Written by: Dallas Walsh

"Well, this certainly turned into a far better lunch then I had anticipated," Cassie Nova smiles over to MacKenzie Rockwell as they sit together in the country club. Cassie had arrived at the club, knowing that Mac was there, wearing a short, tight, red dress. She knew that it would get his attention, and it worked because he asked her to join him for lunch, which she did as this is all a part of her plan to get into Rockwell Mining as she is working with Dyhannah Cooper, Kent Blackmore and Dane Ashby to ruin the Pink Roses launch.

"I am glad that I approached you then," Mac winks back to her. "It's not every day that I have lunch with such a beautiful woman."

Cassie blushes at the compliment. "You're a very charming man, Mac. And, flattery, it will get you everywhere," she smirks to him as she raises her foot and moves into his crotch and presses into him. His eyes open wider in surprise as she giggles to him.

"You're a naughty woman."

"You have no idea," she giggles to him. "Can I get a kiss, you think? Before we leave?"

Mac leans over the table and kisses Cassie on the lips. "You certainly can."

***

Celeste Baldwin looks at the dining room table in the Rockwell mansion and gets a grin on her face at the sight. The large table has been set for two as she is planning a romantic evening with her lover, Cole Rockwell. There are candles lite, soft jazz music playing, and a fire is roaring in the fireplace. In the kitchen, she has the chef preparing all of Cole's favorite dishes. She wanted to do something for Cole, and them as a couple, to celebrate the fact that they are, finally, back together.

"After everything we have been through," she whispers to herself as she touches moves closer to the table. "We deserve to have a romantic evening; just the two of us."

She touches her lips for a moment when she thinks about how she and Cole spent the previous night in bed with one another.

"We will start with some dinner, some dancing," she chuckles to herself. "And then we will end up in bed, making love the rest of the night. Oh, it will be wonderful, I know it will be."

***

"You really are wonderful with Rocky," Madi Stewart smiles to Cole as they move into the living room of the Blackmore mansion. Madi had called her former fiancé over when their son, Rocky, was being fussy all morning. As soon as Cole arrived, he held Rocky, and he calmed down and fell asleep in his father's arms.

"He is easy to be wonderful too," Cole chuckles to her before they look back at each other. "I…I still can't believe that we created a child, Madi. It seems, surreal, in some ways."

"And that is all my fault because I didn't tell you that I was pregnant," Madi responds to him. "I wish I had told you as soon as I found out. Things…they might be so different now."

"They very well may be different had I known," Cole nods back to her. "But I understand why you did what you did, Madi. When you left town, you were furious with me thinking that I had slept with Celeste behind your back. You had no idea that she planted her underwear in my room to give the impression of an affair."

"And yet," Madi sighs back to him. "You've reunited with her. You were able to forgive her for breaking us up. That…that really hurts me, Cole, because we have this amazing chance to be a family with Rocky."

"I know," Cole looks back into her eyes. "I will always care for you, Madi, you have to know that. But if I am honest with myself, I have never stopped loving Celeste. It wouldn't be fair to you, or Rocky, for me to deny those feelings and try to make something work with us. You…you understand, don't you?"

Madi feels her eyes swell with water listening to what he is telling her. She does understand, of course, but it doesn't change the fact that it is upsetting to her. "I understand," she says as a tear falls down her cheek. "I still love you, Cole. I think I always will. So, this will just take some time getting used too."

***

Casper Ross paces back and forth in the study of the Rockwell mansion. His mind is racing on the fact that his husband, Grant Shaw, made a surprise appearance and is hiding out in the boat house on the property of the Rockwell estate. He and Grant have been working together on a secret plan to get some of the Rockwell fortune, which they both believe they are owed from the various situations that Lex Rockwell has put them through. Casper also has a sorted history with Cole, which adds to his quest to want some of the fortune.

"I have to keep Grant away from Lexington," he whispers to himself as he moves towards the bar and pours himself a brandy, which he hopes will calm his nerves. "He can't find out that I'm married to Grant and that we are working together. And it's time for me to take the next step of my plan."

"What plan is that?" Lex asks as he opens the door to the study and finishes hearing what Casper is saying.

Casper gulps and quickly takes another drink of his brandy before he turns and faces Lex. "I thought I was alone," he admits to him.

