Ben showed up at Jack's to discuss Victor's front page arrest. He asked what Jack's next steps were, and rubbed his hands together over the idea of Jack writing a tell-all book. Jack laughed that off, but insisted he'd come up with a new plan. Sharon came through on her way to work, where she was meeting with Brad about a Beauty of Nature promo tour. Jack suggested he pick her up for dinner, but she said they'd meet up instead. Jack decided to pick Sharon up anyway, but first Phyllis arrived for a chat. She believed him capable of planting evidence, but he insisted he hadn't. When she returned to Nick, she warned his father could be guilty. At Jabot, Sharon and Brad talked business, Noah and gossip. Before she left, however, he addressed "the tension we're not talking about." After claiming he respected her decision to stay with Jack, he moved in close and said, "Who are we kidding?" Nick interrupted and asked Sharon to come by for a visit, so Brad locked the door and said, "I love you and I think you still love me too." She admitted she didn't know what she wanted anymore, so he begged her not to stay with Jack for the wrong reasons. Then he kissed her and she gave in for a bit before pulling back. Jack arrived before they could discuss it and wasn't pleased to find her behind closed doors with Brad.

When Daniel stopped by the ADA's office, Heather spilled her coffee all over her desk and gave him attitude. He lightened the mood by teasing, "I guess it's cool, you know, if you don't want this check for the repairs for your car." She apologized and took the check with a smile. He accused her of working too hard and asked her to dinner, but after a few laughs, she turned him down, no rain check. Later he hit Crimson Lights to do some online job hunting and told Amber he wanted to work with computers or cameras. She segued the convo back to her doings and announced "Marina" had sent in her video entry. He wondered what she'd do if she won, but she shrugged, "I'll lead two lives. It will be exotic." He warned "Marina" wouldn't land Cane, but she countered she'd entered the beauty contest "to prove I could win." He didn't believe her, nor did he believe she'd win. She told him to shut up and stormed off, running into Heather. Daniel gave Heather a hard time for turning him down and after wearing her down, ordered them sandwiches for the patio. She was surprised he wasn't asking about Victor's case, but he was over courtroom drama and said he'd teach her how to surf once things slowed down for her. After she went back to work, Amber called him a "hypocrite" for "drooling over" the ADA who caused him so much drama. Their bickering was interrupted by a beaming Kevin, who was sure Jana was ready to accept his proposal and would beat her rap. As he'd told Jana during his visit, "I've spoken with a ton of experts, and I have prepared a dossier on your case to send to the DA." When he set out to drop off the evidence with Heather as promised, Daniel joined him. Left alone, Amber checked the Faces of Jabot site. She realized she might need to cheat to win and instantly thought of her own computer genius — Kevin!

Lauren cut to the chase and warned Gloria about her new beau, urging, "Your gut told you not to trust him. And it was right." When Gloria explained dinner would change her mind about him, Lauren challenged, "Level with me." Gloria insisted she already had and went to get champagne glasses. While she was in the other room, Lauren moved Gloria's purse and found a bag of bling inside. She didn't hesitate to ask Gloria about it, who explained it was an investment and said, "You never have too many friends. Who was it said, 'Diamonds are a girl's best'?" She then giggled off Lauren's theories about Jeff until Michael arrived stressed out over Victor's case. While Gloria freshened up for dinner, Lauren dropped the diamonds on Michael. He dug deeper into the purse and saw Gloria had written Jeff a check for $50,000. He screamed for Gloria, but she said it was cash for a down payment. She was saved by the doorbell, but before answering it, she insisted, "Jeffrey's a good guy. You can trust him." When Jeff arrived, they talked about Victor and Jack, but Michael and Lauren quickly started "casually" questioning him. Kevin arrived just in time for dessert — and Jeff's big engagement news!

Victor was heading out for the day when Nick arrived to visit Victoria. He warned reporters were "camped out on the road" and suggested Victor sneak out the back or, "better yet, why don't you just stay home?" Victor didn't want to give the impression he was hiding. When he was abusive with a caller from Newman, Nick admitted he was worried about Victor, explaining, "The strain from all this could be overwhelming." Nikki entered on cue and tried to sympathize with her ex's predicament, but he didn't sound as "touched" as he said he was. After he left, Nick told Nikki, "He's falling apart. He just doesn't realize it yet." They visited with Victoria and then Nikki told Nick about Phyllis rescuing her from a pushy reporter at Crimson Lights. He asked if she thought Victor was guilty, but instead of answering, she warned, "If you are having any doubts at all, don't let your father know about it." She told him they needed "to present a united front at all times for the sake of the family." Phyllis showed up, and she agreed to hide any doubts about Victor. Nikki surprised her by saying she was "glad" Nick had her.

