[Lakeside Property] Kumar Agreed to Act as the Agent of Melanie

Multiple Choice

[Lakeside Property] Kumar agreed to act as the agent of Melanie in finding a piece of lakeside property for her at a good price, and also in obtaining a loan for her with which to purchase the property. She agreed to pay him $500 for doing so. To assist Kumar in his duties, Melanie disclosed to him confidential information about her finances and debts. Kumar decided that he needed help and paid Rick $300 to look for property for Melanie. Rick told Kumar about a great deal on a piece of lakeside property that Phil had for sale. In fact, the deal was so good that Kumar purchased the property for himself. When Melanie found out about the property Kumar bought for himself, she complained to Kumar. He defended himself on the basis that he was not actually working for Melanie when he found out about the deal. At the time, he was playing golf with Phil. He also told Melanie that he had hired Rick for $300 to assist him and that he could not be held liable because he had turned the job over to Rick. He asked Melanie for reimbursement of the amount he paid Rick. Melanie fired Kumar threatening to sue him. Kumar told Melanie that he would counterclaim for the $300 owed to Rick. After he was fired, Kumar disclosed to a number of parties information regarding Melanie's spending habits which he thought were excessive.
-If Melanie sues Kumar for purchasing the property from Phil instead of offering it to her, which of the following is the most likely result?

A) Melanie will lose because Kumar had the right to act in his own best interest.
B) Melanie will lose but only because Kumar was not involved in work duties when he heard about the property.
C) Melanie will lose because Kumar had validly assigned all duties to Rick.
D) Melanie will win because as the principal, she has right of first refusal.
E) Melanie will win only if she can establish that she expressly told Kumar that he could not assign the contractual duties under the contract.