Abe gets recruited to run a non-profit that's opening a branch in Salem. He hires the now-unemployed Alex as a fundraiser, since begging for money is basically all he knows how to do. They set up an office in the Square. (I mean they rent a space out.) This allows several furtive glances between Alex and Chanel, while Johnny (who has been forced to work at the Pub) smolders.
Xander, in full control of Titan, but wanting to remake his image, recruits Leo (the man with his ear to the ground), Steve (another former baddie turned town father), Roman (local business owner), Sarah (wife, doctor, Horton), and Bonnie (former working class woman now acting as a socialite) as his community advisory board, and tasks them with finding a big local project for Titan.
Meanwhile, Paulina gets notified that a group of citizens is concerned about large tracts of land in Salem being overvalued, forcing property owners out. She hires Kate as her city manager to look into it. Kate discovers that the city treasurer and clerk are being bribed, but when she confronts them, they blackmail her with a secret that would send her running from Salem. She is forced to cover for them as she recruits Philip to help her cover her tracks (although he doesn't learn the full secret).
Divorced Chanel starts a flirtation with a new regular customer, MJ. MJ has a job as a developer and realtor, and his company is building offices in Salem. He's frequently meeting people in or near the Square, so he sees her a lot. Felicity calls him Mr. Donovan because that's the name on his credit card. He denies being related to Shane or Jeannie T when pressed. Chanel is attracted to him, but weary when she sees his office lists his first name as Trevor. (She is still dealing with trust issues.) Johnny, determined to win back Chanel, asks his father to investigate "Trevor Donovan".
Joy, whose graduate degree is in educational psychology, starts working for the school district at the middle and high school level. Kate learns that her blackmailers, Shayna Crooke and Virginia Watson, are targeting the school land for sale and demanding she convince Paulina to sell. Kate and Philip set about sabotaging the school's systems to get it condemned, endangering the lives of Holly, Tate, Aaron, Felicity, and Sophia. This gets Maggie, Brady, Marlena, Mark, Cat, and Sophia's always-angry-offscreen mother involved, as the parents/guardians split into camps of fixing or abandoning the school.
Meanwhile, Gabi and EJ are working with Kristen at DiMera to acquire beachfront land (Salem has that, see Summer 2011) in order to build a factory as a PR stunt after an outsourcing scandal rocks the criminal enterprise. (Spearheaded by Chad's Spectator). This land is also desired by Xander's Titan, who wants to create a resort and preserve there on the advice of his community advisors (Bonnie, Sarah, Roman, Steve, and Leo). A fire at the beach is investigated by Rafe and Jada as arson, and both companies blame the other. Chanel and MJ can't fight their attraction, although they both try. MJ is focused on his work in Salem (revealed through a series of phone calls with an off-screen boss).
Joy catches Philip and Kate in an act of sabotage and Philip romances her without knowing who she is to prevent Kate from poisoning her. (Yes, that version of Kate is back.) Joy is wooed by Philip although she doesn't buy his story. Kate tricks Philip into kidnapping Joy and sets a sequence of events in motion that blows up the high school, wounding Holly, Sophia, and Aaron, and killing three students, including Tate. Her involvement is not discovered because the sequence (and her intention) were not to cause the explosion. Brady's hunt for the cause of his son's death is joined by Shane Donovan, who mourns the death of his second grandchild, and puts Kate in danger of being exposed.
As EJ and Gabi deal with the fallout of the beach fire, his investigation into "Trevor/MJ Donovan" uncovers his real identity as well as his company's motives. But will he act in the interests of Salem, his son, or himself? Meanwhile, SJPR is hired by Abe's nonprofit and tasked with working with MJ Donovan, whose company has been resisting the nonprofit's efforts to preserve some Salem landmarks, but Stephanie immediately knows MJ's identity. His secret is revealed just after he and Chanel have a romantic encounter. Steve joins Shane and Brady's investigation and the three put the clues together to identify a suspect: Mrs. Roman Brady.
Who is Abe working for? What does the city treasurer have on Kate that could upend her life? What or who is pitting Titan and DiMera against one another, and to what end? Who is "MJ" really? And why is he working for this shadowy developer? Is his boss the same as Abe's, and DiMera's/Titan's rival, or different? Will Steve out Kate before she flees, or will she be forced to act in her own self-interest?
There's lots to be unfolded through the story as it progresses.
Add your ideas, make your guesses, or create your own story!!
