That evening at Platinum Entertainment Headquarters...
...
After a lovely time with Theo at the meadows, Lisa arrived at Platinum Entertainment Headquarters for training.
4 hours later...
...
Lisa had been singing and dancing for 4 hours straight. Now she was exhausted. She tried the complex choreography again. She was a little late on the finger gun and sharp shoulder dance moves.
Kevin's sharp eyes caught her.
"Stop! You're late. Take it from the top again.", he said.
"Haa... haa... Really?... I need a break... haa...", Lisa answered with a pant, bending over from exhaustion. She wiped the sweat off her forehead with her wrist sweatband.
Kevin's red eyes bored through her.
"Not until you nail the move. Again!", he strictly commanded.
"What?! I'm tired. I've been singing and dancing for 4 hours straight! I want a break now. I already had a rough day.", Lisa looked p**sed.
Kevin smirked.
He walked toward her, his eyes still boring holes through her hip-hop dance clothes.
"Little girl, perfection isn't reached by taking silly breaks whenever you want.", he said, now face-to-face with her.
Lisa had had enough.
"F*vk this! I'm leaving!", she said to his face, then she turned 180° to walk away.
Kevin swiftly grabbed her wrist and pulled, spinning her right into his arms and up against his huge, ripped body. His tall, handsome frame towered over her. His fiery eyes burned into her green ones.
He whispered, burning her right ear and neck regions.
"Don't play with me little girl. I'm trying to make you the best. You should be grateful, not rebellious. I'll give you some motivation...", he said, right before he placed a hot kiss on the right side of her neck!
Lisa's eyes darkened.
"I hope that keeps you alert-", he added.
Crack!
Lisa suddenly kicked his balls midspeech!
She turned to leave, flipping her hair as Kevin's knees hit the ground from excruciating pain.
...
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...
That Night at Lisa's home...
...
Lisa told her mom, Mrs Hatton about her latest findings on James and the Willow family.
Mrs Hatton's face held a grim expression.
"So its true then... Unbelievable. I always suspected it, but I had no proof. Then again, I didn't want to make trouble for you kids. The engagement was a sacred agreement between your father and Mr Willow before his death. I couldn't possibly break that for no real reason, so I just decided to let it go... To think James' father, Mr Willow could have betrayed his best friend like that...", she murmured in deep thought, still baffled by Lisa's finding.
"How did you find out, sweetie?", she asked Lisa.
"An anonymous tip...", Lisa informed with a sad expression.
"I can't believe I was gonna marry the devil! How did I not see it? He will regret this. They all will.", she added.
Mrs Hatton pondered deeper on the big reveal in a silent moment.
"Hmm... Well, whoever sent you that tip must really be looking out for you, Lisa. Things like this are usually well covered up... Do you have any idea who could have sent the tip?", she asked Lisa. Her bright eyes sparkled with curiousity under the golden light.
"Uhh... Well, I suspected Theo at first, but he didn't have my phone number until today and he didn't seem to have a clue about this when I talked to him about it. Also, it takes extraordinary power and influence to access such a deeply buried company secret. I just don't think Theo's direct family is that powerful... He's only a distant relative of the Hughes. His own parents are regular middle-class men... It can't be him.", Lisa concluded ignorantly.
Mrs Hatton had been watching Lisa with a silly smile as she spoke about Theo.
She moved closer to Lisa who was sitting in the kitchen chair at the centre table. She bent over, and came to a resting position, leaning with her right elbow on the centre table and her palm supporting her chin. Like that, she stared into Lisa's leveled eyes, teasing her with a smile.
"...Mmmhhmm... So, Theo huh?... Mmm...You told him about the tip before me... Aaand you gave him your number huh?... Interesting...", she teased, raising her eyebrows twice on the last word.
"Mom!!", Lisa exclaimed, immediately turning beet red.
Mrs Hatton giggled.
"So uhh... Is he hot?", she added with a playful wink!
"Ugh! C'mon!... I'm being serious here, mom!", Lisa complained, with her hands cupping her cheeks in embarrassment.
Mrs Hatton chuckled again.
Lisa quickly brushed the topic off.
"...Anyway, what do we do mom? I can't let them get away with this.", she added, referring to the unforgivable Willows.
Mrs Hatton sighed. She reluctantly returned focus to the Willow family.
