At Brash & Sassy, Victoria found Billy working in the dark, and she asked if he was okay. He claimed that he was good, but she knew he was worried about Ashley. He opted to focus on work, and he showed Victoria the new packaging for the Dare face mask. Victoria marveled that he'd incorporated everything she'd had in mind, and he pointed out that he should know what she wanted by then. She informed him that she'd decided to appear on The Hilary Hour to promote the new product line, and he incredulously asked if she trusted Hilary after everything Hilary had pulled.

Victoria crowed that Hilary had begged her to do the show on Victoria's terms, and she was sure that she'd be calling all the shots. Lily walked in and warned Victoria not to let her guard down, since Hilary would do anything to get better ratings. Lily reported that she'd gotten a quote from their top manufacturer for a rush job, but she didn't think it was the best use of their resources. Victoria insisted that they had a strategy in place, but Billy thought Lily had a point.

Victoria sternly reminded Billy of their game plan, and Lily stepped out. Victoria wondered why Billy was rethinking things, and she guessed that he was feeling guilty because he'd gone on Phyllis' computer. He swore that it had nothing to do with his relationship with Phyllis, and he thought they should take time to find a cheaper manufacturer. Victoria asserted that they had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to dominate their biggest competitor, so they weren't going to play it safe.

At the Athletic Club, Phyllis commended Hilary for getting herself off the most hated list, and Hilary explained that Victoria hadn't been an easy sell and that personal drama was off the table. Phyllis imagined that Hilary was scared to push it, but Hilary asserted that she'd proven that she wasn't afraid of anyone in town, including Victoria. Phyllis anticipated that Hilary's loyal fan base would see past the chitchat and know that Hilary hadn't sold out, while Victoria would never notice that Hilary was using her. Phyllis exclaimed that it was brilliant, and she headed out.

Across the room, Cane approached Juliet and pointed out that they could have met in her room so she could take it easy. She assured him that she'd been following doctor's orders, and he said he'd been concerned about the complications. He inquired how her checkup had gone, and she crumpled into tears. Cane panicked that Juliet's condition had worsened, but she insisted that she was fine, and she apologized for making him worry. She was touched that he really cared that much, and she bemoaned that her hormones were all over the place.

Juliet was embarrassed for blubbering like a total idiot, and she lamented that the cliché about pregnant women glowing was a crock. Cane remarked that while she was blubbering, she was also glowing. He added that he was glad she was okay, and she inquired about his trip. Cane informed her that he'd taken over as acting CEO of Chancellor Industries, and Juliet squealed in delight and hugged him. She quickly drew back and apologetically blamed her hormones again.

Cane griped that not a lot of people had shown enthusiasm for his new job, but Juliet gushed that Jill had trusted him because he was smart and talented. Juliet speculated that Jill would keep traveling when she saw how well he was doing, and he admitted that he loved being back in the thick of things. Juliet mused that she loved hearing him talk that way, and he replied that he hadn't been that optimistic in a long time. Juliet imagined that Victoria would regret firing him, and she noted that Brash & Sassy hadn't filled either of their positions. Cane divulged that Victoria had given Juliet's job to Lily, and Juliet grumbled, "Perfect."

Later, Victoria overheard Cane mention Ben Hochman's name as he ended a call. She huffed that she'd been stunned to hear that Jill had put Cane in charge, and she hoped that he wasn't planning on going after Brash & Sassy. She thought it hadn't been a coincidence that Hochman had been the first person Cane had called, since Hochman had set his sights on her company before she'd shot him down. Cane pointed out that she'd only done so after having sex with Hochman, and it was obvious that what she'd done hadn't been good enough. She threw her drink in his face.

Victoria snarled that Cane had some nerve and no class, but Cane retorted that she'd fired him for having sex with a coworker when she'd slept with a business partner. They continued to verbally spar, and Juliet intervened and blasted Victoria for using her influence and family name to blackball people out of employment. Victoria barked that she felt sorry for their child for having the two of them as parents, and she stalked off. Juliet grimaced as she made her way to a chair, and Cane asked if she was okay.

Cane wanted to go to the hospital, but Juliet insisted that she was fine as long as Victoria stayed out of her sight. Juliet requested that Cane help her up to her room, and she promised to go straight to bed. He said no, and she prepared to make it upstairs on her own. He refused to let her stay in a hotel in her condition, and he invited her to live with him.

At the gym, Hilary nearly hit Lily with a hand weight, and Lily snapped to be careful. Hilary huffed that Lily knew what she was like when she focused on something, and she crowed that her commercial had aired again. Lily wondered if Hilary had paid for the ad space herself, and Hilary sarcastically suggested that Lily take a stab at standup before settling for a job at Brash & Sassy. Lily scoffed at the idea that spying on people took talent, and she asserted that she was proud of her work and the fact that Victoria wanted her to be more involved.

