Ch. 156..160: Fatal Kiss Of The Vampire Chapter 156-160
Chapter 156: She’s Just An Unknown Actress
Once Kylie and her associates had left, Nina turned to David and asked him what the matter was with Kylie. David, who was mad as well, replied in an unpleasant way. He said, “She’s just an unknown actress. She thrives off of rumors, gossip, and crazy conspiracy theories. She has nothing to do back any of it up, though. I looked into her background. Her portfolio is as empty as her claims are. After all, you were the one who fired her. If there was a conspiracy to have her employment terminated, wouldn’t you know about it?”
Nina thought about this for a few minutes, then, just as she was about to reply, her phone rang. She picked it up, and everyone listened as closely as they could to see if they could discern the meaning of the call.
“Where?” Nina wondered as she spoke into the phone. “Fine… Okay… I know… I understand…. I’ll be right there…”
Nina hung up the phone. With a worried expression on her face, she glanced around the table. “I’m sorry,” she said. “There is an emergency that I need to attend to. Come and find me tomorrow. Everyone can sign their contracts then.”
After Nina left, Khloe turned to David and said, “I think that Kylie is too proud. She is disrespectful to you, me, Nina, and even her own father. Sometimes she makes me so angry.”
“I’ll make her pay for her abject rudeness,” David snarled. “Don’t worry. In the end, it will be you who is on top, and she will be so far beneath you that you won’t even be able to see her.”
Faith faced Kylie and Lucas and said, “That definitely did not go according to plan. There was bad blood between Garcia Entertainment and us, but this just made things one hell of a lot worse.”
Kylie frowned and was about to reply, but then her phone rang. She looked at the caller ID and saw that it was Beth, the old Lady whose life she’d saved earlier that day. Kylie answered the phone quickly, happy to hear from her new friend. “Hello, Beth,” she gushed. “How are you feeling? Is there anything that you need?”
Ignoring her questions, Beth asked her if she was off work for the day.
“I am,” Kylie replied. “Why don’t I come to visit you? I will bring my two friends with me; Faith and Lucas.”
Beth: “Great! I’ll be here, waiting for the three of you!”
As soon as Kylie got off the phone, Lucas and Faith began to complain. “If it hadn’t been for the old lady,” Faith moaned, “you wouldn’t have been so late to the meeting, and you would probably still have your job.”
“That is not true,” Kylie scoffed. “Beth had no part in making me late. I was set up by David, remember? And it wasn’t her fault that she fell. It was Lucas who knocked her over. She is innocent, and I am visiting her, not out of a sense of obligation, but because I genuinely want to!”
Lucas’s face lit up suddenly. “Could I film the visit,” he asked her, “and leak it to the press? If the public sees you doing good deeds, it will increase your popularity. I could even call the media and tip them off!”
“Good idea!” Faith laughed, impressed by his ingenuity. “Let’s call them right now!”
Kylie, though, was not impressed. She frowned and shook her head in negation. “Let’s just visit Beth,” she said, “and not make it anything that it’s not. I am not comfortable with the idea of exploiting an old woman.”
Faith sighed. “Kylie,” she said, “you’re being too altruistic!”
Outside of Beth’s room, there were a number of doctors talking together in hushed voices. Kylie assumed that Beth was sleeping, and that’s why they were whispering. She was just about to enter the room when she realized that Nina was there, talking with the doctors. Seeing Kylie, Nina assumed that Kylie had followed her to the hospital.
Nina inserted herself in the space between Kylie and the door to Beth’s room, preventing her from passing. “David was right,” Nina hissed, “you are a cunning little bitch. I don’t know what you hoped to achieve by following me to the hospital, but you should know that I will never allow you on any set under my authority!”
“I am not following you,” Kylie laughed. “You are so paranoid that I can’t help but pity you. Furthermore, you have the right to deny me access to your set, but you cannot keep me from the hospital. I am here to visit a friend, now get out of my way!”
