A genius move or the end of an affair?

Did anyone really think that Genevieve's interest in a cosmetics company was merely a passing fancy? The Young and the Restless has always handled corporate shenanigans well -- and they've continued that streak. But are the other stories as successful? Find out in this week's Two Scoops.

If there's one thing you can count on with The Young and the Restless, it's corporate shenanigans. Just when you think you've figured out what's happening business-wise, the powers that be throw in a curve ball that you didn't see coming. In the case of this Beauty of Nature maneuver, you sort of expected that Genevieve was a tad too interested in what was happening to remain on the outside looking in. After all, she's already shown her business acumen with her marketing work at Jabot, so why wouldn't she be compelled to seize the prize cosmetics company that all the fellas are fighting over? It made sense. However, while we were watching the story in the forefront, this SEC sting on Adam was in the background. Victor's elaborate and elongated plan to destroy his child -- Victor Newman Jr. -- had been bubbling long before Victor put himself behind bars to protect Nikki. We knew he was up to something, but none of us knew what it was.

So that set the stage for two dynamite explosions this past week. One was Sharon's decision to betray Victor by tipping off Adam about the trap. The other was Genevieve's big win. Let's take them in order, shall we? What are we to make of Sharon's choice? It's foolhardy to say the least. I understand that she loves Adam, as inexplicable and self-destructive as that relationship is, but she cannot help feeling as she does. However, Sharon had to know that the ink on her shared custody arrangement with Nick was still wet. By helping Adam avoid Victor and Tucker's trap, she was risking her custody of Faith. Without Victor to protect her, Sharon could lose her child in court -- again -- and for what reason? Because she didn't want to see Adam behind bars? Give me a break.

It's funny, really. Adam didn't mind seeing Sharon rot in jail. His reaction to her liaison with Sam was to destroy the evidence that would have freed Sharon and then let her wallow in state prison. He showed no compassion for her, even humiliating her in front of a minister when he feigned a desire to marry her. Has Sharon forgotten all that? Adam must be the greatest lover she ever had because Sharon's soft spot for him extends from her heart to her crotch! Sorry for being crude, friends, but really -- can't Sharon wake up to the reality of the situation?

While Victor and Tucker were indeed trying to ensnare Adam, it was Adam who'd decided to cheat and lie and conceal the truth to the SEC. It was Adam who went to Tucker with the idea of manipulating the sealed bids. It was Adam who was putting his head on the guillotine. If he had been acting scrupulously, Victor and Tucker would have been unable to make an arrangement with the authorities. Why is it that Sharon sees Victor's actions as destructive to Adam, but not that Adam was just as culpable?

By saving Adam, Sharon put herself right back in the hot seat. For what -- more good sex with Adam? After everything she's been through, all those months on the run and then in prison, being separated from the child she loves, could Sharon really be that shallow as to throw it all away for a man like Adam? Sure, he loves her when it's convenient for him, but when she's vexed him -- or when he's hurt -- Adam is a viper. And Nick's not much better! I hate the way he uses Faith as a weapon against Sharon.

When Faith grows up, she will despise both her parents for the way they've used her as a human volleyball. You think kids don't remember being shuffled around from house to house, being used like a pawn in a chess match? You think Faith won't remember how she was pulled from Mommy's arms? This is poison to that child, and both Sharon and Nick are guilty of spewing it.

On to the Genevieve situation... First of all, it was a brilliant business move. She knew the value of Beauty of Nature and found a way to sneak in there with the big boys to get her hands on the Newman Enterprise holding. Either she wants Beauty of Nature as a bargaining chip -- to sell to the highest bidder- - or she'll use it to secure her place in Jabot or McCall or Newman. That's a crafty move. Or she might want to keep it and become a tycoon on her own. But here's the fly in the ointment...she loves Jack. He will not appreciate her business savvy. He will only see her actions as a stab in the heart. And I don't think Genevieve bought it as a wedding gift for Jack!

However, what if the situation was reversed and Jack was the one who'd come up with the genius way to do something like Genevieve did? Jack would have justified his actions as "strictly business" and ask Genevieve to forgive and forget, right? But you just watch, when Jack discovers who bought Beauty of Nature -- who beat him out for the big prize -- he will be unforgiving. He'll accuse Genevieve of being disloyal and dishonest, and he'll break the engagement. It won't matter to him that Genevieve had a good reason for her actions. It sounds like it's going to have something to do with her former marriage; Colin had damaged her to the extent that Genevieve needs to be self-possessed and self-reliant. Genevieve may love Jack, but she wants to be her own woman with her own fortune. Nothing wrong with that, is there? Wouldn't a man want that, too?

But I don't expect the deal to hold up. There will be a loophole that will undermine Genevieve's purchase. Perhaps it was the fact that she saw what Jack planned to bid? Remember when he showed her the bid? Would that constitute inside information? Although Jack volunteered the data; she never asked to see it. Jack was the one who was insistent about blabbing about his plans.

While the Beauty of Nature business will go on -- and on and on -- could we finally be reaching the end of Diane's murder mystery? Gosh, I hope so. As many of the readers pointed out in the letters last week (see one below), if Nikki killed Diane in self-defense on the grass, why was Diane's body found in the water. Well, now we know that Deacon obscured the crime scene completely. After seeing what Nikki did, Deacon put the body in the water. He threw away the cell phone. And he even bashed in Diane's head with a rock to make it look like someone big and powerful had killed Diane.

Deacon's noble actions will probably put him behind bars for 20 years! Did he realize that when he was yapping to Ronan? If he were nearly as smart as he thinks he is, he would have kept his mouth shut until he received the advice of a public defender. That was dumb, Deacon, really, really dumb!

