Victor Issues a Warning to Jack — and Diane Accuses Phyllis

At Newman Media, Sally’s typing away on her laptop when Nick appears in the doorway. He wasn’t sure she would still be there since it’s after hours. Sally wants to prove to everyone that she belongs in that chair. Nick replies, “Yeah, about that. We should talk.” He closes the door.

At the ranch, Victoria asks Nikki why she’s going to be out of the office tomorrow. She explains she decided at the last minute to go to Los Angeles and see Ridge and Eric Forrester. She relays that Kyle is planning a wedding do-over for Summer and she’d like the Forresters to design a gown as a surprise. Victoria questions why she doesn’t have Fenmore’s do it, or the team at Marchetti. Nikki stammers that they’d never be able to keep it a secret from Summer. Victoria gets the feeling something more is going on here. She could meet with the Forresters via video call. “I’m sorry, mom, I’m not buying it. What is this trip really about?”

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Nikki admits she’s going to have a dress designed for Summer but that’s not the only reason for her trip. She’s determined to drive Diane Jenkins out of town and is going to Los Angeles to see the one person who might have information she can use. “Deacon Sharpe.” Victoria’s eyes flare.

Victor arrives at Society and spots Jack at a table. He makes his way over and Jack asks if he’s there to say hello or just to cast a dark shadow. He invites the Mustache to join him for a drink, although he doubts he’ll want to toast his latest hire. Victor informs him he’s right about that.

Kyle finds Summer looking at Tessa’s photo shoot in the living room. He complains about Adam showing up and Summer reminds him they agreed to respect Jack’s wishes. Kyle notes they have so much to celebrate and points out they have the whole place to themselves. He pulls her into a passionate kiss.

A knock comes at the door of the Abbott house and Kyle reluctantly parts from Summer to answer it. Diane walks in and declares, “I am livid and it’s all because of Phyllis.” She rants that Summer’s mother is relentless and explains that she came across a file on her computer related to Marchetti’s home division with prices that reek of kickbacks. Phyllis slipped it onto her hard drive. “She’s setting me up!”

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At the Chancellor Estate, Chance wants to go for a dip in the pool but Abby’s already asleep. He covers her up, looks at his watch and writes a note.

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In her suite, Chelsea struggles to get interested in a television program and shuts it off. She looks at her phone and decides to go out.

At home, Abby dreams of Chance telling her that he has to take a raincheck on date night because he’s taking on the investigation of a lifetime. “This means everything to me.” In the dream, she protests, “Everything? What about me? What about our family?” She awakens with a start, sits up, and realizes Chance is gone.

At Crimson Lights, Sharon greets Chance and guesses he needs coffee to get through an all-night stake out. Chance relays that it’s the opposite— he’s there because he’s not working. Sharon guesses he’s restless like Rey used to be when he closed a case. Chance isn’t sure but orders some decaf tea.

Chelsea appears in Crimson Lights and announces she could use a tea too. “Mind if I join you?” she asks Chance. Sharon serves them their beverages and then excuses herself to go up and see Mariah and Tessa. Chance asks Chelsea how her day was and she tells him it was rough but got better when Billy invited her to spend time with Johnny at the pool. She admits it was lonely after she got back to her suite. Chance warns her to take it easy on the alcohol and thinks he can help her again.

At Society, Victor wants to know why Jack hired Adam as his co-CEO. Jack explains he was available and the best person for the job. They have a friendship and his talents are indisputable. Jack needed a partner he could count on so he can spend more time with his grandchildren. There’s more to life than work. Victor agrees with that. He questions if Jack hired Adam to distract him from seeking revenge on him. Jack thinks it’s the best thing for all of them. Victor chuckles and then intones, “Remember what I’m telling you now. Hiring Adam was a huge mistake.”

At Newman Media, Sally guesses Nick’s there to fire her after seeing his sister. Nick only told Victoria that there were extenuating circumstances and that she owned her screw-up. Sally doubts that satisfied Victoria and asks if she’s out of a job. Nick won’t lie — his sister is losing her patience and is looking around at other options. It’s not over yet, however, he talked her up and wants to prove he was right about her. Sally explains how she’s worked to make up for her mistake and set up follow-up meetings to salvage the situation. Nick knows she intends to. Sally realizes he’s still wondering if she can come through or continue to let her feelings for Adam to hold her back.

At the ranch, Victoria is upset that Nikki would even consider seeing Deacon Sharpe. Nikki argues that if anyone knows what Diane was up to all of these years it will be him. He helped her fake her death and was instrumental in her being arrested. “We have a lot of unfinished business.” Victoria finds him disgusting and reminds her mother she drank with him and they had a destructive affair. “Mom, he blackmailed you into marrying him!” Nikki insists she can handle him and is stronger now. Victoria worries this will trigger her into wanting a drink and asks her to just let it go.

