Jack Needles Victor — and Lily and Damian Grow Closer

At Nate’s place, Audra isn’t surprised at his reaction to her news, but is still disappointed he can’t even celebrate with her. Nate points out that was what this whole night was about… buttering him up. She wanted to put him in a good mood for telling him she’s going back to working for the man who fired her in the first place. “What does he get out of this?” He prods, “What is it? What does he want from you?”

The Great Debate

Audra goes on about how Victor was impressed with her work at Glissade. Nate says, “So impressed he fired you.” Audra says he realized he made a mistake. Nate argues that isn’t Victor. He must have an agenda. “Did he give you any stipulations?” Audra claims the offer didn’t include anything she wasn’t willing to entertain. Nate doesn’t understand and of this; she hates Victor. Audra says an offer hasn’t come from anyone else. She’s excited to be her own boss again and pleads with him not to rain on her parade. He just can’t believe Victor has no caveats. He’s not doing this out of the goodness of his heart. Audra insists he wants her to build him a new, legitimate company. She’ll get an iron-clad contract and Nate can check it over. Nate just wishes there was another way. She knows he’s just trying to protect her, but she wants him to be happy for her.

Nate apologizes to Audra for his reaction to her news not being what she hoped for. She just wants to celebrate with him. She found something to give her purpose again. Nate wants to make it up to her with a nightcap at the jazz lounge, but asks her to please be careful with Victor. In every deal, he wants something for himself. “And you often never see it coming.”

Spy Game

Michael joins Victor in the Club dining room. The Mustache senses something bad has happened. Michael tells him one of their spies in Jabot has gone radio silent. He thinks he regrets trying to get more money from them, or someone got to him and shut him up. Michael promises to take care of it, then pivots to Aristotle Dumas. There’s a meeting scheduled between him and Billy Abbott next week. He doesn’t know what form it will take. Victor can’t understand why someone of Dumas’ stature with meet with Billy Boy. Michael thinks Billy must have something he wants, but he’s not sure what. Abbott Communications isn’t off the ground and wouldn’t even register on Dumas’ radar. Victor wants to let it play out and see if Billy will fall into a trap Dumas is setting for him.

At Jabot, Jack and Kyle take a meeting with Elliot Mathison, who wonders why he’s been summoned to the CEO office. Jack says they want to be sure he’s settled in from Glissade. Jack asks him about his inquiries about their new product considering he’s not in R&D. Mathison is always looking to help the company. Kyle asks, “Help whose company exactly?” They explain that they know he met with Michael Baldwin, who works for Victor Newman. The man asks what they want. Kyle says he has two options… he can resign immediately and never work in the industry again or accept a lucrative role as a double-agent for the Abbotts. Mathison agrees to tell them what he knows, but he needs assurance that he’ll be compensated. Jack agrees, but Kyle warns him against betraying them again.

After Mathison has told them everything he knows, they let him leave. Kyle thanks him for making the right decision. Jack and Kyle congratulate each other on pulling that off. Jack urges his son to take the rest of the night off… he earned it. Kyle has to meet Claire and reveals that he asked her to move in with him. Jack says it’s a pretty big step. He makes it clear she’s welcome to live in the Abbott house once the renovations are finished. Kyle appreciates that, but they may find a place of their own. Jack learns that Claire is thinking about it; Victor’s disdain is standing in the way of their relationship. Jack hates this and tells Kyle that everyone else, including Nikki, is in favor of it.

Claire Opens Up

Claire walks into the jazz lounge and spots Holden. Smiling to herself she strolls over and asks if he’s drinking a Vesper. She reminds him he turned her onto them. He remembers. She says it’s become her go-to. Holden asks if she’d care to join him for one right now. Claire says she’ll pass. She’s waiting for her boyfriend. Holden wasn’t trying to make a move, he just didn’t want her to drink alone. He asks her name, and she tells him she’s Claire Newman. He introduces himself as Holden Novak. He asks if she’s from Victor Newman’s family. She is, but is just getting used to it. Holden wants to hear her story.

Claire fills Holden in on being taken from her parents as a baby and only meeting the Newmans recently. This reminds Holden of Damian’s situation… he lived his entire life thinking one thing about himself, only to find out it wasn’t true. Claire learns he’s now in Genoa City reconnecting with family. They chat more and Holden tells her he misses Los Angeles. She asks if he’s staying to support his friend. He confides that there are personal reasons he wants to stay too.

