Written by: Dallas Walsh

"I still can't believe that my mother left me in charge of everything," Stacey Rockwell tells Kent Blackmore, as Kent pours two glasses of brandy as they stand in the living room of Kent's penthouse that he shared with Lydia Rockwell. Being back in the living room, his heart is heavy as they just buried Lydia the previous day. He still feels raw from her death; the fact that she is gone still feels unreal. Stacey, as per Lydia Rockwell's will, was given her power of attorney; Since Lydia obtained Kent's POA right after the transplant surgery, it transferred over to Stacey until Kent is back to being 100% healthy. Stacey then notices Kent opening a pill bottle and taking a pill with his brandy.

"I still can't believe it much myself," Kent turns around and passes Stacey her brandy. She watches him put the pill in his mouth and drink it down with the alcohol. "I wish she had left Lexington in charge, if I am honest with you. Not that I don't think that you're capable, he just has much more experience."

Stacey uneasily nods back to him. "I understand that," she admits to him. "Are you still in a lot of pain? How long do you think you'll be on the sidelines? You know, I will look after Blackmore Ltd. to the best of my ability, until you're ready to come back, of course and I'm hoping that it won't take too long."

"I am in pain," he admits as he walks over to the sofa. "The last couple of days of being alone, with hearing about Lydia's death and then the service and the reading of the will, I think I've overdone it."

Stacey purses her lips together. "So then, I guess I might be in charge longer than we first expected?"

"I've been thinking," Kent tells her. "How would you feel about turning over the power to Lexington? Like I said, I have faith in you, it's just Lexington has so much more experience with business. He practically ran Rockwell Mining together with your father. I could discuss more with my lawyers."

Stacey can't help but feel like her ego has just taken a hit. Why wouldn't Kent be more open to giving her a chance to run Blackmore Ltd? Lydia, obviously, felt like Stacey was capable of handling her affairs, or she wouldn't have been left the POA. Not to mention, Lex is also recovering from the surgery and he has a top executive position at Rockwell Mining.

"I guess that will be fine," Stacey uneasily nods back to him. "Have you spoken to Lex about this? You realize, he's in the exact same boat as you; he's recovering from the transplant still too."

"I realize that," Kent replies to her. "However, he's a lot younger than I am. I expect him to rebound much sooner than I."

"Do you know how he'd feel about leaving Rockwell Mining? He's still close to Mac," Stacey tells him. "Mac is basically grooming him to take over the company one day."

"When he hears me out," Kent says back to her quickly. "I'm sure he will feel the way I do and come to Blackmore. This is his real birthright, not Rockwell Mining."

Stacey notices Kent's eyes start to glaze over, as the effects of the pain medication and booze are clearly taking effect. "Let me talk to my lawyer and see what he suggests? In the meantime, please, ask me any questions at all about Blackmore, okay?"

"Of course," Stacey smiles back to him. "Anything you want, Kent."

***

"So, I guess it is official then?" Mac Rockwell announces as he moves into the living room of the Rockwell mansion and immediately spots Cole Rockwell and Celeste Rockwell in an embrace by the French doors that lead into the garden. Mac knew that his son and soon to be ex-wife would reunite, but seeing them together still is painful. "I should have known by how close you were at Lydia's service, but …"

"Dad," Cole cuts him off, coming out of his embrace with Celeste. "If seeing us together is too much, we can stop."

"No," Mac waves his hand in the air. "I told Celeste that I would support this and I mean it. If your Mother's death has taught us anything, it is that life is too short to worry about the small stuff. We all just deserve some happiness."

"I don't know what to say," Cole replies to him as he comes up and hugs Mac.

"You don't have to say anything, son," Mac replies to him. "We've wasted too much time on petty things. If you and Celeste want to be happy, then I want nothing but the best for you. My God, if only we learned that with Lydia before it was too late."

"Mac, thank you," Celeste tells him. "I know this can't be easy."

"Not another word of this," Mac replies to them. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go to the office. I have a million things to catch up on."

"I can't believe he is handling this so well," Celeste tells Cole, after Mac has left the room. "It's like he is someone else."

"Well," Cole nods back to her. "He is right, my Mother's death has really opened all of our eyes about short and precious life is. It's why I had to rush to the airport to stop you from leaving town. I couldn't be without you."

