King of Hollywood
Chapter 460 - 181: Finally Going Back

Chapter 460: Chapter 181: Finally Going Back

As the fourth installment of the love pentology forcibly pieced together by Adrian, "The Runaway Bride" was somewhat mediocre. It lacked the stunning impact of "Pretty Woman," the British humor and character reversal of "Four Weddings and a Funeral," as well as the interesting and distinct theme of "My Best Friend’s Wedding." However, due to timing, it served well as a bridge in the series.

The movie’s story wasn’t very original. It would have been considered mediocre whether it was released ten years earlier or ten years later. Most box-office successes are closely related to the social environment; it doesn’t mean that a script released years earlier would be guaranteed to win the audience’s love, which is why Adrian put a lot of thought into the screenplay.

Nonetheless, the main draw of the film was still Julia. Like in her past life, she became one of America’s favorite actresses through a series of romantic comedy movies and possessed significant commercial value. The impressive box office of "The Runaway Bride" was the best interpretation of this. Therefore, Adrian did not change the production time and casting of this movie, except for some minor details in the script and one notable change: the male lead was now George Clooney instead of Richard Gere.

Adrian didn’t like Richard Gere, who could occasionally be indiscreet with his words. Even though this meant losing the gimmick of several years apart before collaborating again, the inclusion of George Clooney, who was riding high on the success of "ER," was a viable compensation. Moreover, Adrian’s publicity tools were nearly taking shape.

The film was half-shot by now. Calculating the time, if all went well, a summer release next year should be feasible. Then, the fifth installment of the series would follow, plus whichever script was being written. At the moment, there were no similar genre films in Hollywood. Once it’s done, like "The Matrix," boosting its popularity, Adrian could comfortably await the arrival of the year 2000.

He chose not to advance the schedule because Adrian had other plans.

By revealing parts of his plan and combining it with a physical approach, Adrian effortlessly alleviated Julia’s anxiety. In fact, the real issue to resolve was quite simple: Julia was just worried that Adrian did not feel the same about her anymore, which in other words, meant she was falling out of favor. She was one of the first women conquered by Adrian, with no shortage of jealousy and threesomes with other women. Moreover, she had emerged from her low point and was heading towards the 20 million club, as Adrian had put it.

Thus, when Julia saw the growing number of women around Adrian and understood his lecherous nature, she gradually developed such thoughts. It would have been easier to manage before, but during this period, because Adrian had been in the United Kingdom shooting films with Gwyneth and Blanchett, and tangled up with Sophie and Nicole—even though no one believed the tabloid reports and there was no concrete evidence of a relationship between Adrian and Nicole Kidman. Yet, from what Julia knew of him, it was impossible for there to be no issues between them.

So, things she had been suppressing and ignoring started bubbling up from within, and after Adrian returned to Los Angeles and took several days to ask her out, she inevitably became somewhat petty. However, after being tossed into bed and ravaged by Adrian, followed by sweet talk and promises, those thoughts quickly dissipated.

It’s interesting, this kind of thinking. Typically, if a man wants to maintain relationships with several women, he would be somewhat at a disadvantage, especially in front of informed women. Of course, this is a problem for average people, but even among the wealthy, only a few could achieve what Adrian had. It was a combination of power, wealth, ability, and eloquence. When you surpass a woman in all aspects, and keep her from ever catching up, while she relies on you, regardless of her individuality, being conquered is just a matter of time.

Most women around Adrian were like that: Zetajones, Kirsten, Blanchett, Gwyneth, and even Sophie, Monica, Sarah, Liv—all to varying degrees.

Of course, there were also women who only seemed complacent on the surface, but in reality, cared about other things.

"Hey, little one, behave and eat this, or I won’t be gentle," Adrian threatened with a spoonful of tomatoes in front of Lily.

Sadly, his daughter, whose face was smeared with various foods, wasn’t afraid at all. She giggled, clamped her mouth shut, and shook her head, a "you can’t do anything to me" look on her face. She had already experienced all her father’s tricks.

"I’ll do it," said Kate, watching from the side, shaking her head and taking the spoon from Adrian’s hand. She raised an eyebrow at the little one, "Don’t make me do it myself, Lily!"

Lily stuck out her tongue, putting on a "wronged" expression, looking at her father as if seeking help. Unfortunately, Adrian just watched her with a grin, saying nothing more. The little one reluctantly opened her mouth to eat the tomato from her mother’s spoon and even scrunched up her features as if in great pain.

"Look what you’ve made her into," Kate chided Adrian as she wiped the little one’s cheeks with a tissue.

"But Lily loves it, doesn’t she?" Adrian said with a shrug, then looked at his daughter with a beaming smile. "Right, Lily?"

