Zende surprises Luna on Bold and the Beautiful and not in a good way (Jan. 8 recap)

If you thought we were done with the back-and-forth between Zende and RJ where Luna is caught in the middle, I'm sorry to disappoint but we're not. Today on The Bold and the Beautiful, the cousins argued over RJ's position in the company. He doesn't officially have a title, but he is working with his father and learning from him through completing Eric's collection, so it's a big deal because he will be credited for his work.

But I wasn't feeling how Zende went about things. RJ extended an invitation for his cousin to work on the line, too. He knows how much it means to Zende to finish what their grandfather started, and he thought it would be nice for all three of them to do the work together. Zende, however, was practically offended to be asked as if he didn't extend the same invitation to RJ when he was pitching his idea to Ridge. It was ridiculous.

The only thing I did agree with concerning Zende was that he's right to get his cousin to understand this whole situation is an example of extreme nepotism. RJ was essentially a draftsman for Eric, he didn't design his legacy collection even if his ideas were given real thought and respected. His work ethic is not in question here, his experience level is and RJ is lacking in that department. So, while they are both Forresters, they are not being treated the same and that is due to him being Ridge's junior.

Zende didn't mention this but both Thomas and Steffy had to go to school. As have all the other Forresters but, for some reason, this requirement hasn't extended to Brooke's younger children. They're just handed things and capitalize on it from there. It isn't fair and RJ shouldn't take the position he's in for granted or like it's a given.

In any case, Zende's move, after RJ left in a huff to go see Eric, was uncalled for. Granted, he'd slipped his anonymous note to Luna before his encounter with his cousin, but it was still dirty. Luna was all excited to be going to a surprise dinner with who she assumed was her boyfriend. She and Poppy cycled through a few beautiful dresses before she settled on a strapless Barbie pink dress with a sweet, oversized bow in the back and a pair of sheer black gloves.

But, as she was surprised and disappointed to learn, it was actually Zende who set up a candlelight dinner for her in the Forrester salon. He thought he was being suave, but it was honestly too much. Luna has been all about RJ since the two met, they've even exchanged love declarations. Poppy likes him enough to agree to let him come with them to her crafts pop-up where she's going to have a booth (hopefully we get to see this). So Zende is majorly overstepping his bounds and there's no way this won't become another fight between him and RJ.

Xander returns to double down on his accusations

Thomas called Finn out on his posturing, even mocking him a bit to show how out of line he's being. He and Hope aren't even friends or family, so it is unclear why he's fighting so hard to keep the two apart but Thomas asked him not to do that. It's doubtful that his brother-in-law is going to listen but that's why, after leaving the hospital, he went to talk to Steffy. She'd texted him, calling him back to the office to talk and she wound up learning once again that Finn is putting himself in the middle of things.

While she didn't agree with her husband regarding Thomas "corrupting" Hope, she can't deny that her former rival has changed. What took Steffy by surprise, however, was Thomas sharing that Finn told Hope that she deserves a "one woman man" but that it shouldn't be Thomas. The good doctor thinks she's too good for him and has no problem letting her know that. He's likely to settle further into that belief the more he talks to Xander.

The Avant didn't share anymore Forrester secrets with Finn when he came back to the hospital but he did insist that Thomas is responsible for Emma's death and is a dangerous person. After having seen the news coverage of Hope and Thomas' work partnership, he couldn't believe that the two had any kind of relationship. Finn told him that it's true, the two work together on the Hope for the Future line and Thomas is her lead designer, but he didn't bring up their romantic bond which was interesting. I wonder if that's a bit of information Xander will learn later.

See y'all tomorrow for another recap, Bold fans. Stay beautiful and bookmark Hidden Remote for more The Bold and the Beautiful news and coverage. New episodes of the soap stream on Paramount+.