Summer and Kyle’s Truce Falls Apart — and Victor Puts a Target on [Spoiler]

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Kyle arrives at Crimson Lights to meet Summer. The tension is thick. She has already purchased the last of the chocolate chip muffins for Harrison. She’s hoping they can put the focus back on their son. Her ex orders some coffee. They grab a table and try to talk about their son’s eating habits until she reminds him they used to like each other. Kyle says they more than liked each other, not that he can remember what that was like. She’s hoping they can be civil. He points out she got Victor to put the screws to him. That counts as a new low for her. Summer knows they aren’t communicating well so she thought her grandpa could help mediate. They bicker about this until he asks her to admit she went to Victor to intimidate him, not smooth things over. She doesn’t see what power her grandpa has over him. Kyle claims they have mutual respect. She turns to accusing him of using their son as a weapon and making other bad choices. They argue about how bad they feel about taking Harrison out of his home. She says they have failed him and now he’s stuck in the middle of all the resentment and anger. Kyle admits that’s terrible and he wants things to be better for their son. It’s still possible for them to create a safe place for him and that’s something he’s ready to do.

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Chelsea wanders into Chancellor Park staring at her phone. From among the duck bleats, Billy calls out to her, brandishing a single long-stemmed rose. They kiss and talk about Connor being home. Billy’s happy to hear it’s going well. She tells him an anecdote about how her son always eats cereal with an antique spoon. She gave him the wrong spoon today and thought he would be triggered but he was fine. “He’s a tough cookie,” says Billy. He thinks she’s tough too. It sounds like she and her son are in the right place… regardless of what Adam said. He explains that Adam has been territorial about her and Connor. She says that’s not his job. Billy understands him being protective. Chelsea thinks that her ex has other things he should be concentrating on. Holding her hand to his chest, Billy apologizes for pushing her to open up before she left for Baltimore. He shouldn’t have put her on the spot and won’t hold her to telling him what she’s reluctant to share. Hugging him, she thanks him for agreeing to leave this up to her.

Chelsea changes the topic to the latest on Abbott-Chancellor. Billy says Lily asked him to take a step back, preferably out of the company. Chelsea feels no one can match his passion and brilliance. He thinks Lily is hung up on some things from his past; people seem to think he’s not good enough. Taking his hand, Chelsea assures him he’s better than good enough. She reminds him he brought Lily into the company. He knows.

Billy explains they’ve decided to let Lily run things. He could force her out but it wouldn’t be what’s best for the company. Billy can see how his reputation could negatively affect their launch. He’s not quitting, just publicly stepping back while working behind the scenes. The family name will stay. Adding Abbott has always been about honoring his mother’s legacy. Originally, he wanted his mom to go public about her illness so he would have a justification for stepping down, but Jill shot that plan down. Now he has to find a new reason. Chelsea hopes that Lily isn’t making him doubt himself. Does she appreciate the value he can bring? Billy says she’s ambivalent but seems to have concluded he’s more of a liability. If she can agree that he would make a good silent partner, that would be great. If not, he’ll have to figure out what’s next.

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Victor is pleased to find Adam barking orders at his staff at Newman Media. They bump shoulders and Adam catches him up on the latest with Connor. Once Victor sits down, he reminds his son that he put him in charge because he knows he can get things done; the time has come for that. Adam says they have flooded the market with glowing reports about Glissade and all the wonderful things they will accomplish. His father now wants him to focus on a negative campaign against Billy; he wants his boat rocked until it sinks. Victor can sense Adam is reluctant and wonders why. Adam knows it would be payback. Attacking Billy right now could hurt Chelsea too. His father reminds him that he had to fight the family to put him in control at Newman Media. He can’t understand why he’s resisting putting Billy down. Adam repeats he’s looking out for Connor’s mother. She relies on Billy and will know that any attack on him is more personal than business. When Victor asks if he thinks Billy and Chelsea belong together, Adam says it doesn’t matter what he thinks. He refuses to judge Chelsea’s choices. His father reminds him that he put him in his position at Newman Media to advance his plans. Victor orders him to “get it done” and walks out.

