Shirley Thorne couldn't agree to Meredith Rowan's plan right away. If she did, she'd be breaking character.
Her current persona was that of someone who had spoken rashly in a fit of anger but had no intention of completely burning her bridges just yet.
Meredith Rowan hadn't expected the plan to succeed overnight. She just told Shirley to go home and think it over carefully, adding, "Shirley, everything I mentioned is a last resort. You're still better off trying to talk things through with Ethan. It might just be a misunderstanding!"
Shirley Thorne muttered a few angry retorts like, "It's definitely not a misunderstanding," then got up to leave. Before she left, she told Meredith Rowan to keep thinking up other schemes.
Meredith Rowan agreed, feeling a surge of glee. 'The groundwork I've been laying for so long is finally paying off,' she thought. 'And it looks like it's going to be very effective.'
