King of Hollywood
Chapter 472 - 192 Thank You?

Chapter 472: Chapter 192 Thank You?

"Enough!" Nicole suddenly stood up, "I invited you here just to discuss how to curb your behavior in as good an atmosphere as possible, but you’ve gone too far now, Adrian! Please leave immediately!"

She pointed toward the door, her voice trembling with emotion, her demeanor agitated. Unfortunately for her, Adrian had long seen through her little ruse. After repeatedly delaying their inevitable meeting, he had resolved to deal with her today.

"Don’t be like this, Nicole," Adrian also stood up, straightening his clothes and looking at her leisurely.

"I’m serious, if..." Nicole said, starting to walk toward the door, but Adrian grabbed her wrist in an instant, pulling her into his arms.

"I said don’t be like this," Adrian lifted her chin, speaking in a frivolous tone.

Nicole’s breathing quickened, a strange light flashed in her eyes. She tried forcefully to push him away, but after only a couple of attempts, Adrian’s words made her stop and tense up.

"You’re conflicted and hesitant. You clearly feel someone’s infatuation with you, you know what they can offer you; what your husband can give and what he cannot. He fills your life with passion and excitement, yet you’re too scared and unwilling to fall into his embrace because—you’re not sure if you can control him! You doubt if he’s just playing with you! He’s more dominant than you think; he never plays by the rules, you’re like a tiny ant in front of him! Even though you’re aware you’re attracted to him, your pride still won’t admit it!"

"Oh, Nicole, look at you now, you’re truly... irresistible," Adrian whispered sweet nothings as he gently kissed her face, "Yes, just like that, the flavor of resistance mixed with invitation—it drives one mad, fills one with desire, makes one eager to possess you."

Nicole writhed, trying to dodge his kisses, but the burning sensation on her cheeks and neck made it hard to resist, and her eyes involuntarily narrowed.

"Please... show me some respect, Ed..." she breathed out, hands still half-pushing, unaware that she had slipped and used a different name.

Although Adrian heard her plea, not only did he not stop, he became even more eager, his hands igniting sparks as they roamed over her body.

"Stop... damn you... Tommy... Tommy will be here any second!" Nicole suddenly blurted out.

As if to punctuate her words, outside the floor-to-ceiling lattice windows, a car slowly drove up; Tom Cruise, casually dressed and wearing sunglasses, got out. However, Adrian showed no sign of stopping; instead, he spun Nicole around and held her from behind, beginning to escalate things.

"Didn’t you hear what I said! Tommy will be in here any moment!" Nicole’s voice grew louder, but anger mixed with an inexplicable thrill.

"So what? It’s not like we haven’t done this before." Adrian chuckled into her ear, Nicole’s breathing became even quicker, obviously recalling the memories of Oscar Night.

"He won’t be able to get in," Adrian continued, as the faint sound of a doorbell rang from outside, "I noticed when you locked the door earlier. Besides, you said your separation had reached the point where you’re dividing houses, not just rooms. Generally, in such a case, he wouldn’t have keys to this house."

"No, you won’t, if you wanted to, you had better chances before," Adrian said with a light chuckle, his hand inside her dress moving further up.

"I told you I know what you’re thinking," Adrian’s playful smile didn’t waver, "Look, take a glance at Tommy below, what does he have that’s worth your lingering?"

His words, as if imbued with magic, made Nicole, hidden behind the curtains, inadvertently peer down through the lattice window. Cruise was pacing back and forth in the front yard, with a phone in hand—it was the call he made after being unable to enter, and his constant circling showed his impatience.

"You... you won’t understand... he actually... he actually..." Nicole’s voice faltered, her gaze fixed on Cruise below, filled with an indescribable excitement, sweat beading on her nose.

"I understand, Tommy has his strengths, at least he’s hardworking in his career. But what about other aspects? Frankly, half of his good image owes credit to his agent, and out of the remaining half, two-thirds owe credit to you. If Kingsley maintains his image in front of fans, you maintain it in front of friends," Adrian whispered close to her ear, his hands never pausing for a moment, "But what have you gained? Yes, you’ve cemented your status in Vanity Fair, but in others’ eyes, you’re just Tom Cruise’s wife, not Nicole Kidman!"

