"As you all know, I called you here because my mother chose not to renew her contract with Forrester Creations, and her final day was last week. We all thought she was just retiring. She's earned a break from the business, but word is getting out that she's making an announcement later today."

"She is," Ivy confirmed. "Liam told me that an official press conference is happening at noon."

"Shut up, Ivy. Nobody cares," Maya snapped. Rick grinned and nodded to her.

"Anyway, I called you all in here to see if anybody knows what might be happening. I called Hope in Italy, but she's as clueless as the rest of us."

Maya watched as the Forresters and their business partners all began talking and bickering amongst themselves. She could chime in, but nobody would listen. Even Ivy had more of a say in the day-to-day running of the company than Maya, and she was nothing. It was like being the head model meant less than nothing!

And Rick kept mentioning Caroline every chance he got. She understood it at first. Caroline was his wife and she had hurt him and Maya did everything she could to help him move on but he wasn't. Rick was stuck in the same place that he had been when Maya had initially won him back.

"I'll be right back," Maya told her fiance, the CEO of Forrester Creations. He smiled at her, kissed her passionately, and then turned to see Caroline's reaction. As funny as it was watching Caroline and her newest beau Ridge gag, it still hurt.

The moment she got into the hallway, Maya's phone rang. "Hello? Maya Avant, Head Model of Forrester Creations speaking."

"Maya." Brooke sounded excited. There was definitely something going on with her. Something big.

"Yes, Ms. Logan?" Maya squeaked out. She was very glad that Pam and Donna were in the meeting and not at their desk. Nobody needed to see her have a moment of weakness. Maya could never let her guard down in front of those people.

"How would you like to be a part of history? I know you and I haven't always seen eye-to-eye on things, but you are a fantastic model and I also know that Forrester doesn't sign their models to exclusive contracts."

"What are you getting at, Ms. Logan?" Maya whispered into her phone. She looked at the closed door behind her, then stepped away from it.

"I'm having a press conference today at noon. It's being held at my house, and I want you there."

"Rick and I will be there," Maya assured her future mother-in-law. "We wouldn't miss a thing."

"Not Rick." Brooke's voice suddenly grew hard. "Just you, Maya. I have an offer for you, but it'll have to wait until after the press conference."

Maya looked back to the conference room door before giving her answer.

B&B

RJ was giddy. There were a lot of reporters for Brooke's announcement. Tabloid and fashion press alike were jostling for the best seats. He still couldn't believe this was happening. They were about to revolutionize the face of fashion and nobody would know what to make of it.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the press, my name is Julian Crane. We have called you here today to make an announcement that will shake this city... Nay, we will shake the entire fashion world to its core. Now, if you will allow me the pleasure of introducing one Ms. Brooke Logan."

Julian stepped to the side and RJ's mom stepped up to the podium. She was going to surprise the hell out of the world, and he had a few surprises in store for her.

"Hello. Yes. I know you are all buzzing with anticipation and questions about my departure from Forrester Creations and what my secret new project is, but before we take questions I have a few things to share with you all.

"My departure from Forrester was completely amicable. My son Rick is still the CEO there and I am wish him all the success in the world, but by the end of my tenure there I realized that become a meaningless figurehead resting on her laurels. It wasn't until Julian approached me with this offer that I realized how little of myself I was putting into my work. But this new project? This new company? I am so dedicated to it that I've put my name on it. Ladies and gentlemen of the press, I am proud to announce to you the worldwide debut of Logan & Crane, the world's newest fashion house!"

A loud murmur came from the crowd and RJ was just waiting for his cue from Julian. So far, though, the president of the company was just standing by his CEO's side as she wooed the press.

"I am so happy to be the CEO of this brand new enterprise, and I'll be working day and night with Julian and my son RJ to make sure this company is everything it can be. Now, I'm sure you all have questions. I am happy to take them now."

"Andrea Mitchell, Eye on Fashion. Ms. Logan, how will Logan and Crane be any different from your work at Forrester Creations?"

"Well, Andrea, as I said, I am the CEO of this company and that is something I haven't done in well over a decade. Also, Logan & Crane is targeting a completely different market. My son RJ is a very talented designer with a youthful eye, but he wants everyone to share his vision, not just an elite few. So I am currently trying to work with brand new distribution partners to make sure that nothing we release costs over forty American dollars. We're aiming for an equally reasonable price in European and Asian markets, but I can't divulge more than that as those talks are still new."

"Shawn Price, Llanview Gazette. Brooke, how would you respond to the undoubtedly incoming charges that your son RJ Forrester being a designer for your company is just a continuation of the nepotism that runs so rampant in fashion?"

Then Julian did it. He gave RJ the sign.

"I can answer that!" RJ said loudly as he stood from his seat. He walked up to the podium and hugged his mother. She then stood back so that he could address the crowd. "I was attached to Logan & Crane before my mother. This venture is very much a family business, but everyone has earned the right to be here. And in celebration of this launch I have two special announcements to make: the first being that I have filed paperwork with the state of California to have my surname formally changed from Forrester to Logan."

The sounds that came from the crowd was nothing next to the silence from RJ's mother. He just smiled because he wasn't done.

"And the second surprise? I would like to welcome back to the illustrious world of fashion my designing partner and best friend, Amber Moore!"

Then Amber rose from her seat in the back of the crowd and sashayed to the podium while the press roared with excitement.

"Amber is also wearing the first piece that Logan & Crane will be offering. This is just a sneak preview. Pre-orders will available soon, but our launch collection isn't finished. We're very close, though. But be sure to check out the Logan & Crane website and social media accounts launching today as well. We'll be sharing a lot of behind the scenes pictures and videos."

