Things are awkward when Claire runs into Holden at Crimson Lights. After some pointless chat, he offers to let her get back to work, but

she thinks they need to discuss what happened in L.A. She likes him too much for there to be weirdness between them. Claire had a good

time seeing the sights with him, but she didn’t expect what happened on Halloween night. She has no regrets.

 

 

Holden admits he assumed she’d reunited with Kyle. She makes it clear she hasn’t and won’t. That doesn’t mean she’s ready to jump into a serious relationship. He can respect that, but is a little disappointed. He’s also worried she’s pulling away because of what he did with Audra. Claire can’t judge anyone after what she did to her family… but she still needs him to confirm that he regrets what he did.

 

 

As she wonders if there was something he didn’t tell her, Audra blows in and immediately begins taunting them. She’s sure Kyle is devastated that he lost the girl of his dreams to a player. Audra stiffens up when Claire goads her about her old days in LA. She reminds Audra that Victor wants his money back since she failed to seduce Kyle. Audra reminds her that she tried to snuff out her family. Claire says

 

 

she’ll spend the rest of her life making up for that, but doubts Audra has scruples. Holden tries to stop this from escalating. When Claire threatens to expose her, Audra makes it clear she has no qualms about making her shut up. They ratchet up their threats. When it gets physical, Holden stands between them. As he and Claire go, she threatens that she will expose Audra.

 

 

Chelsea and Adam head to Society for a little relaxation, but he can hardly keep his eyes off the latest business reports. Pulling her onto the corner couch, they make out and then talk about how badly Arabesque is imploding. Chelsea almost feels sorry for Cane, but Adam thinks he’s only getting what he deserves. Lily noses into the conversation, but Chelsea and Adam are not feeling sympathy for Ashby. His ex-wife believes him when he claims he wasn’t going to use the AI. She assumes Victor was behind the theft.

Chelsea asks what’s changed to make her defend Cane after all he’s done. Is it about the kids, or is it more personal? Lily admits she’s softened because she can see Cane’s regrets are real, and he wants to heal the family. That’s hard when he’s being relentlessly attacked. Adam says whatever happens to Cane next is on him. All that Lily wants is a ceasefire. The Newman assumes Ashby is still hot and bothered, which means they need to keep their guard up. Chelsea backs him up and tells Lily that if she wants this to end, she needs to convince her ex to back off. Once she walks away, Chelsea hopes Lily will get through to Cane and they’ll both leave them alone. Adam doubts that will happen. Lily is probably setting herself up for more heartache.

Cane is happily refilling Phyllis’s wine glass as they have dinner at the Athletic Club. She’s confused about why they are together and asks if something happened with Lily. Ashby claims he’s accepted reality and is attracted to her. Phyllis isn’t sure she can trust him since he flips between extremes. He claims he’s looking for a path forward after things blew up on him. Phyllis assumes he created Dumas as a defense, but things blurred, and now he no longer knows who he is. He explains Colin warned him not to delay telling Lily the truth, but he wasn’t ready.

After Phyllis tells him how much she likes Dumas and identifies with him, he announces he plans to bury him forever. She reminds him of the phenomenal amount that he achieved. Cane thought he could handle it, but made stupid assumptions. It seems like a long shot that his kids will come around. Phyllis is over hearing about his regrets. She reminds him that he has her, and she’ll never ask him to change. Besides, wanting to be a ruthless corporate pirate and a family man is hardly unattainable. Victor does it. She teases Cane for being so conflicted about it, but assumes he’s been smart enough to have a backup plan to protect his company. Cane suggests she invite him to her room for a nightcap to tell him all her plans.