Episode 18, originally published 01-Feb-97

Business, As Usual

Phyllis hears a knock at the door and opens it before realizing who it is. "Peter!" she says disappointedly as she tries unsuccessfully to slam the door in his face. In a moment, he has pushed his way inside. "Happy to see me? I've come to collect." Phyllis laughs, "Collect?" "On our deal--where I was to pretend to date Sasha?" Phyllis plays innocent. "You have some proof of this alleged deal?" "I don't have time for this, Phyllis. Ok, we'll forget your role in that--but the price just went up on the other matter." "Other matter?" Phyllis says? "About your child's paternity..." Phyllis turns away and mouths the word "Damn!!" but says aloud "What ARE you talking about, Peter?" "Cute. I'm talking about the DNA tests that prove he's not Danny's." "Oh that myth--you've been talking to Sasha, haven't you?" He nods. "I've been talking to Sasha alright--I talked to her just before she succombed to a mysterious illness I arranged for her. And she told me what I needed to know. Now if you don't want to succomb to the same illness..." A shot rings out.

Hope and Victor sit on the couch at Vic's apartment. "Victor?" Hope begins. "Yes, my former wife?" Hope says, "I'd like some company." "More than just me?" he asks. "No," she replies. "I mean I'd like to own some company. You're acquiring them all the time--surely it must get to be a lot of burden on you. I think you should give me one of them." "But Hope, what do you know of companies? To run a company requires a great deal of experience and--and---business savvy." "Like you have?" "Yes, that's right." "And I don't." "Well, now Hope, you are so sweet and friendly, but when you run a company you must learn sometimes to be firm and even harsh. You would not be good at it; those things are not you." "Never mind then, Victor. Let's talk alimony and parental support for Victor Jr. With any reasonable settlement, I'm sure I can afford several companies myself."

A shot rings out. Perhaps the same one as we heard before--perhaps another. Aren't commercial breaks annoying? This time, though, Peter falls to the floor. Sasha enters and Phyllis sees her right away. "Sasha!! Thank you." "Shut up, Phyllis, I didn't do it for you. Once Peter had the information he wanted, he gave me some injection to make me sick and then left me to die. But I didn't die, and I want what he wanted--money. And LOTS of it. Or I spill the beans to Danny." Phyllis rushes her and the two struggle. Finally, there is another shot and Sasha falls dead. Phyllis is left holding a gun with two dead bodies on her floor. Joanie enters. "Little Danny's having trouble sleeping--did I hear--" She stops as she sees the mess of bodies on the floor. Phyllis nods. "Joanie, it--it was self-defense." Joanie looks skeptical. "But weren't these your friends? How could it be self-defense?" "They WERE, Joanie. But they--I mean,--oh, Joanie, just help me clean up this mess will you?" "Ok, Mrs. Romalatti, but the police AREN'T going to like it. If you don't tell a pretty good story, I'm afraid you may get sent away for a while..."

Victor is still with Hope. He seems to realize that he is about to lose badly in his argument with Hope but still tries to finesse the situation. "Perhaps I have been too hasty on this matter of giving you a company. You say you would be content with just one?" She nods, and says, "Jabot." "Well, now, I could never give up Jabot--it has come to be so..." She cuts him off: "It's Jabot, or we talk alimony." "You're not going to let this go, are you? Ahright, you can have Jabot." Victor then turns toward the window and mutters, "Damn you, Jack Abbot." Hope says, "Victor, I heard that. Jack has nothing to do with this." "Exactly," Victor explains. "Not only does the man intervene where he should not, but he fails to intervene where he should!" Victor starts to look around the room, "So is lunch ready or what?" Hope sighs. "Victor, I'm a corporate executive, not a servant girl. I don't have time to always be making you lunch." Victor mutters, "Damn you, Jack Abbot..."