Nina’s face went red, and she continued to rant as if she hadn’t heard a word that Kylie had said. “Kylie Finch,” she shouted. “You are an immoral person, and I hate you. As long as you keep playing your games, I will ruin your career, and you will never be welcome on the Hamorna TV show! What do you think about that?!”
“You don’t own Hamorna TV,” Kylie replied. “Even if you did, though, there are other fish in the sea. Nevertheless, you just wait and see; you will regret excluding me from your television program. Now get the fuck out of my way before I make you move.
Nina scowled and clenched her hands at her sides. She was angry, but she recognized that she had no other option but to step aside.
Kylie walked past her and into Beth’s room, and Nina followed after her. Beth was sitting up in her bed and, when she saw Kylie, a huge smile split her face from ear to ear.
“Ma’am, are you feeling alright now?” Kylie asked gently.
“I’ve waited for you for a long time to see you,” Beth said. “Thank you for coming. I feel a lot better now. Would you like an apple?”
“Please,” Kylie replied as she accepted the gift and took a giant bite out of it.
Chapter 157: They Sabotaged My Itinerary
Seeing this exchange, Nina was shocked. She glanced at Kylie, and then at Beth, and then back to Kylie.
Beth frowned at Nina and asked her, “What are you looking at? Come over now and thank this nice girl for saving my life.”
“Mom,” Nina gasped, “What did you say? Did you say that it was Kylie who saved your life? Did I hear it right?” She asked, confused with what’s really going on.
“Of course,” Beth replied. “Look at her clothes. If she hadn’t been there to save my life, they would still be clean and pressed, and we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now!”
Kylie was stunned to discover that Beth, the old lady that she’d rescued, was Nina’s mother. Lucas and Faith, behind her, were equally shocked. Nina was shocked. The only person who was not shocked, was a doctor who had just walked through the door. Nina looked at her mother and said, “I need to talk to Kylie privately.”
Lucas and Faith stepped forward to talk with Beth so that Kylie and Nina could go into the corridor and discuss this new development. Once they’d found some privacy, Kylie noticed that Nina looked embarrassed. “What do you have to say?” Kylie asked her, not unkindly.
“I’m sorry for my previous attitude,” Nina said. “Thank you so much for saving my mom’s life today. I don’t know how to pay you back,”
“I didn’t know that Beth was your mom,” Kylie replied. “Even if I had thought, I still would have helped her. As a Marxist, I hold life in high esteem.”
“You were late today,” Nina began, intending to say more. She found that her words caught in her throat, though, so she could not.
“It wasn’t only that,” Kylie said. “Someone wanted me to be late, so they sabotaged my itinerary.”
Nina signed. “Kylie Finch,” she said, “I know that you’re not a bad person, but my show needs seasoned, professional actresses, and I still don’t think you fit the bill…”
Before Nina could finish talking, a middle-aged doctor called out to her: “July, is that you? It has been a long time since we’ve seen you on the island! For heaven’s sake, what are you doing here? After you dropped out of school, I had no idea what happened to you. I was very worried!”
Kylie turned and saw that the person who had called her name was none other than her old mentor, Katelyn Fanning. Back in the old days, Katelyn had treated Kylie like one of her own children. She had intended to recommend Kylie for work with Hamorna TV when Kylie graduated, but unexpectedly, Kylie had dropped out of school a month before her graduation.
“Oh, Katelyn,” Kylie cried. I am so sorry to have disappointed you.”
“You did disappoint me,” Katelyn acknowledged, “but I love you, and all is forgiven. I am sure that you will make everything up to me eventually!”
“I sure will,” Kylie replied.
Suddenly Katelyn noticed Nina, who happened to be her sister. “Nina,” she laughed, “it is also very good to see you. I am glad that you were finally able to meet in July. I remember how, in the past. You kept going on and on about how much you wanted to meet her.”
Katelyn turned to Kylie and said, “Nina is my younger sister. Do you work for her now?”
