying to move on here at work, but that's as far as he can go. The issue is that he still doesn't trust Rick and doesn't want Rick anywhere near his family. Even if Rick is sorry, Ridge gets terrified every time he sees Rick with Steffy and doesn't see that changing any time soon, so he suggests that Rick just get used to that.

Felicia makes Nick an offer.

Felicia drops by Jackie M to see Nick. She explains that she knows that Jackie M Designs is having a preview to turn around from their financial woes, and she'd like to offer her services as a designer if that preview is a success. Nick asks what her father would think about that. Felicia informs him that her "old man" hardly knows she exists thanks to those "damned Logans." She reminds Nick that they used to have something special going and suggests that they turn back the clock to see if the spark is still there. Nick says that his sparks are otherwise engaged, but Felicia points out that they're not married yet and tells him to think about it. She purrs, "I've always had designs on you, Mr. Marone," and kisses him. She tells him to let her know if he's interested, since she certainly is, and she leaves.

Stephanie meets with Jackie.

Jackie arrives late for her lunch date at Il Giardino with Stephanie, who wonders why Jackie invited her when she should be mounting her "last gasp" fashion preview. Realizing that Stephanie has heard the rumors, Jackie explains that the reports of her demise have been greatly exaggerated, although she suspects that Stephanie already knows that. As she and Jackie have some wine, Stephanie wonders what's worse, a company going under, or a company that's been overrun by hoards of Logans. Jackie asks if things are really that bad. Stephanie doesn't even know why she bothers, since the company doesn't seem like the one she loves with that dumb Donna and stupid Rick around. Jackie admits surprise that Stephanie is turning her back on her own company without a fight. Stephanie confesses that she won't allow something to happen at the expense of her children or grandchildren without putting it right. Smiling, Jackie bets that Stephanie has already found a way to do just that.

Thorne vents to Nick.

Later, Thorne arrives at Il Giardino and has a few drinks. Nick stops by the restaurant and sees Thorne downing his drinks, so he decides to join his rival. He asks why Thorne isn't busy preparing to launch the new line, surmising that favorite sons Ridge and Rick must have everything under control. Nick presumes that it must be hard to be a third wheel and asks if Thorne ever feels like getting even. When the waitress brings their drink, Thorne guesses that Nick has some sorrows of his own to drown here, since he heard that Jackie M may go under unless a miracle happens. Nick explains that he came looking for his mother, who was having lunch with Stephanie; he wanted to be sure there was no bloodshed. Thorne states that the maitre d' told him that no blood was shed, so Nick thinks they both accomplished their missions here and offers Thorne a ride back to the office. Thorne however doesn't see a need to go back, since he could work his ass off and his old man would still only be fixated on Ridge and Rick.

Jackie urges Nick to save her company.

Nick returns to Jackie M and finds his mother in front of the computer waiting for more designs. Jackie tells him that she was convinced that Stephanie was their mysterious benefactor, but after hearing about his encounters with Felicia and Thorne, she thinks that the children might be just as miserable as their mother and may be willing to go to drastic lengths. Nick wonders what their benefactor expects in return for his or her "help." Just then, he gets another email from Stormy Seas stating that more designs are on the way in the 'nick' of time. The benefactor thinks his/her efforts to save Jackie M deserve more than just a thank you; in return for his/her help, he/she wants to be named president of Jackie M. All Nick has to do is click on the secure link in the email and agree and the entire Forrester collection will be theirs. Nick thinks this could be from either Thorne or Felicia. Jackie is taken aback by the request to make their anonymous helper president of her company, but she doesn't think they have a choice. The three designs they have are not enough to save them, and she can't bear to see her company go under, so she begs Nick to please accept. Nick hesitates for a moment, but he is moved by his mother's plea and clicks on the ACCEPT button in the email. Within seconds, they receive a ZIP file containing the entire Forrester collection. "It's magnificent, and it's ours," Jackie laughs. Nick doesn't like doing it this way, but Jackie thinks this will save the company. Nick however thinks they made a deal with the devil; the question is, who controls their future now?