Jack Warns Victor His Family Is Off Limits — and Diane Is Appalled by Her Son’s Betrayal
At the Abbott manse, Jack pours coffee as he tells Diane he didn’t sleep last night. Their son came home late and they had a heated discussion. Kyle’s revolt against the family is worse than they’d thought. He fills her in on someone dropping a chunk of money to Audra and her taking Glissade off Tucker. Now Kyle is her co-CEO and their son has the job he was pretending to go for a few months ago. It’s revenge and it’s real. This will be hitting the press and they’ll have calls to answer. She can’t believe their son hates them this much.
Jack and Diane get to the Jabot office and she fills him in on catching their son with Audra days ago. They can’t understand why they are teaming up again since they crossed each other before. Maybe this is the work of the mystery investor? But who would have the motivation and means to do this? She doesn’t even want to say it. “I’ll say it for you. Victor Newman,” says Jack. She thinks this is extreme, even for him, but her husband is sure it’s in character. Their son is being used as a weapon. Diane is sure that what happened with Nikki is what set this off. He doesn’t want to go there right now and points out that his old enemy would take any reason to go after him. He’s sorry for what he did with Nikki. She’s forgiven him and is angry at herself for how things went wrong with their son. Jack is determined to have it out with Victor himself. She urges him to be careful.
Kyle joins Audra at the Athletic Club and she tells him they will be leading the news everywhere today. He says he dropped the bomb on his father last night. There’s nothing he can do to stop it. He already knows what his parents’ reaction will be and once they have time to process it, it will be game on.
Audra and Kyle join Victor in Chancellor Park. He informs the Newman that he has told Jack the news. Victor has leased them a suite of offices. They want to relocate the company to Genoa City. She will handle the move from Paris and he will handle this end. Victor furrows his brow. He decrees that they can discuss this later and sends Kyle off to fetch keys so he can speak to Audra alone. Once she sits, he warns her that Kyle doubts she can pull her weight. She doesn’t feel like she needs to prove anything. He adds that Kyle thinks she’s unnecessary. He’ll be keeping an eye on things there while she is in Paris. She promises not to let him down and he advises her to watch her back. Audra wonders if he trusts Kyle. Victor thinks he’s gifted and ambitious. He’s sure he will work to make Glissade a success… but he always hedges his bets.
Chelsea sheepishly walks into the Chancellor-Winters office. As she hugs Billy, she flashes back to having sex with Adam in Baltimore. They sit on the couch and she says deciding to come home was agony. It’s hard for Billy to understand what’s happening. She tells him they were starting to feel normal again when the OCD decided to punish Connor. Then it all fell apart. Billy offers to do anything he can and worries Adam is taking things out on her. He urges her to keep her strength up and guarantees Connor will be okay because she’s not a quitter.
Adam arrives at his penthouse and finds Sally there. She offers him anything he wants. As she throws her arms around him, he flashes back to sex with Chelsea. They sit and discuss his son’s status. He explains that he’s still in lock-down and they haven’t been given specifics. Adam wonders if they pushed too hard to see him. It may have been better all around if they’d stayed home. He doesn’t know anything anymore. She wishes she’d been there to help him through this. Sally hopes that he and Chelsea managed to find some comfort with each other. He turns away to pour coffee and she asks if something happened between them. Adam claims he’s just worried but she senses there is more. She worries she is pushing him to his ex so they can support each other. If they are fighting, she won’t judge. He assures her they are good. Sally says Connor needs both his parents. Since he doesn’t have to go to work, she offers to stay with him. She’s sure they can get through this together. They kiss.
Billy and Chelsea go to the Athletic Club for breakfast. He fills her in on how his kids are handling having a new sister. Katie is being prickly about it but her brother is fine. Chelsea is sure that she just needs to know she’s not alone in this. They look at the menu and she says nothing is appetizing right now. She just wants to go home and rest. He offers to get her groceries and help her settle in. Chelsea says he’s amazing and she doesn’t deserve him. Billy says she’s stuck with him until she doesn’t want him around anymore.
Claire is with her mother and grandmother at Society having breakfast. Victoria wonders if there is any drama with her since she’s so quiet. Claire is actually thinking of her grandfather and tells them that he checked in with her last night. She’s not used to someone looking out for her like that. They tell her to get used to it. She fills them in on his urging her not to pursue a friendship with Kyle and she suspects this has something to do with Jack. Nikki informs her there are few people Victor despises more than Jack. Her husband means well but he can be suffocating. Victoria admits her dad has had problems with all the men she’s seen… although some of those times he was right. Nikki explains that Jack and Victor have been at war for so long they probably don’t remember why. She urges Claire to take his advice with a grain of salt. A text comes in notifying them of the shake-up at Glissade. That’s not news to Claire. Victoria realizes this will make Jack unhappy.
Kyle shows up and they congratulate him on the news. Nikki asks what his parents think of him becoming a direct competitor. He’s sure they understand and asks to have a word with the nanny. After they walk off, Victoria asks her mom not to say it. They wonder what Victor was warning Claire about. All of this has made Victoria realize that Claire is a Newman.
Across the room, Kyle tells Claire that he appreciates her keeping the news to herself. She asks if something is going on between him and her grandpa. When he claims there isn’t, she wonders why he warned her against him. He’s taken aback to hear that given how close he has come to Victor. Kyle assures her that he genuinely likes her and he’s happy that she’s not reconsidering the nanny position. Audra shows up and Claire congratulates her. She’s come a long way since they worked together at Newman Media. When Claire assures her she’s changed, Audra says, “That’s good to know.” The co-CEOs leave to pick up their keys.
When Kyle and Audra exit, she tells him that life is good and he shouldn’t be paranoid. He announces he has to take care of something and will meet her at the office.
Claire returns to Victoria and Nikki. Her mother asks if she’s thought about changing her last name. Would she want to make being a Newman official?
Kyle stops by the Jabot office. His mom asks if he’s there to steal company secrets. He smugly says Jabot has nothing he needs and brags about how valuable young leadership is. After they bicker about Jabot’s marketing, she reminds her son of how much she loves him. But right now she is really angry with him. He thinks all the talking is over. He’s come to see how she and Jack are taking the Glissade news. Diane tells him this is breaking their hearts. Does he really not care about that at all? He accuses them of treating him like a little boy and slapping him down. She thinks that what he’s doing is nonsense and she can’t condone it. He’s better than this. Kyle vows to prove his worth by beating his parents at their own game. She says they know what he’s worth and love him, even when he’s making foolish decisions. Dismissing their love as “conditional,” he tells her to tell his dad he stopped by and walks out.
Jack bursts into Victor’s office at Newman. When Victor enters, Jack declares that he warned him that his family is off-limits. Sarcastic Victor asks if he plans to throw a chair out a window again. When Jack accuses him of using his son to get back at him, Victor accuses him of grandstanding. Jack warns he will pay for this. Victor tells him to face the truth. He was a lousy father and now he’s facing the consequences.
