Episode 83 - On Board

"Reese, welcome!" Dustin smiled as he invited his former coworker into his new office space. "I'd offer to give you the grand tour, but we aren't so grand around here yet. Emphasis on the yet.

"This is our office receptionist, Christy," he said, motioning toward the person sitting at the front desk. "Christy, this is Reese. Reese is one of the most talented corporate lawyers I have ever had the pleasure to meet. She was one of the youngest people to finish law school and pass the bar exam in our state, so she has more years of experience than one would think."

Reese blushed at the praise and exchanged hellos with the receptionist before following Dustin through the office.

"I didn't know you knew so much about me."

"I always do my homework, especially when it comes to my career, and this new firm is my baby. It's what I've spent my entire life working toward, and I'm determined to make sure it succeeds. I'm leaving no details to chance, so that means no secrets for anyone who wants to work with me."

Episode 82 - Kidnapped

"Dad!"

Lawrence came to on his office floor with Artie crouched over him, shaking his shoulder. The back of his head was throbbing.

"What happened?" Artie asked once he saw his father was awake.

"I don't know. Where's the nanny?"

Episode 81 - The Imposter

Blaine tried to focus on his work, but he kept going back to that one file, that one woman. He knew he shouldn't obsess about it, but he realized the sooner he solved what was bothering him about her, the sooner he could forget about it and focus on the task at hand.

He pulled up the picture again of the young woman with spiky black hair, dark eyes, and a pixie face. He held his palm over parts of the screen to isolate her features. Was it the hair or was it her face? He decided it was definitely the face. He pulled up some other pictures with different hairstyles and colors and started mixing and matching them with Lauren's face.

When he tried a long, blonde style, he knew he had it.

He swiveled in his chair to go find Lawrence, but the man was already behind him, frozen in place where he had been walking across the room.

Episode 80 - Off and On

Paige hurried around her apartment, getting ready for her first day back at work. Her extended holiday had probably been given with the intention of allowing her extra time to relax and spend with her loved ones, but instead she had spent the majority of the past few weeks alone in her apartment, doing online research and becoming increasingly frustrated with her lack of progress.

Working for the Arrendales had brought her no closer to finding what she was searching for. She felt like she needed to stick it out and give it more time, but since the real Jolene had showed up and Lance was on to her deception, she was running out of time. This plan of hers was feeling increasingly hopeless.

She paused at the desk and picked up the well-worn and frequently read letter that her sister had sent her so many months ago. She had scoured it countless times looking for some sort of clue, but it only brought her to the same conclusion: that this was where she needed to be. The wording in the letter was so vague; all it told her for certain was that her sister was alive.

She folded the letter and placed it back in its drawer. She didn't have time to mull over it now. It was her first day back, and she was already running behind. She decided to wait and see how much grief Lance had in store for her today and then decide if she wanted to continue her job at the Arrendales or abandon this plan for Plan B, whatever that might be.

She was about to grab her bag and head out when she was startled by a knock on the door. She frowned, wondering who it could be. She never had visitors.

Episode 79 - Life Choices

"Thanks for bringing Meghan home," Amanda said to Andrew as he and Meghan entered her apartment.

"I'm just glad to spend a little time with her," Andrew said, hugging Meghan around her shoulders.

"Did you have dinner?" Amanda asked. When Andrew said that they had not, she extended an invitation. "Why don't you stay and eat with us? Meghan, you can set the table and tell me about your day."

"Can I help?" Andrew asked as he followed Amanda and Meghan into the kitchen.

"No, it's almost ready. Just have a seat."

Episode 78 - Shifting Relationships

"Mr. Clark," the high school principal called out as she peeked her head into the teacher's classroom while he was packing up at the end of the school day. "I'm going to need you to take over Ms. Lewis's class during your prep period again tomorrow. I still haven't been able to find a sub."

"What about Mrs. Wilton?" he asked.

"I tried her, but she said no," Ms. Johnston shrugged before walking away.

Episode 77 - Home Alone

"Hey, guys," Zara called out a greeting as Blaine and the children entered the house. "Did you have a good time?"

"The best," Doug answered excitedly. "Where's Mom?"

"She went to the grocery. She should be back soon."

