Bold & Beautiful Shocker: What Zende Has Been Doing During Steffy and Finn’s Reunion Just Might Rock the Forresters to Their Core
He may be more than just another handsome face after all.
It’s been a while since The Bold and the Beautiful caught us up with Zende. Quite a while, to be exact. That got us to wondering: What the heck has he been up to while the entire show has revolved around Steffy and Finn’s reunion and Sheila’s reign of terror?
Chances are, Zende’s just been licking his wounds after losing Paris to Carter, who then dumped her for Quinn. (If you ask us, Zende dodged a bullet there, not getting tied down to Ms. “I Don’t Want a Committed Relationship… Unless It’s With Carter, Then I Want It Immediately!”) But if it were up to us, the designer would have been breaking his pattern of flitting from one relationship to the next by taking care of business — Forrester business.
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“What about work? Well, um, this works for me.”
Credit: Sean Smith/CBS
You Snooze, You Lose, Steffy
Consider this: While everyone is distracted by their games of “Where’s Sheila?” and “Did ya hear, Finn’s alive!” Zende notices that there’s no one minding the store. Knowing an opportunity when he sees one, he elects to make a power play. Why should he just sketch the dresses, he asks himself, when he could be calling the shots?
Of course, Zende couldn’t just walk in and take over. First, he’d have to unseat the existing power players, whether they’re in their chairs or not. And he couldn’t do that alone, he’d need backup. So who has a stake in the company and would dare to upset the apple cart by supporting Zende over Steffy and Ridge?
“I’ve got three times as many plans as they last CEO.”
Credit: Howard Wise/JPI (3)
‘It Doesn’t *Have* to Be a Hostile Takeover’
When at last Steffy, Ridge & Co. return from Monte Carlo, Zende would reveal his coup at the rare board meeting that doesn’t devolve into a Logan sisters gossip session. “Are you kidding me?” Steffy huffs. “I was away, what, a month, and you decided to stage a hostile takeover?”
“It doesn’t have to be hostile,” Zende replies. “You could even look at it as a welcome takeover. Now you’ll be able to spend more quality time with Finn and the kids.”
“Suddenly, my fist wants to spend some quality time with your face!” barks Ridge. “But I’ll restrain myself. You can’t just say ‘I’m the boss now’ and be the boss. You need votes, and a lot of ’em.”
At that, the door flies open, and in comes a woman wearing a veil. Because there’s always a veil when a reveal is about to go down. “Would 51-percent of the votes suffice?” the woman asks. Immediately, Pam whips out her calculator.
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“See this, Kristen? This is where you’ll end up if you mess with me.”
Credit: Aaron Montgomery/JPI
The Mother of All Comebacks
When the woman pulls back her veil, the gasps can be heard from the executive suite all the way to Death Valley: It’s Zende’s mother, Kristen, now played by a powerhouse soap vet — a Cady McClain (Dixie, All My Children) or a Gina Tognoni (ex-Phyllis, The Young and the Restless) or a Sarah Joy Brown (yes, even though she was already on the show as Aggie).
“I know this may seem like it’s coming out of nowhere,” Kristen says. “Ya got that right,” replies the audience at home. “But,” she continues, “Zende got me thinking — about Mother.”
“Oh, [bleep],” mutters Ridge. “That”s never good.”
“Specifically,” Kristen goes on, “Zende got me thinking about what Mother would say about her company being run by people who are more concerned with their personal lives than with either hemlines or the bottom line.
“Spoiler alert,” she whispers. “Mother wouldn’t be pleased.”
“That’s the last time I turn my back on him.”
Credit: Howard Wise/JPI
Strength in Numbers
Ridge argues that even Kristen’s vote doesn’t give Zende enough to sit in the boss’ chair. “Right you are,” purrs Kristen, far feistier than she’d ever been in the past. “You were always so good with numbers — maybe from having to add up your divorces so often?”
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“You’ve got a lot of nerve,” Ridge grumbles.
“And a lot of votes,” Kristen replies. “Thorne and Felicia are with us. All the castoff Forresters. Turns out, they weren’t crazy about being treated like poor relations for so many years. So as long as Zende and I turn a profit, they’re all too happy to turn on the lot of you.”
Get the relationship status of all of Bold & Beautiful‘s couples — who’s hooking up and breaking down — in the below photo gallery.
