Previously…
– After many years apart, Tim and Claire reunited romantically.
– Natalie made contact with Sonja, who had been living in a safehouse with TJ, and warned her that Loretta was after her. Sonja took TJ and disappeared from King’s Bay.
– Molly learned that Gia had arranged an emergency board meeting at Objection Designs to vote Molly out of her role for good. She made it in the nick of time and, with help from Andy Fitch, emerged victorious in the vote.
– With her role at Objection secured, Molly fired Gia.

In the anteroom of the office suite that was hers for so long and, as of this evening, is hers again, Molly Taylor stands only a few feet from Finn Campbell, who came to find her after the Objection Designs board meeting cleared out.

“I should be going,” Molly says, as a nervous feeling winds its way through her body. “I have a toddler at home–”

“Wait. I need to talk to you.”

With narrowed, suspicious eyes, Molly asks, “About what?”

“You could say,” Finn tells her, “that I have a proposition for you.”

Molly waits. There is something ominous about his tone, something intense and almost feral about his gaze, and she doesn’t like any of it.

“What kind of proposition?” she asks, in as casual a tone as she can muster, while making a wide circle around Finn to move to the double doors that connect the suite to the rest of the office. She glances out, as if checking that they will not be overheard, and she is disheartened to find no one at all in the space.

At least he can’t trap me in here, she thinks, although she immediately dismisses the fear as paranoia after her terrifying experiences in the past with Craig Simmons and Philip Ragan. 

“My loyalty is to Objection,” Finn declares. “I love it here. I felt like I had to help Gia – she was my boss, and my entire professional future was in her hands. But secretly? I was hoping the board vote wouldn’t work out for her.”

Molly purses her lips as she takes this in. Finally she replies, “Is that so?”

He nods. “Absolutely. Gia became power-hungry. She took me on a mission to go meet Katherine Fitch last year, and that’s when I realized what she was angling for. I tried to stall this… this attempt at a coup for as long as I could, but she was fixated on it.”

When Molly remains silent, still evaluating what he is saying, Finn jumps in to add:

“I’m glad that you came out on top. And now that that’s been resolved, I want to be here. I want to help take Objection into the future. And I know you’ll need an assistant.”

Now it dawns on Molly what he is doing. “You want…”

“…to stay on as your assistant,” he confirms. “Please, Mrs. Taylor. I had a job to do, and I did it even though I hated it. You have your role back now. Please keep me on. I promise you won’t regret it.”

—–

In the midst of a sprawling suburban housing development, Claire Fisher parks her car in the driveway outside Tim’s home and makes her way through the chilly night to his front door. She slides her key into the lock and opens the door softly; although Tim recently gave her the key and knows that she is coming over, she still feels as though she is intruding in someone else’s space. 

“It’s me,” she declares, first peeking her head inside and then stepping fully into the house. 

“Hey!” Tim responds. “I’m in the kitchen.”

As she slides off her sneakers and sets down her purse, she catches sight of herself in the mirror hung in the entryway. She looks tired, with her brown hair pulled back into a ponytail and her light blue hospital scrubs mussed and dirtied beneath her purple winter coat. She takes off the coat, hangs it on one of the nearby pegs, and goes to greet Tim.

She finds him at the round kitchen table, hunched over an open file folder and a number of printed documents and photos.

“How was your shift?” he asks.

“Very standard. Thankfully pretty quiet,” she replies. “What’s all this?”

He drums his fingers on the edge of the wooden surface. Claire can see the weight of worry in his eyes.

“Sonja?” she asks. “Did Sarah find something?”

“No.” He shakes his head wearily. “I asked Sarah if I could take a look at her files so far.”

Claire pulls out the chair beside his and sits down, pivoting her body to face him. “Nothing?”

“Nothing.” He furrows his brow and squints at the paperwork in front of him, as if willing it to produce some crucial information that wasn’t there a moment ago. “It’s like Sonja and TJ both disappeared off the face of the earth.”

“Or they’re traveling by bus and using cash to stay off everyone’s radar. Look on the bright side: this means they probably haven’t boarded a plane or left the country.”

