"They invited you, too?" Brooke asked when she saw Bill and Katie waiting in front of the elevator. "Why?"

"Why not? I own half of Spencer, my wife is the president, and my son is the CEO. Of course I'm going to be invited," Bill boasted. He put an arm around Katie's shoulder and Brooke's heart twinged. She faked a smile.

"RJ invited me. He stopped out yesterday and insisted on it. You know we used to be really close." Katie's explanation was very carefully worded. It didn't make it sting any less.

"Where's Will?" Brooke asked, noticing that neither Bill nor Katie was holding their son.

"Donna has him. RJ wanted us to bring him, but he has a cold."

Brooke nodded and didn't say anything else. She hadn't expected RJ to invite them. She supposed she didn't know who would be on the invite list. It was a safe bet, though, that Ridge and Caroline were not. Her son hadn't spoken to his father in months and Brooke had long since given up trying to convince RJ that he should.

The elevator opened and all three stepped into it. It was the most uncomfortable ride in an elevator that Brooke had taken in a long time.

B&B

"I love it." Rick grinned and leaned back in his seat. "It is brilliant, Maya. Lesser scandals have ruined bigger careers. I always thought Caroline and Ridge were just stuck up classists until Layla joined the company."

"Classism? Really?" Layla looked at Maya and the other woman nodded.

"They were careful not to use any openly racist language. It was all very coded. Ghetto. Urban. You know what I'm talking about. And I didn't want them to accuse me of playing the race card. Racists always love doing that."

"I wish I'd realized it sooner." The remorse in Rick's voice pulled at Maya's heart. "I don't condone it. At all. But Ridge and his daughter are shareholders. I can't force him out of the company."

"But we can shame him into leaving it," Layla finished.

"And Steffy hates Caroline," Maya added. "If we get rid of Ridge, that bitch has no protection. Bill only owns twelve percent of Forrester. He can't protect her ass."

Maya watched as Rick looked at the photo of his father on his desk. "It could taint the Forrester name forever, though. My dad spent his entire life making it mean something."

"And we're doing this to make sure his name will always mean something," Layla assured Rick. "I've already... I contacted the only person I know of who hates Ridge more than us."

"Nick Marone?"

Maya slapped the back of Rick's head and Layla laughed.

"No, Rick. I got Layla into a meeting with RJ."

"He thought he was stealth recruiting me," Layla explained as she crossed her legs. "When he found out why I was really at L&M, he got excited."

"He's already agreed to co-release a statement with me absolving Forrester itself of harbouring a hostile working environment and blaming everything squarely on Ridge on Caroline abusing their authority." Maya kissed Rick's temple and smiled at Layla. "After all, your dad was the one who adopted that idiot Marcus and hired Carter. Eric's a compassionate, accepting man. This is all about Ridge and Caroline."

"We'll minimize the damage to the Forrester brand itself. We just need to make sure nobody else finds out about this until after it's done. Especially Carter's old Uncle Tom ass," Layla told Rick while Maya nodded in agreement. "After all, he is the black best friend they're going to try to use as a shield."

"I am so glad you two came up with this," Rick said with a weary sigh. "Things are going to get really ugly if we pull this off."

"But not as ugly as Ridge," Maya laughed, leaning across the desk to give Layla a high five.

B&B

"Welcome to our home!" RJ greeted dramatically after he opened the door. He held his arms out to his side and spun out of his guests' way.

"He's been practicing that ever since I got here," Liam told everyone from the sofa.

RJ groaned and hit him with an accent pillow.

"It's a classic line, you ass."

"Thanks for coming out," Noah told everyone with a smile. "I didn't expect it to be this big a thing."

"It should be a bigger thing!" Bill exclaimed as he walked into the loft. He balked when he saw that the bed and the dining table shared the same floor space as the kitchen and the living room. "This apartment should be bigger, too."

"It's a loft, Bill," RJ explained. He spoke slowly, as though Bill were an idiot. "It's a deliberate design choice to have everything in one spot."

"It's a poor design for poor people. A real home has walls."

"Shut up, Bill." Katie put her hand over his mouth and apologized to RJ and Noah. "Sorry about him. He's just being Bill. Your loft is lovely."

"Thank you, Aunt Katie!" RJ thrust his hands into the air and looked at Noah. "And you said we should do this at my mom's."

