It's all in the game

Chance is home safe and sound, and everyone is overjoyed that he survived the explosion in Valencia, Spain. Can Chance easily slip into a daily routine after the devastating loss of his teammates and his long absence? Can Chance and Abby pick up where they left off and live their dream? Can Billy outsmart Adam and Victor? If Jack and Phyllis reunite, can their relationship survive round three, since they are older and wiser? Are Ashland and Victoria pulling a fast one on Victor? Join our columnist who has questions and opinions to offer, and perhaps a speculation or two, in Two Scoops this week.

With the excitement of Chance being found alive and well, let's begin with Abby and how she defied all the naysayers who insisted that Chance had not survived the explosion at the safe house in Valencia, Spain. Abby did find Chance, alive and well, living in Majorca, Spain, with his friends Kim and Errol Dunaway. Abby had known in her heart that Chance hadn't died. Everyone was over the moon to see Chance when Abby brought him home after he survived that deadly explosion.

Now that he is home, can he resume normal life with no ill effects from his near-death experience? I wonder if Abby and Dominic can help Chance adjust. I guess we are all questioning how long their peaceful existence will last.

Let's not forget that Mariah still wants to mother Dominic, and she still feels she should be Dominic's mother, even though she seems to be doing a good job hiding that from everyone. I still wonder if Mariah is going to try to negate the terms of the surrogacy contract through legal means for custody of her "Bowie." If she goes ahead with that plan, she will jeopardize her relationship with Tessa. The question is, who is more important to Mariah, Tessa or Dominic?

Then we have Devon, who recently really bonded with the little guy. Devon appeared a little heartbroken handing the baby back to Abby and Chance. During Abby's absence, Devon had an opportunity to grow very attached to Dominic. Will Devon try to negate the surrogate contract in order to get custody of Dominic, or will he accept the conditions of that contract?

I think Mariah and Devon will be interesting to watch -- to see whether either one of them will chose to fight for custody of Dominic. Mariah and Devon separately want to raise Dominic, but Dominic has two parents who are raising "their" child. If there is a custody battle, who should get sole custody of Dominic? This is all only speculation on my part because I like looking for the devil sitting on someone's shoulder, egging them on.

Abby is walking on cloud nine because she found Chance and brought him home to be with her and their son. However, Chance doesn't seem to be adjusting well to civilian life. Even though he attended his welcome home party, he appeared uncomfortable, and he couldn't wait to leave. I think Sharon was right. Chance has gone through a very traumatic situation, and he needs time to heal, with Abby's help. I don't believe this is going to be the bed of roses Abby hoped for. Abby, being Abby, will want to push Chance to adjust and to pick up where they left off before he left on his ill-fated mission. This might cause some dissension in their marriage, and there might be another hiccup if Mariah and/or Devon decide to sue for custody of Dominic.

Chance hasn't been home long enough for me to really sink my teeth into him, but I just see trouble brewing down the road. I believe he is heading for a major meltdown. Everyone has noticed that Chance seems off, and everyone is concerned, even Abby. Chance didn't want to go to Society with Abby because he had no idea who was watching, even knowing there was security watching Chance and his family.

No one seems to realize how traumatic Chance's situation in Valencia was and how deeply it affected him. If Chance has a meltdown, I believe all hell will break loose. Abby will more than likely stand by him, but what about Mariah and Devon? These two will more than likely jump on the bandwagon and fight for custody of Dominic because they will believe that Dominic is in an unstable environment. At least, that's what I think will happen if Chance does have a meltdown. I really hope that Devon and Mariah leave well enough alone. Abby and Chance have been through enough, and they don't need this duo to add to their issues.

On to our resident gambler, Billy. He has been emotionally beaten up pretty badly by Victor and Adam, yet Billy has no one to blame but himself. Victor has always had Billy's number, and he knew exactly how Billy would react in certain situations -- and he was right. Billy walked right into Victor's trap. Billy gambled and lost. This is the second time Billy has gambled with a company. When he was CEO of Jabot, he gambled and lost, but thankfully, the company was able to bounce back. ChancComm wasn't so lucky.