"I'm glad you found me," she replies to him.

"Me too," he leans in and kisses her on the lips. "And, that's why I have a present for you."

"You do?" she asks him.

"Yea," he replies as he pulls out small black box. He opens it and inside there is a large diamond ring inside. "Marry me, Celeste. Let's not waste another moment. What do you say?"

Celeste gasps at the sight of the ring, which is bigger than the one Mac got her. "I'm not even divorced yet…"

"I don't care," he tells her. "As soon as you are, we need to be together. Let's show the world how good we are together. What do you say?"

"I'd love to be your wife," Celeste replies to him. "Nothing will get in our way now."

***

Vivian Blackmore sits at the bar of the country club, her head spinning as she reads the newspaper article about Lydia's death. She can't believe that her rival for so many years is actually dead; she was never a big supporter of Lydia, but it is still surprising to think that she is gone. Her mind, however, is really on Cole; she wonders how he is doing with the death of his mother. Part of her wishes he would reach out to her right now, but she realizes that he won't; he has made it perfectly clear that he doesn't want anything to do with her.

"And, that's because of the Celeste Baldwin," Vivian whispers to herself as she drops the newspaper down and picks up her champagne cocktail and takes a swig of it. "I will get her out of your life, Cole, even if it's the last thing that I do."

She opens her purse and grabs her cell phone, as she recalls seeing Celeste and Marat Kafelikov in a seemingly close conversation recently. She hasn't been able to get the sight out of her mind. To her, that could be the way to get Celeste out of Cole's life for good.

"Larry Fondell," she purses her lips together as she speaks into her phone to the private investigator. "Darling, it's Vivian Blackmore, how are you? … I'm fine, thank you. Listen, Larry, I need your help with something and I'm hoping you'll say yes … you're free now? Perfect, I'll head right over to your office."

***

"Two more, you can do it," Brock Jennings encourages a Lex, who is shirtless, to do two more push-ups. Lex quickly finishes them, and then slowly stands up, his toned chest covered in a light dusting of sweat. Brock can't help but admire the toned man in front of him. "You were great!"

"Thanks," Lex smiles back to him, before taking a swig of water from his water bottle. "My legs feel pretty tired now, though, I have to admit."

"That's to be expected," Brock comes up to him and puts his arm around Lex. "Come on, let's get you to the bench over there."

They start walking slowly, and Lex soon feels his left leg go numb. He stumbles a little, and Brock catches him in his arms. "Whoa, I got you," Brock smiles to Lex, who feels embarrassed, but can't help but notice how muscular Brock's arms are.

"Thanks," Lex bashfully says. "Sorry about that."

"Don't apologize," Brock tells him, moving him closer to the bench. "We need to build your strength. This will be fine."

Suddenly, Jarek Williams appears in the doorway of the gym and feels his blood boil at the sight of Brock holding his husband in his arms. "Am I interrupting?" he asks, as he comes into the gym, holding four shopping bags in his hands.

Brock helps Lex sit on the bench, and then looks back at Jarek. "Not at all," he tells Jarek. "We just finished a session. Lex probably overdid it just a tad."

"Yea, but I'll be fine. It was a great session, thanks Brock," Lex tells him. "I can't wait for the next one."

"Neither can I," Brock winks back to him, causing Jarek to roll his eyes again. "We need to work on your stamina."

"I'll give you two some privacy now," Brock tells them, before looking longingly at Lex and then rushing out of the gym.

Jarek puts his bags down and sits next to his husband. "Are you sure you're okay? I don't want you over doing it."

"I'm fine," Lex waves his hand back to him. "The harder he pushes me, the sooner I'll be back to being myself."

Jarek sighs and looks back at him, knowing that he is feeling a twinge of jealousy. He can't believe he's feeling this way, considering he was trying to kill his husband. Maybe, he realizes, he has feelings for Lex after all.

"What's all these bags?" Lex asks him, changing the subject.

"I did some shopping for us," Jarek smiles back to him. His thought process is that he if didn't inherit money from Lex dying, he might as well start spending like he is a Rockwell.

"Where did you get the money for these clothes? That label says Versace!"