"Your mom agreed with me, but whatever." Noah nodded to Bill and smiled. "I'm really looking forward to starting at your company tomorrow."

Bill pulled Katie's hand away and laughed. "As you should. It's a huge opportunity for anyone. I normally don't hire people who don't have college degrees."

"He's an intern, Dad," Liam called from the couch. RJ noticed that Brooke was sitting with him and being quiet. "You're not paying him."

"All the more reason to celebrate!" Bill boasted before looking down at RJ. "Where is the food? And the whiskey?"

Again, RJ regarded Bill as if he were an idiot. "The food is on its way. I didn't want it delivered early and have it growing cold. And why would I have whiskey?"

"What kind of man doesn't have whiskey? Even Liam does! Though, his is practically coloured water." Noah snorted and Liam objected, but Bill ignored them. "Then I'll have the scotch."

"I don't have scotch," RJ just kind of stared at Bill. "I don't have wine, either. Bill, I'm 20. Nobody would sell me alcohol because it is illegal. Do you know what that means?"

"It means your boyfriend over there can run to the liquor store and buy something. Noel, you're over 21, right?" Bill reached into his back pocket and produced his wallet. "Here's my credit card. Go buy a bottle of the most expensive whiskey they have."

"It's Noah," he corrected quietly, scratching the back of his head and looking at RJ.

Katie interrupted again. "Bill, you can go dry for one night. Don't you go anywhere, Noah. We're both really appreciative of everything you two gentlemen did for us tonight. Don't we?"

"I'd appreciate whiskey more."

RJ sighed, rolled his eyes, and walked away from the conversation and to the nearest mirror. He adjusted his tie and cursed himself for wearing a clip-on. It was stupid that he worked in fashion and couldn't tie one, but it was stupider that Noah couldn't do it, either. At least his hair looked good.

"How are things at L&M?" Katie asked Brooke, joining her sister and son-in-law on the sofa.

"Just fine," Brooke answered simply. "Things have settled down and we're out of crisis mode. Now it's all about getting back on track. Sales are still well beyond our initial estimates, even with the craziness."

RJ's eyes glazed over; whenever his mom started discussing numbers he checked out of the conversation. And Bill was discussing sports or something with Noah, which was equally boring, so RJ started setting the table even though the food still hadn't arrived.

"I'm surprised Amber isn't here." Liam took the plates from RJ's hands and looked over to Brooke and Katie. Clearly, he had also been bored by shop talk.

"I invited her. She was friends with Noah long before she and I got close, but she declined when I said you would be here. I guess things are still... Is 'tense' a good word to use?" RJ started grabbing cups and shrugged. "It's so dumb. Who hasn't faked the paternity of their kid?"

"I'm standing right here," Liam pointed out, setting the plates on the table. "Silverware is still in the second drawer, right?"

"Yeah. And I know you're here. It's why I said it. I mean, in the long list of dumb things Amber has done, you have to admit that trying to pass off a black baby as yours is the most hilarious."

"It's really not."

RJ rolled his eyes and grunted. "Whatever. The point is, she's not here and you are. And I appreciate you giving Noah this internship, but I would appreciate it even more if you just got over Amber lying about Rosie like you got over Steffy and Bill trapping Hope on that gondola in Aspen."

"You always know just the most inappropriate thing to say." Liam marveled at RJ. For his part, RJ snorted.

"What can I say? It's a gift." RJ kicked up his right leg and spun on his left foot. When he came to a stop, he began wobbling to the table and set the glasses down, then returned to cupboard to get a couple more.

"I like this Noah kid," Bill interrupted, slipping up behind Liam and throwing his arm over his son's shoulder to clap a hand on his chest. "RJ, how much do you want for him?"

"I'm not selling you my boyfriend. And aren't you straight?" RJ again just stood and stared at Bill.

Bill laughed and looked at Noah, who was decidedly not looking back at him. "Not for me. For Caroline. Liam, don't you think he'd be great with your cousin?"

"Dad, Caroline is with Ridge. Nobody likes it, but it is what it is. And Noah is with RJ. The exact same way you're with Katie."

"It was a joke. God. You people are why I drink."

Bill wandered away and Liam looked at RJ. They both started laughing.

"Can you finish this?" RJ asked Liam, pointing at the table. He had noticed Noah was standing by himself. "I think my man is feeling neglected."

"Go. I spend more time here than I do at my own house these days. I think I remember where everything is."