At the Abbott house, Diane explains to Kyle and Summer how Phyllis could use the file to set her up and make it look like she is trying to sabotage Summer’s mother. Kyle and Summer are taken aback at her vehemence. Diane knew Phyllis would come for her when she joined Marchetti and pleads, “Please tell me you believe me!” Summer and Kyle assure Diane they’ll get to the bottom of this matter but implore her to let them handle it. Diane gets teary — she just wants to be a good mother and grandmother. Bring on guard 24/7 is tough but tonight she feels seen and heard.

At Society, Jack complains to Victor that he’s yanked the rug out from under Adam more times than he can count. He handed him the keys to the kingdom and then snatched them away to hand them back to Victoria. Victor claims Jack doesn’t understand the inner workings of his company or family and says Adam sees what he wants to see. Jack wonders if he really expected Adam to graciously accept this demotion. “You left him out in the cold.” Victor denies it. Jack is grateful that Adam accepted his job offer.

Victor reiterates that it was a huge mistake… for Jack. “He only accepted your offer to piss me off.” Once he realizes he can’t get a rise out of him, he’ll be out of there. If he’s not fed up already — no one in the family likes him and he’s working with Diane and Phyllis. Victor then complains about Jack them to work there. Jack admits it’s an ongoing experiment. He agreed because he had Summer and Kyle’s ability to keep things running smoothly. “The same faith I have in Adam.” Victor leans over the table and says, “I wish you luck with that.”

At the ranch, Nikki tells Victoria that Deacon is the one who should be worried about seeing her. “I’ve got this.” Victoria relents and asks if Diane has been causing problems for her. Nikki snarls that she’s incapable of change — she brought nothing but pain before and she’ll do it again. She’ll do whatever it takes to get that woman out of their lives!

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At Crimson Lights, Chance tells Chelsea he understands how she feels — he has bouts of restlessness all the time — as Abby’s call goes unanswered on his phone. Sharon reappears and makes a face as she sees Chance start teaching Chelsea breathing techniques he learned in therapy.

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At Newman Media, Nick talks about how Adam keeps the people in his life constantly off-balance. Sally refuses to use her break-up as an excuse. “I am nobody’s victim.” Nick agrees, “No, you are not.” Sally says this is about her own insecurities and fears. Nick perceives her as being fearless. Sally explains that from the time she was young she knew she was destined for something great and she’s fought to prove everyone who underestimated her wrong. Nick thinks they would be impressed if they could see her now. Sally sighs. She has an opportunity of a lifetime and there’s still a very small part of her that feels like an imposter. Nick points out she had her own design house. Sally reminds him that’s nowhere near the scale of the business they’re doing at Newman. She can’t help but have moments where she feels lost. Nick grimaces. He knows exactly what that’s like.

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At Society, Jack accuses Victor of being condescending. Victor’s just trying to warn him what he’s in for… he’s done. “A wise man knows when to cut his losses and move on.” Jack smirks, “I don’t buy that for one second.” For him to give up on Adam would be like giving up on himself. “I know better.”

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At the ranch, Nikki assures Victoria that Victor’s aware of her mission and is all for it. He’ll probably send the security team to watch over her. She promises to be careful, and they embrace. Victoria leaves and Nikki phones Phyllis to tell her everything is in place for her trip tomorrow. She wants to make sure she does her part to put pressure on at Marchetti.

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At the Abbott house, Diane asks to go up and say goodnight to Harrison. Kyle agrees. Once alone, Kyle asks Summer what she thinks. Summer thinks the “big plot” seems a little clumsy to her. Something about this doesn’t ring true. Kyle questions how else a Marchetti Home file would get on his mother’s computer. Summer shrugs… that may just be what Diane wants them to think. Kyle asks if she thinks his mother is lying. Summer urges him to think about it. What if Diane created the file and this whole crazy story to throw suspicion on her mom and get her out of the way? “It seems to me there’s more than one plausible explanation for what’s going on here.”

Chance arrives at home, where Abby says she had a bad dream, and asks where he was. Chance find the note he left her, which fell down beside the bed. Abby takes it as he apologizes for worrying her. He went to Crimson Lights. Abby seems offside so he asks if everything is okay. She replies, “Not really.” Abby feels they’re out of sync or something. Chance assures her they’re fine and there’s nothing to worry about. They express their love and start kissing.

At Newman Media, Nick admits to Sally that he’s struggling; trying to find a way to live with what happened with Ashland. She assures him he’s a good person and deserves all the best life has to offer. “You just have to keep believing in yourself.” Nick’s lips quirk up. That was the exact advice he was going to give her. Sally says, “Let’s make a deal. I won’t stop fighting for what I want if you won’t.” She holds out her hand to shake on it and Nick takes it. They look into each other’s eyes…

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Next on The Young and the Restless: Victor issues a warning to Jack, tension escalates between Nate and Devon, and Adam notices a connection between Nick and Sally.

Is Sally about to be added to our list of Nick Newman’s many loves as seen in the gallery below?

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