Call me crazy, but I really don't understand how Billy thinks he can best Adam and Victor by buying ChancComm. How does that help him? He would still have Ashland's lawsuit to contend with, and he has lost credibility with the media because of Victor and Adam's dirty tricks, so how exactly would having ChancComm back benefit Billy? If he wrote an expos about Victor and Adam's dirty tricks, how much credibility would that carry with the media after the Ashland expos that had to be recanted. None that I can see. Ashland's story was published, albeit by Adam hacking into the ChancComm server and releasing it, but ChancComm lost a lot of media support after printing a retraction of the Ashland story.

Billy has also lost credibility with everyone. Even Jill doesn't want him in a position where he could make any corporate decisions. I also can't blame Jack for refusing to enable Billy's latest addiction for power, vengeance, or ultimate gamble -- and also because there were too many temptations and triggers. I agree with Jack. A gambler is always looking for that rush or high, and those are two of Billy's worst triggers.

Thankfully, this whole situation hasn't put a wedge in Lily and Billy's relationship. I love how Lily is standing by her man. Lily told Billy about Adam and Sally's conversation and how Adam wanted Sally to spy on Billy. Billy told Lily he'd fed Sally a few tidbits because he'd known Sally would tell Adam about her encounter with him. It appeared that Billy's plan was working.

What a clever girl Lily was, approaching Victoria on the pretext that she wanted to know what to watch for if Billy began to backslide. Lily gave Victoria the impression that Billy was about to spiral, which, in actual fact, he wasn't, but the seed was planted and that was Lily's goal. Lily assured Billy that she supported his plan to turn the tables on Adam and Victor. I loved it when she told Billy she wouldn't abandon him the way Victoria did.

In the meantime, Billy has Adam believing that he has started that out-of-control spiral. Adam encountered Billy at the bar at Society, and Billy snarked at Adam like he'd had too much to drink; however, once Adam was gone, Billy ordered another apple juice. I nearly spit out my coffee because that made me laugh. Billy seems to be keeping it together and approaching his plan clearheaded. This will be a first, since Billy always just rushes in without much forethought. This time, it seems Billy has formulated a concise plan. I really hope he gets to turn the tables on Victor and Adam. You will hear me cheering if and when that happens.

Adam really has waxing poetic down to a fine art. He fed Sally quite the fictional story about how much he didn't want to break Billy and that he was filled with empathy for Billy. Adam claimed he had become a more evolved person, and he admitted that he'd crossed the line with Billy. He admitted that bringing ChancComm down hadn't been a business decision but a personal one. He asked Sally to do a bit of spying for him, since Sally had managed to develop a rapport with Billy. He wanted her to keep her eye on Billy and then casually report to him. Then he did a complete turnaround and asked Sally to pretend they'd never had that conversation, but when Sally left, there it was, Adam's evil smile.

I wouldn't have believed Adam's kind words about Billy to Sally. He is definitely planning something, and he is manipulating Sally into helping him, even though he told her to forget it. Can we say reverse psychology? But wait! I think Billy is also manipulating Sally. He's fed her a few tidbits he knew she would share with Adam. Sally doesn't know it, but I think she has been sandwiched between two schemers trying to outdo each other. This should be interesting.

I never believed that Adam had turned over a new leaf. His true colors are beginning to shine through. He certainly wasn't happy when dear old dad told him they weren't going to bid on ChancComm because Victor believed that ChancComm should go to Newman-Locke, where it belonged. He said Victoria should never have sold the media division in the first place. Adam claimed that Victoria had made it a gift to Billy on the pretext of restructuring the company. Now Adam is whining that daddy is rewarding Victoria and he is getting the scraps. What does Adam want? He is back in the family fold, but is he looking to be daddy's favorite child?

I don't believe Victor has given up so easily. He has another evil plan up his sleeve that he isn't sharing with Adam. Victor never gives up, so it will be interesting to see what the windmills of his mind have come up with this time.

