For sure, The Bold & The Beautiful has staged its share of battles royal. But they all pale in comparison to the bloody war that's about to begin. Not only is Ridge and Taylor's marriage at stake, but so may be Eric and Stephanie's. Plus, Brooke and Thorne's future could be altered forever. In other words, B&B is about to explode like TNT, and when the dust settles, things will never be the same!
Eager to endear himself to good friend (and old flame) Stephanie, Massimo decides that the way to her heart is through her archenemy, Brooke. If he can get the blonde home wrecker out of Steph's hair - a far away from son Ridge's marriage to Taylor - Massimo figures that he will have earned his crush's gratitude, at least. To that end, he starts doing research. "He has his assistant get a file together on this Brooke character", explains Massimo's portrayer, Joseph Mascolo. "He's obviously going to make a move."
In the meantime, Brooke continues to spread her seduction over Ridge like a thick layer of vanilla frosting. The dashing designer thus far has managed to resist her come-ons - but you can tell that he wants a taste, nonetheless. "It's a little different this time around because Ridge is married with three children now", observes Katherine Kelly Lang (Brooke). "Brooke has to be a lot more brazen about the whole thing, and she is. Nothing's stopping her.
Next on his agenda, Massimo recruits an unlikely henchman to help get Brooke out of LA: her own dad, Stephen Logan! Mired in debt and contending with his own mother's illness, Stephen grudgingly agrees to negotiate a deal after Massimo opens his coffers to the tune of $5 million.
The plan itself is a simple one: Stephen lies to Brooke about the severity of his heart condition and urges her to move to Paris to be with him in his dying days. When a guilt-ridden Stephen tries to back out of the scheme, Massimo implies that he can have Brooke eliminated by other, more permanent means, if necessary.
All of this leads Lang to believe that her character's new foe is no one to be trifled with. "I would imagine Massimo could pose a huge threat to Brooke," she says. "He seems like a pretty scary character."
Massimo tells Stephanie that he's delivered on his promise to get rid of Broke, and the Forrester matriarch is thrilled and amazed. The pair go on to reminisce about their past, including the time they made love on his boat. Massimo confesses to Stephanie that he aches to have her again, but they're interrupted when Eric enters the room in a jealous rage and orders Massimo to leave. "Obviously, Eric is not happy with Stephanie and Massimo's friendship." says Mascolo.
While Stephanie and Eric argue about Massimo's intentions, Brooke calls to let Eric know that she is leaving town for a long time, Believing that he father is dying, she feels duty-bound to accompany him back to Paris, where she will continue working at Forrester International.
When Taylor learns that Brooke is moving to Paris, she feels relieved, yet sceptical. Stephanie urges her to just go with the flow and not ask questions, but when the shrink finds out that Massimo has orchestrated an elaborate hoax, she is appalled.
Despite her antipathy toward Brooke, Taylor believes that this scheme is unconscionable, and takes off in a huff. Stephanie panics that Taylor is going to come clean with Brooke, but Massimo disagrees. They make a wager about whether or not Taylor will blow their cover. Stephanie agrees to give Massimo anything he wants if Taylor remains quiet.
Meanwhile, Brooke begins to have doubts about heading off to Paris - she can't imagine a life without Ridge. Bridget and Rick urge their mother to go, but she still hesitates. Not surprisingly, she turns to the object of her obsession, Ridge.
Though Ridge discourages Brooke's declarations of love, she asks him to give in to his desires just once before she leaves. But as she tries to turn up the heat, Taylor arrives - and she isn't happy about what she sees!
While Taylor earlier had been opposed to hoodwinking Brooke with her father's concocted heart condition, she may be singing a different tune now that she's witnessed Brooke's flagrant attempts to seduce Ridge. Will the good doctor be ruled by her conscience, or by her desire to have Brooke banished? With her marriage at stake, going along with Massimo and Stephanie's lie may be in Taylor's best interest.
"It's the perfect trick", acknowledges Lang. "The only thing that's more important to Brooke than Ridge is her family. "But," she adds quickly, "if she finds out it's all a lie, she's going to be really, really mad!"
CBS Soaps in Depth, Sept. 25 2001.