Cricket sits in the living room with her home pregnancy test. "Having trouble reading the results?" Paul says as he enters the room. Cricket says, "Nope... the results are simple to read: Y if you have a young on the way; R if you've just been feeling restless." Paul nods. "What could be simpler?" They wait for the readout to come on. Cricket looks suddenly puzzled "It says `Days'. What could that mean? It's only supposed to say Y&R." Paul is equally baffled. "I don't know. Sounds like someone at the factory got distracted somehow and put the wrong letters in. I'll check it out." "Ok, Paul, but we need to get this resolved--I really am getting nervous that I'm pregnant. And it will be bad if I am--your mom will be so disappointed that the designer diaphragm she knitted me for Christmas was too loose a weave and didn't work..."

Victor enters his office slamming the door behind him. Jack walks in. Victor asks, "What do you want, Jack?" Jack comes straight to the point. "I've come to talk about the Dennison deal Victor. Have you gotten used to the idea yet?" "No, Jack Abbot, I have NOT. I have not gotten used to this deal. I will NEVER be used to this deal. You will get us out of this deal, or you will no longer work for Jabot. Do you understand? I will eject you from this company and I will get my lawyers together and we will have your hide strung up. I don't care what it takes, you get us out. Ya got that?" Victor storms out, leaving Jack alone in his office. Jill rushes in. "Is it bad?" Jack nods, then says: "Bad. Yes. Quick--guard the door, Victor's left himself connected to his computer. Maybe if I..." He starts typing, pulling up spreadsheets and other programs. "Hurry up," Jill says, "He's talking to someone down the hall but I think he's almost done." "I'm going as fast as I can," Jack says. "It's these damned 286 computers Newman Enterprises uses... you'd think the Black Knight would spring for new hardware at least for his own computer.... Ah, there. It's done." Jill says, "What's done?" Jack smiles. "Just wiring myself a loan, Jill. 5 million dollars--loaned by the Great Victor Newman to an undisclosed party for the purpose of buying Dennison's company. With all his money, he'll never notice. And I'm sure one day we can pay it back--with interest even."

It's the hospital. "Any messages for me?" Olivia asks the candystriper behind the desk. "And you are...?" "Dr. Olivia Hastings." "Are you new? I've never seen you around here." "I'm NOT new. I'm just busy, ok?" "Ok, ok... sorry, Dr. Hastings. Uh, you got an urgent message about--oh, never mind, he died three days ago. Oh, and here's anoth--nope, don't worry about that either. Nope, no messages." "Great," says Olivia, "I was really worried there'd be lots of activity with my being out so much and all." She starts to walk away but sees Neil walking by. "I'm over here, Neil," she says. "Oh, hi," he replies. "I wasn't really looking for you, though." She looks surprised. "You have some other business here?" "I just came by to see if I'd contracted HIV, the virus that causes Aids." "You what!?" she shrieks. "You were in contact with someone who might have aids and you knowingly put me at risk??" "Calm down, Liv. I didn't do any such thing. You're the person who might have Aids. I'm just making sure I didn't put my wife at risk." She breathes a sigh of relief. "Oh, ok. Boy, you really had me worried there for a second. Well, I'm apparently down a couple of patients but I'm sure the ones I have left would appreciate a visit, so I have to be going. See you later, Neil..."

"We're out of the deal," Jack reports to Victor. "That was fast," Victor says. "Well, it's like I told you--lots of people were waiting to snap it up. So it's all undone and we're no longer in line to be fired." Victor looks sad. "Well, that's good news for you, I guess," he says. "That'll teach you that NO ONE makes major decisions around here without my approval." Jack chuckles. "One other thing, Vic old boy," Jack says, "I quit." Victor is struck by Deja Vu as the echo of his son doing this same thing rings in his mind. "You WHAT?" "I quit," Jack repeats. "I'm going to work for the new Dennison company. I'll send you a postcard." He leaves, and Victor is left all alone. "Damn you, Jack Abbot. Now who will I find to blame problems on?"

That's all for this episode. Hope you learned something. Don't miss Episode 19!
If you missed any older episodes, see the index.

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