As far as billionaire CEOs go on The Young and the Restless, Jack (Peter Bergman) has had a pretty rough go of it over the last few months. He’s had to watch Ashley (Eileen Davidson) struggle with dissociative identity disorder, Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott) freefall in her alcohol addiction and Kyle (Michael Mealor) and Diane (Susan Walters) go head-to-head at Jabot. Not to mention, Jack almost died trying to provide Nikki with a wake-up call, and he was utterly panicked when Jordan (Colleen Zenk) kidnapped Harrison (Redding Munsell).
Having experienced all of that, you’d think Jack was due for some peace and relaxation. Unfortunately for him, Victor (Eric Braeden) is out for revenge for what happened at the Athletic Club, so peace is not in the Jabot exec’s foreseeable future.
To date, Victor has already purchased rival Jabot company Glissade and is determined to hire Kyle to help run it. Jack losing Kyle at the Abbott family business would not only be a blow to him as a father, but also as the CEO considering he’d be losing a top-level executive. Jabot is already shorthanded these days with Billy (Jason Thompson) at Chancellor-Winters and Ashley getting treatment for her mental health struggles. Jack only has Diane by his side to battle against Victor and the machine of Newman Enterprises.
Plus, with Victor determined to make Adam (Mark Grossman) the interim CEO of Newman Media to do his bidding in tanking Jabot’s image, Jack’s army looks like it’s pretty much about to fight a losing battle. However, what if Jack attempts to turn the tide by getting some help in this latest rendition of corporate warfare?
If Jack wants a fighting chance against Victor, he’s going to need some brilliant people on his side who don't mind working in the morally grey area on occasion, and who have proven they can get results. That’s why we think there’s a possibility that Jack turns to Phyllis (Michelle Stafford) of all people.
Yes, she is currently hoping to be rehired at Chancellor once Billy is able to separate the company from Chancellor-Winters. However, there’s no guarantee that will even happen. Additionally, Phyllis is familiar with Jabot, so it would be an easy transition back into a role. Not to mention, Phyllis is an expert hacker, and Jack could use her talent to dig up intel on Victor which could prove detrimental to the Newman patriarch. Given Victor still has that secret about holding Jordan hostage, could Phyllis stumble across information hinting at that?
For those claiming Diane would never agree to work with Phyllis at Jabot, we think if things get too bad at Jabot, Diane will set her feelings aside for her rival to see Jabot bounce back.
Beyond Jack recruiting Phyllis, we think his feud with Victor is a good time to bring back his nephew, Theo Vanderway (Tyler Johnson). He’s a social media guru, and he could help Jabot battle any bad press released by Newman Media. Also, Theo and Kyle can’t stand each other, so how great would it be to have him back on the show's canvas, working at Jabot and sticking it to Kyle at Glissade? If Theo were to manage to score some flirting moments with Claire (Hayley Erin) too, that’s even better. It would be the soapy drama that viewers love to see.
Although we don’t know for sure what Jack’s next move will be as his feud with Victor is again on and thriving, we hope he starts to fill the chairs in his executive suite with some useful talent soon.
New episodes of The Young and the Restless air weekdays on CBS. Episodes become available to stream on Paramount Plus the next day.