Devon Puts the Damper On

At Society, Lily blows Damian’s mind by telling him she had twins. He finds the idea frightening. She laughs that she survived and now they’re loving, kick-ass adults. Damian says they sound like their mother. He thanks her for having dinner with him and she thanks him for his honesty about Dumas. Damian’s grateful they finally have their cards on the table. She asks if he’ll help her find out what Dumas wants in Genoa City. Damian doesn’t have an answer for her yet. He’d like to help, but it’s not that simple. It puts him in a precarious situation with his boss. She argues that Dumas’ agenda could put him at risk. He doesn’t question Dumas. She accuses him of being a “yes-man”. Can’t he be discreet and find out what she’s looking for. Damian says that could put his position in jeopardy. Lily understands; she doesn’t want to get him in trouble. Damian laughs and shakes his head. “I find it hard to turn you down. I don’t like the feeling.” Lily would be grateful if he said yes. He squints that this would be a big gamble for him… he needs time to figure out a strategy. Lily grins.

Devon appears at the door of Society and looks like he smelled something bad when he clocks Lily with Damian. Abby joins him and asks who the handsome man is with Lily. Devon says that’s Nate’s half-brother, Damian Kane. They walk over to say hello. Lily asks Abby about her trip to Europe and then introduces her to Damian, who compliments the restaurant. He tells Lily he should get going and exits. Devon asks if Lily would like to tell him what that was all about.

Lily senses judgement coming from Devon. He just can’t understand why she was with Damian when she told him he was untrustworthy. Lily first asks Abby about Traci. Abby brings them into the loop on Martin Laurent. It makes her sick to his stomach. Lily is aghast and will reach out to Traci. Devon’s happy that everyone is safe. Abby says her mom and Traci are going to New York for a while. Lily pivots to telling Damian about her kids. Devon asks why she’s telling him about her personal life when they don’t trust the guy. “Is that what we’re doing?”

Lily snips that she hasn’t told him everything about her life and doesn’t appreciate the tone. She fills them in on what Damian told her about Dumas. She asked him if he would help her find out what Dumas is up to. Devon gripes. Why would she do that when he could just turn around and tell Dumas that she’s snooping around? Abby interjects that she needs more information. Devon says there’s a chance Damian and Dumas may have looked into their business and family before he met Nate. Abby says, “So, Damian may have known about Nate’s existence, that he had a half-brother.” Lily says he insists that’s not true. Devon asks why she’d just take his word for it. Lily’s changed her mind about him. Devon questions her having one conversation with the guy and suddenly believing everything he has to say. “Do you really feel comfortable asking him to be a spy for you?”

Lily gets that Devon is confused… and grumpy, but assures him she has her guard up. Damian is determined to convince her she’s wrong about him. Devon’s not surprised since he’s clearly into her. Lily is trying to be pro-active where Dumas is concerned. They have to be prepared if he has his eye on Winters. If Damian wants to prove he’s not a threat, they should put him to the test. Devon fears that Damian has gotten to Lily. She wants to give him this opportunity because it’s become personal. She feels a pull to him like he does to her. Lily denies it. “That’s not what this is about.” Her only goal is to protect her family. Damian’s not going anywhere, so why not put him to work. Devon learns he’s thinking about it, and is less suspicious than if he’d readily agreed. Abby thinks Lily’s plan makes sense. Lily pleads with Devon to work with her on this.

Confrontation Station

Jack and Kyle walk into the Club and spot Victor and Michael dining. Kyle asks his dad if he wants to join him and Claire in the jazz lounge. Jack says he has something to take care of. Kyle asks if he’ll stir up trouble. Jack says, “No more than those two already have.” Kyle asks if he wants back-up. Jack says he’s got this. Kyle trusts him to handle Victor without blowing their plan.

Jack sidles up to Victor and Michael’s table and chortles about the new high-end tequila at the bar. Michael notes he seems to be in a good mood. “Did anything in particular happen today?” Jack says, “Thank you for asking. Gee, where do I start?” Jack says life is good, his family is good, and he and Kyle had a productive day at the office today. After he walks away, Victor tells Michael that Abbott is trying to pretend everything’s going well. Michael says maybe things are going well and they should let go of this war. Victor’s not interested. “Bring it on.”

In the lounge, Kyle’s surprised to see Claire deep in conversation with Holden and laughing. He joins her and apologizes for keeping her waiting. Claire tells him she and Holden were just sharing life stories. She introduces Holden and Kyle officially and says Holden is her new friend. Kyle looks unimpressed, but is polite.

Holden is about to exit when Nate and Audra walk in. He asks about her surprise. Nate explains he overheard when she called him to come home. Audra tells Holden it went well. Holden leaves and Nate grumbles that the guy can’t get enough of her. They kiss and then spot Kyle and Claire. Audra walks over to warn Kyle that he’s about to get some new competition. He feels she’s trying to bait him. Audra says he’ll just want to get ready. After they walk off, Claire asks what that was about. Kyle has no idea, but thinks is sure it will soon become clear.