"I used our credit card," Jarek replies to him quickly. "We are married; what's yours is mine and what's mine is yours…"

"I really wish you hadn't done that," Lex tells him, knowing that the money isn't to be spent on foolish things. "My Dad gave me that card for emergencies."

"I'm sorry, I guess I just thought that since we are married, I could enjoy some of the perks of being a Rockwell."

"Some of the perks? What do you mean by that?"

"Nothing," Jarek rolls his eyes.

"No, tell me," Lex challenges him. "By perk do you mean the family money? Because, I'm not sure I like how that sounds."

"Forget it!" Jarek snaps at him. "It won't happen again, okay? Let's drop it."

***

Stacey moves inside Kent's large office at the Blackmore Ltd building and looks around. She has only been in the office once or twice before when she was visiting Lydia, so she knows where the basics are, but she doesn't know everything. As the current CEO, she has to find out where everything in case she needs something at the drop of the hat.

She leaves her large Chanel purse on the desk and moves over to some of the filing cabinets. She opens them, and looks through some of the files that Blackmore has.

She quickly locates a file that says "Kremlin Diamonds" on it. She knows the company, because it is Marat's father's company. Suddenly, she thinks of Marat and gets a slight grin on her face. She's so glad that he's back home from Russia.

She picks it up and opens the folder, and gasps a little. "This is Lydia's handwriting," she tells herself as she reads the notes in the folder. "It seems like she was going to try to get the mine away from Rockwell Mining and bring it over to Blackmore Ltd," she says to herself. "But why would she do that? Why would she go after a mine that has a contract with a competitor?"

She loses her train of thought when the large phone on the desk beeps repeatedly. "Yes Suzanne," Stacey says pressing the button to reach the secretary," she says into the phone. "Oh, yes, I remember about that meeting. I'll get ready now. Anything else?' She asks, as she listens to the woman speak. "Oh, he's here? Yes, please send him in."

She hangs up the phone as the door opens and she spots Marat Kafelinkov standing there. "Hello darling," she smiles as she walks up to her fiancé and kisses him quickly. "What do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"

"I just wanted to see how the new CEO was doing," he smiles back to her. "I'm so proud of you."

Stacey giggles back to him. "Why thank you," she purses her lips together. "I have to admit, I don't feel like I've earned this position, but I'm determined to make the most of it while I'm here."

"That's the right attitude to have," he nods back to her. "You'll be great, I have nothing but faith in you."

"Thanks," she tells him. "I have to get to a meeting, but once it's over, you and I, we should discuss about telling the family about the engagement, now that things have seemingly settled from my mother's death."

"Only if you're ready," he whispers back to her. "I don't want to rush you into anything you're not ready to do."

She shakes her head quickly back to him. "No, I want too," she tells him. "My mother's death has a made me realize that life is so short; we need to be happy while we can."

"Perfect," he nods back to her. "Let's meet later to discuss it then?"

***

Mac moves into the office at the Rockwell Mining office and immediately pours himself a brandy. While he was civil with Cole and Celeste about their union, he can't help but realize that it does sting. He was in love with Celeste; the fact that their marriage is ending so she can be with his son is still a hard pill to swallow.

"I have to move on," he whispers to himself. "That's the only thing left for me to do. I have to move on and focus on Rockwell Mining. With Lex being in the hospital for so long, the company has really suffered."

He walks over to his desk and sits down. For a moment, he feels a sense of relief; he's always used work as a way to relief stress; Rockwell Mining is like his other child, he loves his work very much.

He picks up a folder and opens it, quickly seeing something that Stacey was working on before she go the the CEO position at Blackmore Ltd. "I hope that doesn't last too long," he whispers to himself. "Stacey belongs here, not at Blackmore Ltd. This document is proof of that," he says closing the folder, as he hears a knock on the door. "Come in."

The door opens and a UPS man comes rushing into the office. "Sorry to disturb you, there was no one at the front desk. I have a delivery for a Mac Rockwell."

"That's me," Mac nods back to him, accepting the package and paying the man before he leaves. Mac opens the package, and sees a small red ring box inside. He opens the red box slowly, and immediately feels his eyes swell with water as he looks at the wedding ring that he gave Lydia; he recalls how she left him the ring in her will.

