Steffy told Ridge that Hope isn’t leaving Forrester Creations. However, that could come back to haunt her on The Bold and the Beautiful. Her assurance is based on her rival’s pattern of behavior. Hope complains, tries to win people to her side, but ultimately accepts her line’s fate when it’s determined by the co-CEOs. The takeover was the one time Hope didn’t accept it. But that was still a move that kept her at Forrester. This time may be different.
Key Takeaways
- Why Steffy is so sure Hope won’t leave Forrester.
- The reason she shouldn’t be so confident about that position.
- How Hope’s departure could affect the company.
Steffy Doesn’t Believe Hope Would Start Over
Steffy has never seen Hope make good on leaving the company. However, there is a first time for everything, and Hope is seriously considering jumping ship. If she does, Steffy could find herself in a position she’s never been in—fighting over Hope getting poached.
Hope for the Future isn’t a priority for Steffy (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood). Because the line was given to Hope (Annika Noelle), it’s always been a source of tension between the two.
Most of the Forresters have had some kind of higher education or training in fashion. They went to design school or hold MBAs. Learning the tools of the trade outside of the family business has been an important part of stepping into their lineage.
But that same expectation wasn’t extended to Hope. She earned her stripes through on-the-job learning. While she’s made derisive comments about the nepotism at Forrester, she’s also a nepo hire. It’s her lack of a formal understanding of business that often puts her at odds with Steffy at the company. It’s also because of that lack of business know-how that Steffy believes she won’t leave.
Hope has never built something from scratch without the support of the Forresters, both financially and through their design efforts. She claims that Steffy is fostering a toxic work environment, but has stayed in said workplace for over 10 years. When she could have left two years ago, she chose instead to steal the Forresters’ legacy in retaliation for Steffy canceling her line.
Steffy doesn’t, and has never, respected Hope as a businesswoman. She believes she operates too much on her feelings without regard for the bottom line. And she’s been proven right on more than one occasion. Steffy has no reason to think Hope’s less-than-veiled threats about leaving everything she built behind are worth their salt.
What she doesn’t know is that Hope has an offer from Logan. Liam (Scott Clifton) promised she’d be a priority. That’s something Forrester cannot give her.
Hope’s Weighing Her Options
It’s telling that Hope didn’t jump at the chance to go to Logan. Much of her hesitance stems from Brooke (Katherine Kelly Lang). But it’s possible it also has to do with creating something new.
Hope’s identity is wrapped up in her line. It’d be easier for her to convince her mother to fight to be co-CEO and rest in the protection that would come with it than to start over. However, that doesn’t mean Hope isn’t considering her husband’s offer.
If she stays at Forrester, she’d have to wait for Steffy and Ridge to lift the block on her line. Hope made it clear that if she had a production start date, she’d feel assured that they wouldn’t just shelve it. They haven’t provided her with one.
Not even Brooke has felt that they can. And her mom didn’t seem inclined to agree that the company could have done something other than bench her to prioritize Eric’s return (John McCook).
Not feeling supported and not having Brooke in a position of power to help her could be the push Hope needs to go over to Logan. Aside from rebuilding and Brooke having an issue, there are no apparent drawbacks. Liam promised unlimited resources, funding, and control. Whether he’d be able to make good on that offer is up in the air, but it’d be more than Hope is getting now.
Steam Could Fight Over Hope for an Unexpected Reason
No B&B viewer who lived through years of the Hope/Liam/Steffy triangle would expect Steffy to fight to keep Hope at Forrester. And she likely won’t now. But the audience may see Liam and Steffy clashing over his poaching of Hope. Not because Steffy particularly wants her at her family’s company, but because it would be another instance of Logan “stealing” from the Forresters.
Logan doesn’t intend to build a reputation for being fashion vultures, but they just might if this keeps up. Hope leaving Forrester would create a media firestorm just like Eric’s departure. While he’s back at the company, the press may wonder what’s happening at the legacy brand that’s causing these exits. That’s not the kind of buzz Steffy wants, especially with the Spencers aiming to control the narrative.
Brooke and Katie are trying to bury the hatchet, but Hope coming to Logan would likely end that possibility. And ignite a new Spencer-Forrester feud, this time between Steffy and Liam. It’d be a major change to their dynamic as they haven’t fought over Hope outside of Liam waffling. Arguing over a poaching scandal and, though this is a long shot, getting Hope back over to Forrester would certainly be new for the pair.
But all of this depends on Hope’s decision. Whether she leaves and how she does it should play a major part in how the Forresters and Spencers react.
