Once Kylie and her a.s.sociates had left, Nina turned to David and asked him what the matter was with Kylie. David, who was mad as well, replied in an unpleasant way. He said, "She"s just an unknown actress. She thrives off of rumors, gossip, and crazy conspiracy theories. She has nothing to do back any of it up, though. I looked into her background. Her portfolio is as empty as her claims are. After all, you were the one who fired her. If there was a conspiracy to have her employment terminated, wouldn"t you know about it?"Nina thought about this for a few minutes, then, just as she was about to reply, her phone rang. She picked it up, and everyone listened as closely as they could to see if they could discern the meaning of the call.
"Where?" Nina wondered as she spoke into the phone. "Fine… Okay… I know… I understand…. I"ll be right there…"
Nina hung up the phone. With a worried expression on her face, she glanced around the table. "I"m sorry," she said. "There is an emergency that I need to attend to. Come and find me tomorrow. Everyone can sign their contracts then."
After Nina left, Khloe turned to David and said, "I think that Kylie is too proud. She is disrespectful to you, me, Nina, and even her own father. Sometimes she makes me so angry."
"I"ll make her pay for her abject rudeness," David snarled. "Don"t worry. In the end, it will be you who is on top, and she will be so far beneath you that you won"t even be able to see her."
Faith faced Kylie and Lucas and said, "That definitely did not go according to plan. There was bad blood between Garcia Entertainment and us, but this just made things one h.e.l.l of a lot worse."
Kylie frowned and was about to reply, but then her phone rang. She looked at the caller ID and saw that it was Beth, the old Lady whose life she"d saved earlier that day. Kylie answered the phone quickly, happy to hear from her new friend. "h.e.l.lo, Beth," she gushed. ���How are you feeling? Is there anything that you need?"
Ignoring her questions, Beth asked her if she was off work for the day.
"I am," Kylie replied. "Why don"t I come to visit you? I will bring my two friends with me; Faith and Lucas."
Beth: "Great! I"ll be here, waiting for the three of you!"
As soon as Kylie got off the phone, Lucas and Faith began to complain. "If it hadn"t been for the old lady," Faith moaned, "you wouldn"t have been so late to the meeting, and you would probably still have your job."
"That is not true," Kylie scoffed. "Beth had no part in making me late. I was set up by David, remember? And it wasn"t her fault that she fell. It was Lucas who knocked her over. She is innocent, and I am visiting her, not out of a sense of obligation, but because I genuinely want to!"
Lucas"s face lit up suddenly. "Could I film the visit," he asked her, "and leak it to the press? If the public sees you doing good deeds, it will increase your popularity. I could even call the media and tip them off!"
"Good idea!" Faith laughed, impressed by his ingenuity. "Let"s call them right now!"
Khloe, though, was not impressed. She frowned and shook her head in negation. "Let"s just visit Beth," she said, "and not make it anything that it"s not. I am not comfortable with the idea of exploiting an old woman."
Faith sighed. "Kylie," she said, "you"re being too altruistic!"
Outside of Beth"s room, there were a number of doctors talking together in hushed voices. Kylie a.s.sumed that Beth was sleeping, and that"s why they were whispering. She was just about to enter the room when she realized that Nina was there, talking with the doctors. Seeing Kylie, Nina a.s.sumed that Kylie had followed her to the hospital.
Nina inserted herself in the s.p.a.ce between Kylie and the door to Beth"s room, preventing her from pa.s.sing. "David was right," Nina hissed, "you are a cunning little b.i.t.c.h. I don"t know what you hoped to achieve by following me to the hospital, but you should know that I will never allow you on any set under my authority!"
"I am not following you," Kylie laughed. "You are so paranoid that I can"t help but pity you. Furthermore, you have the right to deny me access to your set, but you cannot keep me from the hospital. I am here to visit a friend, now get out of my way!"
Nina"s face went red, and she continued to rant as if she hadn"t heard a word that Kylie had said. "Kylie Finch," she shouted. "You are an immoral person, and I hate you. As long as you keep playing your games, I will ruin your career, and you will never be welcome on the Hamorna TV show! What do you think about that?!"
"You don"t own Hamorna TV," Kylie replied. "Even if you did, though, there are other fish in the sea. Nevertheless, you just wait and see; you will regret excluding me from your television program. Now get the f.u.c.k out of my way before I make you move.
Nina scowled and clenched her hands at her sides. She was angry, but she recognized that she had no other option but to step aside.
Kylie walked past her and into Beth"s room, and Nina followed after her. Beth was sitting up in her bed and, when she saw Kylie, a huge smile split her face from ear to ear.
"Ma"am, are you feeling alright now?" Kylie asked gently.
"I"ve waited for you for a long time to see you," Beth said. "Thank you for coming. I feel a lot better now. Would you like an apple?"
"Please," Kylie replied as she accepted the gift and took a giant bite out of it.