"Oh Lydia," he whispers to himself, as he grabs the ring and looks at it closely. "Where did we go wrong? We used to be so happy together. How did it all get off track?"

"Talking to yourself?" A voice calls out at the doorway of the office, causing Mac to look up and see Sabine Andrews standing there.

"Sabine," Mac stands up from his desk. "I guess I was just thinking out loud."

She moves closer to him and sees his wedding ring in his hand. "You got Lydia's wedding ring," she observes to him as she shakes her head. "I still can't believe that she's gone. I can't believe I'll never get to make amends with my sister."

"I think there's a lot of us that feel that way," he agrees with her. "It seems surreal that she is gone. I'm glad you're here though," he tells her, as he sets the ring back in the red box and closes it.

Sabine arches her eyebrow back to him. "My timing must be good then," she tells him. "I saved you a phone call?"

"You sure did," he nods back to her as he grabs the folder he was looking at earlier. "Stacey reminded me of something the other day."

"And, that would be?"

"What an amazing diamond cutter you are," he looks into her eyes. "And, it's odd that we have never worked together before. But, since you're in town, I'd like that to change."

"Are you offering me a job at Rockwell Mining?" Sabine can't help but get a smile on her face.

"Only if you're planning on staying in Kelsey Lake for a while," he tells her. "I know you like to move around."

Sabine moves a piece of hair behind her ear. "No, I'd like to stay in town for a while. Being here with you, and the children, it makes me feel closer to Lydia. If you have an offer, I'd love to review it in greater detail."

"Have a seat," Mac tells her, before he passes her the contract that Stacey drew up. "Have a look at this and let me know what you think."

Sabine quickly reads the document before looking over at Mac. "Well?" He asks her, wondering what her answer is.

"Where do I sign?" She purses her lips together.

***

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Brock asks Lex, who comes off the elevator in the Rockwell mansion because he doesn't want to use the stairs just yet. Brock was on his way out when he realized he forgot one of his bags at the mansion, so he came back to retrieve it.

Lex looks at his personal trainer, and can't help but notice the bulging arms from his tight t-shirt. "I'm good, we had a good work out. I thought you had left?"

"I did leave," Brock replies to him quickly. "But I realized that I forgot one of my bags, so I came back. And, I'm glad the work out was good for you. I was worried when your legs went numb. Let me know when I can go harder on you."

Lex gulps at his comment, trying to deny his attraction to Brock. "Yea, I'll definitely let you know," he replies to him.

"Good," Brock winks back to him. "So, Jarek, he doesn't like me much, huh?"

"Why do you say that?" Lex asks him back, surprised by his admission.

Brock shrugs his shoulders. "Just a feeling I get."

"I don't think it's that," Lex tells him. "I think he's just going through a difficult time right now. You know, I almost died because his mother was drugging me, and now she's in jail. It can't be easy for him, he was really close to his Mom."

"Oh right," Brock nods back to him. "Stacey told me that it was Jarek's Mom that was drugging you. That seems pretty messed up."

"It is," Lex agrees with him. "It's crazy because I barely saw her before. I'm not sure how she was even drugging me, you know? Anyways, I'm just glad that she's behind bars now."

Brock uneasily nods back to him. "Yea, I'm glad for that too. Anyways, I need to get going. See you at the next work out station, unless..."

"Unless?" Lex asks him back, looking into his eyes.

"If you ever wanted to grab a drink or dinner... let me know," Brock quickly tells him. "Anyways, see you."

Lex can't help but get a smile on his face, knowing that Brock just asked him out on a date. He can't deny that Brock is an attractive man, but Lex also takes his marriage vows very seriously. At the top of the stairs, however, Jarek feels his blood boil at the fact that he just heard Brock ask his husband out on a date. He suddenly realizes that if he went to his house to grab the drugs that Odette left, he could kill either Lex or Brock to keep them apart. A wicked grin comes across his face.

***

"God damnit," Stacey slams her office door closed behind her as she moves inside and quickly moves to the bar to pour herself a brandy. She just had a meeting with other Blackmore Ltd executives and it didn't go over very well; no one took her seriously. In fact, they all basically told her that they can't wait for Kent to come back into the fold. "How is anyone going to take me seriously if they won't even give me a chance?"

