Nikki’s Reveal Knocks Phyllis’ Socks Off — and Elena Confronts Imani

Jack walks into Society and Phyllis calls to him, “It’s a beautiful day in Genoa City, isn’t it?” He questions her chipper mood and wonders if Talia Morgan wrote a follow-up to the article on Diane. Phyllis quips that the original was certainly a mood-lifter. Jack notes she denied having anything to do with it, but he’s since learned she was seen several times in the journalist’s company. “Still want to stick with your story?” Phyllis shrugs that she was just messing with Diane, who was sucking up to the investigative journalist. Jack defends Diane and Phyllis reminds him everything printed was true but, once again, she’s the one under suspicion for what Diane did. Nikki walks in and adds that Diane is still a menace.

More: Phyllis is poised to lose everything

At the park, Tessa awkwardly waits to be photographed as Lauren enthuses to Mariah about the day being perfect for the modeling shoot. Tessa says she’s nervous, so Mariah gives her a pep talk. Diane appears and says some fashion bloggers will be attending. Mariah asks her to make sure they don’t get in the way. Nearby, Lauren and Summer go over the outfits. Across the way, Mariah instructs the photographer who tersely replies that she’ll capture as much fun and romance as the model gives her. Tessa becomes worried again, and Mariah assures her she’s going to be amazing. Tessa says she’s ready but stands there looking terrified.

Imani gets a welcome-back hug from Lily at Chancellor-Winters. Billy and Lily learn there’s still no change with Naya and that Amanda is taking care of things. Lily reports that while Devon is gone with Amanda, Nate will be joining their meeting.

At Crimson Lights, Nate tells a skeptical Elena that he’s going to make a bold move that Devon can’t ignore or dismiss. He’ll finally be forced to admit he’s doing a great job. Elena is sure the idea’s great but reminds him making unilateral decisions is what caused the problems between him and Devon in the first place. Nate can’t let Devon stop him. He’s convinced he’ll eventually realize he’s right. Elena cautions that this won’t go over well. Nate argues he’s making an effort — Devon is the one who is not. Elena asks if he’s at least talked to Lily about this. Nate doesn’t want to put her in the position of having Devon think she somehow sided against him. Elena bluntly tells Nate he needs to rethink his plan. Nate doesn’t understand her reaction to his work issues. He needs to show Devon that he should take him seriously. Elena sneers, “I wonder who gave you that advice?” Nate has to go and walks off.

More: Courtney Hope provides inspiration

At the park, the shoot gets underway, and Tessa looks pinched. She needs to sit down for a second. Adam shows up and Summer says she’ll handle him. She walks over and tells him they’re having a photo shoot. Adam explains he came to see how it’s going. He glances at Tessa, who looks morose.

At Chancellor-Winters, Lily tells those gathered at the meeting that the company’s purchase of the Grand Phoenix is finalized. Imani doesn’t see any problems. Nate jumps in to enthuse that they need to capitalize on the publicity of the sale to set the tone for the new place and connect it to the music division. Billy and Lily like this. Talk turns to Billy leaving the podcast and Nate wants to find someone to partner with Chelsea since it was popular. Billy doesn’t think she’s interested. Nate feels they should build on what Billy started and has sent over some podcasters for him to consider. Lily applauds Nate’s initiative. Imani leans over and whispers to Nate, “Something’s going on with you. I can practically hear the gears turning in your head.” Nate smiles — she’s not wrong.

At the park, Summer continues trying to get rid of Adam. Kyle arrives and sees the problem. He intervenes and informs Adam that they “don’t need this many chefs in the kitchen.” Adam’s just observing. Summer leaves Kyle to it. He tells Adam to give a polite wave and get out of the way so they can do their jobs. Adam asks, “Kyle, is this really how you want to start things off?”

At Society, Phyllis and Nikki claim to Jack that Talia Morgan was acting on her own. Jack fumes about them taking potshots at Diane. Nikki takes issue with him defending her. Jack insists it’s about Kyle reconnecting with his mother. Nikki angrily questions if she’s supposed to just forget everything the woman did to her. “Setting me up to take the fall for her murder?!” Jack counters that, thankfully, that didn’t happen. Nikki fumes that it would have if Diane had her way. Jack tells them to move on with their lives and storms out.

At the park, Kyle tells Adam he doesn’t have to put up with him. Adam muses that apparently he doesn’t know how companies work. Kyle informs Adam that he’s a charity case and warns him not to do anything to cause his father grief while he’s there, which he predicts won’t be long. Adam’s only there to help Jack run Jabot. Kyle argues it’s never that simple with him and informs Adam that his input isn’t welcome, he has nothing to offer, and does not belong. Adam supposes he’ll have to prove himself to them all — it won’t be the first time.

After Adam walks off, Kyle wants to focus on the shoot. “It’s not going well. What’s the problem?” Lauren explains that it’s actually… Tessa. Mariah pleads for a moment to talk to her wife.

Tessa groans to Mariah that everyone’s eyes are on them. Mariah tells her to ignore them and reminds her how nervous she was shooting her music video. Just as she did then, Tessa just needs to get into the right headspace. “You are a literal rock star,” she reminds her. Mariah urges her to feel the moment and the magic will happen. They start again and this time, Tessa is great. Summer tells Mariah she saved the day.

