"Ryan left the comfort of Tad's chair and began poking through some of WRCW's confidential files. AS he snooped, Liza returned to her office and demanded to know what he was doing in her office. Ryan turned around, extended his hand, and introduced himself to Liza as "the answer to [her] prayers." Liza had never heard of Ryan, so it was only natural that she walked over tot he phone and called security. Ryan pressed the receiver before she could finish her call, but security was able to get enough of her message to dispatch someone to her office. Ryan plopped himself down at the desk and tapped feverishly away on a calculator. He ripped off the printout and handed it to Liza just as George, the security guard, entered the room and began to drag him away. Ryan told her that the printout calculated the advertising revenue that WRCW could be making. Liza looked over the paper with a quick glance and told George to let Ryan free. Ryan was pleased that Liza was interested in what he had to say. He told her that the easiest way for the station to make more money from advertising was to raise its costs for placing an ad. It sounded simple, but Ryan had a whole spiel about how to make his plan work. In his plan, he would pit advertisers against each other to get more money for the station. If he told an advertiser that their ad prices were going to go up and that advertiser decided to back out on advertising, he'd simply tell them that their chief competitor had plans on taking their place in the advertising line-up. Liza rummaged through her files and handed over a copy of a memo she'd written up the week before. In the memo, Liza asked her advertising department to increase advertising revenue---and she had the exact same figures as Ryan. Ryan told Liza that he wanted to take on the project and that he'd work on commission only. That means he wouldn't get a regular salary, only a portion of the revenue he generates. Liza told him that he'd have one week to work his magic. Ryan said that he wouldn't even need that long. He told her that he'd need only twenty-four hours to increase the profit. If he couldn't accomplish his goal in that timeframe, he'd be wasting Liza's---and his---time.
Kelsey sauntered in WRCW and hunted down Scott. She told him that she wanted to drop by to thank him again for freeing her from the magician's handcuffs. Scott told her that he was glad to help. As Kelsey approached him, Scott began sneezing. He asked her what she was wearing. That was just the question that Kelsey had been waiting for. She unbuttoned her long black coat and revealed a low-cut brown dress. Scott was taken aback by her outfit and commented that she looked like Gillian. To Scott that was a quasi-compliment, but to Kelsey it was an insult. Kelsey offered to take Scott along the next time she went clothes shopping so that he could give her advice on what to wear. Scott told her that he doesn't like clothes shopping and quickly noted that Kelsey looks good in her usual everyday clothing. Kelsey reached into her purse and pulled out a pair of handcuffs. She told Scott that she'd picked them up at the magic shop. Before Scott knew what was happening, Kelsey cuffed herself to Scott. Things got tense when Scott received a page from his supervisor asking him to report to the stage and Kelsey couldn't unlock the cuffs. From the hall, Ryan watched with a smile on his face. Kelsey had put the key down the front of her blouse and with her hand cuffed she couldn't reach the key. She wiggled and jiggled until the key feel through the bottom of her dress. Scott bent over, picked up the key, and then freed himself. Once Scott had left, Ryan entered the room and praised Kelsey on her plot to win Scott over. Ryan felt that Kelsey needed a new approach. Kelsey denied that she was trying to win Scott... then she realized that she was talking to a complete stranger. Ryan suggested that Kelsey make herself "unavailable." That drives any man crazy, she said. Perhaps in the older set, Kelsey griped. Ryan insisted that his plan would work, but it was up to Kelsey to decide if she wanted his help out not.