As the kids took off their coats and boots, Blaine entered the dining room where Zara was seated on an easy chair with a newspaper in one hand and a pen in the other.

"Doing the crossword?"

Episode 76 - Back to the Office

"Here comes the groom," Vivian said cheerfully as Simon walked into the office. "Simon, why are you here and not on your honeymoon?"

Simon grinned sheepishly. "Reese and I decided to get away for the weekend and take a bigger trip later."

"So, tell me all about the wedding!"

"It was perfect." Simon paused. hesitant to go into more detail when Blaine appeared from around the corner.

Episode 75 - Wedding Preparations

Chloe stood in her dining room with a checklist in one hand and wedding supplies spread out across the table. She ran down her list, making sure that everything was in order and accounted for.

"Anything I can do to help?" James asked as he came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

She spared him a quick kiss before turning back to her work. "Yes, plenty. You can help me carry these bags out to the car once I check them. The restaurant manager is going to meet us there in an hour to let us in, so we can get everything set up. Do you have the music prepared?"

"It's all ready."

"Good. I can check that off my list."

James knew Chloe could be a perfectionist when it came to her work and that a little reassurance could help her keep her worries in perspective. "You've got this."

"I know. It should be easy since it's such a small wedding, with just Reese and Simon's immediate family attending, but I want it to be special. I just wish we would have had access to the venue earlier to have more time to set up and decorate."

When Reese had accepted her offer to be her wedding planner, Chloe knew that Reese and Simon's wedding had to be uniquely suited to who they were as a couple. Chloe found herself inspired by the couple's engagement story of how Simon had proposed over a moonlight dinner at a rooftop restaurant that looked over the bay. Wanting to capture that romantic setting, Chloe made some phone calls and was thrilled to discover a restaurant that had the setting she wanted was closed for New Year's Day, but willing to rent out the space for the wedding. The only downside was they had been open late the night before for New Year's Eve, leaving her little time to transform the venue into the magical backdrop she envisioned for Reese and Simon's nuptials.

Episode 74 - Meeting the Family

"Hello! Happy New Year's Eve!" Amanda greeted her sister as Alma invited her and Meghan inside. "Is Judith ready?"

"She's up in her room," Alma answered.

"I'll go get her," Meghan offered before bounding up the stairs.

"Are you sure you don't want to join us on our girls' shopping trip?"

"No, thank you," Alma declined. "Ed needs me at home today."

"I'm sure he can manage for a couple of hours," Amanda scoffed as she followed Alma into the living room. But when she saw Edward sitting on a lounge chair, elevating his bandaged leg, Alma's comment suddenly made more sense.

Episode 73 - The Morning After Christmas

Despite her exhaustion, Shayna awoke early on the Arrendale's couch. Not wanting to face Lawrence or his children in the early hours of the morning, she slipped out at the first sounds of stirring from upstairs.

As she walked home in her clothes from the night before, she felt like she was doing the walk of shame. Nothing had happened after Lawrence left her in the living room, but she knew how this must look. She hoped that it was still early enough that no one would see her leaving his house.

When she approached her driveway, she was glad to see that Amanda's car was gone. She wasn't entirely convinced that Ben hadn't taken the car and left Amanda behind, but she hoped that meant that Amanda was gone too.

After quietly letting herself into the house, she peeked into the guest room to find it empty before heading to the main bedroom. Andrew was asleep in their bed, thankfully alone, when she opened the door.

Episode 72 - Stay

Shayna had expected to leave her mother's house furious about being lied to, but instead, their talk had given her a lot to think about. And since her mother had insisted that Julian spend a few days with her, Shayna had the long drive home alone to spend thinking.

All this time she had been comparing her life to a life she thought she had been entitled to, but denied. She could look at Lucy, who grew up in a mansion with servants and think about how that could have been her life if her father had accepted her too. She imagined all the things she could have done if she had had Lucy's upbringing. She would tell herself that if she had grown up with those advantages she would have never taken them for granted. She could look at the choices that Lucy had made and tell herself that she could have done better if she had only been given the chance. But it never could have been her life, because Clifford Stuart never was her father.

She had spent so much time and effort trying to be perfect to show what she was capable of and to try to make up for the mistakes she had made in the past. She hated to admit when she was wrong.

