Episode 94, originally published 19-Apr-98

Sun of a Playa

Jack is in Victor's office. "So, Victor, when are you going to drop the bomb on Nikki?" "My dear Jack, I don't know what you're talking about but I'm sure I don't have time for it." "Oh, I think you know exactly what I'm talking about and I'm not leaving here until I get a straight answer. Now when are you coming clean with Nikki about how her fantasy world of a life with you was just a deathbed delusion?" "I'm sorry, Jack, but that's really none of your business, now is it?" Jack pulls out a pocket calculator and punches some buttons. "Let me just recheck my math," he says as he punches away. He shakes his head. "Yep, it came out just the same way this time as it did the last time. Victor, you've exceeded your quota of wives." "I have not," Victor says. "I have exactly one wife, and everything I've done is completely legal." "And that wife would be?" "Nikki, of course." "Oh, so you'd not mind if I just invited Diane out on a little date?"

Grace says to Nick, "The truth is that telling Sharon about Cassie was probably the worst mistake of my life." Nick looks at her with surprise and then says, "Grace, you don't have to say that just to make me want to go to bed with you." She smiles. "No, Nick, it's true. I really regret it." Nick's brain (what little there is of it) drifts away for a moment. Then suddenly he says, "Uh, I've gotta go do something. Hey, I'll be back in a while--can you work on this report for me? No one seems to like it and I don't understand why. As far as I can tell, it's just the same as all the others you and I have written--except this one I did by myself... Well, anyway, maybe if you look it over, you can see the problem." Grace smiles. "Sure, Nick...." But he's already out the door.

Victor stares at Jack. "Now, you listen here, Jackabbott. You stay the hell away from my wife." "Oh, but Diane isn't your wife--she's your ex-wife." "Well, you know damned well what's going on here Jack and you had better not interfere or I'll make sure you regret it." "Interfere? No, nothing like that. I'd just like for you to tell me what's going on. You see, you're holding Genoa City's two most eligible women on hold and I'm content to go out with either one of them--I just want you to tell me which one of them is free." Victor glares at him. He stands and walks up to Jack, staring straight into his eyes. The situation is tense. "Jack," he says finally, "you did say you were staying until you got an answer?" Jack nods. "That's right, Victor." "Good, because if you're staying I'm not," Victor says. And he leaves. Jack sighs and goes to Victor's desk, where he proceeds to dial a number.

Nick arrives at the hospital to find Victor staring through the window of Nikki's room. "Dad?" he asks tentatively. "Yes, m'boy, what is it?" Victor says. "Dad, how'd you do it? How'd you arrange to marry Mom so quickly--aren't there rules and...?" "Well, sometimes a man just has to take matters into his own hands. Especially when one is rich and powerful, you know? You can't always be a victim of what other people want, you know?" "Oh, man," says Nick, "do I ever know. I have been such a victim lately, Dad--it's like I'm letting Sharon walk all over with me. But so back to the rules thing, you didn't do anything illegal did you?" "Well, not very illegal," Victor says. "A small honorarium paid to a certain official in a certain Latin American country...." "So it was really just like hiring another servant like Miguel," Nick says. "Exactly," Victor says. "Well, thanks, Dad. I'm real glad we had this time to talk." Victor nods, distracted, as Nick leaves. His mind is on Nikki.

Victoria is at her office working away when the phone rings. "Hello?" she says, wondering who it is. "Hey, sugar, how you holding up?" "Hi, Jack," she responds. "I'm doing ok, I guess," she says. "Great news that your mom's doing better, isn't it?" Jack asks. "Yeah, Jack. Great news." "Hey, is something else going on? You sound down..." "Oh, nothing really. Just life..." "Without Cole, you mean?" "Yeah, like that," she says. "Well, you're in luck. Because old smilin' Jack is holding a small celebration at the Private Dining room. You don't have to bring anyone--just your smiling self." "I dunno, Jack. Maybe not tonight. How about a rain check?" "No can do, Victoria. Everything's been ordered and there's exactly one seat reserved just for you." She hesitates. "Come on. It won't be the same without you..." She smiles. "All right, Jack. What time?" "Eight o'clock. Or you'll miss the opening toast..." "Ok, Jack, I'll be there," she says. "With bells on?" he asks. "Maybe not that. But I'll be there," she promises.