She takes a big gulp of her brandy before she moves back to the desk and sits down. "I refuse to be the laughing stock of the business world while Kent recovers," she whispers to herself. "Mother knew that I could do this job and I am damn well going to prove that I can do this."

She opens the folder that reads "Kremlin Diamonds" and re-reads Lydia's notes. "She wanted to bring Kremlin to the Blackmore umbrella,' she whispers to herself. "Now, if I could get Marat's father to bring the Kremlin mine here, maybe people would start treating me with some respect."

***

Cole and Celeste watch the waiter pour two glasses of champagne before he puts the bottle in the cooler, leaving the two of them alone. Cole picks up his glass and looks into Celeste's eyes. "I think we should have a toast," he smiles to his fiancé.

Celeste picks up her glass and smiles back to him. "I'm all ears, sweetheart."

"To us," he looks into her eyes. "We have proven that we can overcome any obstacle thrown our way. I love you more than I thought I could love anyone else in the world...to becoming my wife, and spending the rest of our lives together."

"Cheers," she toasts him back before she takes a sip of the bubbles. "And, for the record, I do love you too. I fought for so very long to suppress my feelings, but I am glad we can finally be open with one another."

"Me too," he nods back to her, as he looks over his shoulder and he sees Marat and Stacey walk into the country club. "I see Marat and Stacey. Do you think we should invite them over for a glass of champagne?"

"Yes, of course," Celeste nods, as Cole stands up and rushes over to his sister. Within a few minutes, Celeste is greeting Stacey and Marat at the table.

"So, Cole tells us that you have some news you'd like to share?" Stacey purses her lips together, as the waiter comes back and pours two more glasses of champagne.

"Yea," Celeste nods back to her. "I think I'll let him explain it though."

"No," Cole shakes his head with a laugh. "Just tell them."

"Fine," Celeste smiles, as she puts out her left hand, showing Marat and Stacey her large diamond ring. "Cole and I are engaged; we are going to be married!"

"Wow, this is great news," Marat smiles back to them, as Cole looks over at Stacey, who doesn't look as impressed.

"I don't understand," Stacey admits to them. "What about your marriage to our father? What the hell happened?"

"It's a long story," Cole interjects. "Just know, that he gave us our blessing. He knows that we are in love and that we want to be together."

"Then, I can't help but be happy for you," Stacey tells her brother. "It's funny, because Marat and I were meeting here to discuss something as well."

"What's that?" Celeste asks her.

It is Stacey's turn to reveal her large diamond ring that Marat gave her. "Looks like we are both getting married!"

"Oh Stace," Cole hugs his sister. "I'm so happy for you; after everything you went through, this is a really good news."

"Thank you," Stacey purses her lips together. "I am very happy."

"We are all happy, the four of us," Marat says to everyone.

"Wait," Stacey waves her hand in air. "That is perfect, Marat!"

"Uh, what is, Stace?" Cole asks her in confusion as he chuckles again.

"The four of us, all getting married," she replies. "We should have a double wedding! Can you imagine how much fun that would be?"

"Are you sure you want to share your day with another bride?" Celeste asks her back, unsure if Stacey has really thought of this idea of hers.

"Yea, why not?" Stacey shrugs her shoulders. "Two Rockwell children marrying on the same day? It would be the party of the century! What do you guys think?"

"I think it would be a really fun way to get married," Cole agrees with her. "Celeste? Marat, what do you guys think?"

Celeste and Marat look back at one another. "I'm game," Celeste replies to them. "It would be fun."

"Yea, why not?" Marat laughs.

"This calls for a toast," Stacey tells everyone, as all four of them pick up their champagne. "To the best wedding Kelsey Lake has ever seen!"

***

Later that night, Stacey and Marat lay naked next to one another, fresh from a love making session. She rests her head on his still sweaty chest before looking up at him.

"That was amazing," she purrs to him. "How did I get so lucky to have a man that knows exactly how to please me?"

Marat laughs back to her. "Well, it's pretty easy when I have a fiancé that is smoking hot like you," he tells her.

"You'd do anything for me, right?" She asks him back.

"You know I would," he replies to her.