At Crimson Lights, Kyle wonders what they need to do to get back to some common ground. Summer needs him to prove he’s serious. That means someone has to be cut out of his life completely: Audra. Kyle can’t believe she wants him to give up running Glissade just to appease her. Summer doesn’t feel safe as long as Audra is in his orbit. This is ridiculous to him; she has no right to dictate who he works with. He would never ask her to fire Chelsea from Marchetti. Summer points out Chelsea has turned her life around. Kyle accuses her of using their son’s safety as an excuse and argues he’s trying to build a legacy for their son. He can’t walk away from that. Summer suggests Kyle force Audra out then. She doesn’t care how he creates distance from Audra as long as it’s done. Kyle doesn’t think that his ex running his life is meeting halfway. She tells him he’s forcing her to assert her rights as a mother. Kyle just wants her to trust him; working with Audra is not going to bring him to the dark side. “You’re already there,” Summer insists. He assumes there must be a solution less insane than blowing up his life and suggests they return to joint custody and drop their suits. Summer can’t believe he’s putting this job over their son and asks, “Kyle, what are you not telling me?”

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Adam makes a call for his people to dig into the upcoming announcement from Abbott-Chancellor. Sally shows up and gives him a hug. They chat about how Connor is doing since he got home. She can see he’s on edge and he admits his father gave him some more orders. He can’t tell her what dirty work he’s supposed to do next. That makes her imagination go to all kinds of worst-case scenarios. Adam wishes he could confide in her but he needs to wrap his head around what his father asked him to do first. Chelsea arrives in the doorway as Sally asks if he still trusts her. Chelsea interrupts, claiming she’s eager to pick up Connor. They make polite chit-chat about Billy and Connor until Sally exits.

Billy arrives at the office and looks at the new Abbott-Chancellor logo. Taking out his phone, he calls and orders an announcement to be prepped. “The world needs to be put on notice. Abbott-Chancellor means business,” he says.

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At Newman Media, Chelsea shuts the door and demands to know why Adam told Billy to avoid her. Pouring coffee, he explains that he ran into Billy in one of his “fix it modes” and he didn’t want him overwhelming her or their son. She says that wasn’t his call to make; he needs to worry about his own relationships and stop worrying about hers. Adam fears that Billy is still in his paranoid mindset and is sure she’s hiding something from him. Chelsea reminds Adam that she’s hiding their one-night stand. He reminds her they agreed to forget about that and move on. Adam doubts that Billy will drop his inquisition. Chelsea explains he offered to back off because of Connor. “I know that you want to tell him. Are you going to?” Adam asks.

At Crimson Lights, Summer asks if Audra holding something over Kyle. Why is he so defensive about this woman? Kyle tells Summer she’s making this about Audra. “Do what’s right for our son, Summer!” Summer complains that the current arrangement allows Audra access to Harrison. Fed up, Kyle stands and tells her that he also feels guilty about this situation, but it’s clear she’s digging in and trying to blow up his life. He’s tried to protect Harrison from the fallout of this, but Summer refuses to see reason. “See you in court!” Kyle exclaims, and walks out.

At the Athletic Club, Michael saunters over to Victor in the dining room. The Mustache reminds him that their scores have not been settled. Sitting down without an invitation, the lawyer asks how long he needs to wait for them to reconcile. He reminds Victor that he and Cole were only thinking of what was best for him and the family by sending Jordan to an institution. His boss has heard all of this before. Michael pleads for a chance to win back his trust. Waving his finger, Victor orders him never to try to save him again without consulting him. He declares that he has a project for him. He’s going to need him to use his unique set of skills to find some dirt on Billy Abbott.

Next on The Young and the Restless:Jack takes issue with Billy using the family name, Phyllis gives Lily unsolicited advice, and Nikki makes a shocking decision