Nick Urges Sally to Figure Out What She Really Wants — Plus, Jill Is Furious and Demands Answers About Nate’s Betrayal

After Sally has called him, Adam joins Connor at Crimson Lights. He tells his son how much he and his mother love him. Connor doesn’t think his mother loves him the way she used to. It feels like she is far away. His father promises him that he is his mother’s heart and soul. She’s just going through a hard time right now and it’s not his job to make it better. Connor suspects this has something to do with Johnny. They are already a family and don’t need him. “If she misses him so much, she never should have given him up in the first place,” says the kid.

Adam tries muddling through an explanation. He says they both wanted to raise him but there were a lot of changes and complications in the family. One thing that will never change is how much he cares about him. He can always come to him. One reason his mom told him the secret about Johnny is because she was scared of what would happen when the secret came out. Chelsea arrives in time to hear all this. She interrupts, handing her son his backpack. He’s not happy to see her so she sends him to get a pastry while she talks to his dad. Chelsea tells Adam that she will fix her son not thinking he’s good enough for her. Adam is not sure that will be easy.

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Chelsea and Adam step onto the patio. He thinks they need to bring in a professional to help their son process the situation with Johnny. She’s afraid she’ll get all the blame but agrees he’s right. Chelsea feels ashamed for failing her children but will do whatever she has to for Connor’s sake. In the meantime, she wants her ex to help her with something. She needs him to stop being judgmental. He insists he hasn’t been. It’s time for her to stop seeing him as the enemy. Connor comes out and says he wants to go to the ranch. He heads for the door, barely returning his mother’s “love you.”

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In their office at Chancellor-Winters, Lily and Billy discuss how betrayed they feel by what Nate did. He’d have expected something like this from Adam, but not from a decent guy like Nate. He assures her this isn’t about her but about whatever is between Devon and Nate. She admits the worse thing about this is that she really believed her family was not like the Newmans or the Abbotts. It turns out they aren’t any better. Billy wishes he could do more to help and offers to stick around until the IPO goes through. If he walks away right after Nate was fired, it might be bad for optics. He wants to support her and his mother while the company is in flux. She doesn’t want to hold him back from his next step in life. Lily thinks he deserves to find his path just as she found hers. At some point, they will have to let Jill know that he is stepping away. Billy has already sent his mom an email about the Nate situation and has a feeling it didn’t go over well. Neither of them is looking forward to speaking to Jill.

When they open a video call with her, Jill demands to know how they let this situation with Nate occur. She never dreamed that Lily’s family would be the downfall of the company’s legacy. Jill never saw Nate as a threat… then again, she wasn’t working beside him every day like they were. Billy stands up for Lily but his mom is not convinced. Lily appreciates the defense, but she is the CEO and knows there are no excuses. She takes full responsibility for this. Nate has been fired and he can’t sell his shares. There has been no permanent damage yet. When Billy gets a text from Victoria reminding him they are supposed to be spending time with the kids in the park, his mom and girlfriend encourage him to go.

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As soon as he has left, Jill asks Lily what she is still concerned about. Lily explains that she and Devon are both concerned about Tucker’s return. Even if he is not the person Nate was conspiring with, there are clearly sharks in the water. Jill is still determined to drive ahead with the IPO.

Chelsea sits in the park and remembers fighting with Connor while trying to convince him how proud she is of him. Billy shows up and asks how she is. She’s sick of feeling sorry for herself. The Abbott hopes she can stay strong… but Victoria and the kids are on the way over and it would probably be best if she’s not around.

At his penthouse, Nate complains to Devon that the only way for him to prove himself was to run with this takeover. According to him, Devon doesn’t know how to manage people or give them room. He doesn’t know how to delegate or trust anyone else. Devon explains how hierarchy works and where his place in it was. Nate insists that this was only ever about business; it wasn’t personal. That’s hard for his cousin to swallow. When he points out that Elena has been staying in a hotel, Nate accuses him of acting like Victor and stalking his ex. This only annoys Devon, who then accuses him of making a mess of his life and acting a victim. Countering, Nate accuses him of being a control freak and admits he will never forgive him for what happened to his hand. “You had sex with my girlfriend,” Devon reminds him. They keep rehashing the things they have done to one another and the lives they tried to build.

Nate claims he had let go of his resentment but Devon managed to bring it all back. When he came to Chancellor-Winters, he wanted to dive in with passion but Devon stopped him at every turn. There must be something wrong deep down inside him. They compare their track records and how they were handed jobs. Devon is kicking himself for treating Nate like he could act intelligently. He’s too arrogant and incapable of acting humbly. That resulted in him almost destroying the family legacy. That’s what hurts the most. This company is what he built with Neil and it’s what Nate tried to take from him. “It’s not your and Neil’s business anymore,” Nate points out, condescendingly explaining the organization of the company. This only infuriates Devon more. He accuses his cousin of being incapable of living up to Neil’s level of professionalism. Nate assumes all of this is about Devon being unable to let anyone live up to Neil. This is not a conversation Devon wants to have. He says he has no idea what Neil would have wanted. He would never forgive him if he were alive. Devon walks out.

Nick drops by Sally’s office at Newman Media. She tells him that his daughter came by to see her earlier. He fills her in on Summer paying him a visit as well. They guess the conversations were similar. She thinks it’s kind of sweet that his daughter was being so protective but he thinks she crossed a line. They both took the “high road” and claimed they were “just friends.”

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The topic of Adam comes up. They both saw him looking like a mess and sense that their being together has taken a toll on him. Sally is sorry about that but it doesn’t change anything. She brings up what happened with Connor. Nick feels bad for what his nephew is going through right now but tells her none of this is her fault. She explains that Connor told her that he partially blames her for what’s happening with his father and why he’s so miserable. He assures her that this isn’t really about her. She’s sure Adam got drunk last night because she rejected him. She’s had an impact on him and, as a result, Connor. Nick doesn’t accept this line of logic.

Sally just hates to see her ex suffer, especially when her life and career are going so well. As much as she loves spending time with Nick… He tells her she doesn’t have to finish that thought. Whatever is happening between them needs to happen at her pace. For whatever it’s worth, he can see how genuine Adam’s feelings for her are and how much he regrets pushing her out of his life. His brother has lost a lot and that’s mostly his own fault. But if she’s feeling conflicted, he needs to step away. Sally guesses they are better at managing business than their emotions. Nick thinks they have a lot of chemistry but it’s not enough. She still needs to figure out what she wants.

Next on The Young and the Restless: Phyllis and Nikki encourage Ashley to manipulate Tucker.

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