"Lisa, we must approach this matter carefully. You're on the rise right now and our business is booming. Greater things will come. I don't see the point in reckless confrontation. Right now, they are more powerful, so it's better to avoid any trouble with them so they don't ruin what we have now...", she advised.
She placed 2 caring fingers under Lisa's sulking chin, raising her dropped head.
"...With your contract with Platinum, you already have a better position than James in the entertainment industry. In just a few weeks, you will outclass the peak of his fame. I see no reason to squabble with insects. Rather, beat them with your success.", she added, lifting Lisa's spirits.
"Thanks mom.", Lisa expressed her gratitude with a cheerful smile.
...
"...Now let's talk about lighter matters. Like Theo, for instance... He's the new guy you're tutoring right? He seems special...", Mrs Hatton resumed her tease.
Lisa facepalmed.
"Mom! C'mon. There's nothing special about him.", she screamed, getting more embarrassed.
Mrs Hatton giggled again.
"You're being dodgy so now I know we have to talk about him.", she said, poking Lisa playfully.
Lisa turned into a tomato! Shecovered her face with both hands.
Mrs Hatton burst into full laughter.
"Haha... Lisa! Look at you! The mere mention of his name turns you into a tomato! Hahaha!...
Sooo... When will I get to meet this new, unspecial friend of yours?", Mrs Hatton's teasing hit gear 5.
Lisa couldn't take it any longer.
"Never!" She screamed at her mom before running off to her bedroom up the stairs.
...
***********************
...
That night in her bath tub, Lisa thought about her conversation with her mom, especially the part about Theo.
"Hai... Mom can be so dramatic sometimes. She thinks I like Theo... I so do not... haha.", she said, turning beet red in the hot water and laughing unnaturally. She was in denial.
"I mean he's hot... Yes, really, really flaming hot but... I couldn't possibly like him could I?...", she asked herself.
"Uhh... I feel hot thinking about him right now, but that's probably just heat from the steam of this bath right?"
Lisa's heartbeat quickened.
"Uhh... but this heat is definitely too hot for this bath... haha... and I do become a brainless tomato whenever he's around... but only because of those... amazing eyes of his that just completely suck you in... and that p-perfect body...", shameless Lisa struggled with an upcoming nosebleed.
'Ah! Don't think of the body! Don't think of the body!', Lisa's mind blared alarms.
She quickly tried divert her focus to something else.
"I- I'll just focus on something else.", she said trying to think of something else, anything else!
She couldn't. Her mind was stuck on Theo.
"Huff... I can't think of anything else but him...", Lisa sighed weakly.
She thought about her moments with Theo;
about the broom closet;
about his bodyguard-ing;
about the dating act he helped her with at the restaurant;
about all the times he had protected her and stepped up for her against James;
and then the time at the meadows...
She smiled.
"Hmm...To be honest, I actually enjoy our moments together... And that time at the meadows was just incredible...", she admitted.
She remembered the brief moment on the bonnet of the mustang when their eyes locked. Her eyes sparkled. Her eyelashes fluttered dreamily like a dove's wings. Her glossy lips parted in a dreamy haze.
"...I really wanted to kiss his lips.", she thought with dreamy eyes.", she whispered.
"Oh My Gosh!!! I do like Theo!!!", she finally realised.
...
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********** TKE Q&A **********
Surrealish: Hello, and welcome back to our live show,
Crowd: T! K! E! Q&A!!!! Woooo!!! (Applause!!!!)
Surrealish: Yeah! The studio is on fire tonight because OUR BEAUTIFUL FL HAS JUST MADE A MIND-BLOWING DISCOVERY! SHE IS IN LOVE WITH THEO!!!
Crowd: Woooo!!! Yeah!!! We love you Lisa!!! (Applause!!)
Surrealish: Haha! Well, our question tonight is for both our guests and viewers. Here it is:
HOW DO YOU REACT WHEN YOU FIND OUT YOU'RE IN LOVE?
Uhh Ruby?
Ruby: Well, I flip my hair and it's game on from there. I'm a go- getter (wink)
Crowd: Wooo!!!! (Applause)
Surrealish: Mmm nice. I love people who just go for it.
Theo?
Theo: I used to ignore it. The feeling of love is basically just a chemical reaction in your body. But now that seems to have changed...
Crowd: Awww... (Applause!)
Surrealish: Haha!! Beautiful guys. Now let's see how Lisa handles it.
Goodnight everyone! We'll be back later on
Crowd: T! K! E! Q&A!!!! Woooo!!! (Applause!!!!)
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