"Good, because I need to ask you a favour," she says leaning up in bed and looking into his eyes.

Marat arches his eyebrow. "I'm listening..."

"I was looking over some files at Blackmore Ltd earlier today," she tells him. "And, it seems like my mother had made contact with your father about trying to bring Kremlin Diamonds under the Blackmore Ltd umbrella."

"Really?" Marat asks her in surprise. "My father hadn't mentioned anything of the sorts to me."

"I can show you the file," she tells him. "The thing is, Marat, I need Kremlin to move to Blackmore. It's the only way that people will take me seriously as the CEO. If I can prove to everyone that I am capable of making things happen, they will respect me. Until then, I'm just filling in for Kent while he's getting better."

Marat gulps at the request. He dare not tell Stacey that she is, in fact, just filling in for Kent while he is recovering because she would be upset. And, she obviously hasn't thought this through, because if he gets Yuri to bail on Rockwell's contract and move to Blackmore, when Kent comes back to Blackmore Ltd, Stacey may not have a position waiting for her at Rockwell Mining because Mac would be livid.

"You're not saying anything," Stacey finally speaks again. "Please, darling, tell me you'll speak to your father? Tell me that you'll help me with this."

"Of course I will," Marat uneasily says back to her. "Of course."

***

The next morning, the family breakfast is underway as Cole and Stacey finish announcing to everyone that they are both engaged and they are planning a double wedding.

Lucinda takes a sip of her mimosa and looks over at Mac, wondering how he is feeling about the fact that Celeste is engaged already while her divorce to him isn't even finalized yet. She is happy for Cole, but she does wish that he had picked another woman to spend the rest of this life with.

"Well, you know what this means?" Mac finally replies, upon hearing of the news of the double wedding. "All my children will now be happily married. As a father, that's all I could ask for."

"You're sure you're okay with this, Dad?" Cole asks him back, knowing how difficult it must be for him.

"Of course," Mac replies to him. "When I gave you and Celeste my blessing, I meant it. Every last word of it."

"We appreciate that," Celeste says to him. "We don't want to cause any more harm. But Cole and I, we do love one another."

"I think this is exactly what the family needs," Lex tells everyone. "We have just suffered so much loss, especially with Mother dying. Two wedding's is exactly what the doctor ordered."

"I couldn't agree more," Mac replies to them. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I should get going. I have a busy day ahead of me."

"Mac," Lucinda stops him. "I'll walk you out. I'd like to have a word with you."

Mac and Lucinda leave the dining room and walk towards the front door of the mansion. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" Lucinda asks her son, as she grabs her large purse. "You and Celeste aren't even officially divorced yet."

"I know," Mac replies to her. "But the fact of the matter is, Celeste and Cole are in love. I'm not going to stand in their way, Mother. The best way for me to do that, is to accept this and let them be happy."

"You're a brave man," Lucinda pulls him into a hug. "My car is waiting for me. We'll talk soon?"

"Of course," Mac exits their embrace. "Mother," he calls out, stopping her at the door. "I love you."

Lucinda nods back to him. "I love you too, son."

Lucinda walks out of the house and towards her large limousine. She hears her cell phone start to ring, so she opens her purse and digs it out from the bottom. "Lucinda Rockwell," she says into her phone, as her driver opens the door for her and she crawls into the back of her car. "Oh, Yuri, what a surprise."

"I'm glad you answered Lucinda," Yuri replies to her, whom is puffing on a cigar in his office in Moscow. "We have a situation."

Lucinda arches her eyebrow. "I'm listening, Yuri. What is the situation? I thought we handled everything beautifully."

"Yes, yes," he says back to her. "I got a call from Marat this morning requesting that I follow through with Lydia's request to move Kremlin Diamonds from Rockwell to Blackmore Ltd. It appears my son is trying to do his fiancé a favour."

Lucinda rolls her eyes. "We can't have any suspicious replies," she tells him. "I guess that means that you'll have to move to Blackmore Ltd."

"Do you realize how much that will cost me?" He asks her. "I signed a contract with Rockwell Mining! Breaking that contract could cost me millions."

"I'll cover the difference," Lucinda tells him. "The fact is, we can't have anyone asking any sort of questions. Understand?"