"I just got here and heard you say your plan?" Lex admits to him. "What's going on?"

"You busted me," Casper admits to him, as the wheels in his head start to turn. "I…I was going to make this huge grand gesture, but I can't lie to you, not about this or anything for that matter."

Lex uneasily chuckles back to him. "Okay now I am curious as to what you're talking about," he tells him. "What gesture? What is going on with you?"

"This," Casper says as he sets his drink down on the table and pulls out a small box from his jacket pocket. He opens the box and reveals a simple gold band inside. "We are so good together, Lex. Let's make it forever? Marry me? Let's become husbands?"

Lex looks back at Casper in shock as he was not expecting to get proposed to, but he finds himself leaning up and kissing Casper on the lips. "I'll marry you," Lex replies to him as their lips separate. "Let's get married babe."

***

Meanwhile, down in the living room of the Rockwell mansion, Lydia Rockwell gulps heavily as Nathan Lockhart stands in front of her. She knew that once she turned over Nathan's power of attorney to his mother, Lucinda Rockwell, that there would be a good chance he would get to leave the hospital, which she arranged by making him believe he was hearing voices that were telling him that he killed his father, Mortimer Rockwell.

"My dear wife," Nathan smirks back to her, even though the sight of her makes blood boil. "You're looking well."

"Nathan," Lydia looks back at him. "You're out of the hospital?"

"Clever woman you are," he chuckles to her as he moves to the bar to pour himself a drink. "My mother spoke to my doctors, and they came to the conclusion that I am healthy again; I didn't need to remain hospitalized."

"And, uh, the voices? They're gone?"

Nathan rolls his eyes knowing that she admitted to him that she framed him. He realizes that she assumes that he can't remember that small detail. "They are gone, and we realize that I never did kill Mortimer. Whatever I was hearing, they wanted me to believe I killed him, but I didn't."

"Thank God."

"Something like that. You, you certainly didn't come visit me very often. So much for a caring, loving wife?"

"I'm sorry," Lydia shakes her head back to him. "I took over as co-CEO of Rockwell Mining and we have this huge launch coming up. And I wanted you to have the space you needed to get better, Nathan. And it has worked, you're back to your old self."

"I am indeed," Nathan glares at her as he takes a sip of his brandy. "I hope we can move forward now, Lydia. I want to put this behind us."

"Of course," Lydia uneasily nods back to him. "I want that too."

"Good," Nathan says. "Because I've made a decision."

"What kind of decision?"

"I want a divorce, Lydia," he stuns her by revealing. "I don't think we should continue with this marriage, because I think it has been a sham the entire time."

Lydia tries to prevent herself from squealing in delight. She has been working overtime on trying to reunite with MacKenzie Rockwell, so the fact that Nathan wants to end their marriage is music to her ears.

"If that's what you want, Nathan, then I will not contest the divorce," Lydia purses her lips together. "Have the papers drawn up, and I will sign them, Nathan.

"Thank you, Lydia," Nathan looks at her as he wonders why it was so easy for her to accept the divorce.

"Of course," Lydia replies to him. "And Nathan, welcome home, I mean that."

***

A short time later, Nathan opens the door to his bedroom in the Rockwell mansion and scurries inside. He closes the door behind himself and then takes a deep breath. He didn't realize how difficult seeing Lydia would be; he spent months in the hospital, because she made him believe that he was going crazy by hearing those voices that were telling him that he killed Mortimer.

"That smug look on her face," he whispers to himself as he moves to the bar and pours himself a drink from the bar. "She really thinks that we can just move on and pretend that this didn't happen."

He takes a long sip of her his scotch while he taps the glass with his index finger. "I told mother that I will not feud with Mac, and I meant that. But Lydia, she wasn't a part of that conversation. And I will make that bitch pay for making me think I was going crazy. I will not stop until Lydia is a little bug, squished under my foot."

He chuckles to himself as the wheels in his head start turning about how he can get back at Lydia while he takes another strong sip of his drink.

***

The following morning, Lucinda Rockwell opens the door to the main office at Rockwell Mining and sees Mac sitting behind his desk typing into his laptop with a cup of coffee next to him. She moves inside and walks up towards her son.