Nina and Kylie stared at each other, speechless, until, finally, Katelyn discerned that something was not quite right between the two of them. She asked them what was wrong and, without any delay, Kylie told her everything. Once the story was told, Katelyn looked at Nina with anger in her eyes, and she scolded her sister. “Nina,” she snapped, “it is decisions like this that cause so many of your projects to fail.
“Jesus,” Katelyn continued, “I can’t believe that you would deny my best student. What is wrong with you? The original idea for the program came from July, and now you’ve excluded her from her own project! What the fuck is that all about?”
Nina: “…”
“If she hadn’t disappeared suddenly,” Katelyn roared, “July would be the TV queen now. She was just 18 the year that she disappeared, and there were already several TV stations negotiating to get her on their rosters. She had even received offers to be the television hostess for many game shows, but she refused. And now you dare to deny her?!”
Nina: “…”
Katelyn turned back to Kylie and said, “July, never mind, Nina. What’s your plan next? I’ll help you!”
Seeing how much Katelyn cared about Kylie, Nina suddenly felt very annoyed with David. Everything that she’d done so far had been a result of his council. Therefore, she thought, the tongue lashing should have gone to him and not her.
“Dear Katelyn,” Kylie replied, “I’m an actress now, and I’m living my life on my own terms, and for no one but myself. That being said, I have a lot of respect for you, and I really appreciate your kindness, support, and approval. It has been too long since we last saw each other, and I’ve really missed you.”
Katelyn stepped forward then and embraced Kylie. “Whatever you do, and wherever you go,” she whispered into Kylie’s ear, “you will always have my love and support, and you will always be in my heart.”
Kylie embraced Katelyn back firmly and said, “I will miss you a lot, once I’ve gone again.”
“Me too,” Katelyn replied.
When Katelyn found out that Kylie was the one who had saved her mother’s life, she treated Kylie even better than ever, and they chatted away happily, as though Nina wasn’t even there.
Two hours later, Kylie asked to leave, and Katelyn walked her, Lucas, and Faith, to the elevator, and she stood with them until the elevator arrived.
After that, she intended to return to her mother but, as the elevator was about to open, someone stopped them. It was from Nina. “Kylie Finch,” she cried, “for my mother’s sake, let’s talk.”
Chapter 158: You Caught Me
Katelyn rolled her eyes but said nothing.
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 assent. “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 hashing 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…”
Ethan 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. Ethan 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. “Hello,” 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.”
“Fuck 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 assistant 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.
Chapter 159: You Are A Scoundrel
Nina looked David straight in the face and said, “If you don’t know what I’m talking about when I say that you’ve betrayed my trust, I will explain it to you: You sabotaged Kylie’s career. On the one hand, you fed me misinformation about her. On the other hand, you gave her the wrong times for the meetings so that she would appear unprofessional and untrustworthy. I cannot have someone like you on my payroll.
“Furthermore,” Nina continued, “it came to my attention that Kylie’s assistant’s purse was stolen. Since the real you has been exposed, I suspect that you set that up as well!”
Hearing this, David’s jaw nearly hit the floor.
Nina quickly answered, “If I had known the truth about Kylie from the start, she would have been my first choice for a lead. Now that I do know, it is a no-brainer to go with her, and to pay her to double my initial offer!”
“You are a scoundrel!” David shouted as he hammered his fist against the table. “Even if everything you say is true – which it isn’t – Khloe is still a better actress than Kylie will ever be!”
“My decision is final,” Nina said smugly. “You are dismissed.”
With that said, Nina picked up Khloe’s coffee-soaked contract and dumped it into the trash can. Turning to her assistant, she asked him, “Has she arrived?”
“Yes,” he replied.
Khloe grit her teeth then, as Kylie entered the room and took a seat across from her. According to her father, even if Kylie came back to work on the project, at the moment, she should have been on her way to Seattle.
Aiden looked up and smiled when he saw Kylie, but David and Laurence were clearly displeased.
