Baldwin

Christian LeBlanc, understandably, departed from Michael Baldwin’s reputation as being the smartest man in the room, earlier this year on The Young and the Restless when he “broke up” with Victor Newman (Eric Braeden) over his vendetta with the Abbotts.

The split was emotional and Michael, despite what Victor may have thought, was devastated that he couldn’t find a way to make the mogul see what he was doing was wrong.

LeBlanc had Michael reclaim his reputation for being savvier than his opponents are when he matched wits with Cane Ashby (Billy Flynn) this week. As a result, TV Insider is honoring LeBlanc with Daytime Performer of the Week honors.

Cane told Michael he’d made a smart move by coming to see him. “I’ll be the judge of that,” Michael responded. Forget about being the judge — Michael quickly showed Cane he was a savvy litigator by refusing to let the mogul have the upper hand. Michael only needed to refer to recent events to show Cane he was not the man in charge.

“What were you expecting? A parade?” Michael calmly remarked to Cane when he wryly commented on how well he’d been received since coming back to Genoa City. Michael reminded his host that his party in France resulted in the death of two men (Damian and Chance) and Cane’s ex-wife Lily (Christel Khalil) being sandbagged, and Nick (Joshua Morrow) was held captive and almost died.

“And you ticked off Victor by daring – rumor has it – by attempting to pirate his own companies out from under him?” Michael pointed out.

Michael took control of his meeting with Cane by summing up the billionaire’s missteps as if he were making opening remarks in a courtroom. If one were present, a judge may have declared Michael a winner right then and there.

Michael went on to point out to Cane that by manipulating the control of information, he was stirring up trouble. The legal eagle smirked when Cane claimed to be an open book. He took him up on his offer to ask him anything by wanting to know why Cane invited Michael and Lauren (Tracey Bregman) to his chateau along with other Genoa City power players.

“Why did you invite me here tonight?” Michael continued, staring down Cane.

Cane replied by wanting to ask Michael a question. The attorney sighed and quipped, “I don’t think you understand how this works.”

Cane attempted to get control of the meeting by pointing out that he’d heard Michael was out of work. As fans of the actor know, LeBlanc brings a rapid-fire wit to his character. As a result, Michael tends to emerge as the winner when he fires off zingers like, “I prefer to think of it as enjoying my retirement” and “I usually lead with the truth — you should try it sometime.”

Cane asked Michael why he quit Victor’s employ. Rather than reveal the emotional heartbreak that went into the decision, Michael quipped that maybe he wanted more time to take up Ikebana (a quick Google search explains that that’s the Japanese art of flower arranging).

“Just to be clear,” Michael asserted as Cane continued to probe and point out Victor being unreasonable, “not being afraid of something is not the same thing as welcoming it.” Deliveries like this support the statement that Michael’s the smartest man in the room.

When Cane revealed he has employees who enjoy working for him, Michael quipped that Carter (Vincent Stalba), Cane’s homicidal assistant, was a great example of that.

Even in the tensest scenes, LeBlanc has the ability to organically infuse situations with humor. He agreed to hand over his phone to Cane so that he could add his digits to it. “You added it to my favorites,” marveled Michael after receiving it back.

Cane texted Michael what his starting salary could be. “It’s quite the amount,” Michael conceded.

Still, Michael refused to come forward with specifics on his dynamic with Victor. “I will not betray that man,” he insisted.

CBS

Cane clearly made inroads with Michael (money tends to do that!). In an effort to claim victory, he pointed out that the attorney wasn’t saying no to his offer. “I’m not saying yes,” responded Michael, his arms defensively folded across his chest.

Michael came to see Cane because he was curious and likely had no intention of being manipulated by him. Ironically, his strength and cunning only made Cane want him on his team even more.

While Michael may be seduced by Cane’s financial offer, Cane would be wise to realize that Michael is loyal to his friends, and he knows how to come out on top, too!

The Young and the Restless, Weekdays, CBS