“That’s what Sarah said. I felt bad even asking her for everything. I know she’s great at what she does. But not knowing where my son is…”

She takes his hand. “I can only imagine, Tim.”

“I feel like his life is flying by and I’ve barely gotten to be a part of it at all,” he says. “We had those months when he and Sonja were in the safehouse, and nothing else. He might not even remember me.”

“Of course he remembers you. And when Sarah tracks them down, he’ll be so happy to see you.”

“I hope you’re right. But waiting around is killing me.”

Claire scoots her chair closer to his, bringing her knee into contact with his. “I’ll be here to wait with you for as long as it takes. And when we do have some news – I’ll be right by your side. We’ll get through this together, okay?”

Tim nods and presses his forehead against hers, and Claire’s heart aches for him.

—–

Molly stares back at Finn, overcome by surprise. Mere moments ago, her primary emotion was fear, or at least uneasiness. The way that Finn appeared in the office so suddenly, with such an intensity about him, caused her to think that he was going to lash out. Instead, he is practically begging her for a job.

“Finn,” she begins gently, “I’m not sure…”

“Think about what a benefit it would be to you,” he says. “I know where the bodies are buried, so to speak. I’ve been privy to every decision made in this office since you’ve been gone. That kind of continuity is a big plus.”

Molly finds herself nodding along. She does see his point on that front. 

“And I know you resent what Gia just tried to do,” Finn continues, “but you have to admit that she did a decent job holding down the fort. I was part of that. The work we did was effective, and the company is in good shape.”

“From what I’ve seen and heard, it is,” Molly admits.

“Then bring me on, and let me help you settle back in. Give me a chance to prove how helpful and dedicated I can be.”

A loaded silence falls over the office as Molly processes Finn’s appeal. The points he is making are persuasive, and she understands from her own time as an executive assistant that support staffers have to stand behind their bosses or risk unemployment while they are still trying to get a foothold in their industry. 

“You do make a good case for yourself, Finn.”

He brightens. “So you’ll give me a chance as your assistant.”

“You make good points,” she says, “but you were essentially Gia’s right-hand man the entire time I was on leave.”

“I told you, I didn’t want to do any–”

“I know. I understand how you found yourself in this position. I don’t hold you responsible. But you worked closely with someone I just had to fire because I absolutely can’t trust her. How can I be certain that she doesn’t have your ear, or that she won’t influence you in some way?”

“I swear,” he says, fumbling around for a moment before he produces his iPhone. “I’ll block her number.”

“You don’t need to do that. Unfortunately, though, I don’t think it makes much sense for me to keep you on. I’m sorry.”

“You can’t mean that. Please, give me a chance–”

“I’m sorry, Finn, but that’s my decision,” Molly tells him. “I can give you a recommendation or put you in touch with folks I know at other businesses, but I cannot keep you on at Objection. Especially after what happened tonight.”

His voice rises as he counters, “I told you, that was all Gia!”

“Be that as it may, the board associates you with Gia, too. And even if it’s illogical, I’m not sure I could totally get past your connection to her. If Trevor hadn’t called me earlier…” She trails off, shaking her head as she considers how close she was to losing Objection forever.

“What do you mean?” Finn asks.

“Trevor figured out what was going on with the emergency board meeting and let me know,” Molly explains. “That’s how I was able to get here in time and secure the votes I needed. Without him, I wouldn’t be standing here right now.”

Finn’s mouth flaps open and closed before finally producing the words, “I’m close with Trevor. We’re friends – I even live in his family’s old house–”

“Finn, I’m really sorry, but my final answer is no. Okay? But if you e-mail me, I’ll gladly give you that recommendation or put you in touch with whoever I can.”

His face falls.

“You’ll land on your feet,” Molly assures him. “At some point, this job will seem like a blip on the radar of your life.”

Looking white as a ghost, he manages to flick his eyes toward her only briefly. 

“Fine,” he says, as if in a trance, and then he walks out of the office, fists balled by his side.

Molly watches as he leaves and waits to hear the distant ding of the elevator before she goes into her office to see what changes Gia made during her stint.

—–

After she takes a shower upstairs in the primary bathroom, Claire returns to the kitchen, where she finds Tim pouring some pasta from a package into boiling water.

