Loving A STRANGER 158 Chapter 158: You Caught Me

Kylie looked at her and said, "I don't think we have anything to talk about. You have made your feelings about me clear."

Nina shook her head and said, "I was wrong, and I'm sorry. Please rejoin our cast. If it helps you make your decision, I will double our initial offer. If it is not the money that you want, let me know what you want, and I'll see if I can accommodate you. Most likely, I can."

Kylie smiled and asked Nina if she would stand up to David on her behalf and put him in his place. "There is no way that I can be a part of your production," she said, "if I have to be on constant guard against him."

Nina nodded her a.s.sent. "I will do as you've asked," she said, "and you will also receive the increase in salary. It turns out that you are the most experienced person on set. Therefore, you deserve to be earning a higher salary than anyone else does."

"Where are you guys going now?" Katelyn asked Kylie.

"Back to the hotel," she replied.

Back at the hotel, Kylie found Ethan relaxing and reading the newspaper. Faith and Lucas had gone to their rooms, so they were alone. Finally. "I've missed you today," Ethan said as he got up and walked over to her. He put his arms around her and kissed her. "How did everything go?"

After all that had happened that day, Kylie did not know where to start. "It was a crazy day," she said, "but I don't really feel up to has.h.i.+ng it out quite yet. Why don't you kiss me again? I liked that. Take it slow, though, and let's see where it takes us…"

Lucas swept her hair away from her face and kissed her forehead, then her left earlobe, then her neck, and then her mouth. "I love you," he told her. "I love you very much."

"I love you too," Kylie replied as she allowed herself to be led to the couch. Lucas gently lowered her down but, before he could sit down, there was a knock at the door. "It's Faith," Faith shouted through the door. "I'm so sorry to be a bother, but President Laurence just called. You should take it. He said that it was important."

Kylie glanced at Ethan, and he nodded. He understood how important the call might be.

Kylie opened the door, and Faith handed her the phone. "h.e.l.lo," she said. "This is Kylie. Can I help you?"

"You can," Laurence replied, "by leaving as soon as possible. There is a flight to Seattle in one hour. It would be in your best interest if you were on it. No complaining. You did this to yourself. It has nothing to do with Khloe or David."

"That is not true," Kylie growled. "You set me up, and they were your accomplices. If you didn't want me on the show, I don't know why you invited me in the first place. Now that I am here, though, I am not prepared to leave just yet. Furthermore, if you push me, you will finally see what I am actually capable of."

"f.u.c.k you!" Laurence shouted.

Kylie smiled when she realized how easy it had been to get under her father's skin. There was no doubt in her mind that, in the future, she would be able to use that against him. He didn't take her seriously, which had always hindered her progress in the past, but would now give her the upper hand.

"Lol," Kylie laughed as she hung up the phone.

Ethan put his hand on hers and asked her if everything was alright.

"Don't worry," she replied. "There is nothing that he could say that would hurt me. Not anymore." 

Ethan suddenly noticed Kylie's clothes were dirty, and he asked her what had happened. "Sit down beside me," she said, "and I will tell you everything," and so she did, and once her story was told, he made sweet love to her on the floor of the living room.

The next day, Khloe arrived at the studio as early as possible. She wanted to sign her contract as soon as possible. In her mind, this project would open the door that led to her first Oscar. Initially, she thought that being on the cover of Extreme Luxury, would give her the notoriety she so longed for, but it hadn't worked out that way, and this was her Plan B.

When Nina arrived with David, Laurence, and Aiden, she saw Khloe and smiled. "Miss Fanning," she said, "let's sign the contract now and get it out of the way."

The men looked at Khloe with disdain, but Khloe was too excited to notice. In her mind, she would look back on this moment as one of the highlights of her life. She was about to be sorely disappointed.

"Nina," David interrupted, "Khloe is a very professional actress. You don't need to worry about signing her for a second season."

"I agree," Laurence agreed. "I had arranged other work for her anyways."

Only Aiden remained silent.

Nina took the cup of coffee that her a.s.sistant offered her, and she took a sip. Then, with a slip of the hand, she "accidentally" spilled the hot liquid all over Khloe's contract. "Oops," Nina sighed. "It looks like we won't be signing anything today after all…"

"What's wrong with you?" David scowled. "If I didn't know any better, I would say that you did that on purpose." 

"You caught me," Nina laughed. "This company is no longer interested in working with Khloe. The coffee was nothing but a bit of theatrics. I hope you enjoyed it!"

"But we agreed on this yesterday!" Laurence shouted.

Nina sneered at Laurence and turned to David, "David, I've always treated you as an experienced and respectable person, but you have betrayed that trust, and so I have no intention of working with you either."

"I have no idea about what you're taking!" David cried.