At Chancellor-Winters, the meeting breaks up. In the corridor, Imani tells Nate he was on fire in there. Nate feels good about it and relays that he’s taking her advice. “I’m going to make a big move while Devon is gone.” He plans to generate the kind of success that even Devon can’t argue with. In the office, Billy wants to talk to Lily… about Chelsea. He goes over the difficulties she’s faced lately, including him walking away from the podcast and shutting her down when she asked to spend more time with Johnny. Now that he thinks about it, he can see her point. “He’s going to want to know who his biological mother is.” He feels he should allow them to hang out together. Lily thinks it’s right to start dealing with it now even if it’s just baby steps. Billy feels it will bring her some joy. The light has gone out of her eyes.

At Crimson Lights, Chelsea tells her mother by phone that she and Connor aren’t coming to visit. She doesn’t know what she’s going to do now that the podcast is done. Frustrated with Anita’s questions, she lets her go.

More: Is Sally headed into Nick’s arms?

Inside the coffee house, Elena approaches Imani and asks about her mom. Amanda’s sister tells her she’s just come from a meeting in which Nate was so good. He was excited about his job in a way she’s never seen before. Elena thinks that’s great. Imani wasn’t sure how she’d feel knowing she told Nate he should quit. Elena’s expression reveals that she’s surprised he shared that with Imani. She wonders if the lawyer told her this in hopes she’d be upset. “It makes me wonder what else you’re hoping for when it comes to Nate.” Elena sees what she’s doing and encourages her to stop.

On Crimson Lights’ patio, Lauren, Summer and Kyle discuss the successful photo shoot. They think Tessa looked exquisite in the clothes. Chelsea overhears Lauren gushing about the designer who took over for her and looks distraught. Just then, she gets a text from Billy saying he’s taking Johnny to the GCAC rooftop pool if she wants to swing by with Connor. She lights up.

More: B&B/Y&R crossover revealed!

At Jabot, Adam encounters Diane and she tells him the shoot went much better after he left. She recalls when she used to model for the company herself. Talk turns to the article. He knows first-hand what it’s like to have your past misdeeds exposed. Diane is pleased to have an ally in the building. Adam says, “That goes both ways.” Diane’s sorry about his run-in with Kyle earlier. She knows what it’s like to be on the receiving end of that kind of thing. Adam left his family’s company to get away from judgment but may have just swapped it for another variety. Diane complains that Phyllis joined Marchetti just to spearhead a smear campaign against her.

At Society, Phyllis and Nikki wonder who got Talia Morgan’s series on Diane shut down. They can’t believe this phase of their plan has been stopped in its tracks. Nikki has decided on another approach to their problem. Phyllis urges her to go on. Nikki reveals, “Next week, I am going to Los Angeles to see Deacon Sharpe.”

At the park, Tessa is back in sweats after the shoot. She and Mariah go over how it all turned around. Mariah teases about her fantasies of Tessa, who thinks they’re so lucky They share a heartfelt kiss.

At Crimson Lights, Elena has put up with Imani’s flirting and her little digs, but what she’s doing now could actually hurt Nate’s relationship with Devon and alienate him from his family and his job. Elena complains about him doing exactly what Devon told him not to do. Imani realizes he’s planning to do the music festival and finds this fantastic. She accuses Elena of wanting him to go back to medicine knowing it’s not what makes him happy. Clearly, she has more faith in Nate as a businessman than Elena does!

At Chancellor-Winters, Nate is on the phone with someone and tells them he’s going ahead with the music festival. He realizes it would be costly to cancel but he has the artists’ contracts set and has leased land to hold it on.

More: Michelle Stafford teases a secret

At the pool deck, Billy urges Johnny, (now played by Paxton Mishkind), to say hello to Chelsea before he goes off to play with Connor. The kid waves, “Hi!” Chelsea chats with him about being a great swimmer and asks if he’s put on enough sunscreen. Johnny shoots Billy a strange look and says he put on tons. He joins Connor in the pool and Billy hopes Chelsea is feeling better than the last time they talked. She tells him this helps a lot.

At Jabot, Diane points out that Adam has a shot at winning people over, whereas someone is actively trying to undermine her. “With Phyllis, you’re an enemy for life.”

Outside of Society, Phyllis follows Nikki spouting, “Deacon Sharpe? Oh my God!” Nikki doesn’t need to hear about the redhead’s history with him… unless it’s useful. Phyllis admits it’s not. But she doesn’t understand why she’s meeting with him. Nikki says Talia thinks she may be able to change her editor’s mind if Deacon has something juicy to add. He might have enough dirt on her that she could write a whole book on Diane. Phyllis asks if she can handle this. Nikki can definitely handle it… and it’s long overdue.

More: Fans left fuming over Y&R exits!

Next on The Young and the Restless: Victor demands change at Newman Enterprises, Adam has a change of heart, and Nate holds his own in the boardroom.

Look back on the wild and crazy life of Sharon Newman in the gallery below.

Please note that if you purchase something by clicking on a link within this story, we may receive a small commission of the sale.

Miss today’s episode? Catch up via Paramount Plus.