Agendas are in the driver's seat

It appears that the citizens of Genoa City all have an agenda. Nikki, Phyllis, Ashley, and Talia are determined to expose Diane and Tucker. Tucker and Victoria have their sights set on acquiring Chancellor-Winters, Nate is determined to blame Devon for all his recent misfortunes, Adam is determined to win Sally back, and Tucker is determined to win Ashley's heart again. Join our columnist for her views and opinions in Two Scoops for this week.

So much angst among the citizens of Genoa City! It appears that Chancellor-Winters is the hottest asset in town because Tucker and Victoria both have their sights set on acquiring the company. Nate informed Victoria that he'd confessed to Devon and Lily about his actions regarding Chancellor-Winters, so Victoria said she wanted to hire Nate, although I can't figure out why, especially after he'd just undermined her. Victoria later told Nick she wanted to replace Sally with Nate as CEO of Newman Media -- a job he is less qualified for than he was as Devon's COO. Victoria apparently also still believes she can acquire Chancellor-Winters.

Then we have Tucker. I find it disgusting that Tucker is trying to take his son's company from him.

I admit I don't know much about shares in companies and exactly how things work in businesses and with IPOs (and maybe I wasn't a math major), but I'm unclear how Victoria or Tucker would be able to acquire the majority share if Chancellor-Winters retains 51% of the shares. My understanding was that Victoria needed Nate's shares to be added to the shares she would buy in order to have a majority share in Chancellor-Winters. Wouldn't the same apply to Tucker? Oh, wait, Tucker could probably coerce (or blackmail) a number of shareholders to sell their shares to him, thereby acquiring the majority share in the company.

I almost forgot how underhanded Tucker is; nothing is beneath him. He also has Audra, Noah's old girlfriend from his London days, working at Chancellor-Winters to keep him apprised on the progress of the IPO. Are all businesses this deep in insider trading?

I hope Ashley remains vigilant where Tucker is concerned. This man is as full of bull as Diane is. Tucker is only playing at being a changed person in an attempt to achieve his goal: reunite with Ashley. Or is this a new game he is playing to throw everyone off his scent that he is really after Chancellor-Winters? Is his love for Ashley real? I don't believe that, not after all the affairs he had when he was married to her. I hope Ashley really sticks it to Tucker in some way.

Ashley gave Jack a heads-up about Tucker's Bentley and how Diane and Tucker had returned to town a couple of months apart. She warned Jack that she was positive that Tucker had an agenda because that was the way Tucker rolled.

Jack had tabled his misgivings about Diane, but they resurfaced after his conversation with Tucker and Diane at Society. Jack asked them if they'd connected with each other in Los Angeles. Jack found it funny that neither one of them could give him a straight yes or no response. Diane then lied to Jack when she said she hadn't seen Tucker since the night of her "death." Jack knew she'd lied because Ashley had told him that Diane had been seen on several occasions with a rich man who drove around in a Bentley.

It seems that Diane is really worried because Talia has returned, and Diane knows that Talia will dig deep to uncover any information about Diane's life in L.A. -- and there absolutely is information to uncover. Diane is back to crying a river on Jack's shoulder for the 437th time. I guess that's the reason Diane decided to make this huge confession to Jack about her life in L.A. as Taylor Jensen.

Who believed Diane's confession? Was it a fairy tale, the truth, or perhaps Diane's skewed truth for the way she wanted Jack to see it? Was she really a money-laundering mule without her knowledge? It's possible, but how could she not know? Diane is a smart lady and a consummate schemer. I find it hard to believe she'd be completely in the dark for so long. Maybe she was part of the scheme. Was Jeremy Stark the cad she painted him out to be?

When you travel, don't you unpack (and pack!) your own luggage? When did Jeremy or one of his minions have the opportunity to remove the money from her luggage? She obviously picked up her own luggage at the airport and then waited to be picked up. Did she check into her hotel room and immediately take a nap, which gave Jeremy the opportunity to remove the money? None of this makes sense to me. I'm not a traveler, so I am probably ignorant on a few things, but wouldn't you lock your luggage when traveling?

I'm not sure what to think at this point. Diane has done so many horrific things, and she has lied so much that I tend to think this confession was riddled with holes and half-truths. (As a friend used to ask, "How do you know she's lying? Her lips are moving.") Diane loves to portray herself as the victim, and her story certainly puts her in that light. Diane seems to either create chaos wherever she goes, or she is in the middle of it. Do I believe she wanted to reconnect with Kyle? Hmm... I'm really starting to question that.

Call me crazy, but in my opinion, you don't stay away from your child for 20 years and suddenly decide you want to reconnect with him. I don't believe he was the primary reason she returned to Genoa City. I think it was because Tucker had threatened to expose her alliance with Jeremy Stark if she didn't comply with Tucker's bidding. I also believe the thought of reuniting with Jack was another motivation. I do think there is a lot more to Diane's past in L.A. still to be revealed.