"Things are progressing with the Pink Roses launch, I am assuming?" she asks him as she sets her purse down on the desk.

"We are making great headway," Mac looks back at her. "Do you want to review our final plans?"

Lucinda chuckles back to him. "No, no, that won't be necessary. You know that I haven't been a part of the day to day around here for a very long," she tells him. "That being said, I am hoping to ask a favor of you."

Mac arches his eyebrow back to her. "A favor? What can I help you with, Mother?"

"It's Levi," Lucinda replies to him as they lock eyes. "I have obtained his power of attorney and he was released from the hospital yesterday. Before you ask, I did have a very long and detailed conversation with his doctor, and he agreed that Levi was healthy enough to leave."

"I suspected this was coming," Mac admits to her. "But what about his claims that he killed Mortimer? Where do you stand with that?"

"The doctor believed that the voices Levi was hearing were causing him to believe that he killed Mortimer, but Levi, himself, maintains that he never did. The doctor put it to me in a very simple way: we must trust Levi with his version of the story, because the only people that were in Mortimer's hospital room when he passed are Mortimer and Levi. I'm choosing to trust my son."

"I hope that doesn't backfire on you," Mac chuckles back to her. "But that makes sense to me."

"Thank you for that Mac," Lucinda says back to him. "Now, my favor is regarding Levi. Now that he's out of the hospital, I'm hoping you will give him a job here at the company again. He needs a sense of purpose, and he did a good job here before Mortimer's death."

Mac sighs back to her. "I can't deny that Nathan is a very good businessman," Mac tells her. "But Lydia and I, we are making a very good team as the co-CEO's of Rockwell Mining. I don't want to rock that boat. So, I am willing to give Nathan a job here, but he will have to accept that he's not the CEO."

"I am sure that he can be convinced of that," Lucinda purses her lips together. "I really appreciate this, Mac."

"We are family," Mac tells her. "That's what matters at the end of the day."

"I couldn't agree more.'

"And Nathan coming back is a good time, because I also just mad another new hire yesterday."

Lucinda arches her eyebrow back to him. "Who did you hire? Who is joining the Rockwell Mining team?"

***

Cassie Nova moves into the country club and makes a beeline towards the dining room, where she sees Kent Blackmore and Dyhannah Cooper sitting at a table together, with some breakfast in front of them.

"Good morning you two," Cassie announces as she sits at the table. "Are we having mimosa's today? I'm in the mood to celebrate."

"Someone's in a good mood this morning," Kent chuckles back to her. "Does that mean you have an update on your meeting with Mac?"

"It does," Cassie nods back to him before she looks at Dyhannah. "You were right, Mac was here yesterday, just like your contact told us he would be."

Dyhannah giggles to her. "I have the best people," she tells her. "So, how did the run-in go?"

"Better than I expected," Cassie tells them. "Not only did he buy me lunch, but we shared a kiss."

"A kiss?" Kent asks her in surprise. "That's moving quickly."

"It's like you said, there's no time to waste," Cassie replies to them. "Not only did we kiss, but something else happened. Something that you both will be pleased to hear about."

Dyhannah arches her eyebrow. "Okay? What is that?"

"Mac, he offered me a job at Rockwell Mining," Cassie reveals to them. "I am starting there shortly."

"Fantastic!" Kent says back to her. "That means that you can start getting us the information we need to ruin the launch."

"Exactly," Cassie replies to them. "You two can trust me, I will not let you down this with."

***

A short time later, Dyhannah has left the table leaving Kent and Cassie alone with one another. Cassie picks up her mimosa and finishes the little bit left that is in her glass.

"Well, I should get running," Cassie tells him as she sets the glass down on the table. "I don't want to be late on my first day."

Kent looks back at her and grabs her hand. "Before you go, I just want to thank you for everything that you're doing, Cassie. You're going to help us in the most important of ways."

"You don't have to thank me; I told you and Dyhannah that I want this launch to fail just as much as you two do."

"I know, but if I am honest, I was feeling, I don't know, jealous, when you said that Mac kissed you," he reveals to her. "I thought you and I hit it off the other day."

"You're a very attractive man, Kent," Cassie purses her lips together. "You weren't the only one that felt an attraction between us."

