Chapter 96: The Cover Is Mine
Khloe was quiet, but inside her, the rage was brewing. “Ok. Tell dad I’m coming.” Khloe quickly got up from the bed, changed, and left Aiden’s house as soon as she could. She did not want anyone asking questions of her hasty exit.
Laurence was pacing his office floor. He had invited Kylie over, and surprisingly, she had agreed. He was thinking of what to say to her when Khloe and Lucas entered his office.
“Dad, what’ s going on here? Why did they remove me and choose Kylie?” Khloe burst out crying and in rage, her emotions bundling all together.
Laurence winced and gestured to Lucas to leave. He turned to his daughter and gathered her in a hug, “Khloe, Daddy will find a better magazine for you!”
“I don’t want another magazine!” Khloe no longer wanted to pretend she was daddy’s little girl. She pettishly tugged at her father’s arm. “Dad, the Oscars mean a lot to me, and you know that the artists who have been on the cover of Extreme Luxury…” No matter how I’m NOT going to give this the opportunity to Kylie! If you don’t care about me either, I… I’ll just die…” Khloe loosened Laurence’s arm and sat on the sofa, crying.
“Nonsense!” Scolded Laurence, but his eyes were full of care. “How can you even utter those words? Do you want to leave your mom and me? Do you want us to suffer every day for the rest of our lives?”
“Well, Kylie can replace me!” Khloe sobbed out. She was so aggrieved that she could barely breathe. “Isn’t she married to Lord Ethan? Isn’t it good being a rich housewife! What else did she want that she had to steal this from me!!”
However, hearing her own words, Khloe suddenly looked up and seemed to realize something. “Dad? Kylie is on the trending lists these days, but Lord Ethan did not stand out to support her. Perhaps it’s really like what you said before – Ethan married her just for the shares of Garcia Entertainment, not because he loves her.” Khloe suddenly cheered up. “Now that Ethan is not involved, the problem will be easy to solve.”
Laurence nodded, “I’ll talk to Kylie. Don’t be sad, my dear!”
At this time, Lucas knocked on the office door and told them Kylie and Faith had arrived. Khloe hurried to wipe dry her tears and sat down on the sofa with her head down as if she had been wronged and was in a deep depression.
“Kylie, where did you go last night?” Laurence scolded Kylie as soon as she came in.
Kylie simply looked at him, then at Khloe.
“Look, Kylie,” Laurence started off slowly as he did not want to corner Kylie into doing anything else that could harm Khloe and Garcia Entertainment. “Khloe just made a mistake. She is your sister, don’t blame her for all this.”
Kylie looked aside, still saying nothing even though her heart was aching. Laurence had never admitted that she was his daughter before.
“And Kylie, I’m your father! Don’t you trust me? Why are you…”
“Mr. Finch,” Kylie stopped Laurence mid-sentence. “Do you seriously believe that I’m still to be blamed for all this?” Kylie laughed sarcastically. “Unbelievable!”
She took out a cigarette from her bag, held it in her mouth, but did not light it. Kylie tried to calm herself down before she exploded, and somehow the action of smoking did just that.
“Anyway, that was in the past. Let’s turn to a new page. Today I want to talk to you about the cover character of Extreme Luxury. Give it back to Khloe, whom it rightfully belongs to.” Laurence ordered Kylie directly, leaving no room for her to negotiate.
“Kylie, this is for your own good. You’ve been in show biz for only several years, and you’ve never shot for a magazine cover…” Khloe sullenly spoke up, still looking depressed and forlorn. “This is a Joint venture between American and French designers; if you don’t perform well, you’ll not only humiliate yourself but also our company in front of the whole world!”
Kylie burst out, “Are you fucking kidding me?” Her eyes were filled with disdain. “Who is the disgrace of the company? Me? Or you?”
“Kylie! If you still want to call me ‘Dad,’ let this go and give it back to Khloe. As my daughter, you should make a sacrifice for the benefit of OUR company!” Laurence threatened his daughter.
Kylie looked the other way while twirling the cigarette between her fingers when she heard that bitch Khloe speak up, “DAD, just tell the Editor that Kylie wants to pursue her studies and she won’t take any cover shooting jobs for the time being.”
Laurence nodded and, without giving Kylie a second glance, started to dial his cell. However, in a flash, Kylie ran over and knocked the phone out of his hand, “THE COVER IS MINE.”
“Kylie Finch! I am the CEO of Garcia Entertainment! I have the final say, not you!” Laurence was so angry that his veins were sticking out on his temples. “Why are you doing this!!?”
“It has nothing to do with me, dear father. This is the magazine’s decision. And if I don’t take this, you’ll lose big too. Do you want everyone to know that you sacrificed the interest of the company and your elder daughter in order to please your younger STEP-daughter?” Kylie could not help but coax.
“What are you talking about! What do you want?” Laurence denied immediately. He had just showcased to the public that he was a loving father in response to those videos about Khloe.Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!
“Well, what I want will depend on how you deal with a particular…scenario.” Kylie backed up and leaned against the desk while lighting the cigarette. She took a drag on it and said with disappointment in her eyes, “You said I snatched her things, can you please list a few? I want to know what I snatched from her. My family, my career, and my boyfriend, I gave away everything I have to her…”
Before Kylie could proceed, Khloe broke her off, “Kylie, Dad, and my Mom love each other. As for Aiden and I, it was he who had been pursuing me, how could you even say I snatched him?” Khloe lashed out, “As for your career, who would believe that I snatched anything from you? What did you even have for me to snatch?”