After seeing her father and Jill kissing, Brittany refused to believe there was nothing going on between them. Frederick assured her she was jumping to conclusions. He explained that he'd helped Jill with some personal matters, and in return, she'd spent a night at the Lodge talking to him about how to work out his problems with Anita. Besides, Jill was a client. Brittany wondered what kind of transaction she was making when she'd been kissing Frederick. When she finally seemed to be on the point of believing him, she asked if he could swear there was nothing more than friendship between them. When Frederick didn't answer quickly enough, she stomped out of his office, sure that her father was lying to her.

After the incident with Brittany, Jill hurried to the boutique, where Raul had just accepted Billy's invitation to be his best man. Raul had also assured Billy and Mac that Brittany's mood had nothing to do with them; she had some family problems she was dealing with. When Jill came in, Raul left. Jill was hoping to speak privately with Billy about Anita's accusations and Brittany's suspicions, but before she could, Billy repeated his invitation to her. If she changed her mind about attending their wedding, she could join them at the Colonnade Room. Shocked by the expensive location, Jill then spied the diamond ring on Mac's finger. When she heard that the wedding was being paid for by Katherine, and the ring had been Brock's father's gift to Katherine, Jill went ballistic, sure that Katherine was only doing all of this to thwart her. She begged Billy and Mackenzie to delay the wedding, but Billy refused. He said that even if they waited ten years, Jill still wouldn't approve of the match. Furthermore, Jill's argument about his family's and Brock's reservations simply meant that family wasn't always right. He and Mac knew what they wanted and were getting married.

At the Lodge, Anita ran into her old friend Deborah Norville. After they made small talk, Anita joined J.T., who said he'd asked to meet with Anita to tell her that he'd been honest with Brittany when she asked what he knew about the Hodges' marital problems. He'd told their daughter about seeing Frederick coming downstairs with Jill. Anita was touched to hear that Brittany had been worried about her mother's reaction. J.T. assured her that her daughter really cared what she was going through. However, that wasn't the only reason he'd asked to meet Anita. He understood why things had happened the way they had, but there could never be a repeat of sex between them. He didn't want to hurt or offend her, but he had a girlfriend whose feelings he had to consider. Anita professed to be touched by his sweetness and scooted over to give him a good-bye kiss.

Across the restaurant, Colleen was excitedly telling Brad that Mac had asked her to be her maid of honor. She believed Mac and Billy were made for each other, and she was going to do everything she could to make their day special. Brad had some reservations, considering John's feelings about the wedding, but he promised Colleen he'd talk to her grandfather and make sure he was okay with Colleen being part of Billy's big day. They then went on to discuss J.T. Brad cautioned his daughter that J.T. was not perfect, and Colleen admitted that he had flaws. When she listed them for Brad, both of them ended up laughing, and Colleen said she'd never been happier. She felt that her relationship with her father was exactly the way she wanted it to be, and she appreciated the efforts he was making to accept J.T. as part of her life. When Brad left their table for a minute, Colleen went to check out the dessert tray. As she turned away, she caught sight of Anita and J.T. kissing. Horrified and nauseated, she ran from the restaurant, asking the waitress to tell her father she'd gone to the car.

Isabella pleaded with Mary to move with them to California. Mary kept trying to figure out what Isabella's angle was. Just when she seemed to be convinced of Isabella's sincerity, Lynne arrived. She quickly made Mary aware of the conspiracy between Isabella and Michael to break up Paul's marriage to Christine. When Mary demanded to know if it was all true, Isabella reminded her that she'd said she did things she regretted. However, Paul's marriage to Christine was on the rocks, as Mary well knew, and Isabella had genuinely fallen in love with Paul and wanted to make him happy. She had everything she'd ever dreamed of with Paul and their son. Mary furiously slapped Isabella, and as Lynne hurried Paul's mother out the door, Isabella shouted that she still had Ricky, and it wasn't over, not by a long shot.

On the beach in California, Christine warned Paul not to romanticize her sudden appearance. She just felt that he was entitled to know the truth about what Michael and Isabella had done. When Paul expressed his disgust at Michael, Christine reminded him that Michael hadn't done it alone. Isabella had been part of it, too. After Paul reminisced about Isabella's story of her abusive ex-husband, he told Christine what a fool he felt like. He'd thrown everything away for a lie. Christine said their marriage hadn't been exactly idyllic back then. Paul said it could have been, if they'd ever been given a chance. As the two stared into each other's eyes, Christine made the first move, walking into Paul's arms and telling him how much she needed him. When Paul asked if she was sure, Christine said yes. They fell to the sand and began making love as the waves crashed around them.