"I was hoping you'd say that," Kent leans in and kisses her on the lips, just as Quinn Cunningham enters the dining room and sees Kent kissing another woman. Startled, she quickly leaves.

Cassie and Kent look at one another after the kiss. "I need to get going, Kent," she tells him. "And in the future, if you want to kiss me, we should do it somewhere more private. I'd hate for one of the Rockwell Mining employees to see us."

Kent chuckles back to her. "Good call," he winks back to her. "Have a good day; I look forward to our update later."

***

Quinn rushes towards her car, her heart racing at the sight of seeing Kent kiss another woman. She wasn't sure what she thought was happening between them, but she thought that since she dropped the sexual harassment lawsuit, that they might be able to continue to explore their potential relationship with one another. She can't help but think that the time they made love was magical.

"Why was I so stupid?" she asks herself as she moves towards her car. "I should have known that Kent and I wouldn't have a future together. God, I need to stop putting myself in these situations."

From a distance, Marat Kafelinkov watches Quinn, and he can tell that she is upset about something.

"This might be my time to take action," he whispers to himself. "She's upset, so Jumper might be available for me to see. You won't keep me from my son."

***

Celeste paces back and forth in Cole's bedroom as she thinks about the previous night when she had arranged for a romantic evening between her and Cole. She had such high hopes of having a romantic evening with her lover. But she knows that Madi, once again, got involved.

She sighs, as she recalls the previous night in the dining room.

[FLASH]

"You've really gone all out, Celeste," Cole looks around the room in amazement at all the effort Celeste has put into their dinner. "This all looks so incredible."

Celeste giggles back to him. "I really wanted to give us a special night together, Cole. After all we have been through, I thought this would be a nice way for us to celebrate the fact that we are back together and stronger than ever before."

"I agree with you," Cole pulls her into his arms and kisses her on her lips. "In case I haven't told you lately, I love you, Celeste."

"I love you too, Cole," Celeste smiles back to him as they kiss again in the candlelight and the jazz music plays in the background.

Their lips part when Cole's cell phone starts to ring. "Damn it, I should have turned that off," he tells her as he pulls his phone out of his jacket pocket. "It's Madi," he looks at Celeste. "I should get it incase it is about Rocky."

Celeste sighs knowing that Madi has already interrupted their love making earlier in the day. Now, she's calling again during their date night.

"Well, what is it? Is Rocky okay?" Celeste asks Cole, who hangs up his phone.

"No, he's not. He has a fever and Madi is getting worried about him," Cole replies to him. "I hate to do this since you put in so much effort for tonight…"

"But you have to go see your son," Celeste rolls her eyes. "It's fine, I get it. I really do."

"Thanks babe," Cole kisses her forehead. "I'll make this up to you, I promise."

Celeste folds her arms over her chest as Cole rushes out. "Damn you Madi, damn you straight to hell."

[FLASH]

Celeste shakes her head and comes back into present time. She looks at the large bed in the bedroom and sighs knowing that Cole never did come home the previous night, which means he spent the night at the Blackmore mansion, which makes her blood boil.

"I won't lose you to Madi," she tells herself. "I refuse to let that happen."

***

"Thanks for staying overnight," Madi tells Cole as she moves into the living room of the Blackmore mansion wearing a light pink silk robe, while he is just wearing some grey sweatpants. She can't help but look at his toned chest with lust.

"Of course," Cole looks back at her before he takes a sip of his coffee. "I think Rocky's fever finally broke around 2 am."

"I know, he must have some kind of viral infection," Madi tells him. "I'm just glad he's okay now. He's still sleeping, so he must be exhausted."

"I know," Cole nods to her. "You'll have to keep me posted on how he's doing today. I… I have to get going."

"Already? Why don't you stay for breakfast?"

"I can't," Cole tells her. "Lex is making some family announcement at breakfast, so I should be there in case it has to do with the Pink Roses launch."

"Okay," Madi looks at him. "I'll keep you posted on Rocky's health today."

***

Casper looks over his shoulder to ensure no one from the Rockwell mansion is watching him as he walks towards the boathouse that is on the estate. He knows that he has to ensure that no one sees him going into the boathouse because no one can know that Grant Shaw is staying there because everyone will know that their planning to get some of the Rockwell fortune.