As Nick pulls up at the ranch, he hears splashing at the pool. He runs around the house side of the house to the back to see what's up. It's Miguel with Veronica. "Miguel!" he says, glaring. "Nicholas," Miguel says with a bit of surprise. "I did not expect you so--" "Apparently not," Nick says with a hostile tone. "You're not supposed to be swimming in the--" he starts to say. Just then, Cole walks up. "Oh, cut the poor guy some slack, Nicholas. He's going through a rough time with Nikki in the hospital and a killer on the loose," Cole says. Nicholas sighs. "Oh, all right. But look, Miguel, I need your help with something right away." "What is it?" Miguel says. "Just grab your passport and come with me," Nick says. "My passport?" Miguel asks. "Where are we going? I told Veronica here I'd get her home later, and I--" "It's ok," Cole volunteers. "I'll take care of your friend." Miguel looks a little worried about leaving Veronica in the water with a known barracuda like Cole circling the area for the kill, but he decides not to press the matter. "Very well. If it's ok with Veronica..." Veronica smiles and looks at Cole. "I'll be fine," she says.

As Nicholas and Miguel board the plane, Nicholas says to Wally, "Just take us where you took dad, ok?" Wally nods and gets into the cockpit. Nick then explains to Miguel, "Now when we arrive, I want you to take us to some kind of official place that can get us the documents we need." "But I don't even know where we're going," Miguel complains. "The point is," Nick says, "that we're going to Latin America. I'm sure you'll figure it out." Miguel looks angrily at Nick but doesn't complain further.

At the Private Dining Room, Victoria enters to find Jack seated at a table. "Where's the party?" she asks. "You're it," he says. "Jack, I--" "What's the matter, Victoria. Don't think you can hold your own with me for an evening? Should I have invited a body guard?" Her eye twinkles at him. "No, that's all right. I think I can hold my own. I'd be more worried about you, that's all," she says, pushing the need to defend back onto Jack. "I'll risk it," he says with a smile. "Now come on, sit down. Your mother is well, your family is back together, and it's time we celebrate." "That's great for me, but what about you? Shouldn't you have something to celebrate?" she asks. "Now that Dad's gone after Mom, what about you and Diane?" Jack smiles. "Well, to tell the truth, your dad's asked to keep them both on reserve and I'm just getting tired of the whole thing. So I thought I'd finally throw in the towel and go after fresh blood." Victoria rolls up her collar and says, "Why Jack, have you been growing fangs while I've not been looking?" He raises an eyebrow and smiles. "You'll never know," he says... "unless you keep me out past dawn, I guess..." He pours her some wine. "But let's not rush things," he says. "Agreed," she says, raising her glass. She looks at the wall clock. 8 o'clock. "You were going to make a toast?" Jack smiles. "Well, I didn't have a speech dreamed up I--" then he stops for a moment and laughs. "To the undead," he offers as the toast. She giggles. "The undead it is," she responds with approval.

Still at the hospital, Victor paces the hallway and finally sits on a couch. Michael Baldwin sits next to him. "Excuse me," Michael says. "You're Victor Newman, aren't you?" Michael asks. "That's right," Victor says with a certain pride both at being who he is and at being recognized. "Something I can do for you?" Victor asks, trying to discern what Michael's point is. "Not really," Michael says. "But there may be something I can do for you--well, come to think of it, maybe there is something we can each do for each other." There are hushed whispers for a moment as Michael explains his case. Finally Victor says, "That's very interesting, Mr. Baldwin. You seem to view marital law as substantially more flexible than my other attorneys have been making it out to be. And what exactly is your price?" "Well, as I mentioned, I'm not presently able to practice law--but I thought perhaps, with your connections, you could..." Victor smiles. "Ah, yes. Well, I'm quite sure I could. And now that I think of it--I owe you a great favor. I remember you now, Michael Baldwin. Once, a while back, I myself almost thought to have an affair with that woman, Christine Romalotti. But then I read somewhere about the legal grief she had caused her previous employer--that would be you, I suppose--when he had made advances toward her, perfectly natural advances it seemed to me, and I decided to back off. So you may have saved me from years in prison, Mr. Baldwin, and I thank you for that." Michael smiles and readies to leave. The two men shake hands. "I'll be in touch," Michael says. "Yes, you do that," Mr. Baldwin. "I think Newman Enterprises can use a man like you."