At this point, he revealed an insightful smile, "Think about it, by his side, you can’t even wear high heels!"

"I know you’re hesitating; besides being unsure of my intentions, you’re also tempted by..." Adrian’s voice once again echoed in her ear, a devilish whisper, "...the prenuptial agreement, aren’t you?"

Nicole couldn’t help but moan, her head shaking subconsciously, unsure whether it was because he had struck a nerve or because she didn’t want to admit it.

"Oh, how should I put it, Nicole, you adorable little fool. Alright, maybe after this you still can control Tommy, but do you really think there are no smart people around him? Besides, why think you can’t earn that money on your own? I know and believe that you’re fully capable; all you need is the opportunity, and I can give that to you! Why overthink, why scheme so much? You know how much I’m obsessed with you, you know how much I want you, so why not give yourself to me? Completely surrender to me, you don’t need to worry or be afraid; you will build your own career, and when that time comes, if you want to leave, I won’t stop you. Come on, Nicole, give yourself to me," Adrian urged near her ear, not giving a moment for her to think.

"Answer the phone." Adrian’s voice reached my ears, and as I glanced down at the window, Cruise was still on the call; I immediately understood what was happening.

"Tommy... I’m sorry, I’m at someone else’s place... Suddenly, it feels like there’s nothing to say... So... cough... I apologize... If... If that’s what you want to think... then fine by me..."

"Come on!" She turned around and embraced Adrian with a longing tone, just like the first time on the set of ’Eyes Wide Shut’.

The exclusive revelry of the two of them thus commenced, and they entwined violently in the room, especially Nicole, seemingly to release months of unsatisfied desire. Finally, as dusk turned to darkness, the man and woman lay limp on the bed, motionless.

"You’re truly irresistible, dear Nicole, sorry I can’t think of a better word, but this afternoon was one of the most memorable for me." After a moment of tenderness, Adrian said, cradling the lady’s torso.

"Isn’t this what you wanted to see?" Nicole’s voice was lazy, then she nudged him with her foot, "Alright, you should be going back now, shouldn’t you?"

"What? Can’t I stay?" Adrian asked somewhat surprised.

"A little time would be nice; besides, you’ve just played with a married woman, in front of her husband—though unseen—shouldn’t you feel a bit ashamed?" Nicole said with a hint of mockery, sitting up to get dressed, clearly agitated by Adrian’s words; a past version of her would never have spoken like that.

"Alright, I’ll go find a Church Court and pour my heart out in the confessional," Adrian shrugged, also getting dressed.

"By the way," Nicole’s voice chimed in as he finished putting on his pants, "This was just a transaction, right?"

Adrian turned around, Nicole was looking at him expressionless, which slightly irked him. Among the women he knew, there were a few tough talkers like Kate or Charlize, and so on, but she was the first to make such a pretense after clearly making a choice.

He quickly controlled his emotions, giving Nicole an enigmatic smile. Such a clever woman, recovering so quickly, but trying to get me angry with just this?... Not possible, and furthermore...

"Fine, if you must think of it that way..." Adrian took off his coat, pulled his wallet out of his shirt pocket, took out a one US Dollar bill, waved it, folded it, and tucked it into her bra.

Nicole was stunned at first, then realized what was happening, her face becoming extremely unsightly, chest heaving violently, eyes glaring at Adrian as if about to spew fire. But she quickly understood that she had asked for it, having provoked, Adrian could retaliate.

"Very well," Nicole pulled out the US Dollar from her bra, flattened it, and placed it on the nightstand, gritting her teeth as she said "Thanks!"

No sooner had she spoken than she realized her mistake, but it was already too late to take it back, and Adrian burst into hearty laughter.