Although she didn’t understand what Daddy was talking about, it seemed very impressive, so Lily quickly nodded like a pecking chicken and let out a loud "Mhm!"

Kate glared at Adrian and then at their daughter but didn’t say anything else.

"I think you’re more like a mother," Kate said to Adrian after they had dinner and tucked their daughter into bed. "You spoil her too much, Ed."

"What’s wrong with that? If a father is like a mother, then the mother will naturally be like the father, right?" Adrian laughed as he embraced her from behind. "We complement each other, don’t we?"

"But..." Kate hesitated, but before she could speak, Adrian interrupted her. "Alright, alright, Lily still loves you very much, doesn’t she? You’re a capable mother, Kate."

Kate’s cheeks flushed, then a flash of annoyance crossed her face, and she changed the subject. "I heard that the post-production supervisor of ’A Time to Kill’ is complaining about your arrangements?"

"I just requested that they try to release it during the Christmas-New Year period. The promotional work is all ready; even the first trailer has been aired. Unless there are forces beyond control, if they dare to delay it, I won’t let them get away with it," Adrian declared confidently.

"Why does it have to be released at the end of the year?" Kate asked curiously. "If the movie is good enough, wouldn’t it be fine to release it later next year?"

"Foolish girl, I’m doing all this for you," Adrian said affectionately as he stroked her head.

"For me?"

"Of course. You haven’t had any works for over two years and haven’t appeared in any media. You must know, in Hollywood, the rate of change is very fast. If this drags on, maybe no one will remember you."

"So what? Even if there are those who are completely unknown, you can make them famous, can’t you?" Kate said, her tone tinged with a hint of sarcasm.

"But you’re different," Adrian kissed gently on her head, inhaling the fragrance of her hair. "I can arrange things for others carelessly, but not for you. I have to consider many things for you."

It was true, the films selected for Kate not only had to boost her popularity but also had to sharpen her acting skills, balancing both commercial success and artistic integrity. At least for now, she didn’t have the plethora of choices that other women did.

"It’s really... delightful and gratifying, isn’t it?" Kate turned her head and smiled at Adrian.

Adrian didn’t say a word, just gazed into her eyes. Although Kate tried to maintain her composure, after a few minutes she gave in, turned her head, and attempted to get up and leave. "I’m going to..."

"Why do you always choose to run away, Kate?" Adrian pulled her back into his arms, his tone suggesting he wasn’t planning to continue this way any longer.

"I didn’t..."

"Really?"

"..."

After a long silence, Kate finally let out a long sigh and looked at him with a complex expression, "Because I can’t be sure that your seemingly genuine sweet nothings today won’t fall on another woman tomorrow."

"No, you can be sure," Adrian chuckled softly, looking down at her from above, "You just don’t want to admit it."

"Because you feel that as long as you don’t admit it, you still possess an independent identity; because you think by not admitting it, you’re not a vassal or puppet," without waiting for Kate to speak, he continued, "But is that really the case? Can you deny that you are the mother of my daughter? Can you deny that you’ve always been by my side? Can you deny those beautiful times we had together? Can you deny..."

Adrian grabbed her hand and gently placed it on his chest, looking down deeply into Kate’s eyes.

After a moment, Kate sighed with a bitter smile, "I hate you, Ed..."

Despite her words, she held him tightly, so closely intertwined.

"I’m sorry that I can only give you a small space, some things are already destined, but this place will never be occupied by others, never," Adrian whispered, "So, stop making excuses for yourself."

Kate remained silent but held him even tighter, answering with her actions.

The two of them fell asleep in each other’s arms on the couch, the night devoid of passion, yet filled with the sweetness they once shared; everything seemed so perfect, if only they wouldn’t complain the next day about their numb bodies.

Adrian had demanded that "A Time to Kill" strive for release by the end of this year or the beginning of next, not just because Kate had been out of the public’s eye for too long, but also because the longer the film was delayed, the more uncertain its future. Had Adrian not secured the adaptation rights to the novel early, the film would have been released last year.

As mentioned before, whether a movie becomes highly sought after is closely related to the social environment at the time. One of the biggest selling points of "A Time to Kill" is racial discrimination, a topic that is quite sensitive in the United States; if not handled carefully, it could either score points or lose them. If a potentially successful movie ends up with mediocre box office due to delays, that would be disastrous.

"Although there are other options, wasting them isn’t good either," Adrian reiterated his requirements on the phone before muttering to himself.

He had indeed given much thought to Kate’s arrangements, selecting several films to pave the way for her, not to mention the film adaptation of "Tomb Raider." The character model was created by the studio according to Kate’s image from the start, and the descriptions in the earlier novels also featured Kate’s likeness, perfectly fitting the character aside from body measurements; not that Kate’s figure was lacking.

