Wednesday, May 27, 2009, Episode #5572

Stephanie urges Ridge to help her take back Forrester.
At Il Giardino, Stephanie tries to convince Ridge to help her win back Forrester for him and his siblings. Ridge accuses her of being driven by her anger over everything that's happened, but Stephanie assures him that she just wants to remove the destructive Logan influence from the company. She asks him to imagine a company without Rick or Donna, but Ridge won't commit until he knows what she has planned. Stephanie asks if he discussed his marital status with Brooke yet. Ridge reminds her that he already told her that the license is just a piece of paper and turns the subject back to her plan to save Forrester. Stephanie starts to tell him about what Bill has in mind. Ridge is less than pleased to hear that Bill Spencer is involved. Stephanie steps away to make a call and invites someone to join her and Ridge. She reminds her guest not to tell Ridge that she made the invitation and hangs up. When she returns to the table, Stephanie finds Ridge ending a call with someone about "The Logan Chronicles." When Stephanie brags about how pleased Bill is with her blogs, Ridge tells her that Bill wants to buy the company for $100 million. Stephanie corrects that it's $80 million now; Ridge then realizes that she's in cahoots with Bill. Stephanie explains that Bill will buy the company and sell it to her, but she needs Ridge on the inside to tell her when Eric is about to break. Ridge asks what happened to her, so she reminds him how Eric replaced her with a little chippie and fired her from the company she helped build.

Jarrett warms to Bill's tactics.
At Spencer Communications, Jarrett prepares to interview Bill for a webcast. Jarrett tells his boss that he feels bad about attacking the Forresters, who have always been kind to him. Bill acknowledges Jarrett's concern and says that he can get someone else to do Jarrett's job - permanently. Jarrett quickly backpedals and warns to the idea of a good expose.

Rick tells his mom that they have to stop Stephanie.
In Eric's office, Brooke and Rick view Stephanie's latest webcast, where she praises Ridge's ex-wife, Taylor, and bashes Brooke for causing the downfall of both Ridge's personal life and of Forrester Creations. Brooke tells Rick that she can't watch this. Rick tells her that Ridge's strategy to just ignore Stephanie isn't going to work, so he intends to do something about these webcasts, even if "Mr. Destiny" refuses to act. He wants to call Bill Spencer right now and order him to reign Stephanie in, but Brooke fears that his getting involved will just make matters worse between her and Ridge and urges him to stay out of it. Rick tells her that it's his place, as President, to keep Stephanie from dragging their reputation through the mud, no matter what Ridge has to say. but Brooke pleads for him to stay on Ridge's good side and stay out of this. Rick asks what she's going to do. She tells him that she's going to confront Bill Spencer and find a way to get through to him.

Bill offers Brooke a chance to set the record straight.
Soon after, Brooke arrives at Spencer Communications. Having met her sisters, Bill is pleased to meet the best known Logan girl, but Brooke only wants to talk about the slanderous webcasts he is letting Stephanie broadcast. Bill challenges her to prove that Stephanie's observations are wrong by stripping down to her underwear; he'll know Stephanie is right if Brooke is wearing sexy lingerie underneath instead of granny-style bloomers. Brooke refuses to strip to prove a point and asks Bill how he can publish Stephanie's journalistic trash on the web or in his magazines. Bill points out that Stephanie is making him a lot of money, but Brooke wonders how much of that money he'll have left if Eric caves in and sells him Forrester Creations. Bill informs her that he has already reduced his offer to Eric, and it will keep going down as "The Logan Chronicles" continue. Brooke claims that he'll only make people feel sorry for her and her family by letting Stephanie continue her crazy rants and raves. Impressed by Brooke's determination, Bill offers her a chance to set the record straight. He tells her that he has a webcast with Jarrett scheduled in 15 minutes, but he'd like to give her that time so she can respond to the hurtful things Stephanie has said.

Ridge shares his reservations with Taylor.
Taylor arrives at Il Giardino and acts surprised as she spots Ridge and Stephanie and approaches their table. Taylor senses some tension in the air at the table. Ridge tells her that his mother is trying to drag him into one of her harebrained schemes, but Stephanie sees nothing hair-brained about getting their company back. Taylor is pleased that Stephanie is making a bid for the company, but Ridge reveals his reservations about Bill Spencer being involved. Stephanie points out that Bill is a publisher and just wants to but the company to sell it after. She thinks they can do this if they pool their resources, but they have to act now. That said, Stephanie excuses herself and leaves.

Stephanie arrives at Forrester and finds Rick in Eric's office. Rick asks why she's there, wondering if she intends to apologize for what she's been saying about the company. Stephanie advises that you should never apologize for the truth and warns Rick not to get too comfortable here. Rick asks who she thinks she is to make threats about a company she was fired from, but then he gets a call from Brooke, who tells him to go to the EYE ON FASHION web site to watch a webcast she is about to do. Rick says he'll log onto the site now and invites Stephanie to watch with him.

Brooke talks all about the Logans on her webcast.
Brooke starts her webcast by introducing herself and saying that she's here to respond to Stephanie's claims about her and her family. She then addresses Stephanie's claims in her last webcast about her former daughter in law, "Saint Taylor," who can do no wrong in Stephanie's eyes, despite evidence to the contrary. She also points out that Taylor, as a psychiatrist, has nothing to do with Forrester, so it's absurd to say that Ridge should have stayed married to Taylor for the company's sake. Brooke then lists all the things she has done for the company, like BeLieF and the Bedroom line, and adds that she and her siblings, including her late brother Storm, have all contributed to their success. She thinks it's time that Stephanie accept that Forrester is now a Logan run company, run by her, her sisters and her son, and that's why she's sure Forrester will maintain their place in the L.A. fashion scene. Back in Eric's office, Stephanie marvels that Brooke went on about the Logans and didn't even mention Ridge or Eric. Rick says his mom is just calling it like it is about where the power at the company is, but Stephanie advises him to keep his guard up.

Taylor tells Ridge to come back to her.
Back at the restaurant, Ridge tells Taylor that it's a mistake to trust Bill Spencer, but Taylor asks him to at least consider the option of helping his mother. She doesn't want to make up his mind, but she doesn't want to see him get heartbroken, either. Ridge admits that he'd be glad to see Rick gone. Taylor asks how Brooke will react to his helping Stephanie, pointing out that it would affect his marriage - or rather, his relationship. Ridge says Brooke will have to accept it. Taylor asks how much longer he intends to keep his marital status a secret from Brooke. Ridge admits he has been struggling with that, and he doesn't know why. Taylor thinks she knows. She reminds him that he and Brooke never got together when they first met, so now it's like he's trying to force a relationship with Brooke when so much has changed between them. She then reminds him of what the Logan family has done to his family, especially his mother, Thomas and Steffy. He's been going through hell, so she thinks he should stop pretending and admit that he was much happier when he was with her. "Come back to me," she urges as Ridge considers her words.