Christmas arrived as scheduled, and even in snowless Los Angeles, Christmas trees of all sizes could be seen everywhere, and the festive atmosphere was especially intense. All the stores had started further discount and promotional activities, attracting hordes of customers in aggressive shopping battles. One must never underestimate the combat power of Americans in this regard; in fact, common people around the world, or housewives facing this situation, would charge in, carving a bloody path to snatch up bargains - it’s the only thing they’d do.

For Adrian, this was truly a fine holiday. Not only had he made good progress with the beautiful wife he couldn’t stop thinking about, engaging in a unique and thrilling clash, but he had further confused her thoughts. Every time he thought of her even uglier expression after she said "Thanks!" as if she really saw him as a regular benefactor, he couldn’t help but want to burst into laughter.

"You’re never going to escape my palm, Nicole," Adrian murmured leisurely, weighing whether or not he should continue this behavior.

The news of Nicole and Cruise’s potential divorce started circulating after Christmas Eve, and neither Nicole nor Cruise had responded to the news, but confirmation seemed just a matter of time. The news of their separation had already been the talk of the town, and there was no way the media would miss this drama.

The movies perfect for Nicole were already prepared, or rather, the scripts were ready, though production might take some time. Nonetheless, she did need some time to sort out her own matters and wasn’t in a hurry, was she?

So, the focus shifted to the Christmas season movies. Both "A Time to Kill" and "Armageddon" had achieved good box office results, especially "Armageddon", which had so far surpassed the 100 million US Dollar mark in North America, while "A Time to Kill" was still gunning for that target. However, when factoring in costs, "A Time to Kill" was proving to be more profitable.

But movie profits aren’t based solely on box office returns; there are also VHS, DVD sales, and merchandise. That’s why many movies with unimpressive box office performance can afford to release sequels one after another - because the sales of VHS and DVDs are strong. As for merchandising, generally, there’s not much for regular movies, but it’s a different story for animated films.

Pixar’s "A Bug’s Life" was released during the Christmas season too, and needless to say, labeled as suitable for all ages, how could Pixar’s animations disappoint? Even so, despite having been released a few days earlier than "Armageddon", by Christmas, its box office was at least 20 million US Dollars less, but when considering costs, "A Bug’s Life" was far more likely to break even at the box office than "Armageddon".

Moreover, the merchandising value of animated movies far surpasses that of live-action films. "Toy Story’s" merchandise alone has created at least a value of 500 million US Dollars to date. You can imagine. Moreover, this was under the distribution capabilities of AC Media; had it been Disney, doubling that is entirely possible, and everyone at Pixar praised Adrian for the brilliant idea of taking back the merchandising rights from Disney.

"Thank you for your praise; I hope you can keep this up, continue to work hard, and create more outstanding works." Adrian said this at a party held inside Pixar, not entirely at ease.

Compared with Pixar of the same period in his memory, the one under his control undoubtedly had more sufficient funds, though most went to the parent company, the amount they received was still considerable. If not for being busy with the production of "Toy Story 2", the company would have moved elsewhere long ago, so Adrian was somewhat worried they might get carried away by their victories, which would be problematic. However, Camor wasn’t worried.

"Please trust us, just as you believed we could produce excellent animations," Camor replied upon learning of his concerns. As the CEO in full charge of Pixar, he naturally had more authority to speak.

Adrian quickly expressed understanding. He was just a bit concerned, after all, since Pixar’s work culture was unique in the industry, and this unique culture was precisely why it produced so many classic animated films. Some ideas, even if given to other studios, couldn’t achieve the same excellence.

The big success of Pixar’s animations also stimulated their other studio, Blue Sky Studio, which had been acquired by AC Media not long ago. It was only after Adrian repeatedly assured them they wouldn’t be folded into Pixar and promised to support their new animation production that Chris Wicki and his team were finally reassured. Seeing another movie from Pixar under the same parent company sell well, the folks at Blue Sky were bound to be envious if not, that would be strange. (To be continued. If you like this work, please visit qidian.com to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets, your support is my greatest motivation.)