Episode 71 - How to Feel

"Merry Christmas!" Blaine greeted Reese as she opened the front door. "Is Natalie around? I brought her a Christmas present."

"You're just in time," Reese said as she walked with Blaine into the living room. "She was just getting ready to meet with her friends."

"If it's not a good time, I can come by later," Blaine offered.

"No, it's fine. I know she will be glad to see you."

Episode 70 - Maternal Advice

Harriet was awoken from her slumber by someone pounding on her door. She groggily looked at her bedside clock to see that it was the early hours of the morning long before dawn. She tried to ignore the person at the door hoping that they would give up and leave, but the knocking continued.

Reluctantly, she got out of bed, grabbing an umbrella for defense as she made her way to the door. She cautiously peered out the window at her doorstep to see who was disturbing her sleep. When she saw her daughter and grandson outside, she breathed a sigh of relief and unlocked the door.

Episode 69 - Familial Connections

"Are you sure?" Maura gasped as Judith relayed what she had seen the night before. "I can't believe it."

"I can't either, but I know what I saw. My mom and Mr. Clark were kissing. And before you ask, no, I couldn't have misinterpreted the situation. I know what I saw," Judith said distressed.

"I'm so sorry," Maura said. She wished there was an innocent explanation that would ease her friend's mind. "I never would have guessed your mom would have an affair," she practically whispered the last word as if she didn't even dare to speak it.

"My parents have been doing a lot of things lately that I don't understand. I was already mad at them both for going against Vince and your family and now this. I just can't stand either one of them right now."

"What are you going to do? Are you going to say anything to them about it?"

Episode 68 - Attraction

Edward walked into the living room to find Joseph and Jacqueline sitting on the floor at the coffee table, excitedly writing out their Christmas lists, as his older children sat on the couch across from them.

"Those are long lists you have," he said teasingly to his youngest children. "Are you two sure you've been that good this year?"

Episode 67 - Rejection

"Anything interesting going on at work today?" Amanda asked as she sat down at the breakfast table with Ben.

"I'm planning to go out on the boat and collect some water samples for chemical testing and make some general observations so I can start planning a more widespread population survey. I'm really hoping the weather cooperates for me to be able to go for a dive soon so that I can collect some initial data for my analysis."

As Ben started to talk about his work, Amanda's attention drifted away almost as soon as she asked the question. He had barely paused in his reply before Amanda changed the subject. "Did I tell you that Vanessa invited us over for Christmas Eve dinner? It sounds like there was a lot of drama going on around the neighborhood when I went to pick up Meghan."

Episode 66 - Decking the Neighborhood

"Alright!" Vanessa called out, capturing the attention of the crowd of neighbors assembled on her front lawn. "I'm so excited to see that so many of you have come out to help us today. Thank you so much for your time. We have a lot to decorate, so there will be plenty for everyone to do.

"These are the decorations for the streets. There should be enough to decorate every light post around the neighborhood." As she spoke, she motioned toward one set of boxes on her left, then to the boxes on her right. "And these are the decorations we have for the park. I thought we could start by splitting into two groups and each group could tackle a different location. Anyone who wants to work on the street decorations come with me and everyone who wants to work on the park, go with Logan."

She clapped her hands enthusiastically to signal their start as the crowd around her started to separate into groups.

Episode 65 - Finding Yourself

For the first time since his accident, Blaine walked into his office. At Lance's birthday party, Lawrence had approached him about working on a project for the Townsend Corporation. He wasn't sure if he was capable of doing the work he used to do, but the more he thought about it, the more he wanted to try. Staying with James and Chloe gave him some respite from feeling pressured to remember his life, but he knew he couldn't be reliant on them forever. While he enjoyed their company and spending time getting to know his children again, he was frequently bored. It was time to figure out what he was going to do with his life.

Episode 64 - Lance's Birthday

Paige walked around the community room with Lance's list of birthday party demands as she made sure that everything was in its place. She had gotten him the games, decorations, and party favors he wanted. She learned how to bake and decorate the elaborate birthday cake that he had specifically requested that she bake herself from scratch. She knew that request had to be for the sole purpose of making her life more difficult. She hoped it would be enough for him.

As the finishing touches were put in place, the birthday boy himself walked in to assess her work.