He opens the door when he realizes that no one is watching him, and he moves inside. He turns and sees Grant standing there, looking at the water.

"Hey," Casper announces to his husband. "I don't have much time, but I wanted to give you the latest."

"I hope it's good news," Grant says as he puts his hands in his pocket. "We need to keep this plan moving."

"It's good news," Casper replies to him. "Lex and I are engaged. He's going to marry me."

Grant chuckles back to him. "Perfect," he tells him. "Because once you two are married, even though it won't be legal because of our marriage, you will be able to gain access to the various accounts that the family has."

"Exactly," Casper chuckles to him. "We are getting closer to succeeding, Grant. Nothing will stop us now."

***

The dining room table in the Rockwell mansion is full of breakfast and banter between the family, as they await Lex's announcement to everyone. Lex grabs a glass of champagne and then moves to the head of the table, grabbing his fork and tapping the side of his glass.

"Can I get everyone's attention please?" he asks the room, as the family hushes and looks over at Lex. "Thank you all for being here this morning."

"We wouldn't miss you making some announcement," Stacey chuckles to her brother as she takes a bite of her waffle.

"Stacey is right, what is going on with you, darling?" Lucinda asks her grandson before she takes a sip of her coffee.

"My announcement," Lex begins to say to everyone. "It's good news. Casper and I, we are getting married! I'm engaged!"

"Whoa!" Mac stands up and rushes up to him pulling Lex into a hug. "Congratulations!"

"Thank you," Lex smiles back to him as Lydia hugs him next.

"I'm so proud of you," Lydia tells her son. "You're going to make the most handsome grooms ever."

"Thanks Mom," Lex says back to her. "I'm happy; we are happy. And I don't think that anything will ever come between me and Casper."

***

A short time later, Stacey is in her guest house, picking up some of the toys that her children, Drake and Poppy, have left on the floor. She is feeling ecstatic over the fact that Lex and Casper are engaged; she knows that Lex has been through hell and back with his various love interests, so she is happy that he has finally found someone that makes him happy.

She just wishes that her romantic life was in better standing. She can't believe that she fell for Houston Blackmore's game again. Just she and Houston they made love and were on the verge of reuniting, Lex informed Stacey that Houston knew about Dyhannah feeding Kent insider information from Rockwell Mining to Blackmore Ltd. She can't believe that Houston would allow that to happen, and she let him know that when they had an encounter at the country club.

She looks at the door when she hears the doorbell ring. She moves up and sees Houston standing on the other side of the door. "Houston, I don't think I have anything else to say to you."

Houston sighs back to her. "Stacey, please, we finally got back to a good place. Can't we just talk about this and get through this?"

"The piece is Houston," Stacey looks back at him. "Is that every time we seemingly get to a good place, something else happens where we end up in a bad place again. And I've come to a conclusion."

"What's that?"

"We are over, Houston," Stacey tells him quickly. "And the underlying reason is that I can't trust you. There's always going to be something that will arise where I will question you and us."

"Stacey…"

"No, Houston," she cuts him off. "I mean it this time, we are over."

***

Kent moves to the front door of this penthouse, and he looks in surprise when he sees Cassie standing on the other side. He moves out of the way to let her into the penthouse.

"I'm surprised to see you so soon," Kent tells her as Cassie puts her purse down on the sofa. "I thought you'd be at Rockwell Mining more of the day?"

"Mac called me," Cassie replies to him quickly. "I guess the family is doing some celebratory meeting; some news from his youngest son."

"Ah yes," Kent nods back to her. "Lex, he's actually my son, but he got engaged. I can see why they are celebrating."

"Well once I knew that my time wasn't going to be valued at Rockwell Mining, I thought I'd come and see you," she purses her lips together. "Since we have that attraction, and all."

Kent chuckles as he moves closer to her. "I think the way you think," he says as he leans in and kisses her passionately. "Do you want to go upstairs?"

"I thought you'd never ask," she purrs as they lead to the stairs, eager to make love to one another.

***

A short time later, Kent sits at the bar of the country club with a whiskey sour in front of him. He is on cloud nine over the fact that he and Cassie just had sex with one another for the first time. He knew that she was a beautiful woman, but he enjoyed himself more than thought he would have.

