Thanks to Riley for today’s spoiler.
Iit’s a bit rough but her hard work between exams and her job are greatly appreciated by this proud Mom.
This can’t be possible. Its 7:00PM and there should be a crowd of people flooding in to get their first look of Society. Hours and hours spent making sure every little detail was perfect.. for nobody to show up to the opening of Society. The only person whose walked through the door since they’ve opened is the flower courier with a bouquet for Abby, from Victor. Is everyone going to send flowers instead of showing up? We need to get people through the door as soon as possible. An E-mail blast is the quickest way to spread the word. Actually Abby, there’s no need for that. Arturo reviews the last E-mail sent out by Abby’s assistant and as it turns out, she actually put 7:30PM as the start time rather than 7:00PM. Whew, there’s still some time. Devon arrives, looking around at all the decor. Don’t you worry about whether people are going to show up, you built this so I know people will come.
Gifting someone a knife is bad luck, unless a coin is exchanged in order for it to not look like a gift. Lola says this in a non-defensive way, she’s not one for confrontation. The blade represents the severance of the relationship. Summer swears she had no idea, and pulls out her coin purse to hand over a coin to Lola. Awkwardly handing it back, Lola thanks Summer. Summer smiles, congratulating Lola again, and compliments her necklace. Kyle says nothing but smirks as they turn to walk away.
Finishing his inspection of the place, Devon is smiling ear-to-ear. The place looks great, Abby! I’ll be back though. Leaving already? Just have to go grab my date. Wow! This night is full of loving surprises between Arturo coming to the rescue, Kyle giving Lola a necklace and now Devon has a date! As 7:30PM approaches, Abby prays that when she goes back outside she sees a line full of guests this time. Walking back out, hungry customers fill the red carpet, ready to be welcomed in. Among those waiting are Rey, Nick, Ted and Jack, all of which she greets individually.
Hey, I’m over here, Kyle. There’s no shame with Kyle as he continues to watch Lola interact with guests. Summer can’t help but notice. Can we go say hi to my Dad? Joining Abby, Nick and Rey who have all made their way inside, Nick is the first to greet the two. Hugging Summer and shaking hands with Kyle, Nick admits he’s surprised to see them here. Well, we’re all adults here and Abby is family, so of course we had to come. Summer says a quick “Hello” to Rey. Nick jumps into conversation about the blueprint for Summer’s house, while Rey excuses himself.
Lola celebrates the fact that both of her brother’s have made it out to support her. Acknowledging that there is a lot of tension between the family, Lola asks for a truce for the night. Or at least fight while I’m in the back preparing the next course? With that she leaves the two to talk.
Mia stands at the entrance. Sorry, your name’s not on the list. And you can keep name-dropping all you want about who you know inside but you can’t go in. As a last ditch effort, she tries appealing to the bouncer’s girlfriend who might appreciate her business card, but still, no entry.
Wary of their performance to come, the nerves remain ever so present for Ana. It’s been a while since she performed, and tonight is more about Jett in her eyes. Ana thinks it may be best if she sings with him some other time. Jett uses every compliment in the book to boost her confidence and calls her his inspiration, how can she say no to performing after that? Especially when they’re about to head over to Society. Laughing it off, she sides with him. Devon comes home to confirm they’re all set and let’s them know that he’ll be right behind them. Waiting for Elena to come down, he looks between the photo of him and Hilary that sits on the piano and the ring he still wears. Taking the ring off and setting it inside a small box, tonight represents the start of a new beginning. Elena joins him downstairs looking beautiful as ever wearing a pink, sequined dress. Do you think I’m going to fit in? You’re going to stand out because of how stunning you look.
Placing coasters promoting her company on each table, Tim is caught by Jack. What the hell are you doing working for the competitor? A woman’s voice can be heard behind them. Turning towards the voice, Ashley can be seen standing at the bar toasting to her new employee, Tim. How could he turn down a trip to Paris? Tim is sorry, but not too much. He’s already cleared off his desk. Jack threatens him with jail if he shares any confidential information with Ashley. With his objective complete, Tim leaves the two to talk. “Welcome home, Sis.” Isn’t this party just the best of both worlds? Promotion for her company and the support towards Abby’s success. Jack’s spirits are still high, coasters don’t mean anything. Placing his cup onto a coaster, Jack leaves unbothered.
A new face has joined the party! Although she looks like she goes to these kinds of events on a regular basis, Elena looks around for familiar faces. Nate has an opportunity to introduce himself, however uses most of their time vouching for Devon. Gracious for his kind words, Devon reminds Nate however that he isn’t looking for references. Ana and Jett can be spotted from a distance, waving the Elena over. Politely wiggling her way through the crowd, Elena is relieved to be around some family. Meanwhile, Devon tells Nate to take a “chill-pill.” It’s only the first date, and while I understand everyone is happy to see me dating again, “I’m not a zoo exhibit.”
Mom, I really hope you didn’t come all this way to promote your company. Oh honey, there’s nothing wrong with a little friendly competition between your Uncle Jack and I. Abby just wants to make sure she doesn’t get caught in the middle. Devon comes over to grab Abby so they can make their announcements. Of course he also comments on the coasters, not entirely comfortable with the promotion.
