Cane’s return to Young and Restless has thrown Genoa City into chaos, but Billy has decided that siding with the newly wealthy mogul is the best way to reach his goal — wresting control of Chancellor back from the Newmans. “As much as he’s tried, he cannot put that to rest,” portrayer Jason Thompson tells Soap Opera Digest. “He wants to do it for many reasons. Not only to run that company, but also to prove to his mother that he is capable, prove to his mother that he can be just as devious as every other businessperson in the city that goes above and beyond to do whatever they need to do in order to win. He wants his piece, and he believes that’s Chancellor.” 
Double Agent
The problem is that alliances in Genoa City are being built on ever-shifting sands right now, and even as Billy joins up with Cane to get Chancellor back, he’s also trying to keep him from making Jabot one of his acquisitions. “It changes almost on the daily who he feels he can trust,” Thompson allows. “One day it’s Cane, one day it’s Jack, one day Sally, or whatever. But I think when he’s looking at the master plan, I think like everyone, they’re all trying to outmaneuver each other.”
Given that Cane has come back with a massive bank account, it makes sense that’s who Billy would choose to align himself with. “Right now, Cane has a lot of power,” he explains, “and he’s got the capability, as far as Billy understands — or as far as Cane is projecting — to basically wipe everyone out and have total control of the city. At the same time, as much as Billy wants to get Chancellor back and screw over Victor and to prove to his mother that he can do that, he also doesn’t want the family to lose Jabot to Cane.
“So he’s trying to play both sides here to a certain extent,” Thompson previews, “and also keep Jack somewhat on the line for Abbott Communications because he wants to do right by Sally, as well. So he’s got his hands in plenty of cookie jars. So that’s where we find him right now, trying to figure out who can be played and also not get played at the same time.”
Who Can You Trust? 
Victor bought Chancellor from Jill to install Nikki as CEO, but it was Nick with whom Billy nearly came to blows, arguing about Cane’s plans. “They always seem to be somewhat okay with each other,” Thompson notes of the two men, “and then things fall apart. I’m not sure that Billy has a ton of respect for Nick. I don’t think he looks at Nick and thinks he’s a formidable businessperson. I think that he’s a family guy and he loves his parents and he loves his family, but I don’t think there’s a ton of respect there from Billy towards Nick. He doesn’t despise the guy, but he has no problem getting in his face if that’s what needs to happen in the moment, either.”
Billy has a complicated romantic history with Victoria, and he and Adam have constantly been at odds, but he and Nick recently teamed up to rescue Phyllis and Sharon. Billy even came to Nick’s aid when the guy was gravely injured during their visit to Cane’s estate in Nice. Declares the actor: “A Newman’s a Newman to Billy. He’s got his allegiances to himself, first of all — most of the time, let’s be honest — and obviously the Abbott family and anybody he feels emotionally tied to, and in this moment, it’s Sally.”
Cane may be just a means to an end for Billy, but soon enough, he could find that he’s backed the wrong horse and wind up in way over his head. “I think that he sees the truth, ultimately, in Cane, and Cane is working angles as well,” Thompson previews. “There’s really not many people that Billy really truly feels like he can trust. And I think ultimately he really does know that he can trust Jack, but they don’t always see eye to eye. So there’s always some sort of level of… tension between Billy and Jack. But ultimately, I think he does know that he can trust Jack. But he quickly learns that he can’t trust Cane or anyone else that Cane’s working with.”