Stolen songs and secret identities

Money in walls, bad disguises, new jobs, unholy alliances, cybercrimes, open marriages, and so much more to discuss in this week's Two Scoops

Hello, dear Y&R readers. You may be asking yourself, "Who is this Tamilu chick? Is she worthy to write about the Young and the Restless?"

I'll tell you my story, and you decide. When I was 12, back in 1973 (old!), my friend Sandy had a slumber party for her birthday. There was a whole house full of girls. We woke up in the morning, and her mom had a giant spread of food -- biscuits and sausage gravy, eggs, bacon, pancakes, you name it. We slept late, and by the time we finished breakfast and were giggling the way only a pack of girls can do, her mom said, "Okay, girls, settle down. It's time for my stories." And we went into the living room and sat cross-legged on the floor, and her mom turned on The Young and the Restless.

I grew up in a small town in Ohio, and I had never seen anyone as glamorous as the ladies on this show. And I had never seen a boy as beautiful as Snapper Foster, back before the Hasselhoff years, portrayed by William Gray Espy -- he was my first soap crush.

Although General Hospital is my favorite soap, The Young and the Restless was my first, and I've watched it for decades. When Dan asked me to do a fill-in column for Y&R today, I was delighted to accept. Genoa City and its residents are so much fun to watch!

One of the deliciously sudsy battles on Y&R is Jack Abbott vs. Victor Newman. I know I will instantly alienate half of you by saying this, but I am 100% team Jack, even when he's being an idiot. Victor is too smarmy for my liking. However, this week, Victor one-upped Jack by hiring Ashley to be the Chief Innovation Officer for Newman Enterprises, much to Victoria's dismay. The move was a great way for Victor to stick it to Jack and for Ashley to thumb her nose at the brother who used her paternity against her.

But I can't be too mad at Jack because Ashley used Jack's devotion to caring for their sick mother to try to push Jack out of the CEO role at Jabot, so she's not blameless in this showdown either.

Ashley made it a point of accepting the offer that she oversees Brash & Sassy, which enraged Victoria. The Newman kids have worked for their dad and quit so many times, you'd think they'd know better by now, but every time he promises them loyalty, they believe him. Victoria learned again the hard way that the only thing Victor is loyal to is the bottom line, and he believes Ashley can make Brash & Sassy successful again. Ashley took pleasure in taunting Victoria about her coup, which I believe sets the stage for some juicy catfights between the two of them in the days ahead.

In one of the weirdest scenes of the week, Nikki met with Ashley to tell her about her and Victor's open marriage, and to give her blessing for Ashley to sleep with Victor as they work together. Say what? Is Nikki hitting the sauce again? Or was this merely a preemptive strike to give herself permission to sleep with Arturo? (And anyone else who catches her fancy...) Side note: Arturo must be one brave guy, since Victor could easily ruin him for sleeping with his wife.

Nikki seems to like this new arrangement she and Victor have come up with and is taking advantage of her freedom. I have to wonder, though, is it rage against the disease that is plaguing her, a way to live every moment to the fullest as long as she can? Or is she just a bored rich lady looking for a way to amuse herself? Will she be satisfied in the long run with casual affairs vs. love and romance?

Tessa is discovering the answer to that question, too. Noah kicked her to the curb and said he is done with her. Mariah is understandably wary of Tessa's suggestion that they could be close again. (Hey, Mariah, get one of those diaries with a lock and key and keep the key in your bra. Just sayin'.)

Tessa went from being an up-and-coming recording artist with a boyfriend and a place to live, to getting dumped and sleeping in a sleeping bag on the floor of an office building, doing administrative work for Devon. That has to be humbling.

In spite of the fact that Tessa stole Mariah's journal and poached lyrics from it, Mariah still cares about Tessa. Mariah (the magnificent Camryn Grimes) noticed the rolled-up sleeping bag in Devon's office and is putting two and two together and realizing that Tessa is now homeless. Will she offer her a place to stay? If so, I think it will be a challenge for Mariah to set her feelings aside. Tessa swears she loves Noah and that the kiss with Mariah was just a one-time thing, but I'm not sure Tessa is being honest with herself. She doesn't look at Noah the way she looks at Mariah, and as Noah pointed out, Tessa was able to be honest with Mariah in ways she was never able to confide or trust in him.

But even if there are lingering feelings between Tessa and Mariah, should anyone trust Tessa again after it's clear that she makes bad choices in the heat of the moment? J.T. suggested that Reed go to Tessa and ask for guitar lessons again, which, at this point, she would probably welcome.

Everyone has an opinion about J.T. and Victoria's reunion, and they probably aren't wrong. There is a distinct possibility that Mac dumped J.T. because of all the pills he is popping. J.T. explained his hospital visit away to Victoria by telling her he needed a new cardiologist due to an old heart injury from when he was electrocuted. (Let that sentence roll around in your head for a minute.) But I don't think those are heart pills he is popping. Victoria really has the worst luck with men, doesn't she?