Ruth stuck her head in Dimitri's room to check on his progress. Dimitri opened his eyes and asked Ruth if e was going to be okay. "Unfortunately," she groaned. Dimitri asked Ruth an awkward question, asking "Did Tad and Gloria...?" His question was open-ended, but it what he was implying was quite evident. Ruth rolled her eyes and fired back that Gloria's mind was not on amorous adventures. Ruth was so furious by Dimitri's lack of thought, that she told him that had it not been for Gloria...he'd be dead. Dimitri was stunned. Ruth didn't give him the details on what Gloria had done to save him, but then again he really didn't need to know. Ruth stormed out of the room just as Peggy was walking in. Peggy accused Dimitri of trying to send her to an early grave by nearly getting himself killed. Dimitri told Peggy that he'd shot Edmund. Peggy scratched her head and informed Dimitri that Edmund was alive and well. Dimitri struggled to shake his head back and forth. He explained that he would have killed Edmund if his bullets had not been replaced by blanks. Peggy noticed a similarity between the present-day Dimitri and the Dimitri of many years ago: Neither could express their sorrow. Peggy recalled the only time she saw Dimitri cry. Unfortunately, Hugo also saw the young Dimitri letting out his emotions. Hugo grabbed Dimitri and gave him a beating, telling him that a Marick never cries. Years and many beatings later, Dimitri had become his father---cold and easily angered. Dimitri didn't want to blame his father for what he'd become. He told Peggy that he "saw" his father at the mausoleum the night before. The tale sent shivers up Peggy's spine. She had words that she hoped would make Dimitri feel better, but in the end they didn't seem to help. She assured Dimitri that he still had time to change his ways. Dimitri wondered when he'd become so heartless. Peggy told him that she noticed the first signs of his changes shortly after Erica left him. Dimitri refused to believe that a woman caused his downward spiral. Besides, Erica left him over a year ago---he was over her now.
Joy hid behind a curtain, but she accidentally knocked something over. Tad heard the crash and moved closer to investigate. He might have found her had Gloria not entered the room. Tad told Gloria that he'd stopped by to visit Gloria. It wasn't clear why he felt the need to explain himself to Gloria, but he did so anyway. Asking forgiveness for the pun, Gloria told Tad that her life was "up in the air." Joy leaned her ear in the direction of the two strangers and listened intently to their conversation. Gloria told Tad that she'd come to a conclusion as to why she chose Dimitri over him. She said that Dimitri "needed" her more. She didn't understand why she stopped trusting her instincts. Had she listened to her heart she said that she never would have believed that Tad had slept with Liza. Tad asked Gloria to stop blaming herself for what happened. He'd made mistake, too. He told her that he was wrong for exposing Dimitri's lies to her in the way that he had. He forgot to take into consideration that Gloria had genuine feelings for Dimitri and that her life would crumble once she learned the truth. Gloria felt that Tad could've and should've blamed her for their relationship falling apart. She could have had everything, she sighed. Something Gloria said hit a nerve with Joy. The young woman bowed her head as though she was in deep thought about a painful memory. Gloria said that she'd made many mistakes, but that her "saddest mistake" was not marrying Tad. "We missed our chance, didn't we?" she asked Tad. Tad nodded his head. Tad assured Gloria that she'd find someone special one day, someone that would make her feel special. Gloria wasn't sure if she would ever find someone like that, but she definitely knew that her special someone was not living in Pine Valley. Gloria decided that it was time for her to move on and leave Pine Valley behind her. Tad asked her to reconsider, but Gloria's mind was made up. She told Tad that she wanted to make a clean break and that meant that she'd have no communication with anyone from Pine Valley. She hoped that Tad would someday find a woman that would provide him with the "love, happiness, and joy" that he deserved. Gloria leaned towards Tad and the two shared a final kiss. Gloria stood up and walked away. Tad pulled the locket from his pocket and repeated the word "joy." Joy's heart sank at the mention of her name. She watched as Tad held her locket in his hands.
Scott returned to the office and found that Kelsey hadn't moved since he left. He told her that he was sorry for yelling at her. Kelsey had a new attitude about her. She told him that she was the one who should be sorry. Scott asked her out for a cup of cappuccino, but Kelsey said that she had plans. Scott offered to walk to the door. Kelsey told him that he didn't have to, but Scott insisted. When the young couple left, Tad entered the office. Outside, Joy hovered by the doorway waiting to make her move.
Dimitri rested comfortably in his room. Gloria walked in, but when she realized that Dimitri was sleeping, she turned and started to walk away. Dimitri's eyes parted slightly as he called out to her, begging her not to leave."
- Soap Central