Kylie had expected the economy cla.s.s to be crowded, smelly, and dirty, but, much to her surprise and delight, it was none of these things. Their seats were clean, the air smelled fresh, and there was more than enough room to stretch out. Furthermore, there were not a lot of people on board; in fact, it was just them, which gave them a measure of privacy as the boat"s whistle sounded, and it slowly left the dock. Kylie felt relieved after seeing the surroundings. An attendant came, and, recognizing her, she became very excited. "Miss Finch," she gushed, "it is so nice to meet you. Anything you want or need is in the house. As soon as we learned that you would be on board, we took extra steps to ensure your comfort. We wanted to give a good impression. In fact, your accommodations are even better than those in the first cla.s.s. Could I get you a coffee, tea, or perhaps something a little stronger?"
Kylie smiled and requested a bottle of wine and enough gla.s.ses for everyone who she had brought with her. After giving her order, the attendant left for a while.
Lucas sat there, stunned as the attendant returned with the wine. He had spent so much time worrying about the negative implications of the press junket that Kylie had sabotaged, that he hadn"t taken the time to listen to what the public – the fans – were saying. Obviously, he realized he was out of the loop because, in all his years in the entertainment industry, he had never seen an artist given such preferential treatment! This is the first time he saw that someone had given them extra care because of Kylie"s presence.
As Kylie sipped from her wine gla.s.s, her phone rang. She looked at the caller ID and was excited to see that it was Ethan.
Answering it, she said, "h.e.l.lo," and then she asked him if he was secretly hiding somewhere on the boat. "If so," she continued, "you should join us in economy cla.s.s. Everything has been prepared beautifully, and there are a ton of empty seats! I love to see you here, honey," A seductive voice added in her last words. The endearment she mentioned made Ethan craving for his wife quickly.
Ethan groaned and said, "I"m afraid that, as your secret lover, my appearance would cause you trouble. All I want is to have you alone at home when you return, little wife,"
"That"s true," Kylie frowned. "I met several fans today. There is no knowing when someone with a camera might pop up. One photo in the hands of the wrong person could cause us both serious damage."
Lucas still wasn"t able to wrap his head around the provisions that had been made for Kylie. It just seemed like too much. He looked at Faith and asked her, "Am I in a dream?"
"Kylie hasn"t told you yet, huh?" Faith chuckled. "The big boss of Century Group, the most admiring Lord Ethan, is Kylie"s husband. They had an instant marriage."
Lucas"s jaw nearly hit the floor. "I am shocked…"
Faith nodded. "When I found out, I was even more shocked than you are!"
"When did they get married?" Lucas asked.
"On the day that Khloe and Aiden were engaged," Faith replied. "Khloe believed, and still does believe, that she s.n.a.t.c.hed Kylie"s boyfriend away from her, but Kylie was never even interested in Aiden. It just goes to show what a stupid c.u.n.t Kylie actually is. I heard a rumor that she f.u.c.ks her cousins on the side; I half believe it, to tell you the truth. In the end, that girl will find herself broke and alone, likely in some mental inst.i.tution!"
"That is an amazing story," Lucas replied, "and I believe it completely. I can"t wait to congratulate Kylie."
Faith hit Lucas"s chest with her fist and said, "Kylie hasn"t told you in person yet. She doesn"t want to hide it from you, but let her tell you herself before you congratulate her; otherwise, you will get me in trouble."
Lucas took a deep breath and took a deep sip from his wine gla.s.s. He could hear Kylie gabbing in first cla.s.s, and he looked in the direction that the sound had come from. He rubbed his jaw, and a meaningful smile appeared on his face.
Faith knew what he was thinking and said, "They are idiots if they think that they can take advantage of Kylie."
"It is true," Lucas replied. "I can"t believe that I was once one of them. I am very grateful that, even after everything that happened, Kylie was willing to give me a chance. I am excited to see what happens next. Kylie was a formidable enough adversary on her own. Now, with Ethan on her side, she will be unstoppable!"
When Faith took her seat in front of Kylie, she found a USB flash drive on the table in front of her. She turned around to face Kylie and asked her what it was.
"Lord Ethan has prepared all the videos of the first season of Trailblazers for us to learn from," Kylie explained.
"Sounds good," Faith exclaimed.
Faith set it up and found that not only did the flash drive contain the episodes, but it also contained top-secret materials such as outtakes, interviews, deleted scenes, and bloopers – Faith was amazed. She had no idea where Ethan had gotten the material, and she was impressed by the fact that he had the b.a.l.l.s to share it.
As she watched the videos, she took notes and began to think about how she could help Kylie incorporate what she saw into their current project. Although it was a reality show, it was never as simple as winning or losing the game. Different scenes would be used to present different qualities of a person. In the end, if the winner looked like an a.s.shole, then they would, according to the court of public appeal, still be losers, and versa.
In the seat next to Faith"s, Lucas was trying to figure out Kylie"s social network.