In Eric’s office, Carter and Ridge arrived, and Steffy invited them to join the happy moment between her, Finn, and Taylor. Ridge was grave, saying they needed to discuss Hope’s line. Taylor offered to leave with Finn, but Ridge and Steffy said they could stay.
Carter handed out some early projections for HFTF and said they weren’t good at all. Ridge stated that they had to make a decision about Hope’s line, and they needed to call Hope in for it. Taylor asked if Ridge was thinking of ending the line. Steffy’s brow rose.
In the design office, Brooke was shocked that Hope still thought she could appreciate Finn better than Steffy. Hope claimed to be making observations. Brooke said it was a dangerous thing to do about someone else’s marriage, and Hope couldn’t fall in love with another woman’s husband. Hope shook her head, and Brooke ordered Hope to put Finn out of her mind.
Hope said that Steffy had already lectured her, and Brooke had made herself clear. Brooke insisted upon saying it until it sank in for Hope that she couldn’t just go after an inappropriate man. Hope felt that they’d talked it to death. Brooke just didn’t want Hope to make a mistake and be like her mother.
Hope tried to say it wasn’t like that. Brooke stated that she didn’t want Hope to do the things Brooke had done. “Well, maybe not some of the things,” Hope teased. Hope mentioned following her heart, but Brooke said it would be disastrous because Finn had a family.
Hope was getting tired of the vindictive Steffy, who enjoyed telling people how to live their lives. Hope had reached her breaking point about it. Brooke asked what that meant. Hope received a message and said Steffy had summoned her across the hall.
When Brooke and Hope arrived in Eric's office, Hope saw Finn and Taylor and wondered if it was a business meeting. Brooke didn’t recall the company having a line of scrubs or straitjackets. Steffy disclosed that she’d allowed Finn and Taylor to stay—unless Brooke had a problem with it. Brooke said she had no idea yet—the same way she’d had no idea about the meeting.
Hope figured that the meeting was about Brooke’s Bedroom’s success, but Steffy replied that it wasn’t. Hope guessed it was time to talk about axing HFTF again. Carter handed her a packet and said she needed to be aware of some things. Hope acknowledged that the numbers weren’t where they needed to be. Ridge claimed they weren’t even close; she’d been given a lot of time to turn it around, but nothing had changed.
Hope contended that she was looking at early numbers, and a change could be around the corner. Ridge asked when the last time was that “this one” was wrong about projections. Ridge added that they couldn’t run a business on wishful thinking. Hope asked to have until the end of the quarter, but in their silence, she figured that it was the end of the line. “Are you cutting HFTF?” Hope asked.
At Il Giardino, Liam and Will assumed the place was safe after their fake sister had been arrested. Liam wondered how Will was doing amid all “this dad stuff.” Will admitted he hadn’t been thrilled about Bill’s family additions. Liam had been happy for Bill, but Liam figured Luna had been a good actress. Will was happy Luna was behind bars and that Bill was safe.
The topic of Will and Liam's conversation turned to Katie’s senses piquing about the situation, even though in the end, it had been Luna, not Poppy. Will said Katie was still in tune with their father. Liam suspected Will saw something still there between Katie and Bill. Will replied that anything was possible. Liam mentioned that Bill had put Katie through difficult times in the past, and Liam sensed that Will was worried that Bill would hurt Katie again.
Will said he wasn’t a kid and didn’t need his parents to be together. He’d only wanted Katie to be happy. If Bill could do it and treat Katie right, Will was okay with it.
At Bill’s house, Bill arrived, surprised that Katie was still there. Katie said she hadn’t meant to stay that long, and if he’d arrived earlier, he would have also encountered Poppy, who'd been collecting her things. Katie guessed Poppy would keep staying with her sister. Bill didn’t know. He said he and Poppy hadn’t discussed the future because she was still processing things.
Katie figured Bill needed to process it, too. He asked if Katie had played nice. “Don’t I always?” she replied. Katie admitted that she’d apologized to Poppy.
Later, Bill couldn’t believe that he’d been so excited about a daughter that he’d just moved Luna in there. Katie said Bill had had every right to be excited, and he’d had proof. She said she’d tried to push her worries away. Glad she hadn’t, he stated that her concern had helped the truth come out, and it meant a lot to him that she’d still care. Katie said that they had bad memories, but holding onto the pain and resentment didn’t do them any good.
Bill said Katie had once again proven that she was the wisest person he knew. He told her that she was a Forrester dynamo, a wonderful mother, and the only one who got the real him. He wanted her to answer a question honestly. “Are you happy?” he asked.
Bill admitted that he thought of Katie a lot. She’d been the smile or frown at the end of his day. Then he’d come home, and she wasn’t there. He wondered if that was what she wanted, and if she was happy. It was important to him that she was. Katie claimed she was happy, especially with Will home. Bill asked if she was happy about them spending time together as a family. He said they weren’t married, but they were a beautiful little family.
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