“I hope pasta sounds good,” he tells her. “I need to do a grocery run soon.”

“Pasta sounds great,” she says with a cheerful smile. Her hair, still wet, hangs loose around her shoulders, and she wears Tim’s worn, purple University of Washington sweatshirt. It hangs loosely on her frame, the sleeves covering her hands.

She indicates the sweatshirt. “I hope you don’t mind. This looked a lot more comfortable than the few items of clothing I have here.”

“Mind? Never. Unless you spill pasta sauce on it.”

“I’ll be extra-careful.”

She crosses to the table and begins organizing the scattered papers and photos, placing them back in the folder.

“You don’t have to do that,” Tim says.

“It’s no trouble. You’re cooking me dinner and letting me wear one of your favorite sweatshirts.”

He stirs the pasta and then comes up behind her, sliding his arms around her midsection. 

“I’ve been thinking about something,” he says.

Claire rotates her head, trying to look back at him. “What’s that?”

He kisses her neck. “You really should have more clothes here…”

“You’re that worried about me staining your sweatshirt?” she laughs.

“That’s not what I mean. Having you here – it makes me so happy. Knowing that I can lean on you when things are tough… especially after all we’ve been through… it makes me want you here all the time.”

Realizing what he is saying, Claire swivels around; Tim’s hands remain on her hips as she faces him.

“Tim,” she says.

“What do you say? Move in with me, Claire. It’s not like it would be our first rodeo – and all this thinking about how much time I’ve lost with TJ has made me think about the time we’ve lost, too. I don’t want to lose another day of being with you.”

“You’re serious? You really want me to move in?”

Now he kisses her on the lips. “Do I not seem serious?”

“No, you do. And that’s a very tempting offer.”

“Then say yes.”

She hesitates only a fraction of a second. “Yes. Of course I’ll move in. I want to be with you again, too.” To underscore her point, she presses her lips to his.

“This is the good news I needed tonight,” he says when they finally part. 

“Me, too,” Claire says. “And I’ll be here with you every step of the way. I promise: we’re going to find TJ, and we’re going to bring him home.”

—–

When Molly finishes taking stock of her own office and locates a number of personal items that Gia had stashed away in a cabinet – photos, awards, small pieces of decor – she returns to the anteroom. She is ready to leave the office and return home to Brent and Gabrielle when she catches sight of Finn’s desk. 

His things are still there, abandoned as if he expected to be back at his desk tomorrow morning. The expensive designer candle sits there, along with a black Hydro Flask water bottle and a leather-bound notebook. 

I’ll pack those up tomorrow and have Trevor return them to him, she thinks, but the mental plan is accompanied by a twinge of guilt. She felt terribly about turning him away and casting him into unemployment. But she reminds herself that she had to do it; keeping on someone so associated with Gia simply wouldn’t make sense, and she would never be 100 percent sure that she could trust him.

“Tomorrow, we start fresh,” she says aloud to the office as she moves to the door and hits the light switch.

—–

When the elevator deposits Finn in the building’s parking garage, he stares around the nearly empty subterranean structure in despair. It seems so gray and desolate. None of this feels real. Earlier today, he was sure that he was on the brink of having a permanent place at Objection, putting him one step closer to finding a way to take control of the company that his biological mother founded and that his biological father helped fund. Now Molly is back in charge, and he’s out on his ass.

He hears Molly’s voice in his mind:

“Trevor figured out what was going on with the emergency board meeting and let me know. That’s how I was able to get here in time and secure the votes I needed. Without him, I wouldn’t be standing here right now.”

“You were supposed to be my friend,” Finn mutters, his jaw quivering with rage. “And you sold me out to her.”

He thinks of turning around, going back upstairs, and doing something drastic to force Molly to keep him at the company. But there are too many ways that could go wrong. 

“How you could do this to me, Trevor?” he asks the empty garage, and the only response is stark, humiliating silence.

END OF EPISODE 1213

Does Finn have more tricks up his sleeve?
Was Molly right to send Finn packing?
Will Tim and Claire get it right this time?
Talk about it all in the comments below!

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