Nina met each of their eyes, one at a time. Then, when she was certain that she had their attention, she said, “After serious consideration, not only will Kylie be the star of season one, but I have asked her to return as the guest of honor in season two.”
Nina looked at Laurence and said, “I trust that you approve.”
Suddenly, Khloe stood up and ran at Kylie with her fingers spread out like claws. “Kylie Finch,” she bellowed as she went for her eyes, “you are a fucking bitch! You couldn’t snatch Aiden from me, so you’ve stolen my job instead! You’re shameless!”
Khloe tried to claw at Kylie’s face, but Kylie brushed her off easily. Laughing, she said, “Stop it. You are humiliating yourself. I have no interest in Aiden, and this job was never yours. You tried out for the part, but you didn’t get it. That is the way things go in this business. If you want to make it, you’ll need to grow some thicker skin!”
Across from them, Nina smiled, and then she began to clap. “Well played,” she complimented Kylie. “It is nice to see what you are made of finally. There is nothing that I respect more than a strong independent woman!”
When Laurence heard this, he frowned and said, “I thought I told you that I wanted Khloe to be the star…”
Aiden suddenly stood up and addressed them all: “Perhaps as a compromise, Khloe could be allowed to perform, only not as a star. Later though, if she outdoes Kylie, then it would only be fair to shift the focus from Kylie and back on to her. What do you think?”
Nina smiled at Kylie and said, “I will leave the decision up to you. Khloe has done you a disservice, so it would be reasonable to have her thrown off the set right now, which I could do. If you are willing to let bygones be bygones though, and accept the terms of Aiden’s proposition then I will accept your decision.”
“Thank you,” Kylie replied. “I appreciate what you are doing here for me, but I think that I’ll need to think about it.”
Nina: “It is not a problem, but don’t take too long. We need to start shooting soon.”
Later that night, Kylie received a phone call from David. He said, “Kylie, I am writing to you on behalf of Khloe. I think it would be good if we could come to a resolution as soon as possible. You and Khloe both work for the same company but, more importantly, you are family. Even if Kylie did you wrong, can’t you forgive her? What would it take for you too, as Nina suggested, let bygones be bygones.”
“I don’t know,” Kylie replied. “Khloe has done a lot of bad things. She even tried to claw my eyes out. I will tell you what, though; I have one condition. I would like 10% of Garcia Entertainment to surrender to me.”
“That would be impossible!” David replied. “As you know, your grandfather’s will was clear. Unless you are married, you are not to receive any of the stock. Furthermore, why would you even want to steal your father’s stock away from him? That is insane!”
“If I were to get married now,” Kylie snorted, “I would receive 25% of the stocks. As it is, I only want 10%. Wouldn’t it be easier in the long run, if you met my demands today, rather than to have to hand 25% of the stocks to me eventually?”
After a moment of deliberation, David said, “As soon as I get off the phone, I will talk to your father. I am sure that I can convince him to agree to your terms. I will have the paperwork delivered to you once I am back in Seattle.”
Behind her, David and Faith were listening to the conversation, and they were ecstatic. Hearing Kylie speaks up for herself the way that she had, and they were very proud. Just a couple hours ago, her sister had come at her with her nails extended, intent on a physical confrontation. Not only had she been able to deescalate the situation, but she’d managed to walk away from it with millions of dollars worth of stock.
Chapter 160: She Would Finally Have Her Revenge
In the future, as a part-owner in the company, Kylie would be entitled to a voice in the company. Khloe, though, would be nothing but an employee, subject to the whims of her bosses – one of whom was she. Never again would Khloe have any power over her; it would always be the other way around!
As time went by, Kylie intended to slowly buy up more and more stock until, finally, she had full control of it. She would do it stealthily. Then, when she made the big announcement that she had 51% of the shares, everyone would be completely shocked, and she would finally have her revenge. On that day, with a smile on her face, she would terminate the employment of David, Khloe, and even her father, along with all of their private staff. She wanted to see their reaction when she finally came to that actual event.
