Claire Makes an Important Decison — and Alan Reveals His Intentions Where Traci Is Concerned

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At Newman, Nikki tells Victor she’s been reading up on Chancellor Industries. She’s so excited to run Katherine’s company. Victor tells her no one will do it better than her. Nikki tells Victor she asked Claire to be her assistant, but she’s worried about Harrison being caught in the middle of Summer and Kyle’s custody battle. Victor says that may be resolved sooner rather than later. Nikki hopes so.

Victor understands Nikki’s fondness for Claire, but he worries she will bring back memories. Nikki thought about that, but before she was under Jordan’s thumb, and that is no longer the case. Victor worries she’ll trigger her to drink again. Nikki’s secure in her sobriety and will continue to go to meetings. She doesn’t hold resentment toward Claire and blames Jordan for everything. If she changes her mind, she’d be glad to have her. Victor looks forward to everyone in his family taking their rightful place in the Newman empire.

Summer greets Chance at the Club, and he holds her. He notes she sounded tense on the phone and asks what happened. She tells him about Harrison getting sick and says Kyle was there too… he came home early from his trip. She complains that Kyle blamed her for the boy’s illness and is determined to paint her as a bad mother. “He hates me,” she wails.

Chance assures Summer it’s not unreasonable to want more time with her son. Summer admits she even went to Victor for advice. He said he’d talk to Kyle for her. Chance warns her to be careful with that. Summer says that whatever her grandpa said, Kyle came to her to talk. He was open to keeping the custody agreement as it is, but she told him he has to cut Audra out of his life completely. He got overly defensive. She doesn’t know why he’s so dead set on running Glissade with her rather than run it on his own. Chance thinks maybe Kyle’s tired of the fighting and offered what he thought was a fair compromise. Summer asks if he’s taking Kyle’s side over hers.

Chance insists he’s on her side, but can see how much stress she’s under. He knows what it’s like to watch a family fall apart and thinks there’s more to what she’s feeling about Kyle right now. “You lost this future that you envisioned with Kyle and Harrison altogether.” Summer can’t think about that and just has to focus on what’s best for Harrison. She recaps that when she brought up Audra, Kyle told her he’d see her in court. She doesn’t get it, but she has to talk to her lawyer and see what the next steps are. Chance asks her to take a deep breath so they can really think through her next move.

At the park, Claire calls out to Harrison to stay where she can see him. Victoria asks if she’s heard from Kyle and Summer about the boy’s fall schedule. Claire hasn’t and asks why. Victoria thinks she’ll be working fewer hours when he goes back to school. Claire asks if her mother would prefer if she accepted Nikki’s offer and follow in her footsteps at Newman. Victoria wants her to do what’s best for her. Claire just hopes she didn’t offend Nikki. Victoria warns that her parents will keep trying to convince her. She’d love it too. It’s her birthright… but there’s no rush. Claire says it doesn’t feel like the right time with the custody battle between Kyle and Summer. She needs to be there for Harrison. Victoria thinks it’s great that she wants to do that. Claire says it hasn’t been easy to watch the arguing, and for a kid to see that, it must be upsetting. Victoria hopes their dynamic doesn’t sour her on marriage. Claire has seen examples of successful marriages, like Victor and Nikki. She also sees a growing bond between her and Cole. She won’t be jaded by Kyle and Summer’s problems and thinks they have more in common than they think they do.

Claire tells Victoria she thought she wanted a career in child development, but she was really tempted by Nikki’s offer. Perhaps it was just that she was touched that she was still willing to work with her. She’d like to get to know her better and be part of the company as a true Newman. Victoria asks if she’s given any thought to changing her last name. Claire has. She says it would be an honor and would help put her past behind her. She worries about disappointing Cole, but Victoria’s certain he’ll understand if it’s something she really wants. Claire says it is, “More than anything.”

Traci and Alan drag their luggage into the Abbott mansion bantering about going straight upstairs. Alan “takes it all in” and she laughs that he’s been there before. Alan wants to know where she wrote her first masterpiece and what posters she had on her bedroom walls. Diane appears and welcomes them. Traci suggests they go for lunch. Alan asks, “Is Jack here?”

At Society, Jack tells Billy that the Abbott name doesn’t belong on Katherine’s company. Billy snaps that it’s not her company anymore. He’s respecting her legacy while building his own and Jill’s. He’s sure Jack is convinced he’s going to bring it down and wants him to admit that he believes he’s destined to be a failure. Jack huffs that he always wants what’s best for him. He has a certain penchant for self-sabotage. Billy says he has every right to the Abbott name. Jack tells him their father believed that the name should mean something. Billy agrees and is prepared to carry that forward. He’d like Jack’s support. Jack gives him kudos for running the big company. Billy knows he doesn’t want him using the family name in case it all goes up in flames.

Jack thinks of Jabot the same way he does Abbott. Having that slapped on another company doesn’t seem right. He argues that Abbott isn’t Jill’s last name. He doesn’t want to fight with Billy… he can do what he thinks is best. Billy snarls, “While you sit there disapproving.” Jack refers to “a lot going on” with the family and Billy asks him to explain. Jack says Kyle is going through a particularly rebellious period right now. Billy learns they fired him. He’s sure that Kyle will come around. Jack’s not sure… he’s just so furious. This is why he doesn’t want to fight with Billy.

