Billy Belts Adam — and Jack Prepares For the Battle of His Life
Adam strolls into the Club and starts needling Billy, sitting at the bar, about Abbott Communications. They trade barbs and Adam tells Billy that Sally deserves a lot better than dragging his dead weight around. Billy stands up to leave and warns Adam that Abb Comm will wipe Newman Media off the map. Adam snarks that Cane pulled the plug on Billy’s launch and Jack pulled his financing.
When Adam suggests Jill has more faith in Cane than she does in him, Billy warns the Newman to leave his mother out of this. On a roll, Adam keeps harping as he rises from his chair. Getting nose to nose, Adam mocks Billy for being the less successful Abbott brother. Chelsea walks in as Billy punches Adam in the face.
Chelsea chastises them both, and Billy leaves as Adam explains he struck a nerve.
Why Is Cane At Jack’s House?
At the Abbott house, Jack and Diane are surprised by a visit from Cane, who says he came to warn them about a potential serious threat to Jabot. He explains that his AI program was stolen and his gut tells him it was Victor. Jabot will most likely be the target.
Diane mocks Cane, who gets that it looks bad. Jack bellows about Victor getting his hands on the program and asks Ashby how to stop the onslaught. Cane isn’t in possession of the AI, so he can’t engage the kill switch. Issuing yet another vague threat, Jack warns if Jabot goes down because of Cane, he’ll see to it that he goes down with it. Diane suddenly decides the hacker could be Phyllis. Jack muses that she could have been playing Cane all along.
The Odd Couple
Victor opens the ranch door to Phyllis and declares that he’ll give her ten minutes. They banter as she teases an offer he can’t refuse. Cutting to the chase, she announces, “I’ve stolen Cane’s AI program.” Is he interested in making a deal?
Victor’s suitably impressed by Phyllis’ claim, but they don’t trust each other. Phyllis shows him proof that she has the program. “I’m in the driver’s seat,” she says with a smug smile. When she pulls up a screen that says, “Target: Jabot Cosmetics,” the Mustache really perks up. Phyllis explains she convinced Cane that he stole the AI. Victor asks why she turned on Ashby, but she won’t say. He asks what’s in this for her.
After Phyllis has told Victor what she wants offscreen, he tells her she’s everything everyone says she is. She simply asks if they have a deal. Victor replies, “Yeah, we do.”
Back at the Club
Cane orders a scotch at the Athletic Club and gets an update from his team that Phyllis went to the Newman Ranch. Before long, Phyllis sidles up and Cane asks point blank if she struck a deal with Victor. Phyllis snarks about Ashby having her followed and pouts that she feels hurt. Cane warns it’s going to be more hurtful if she handed over his program to Victor. Phyllis claims she was just sussing him out. Cane isn’t buying it, but Phyllis insists the Mustache is the culprit and that he’ll go after Arabesque.
Nearby, Chelsea tells Adam that Billy was in the wrong by hitting him. Adam, stunningly, admits he had it coming… he took more than a few potshots. Surprising Chelsea yet again, Adam confesses that he feels sorry for Billy. She, of course, marvels over the strides her man has made. Suddenly, Adam’s summoned to the ranch by Victor.
How Will Jack Fight Back?
At the Abbott mansion, Diane and Jack worry about Victor’s impending attack on Jabot. Jack grimaces; his dad entrusted him to protect the company… and he’s put it at risk. He fears this is karma for wanting to use the program to go after the Black Knight. Diane asks, “What do we do now?” Jack warns they have to beef up their cybersecurity and take vital things offline. Jack texts Kyle to come back ASAP and then calls Billy over to the house, explaining to Diane that they have to deal with Phyllis.
Episode-Ending Shocker
Adam and Chelsea arrive at the ranch, where Victor establishes that Nikki and Victoria are on the way to L.A. The Mustache wants to talk to Adam alone, but he wants Chelsea glued to his side. Victor explains he had a visit from Phyllis, who offered to hand over Cane’s AI program. He thought it might be a trap, but she offered it saying it would be a favor to her. He accepted. Victor explains that Phyllis doesn’t want to get her hands dirty; she’d rather he do it… and he’s happy to oblige.
Adam asks his dad if they’ll target Cane. Victor says Ashby’s worthless without the software. He explains that Phyllis and Cane think he’ll go after Jabot, but he has no interest… he only wants to crush Jack. Adam asks what Phyllis gets out of this. Victor says she’s handing over the AI on the condition that once he’s wrested control of Jabot from Jack… he’ll hand it over to her.