Lily mentioned that she knew Victoria was going to be on Hilary's show, and she ordered Hilary to stick to her word about agreeing to make Victoria look good in the interview. Hilary questioned who she'd answer to if she didn't play nice. Lily conceded that she'd love to give Hilary the beatdown she deserved, but Lily was an adult and a mother, so it was the least of her worries. Lily imagined that Hilary was thinking about ways to stick it to Victoria. Lily cautioned that Victoria wasn't someone Hilary wanted to piss off, and she urged Hilary to just ask Cane.

Hilary acknowledged that Victoria had made it tough for Cane to find a job, but she thought Lily hadn't seemed sympathetic. Lily swore that she wanted nothing but the best for Cane. Hilary announced that she was seeing Jordan again, so Lily should cancel any plans she had of using him as a rebound. Lily countered that she'd told Jordan that she didn't want a relationship, so it looked like Hilary was the backup plan.

Across the gym, Noah teased that Tessa might feel something if she added some weight to the machine, and she defended that she was practicing her form. He cooed that there was nothing wrong with her form, and they kissed. Tessa was floored when she heard her song playing on the sound system, and she wondered if he'd had the gym play it. Devon appeared and announced that the club was using his streaming service and that her EP had just launched. Tessa excitedly threw herself into Noah's arms. Meanwhile, Mariah forlornly listened to the song while she worked at GC Buzz.

Tessa thanked Devon with a hug, but he gave her sole credit. Noah declared that he had no problem repeating how much he believed in her talent, and she praised him for doing so even when she hadn't believed in herself. Tessa gushed that she was grateful for the opportunities she'd had and also for knowing her sister was safe and for having a guy like Noah in her life. Noah invited Devon and Mariah over to his place to celebrate, but Tessa became uncomfortable. Noah figured that she was still settling in, so he proposed going to the Underground instead. Devon was sure that Mariah would be excited to celebrate the great things happening in Tessa's life.

Devon stopped by to pick up Mariah, who declared that she was ready for their trip that night. He mentioned that there had been a slight change, since they'd been invited to the Underground that night to celebrate the launch of Tessa's new EP. Mariah questioned whether he'd rather eat with them than go to Chicago with her, but he intended to do both. He was surprised that Mariah wasn't more excited, since she had supported Tessa from day one. Devon mentioned that Tessa wanted to celebrate her love life and career, and he imagined that it didn't get any better than having one's best friend and brother get together. Mariah forced a smile and halfheartedly agreed.

At the Underground, Noah recommended a high-end Champagne, but Tessa preferred to indulge in a wine that she and Mariah liked. Noah pulled Tessa onto the dance floor, and Mariah spotted them kissing when she walked in with Devon. Noah called them over, and the men headed to a table. Tessa said she was glad Mariah was there, and Mariah asked why. Mariah quickly covered by wondering why they'd decided to celebrate there instead of at Noah and Tessa's place.

Noah called the women over and joked that they were on a tight schedule because Devon's private jet was double-parked. Noah promised that he and Tessa wouldn't rain on Devon and Mariah's parade like they had in San Francisco, but Mariah swore that having them there had made things interesting. Devon inquired whether Tessa had anywhere she'd recommend visiting in Chicago, but she lamented that the parts of town she'd grown up in weren't exactly vacation hotspots. Noah declared that those days were long over, since her career was taking off. Devon toasted to living the dream.

Mariah ordered some nachos at the bar, and she recognized that it suited Tessa to have the celebration there, since Tessa wasn't the domesticated housewife type. Tessa pointed out that it wasn't like she and Noah lived in suburbia, and she noted that Mariah had told her from the start about what a great guy Noah was and how she shouldn't give up on him. Tessa called Noah sweet, loving, and forgiving, and she thought he deserved all the happiness in the world. Mariah started to say that she couldn't help but wonder something, but she turned the topic to the nachos instead.

Devon observed that Noah and Tessa looked solid, and he thought it had been a good idea for them to move in together. Noah inquired about Devon and Mariah, and Devon called her an exceptional woman, but he didn't expect cohabitation to happen anytime soon. Noah referred to Mariah's independent streak, but he said it had felt good to get past his doubts and take the plunge. The women returned to the table, and Devon kissed Mariah to let her know how crazy he was about her. She glanced uncomfortably at Tessa.

Devon finished a call and announced that they had another reason to celebrate, since Tessa had been booked at fantastic venues in Madison and Milwaukee, but Tessa's expression darkened when he mentioned that he'd arranged for Irv West to be her official promoter. Tessa insisted that it was okay if Devon trusted Irv, and Noah requested Devon's help to grab another round of drinks. After the men stepped away, Tessa guessed that Mariah had wanted to ask earlier if living with Noah was what Tessa wanted, and Tessa swore that it was. Tessa explained that she hadn't thought it was possible for someone to treat her that well, but Mariah pointed out that Noah wasn't the only person who would.