Still spinning from Brad's kiss, Sharon went to pack up for the day. A suspicious Jack suggested she drive ahead so he could have a chat with Brad, and she nervously agreed. Brad was entertained by Jack's warning to stay away and let him and Sharon work on their marriage, but he agreed, with the caveat, "You do anything to hurt her, then you'll answer to me." After Jack left, Nick caught Brad "admiring" a photo of Sharon and Noah. He also told Brad to steer clear of Sharon. Then Brad stormed out, literally running into Phyllis. She wanted Nick to unwind at Indigo, but first they locked the door so they could "relieve some stress" on the couch.

Sharon ran into Victor at the GCAC. They played catch-up and she declared her belief in his innocence. He was sure that was a tough stance around Jack and seemed to empathize with her staying with him for Noah's sake, but warned, "Jack Abbott is a very selfish man and when he goes down, he may pull you down with him." Then JT showed up, glowing over Reed grabbing his finger. After congrats, Victor called him to the bar for a chat. JT revealed David seemed as broke as the average guy. "I smell a rat," Victor determined and asked him to continue digging. When JT returned to the manse, he started asking Nikki questions about David. She quickly surmised he was working for Victor and when Victor got home, she skewered him for "using the man who gave you a grandson as one of your henchmen." The argument escalated until Victor tried to end it by claiming he was "bored" of it. Annoyed, Nikki slipped and asked, "Is that what happened to Ji Min?" He calmly asked if she thought him capable of murder.

When Jack showed up at the GCAC, he told Sharon he'd warned Brad not to take advantage of "this rough patch." Jack respected Brad was her trusted friend, but reminded her he was her hubby. When they got home, Noah called about sleeping at Sam's, which meant they had the manse to themselves. Sharon planted a kiss on him and led him upstairs for a love session. Meanwhile, Brad left her a message, concluding, "I'm thinking of you tonight."

Gloria and Jeff tried to sell their engagement, but Michael hoped it was a joke. "Now's the part where you both laugh," he suggested, but instead Jeff got on one knee to officially propose, and Gloria accepted his ring. Knowing Gloria had already given Jeff $50,000, Michael pointedly asked if that's what the ring cost. A peeved Michael halfheartedly toasted the news and Gloria was equally upset, though hiding it, when she sent a grinning Jeff on his way for the night. At the elevator, she offered Jeff half a million dollars to leave her alone, but he chuckled, "I can make much more than that by marrying you." When he refused a million, she went on the attack, grabbing his collar and calling him names, but she covered with a goodnight kiss when Michael came out. After Jeff talked of their "very expensive and extensive" honeymoon, she looked broken. The mood in the apartment was dark, with Lauren and Michael refusing to accept Jeff was "on the level." They pushed Gloria until she broke and fessed up about the blackmail. She demanded they let her deal with it on her own, but Michael wouldn't hear of it.

Michael and Lauren kicked themselves for not catching onto Jeff's blackmail scheme earlier and worried about their next steps. "I don't know who I'd like to strangle first — [Gloria] or Bardwell," Michael sighed, but Lauren wanted to get her hands on both of them. She challenged her hubby to come up with a plan, but then recognized he should be focusing on Victor and his other clients. Michael thought it absurd to expect his mother to handle anything on her own, but his wife countered, "Maybe this is the time that you draw the line in the sand, and you say, 'Enough is enough.'" Meanwhile, Gloria tried roping Kevin into her new plan: running away! Sure Jeff would track her down — if she could even get by him to begin with! Kev insisted, "You are going to beat this guy at his own game." Then he offered his own plan. "He doesn't have a real Achilles' heel? We invent one for him," he said. Gloria marveled that her son had "a touch of larceny" in him, to which he countered, "Wonder where I got that from?" He then instructed her to get Jeff drunk to see what secrets he let slip.

Jeff bumped into Jill at the GCAC, ordered a bottle of Champagne and stunned her with his engagement news. She was taken aback by how soon it was after William's death, but he insisted he loved Gloria. Once he clarified the wedding was his idea, not Gloria's, she agreed to toast him. When Kay arrived, she too thought the engagement was a joke. After Jeff left, she chuckled, "There's got to be more to it than love." Then Cane joined them and the ladies showered him with praise and a promotion. They decided to celebrate at Indigo. When Jill and Kay asked if Cane wanted to bring a date, he said, "I'm going to take my two best girls and no one else."

Lily stopped by Newman to see her dad, but instead found Karen. Neil was at Indigo, freaking out because his new singer called in sick on her opening night, and called Karen to beg her to stand in. Thanks to her stage fright, she barely considered his request, so Lily pep talked her until Neil showed up to beg in person. She still couldn't believe they were serious, so they gave her anti-stage fright tips until she stammered that she'd try. Then Neil told her she had only 45 minutes till show time! She was sick with nerves, so he promised to handle her wardrobe change and called Lauren in. She brought Karen a selection of gowns and reminisced about her days touring with Danny Romalotti, admitting she used to get nervous too. When Michael arrived, Lauren reported the rehearsals were terrific and decided his mission for the night was "to forget that your mother even exists."