In my dream Y&R world, I like Billy with Victoria, I like Nick and Phyllis -- or Jack and Phyllis, and I like Adam with Chelsea. But he's dead, right?

It's hard to say. Adam has faked his death before. Now that we know Melissa Claire Egan is leaving Y&R, and we see her doing shady things to stash away cash, is it possible Adam is alive, and she and Connor are getting ready to fly off and meet him somewhere?

Can anyone say Alexandra West? (Her entire disguise was a hat and bangs. I mean, even Clark Kent wore glasses and changed his hair part.) Chelsea is scamming her own clothing line, assuming a secret identity, pocketing the cash, and hiding the money in Adam's tomb. Or did Adam stash that cash there? I think if Adam were actually in there, she would consider it sacred, holy ground and not pry it open to stuff cash inside. But that's just me.

The rumor mill is predicting either Justin Hartley or Michael Muhney, one of our two previous Adams, may make an appearance for Chelsea's exit, but I'm not going to get my hopes up. I'm sorry she has decided to leave, but I said the same thing about Justin Hartley when he left to do This is Us, and now he is killing it every week, making me weep and shining his light in the world, so I can't be mad at him. I hope for the same sort of success for Missy Egan.

I also hope for the fictional success of Cane and Lily's reunion. Lily is a better woman than I am. I was once engaged to a guy who had a one-night stand and got another girl pregnant, and you know what I did? I dumped his ass. He said he didn't love her. He said it meant nothing. He said he was drunk. I didn't care.

But Lily and Cane have kids together -- and history -- and she likes her life better with Cane in it than without, and that means accepting Sam as part of her life. She is making an effort. One night she faked having to work late to avoid the baby. The next night, she sang him a lullaby. It's going to take some time. But I'm rooting for them.

It's easier to manage when Cane is pulling out all the stops and creating Paris in their living room and giving her erotic massages, so I'm hopeful they can find their way back to happiness.

Hillary and Devon have found their way back into business together, but not into love. But seriously, readers, you do see where this is heading, right? Hillary wants a baby. She is crying to Devon about getting a stranger's sperm implanted in her. Her eyes look very big and sad. Devon cannot resist her and will say, "Hey Hillary, I have some spare sperm. Do you want to use mine?" They will sign a contract. She will get pregnant. And while she is pregnant, they will fall back in love. Just a prediction. You can call me on it later if I'm wrong about this.

Hillary possesses a quality that I don't have and desperately want -- assertiveness. Can you imagine marching in with boxes and demanding a corner office to your new boss? I can't. Sure, her new boss is her ex, so maybe that plays into her boldness.

In news of other bold ladies, Melissa Ordway is ending her maternity leave, which means Abby will be back in Genoa City soon. Will she be bringing her Grandma Dina home with her? Marla Adams has been knocking it out of the park with this gut-wrenching Alzheimer's' storyline, and I hope they aren't going to drop it completely. While I understood the dramatic value of having Graham trying to scam her out of her money, the meat of that story was the portrayal of a woman losing her grip on reality.

I don't want it to be all sadness and disease all day every day, but I think having Dina in Genoa City and checking in on her from time to time would be a good compromise. Sending her to stay with Abby in Paris was good, but if Abby comes back and Dina isn't with her, it won't ring true to the direction of the storyline. Jack's devotion and loyalty to his mom and her care almost cost him Jabot, so shipping her off permanently would bug me. But maybe I'm the only one, and the rest of America is yelling, "Stop! I can't take this anymore!" I'm a freak; I like my soaps with a few tears in them.

What is waiting for Abby back in Genoa City? Scott is gone, so she and Sharon will need to find a new man to fight over, or maybe they can each get their own. I loved Abby with Stitch before his demon seed kid came to town. I wish they'd bring Ben back and ship his bratty kid off to military school. But I'm mean.

What will happen tomorrow, dear readers? Will Ashley out-innovate Jabot and leave Jack in the dust? Will Victoria ask Jack for a job to stick it to Daddy Mustache and start a new line at Jabot called Clash & Classy? Will Abby and Lily become Ashley's minions? Will Tessa write a new song called "Journal Thief"? Will Mariah and Tessa have to share a desk after Hillary takes over all the space in Devon's office with her boxes? Will Victor punch Nikki's boy toys or pay them bonuses? Will Ashley eat her words and fall into bed with Victor and have another nervous breakdown? Will J.T. get better or worse at playing guitar after popping all those pills? Will Nick find any more piles of cash hidden in the walls of Chelsea's penthouse?

What are your thoughts on ? What did you think of this week's Two Scoops? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.