Yuri smiles on the other end of the phone, knowing that Lucinda wouldn't let him lose a penny in the deal; after all, it's far too worthwhile for him to be quiet. "Absolutely. Appreciate your time, Lucinda."

Lucinda hangs up the phone and sighs heavily. "Who knew getting revenge on Lydia would cost me so damn much money?" She asks herself.

***

Back at the mansion, Mac grabs his briefcase and is about to rush out the door, when Stacey calls out his name. "Daddy," she says, causing him to stop. "I wanted to talk to you before you went to work."

"What is it darling?" He asks her.

"You know that I'm running Blackmore Ltd right now," she purses her lips together. "And, I'm really trying to get the other executives and assistants to take me seriously."

"Darling," Mac replies to her. "You will do a fine job. Trust me, gaining respect is not something that can be given; you have to earn it. I have faith you'll do a fine job. And when Kent is ready to come back, he'll be grateful for everything you've done. And then, you can come back to Rockwell. Now, I really must get going."

Stacey bites her tongue, knowing that she can't tell Mac that she is trying to steal Kremlin Diamonds from him. He'll have to find out when everyone does.

***

At the office, Mac is about to pick up a file when he hears the office door open and Lex walks into the office.

"Son, what are you doing here? I thought you were going to have another therapy session with Brock?"

"I was supposed to," Lex reveals to him, but also knowing that he will cancelled the session because he didn't want to see Brock because he is struggling with his attraction to him. "But, I wanted to come see you and see if you have any idea about when you'd like me to come back to work?"

Mac stands up from his chair and moves to the bar to pour himself a brandy. "Are you sure you're ready to come back to Rockwell Mining? I don't want you to overdo it, Lex."

"I'm more than ready," Lex tells him. "Being at the house, its fine and all but I'm slowly going crazy. I'm ready to get back on the saddle, so to speak."

Mac chuckles as he takes a sip of his brandy. "Well, as soon as Dr. Chen gives you the okay to come back to work, you know that you're always welcome here. This is your birthright, Lexington. One day, you'll be running this company."

Lex nods back to him. "Great, so I need to get that clean bill of health. Then I'll be back where I belong."

***

Back at the mansion, Lex sits on the sofa, resting as his morning was rather busy and he is feeling a little tired. He thinks about his close moments with Brock and wonders why he is attracted to him when he is married to a very good looking man. Maybe it's because of how Jarek has been behaving since he's been out of the hospital.

His thoughts are interrupted by his phone ringing. He quickly grabs his cell phone. "Kent? Is everything okay?"

"Everything is fine, son," Kent tells him, calling from the penthouse. "I need to discuss something with you."

"What is it? Are you feeling okay from the surgery?"

"I'm recovering slowly," Kent replies to him. "But this is about Blackmore Ltd."

"Blackmore Ltd? Is Stacey doing a god job?" Lex asks, still confused about what Kent is working towards.

"Yes, I suppose," Kent tells him. "But the truth is, you're my son. You should be the one running Blackmore Ltd."

Lex uneasily gulps, as Jarek comes into the living room. "I appreciate that thought," Lex replies to him. "But, when I'm healthy enough, I'd like to back to Rockwell Mining. I've worked there for so many years."

"I understand that," Kent informs him. "But, this is my company, Lex. I know that we haven't been close in the past, but I thought we were getting past that after the surgery and Lydia's death. Maybe I was wrong."

"No, you weren't wrong," Lex tells him. "The truth is, I do want to get to know you. I'm just…it's a struggle having two men as your father."

"Mac has had so much time with you," Kent replies. "I'm not trying to pressure you, just think about coming to Blackmore Ltd? I still have to talk to my lawyers about transferring the power of attorney."

"I can think about it," Lex replies to him. "I can't make any promises, but I can think about it."

"That's all I'm asking. We'll be in touch?"

Lex hangs up the phone and looks over at Jarek, who is pouring a brandy. "What was that all about?"

Lex shrugs his shoulders. "Kent asked me to run Blackmore Ltd."

"You're going to leave Rockwell Mining?"

"I don't know," Lex replies as Jarek moves and sits next to his husband. "Can we talk for a moment?"

"Yea, I'd like that," Jarek tells him. "I want to talk to you about Brock Jennings."

