Thursday, January 29, 2009, Episode #5490

Ridge and Stephanie want answers from Eric.

Stephanie and Ridge hound Eric not to protect Rick for leaking their collection, but Eric says the matter is done with and they're moving on. He warns Stephanie not to try and go to the press with her allegations, since he'll call in the lawyers to stop her. Right now, he only wants to concentrate on their work. Their work was a collection that has been given over to the competition, Ridge argues. Stephanie thinks all their employees deserve to know how their hard work went down the drain. Eric says they'll discuss making a statement to their employees, but Stephanie asks how they can discuss letting a thief get away with his crime. Ridge fumes that Jackie M will prosper from their hard work, but Eric says that they only have one collection, and it's unlikely that Clarke Garrison will be able to come up with another collection to top this one.

Clarke is put off by the idea of a new designer "helping" him.

Clarke shows Nick and Jackie the first designs from his next collection, but the Marones are unimpressed. In addition, with their pipeline to Forrester dried up, they'll need to find a way to top the last collection, and these designs just won't cut it. That's why they have to hire a new designer and go in a different direction. Clarke is put off by having another designer on board, but Jackie says that they have to face some harsh realities and acceot that Clarke needs help. Clarke is miffed and leaves. Nick asks his mom how the designer search is going. Jackie says that she got one portfolio from a promising new designer. Nick tells her to hire the guy. Jackie tells him that there was no name on the portfolio and there was just an email address, so she sent a note to set up a lunch meeting at Il Giardino today. As Jackie gets ready to leave, she asks Nick how his fiancee is. Nick doesn't know. On the way out, Jackie runs into Katie. They exchange greetings and Jackie gets on her way.

Nick defends his actions to Katie.

Nick asks Katie if she is ready to talk. "Are you?" she asks. Nick defends his actions with the collection by saying that the designs were sent to him, but Katie thinks he's splitting hairs since he knew whose designs they were. She wants to know who sent the designs, but Nick won't name the person. Katie asks why she's hiding things from his fiancee. He reminds her that she works for Forrester, so he can't share his work at Jackie M with her, just as he doesn't expect her to share what happens at Forrester with him. He guarantees that there will be no more leaks. Katie asks if he'd still accept the designs if he could turn back the clock and do it all over again. Nick tells her to understand that he'll do anything necessary to protect his family and asks if she wants to be part of that.

Katie asks Nick about his feelings for Bridget.

Katie sees that Nick had good intentions and hugs him. Nick asks if they're OK. She says that she wants to be his partner, but she needs him to be honest with her. That said, she has one thing on her mind to ask him; she has concerns about his feelings for Bridget, since he said that he'll always have feelings for Bridget and is sorry that he hurt her. Nick confirms that he's sorry he hurt Bridget, but he assures Katie that she's the one he loves. Katie says that she loves him, too, and they kiss.

Bridget is glad that Rick has ended things with Steffy.

Bridget drops by Rick's office to see him. He tells her not to even ask about him and Steffy, because it's over between them, and Steffy doesn't want anything to do with him ever again. Bridget asks what happened. "I made a mistake. I blew it," he confesses. Bridget assumes he wants her to console him, but she can't do that, since Steffy is Ridge's daughter, and she thinks that should have made Rick realize what a bad idea it was to get involved with her. Rick confides that he had a vision of what he wanted in his head that he wanted to make a reality, but Bridget doesn't think that was ever possible. She's just thankful that no one found out, and no one ever will.

Jackie is surprised when she meets her prospective new designer.

Bridget then goes to Il Giardino for lunch. When Jackie arrives to meet her prospective new designer, she comes over to say hello to Bridget. Bridget invites Jackie to join her, but Ms. M. says she's meeting a potential new designer who is apparently late. Bridget says the designer isn't tardy at all; it's her! Jackie is stunned, since she didn't know Bridget had the talent to create such wonderful designs. Bridget explains that she had so many role models to emulate with the family in the fashion business, but she hid her love of design with all the talent in the family. Then when she was 12, she asked for a sewing machine so she could create designs for her dolls. She hoped someone would ask why she wanted a sewing machine and she'd be discovered, but it never happened. Instead, she was praised for her grades in math and science, so she went to medical school, leaving her childhood dream unfulfilled. She thinks trying to realize that dream will give her the fresh start she is looking for, but she doesn't want the help of her father. But then she heard about Jackie needing a designer and thought she could make her dream come true at Jackie M. Jackie is torn; she loves Bridget's designs, but she worries about how Eric will react to his daughter working for the competition after recent events. Bridget admits she's been at the hospital a lot lately and hasn't heard about what's going on at Forrester. Still, she doesn't want Jackie to hire her if it will cause problems. Jackie is willing to give her a chance but warns that there are tensions between the two companies, plus Bridget will be working with Nick. Bridget says she can handle that, so Jackie agrees to give it a try. Bridget asks if they can keep this a secret until they see how it works out. Jackie says she can and welcomes her aboard.

Eric tells Steffy why he can forgive Rick.

Eric calls Steffy to his office to talk about Rick. He reminds her that she can't tell anyone what Rick did, especially not her father or her grandmother. Steffy points out that they're already suspicious, but Eric thinks it could get worse if they knew she knows the truth. Steffy doesn't understand how Eric could forgive Rick. Eric says that Rick is his son, and he loves him, and that's why he'll forgive him. Still, Steffy can't understand why he's letting Rick get away with it. Eric asks if she thinks Rick will regret it more if they go public with what he did. Steffy thinks there have to be consequences, but Eric won't let the loss of his relationship with his son be one of those consequences. Steffy points out that Rick hurt the people he cares about, but Eric thinks he hurt himself, too, and deserves their support. He notes that Rick is a good person, which is why they have to help him through this.

Rick gets a brutal tongue-lashing from Ridge.

Rick brings some papers to Ridge's office. Ridge says that he knows Rick sabotaged them, and the only reason he hasn't done anything about it is that Eric is protecting Rick. Rick asks why Eric would protect him. "Because he pities you," Ridge seethes. He spits that he's know a lot of destructive losers in his life, but none of them disgust him as much as Rick does. Rick is sorry to hear that. Ridge tells Rick to get out, but Rick says he can't do that, since he promised Eric he'd make peace with Ridge. He feels like he's trying to do that, but Ridge isn't reciprocating. Ridge says that he's not the one who betrayed them, and if it was up to him, he'd make Rick pay for that and every other stinking thing that Rick has ever done to the family. Later, Ridge tells Stephanie about his confrontation with Rick. They both agree that Rick did it, and Ridge is upset that Rick is getting away with it again by playing the guilt card with Eric. He thinks he would strangle Rick with his bare hands if he had the chance. Stephanie can't understand why Eric is protecting Rick, either. Ridge seethes that he can't stand the sight of Rick., He knows he promised Brooke he would not hate her son, but if Rick does on more thing to hurt his family, he won't be held responsible for what he does.