But the story ain't over, friends. What were Abby's weird memories of the morning after the murder? Why was Deacon taunting her about knowing the secret? It's not possible that Abby killed Diane, is it? How? Did she do something before Deacon got there? What on earth could Abby have done? If she's smart -- and that's questionable -- she'll forget about Diane and refuse to speak with Deacon again. Deacon may know something, but if he does, he should use it as leverage with Victor. If anyone would be invested in protecting Abby, it's her father.

Finally, there's the Patty/Myrna/Emily story. There are giant flaws in this storyline, readers! Maria Arena Bell has gapping plot holes as far as I can tell. First there's the whole notion that Patty has been hiding in plain sight as Myrna. The mysterious Myrna whom nobody has ever seen... The mousey Myrna who was hired without benefit of references or a background check... What millionaire matron would move to a new town and hire a live-in housekeeper to run the mansion without getting her fingerprints, DNA, and a blood sample?

Okay, maybe not that extensive, but isn't that a leap of faith to think that Myrna just showed up on Genevieve's doorstep and was given the job? And is Patty even capable of running a house? How? She's never been trained. Do you think you can just walk into a mansion and know what to do? Also, wouldn't Genevieve need a staff to keep that place going? Mightn't Genevieve have consulted with Kay's number one servant girl, Esther, about Genoa City domestic help?

I know, I know; I ask too many questions. However, even if you buy that Patty faked her way into Genevieve's home and good graces, why has nobody but Genevieve seen her face? The grocer, the gardener, the needlepoint lady, the cable man...nobody recognized that she was the notorious Patty Williams who was an escaped mental patient? No security cameras ever saw her face, not even when she was in the hospital? And in the hospital, wouldn't someone have needed to get her medical history to treat her?

I don't remember Adam helping her every step of the way, but he could have had a hand in falsifying her papers and giving her an "in" with Genevieve. But Adam has seemed reluctant to get involved with Patty. ...Another thing about the Patty/Emily business; when "Emily" approached Jack at the Club the other day, would it have been so outlandish for Jack to maybe check that Emily was really in Genoa City? He knows that Emily's life was once taken over by Patty -- why not use the cell phone to call Emily and see if she was even really in town. But, no, instead we have Patty fooling everyone.

By the way, where did she get the clothes? She was looking cold and grubby in the potting shed, then was all cleaned up, perfumed, and pretty -- and well-dressed -- when she kissed Jack at the Athletic Club! How? In the potting shed, she seemed to have no plan and nowhere to go. I realize that Patty's mental illness can make her seem like a child one minute and an adult the next, but this is practical stuff. How did she get from point A to point B when she spent the night among the fertilizer and manure? Where did she shower? Who gave her shampoo and conditioner? Was there a hair dryer in the Crimson Lights bathroom? Were her nails done, or didn't anyone notice that she had ragged nails? Did she brush her teeth and smell minty fresh? Where'd she get the lipstick? Come on -- think it through.

Finally, a moment for love... It was nice to see Victor and Nikki reuniting in bed. It had to be nicer than the barn. And I liked hearing Victor say that Nikki was beautiful. Senior sex should have a place on the soaps, if you ask me, and I approved of those two getting it on the old-fashioned way -- between the sheets. ...Too bad Adam and Sharon couldn't have found a comfy place to make love, but in all that groping and grabbing, I think Sharon landed in a very uncomfortable position on her back -- on that desk! Was there a stapler embedded in her shoulder while she was in the throes of passion? Paper clips in her hair? Post-it notes on her tush? Oy vey! Let's hope the next time Sharon and Adam do the "deed" they refrain from using his new office -- the one with all the urinals and stalls! That would not be a very romantic setting.

So, that's it for this past week. I'm anxious to hear more from you all -- do you like the Two Scoops? What stories would you like to see "fixed" and what characters need a re-write? Write me! Till then, let's take a look at some letters from the mailbox:

• What's with this film Deacon made showing Nikki supposedly murdering Diane? Diane was found FACE DOWN IN THE WATER, was she not? We were told she had been "bludgeoned repeatedly" with a rock... Maybe I'm ranting for nothing, since someone did say this week they are still waiting for forensics to finish "authenticating" the film. But couldn't Ronan have said, "Gee, wasn't Diane found in the water?" This story gets more ridiculous every day --they fired Maura West so we could watch this drivel? Maura deserved a lot better than Y&R gave her, in my opinion. -- April
• I knew [Sharon] would go running to Adam as soon as she found out what Victor's plan was. When will Victor learn to keep his big mouth shut? We don't need a 'Brooke Logan' replica on Y&R! Forgiving and/or loving a man who commits the most egregious sins against the woman he claims to love makes said woman look weak, pathetic and downright mental! I can't stand Sharon's loyalty to Adam. Ok, so he saved Faith's and Noah's lives way back when. That's the least he could do after the things he did to Faith. Even if Sharon has forgiven Adam for giving Faith to Ashley and allowing her to believe that her baby died, how on earth can Sharon forgive Adam for almost allowing her to go to prison out of shear spite and jealousy? Those love scenes with Adam were stomach-turning! Their 'romance' is so tainted that it's unbearable for me to watch it! Sharon doesn't have to be loyal to Victor or participate in Victor's setup of Adam, but Sharon being 'loyal' to a man who has hurt her so often and so badly and yet claims to love her so much is beyond ridiculous! I will never support Shadam! I don't know why soaps think that women who love and forgive men who continuously hurt them is the definition of romance! It's sickening and not entertaining. Please, someone, get Sharon some time on some therapist's couch...pronto! The girl needs serious mental help! -- Caroline

Best,Allison