At the studio, Lucas heard them arguing again. Pupu had waited for them nearby. William started to talk again. Lucas feels lost with their conversation, so he began to speak, "Hey, I should leave now. You two must practice your line.When they were alone, William began to asked Kylie.
"What"s wrong with you recently?"
"It"s none of your business. My private life has nothing to do with you," She snapped at him.
"Oh, you sound so affected, huh? What"s going on, babe?" William asked.
"I said, stop asking!" Her voice was full of anger.
"Okay, suit yourself," William snapped at her.
Before William and Kylie could begin practicing their lines, they needed Pupu to skedaddle. Kylie looked at the dog and said, "Pupu, be a good boy. I need to work, and you need to go."
Pupu did not move. She stood where she was and looked up at Kylie defiantly. Kylie had always believed that you could catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar, so she checked to make sure that no one was looking, and she kissed the dog on the mouth. In response, the dog stood up, wagged its tail, and returned the kiss, but still refused to move.
Kylie didn"t know what to do. She kissed Pupu again and pushed her away. Then, finally, the dog went away.
Ethan leaned against his car and smoked a cigar outside of the studio. He secretly followed Kylie. It was a sunny day, and the light lit him up, making him look like some kind of living G.o.d or Madonna. Once his cigar was finished, he dropped it to the ground and stomped it out. When he looked up, he saw Pupu playing in the yard and noticed that something was gleaming around his neck, but he thought nothing of it.
He opened the back seat door, called the dog over, and lured him in. Next, he climbed in through the driver"s side, started the car, and drove away.
***
Khloe stumbled against the window, and the gla.s.s splintered all around her, but she didn"t fall, and none of the gla.s.s injured her either. Seeing the mess, Alice Davis scolded her: "You need to be more careful. Hold still. I will clean up the mess. I wouldn"t want you to cut yourself and get a nasty scar!"
"I don"t care how I look," Khloe whined. "My life is ruined."
"You are worrying about nothing," Alice comforted her. "Not every movie or television program you make will be your best. It is the same with every movie star. Did you see Punch Drunk Love with Adam Sandler? It was a pile of s.h.i.t, but he kept going, and now he has a net worth of 360 Million Dollars! He has come a long way from his roots on Sat.u.r.day Night Live, don"t you think?"
Khloe scowled and said, "You just don"t understand. The company has published a statement that I will be competing with Kylie Finch, but all of my scenes so far have been cut out. It is a disaster. Sandler may have looked bad in Punch Drunk Love, but I am practically invisible in this show, which is worse!"
"Just try to keep your head up," Alice said. "Your father loves you so much. I don"t believe that he would let you slip into obscurity."
***
Clarence scowled as he re-read a letter he"d just received. It was from Laurence, and he was recommending Khloe for an Oscar, which was completely ridiculous – but he did not know how he"d say no without p.i.s.sing Laurence. He obviously saw some talent in his daughter that no one else did…
"Perhaps," he mumbled, "it would be best to nominate her. She won"t win anyway, but then I would stay in good with Laurence and his company…"
Having made his decision, he picked up the phone and dialed Laurence"s number.
Khloe followed her mother into Laurence"s office and, when Laurence saw her baby daughter"s red and swollen eyes, his heart started aching again. Alice looked up at him and said, "You have to help Khloe. She"s your daughter..." As she spoke, she started crying. "When I was pregnant with Khloe, you left me at a very bad time. Do you remember what you said after? You said that as long as you got the shares of Garcia Entertainment, our daughter would be the apple of your eye. But now..."
"Mommy, stop it..." Khloe cried. "It"s my entire fault. I disappointed you... I disappointed daddy. I am vain, mean, and egotistical – these are my just desserts. It is all my fault. I am sorry." Khloe hugged her mother, and they two cried bitterly as if Laurence was about to abandon them.
Laurence rubbed his temples as if he had a headache, but then, suddenly. He smiled and said, "You two can stop crying. I"ve got good news."
Khloe turned trustfully towards her father, and dutifully wiped the tears from her eyes. Laurence took a sip of his coffee and asked Khloe when her wedding was supposed to take place. Hearing this, Alice scowled and asked him if he really believed that, with Khloe"s career ruined, Aiden would still want to marry her.
"Don"t worry about that," Laurence laughed. "I just received a very important phone call from Clarence. Khloe has been nominated for an Oscar. Even if she doesn"t get it, the nomination alone will ensure that her career carries on."
"Wow!" Khloe exclaimed as she jumped up from her seat and wrapped her arms around Laurence. "Daddy, are you serious? "ve I been nominated? I"ve really been nominated?"
Laurence nodded, "It is so. It would still be good if you could pull your s.h.i.t together and take the reality show seriously. If you don"t, some people will a.s.sume that the game has been rigged and try to be nice. As you said, the truth is that you tend to be vain, egotistical, and mean. If you want to gain the people"s trust, you must show them another side of you…
"That will be hard," Khloe replied, "but I will do my best for you."