Larry paid Jill a visit at her office. He had a present for her. He wondered why she was so down in the dumps and she explained about seeing Billy and letting loose about the wedding, something she hadn't intended to do. She felt bad that she didn't get to tell him what she had come to tell him. When Larry asked what that might be, she changed the subject. She was excited about seeing Charlotte the day before and told of her giving up the flask. Larry mentioned how very hard it was for alcoholics to give up drinking, and Jill kept her chin up without lashing out at him. He encouraged her to take it slow, no one wants to be changed overnight by anyone. Then he told her to open the gift. She did so gladly but mentioned that it wasn't her birthday or anything. Larry told her that she had a new birthday -- the day she met her birth mother. It was a photo album for her to fill with pictures of them together. Jill was quite touched by his thoughtfulness.

At the Abbott home, Brad, John, Jack, and Phyllis enjoyed a lighthearted breakfast. Phyllis was in an especially playful mood and teased Jack about serving them like a maiden of old. John was somber and told about Jill's situation and his questions about Charlotte when asked. The rest of them didn't want to give Jill too much slack, after all, she asked for most of the trouble that she experienced in life. John was considering where to go from there, and told them that he was going to look into the search agency that had been used.

Before Jack and Brad left for the office, Phyllis asked to speak with them. Soon Nikki arrived unexpectedly, that is, for everyone but Phyllis. She had invited her to discuss something important. Phyllis started out by telling them what a wonderful company Jabot was. Her message was meant to pass on the warning that Victor had communicated to her during their meeting. He planned to outspend Jabot into the ground on this new line of products, and wouldn't stop until they were smashed into tiny pieces. She said that Victor had deep pockets that reach to China and they had to admit that their financial situation was tenuous at best. Jack and Brad told her to watch what she was saying, but Nikki kept quiet. Phyllis asked her what she was thinking, was she worried? Phyllis said that she would be if she had $30 million on the line in this situation. . .

Colleen waited for Ashley at the coffeehouse. She thought back about what she had seen and the tears flowed once again. Ashley arrived and Colleen asked if she would call the school and provide an excuse for her. Ashley wanted to know more details first. All Colleen would divulge was that J.T. had done something terribly bad, something that Colleen could have never imagined that he would do. Ashley guessed that J.T. must have been with a college girl that she didn't know, but that wasn't the answer. Colleen couldn't bring herself to say the words, and Ashley understood. She didn't push and encouraged Colleen to try not to be alone too much during this rough time. Since she didn't want to share this with her friends, Ashley offered to do girl things with her, like shopping and going to movies. Colleen accepted her offer and asked to stay behind when Ashley had to leave for work.

At the boutique, Lauren found J.T. daydreaming about something while he unpacked the lingerie. She hoped that he wasn't imagining Anita Hodges wearing it, and he admitted that it was very difficult waiting to be intimate with Colleen. He told of how he ended the relationship with Anita, and how she planted a big kiss on him at the Lodge. He was upset about that -- what if someone had seen them? Lauren was encouraging and supportive, and he appreciated it. She told him that making love with someone that you were truly in love with was the ultimate wonderful experience in life. She said that he should not look at it as torture, but as sweet anticipation of what will be someday. He liked her poetry, then his phone rang. It was Colleen wanting to meet him at their place in an hour. She hung up on him, and he was surprised, but excited to see her again. He wanted to bring her a present, something new that she hadn't seen there in the store before. Lauren knew just what to give her -- she would have it sent over from the other location. He excused himself and she gladly let him go. . .

Victoria was looking for her brother at Crimson Lights. Cody told her that Nick had been in early, but left again. She tried to get information out of him about what her brother had said about Sharon coming back, etc. Cody wouldn't say much, but he couldn't keep his eyes off of her. He complimented her on her low cut dress, telling her that she was driving him crazy. He mentioned that Nick had told him that she worked too much, and wormed his way into a date for dinner and a movie the next evening. Victoria was intrigued with the prospect.

At Newman, Victor had asked Nicholas to pay him a visit. His first objective was to find out about Sharon coming back to town, and Nick hadn't much to say about that. He accused his father of snooping into his business and Victor dropped the subject. Then Victor let the real bomb drop. He introduced the idea of Nicholas learning the ropes of managing the entire company so that he could take over the reigns sooner than later. Nick asked about Victoria feeling left out -- Victor said that she had the new Satine line to worry about and would excel in that area. Victor wanted to offer his son something that would take his mind off his troubles. Nicholas let him tell his story, then turned him down point blank. He didn't want Victor to be his mentor, he wasn't the kind of person that he looked up to in that way. Victor asked if he would reconsider and Nick refused again, leaving the room. . .

At the Abbott house, Brad was annoyed, Jack was confused, and Nikki was silent as Phyllis explained why she'd wanted to see them all. Victor's pockets were deep. He could afford to take a loss on Satine for ten years if necessary to run Jabot into the ground. Phyllis didn't want that to happen to Jack's father's company, nor could she understand why Brad and Nikki were willing to lose the $35 million each of them had invested in Jabot. Brad was certain Phyllis was there as Victor's mouthpiece, and he told Jack how unprofessional and unacceptable this entire thing was. Jack believed that Phyllis was acting out of an honest concern for the welfare of Jabot. But it was Nikki who finally demanded to be heard. She said that she believed Phyllis had not been coerced by Victor to approach them with her warnings of doom. However, Victor had skillfully manipulated her into trying to scare them all into arguing with each other and backing down. She understood how Victor worked. None of Jabot's major players intended to be bullied into giving up, and she had faith that they would weather this crisis as they had so many in the past. Phyllis needed to stay out of it. Phyllis stomped out, and after Brad and Nikki left, Jack stared furiously into space.