Who do you suppose is the mystery woman spying on Billy at Society? My guess is Sally in disguise. It's right up Sally's alley to pull off something like this. It would certainly be a way for her to impress Adam with more information about Billy losing control. I suppose it could also be Victoria, who would want proof that Billy's old habits had returned, but I think she would have taken Lily's comments at face value that Billy might be backsliding.

Saint Nick is still spouting off about Ashland's past crimes, and he just won't give up. Ashland tried to act as mediator between Nick and Victoria, but our resident saint refused to sweep anything under the carpet. Nick needs to stop judging people. He needs to accept that Victoria, Victor, and Nikki have accepted Ashland's past, and they have all moved on. It's time Nick did the same.

Nick has been turning to Sharon a lot lately for guidance. Hmm, is Shick about to reconcile? I don't know about anyone else, but it sure seems that way to me. I still haven't seen any sparks between Sharon and Rey. They strike me as two actors playing a part rather than being a real soap opera couple with a ton of chemistry. Nick and Sharon talking have more chemistry between them than Sharon and Rey do in a bedroom scene.

What is with Sharon? She keeps trying to make everyone accept that Adam has changed his stripes. When Noah mentioned that Adam had offered him a job, Noah and Tessa agreed that working for or with Adam was a deal breaker, but there was Sharon pushing Noah to treat Adam's job offer like any other. When is she going to stop protecting Adam and trying to promote him as a changed man? If she keeps that up, her marriage to Rey is going to blow up (which might not be a bad thing).

I love the new Noah. His facial expressions tell everything he is feeling. He wants Tessa. We see his wistful expression wishing she could be with him, but he realizes she is too much in love with Mariah. We need a newcomer on the show to be Noah's partner and mend his broken heart.

I have to say that I am happy about the end of Nick and Phyllis. I have never liked these two as a couple. It's time they both moved on. Who do you see as Nick's partner? I personally would like to see him and Chelsea work things out when she returns. I liked them as a couple. There weren't any video games or constant sex for the winner of a game or sex to solve a problem like there was between Nick and Phyllis. There never were video games, and problems were solved by talking. Nick and Chelsea were good together, and I really would like to see that happen again. Chelsea really needs to let go of her hope to reunite with Adam. Their relationship has always been explosive and toxic, in my opinion.

Phyllis' babbling to Jack had me laughing. She was hilarious not stopping for a breath and not allowing Jack to say anything. Michelle Stafford played that part so well.

That scene between Jack and Phyllis was quite telling. You could see how much Jack wants Phyllis back, but he was having a difficult time getting past the hurt they caused each other, and he admitted that his heart couldn't take another hit. I believe his exact words were, "I'm not about to rekindle things if it means glossing over the pain from the past. I can't make that mistake again. I will not put myself in a position where my heart would be broken again." That sounds like he wants to give it another try, provided they are mindful of their past mistakes.

When Phyllis told Amanda that she and Jack was very close friends, Amanda asked all the right questions. When Phyllis said she would adjust to the awkwardness between her and Jack, Amanda asked if "adjust" meant adjust as in cooling down or as in heating up. Phyllis said she'd get used to it. Amanda asked, "Used to what?" -- Jack's affection for Phyllis, Phyllis' affection for Jack, or the fact that it wasn't platonic and that Phyllis had absolutely no idea what to do next.

Amanda wanted to know why Phyllis was upset that Jack hadn't informed her that he would be going to New York. Perhaps their decision to be friends wasn't been mutual, and it felt more like a rejection. Amanda certainly didn't hold back, and she gave Phyllis a lot to think about. I believe Phyllis saw it as a rejection, and that was why she claimed she would adjust and get used to her and Jack's "friendship."

I believe that Jack and Phyllis have matured over the years of separation, and their relationship might work this time because of their awareness of the past. I guess we will have to wait and see what happens with these two.

Victoria and Ashland seem to still be in that honeymoon stage of their relationship, and Ashland got good news that the protocol seems to be working. His latest tests showed that the cancer hadn't spread. That is amazing news. At least now there is a chance that he and Victoria could have a happy and long life together.

I hope you have enjoyed my thoughts and speculations. I would love to read your comments and opinions and some of your own thoughts. In the meantime, until next time, stay safe!Nel

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