"Katherine Ogy, Salem Spectator. Amber, how did you come into the fold of Logan & Crane?"

"RJ sought me out when he first entered the field of design. My experience and his cutting edge ideas are the perfect marriage for what this company wants to do," Amber boasted as she put her arm around RJ's shoulders. He looked over to his mother with a smile, and she was clearly doing her best to put on a show for the press. A screaming match would get them even more headlines, but it would be the wrong kind.

"And just what do you mean by marriage, Amber? Are you involved with yet another of Brooke's children?"

Amber looked to RJ, but he took the reins. This was his announcement to make.

"Amber and I are just friends and colleagues. You are all more than welcome to speculate otherwise, though."

More than a few of the reporters chuckled.

"Now, if you don't mind, Amber and I are going to turn this back over to our wonderful CEO. Thank you very much."

B&B

RJ nearly screamed when he saw that his flat wasn't empty.

"So you're still playing at being straight? You're a fashion designer. It's the only occupation other than styling hair where the gays outnumber the straights."

'How did you get in here, Noah?"

Noah lounged about on RJ's sofa, playing with the tassels on the throw pillow.

"Things in Genoa City got heavy. I had to leave to preserve my sanity, so I thought I'd come into town to see how my old friend was doing. I caught your press conference on my satellite radio. Very cool of you to go your own way. Mad respect."

"We haven't been friends for a long time, Noah. After Paris, you just acted like I didn't exist."

"We were both younger then. And you knew that things were over when I left Paris. So why are you so mad?"

RJ didn't have an answer for that, so he changed the subject. "How did you get in here?"

"I'm a Newman. You know as well as I do that money can grease a lot of palms. But please, don't lodge a complaint because of me. After all, today is a happy day. I'm happy for you."

"What about Eden? Is she happy for me, too?"

For a moment, Noah's eyes got dark. "Eden will always mean a lot to me. You knew that when we got involved, but she's not... We haven't been together for a few years now."

"She finally figure out that you like to suck dick as much as you like eating pussy?"

"You're one to talk about being in the closet, RJ. You live in Los Angeles and your entire family comes from fashion. My background is not that. At all. You should have seen the way those people acted when they thought my uncle Adam was gay. His being a sociopath was handled better."

"You left me for Eden, and now that you aren't together you wanna come back?"

Noah shook his head again. "No, man, it's not that. I really do want to just catch up with you and congratulate you. Yeah, I was shitty when I left you, but that was years ago. I was twenty. You were seventeen. The age difference then meant a lot more here in the states than it does now. And surely you have a new guy or two."

All RJ could do was walk away and stare out his bay window. Three years ago, Noah left him in the streets of Paris. He had gotten over it, but he had never really moved on. He'd concentrated more on his studies and now his business. But Noah was back in his life for however long and the ache that had vanished was back.

"Do you still play the guitar? Do you remember how I used to draw my assignments while you would tune that thing and I'd yell at you for distracting me?"

"I remember you coming to my coffeehouse shows and designing my flyers in your free time." Noah sighed and RJ looked back to him. "I haven't played for a long time. I became a bartender for my dad and I started dating this cop and she wasn't anything special but she was there. Nobody in my family ever really supported my music but my mom, and now her life is even more of a mess than mine."

"I'm sorry to hear that," RJ offered as he turned back to the window. "You should try it again. The music thing. You're only 23. And you're already richer than most established artists. You have nothing to lose."

"I'm glad you're doing so well, RJ. I really am. You deserve it all."

RJ turned back to thank Noah, but the door to his flat was open and Noah was gone. He didn't chase after him.

B&B

Brooke was so thrown by RJ's announcements that she had forgotten her meeting with Maya. They were making up for it with drinks in her dining room, but it didn't stop the constant calls from Ridge and Rick. It didn't help that RJ wasn't answering his own phone. He had just left the press conference before Brooke was done answering questions.

"Why did you want to see me, Ms. Logan?" Maya asked before sipping on her champagne. Brooke was favouring vodka herself. She needed something strong to her through the news that she would be working with Amber Moore. Well, until the next time she saw Amber and fired her.

"I want you to leave Forrester and work for me," Brooke said bluntly. "We won't be paying as much, but you'll still be a head model and more. You will be our talent scout: all the girls and boys like you who grew up with no money and no dreams? They are the demographic Logan & Crane wants. We need to reflect that in who wears our clothes in magazines and billboards. My name carries with it a lot of weight in the old world, but your face has more power in the new one."

"You want me because I'm black."

Brooke laughed a little at Maya's indignation. "Yes. We want you because you're talented and ruthless and because you're black. I don't know if you've noticed, but you're the only black model at Forrester. At Logan & Crane, we want models that are Latino, white, black, Asian... RJ even wants us to hire trans models! I wouldn't know the first thing about how to do any of that, but you do. You can help us change the face of fashion from mine to yours."

With that confession, Brooke knew Maya was floored. All those times Caroline or Ridge or anyone else had called her a criminal or an ex-con, she knew they meant "black". She knew it was meant to be derogatory. Any time she was invited to a party, the hosts made to let her know they would be serving chicken. But this? This was Maya getting to use her skin as a source of pride instead of an obstacle to overcome. This was what she had wanted as a kid: someone who looked like her that she could look up to.

Rick would be mad; he would be furious. But Maya couldn't decline the offer. She wanted the jewels and the prestige and the power, but more than that Brooke knew that she wanted every other Maya Avant in the world to know that they deserved it, too.