Victoria couldn't understand why Nick hadn't sent Sharon packing. Nick said his major concern was his children. Sharon wanted to see them, and sooner or later, they would have to know she was back in town. Victoria didn't believe that it would be in Cassie's best interest to see Sharon, but Nick said that the doctor said if Cassie wanted to see her, Nick should not stop it. Nick then told his sister about his conversation with his father, telling her Victor's plan to mentor Nick until he was ready to take over Newman Enterprises. Victoria was baffled and obviously annoyed, as it had always been understood that she and Nicholas would one day run the company as a team. How had her father expected her to react to this news? Nick told her that Victor said he'd deal with Victoria. When Victoria became even angrier, Nick told her to relax. He'd turned their father down. He then left her alone at Crimson Lights to go check on Cassie.

At Newman Enterprises, Victor was working when he was joined by Sharon. Although things were a bit awkward between them at first, as Sharon grew more and more apologetic, Victor assured her that he was glad she was home. He didn't intend to try to intercede for her with Nick again; he'd learned his lesson about getting in the middle. But he still didn't think she should give up hope. Sharon thanked him again for being the only one of the Newmans who'd ever shown her any compassion and support. Although there was no excuse for having abandoned her children, and it had been self-serving, she did love them very much and wanted to see them. Nick, however, was not willing to let her. Victor had to leave for a few minutes for a business appointment and invited Sharon to wait. Sharon said she would; she sat in his chair and picked up a picture of her, Nick, and the kids in happier times. As she fought back tears, Nikki burst into the office. The two exchanged a look of shock when they saw each other.

John told Frederick that he hadn't wanted to see him about business, but about Jill's birth mother. He knew Frederick had helped her locate Charlotte Ramsey, but John was nearly positive that the woman was a fraud. He'd had every kind of record checked, and there was no evidence of another Ramsey family in Genoa City at that time, especially with a daughter named Charlotte. Furthermore, information he'd gotten from a friend indicated that Charlotte would not have been able to have another child after a botched abortion. Frederick called his contact, Paula, and found out that the birth certificate did indeed list Charlotte as the mother. He worried about how Jill was going to react to all of this, because she'd already bonded with Charlotte. John said he intended to get to the bottom of it before talking to Jill, but first he was going to call Charlotte's bluff.

At the boutique, Lauren was surprised to find that the rack of dresses Jill had asked to see weren't for Liz Foster. After hearing the story of Jill's adoption, she was happy to help her find suitable clothes for Charlotte. But when Katherine came in and overheard what they were doing, she got upset. She thought it was deplorable that Jill could so quickly write off a giving, wonderful woman like Liz for a drunk like Charlotte. When Jill's argument with Katherine escalated, Lauren managed to get Katherine to leave the boutique.

Meanwhile, John caught up with Charlotte in Jill's office, where she was pretending to give orders to a secretary while waiting for her daughter's arrival. John didn't mince words. He was sure that Charlotte had lied to Jill. He didn't think Charlotte was her birth mother. He hoped she could prove him wrong, but she'd better do it quickly.

Brittany was cheered up when Raul called and suggested they go out that night and do something fun to take her mind off her parents' marital problems. She said she intended to see her mother that afternoon. After they hung up, J.T. arrived. He wanted to apologize for being the one to tell her about her father and Jill. Brittany was more concerned about her mother. She felt sure J.T. wasn't telling her everything. She couldn't believe that her mother hadn't made a scene at the Lodge when she saw Jill and Frederick together. J.T. said Anita was too blown away; he'd had to help her to her room. Brittany wanted to know what happened then. Had her mother lost it? J.T. said she was in shock. When he tried to leave, Brittany again pushed him for answers. J.T. reacted angrily, saying that he'd just wanted to help. It wasn't fair for Brittany to harangue him for answers he didn't have. In any case, he had to leave. He was picking up a gift for Colleen at the boutique and then meeting her.

At Crimson Lights, Raul was a little concerned about Colleen missing school and how she seemed to be feeling unwell. Colleen said she had permission not to be at school, but she wasn't really sick. Raul tried to get her help making plans for a party for Billy and Mac before their wedding. But when he mentioned having J.T. as one of the guests, Colleen said maybe a party wasn't such a good idea. They should think of something else. Raul finally realized there was something wrong between Colleen and J.T. After he questioned her, Colleen made him promise not to tell Billy. She then admitted that she'd seen J.T. kissing Anita Hodges. And it definitely had not been a friendly good-bye kiss, but something more passionate. At first Raul was concerned about Colleen, then he realized what this news might do to Brittany. He left quickly, hoping to catch her before she went to see her mother.