The next afternoon, Laurence and Kylie found themselves sharing the same space outside of the studio. Kylie spat her gum into a garbage can and faced her father. “Shit!” she laughed. “I wouldn’t have thought you’d be able to share the same space with me without me making you sick to your stomach. Tell me this, though, Daddy dear, when was it that you began to hate me, or did you always hate me?”
Laurence scowled at her but said nothing. He kicked at the dirt and, finally, it seemed as if he might say something, but then Faith and Lucas emerged from the building with grins on their faces, laughing. A car pulled up, and Kylie turned to her father. “Catch you later, Boogaloo.”
The three of them climbed into the car, and, as they pulled away from the curb, Faith asked her what she and her father had been talking about.
“Nothing much,” she replied. “You know, father-daughter stuff…”
Their morning had been very productive, so Lucas suggested that they go out and celebrate. Faith and Kylie thought it was a great idea, so they set a course for a lobster joint that was just an hour out of town and, on the way there, they chatted about the conversation Kylie had had with David the night before.
“How long have you had this idea in your back pocket?” Faith asked Kylie.
“It has been on my mind for a while,” Kylie replied. “The company has been going downhill for a long time. The people at the top are all morons. The only way for it to recover would be for me to take it out from under their feet and lead us all in a different direction.”
“Now that you have stood up against Khloe though,” Lucas pointed out, “they will have Aiden’s family on their side. You may find that Aiden’s family is a lot more formidable adversary than your own is.”
“Well then, I am happy to have you on my side,” Kylie replied.
Changing the subject slightly, Faith chuckled and said, “Khloe’s such an idiot, especially compared with you.”
When Laurence and his fellows went back to the hotel, Aiden found himself an excuse to go outside so that he could call Khloe. Khloe was busy, though, and only halfway home, so he offered to bring her snacks, and then he let her go.
Once she was back at the hotel, Khloe dressed in black from head to toe. Once she was dressed, she went downstairs and got into a cab that she’d called. Next, she went straight to the nearest pharmacy. She wanted to buy a pregnancy test kit, and she didn’t want to be recognized.
When she got to the till, she threw a hundred dollars at the cashier and rushed out of the store with the test, not bothering to get her to change back, above all, she did not want anyone to know what had happened between her and her cousin.
Once she was back at the hotel again, she went into the bathroom, locked the door behind her, and fixed her eyes on the pregnancy test kit. She took a piss on the stick, waited five minutes, and was relieved to discover that she was not pregnant.
Knowing that she was safe, Khloe crushed the box and flushed it down the toilet along with the test.
Instead of buying snacks for Khloe, Aiden went to a local café and called Kylie. Unfortunately, the call went straight to her answering service.
Faith ordered a bottle of wine that could be shared between the three of them, and they took deep sips from their glasses as they chatted amicably. They had each ordered pasta with shitake mushrooms and baby lobsters. They all thought it was very good, but Faith complained that it was too spicy.
Lucas laughed and explained that, in Hamorna, all of the food was spicy. “You’d better get used to it,” he told her. “If you can’t, though, maybe Kylie could cook for you while we are here. She is actually a very good cook.”
Faith turned to Kylie and asked her if she would teach her how to cook, but Kylie refused to answer her directly. “I once fed Lord Ethan,” she chuckled, “but I was mad at him at the time, so it wasn’t my fault that it made him cry…”
Lucas and Faith both laughed at her story. They were having a very good time, but then Kylie’s phone rang. She looked at the caller ID and saw that it was Aiden. Scowling, she picked up the phone and demanded to know what he wanted.
“Kylie,” Aiden replied, “it’s me! I heard about your conversation with David. If you want to get even more stocks, I can help you!”
Kylie was slightly confused. “Are you hoping to marry me?” she wondered.
Aiden was speechless because Kylie was right, but he had not expected her to discern his plot. “Kylie,” he stammered, “if you cannot have access to your fair share of the stocks, why not marry me? If you want, later, we could get a divorce, but you would still retain your stocks.”