Chapter 293: Do You See It?
Kylie watched through the window with William by her side as Ethan stormed out of the building. It was a sad sight, and tears welled up in Kylie’s eyes. Even though she hadn’t wanted to be with him sexually, it had never been her intention to make him angry or hurt his feelings.
Ethan signaled to his men that they were leaving, and then he climbed into his own car – and then he was gone. “Did you really send him away?” William asked her nervously. “Please, tell me everything that happened…”
“It was nothing,” Kylie replied, and when William looked up, he noticed that Kylie was no longer crying and. In fact, she was actually smiling. He found this incredibly curious, and he asked her why she was smiling. “If it was me that Ethan had dumped,” he exclaimed, “I would be ruined.”
“Pish posh,” Kylie replied. “Ethan never dumped me. I dumped him!”
Hearing this, William was nearly speechless. “What about the rumors on Instagram?” he wondered.
Kylie looked at William casually and said, “Give it time. They will be forgotten soon enough. As long as I don’t respond, people will lose interest.”
Kylie tied her hair into a casual bun and took off her clothes. She had only dressed the way that she had in order to make Ethan angry, and it had worked. Now though, there was no reason not to put her regular clothes back on. William watched nonchalantly as she undressed and redressed. It was the first time that he has seen her naked, and he was trying desperately not to make a big deal out of it. Once she was fully clothed, he looked her in the eyes and said, “I have done a favor for you, so you should do one for me.”
Since he had just seen her naked, Kylie automatically assumed that the favor would be sexual, and she scowled at him. “I am not going to FUCK you!” she hissed.
Hearing this, William’s whole face turned red, and he said, “No, no, no. It is nothing like that. You don’t have to do this for me, but I was hoping you might be my girlfriend until I find a real one. I am not good with the ladies but, if they see me with you, they will be jealous, and they will all want to be with me!”
Kylie looked skeptical, but William continued: “When you were dressing, I took a picture of your back while you still had my shirt on. I posted it to my Instagram and tagged you in it. Do you see it? Now you have to agree!”
Kylie frowned as she pulled up her Instagram account and saw that what he’d said was true, and already people had begun to comment. People were liking and sharing. Already, the damn thing had gone viral.
Kylie began to read the comments out loud, one after the other: “Are Kylie and William going to get married? Congrats, Kylie! You have found your Prince Charming! Wow! William has finally found someone to love! She sure does look good in his shirt! I bet she looks better without it, though! This can’t be true… William is too fat for Kylie!”
When William heard Kylie read that last comment, he frowned, and he asked Kylie if it was true: “Do people really think that I’m fat?”
Kylie just chucked and shrugged her shoulders. “It’s just the internet,” she said. “Don’t take it too seriously. One minute it loves you, the next it doesn’t – and life goes on. Anyways, I’m going to be filming a reality show in Hamorna tomorrow. You can stay alone here.”
Kylie was about to leave, but William pulled her back. He looked her in the eyes and warned her in a serious tone of voice: “Kylie, I remember that Ethan is stubborn. If you turn him down, he’ll never forgive you; and he always gets what he wants.”
Kylie just shrugged. “Who cares?”
***
Lucas was waiting for Kylie outside of William’s house, and as soon as she got into his car, he said, “Kylie, what have you done?! Why couldn’t you have kept your relationship with William private? What do you think Ethan will do when he hears about it?”
Kylie leaned back in the chair, closed her eyes, and made a conscious effort to ignore Lucas. Seeing what she was doing, Lucas sighed. “Never mind,” he said. “You will find out what Ethan is capable of soon enough.”
Lucas dropped Kylie off at the Garcia Entertainment building in time for the shareholder’s meeting that had been scheduled. Although Khloe was no longer with them, it was Kylie’s intention to carry on; business as usual. Furthermore, she had a speech that she intended to give, and she didn’t want to let anything stand in her way.
By the time Kylie walked into the board room, everyone else was already seated and ready to go. Before she started her presentation, she took stock of the expressions on everyone’s faces. Some seemed pleased to see her taking the initiative while others looked angry or confused. These people had seen Laurence and Khloe as their leaders and were worried about how things would go with Kylie at the helm.
Kylie walked to her chair, cleared her throat, and said, “I would like to thank everyone for coming. Things have not been good around here, but I do have two important things to announce. The first thing I need to clear up immediately is the question of who is in charge here. I own 25% stock of Garcia Entertainment. Thus, I am unequivocally in charge.”
Hearing this, everyone cheered and clapped their hands; some were more enthusiastic than others, though, and Kylie took note of who did not seem pleased. They would need to be observed, she realized. “My second announcement,” Kylie announced, “is that I have decided to name Laurence Finch as the CEO of Garcia Entertainment.”
Everyone looked at each other in confusion over Kylie’s second announcement. Even the people who fully supported Laurence could not figure out how having him CEO could benefit her. One brave soul raised his hand and said, “I am surprised to hear this. Is it a good idea to bring in an outsider for such a lofty position?”
Kylie smiled, and she said, “I have always considered this to be a family business. Laurence is my father. Thus, by blood, he is an insider. Furthermore, he has held this position before and done well.”
Laurence had been standing outside the boardroom door while Kylie made her big announcements. Khloe had no direct descendants and was unmarried. Her stocks went to Kylie, which gave her automatic control over Garcia Entertainment.
Kylie called for him, and he casually walked in. Seeing him, the board members stood up and welcomed him with cheers and more clapping. It had been a long time since he’d held a position of power, and many people were happy to have him back. One by one, his true friends said things like, “President Laurence, you’re finally back!” and, “President Laurence, we’ve waited for ages for you to return!”
Others had already sat back down, and we’re beginning to look bored. They were not openly defiant, but they were sending a clear signal; they did not care for the direction that things were suddenly going.
Laurence walked around the table and took a seat beside Kylie. He looked calm when he addressed the board members. He said, “Thank you for your warm welcome. I want everyone to know right from the get-go that, although I’m the executive of the company, Kylie always has the final say. So, if you don’t like something that I have implemented after you have spoken to me about it – if a satisfactory resolution has not been found – you are certainly free to bring it to Kylie.”Material © NôvelDrama.Org.
The board members were shocked to see Kylie and Laurence getting along so well. As far as they knew, the two had always been mortal enemies.
Once the announcements had been made, it was business as usual. Finances were discussed. Statistics were analyzed. Past goals were reviewed and reset, and they were just about done when the accountant stood up nervously and said, “I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but Kylie, you have only achieved 53% of your projected sales from last month.”
“Then I failed,” Kylie said as she nodded. “I promised that, if I failed, I would step down as president.”
Laurence looked to Kylie curiously.
Kylie smiled as she looked back at him. “The office is yours!” she said. “I will work for hand in hand with you, but you will be the head of Garcia Entertainment.”
Lucas had been standing at the doorway, and when he heard what Kylie had said, he began to clap. It was a slow clap, but as it was picked up by the other board members, it quickly turned into a full out applause.