Once Kylie was alone, she called Ethan and asked him if Khloe had enough money to buy out all of the shareholders at an inflated rate. Ethan explained that she didn't. Even with Alice's assets attached to her own, their total worth was under five hundred thousand dollars.

He said, "I cannot imagine how she hopes to come up with enough money. Of course, she could sell their home, but where would they live if she did?"

​​

"Do you still have my back? I mean, if things went worse, will you still be giving your support to me?" Kylie wondered.

"Of course I do. I am your husband, and all I wanted is to make you happy," Ethan replied.

Kylie smiled and said, "That is good. Between you and me, I have no doubt in my mind that we can't get the best of Laurence and Khloe! I really wanted to take back everything that belongs to me,"

Ethan sighed and said, "Honey, just relax. We can defeat them. I will be your strength and will give you the best things you deserve. Hey, I have a lot of things to settle down here. See you later on,"

"Okay. Ethan, thank you so much for assuring me that you'll never turn your back on me,"

"Of course! I love you. Bye!"

As Ethan hung up, he turned to Nate and said, "I need you to keep a very close eye on the stock market and do everything in your power to drive the stocks for Garcia Entertainment into the ground."

"Yes, sir," Nate replied as he rotated his key ring on his finger. He smiled and stood up. As he was leaving, he turned back and said, "What about you and Kylie..."

Ethan scowled and said, "Get out. You have a job to do."

Nate hung his head low as he exited Ethan's office. The elevator opened as he arrived but, before he got on, he looked up to find Matthew standing beside him. He glanced at Nate, scowled, and strode back in the direction of Ethan's office. Much to his dismay, Matthew followed him. "Hey," he called, "Wait up!"

Ethan was opening a document when he heard two people quarreling outside of his office. He stopped what he was doing and tried to discern who was fighting. After a moment, he recognized the voices of Matthew and Nate. It seemed that Matthew wanted to get into his office, but Nate was refusing him admission, as he had been instructed to do.

"I need to see him," Matthew persisted. "It is important."

"I am sorry," Nate replied. "Ethan was clear that he didn't want any visitors."

"If he knew why I was here," Matthew hissed, "he would want you to let me in. At the very least, would you let him know that I am here and that I have something important to discuss with him?"

"I am sorry," Nate replied, "but when Ethan says that he wants to be left alone, he doesn't even want to see me. Do you understand? Can't you just give him a phone call or send him an email?"

Matthew sighed, and for a second, Nate thought that he'd accepted defeat. He realized that he was wrong when he pushed him aside, lunged for the door, and opened it a crack. Matthew moved quickly to pull the door closed, but Matthew had been able to shove his foot in between the floor and the door to keep it open.

Ethan looked up and met Matthew's eyes with his own. He chuckled and called out to Nate: "You may as well let him in."

Matthew straightened his clothes as he walked into Ethan's office. "If you really want to keep people out," he chuckled, "you should lock the door."

"I will consider your advice in the future," Laurence replied as pointed to the chair under the window. "Have a seat. Let's hear what is so important."

Mathew sat down and said, "It will be old Parker's 80th birthday in a few days. Do you have any idea of how we should celebrate?"

Ethan ignored the question and asked one of his own: "Seeing how this office was yours once upon a time, it must feel strange to be in it and to see it redecorated to my tastes."

"I like it," Matthew lied. "This isn't uncomfortable for me at all."

Ethan looked at Matthew and said, "I heard that Aiden wants to hold his wedding at the same time as his father's birthday. Is that true? I don't think that I would want to share my marriage ceremony with someone's birthday. But if this is only a few days away, shouldn't these details have been dealt with by now?"

"We procrastinated," Matthew admitted. "Maybe it would be best to keep the two events separate. Do you have any ideas for the birthday party?"

"You know him much better than I do," Ethan said. "Think of some of the things that he likes to do and arrange the party around at least one of them. You might want to have a theme, maybe: EIGHTY YEARS YOUNG!

"Easier said than done," Matthew sighed as he pulled a cigarette from his pocket. He looked at Ethan and asked him if he minded him smoking. "Go ahead," Ethan replied.

Matthew lit the cigarette, took a deep drag on it, and said: "I know that it falls on the eldest son to pay for everything, but business is not going very well at the moment…"

Ethan waved his hand and said, "Never mind. You don't need to beg. I will help. Consider it my gift to the old man. I will send an e-transfer of half a million dollars into your account as soon as possible."

Matthew was shocked when he heard the amount of money that Ethan had agreed to send. Finally, he said, "I suppose I should get going. You should know that I've arranged for someone to do a field survey for the coastal development project that you are responsible for. If the geology is consistent with our original estimates, then I will definitely support it."