Cole sits alone at the poolside, watching Veronica swimming around. "You seem really comfortable in that pool--it's almost like you live here," he comments, trying to make conversation. She smiles. "Well, Miguel has that effect on people, I guess," she explains. "I'm afraid I didn't catch your name," Cole says. "Oh, sorry," she says. "It's Veronica... Veronica Landers." "Wow," Cole says, "that's a coincidence." "What's that?" "Just that your last name is `Landers'. Nikki Landers, the woman of the house, was recently shot right inside in her front living room there." Veronica pretends to shiver. "That is odd," she says. Then she adds, "I didn't get your name, either." "Oh," he says, "I'm--" "Wait, let me guess," she says. "You're Cole Howard." Cole looks surprised. "How did you guess?" "I read your latest book--Hope in a Bottle--and your picture's on the back cover." "Oh, right," Cole says, nodding. "So have you started on another?" she asks. "Another? No, in fact I've proposed to--" "No, not another woman, another book." "Oh, sorry. Uh, yes, I'm thinking of writing a mystery..." "Based on the shooting here at the house?" "Absolutely. It's such an amazing story." "I know nothing about it," Veronica says innocently, "but perhaps you can tell me..." Cole brightens up and starts to tell her what he knows...

Victor and Nikki arrive in a chauffered limo. Victor helps Nikki out of the car and into a wheelchair which the driver pushes up to the door. Victor tips the driver and takes over from there, pushing Nikki into the house. Nikki suddenly scrunches up her nose and looks to Victor. "Ooh, what's that smell?" she asks. Victor goes to investigate and comes back in a few moments. "Well, I'll be damned," he says. "What is it?" Nikki asks. "It's that fella Joshua, your ex-husband. In all the excitement we forgot completely to make arrangements for him. He's apparently starting to decay." "What?" Nikki says. "Miguel!" she yells. Cole comes wandering in from the pool. "Were you calling for Miguel?" he asks. "Yes, have you seen him?" "Hey, what's that smell?" Cole asks. "That's what we were looking for Miguel about. Apparently in all the focus on my shooting, everyone forgot about poor Joshua and he's upstairs decaying with no one having made any arrangements for him." "Well, I think he'll be back later. He said he was going with Nicholas to somewhere in Latin America." Victor checks his watch. "He shouldn't be gone too long, but I know--why don't you stay at my house tonight?" Nikki looks uncertain. "But what about Diane?" "I'm sure she won't mind staying in Hope's old room," Victor says. "After all, it's just for one night."

Cole returns to the pool and Victor punches in a number on his cell phone. "Hello, this is Victor Newman. We're not staying after all. Please bring the car back around. We'll be waiting." He hangs up.

In the Dominican Republic, Nick is with Miguel at a printing shop. "You explain it," Nick says. Miguel nods and says to the man at the counter. "El sen~or conmigo es muy rico pero falta un poco de inteligencia. El cree que ustedes pueden darle inmediatamente un divorcio de su esposa--una mujer bien simpatica y muy bonita que no merece tal clase de hombre estúpido como este." Nick looks suspiciously at Miguel. "Hey, who are you calling stúpido?" he asks. Miguel says, "Shh. I said estupendo--it means `stupendous'," Miguel lies. The man at the desk says, "Sabe que no tenemos ningún abilidad de autorizar divorcios." "Oh, sí," Miguel says. "Ese no importa. Vamos a darles mucho dinero si ustedes me pueden dar qualquier hoja de papel con ese palabra `divorcio' puesto prominentamente y con algunos espacios para los nombres." "Ah, sí, entiendo completamente," the man says agreeably. "Is he going to do it?" Nick asks. Miguel nods. "Oh yes, Nicholas. He is quite happy to help us." Nick smiles. "Muchos Garcias," he says thankfully to the man. The man winks at Miguel at an angle Nick can't see. Then he follows Nick's direction and writes the name Garcia in a variety of places on the document.

