Facing Kylie as she stood in the doorway, Laurence suddenly realized that Kylie was no longer the girl she had once been. She had changed totally. She was calm now, cunning, clever, and strong. She had once been a pushover, and he had had complete control over her. Now though, he had absolutely no control over her daughter. Kylie learned to fight him and stand against them all. Facing her now, he felt both fear and trepidation. He had tried to win her over to his side, but she had easily seen through his words and discerned his true intentions. "Fine," he told her, "If you must go, then go. I can"t force you to stay,"
Once Kylie was gone, the rest of the attendees left, one after the other until the only people left were Khloe, Laurence, and his a.s.sistant. "What now?" Khloe cried. "You said this was for my benefit, but now that Kylie is dropping out, how is it to my benefit?" She was frustrated with the result of their plans.
"Enough! Your ranting and tears couldn"t help us," Laurence yelled as he smashed his fist against the coffee table. "Khloe, you"ve always been so unreasonable, and it wears on me. If Kylie doesn"t take this job, then we will think of something else. Nothing has changed. Quit your whining and use your brain for once in your life!" Laurence can"t hold his anger at this time because he was worn out.
Khloe was struck dumb. This was the first time that her father had spoken to her like this. Finally, she brought her hands to her stomach and said, "Dad, it was Kylie"s fault that I lost Aiden"s child. It should not be any surprise that I am as upset as I am. I hate her, but now you are acting like you don"t even love me or want to help me." She acted like a victim to get her father"s sympathy.
Hearing these words from his daughter, he frowned sadly and said, "Everything that I have done has been intentionally for your good. Do you not realize what you are doing? You are breaking your old man"s heart… I can"t bear to even look at you…"
Laurence staggered to his feet and left Khloe alone with his a.s.sistant in the conference room.
Once Laurence was gone, his a.s.sistant faced Khloe and said, "You had no right to say what you did. Your father has nothing but your best interests at heart. Furthermore, who can say what the results of the show will be, with or without Kylie? If this scheme fails, others could be thought up, but if you destroy your relationship with your father, it will not be repairable. If you don"t believe it, look no further than your sister…"
"What the h.e.l.l do you know?" Khloe yelled at the a.s.sistant.
The a.s.sistant lowered her head silently. She had nothing more to say.
Khloe clenched her teeth and picked up Kylie"s profile off of the table. "We will see who will win in the end. I can"t let her have a victory nor a peace of mind," she muttered as she dropped the pages to the floor. Suddenly the a.s.sistant"s phone rang and Khloe turned in her direction. As she answered the call, Khloe watched as her face turned white. A few words were exchanged, and then she ended the call.
Khloe looked at her curiously and asked her if everything was alright.
The a.s.sistant looked at her nervously and said, "Your car has been crushed…"
"What?!" Khloe gasped as she remembered how she"d blocked her sister in.
When Khloe arrived in the underground parking lot, the first thing that she saw was her heavily damaged car. In order to make way for her car, Kylie had had it pushed into a nearby parking s.p.a.ce.
"Kylie Finch!" she cursed. "I"ll get you for this, you ignorant b.i.t.c.h!"
Seeing her yelling, a security guard walked over and said, "Kylie Finch didn"t crash your car."
"Then who did?!" Khloe demanded.
The guard pointed at the monitor and said, "You parked your car in the middle of the road. Other cars were affected. A customer was in an emergency to get out, so he had no choice but to go through you. Really, it was your own fault."
Khloe turned around and slapped her a.s.sistant. "Who told you to park the car on the road? How stupid you are?" she shouted. "The cost to fix it will be deducted to your salary!"
Khloe"s a.s.sistant fell to her knees and began to cry. "It wasn"t my fault," she wailed. "You were the one who actually told me to park here. Under normal circ.u.mstances, I never would have…" The a.s.sistant turned to the guard and said, "You are my witness. You heard her ordering me to park here,"
The guard, knowing which side the bread was b.u.t.tered on, feigned ignorance. "I didn"t see or hear anything. Whatever your problem with your boss, it"s up to you to fix," he replied and quickly left them without looking back.
Faith sat in the car with Kylie and Lucas, doing her best imitation of Khloe. Listening to her, they could not help but burst into gales of laughter. Lucas, who was driving, met Kylie"s eyes in the rearview mirror and said, "I"m truly sorry for what I put you through in the old days. Please accept my apology." A serious tone added to his voice.
"You were with Khloe then," Kylie replied, "and you worked for her. I understand that, but now you"re with me, so bear that in mind. Since I was a teenager, I"ve always been an extra. The entertainment circle is always the same. There aren"t many people who will have your back. I am trusting in you, though, so please don"t let me down." She answered in a serious tone.
"I won"t," Lucas promised, "but what is next for us?"
"We are going to Hamorna," Kylie replied, "so you will both need to go home and pack your things." She ordered, giving him no chance to refuse.