Neil was touched by Lily's support of Karen, but Karen's panic only seemed to be growing. Lily went out to meet Devon, who had plotted with Roxanne to covertly set his sis up with Alan, a hunky coed who'd thought Lily was still married. Lily was dressed the part, in a sexy little dress, and begrudgingly agreed to what was turned out to be an obvious setup. That sure made Cane jealous! But all eyes were on Jeff and Gloria when they came giggling in. "Gloria's got to be after something," Jill was sure, while Lauren had to hold Michael back. Gloria rushed to get a round of drinks, ordering hers light and Jeff's with three shots. After ordering another round, she said, "Every once in a while, I see a hint of that charmer you used to be when I first met you." She claimed she'd been falling for him, but his blackmail "completely destroyed any feelings I might have ever had for you." He insisted it wasn't too late for them and that he "really" did want to marry her. He offered himself as "an open book," but then poured his new drink out while she wasn't looking. When Neil finally took the stage, he saw Karen run, so he didn't introduce her. When he found her, she apologized up and down and was on the verge of tears, but he understood. By the time Lily burst in, they were making out. She nervously asked after Karen, but rushed through it to go out and get fresh air. She called Colleen to vent, but she didn't answer. Then Cane showed up and after asking if she was okay, said, "Lily, this isn't working for me." He admitted his jealousy over her date and went in for a slow, deep kiss.

Watching Jeff and Gloria get drunk and flirt at Indigo had Michael on edge, so he and Lauren decided to leave. First, he told Gloria to "slow down" and ordered Jeff to get her home safely. While she gave goodbye hugs, Jeff poured out his drink. Her plan to get him drunk and talking backfired as she drunkenly opened up about climbing her "way up from nothing." He insinuated his blackmail was just a tool to get close to her, but she accused him of trying to get her to drop her guard so he could "come in for the kill." He laughed that he'd thought that's what she was up to, but she flirtatiously warned, "When I come in for the kill, you won't even hear me coming." After they closed the bar, they stumbled back to the GCAC. Gloria was almost too drunk to dial her phone, but bragged to Kevin, "I have got Jeffrey exactly where I want him." Kevin accused her of being drunk, but she said she was pretending. She got that backwards! Bardwell was at the bar ordering her a triple and himself a soda. After downing her drink, she suggested they go to his room, where she passed out in his arms.

Neil was upset after stumbling on Lily kissing Cane in the alley. She insisted kissing Cane was "not a big deal" and demanded he let her make her own decisions. Neil remained concerned, sighting Cane's age, his marriage to Amber and his having flirted with Lily while dating Heather. He claimed he was warning her, not ordering her, just as he had with Daniel, but she still stormed off. Inside, Karen told Neil not to be "such a dad," while Lily told Cane her father "thinks you're trying to take advantage of me." After insisting she trusted Cane, she returned to her table, where Devon, Roxanne and the blind date they'd sprung on her decided to go to Crimson Lights. As fate would have it, that's where Cane went next too. He pulled her aside and "officially" asked her on a date. She was concerned he'd drop her again, but he promised he wouldn't. Their makeout session left Amber in tears.

Nick called it a night at work and suggested his father do the same. Victor revealed Nikki had "stated outright" that she believed him capable of killing Ji Min and quickly lost his temper when it became clear Nick had his own doubts. Nick promised to stand by his father "even if you are guilty" and then said, "If you tell me you're innocent, Dad, I'll believe you." Victor wasn't appeased. When JT interrupted, he coldly dismissed Nick and immediately set into JT for letting Nikki figure out he was investigating David. JT didn't want to pick sides, so Victor reminded him Nikki had wanted to let Victoria die. "I'm a little surprised at the lack of loyalty on your part," Victor accused, but JT refused to engage in an argument, so Victor fired him and sent him packing. Then he called Michael over, interrupting Lauren's candlelit seduction. When Michael arrived, Victor demanded an update and insisted he be more involved. "You're not going to get my best performance if you're continually looking over my shoulder," Michael warned, but Victor basically told him to deal or quit. Michael revealed he was hoping to cast "reasonable doubt" by questioning the evidence. The reconstructed tape showed Victor was the last to see Jim Min, but Michael wondered, "What if there were more to the tape that they couldn't piece together?" When Michael got home, Lauren had stepped up her candlelit seduction and he went along for the ride.