Cole sits with Veronica on the porch. "So you see, Veronica, why this is such a GREAT story. I mean, she took on this whole new identity and she waited so long to commit the crime... It's terribly interesting! Only a truly gifted writer could possibly have come up with some incredibly clever a story." "So this will be an autobiography?" Veronica asks. "Huh?" he says. "About how you go about solving the crime..." "Oh," he says. "No, that would never work." "I don't understand." "Well, I dunno. Maybe I'll be in there but I'll have to change me. That's how reality differs from great fiction. It would be horribly embarrassing to cast someone in my story to just go around raving about what a clever plot he'd just experienced... as I've been doing all evening. A writer would have to be completely egocentric to try a ploy like that. No, if there's someone who solves the problem, it will have to be more subtle, like a detective--not another writer, slobbering over how well-written everything is. That's just so ridiculous--well, it would piss off my readers for sure. They'd put down the book right away as soon as I tried." "Or switch off their TV's," Veronica says. Cole looks at her quizzically. "I was just thinking ahead to the TV movie..." she says. "You know, I hadn't thought about that. But for an >>INCREDIBLY COOL<< plot like this that is BETTER THAN ANYTHING ANYONE HAS PROBABLY EVER DONE ON TV, maybe it's not so unreasonable to assume it would take the airwaves by storm. Now that I think about it, there could be a Daytime Emmy in it for me for best writer." Veronica smiles, "And if you don't win the emmy, you can always write a story about how you won it, right?" Cole laughs nervously. "That would be a little much, I think. I could never bring myself to expose such ego... no, deep down I'm really a shy country boy--I'd never be up to claiming to have the talent needed to write a story like this AMAZING REAL LIFE DRAMA that just happened here with this shooting. No, ma'am..."
[Author's note: Click here to re-enable dazzling special effects.]

Nick arrives back at his office and finds Grace just finishing the report. "Grace," he says, "I have something to ask you." "What's that, Nick?" she says. "Will you marry me?" "Nick, I'm afraid I was distracted for a moment. I'd swear you'd asked me if I'd--" "Marry me," Nick says. "But what about Sharon?" "I flew to someplace spanish tonight with Miguel and got a divorce, just like my dad did. And now I can get married to you if I want." (In his mind, we hear him say, "Anything to get away from Cassie!") "Ok, Nick, I will. I will marry you." They rush out of the room and head for Wally's plane so they can get a late-night wedding in Nevada.

The next morning, Grace and Nick arrive at his house on the ranch. She's wearing a slight hint of lace, suggesting they've tied the knot. He picks her up and carries her across the threshold. Inside, Sharon sees them. "Grace, are you hurt?" "Hurt, no, why?" she asks. "Well, Nicholas is carrying you." "Oh, well, that--Nicholas and I just got married." Sharon looks at him in shock. "Nicholas!" "Sorry, Sharon. I didn't feel like it was working out. So Miguel and I got us divorced like dad did to Diane. I think you should get your things and get packed."

A short while later, Sharon is standing with suitcases in hand at the door. "Got everything?" Nick asks. "Everything but Cassie," Sharon says. "Do you need help packing for her?" Nick asks. "No, I decided I should leave her here. Remember, we talked about her need for a stable home in case her real mother ever comes to claim her. Since I don't have a husband any more and since Grace does, I think it's more fair if she stays with you." "But I--" Nick says. But before he can stop her, she's out the door.

Jack comes into Victor's office with a broad grin on his face. "I was surprised not to find you here this morning when I arrived," Victor says. "Oh, you mean because I was going to wait until you gave me an answer about your harem?" Victor can't suppress a smile, but says, "You're trying my patience, Jack." "Relax Victor because I have moved on. I realized as I was standing here by myself last night that even though you may have accidentally ensnared more than your quota of Genoa City's best catches in your aging net, that all was not lost--there are other fish in the sea." "Well, that's unusually astute of you Jack." "So I went out and found me one of them, one who isn't even one of your ex's--though I admit that cut the field down considerably--and I had a fabulous night." "Hmmmm," Victor says, "well, I'm glad to see you finally got some sense, Jack." "Me, too," says Jack. "In fact, I really have to thank you Vic. If it hadn't been for your stubbornness, this one would probably have completely passed me by." "Well, when it comes to stubbornness, Jack, you know you can always count on me," Victor says with a kind of smug tone. Jack is already moving for the door. "Yes sirree," he says over his shoulder, "your daughter and I really did sizzle last night. I think this is the beginning of something really great." As he exits, we hear Victor call out in vain, "Jack?! Jack!"

Nick enters the door of Collins & Sons looking for legal advice. "I have a problem. I feel like I'm being stalked... everywhere I go, I--" "Is this someone in your family?" Doris asks. "No, this is definitely NOT someone from my family. Not now. Not ever. Just someone I can't seem to get away from." "You probably just need a simple injunction," Doris says. "I'll have one of my associates help you--step through the first door there." Nick nods and enters the first door. Inside, Cassie sits at her desk. "Daddy!" she says eagerly. "I'm so glad you finally took time out to visit me!"

That's all for this episode. Hope you learned something. Don't miss Episode 95!
If you missed any older episodes, see the index.

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