Tessa continued that until she'd met Noah, every guy she'd known had treated her like garbage or tried to hustle her. Mariah wondered if it was why Tessa sometimes acted like she didn't want to be with a man, but Tessa replied that it wasn't the reason. Mariah admitted that she was confused, and she asked what was going on between her and Tessa. Tessa begged Mariah to believe that she hadn't meant to send mixed signals, but it was possible to have real feelings for someone and have the timing be off. Tessa stood by her commitment to Noah because he made her feel like everything she'd ever wanted in life could happen.

Tessa contended that Noah made her feel happy and loved, and she hadn't felt those things very much in her life. Mariah pointed out that Noah wasn't doing Tessa a favor and that Tessa deserved to be loved. Tessa whimpered that she didn't want to mess things up or hurt him, and Mariah realized that Tessa was sparing him the pain that Mariah was feeling. Tessa urged Mariah to focus on Devon, and Mariah agreed to try. The men returned, and Devon said he and Mariah had to get going. Tessa hugged Mariah tightly and whispered to her to be happy and to forget everything else.

At the Abbott mansion, Michael told Jack that Graham hadn't broken a single law, but Jack argued that Dina had just suffered a stroke and had still been drugged up when Graham had stuck her on a plane. Jack ordered Michael to find a solution -- or Jack would. Michael warned Jack against taking matters into his own hands, but Jack fretted that Graham was on the verge of inheriting most of Dina's estate. Michael referred to the revised paperwork he'd drawn up, but Jack reported that it had never been signed because Graham had slipped Dina out of the hospital before Jack had talked to her.

Jack ranted that Dina was alone with a sociopath who considered her to be more valuable dead than alive, and all Graham had to do was withhold treatment. Michael countered that Graham knew Dina's family was onto him, so he knew he couldn't get away with taking any extreme measures. Michael revealed that he was working on revoking Graham's power of attorney, and he swore that Dina would be home before Jack knew it. Michael ran into Phyllis on his way out, and he suggested that she distract Jack with work matters.

After Michael left, Phyllis announced that she knew of something that could help in their battle against Brash & Sassy. Phyllis informed a distracted Jack that Victoria had agreed to do an interview on The Hilary Hour to promote new products, but Jack wasn't sure how they could use it to their advantage. Phyllis reminded him that Brash & Sassy was pouring all their money into their men's line because they thought Jabot was scaling back, but it wasn't true. Jack admitted that he couldn't focus on business when his family was in chaos, but he was confident that Phyllis had a handle on it.

Jack instructed Phyllis to run with it, and he offered her access to all the resources she needed. She was stunned that he trusted her, and he clarified that he trusted that she wanted to hit back after Billy had taken advantage of her. Jack encouraged Phyllis to go with whatever she was cooking up in her "creative cauldron of a brain." She received a text message from Billy, who wanted to see her. Jack reminded her that "they [couldn't] see it coming."

Later, Jack was skeptical when Michael returned to retrieve a pen, and Michael rambled about how it was a gift from Lauren. Jack figured that it had been an excuse to check on him, and Michael confirmed that he was worried about Jack, who insisted that he just needed sleep. Jack answered a call and glumly reported that his private investigator hadn't had any luck getting the flight plan for Dina's plane, so he had no idea where Graham had taken her.

Phyllis sauntered into Top of the Tower, wearing a sexy dress with a high slit. She approached Billy at a table, snatched away his phone, and sat down. He imagined that every man there wanted to be where he was, and he wondered how he'd gotten so lucky. She purred that he'd either been very, very good or very, very bad. Billy confessed that his intentions weren't honorable after seeing the way Phyllis looked, and she insinuated that being bad could be fun as she squeezed his knee under the table.

Billy remarked that there was nothing hotter than danger, and Phyllis added that the possibility of being caught was a turn-on. She huskily stated that it was part of who they were and who they always had been, and he said he knew what she was doing. Billy pulled Phyllis to her feet to slow dance. He explained that Ashley's dinner had gotten him thinking about a lot of stuff that was hard to talk about, like him being an outsider in his own family.

Phyllis assured Billy that they could confide things to one another that they couldn't tell everyone else, and he recognized that she was trying to get him to forget about his family drama and remind him of what they had. He loved her for it, but he didn't want the games to go too far because he didn't want to risk losing everything they had. They kissed.

Meanwhile, Victoria drove in her car, but there was a sudden flash and an impact. She gasped for breath as she grappled with what had just happened.

• Paul tells Sharon and Scott that he has an update on Alice.

• Phyllis tells Jack that the plans have changed, so they need to move immediately.

• Lily discovers that Cane and Juliet are living together.