A "restless" Nikki dropped in on Phyllis and Summer. The baby was sleeping, so Phyllis let her mother-in-law vent. Then Nikki floored her by asking her to return permanently to NVP. She was touched and promised to discuss it with Nick, who got home just as Nikki was putting on her coat. He told Nikki about his run-in with his dad. "I know Dad feels betrayed right now, but he makes it so damn hard to reach out to him," he muttered. Nikki empathized and then left him to make out with Phyllis and hear about the big NVP job offer. Phyllis was concerned about the travel, but Nick felt it was the right call for Phyllis and his mother. He suggested she take Summer on the road, but he had to stick around to handle business. When she asked about his dad, he changed the subject by demanding a kiss. Nikki, meanwhile, tracked Victor down at work and suggested he "stop taking your rage out on the people that you love." She warned he was going to end up alone, but Victor countered that's just what he wanted. "Less complications that way," he sniffed. "And for your information, I have never needed a single one of you." Nikki was happy to leave, but clearly felt for him.

At Crimson Lights, Michael took a moment from worrying over Gloria to roll his eyes at Kevin's "Free Jana Hawkes" poster and T-shirts, but Kevin insisted, "We are going to build so much public support for Jana that the DA's going to have no choice but to drop the charges." Michael and Lauren were impressed with his determination, but didn't think it would work. Later, Colleen reminded Kev many locals thought Jana should be locked up forever, but said, "You have to forgive someone who didn't know what they were doing, and Jana didn't." At the same time, Heather was at the prison, questioning Jana. She asked Jana for a reason to not pursue the case against her, but gave no indication on which way she was leaning. She also stayed mum when she ran into her dad and Maggie, who made her eat something at the GCAC. It was a decidedly comfortable and easy conversation — until Heather's mom (and Paul's ex) April showed up! Heather used her workload as an excuse to leave, telling her concerned mother, "You shouldn't have come." Maggie followed after her, while April basically told Paul, "I told you so."

A painfully hung over Gloria awoke to Jeff's whistling and ran to the bathroom, presumably to throw up. He teased her, but to her relief eventually admitted there'd been no hanky-panky the night before. She wondered why he wasn't hung over, especially considering she'd ordered him triples, but he laughed that he'd switched their drinks and poured his out. "Your plan was to get me drunk so I'd open up about myself, spill all my deep dark secrets," he laughed and then called her "adorable." When Gloria started crying, he said, "If you'd just change your attitude, go with the flow, relax into it, you would see how utterly perfect we are for one another." He started talking about a Valentine's wedding, so she left. On her way out, she ran into Jack and demanded to know where her inheritance was. When she got home, Michael grilled her. She insisted she had Jeff where she wanted him and sniffed, "Just circle Valentine's Day on your calendar." When she stormed out, Michael bemoaned all the problems on his plate. "Victor's will be tough. Kevin is hopeless at the moment. But Gloria? Gloria I can do something about," he realized and set out to "get to know" Jeff, which translated to telling him to get out of town. The two went back and forth, but Jeff clearly had the upper hand and Michael stormed out when Jeff asked him to be his best man. Meanwhile, Gloria went to see Kevin, who suggested they plot their next move. Gloria's eyebrows went up when he said, "If you ask me, the wrong brother kicked the bucket." She wanted to frame her fiancé for her attempted murder. Kevin pointed out a fiancé would have no claim to her money and thus no reason to kill her, so she said, "What the heck? I'll get hitched. But it ain't going to be on Valentine's Day. He wants fast? I'll give him fast."

Over breakfast at the GCAC, Jack told Sharon he wanted to start a foundation in his father's name to "provide hard-working, eager people a chance to turn their lives around," and he wanted her to run it. She was concerned about her lack of experience, but agreed to consider it after the Beauty of Nature publicity tour. "Then you're committed to that?" Jack sighed. When Sharon excused herself to get to work, Jack ran his foundation idea by Nick, who immediately recognized it as a means to get Sharon away from Brad and told Jack to stop being insecure. Talk turned to Victor and after hearing how things had progressed on "the Newman battlefield," Jack offered Nick his support. At work later, a dejected Nick mimicked a casual work chat with his father. He left Phyllis a message wishing her luck on her NVP tour and then, unable to focus, went to talk to his comatose sister. He praised her for her ability to stand up to their father and wished she would wake up and tell him how he was supposed to do it now.

At Newman, Brad told Sharon her tour plans were finalized and that he was trying to leave her some wiggle room to shop and enjoy herself. She was more concerned with making the line a success and appreciated what a great job he'd done setting it up. Jack showed up as they were winding down and was impressed with her "first class" itinerary. When she told Jack she'd have down time to come back between stops, Brad again suggested she use it for sightseeing, so Sharon sent a clear message by asking Jack to join her in her travels. He couldn't make her first stop in Chicago, but was thrilled at the idea of meeting up with her in New York. Later, after he told her he was meeting with his attorney about Gloria's settlement, Sharon planted a sexy kiss on him. Having seen the kiss, Brad immediately decided to follow Sharon to Chicago, booking a flight after hers.