Jeremy Stark is coming to town. Hmm... this should be interesting. Will Jeremy's version of events match Diane's? Now that Jeremy is out of prison, I wonder if he has resumed his previous money-laundering activities and if he wants Diane to resume her previous role as a money-laundering mule. I suspect he will threaten to expose Diane's part in the money-laundering scheme if she doesn't comply with his demands. Poor Diane, she has betrayed so many people, and now she is reaping what she sowed.

I find it hysterical that Diane is blaming Phyllis for poisoning Jack against her. I have to laugh at Phyllis. She has taken a whole new approach with Diane, and it seems to be working so much better. Phyllis used to yell and threaten Diane, but now she smiles sweetly and does a lot of sweet-talking to Diane as she threatens that all Diane's secrets will soon be exposed. This seems to be very effective, and it throws Diane off balance. I really like Phyllis' new approach. I think Diane realizes that her sordid past in L.A. will be exposed to everyone sooner rather than later, hence the "confession."

Here is another issue I don't understand. If Jill is such a smart businesswoman, why would she want to go ahead with the IPO after what Nate did? Being a smart businesswoman, wouldn't you think she would put the IPO on hold for a while rather than charging full speed ahead. I would think if Nate had exposed his plan to Victoria, it would stand to reason he might have spilled the same information to someone else, as well. Why is Jill in such a rush, and how will she react when Tucker takes over? Oh, hell, never mind Jill, how will Devon take the news? If Daddy-dearest did gain control of Chancellor-Winters, wouldn't it mean that Devon would lose the company that he and Neil had built? Devon would be devastated.

Where does Nate get off challenging Devon's management skills and accusing Devon of holding him back? Devon was absolutely right in saying that Nate had stabbed the people who'd given him an opportunity in the back. It seems it all boils down to Nate still harboring a grudge against Devon for ruining his career as a doctor. Nate seems to have forgotten that he slept with Devon's girlfriend, and Devon punched him for it. What happened to Nate's hand was an accident. Nate's hand was damaged in the fall after Devon punched him, which wasn't what Devon intended. Nate reminds me of Cain; they both love blaming everyone else.

Nate's ego and arrogance have put him on the outs with his family, but he is blaming Devon for not listening to his ideas and letting him shine. I guess Nate never heard of the learning curve. Hell, he didn't just graduate as a doctor and immediately begin performing high level surgeries. Has he forgotten how long it took him before he could perform surgeries on his own? What makes Nate think he can just jump in with both feet without learning the ropes. I used to really like Nate, but not so much anymore. I don't know how his head fits through an open door with that ego.

Chelsea has finally agreed that she, Adam, and Connor need professional help regarding Johnny. Maybe this will lead to her getting professional help for herself, which she desperately needs. Chelsea is adrift, and her compass isn't pointing her in the right direction. She knows she made a mess of things and is deeply hurt that Connor has rejected her. Connor believes he's done something wrong and that Chelsea is going to love Johnny more than him. Connor is too young to understand the complexities of a mother giving up a child. To him, it's black and white; if she gave Johnny to Aunt Victoria, why didn't she give him to Aunt Victoria, as well?

I thought the scene with Adam and Connor was very touching. Adam was trying to explain things to Connor without throwing shade at Chelsea. In fact, Adam did what he could to alleviate any doubts Connor had about Chelsea by telling him that he was Chelsea's heart and soul. Adam can be such a caring person at times, and he's been a great dad to Connor. I hope he can also help Chelsea with her mental health issues, especially because she so adamantly denies there's anything wrong with her.

It looks like Adam's plan to break things off with Sally has backfired. Adam is feeling sorry for himself. He claimed that he always loses everything to one sibling or the other, and in this case, it's Nick. He even asked if Nick wanted to take his job at Jabot away from him. When is Adam going to own up to his own shortcomings? With Adam, it's always "woe is me, it wasn't my fault." Sounds a little like Diane...

Adam has admitted to Nick and to Sally that he still loves her, and he regrets his past actions. I hate to say it, but Adam leaped before he gave any thought to the consequences of his actions. I think Adam made the wrong move, having Sally believe Nick had invited her for a romantic dinner on the rooftop of the Grand Phoenix. The minute Sally saw it was Adam, her ire was up, and I don't blame her. Adam's plan backfired. Sally accused Adam of trying to win a competition with Nick.

On a scale of one to ten, my opinion of Nick went from a six to an eight when he told Sally he would step aside to allow Sally to deal with her unresolved feelings about Adam. That really surprised me. I would have thought Nick would have fought for Sally, but he's obviously seen that both Adam and Sally are smarting and need time to sort out their feelings.

Wasn't Connor adorable when he told Sally he thought she and Adam had reunited because when Sally was around, his dad was always in a good mood after seeing Sally, but that wasn't the case lately because Adam missed her. He thought Sally had come to pick him up. He was so disappointed that Sally and Adam weren't together.

Until next time, stay safe.Nel

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