Ethan glanced at the box. Its logo was an international brand, which was a favorite of many stars in the entertainment industry. Although Kylie had plenty of clothes, he suspected that she would like whatever Dora had brought for her. He nodded slightly and said, "Thank you. I am sure that this will go a long way towards reconciliation."Dora smiled, and she said, "That would be a relief. "I have already told Director Miller about the gift. Is there anything else you can think of that I could do?"
Ethan thought about it for a moment, and then he said, "Michael Cole is being released from prison. Could you arrange for him to be tailed?"
Upon hearing the name, Dora"s hands shook uncontrollably.
Ethan gave her a sympathetic look and said, "Don"t worry. You are safe now."
Dora sighed, and she said, "It"s you that I"m worried about…"
Ethan waved his hand and said, "Never mind that. You are dismissed."
Ethan stood up and walked to the window and gazed down at the pedestrians scrambling down below him. From his office, they looked like ants. He took out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and took a deep puff.
****
The next day was the opening ceremony for the Dangerous World, and Kylie could not figure out what to wear. A lot of the clothes she owned were plain and would be inappropriate for such an event. She had a lot of very nice clothes too, but nothing that she hadn"t already been seen and photographed in.
Kylie turned to Ethan. She looked him in the eyes and said, "I can"t believe it, but I have nothing to wear!"
Seeing her in distress, Ethan frowned, and he pulled a box out from under the chair he"d been sitting on. He held it out for her and said, "Here, this is for you!"
"A gift for me?" Kylie wondered.
He thought about it for a moment, and then he nodded.
"I know that you have a good eye," Kylie said. "Is this something that I"ll be able to wear to the ceremony?"
Ethan nodded, but he didn"t say anything. The gift had come from Dora, and he had no idea why he"d taken credit. He regretted it, but he didn"t know how to take it back.
Kylie took off the clothes she"d been wearing and slipped into the dress. Once it was on, she spun in circles in front of the mirror – and then she walked over to Ethan and gave him a kiss on the cheek. There were tears in her eyes when she said, "I love this dress. No one has ever given me a gift quite so exquisite. I will wear it with pride and, when anybody asks, I will tell them that it was you who bought it for me!"
Ethan smiled, but as soon as she"d turned her back on him, his smile turned into a frown.
"How are the stocks going?" Kylie wondered.
Ethan sighed, and he said, "The prices continue to plummet. Pretty soon, they will be worthless, and Garcia Entertainment will be forced to claim bankruptcy."
Kylie went to stand on the balcony, and he followed her. She looked at him and said, "It is a beautiful day. We should go for a bike ride. There are still hours to go before the ceremony."
Ethan nodded and helped her out of her dress. Once Kylie had the dress off, he gave it to Dinah and asked her to look at it. He didn"t trust Dora. Later though, Dinah reported back that the dress had not been tampered with.
When Ethan and Kylie emerged into the back yard, they found Dinah and Steven waiting for them. Dinah smiled, and she said, "If it is okay with you, we"d like to tag along."
Steven pointed to two bikes leaning against a tree, and he said, "We got your bikes ready for you!"
For the first while, they rode as a pack. Gradually though, Steven and Dinah began to fall back. Once Ethan and Kylie were out of listening range, she said, "Did you see Ken White with Tom Thomas in the farmhouse?"
"I did," Ethan replied cautiously, not really knowing where she was going with this.
"Did anything seem strange about it?" she asked. "How do they know each other anyway?"
Ethan: "Tom Thomas has been in the gang for a while. Perhaps there is a connection there. I don"t know… You care about Ken, don"t you?"
Kylie laughed, and she said, "I"m afraid that Ken is going to do something to you. He is a bad guy. I could never be attracted to him, so quit being jealous of every man that crosses our path!"
"Don"t worry about my safety," Ethan replied. "I am invincible!"
Dinah and Steven rode along together until, eventually, Dinah began to fall behind Steven. Steven looked behind him and yelled: "Why can"t you keep up?!?!"
"My bike isn"t any good!" she cried.
Steven laughed and said, "Are you sure it isn"t because you are a fat piece of s.h.i.t?!?!"
Dinah growled, and she began to pick up her pace.
"There is nothing worse than a woman scorned," Steven laughed.
"Now that"s the smartest thing you"ve said all day," Dinah hissed.
Dinah and Steven were sided by the side in no time, and, with no warning, Dinah leaped from her bike like a sumo wrestler, slamming her full weight into Steven and pummeling him to the ground. Once they hit the ground, Dinah scurried on top of him and began to punch him all over his body. "Take it back!" she cried. "Take it back!"
Ethan and Kylie had pulled over and gotten off their bikes the minute that Dinah had jumped. She chuckled as she kicked his a.s.s and said, "Ethan, do you think that Dinah and Stephen would make a good couple?"
Ethan shrugged and said, "Stranger things have happened."
After a moment, Steven tapped out, shrieking, "I give. I take it back. Lay off already!"
Dinah got up then, and as a true sport, she helped Steven to his feet. "I"m sorry," she said, "but I just don"t like being called a fat piece of s.h.i.t."
Dinah climbed back onto her bike and, when she realized that everyone was staring at her with their eyes wide and their jaws on the floor, she laughed and said, "Well, let"s go already!"
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