"Brock?" Lex asks, wondering if Lex somehow knows about his attraction to him. "What about him?"

"He doesn't like me," Jarek replies to him quickly. "And, that bothers me. I don't like how he flirts with you in front of me. It's like, he has no respect for our marriage."

Lex shakes his head. "I don't think he knows you well enough to know if he likes you or not. He's really helping me though. But, I'll tell you what, I can talk to him about how he talks to me."

"That's all I ask," Jarek says before leaning in and giving Lex a kiss on the lips, hoping that he won't have to resort to more drastic measures.

***

"Are you telling me that Stacey has to stay in control for a couple more weeks?" Kent Blackmore asks his lawyer through the telephone. "I had no idea switching the power of attorney over to Lexington would take so long! ... Yes, I understand that it's legal work ... I'm just surprised. Yes, yes, fine."

He hangs up the phone and immediately clutches his side of his stomach, still in pain from the surgery. He wishes that he had never given Lydia the power of attorney; he has no idea how or what Stacey is going to do with his company, but he does know that he has to do something to make sure that Blackmore doesn't suffer from it.

He moves over to the bar and opens his pill container. He pulls two pills out and pours himself a brandy. He pops both pills in his mouth and swallows them down with his drink.

"I'll think about it later," he says, already feeling the mixture of booze and pills kicking in. "Right now, I need to rest."

***

"Lex, this is a surprise," Stacey says into her phone as she sits in her office at Blackmore Ltd. "What's going on brother?"

"I'm not interrupting you, am I?" Lex asks her.

"Not at all, I always have a couple of moments for you. What's up?"

"I got an interesting call from Kent earlier," Lex reveals to her. "He wants me to come and run Blackmore Ltd."

Stacey rolls her eyes. "Yea, he mentioned that to me too. What are your thoughts?"

"I'm thinking about it," Lex replies to her. "I didn't think I would, but the more I think of it, the more I think it might be a good experience. I haven't made up my mind. I'm wondering how you'd feel?"

"Well, I'm trying to prove myself here, Lex," Stacey informs him. "But, if Kent wants you to run the company, there's nothing I can do to stop it. And, I would never stop you from getting the job you want."

"I appreciate that," Lex replies. "We'll talk soon."

Stacey hangs up and moves to the bar and pours herself a brandy. She quickly takes a drink of it, trying to think of something that would make her keep her job as CEO. She just got the job, she doesn't want to lose it, especially to her brother. "How am I ever going to make a name for myself if no one will ever give me a chance?"

Just then, she hears her phone ringing. She rushes over to the desk and answers it. "Hello," she says. "Really? Wow, I can't believe. This is great news, thank you! Thank you so much!"

She hangs up the phone and gets a huge grin on her face. "I did it!" she smiles to herself. "I got Kremlin Diamonds to move to Blackmore Ltd. Maybe now Kent will take me seriously."

***

Lucinda moves through her large mansion and looks at a picture over the fire place of Mac and his children. She looks at it for a moment before returning it.

"I did the right thing," she whispers to herself as she turns around to face the living room. "I had to get rid of Lydia. I had to do it. They are all better off without her."

She knows that for years she threatened Lydia that she would make her pay if she revealed the truth about Lexington's paternity; the moment that Kent revealed the truth, she knew that she had to make her pay. And, that's when she came up with the plan that she did.

She moves over to the bar and pours herself a brandy, quickly drinking the entire thing. "You have to keep yourself together," she tells herself, feeling her hand tremble a little. "No one will ever know what has happened."

She sets her glass down and moves out of the living room. She moves through the long hallway of the mansion, until she reaches a door, quickly looking over her shoulders to ensure none of her staff see her. She slowly opens the door and walks down the stairs, heading into the basement of the mansion. When she reaches the bottom of the stairs, she turns a light switch on.

Across the room, a figure stands up and moves up quickly to the edge of the large steal cage in the room. "You're back," the voice calls out. "Lucinda, you have to let me out of here! Please!"

Lucinda moves up to the cage and peers at the woman holding her hands on the metal bars. "Never Lydia," she looks at the woman, whom everyone believes is dead. "I warned you about crossing my family. And now, you're going to pay. Forever."