At the Club, Chance warns Summer that she’s upset and angry, and that’s when people make rash decisions. There has to be some way to work this out. Chance recalls that he was angry when his marriage broke up, but he couldn’t let that drive him when it came to Dominic. Summer asks if he thinks she’s using Harrison to hurt Kyle. His point is that he understands how she feels. He had to force himself to focus on what was most important. “It couldn’t be about winning,” but what was best for Dominic. He asks her to put her emotions aside for a moment. In a perfect world, what would their relationship look like. Summer says civility and being amicable parents to Harrison again. Chance reminds her if she goes to court, the judge could issue a ruling that would give her less time with Harrison. Is it really worth the risk?

Summer tells Chance he always knows the right thing to say to calm her down. Chance thinks being the bigger person beats the hell out of living with fury and angst. Summer concedes that she hates feeling this way. Chance says no matter what happens, she is Harrison’s mother. He adores her and always will. She loves and protects him, and he’ll be just fine. Summer tells Chance he’s pretty great. “Thank you.” They kiss.

At Society, Billy tells Jack he thinks he’s finally found his place at Abbott Chancellor. Jack loves hearing that and wants him to succeed. Talk turns back to Kyle, and Jack complains he’s threatening to leave the house with Harrison and has declared war on Jabot. Billy scoffs that Glissade is nowhere near Jabot’s league. Jack says they can’t reason with him, and he’s given up trying. Billy doesn’t believe he’ll ever do that, but it’s a smart tactic to let him think he’s letting him go. Billy doesn’t want to risk upsetting Jack, but he’s watched Kyle’s arrogance grow. It started with him and carried over to his mother. Jack doesn’t know how to stop it. Billy thinks he should let Kyle fail… it will give him the reality check he needs. Jack agrees, but worries it will be a painful fall he can’t come back from.

Billy assures Jack he doesn’t have to go through this alone. Jack appreciates that, but he’ll have his hands full with Abbott Chancellor. Just then, Diane arrives with Traci and Alan in tow. Greetings are exchanged and Traci invites them both to join them for lunch. Alan’s pleased to be back under better circumstances. Jack looks at him and Traci and teases that it looks like they have a lot to catch up on.

At Newman, Victoria and Claire join Nikki and Victor in the office. Victor brings up the job offer and says he completely supports it. Claire hopes her decision hasn’t disappointed them. Victoria says that she’ll remain as Harrison’s nanny for now. In the meantime they have news. Claire reveals that she’s excited to officially change her last name to Newman. Nikki hugs her and Victor beams that he can now say she’s officially welcomed to the Newman family, “Claire Newman.”

At the Club, Summer tells Chance he wins. She’ll try one more time with Kyle. Chance totally thinks it’s worth a shot. If they can get past the anger it will be so much better for Harrison. Summer promises that she’ll make it up to him after all this is over, and will go back to being his fun, carefree girlfriend. Chance loves that she trusts him with the messy stuff. They kiss goodbye as she has to leave.

At Society, Traci, Jack, Diane, Billy, and Alan sit down. Alan tells them Ashley’s doctors say Ashley is making excellent progress. She can come back for out-patient treatment by the end of the summer. They’re thrilled and thank Alan for helping her get the help she needed. Jack asks about the developments between them, and Traci smiles that it happened in Paris. Alan says, “Before then, if I’m being honest.” Traci says they began getting closer and Alan came with her to L.A. to the meetings about her book being turned into a screenplay. Alan talks up her novel. Diane thinks she looks very happy, and Alan seems smitten. Alan can’t deny it and asks why wouldn’t he be? They banter about their adventures in Los Angeles as the others smile indulgently. Billy thinks this looks like the real thing. Traci beams, “Yes, it does feel real.” She notes Jack has been quiet. He’s processing, but admits that to see her this happy gives him unspeakable joy. Billy asks how this will work moving forward. Alan reveals that once Ashley is done her treatment, he has no reason to stay in Paris, and wants to be where Traci is.

In Victor’s office, Claire has gone, and he tells Victoria how proud she should be of her. They’re thrilled she’s decided to take the Newman name. Victor thinks that once Summer and Kyle work out their custody battle, Claire will change her mind and join them. Victoria has no idea how he plan on acquiring the company, but it won’t be easy. Victor says nothing worth having is easy, but, “Trust me, Chancellor Industries will be ours.”

In the park, Summer runs into Claire, who explains that Harrison is back at the house with Kyle. He was worn out. Summer asks why Kyle isn’t at work. Claire doesn’t know. Summer says she’s on her way there and asks, “Kyle’s been pretty busy with Audra lately, hasn’t he?” Claire can’t comment. Summer thinks she can if she has Harrison’s best interests at heart. If there’s something not right about Kyle’s partnership with Kyle, she deserves to know… for Harrison’s sake.