"You look happy, what is going on?" Quinn asks Kent as she moves up to him. When she first saw him, she wasn't going to approach him, but she is curious as to what is happening between him and Cassie, as she saw them kissing earlier.

"I am having a good day," Kent tells her as she sits next to him. "So, I'm treating myself to a drink."

Quinn chuckles back to him. "That sounds nice."

"Can I get you one?"

"Sure," Quinn nods back to him. "I'd love to have a drink with you. It will give us a chance to talk."

"What's on your mind?" he asks her as the bartender sets a whiskey sour in front of Quinn.

Quinn chuckles before she takes a sip of her drink. "I…well, I won't beat around the bush," Quinn looks over at him. "I saw you earlier, with Cassie Nova," she reveals to him. "You two were kissing."

Kent arches his eyebrow in surprise. "I'm sorry that you had to see that," he admits to her. "I know that we've been flirting, especially since the lawsuit was dropped."

"But we aren't in a committed relationship, right?"

Kent chuckles back to her. "I've been in a rut for a while now, so I am just exploring all my options and having a good time doing that."

"Does that mean that you'd be interested in hanging out with me again?" Quinn asks him as she puts her hand on his leg and squeezes it. "Because I really enjoyed our time together."

Kent leans over and kisses her on the lips. "I'd be more than happy to explore with you," Kent winks back to her as their lips part.

***

A short time later, Dyhannah is sitting at a table in the country club with a Bloody Mary in front of her. She has her IPad open, and she is waiting for an update from Cassie on her first day at Rockwell Mining. She hopes that she gets some good news because she wants their plan to make the Pink Roses launch fail in the most epic way possible.

She looks up to grab her drink and gulps heavily when she sees Nathan moving into the club. She arches her eyebrow at the sight as she hadn't realized that Nathan was out of the hospital. However, the sight of him makes her realize that she could use his help.

She stands up and moves up to him. "Nathan," Dyhannah purses her lips together. "You're home? How…are you?"

Nathan looks back at Dyhannah and nods to her. "I am fine, better than ever before," Nathan tells her.

"I'm happy to hear that," Dyhannah replies to him. "Why don't you come join me for a drink?"

"Only if you promise you're not up to something," Nathan chuckles back to her as they move to her table. "My mother filled me in on your shenanigan's while I was away."

Dyhannah giggles back to him. "A girl has to be busy," she tells him. "Besides, I'm surprised you're not happy that I was trying to ruin your brother's campaign with Roboto. If he succeeds, it will make Mac look very good as the CEO."

"Interesting point," Nathan says back to her. "My mother told me that I could go back to work at Rockwell Mining, but that I wouldn't be in the CEO position, at least not right now."

"Then you should help me take down Mac and the company," Dyhannah tells him. "If the Pink Roses launch fails, you'd have a great case that you should be the CEO, not Mac. What do you say, Nathan? Help me in my quest to ruin Mac, the Rockwell's and the Pink Roses launch?"

Nathan gets a wicked grin on his face as he realizes that she is right; if the launch fails, Mac will look like an incompetent CEO, and he could get the position back. On top of that, he knows how much Lydia has worked on the campaign and he still wants to get back at her.

"I'm in," Nathan smirks back to her. "Tell me what I have to do to make the Pink Roses campaign fail."

***

Celeste slowly walks through the garden at the Rockwell mansion. Her mind is racing about how Madi is still coming between her and Cole as she is using Rocky to get Cole to always rush over to her place. She doesn't know how she can stop this from continuing to happen, but she knows that she won't let Madi take Cole away from her.

She looks up and arches her eyebrow when she sees a figuring creeping up towards the Rockwell mansion. The person is wearing all black, and they appear to be moving towards the back door.

Celeste gulps but finds herself rushing towards the person, who she assumes is someone trying to break into mansion.

"Hey! You! Stop right there!" Celeste yells as she turns the corner and sees the person about to open the back door. The figure freezes and is about to rush away, but Celeste comes up and pushes them up against the wall. "You're not going to do this! You're not going to break into the mansion."

During the struggle, Celeste manages to pull the black ski mask off their face, and she gasps in shock and horror. "Marat?" she asks as Marat Kafelinkov stands in front of her.

"Hey Celeste, it's been a while," he smiles back to his former lover.