Unfortunately for The Young and the Restless’ Billy (Jason Thompson), he’s running out of allies in the corporate world. After he and Devon (Bryton James) spearheaded the demerger of Chancellor-Winters and Billy recently fired Lily (Christel Khalil), Billy Boy Abbott is left pretty alone at the newly minted Abbott-Chancellor. That is of course, aside from his nephew Chance (Conner Floyd). However, as The Young and the Restless episodes airing during the week of September 2 are proving, Chance isn’t the "yes man" Billy was probably hoping to have as his number two.
When Billy shared with Chance that he fired Lily in the episode airing on September 3, the ex-cop was not pleased with his uncle. Chance questioned Billy’s abrupt decision, noting that Billy fired Lily on an unconfirmed suspicion (although to be fair, Lily subsequently admitted to Victor [Eric Braeden] that she was plotting to oust Billy). Additionally, Chance stressed the fact that Lily was pretty much the heart and soul of the company, and without her, the business faces uncertainty.
In the episode airing on September 4, Chance talks with Summer (Allison Lanier) about his frustrations with Billy and the impulsive decisions he’s been making for Abbott-Chancellor. Summer doesn’t try calming her boyfriend’s fears, but instead, she tells him no one should stay in a job where they’re unhappy and emphasizes that Chance doesn’t owe any loyalty to Billy to stay.
Chance appreciates the sentiments, but feels he owes it to Jill (Jess Walton) to stay. He also admired Katherine (Jeanne Cooper) a great deal and wants to honor her legacy. With him wanting to stay at the family business, he tells Summer he’s considering a "radical" move. He doesn’t get into any details, but he left us thinking. Could Chance go running to Jill to tattle on Billy, hoping to get a co-CEO job in the process?
Up until now, there’s been a running assumption that Jill isn’t aware that Billy fired Lily. None of the major players have reached out to her and a formal press release hasn’t been shared announcing Lily’s departure. Considering Jill’s heart issues, it's likely no one has told her because they're fearful she could have a medical setback.
However, with Jill allegedly on the mend, could Chance tell his grandmother about Billy’s latest bold move if he thinks the company is in danger of collapsing under Billy’s tenure? Sure. Chance may rationalize that Jill losing the company would be more detrimental to her health.
Furthermore, we can’t rule out that Chance will lobby Jill to give him more power at Abbott-Chancellor. He may argue that if Jill splits voting power and company responsibilities between her son and grandson, Chance will have the tools to keep Billy in check and keep him from spiraling out of control. Jill is always hesitant to do anything that will agitate her son these days, but him firing Lily may prompt her to take drastic action.
Just to add, Jill is aware of a looming threat to Abbott-Chancellor named Victor. The Mustache hasn’t told her or Billy outright that he wants to reclaim Chancellor for Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott), but the suspicions are in the atmosphere. Jill likely wants to right the ship at her company before things get to a place where Victor can strike.
If Chance goes through with such a plan, it will be another blow to Billy. He’s already trying to regroup after Chelsea (Melissa Claire Egan) cheated on him. We can only hope Billy eventually gets some good news this fall after a series of setbacks.
New episodes of The Young and the Restless air weekdays on CBS. Episodes become available to stream on Paramount Plus the next day.