Besides Kate, he had other people’s movies to consider, like the one who had just walked in.

"You’ve become even more beautiful... hmm?" As Adrian raised an eyebrow, watching the office door being locked, before he could finish his sentence, Kirsten rushed toward him enveloped in a fragrant breeze, leaped into his embrace, hung onto his neck, and passionately kissed his mouth.

After such a lingering embrace, the "little fairy" finally released her lips, trailing a silver thread, and then looked seductively at Adrian, "Oh, I’ve never thought about you this way, Ed."

Although Kirsten was becoming more mature, and with Adrian’s continual development, that youthful taste had completely disappeared, she always maintained an innocent front in the eyes of others. So now, with her eyes half-closed and her red lips slightly parted, full of longing, the contrast was still incredibly tempting. The title "little fairy" would continue to be fitting for her for a long time.

"Me too." Adrian laughed heartily, unapologetically savoring her red lips. He lifted her little bottom up, and Kirsten instinctively wrapped her legs around his waist.

The two kissed again, and after Adrian switched the answering machine on his desk to do not disturb, he promptly pressed Kirsten onto the carpeted floor. Except for their first time, which had taken place at the little fairy’s home, they mostly chose the office for its convenience, and Kirsten could easily make up excuses to be there; plus, there was an additional thrill.

Especially now, with Charlize far away in London, aside from her, practically no one would dare disturb Adrian at this hour, so he could intimately and reassuringly entwine with Kirsten.

"I don’t understand why you have to go to the United Kingdom. Can’t we make the movie here? As a result, I can’t even come to see you." The "little fairy," lying on Adrian’s chest, cooed, her finger tracing circles, sprawled across Adrian who was sitting in the chair, her cheeks still flushed, her expression filled with satisfaction.

Her coat and bra lay discarded on the floor, the buttons of her blouse undone save the last, revealing firm, tender breasts cradled in Adrian’s large hands, their lower bodies joined together without any intention of parting, her panties hung on her right thigh, nearly twisted into a rope.

"British-style films should, of course, be shot in the United Kingdom. Besides, it’s not a bad thing. Being separated for long makes reunions all the more sweet; I really liked how you were just now." Adrian caressed her golden hair, occasionally bending down to plant kisses on her delicate collarbone and pink nipples.

"Do you really like it?" Kirsten giggled, suddenly sitting upright, her hips swaying as she gazed at him, her tongue occasionally darting out to lick the corner of her mouth.

"Still not conceding?" Adrian raised an eyebrow, his hands sliding down to her waist.

"Who says I lost?" Kirsten, with a seductive glance, breathed lightly, looking extremely enticing, her movements quickening. She could feel that thing had regained its vigor. Oh no, it hadn’t softened at all, which only intensified her desire, her seductive gaze growing even more intense.

Even though she had been intimate with Adrian for a while, it had only been a few months since she had given up her virginity. With Adrian’s skilled development, she had acquired a taste for it and having not seen each other for a good while and needing to keep things secretive, naturally her cravings were significant. In this regard, Kate, Sarah, Liv... and how could Kirsten be an exception?

Actually, Kirsten’s primary reason for calling him privately was to discuss a new movie. Despite Adrian’s advice for her to settle for a few years, taking on lower-budget films to hone her acting skills, how could the "little fairy," who had already won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress and had such a powerful backer as Adrian, be patient?

Well, anyway, since "Spider-Man" wouldn’t start filming until next year, he might as well give her that movie. Adrian was indifferent; he had his own plans after all. Although he had intended to give that movie to someone else, he had prepared a lower-budget project for Kirsten. But since the little fairy was in such a rush, it didn’t matter if he gave it to her, when she understood the difference between being a child and growing up in the eyes of critics...

So for now, he’d continue to enjoy himself. Adrian watched Kirsten, already sinking into carnal desires, and with her moaning, he launched an even more vigorous assault.

This was Adrian’s life for the past week, handling different matters while dating different women. In six days, he enjoyed the company of six women with different charms—emperors of old couldn’t have had it better. Hence, even though he was efficient at editing, the post-production of "The Matrix" was still moving at a snail’s pace.

"If it really doesn’t work out, then let’s push it to next summer’s schedule." Estimating that post-production couldn’t be completed by Thanksgiving, Adrian had to make that decision. This wouldn’t be so bad; after all, he had once had a record of releasing three of his movies in a single year. Doing it again was no big deal, especially since it could also promote the other two films.

With that settled, Adrian relaxed and started preparing to return to London. But since he had been with six women in six days, he had to switch it up on the last day too. Besides, he’d only spent one night holding Kate, doing nothing, so he needed to find someone else to make up for that, didn’t he? (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you are welcome to vote and support it at qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation.)