Nodding, RJ skipped away and then jumped onto Noah's back. He bit gently on his boyfriend's ear and Noah shrugged him off with a laugh.

"Kiss me," RJ ordered, clasping his hands together and looking up to Noah with his best puppy dog eyes.

"Here? Now? Why?"

"Here. Now. And because I said so. How's that work for ya?" RJ stood on the tips of his toes and Noah obliged. "See, now you're the center of attention."

And, indeed, everyone was looking at them and smiling, except for Bill who was typing on his phone.

"You guys can go back to whatever you were doing," Noah said awkwardly, raising his hand to the room and waving. RJ grabbed said hand and held it.

"Hey, RJ," Bill said, looking up. "I just got a text from one of my interns. She has paperwork for me and I gave her your address to drop it off. So if there's a knock at your door and it's not the food, then it's her."

RJ nodded, not really caring, but Noah pulled his hand away and stared at his own fingers. It was weird, but RJ shrugged and walked away. He'd already done his supportive boyfriend thing. Besides, it was obvious Noah wasn't quite comfortable with PDA in a roomful of straight people. They could talk about that after everyone left.

The door knocked and, before RJ could open it, Noah had bound over and thrown it open. He seemed relieved to see that it was the food. After paying for it, Noah turned around and noticed that everyone was looking at him in bewilderment, though RJ noticed Bill was smirking.

"What? You guys aren't hungry?" Noah walked over to the table and everyone joined him. Brooke was the last to take her seat, nervously sitting beside Liam and across from Bill.

RJ wished things had worked out between Bill and Brooke. While he didn't really care for Bill Spencer, the man had been good to his mother. He was definitely better for her than RJ's father.

"What is this?" Bill pointed his fork at the tupperware container nestled between the take out.

"I brought fried tofu!" Liam exclaimed cheerfully.

"I'll pass," Noah and Bill said at the same time. Even though he agreed with the sentiment, RJ rolled his eyes and said nothing. Bill grinned at Noah and Noah looked at the ceiling.

"Whatever. More for me." Liam spooned a healthy portion onto his plate and offered some to the women. Brooke accepted and Katie politely declined. RJ just looked at Liam like he was insane. "You guys are missing out."

"We're really not," Noah argued, Bill nodding in agreement. Then he looked at Bill and scooted his seat away, which was difficult since he was at one end of the table and RJ the other: there wasn't a lot of room to move.

Everyone started digging into what Bill kept calling the "real food" and were well into the meal when there was another knock at the door. Noah's face went pale, but he still left the table to answer the door. Suspicious, RJ stood and followed. His boyfriend had been acting weird ever since Bill and Katie arrived.

"Eden!" RJ yelled after Noah opened the door. He pushed the other man out of his way and practically tackled his old friend. She gave him an awkward pat on the back and he pulled away. "When did you get in town?"

"Last week. I... I'm interning at Spencer Publications. Noah didn't tell you?"

Then the air left the room. RJ stepped back, out of Eden's reach, and looked at Noah who most decidedly was not looking at him. He looked to everyone else in the loft, who were watching him like hawks.

"You have something for Bill?" RJ asked calmly, turning his attention to the manila envelope in Eden's hands.

"Yeah. I think they're contracts."

RJ snatched the envelope from Eden and roughly threw it at Noah. "Surely, you can tell Bill that Eden is here. Just like you told me."

"RJ..." Brooke started to rise from her seat, but Liam grabbed her arm and shook his head.

"I didn't know how to tell you." Noah knelt to the floor and retrieved the envelope, but still looked at nobody. "I... I just..."

"Thanks for dropping these off, Eden. It was good to see you. We'll make sure Bill gets the contracts. And believe me when I say I'm not mad at you." RJ slammed the door in her face and Noah flinched. After several seconds of staring at his boyfriend who refused to make eye contact, RJ threw his hands into the air and screamed, then stomped to the bathroom and slammed that door, too.

Noah just stood apart from everyone else, hands shaking so hard that the sound of paper rattling could be heard in the otherwise silent loft. Brooke, Katie, and Liam all looked at each other and then to Noah. Bill's eyes were fixed on the bathroom door, but they slowly slid to Noah as well.

"Well? Can I see my contracts?" Bill asked. The other guests turned and stared at him. He crossed his arms over his chest defensively. "What?"