Grabbing everyone’s attention, Devon and Abby deliver their speeches of gratitude. Abby begins, explaining the vision for the restaurant. A place where the community could come together to drink, eat, and even dance. Devon takes over welcoming Jett and Ana to the stage. And thanking Jeff for allowing him the privilege of hosting his comeback performance. Jett hops on stage to perform his solo song. Devon rejoins Elena who gives him a look of approval. Ana sits with Nate who compliments the colorful screen behind Jett. Wait, he didn’t pick that out.. who the heck arranged that? Jack stands towards the back of the room, looking over at Ashley who stands at the bar. Why does Jack look so happy? As the performance concludes, the colorful screen switches over to a screen that reads “Jabot Collective.” Ashley raises her glass in Jack’s direction, to which he raises back her coaster.
Forced to join forces against Abby and Devon, perhaps Jack and Ashley lacked consideration how special tonight was supposed to be. The owner’s of Society threaten legal action the next time either of them thinks it’s a funny idea to treat their business like a playground. Not only did they steal the attention away from Jett, but also from the restaurant opening. Way over the line.
Tessa, Nate and Nick all surround Jett. What a wonderful performance! How does it feel to make a comeback? Nate isn’t too shy to admit he knows all the lyrics to Jett’s songs.
The night must carry on, and no shenanigans her family can ruin Abby’s night. Devon and Abby take to the stage again to introduce Lola. Keeping her speech relatively short, Lola first thanks the team at Society for giving her a chance despite her medical issues. Next are her brothers who tasted all of her creations as children. And finally, Lola thanks “the woman who gave me (Lola) a second chance at life – Summer Abbott.” The speech concludes by talking about the theme of the menu. What it reflects is a celebration of food, and of life.
Security is nowhere to be found, was Lola’s menu calling out to him? Mia is able to sneak into the party and slowly takes her time to scope out the event before taking a seat at the bar next to Jack. The two catch up over Kerry, and Abby’s break up with Arturo. On the topic of family, Mia subtly mentions that hers is about to become smaller… a divorce with Rey is on the horizon. Jack squints his eyes and nods, unsure of what to say.
Deep in conversation with Devon and Nick, Kyle sees the perfect opportunity to sneak away from Summer. Lola stands alone looking at one of Ashley’s coasters. “I just needed a minute to tell you how amazing you are.” Careless about who’s around, Kyle swoops in to give her a kiss. “That’ll get me through the night.” When Lola walks away Nick grabs Kyle, swinging him around to face him. “You lying punk!” Nick is not the type to let these kinds of things go. He knows exactly what he saw, and nothing Kyle can say matters. Attempts to interrupt Nick fail, “Shut up!” Continuing to shove him and wave his hands as he speaks, Nick can barely keep his anger contained. “You told me that you loved her and that you weren’t going to hurt her.” Summer finds the two before anything further escalates. Taking her husband’s side, Nick is further enraged. At the end of the day, it is her marriage and she wants to be in control of what happens. This is not your battle to win, Nick.
It’s clear Abby is trying her best to keep things strictly professional between her and Arturo. As happy as she is, she still isn’t committed to forgiving him entirely. What she does have for him however, is a cheque to cover his time. Not what he was expecting, nor what he wanted.
Any advice on how to bounce back from divorce, Jack? “Put your best face on in the worst of times and it will make things a lot easier for both of you in the long run.” Mia shares all the new details about Rey’s love life with Jack. It’s a little odd to him that he’s the person she is coming to with all of this. A therapist may be more suitable. Rather than listening to his concern, she continues sharing. On queue, a waiter walks by with two glasses of champagne. Perhaps a toast to finding someone who appreciates Mia? Not on Rey’s watch. Grabbing the glass from her hand, Jack thinks this is the perfect opportunity for him to leave them to talk. Rey whispers in her ear, “You think this is cute or something?”
Sitting in front of her now, Rey insists that she refrain from drinking. You’re pregnant, Mia. Rey doesn’t care if you want to flirt with Jack Abbott, just don’t do it over a glass of champagne, or any type of alcohol.
You don’t know what he did, Summer. Hear me out. Nick is begging Summer to take a second to hear him out. What he, and Phyllis often forget is that she isn’t a kid anymore, and she knew what she was getting into when she married Kyle. Relationships are complicated, and don’t act like yours are ever perfect. Remember what you did to Sharon, Nick? Worry about yourself. I am mature enough to forgive. And I love Kyle, and he loves me. Going for Kyle’s hand Summer leaves.
I helped you because I care about you, Abby. I don’t want the cheque. Please take it back. Arturo, you betrayed me in the worst way possible, take the cheque. I don’t care if you care about me. Abby looks towards the bar as she takes notice of Rey arguing with Mia. She thought getting out of GCAC was humiliating? Watch this. Abby is stopped in her tracks when Arturo tells her that Mia is pregnant. It could be his. 5 Minutes for you both to leave or I call security.
Jett finally meets with his family who are over-the-moon with his performance. Jett can’t thank Devon enough. Ana and Devon head over to the bar to grab drinks for everyone, leaving Jett and Elena to connect. “You know, he’s a good man.” “I know.”
Rey took the bait, and Mia successfully got him back to her suite. But he doesn’t want any involvement with her. Keeping the conversation short, Rey tells her that she will keep him in the loop entirely. OB/GYN appointments, when she takes her pre-natal vitamins or the baby will end up being born behind bars. Mia is taken aback by the hostility. Not what she had intended by bringing him here.
Jack brings Ashley a drink with the intention of settling their drama. However, Ashley wants no end to their war. She lets him know that she wants the patents, and Jabot. That $4 mil you gave me? I wired that back to you, keep it. It’s just a bit of friendly competition. I don’t want half the market share, I want Jabot, and I want to re-name it Abbott Exchange.
Thanks for defending me against your father, Summer. Let’s go home. Lola watches the two as they leave.
Devon tells the DJ to turn it up! Let’s get this party going!