King of Hollywood
Chapter 483 - 204 Progress

Chapter 483: Chapter 204 Progress

"There are a total of six segments right now because we need to listen to the audience’s feedback at all times, letting them determine some matters of development, and a casting show places more importance on their opinions than a drama series does, so we can’t produce too far in advance. You’ll have to come over at least once a week," Adrian said as he showed someone around the studio.

"Is it necessary to schedule it so tightly?" said the young girl initiating the dialogue before the other person could answer, "All kinds of interviews, all kinds of displays, especially the lifestyle of the models, can pique people’s interest, can’t they?"

Adrian glanced at her then quickly averted his gaze as if she hadn’t caught his attention, still explaining to the middle-aged man beside him, "Every two weeks for an episode would be tight, but the current arrangement is best. Showing every single detail to the audience will only make them lose interest, while a moderate concealment will actually whet their appetite."

"What if something delays us halfway through?" the young girl asked again.

But Adrian still ignored her, continuing to talk to the middle-aged man, "The current panel of judges has expanded to five, and it’s not necessary for all to appear at the same time, of course. If there’s an issue, please notify us in advance, so we can arrange accordingly."

"That goes without saying, right, Innie?" Trump interjected timely to stop his daughter who wanted to speak again.

"Thank you for the explanation, Ed. I will fulfill my responsibilities well," he said with a smile to Adrian, adding, "In fact, I can hardly wait."

"Well then, that’s all," Adrian nodded and checked the time, "I have more to do, so I won’t accompany you any longer. Ed or Max can explain the rest to you. As for other matters, we can talk another time, since you’re not in a rush right now, are you?"

"Of course not," Trump laughed heartily and then gestured with his hand for the other to precede him.

Watching Adrian walking out with his female secretary, Ivanka Trump, who had followed him to Los Angeles, let out a scornful grunt, "I don’t like him!"

Watching the man chatting intimately and amiably with the beautiful secretary as they walked away, she couldn’t help but frown, a trace of an indescribable glint flashing in her eyes.

"Really don’t know why you have such a big hostility towards him," Trump sighed.

"Aren’t the rumors enough, Daddy?" Ivanka retorted, "I bet he’s definitely slept with his secretary."

"Which CEO hasn’t slept with their attractive secretary?" Trump muttered.

"Daddy!" Ivanka’s voice rose immediately.

"I didn’t say anything," Trump quickly clarified, "Okay, even if you don’t like him, could you not make it so obvious on your face, please? That’s basic decorum."

Ivanka opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but then shut it and after a moment said, "I know, I’ll be careful. There won’t be a next time."

But then she turned the conversation around, folding her arms and looking at her father, "You too, Daddy! Don’t forget what you promised me. You know why I came here with you. If you dare to copy that guy, I will be very, very unhappy."

"Alright, Innie, there are no little girls here, plus this is California," Trump laughed heartily, affectionately stroking his daughter’s head.

"Then I’m going back now, as there’s nothing left for me to do here," Ivanka said, reassured that her father hadn’t forgotten.

"Okay, I’ll go back in a while," Trump nodded, watching his daughter leave before preparing to find the two managers mentioned by Adrian to continue inquiring. But after a few steps, he stopped and turned his head, uncertainly looking in the direction Ivanka had left. After thinking it over, he shook his head and took another step forward.

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"Yes, Charli had already shown me the data when I came out from TBS, and I must say, well done, buddy." After returning to the company, Adrian immediately called Claude. Just as he had finished introducing America’s Next Top Model’s final preparations to the Trumps, his harvests in Southeast Asia had made significant progress once again.

"Isn’t it a bit early to pull back now? Even if what you say is correct, I can still prepare early, right?" The voice of Claude came from the other end.

"Is that so?" Adrian’s fingers drummed back and forth on the armrest, knowing full well what Claude was thinking, "Well, if you want to, that’s fine, but remember that our main focus should be on Universal right now. I heard that the French Vivendi Group is also in contact with them, so don’t miss out on the real deal."

"Don’t worry, I’ve got it under control. I’ll only leave a small portion of funds and have already settled matters with my father, your uncle, and Redstone. Even if Vivendi wants to get involved, it will be to no avail." Claude laughed heartily.

Adrian hung up the phone, satisfied. He had great confidence in Claude and was very familiar with the company’s situation. He seemed like a hands-off manager, with many decisions made by Claude, but he rarely missed any meetings he should attend, reviewed the detailed monthly reports, and if there were any uncertainties, his personal financial advisor Regret would point them out. Moreover, with Charlize by his side, her shrewdness ensured the documents needing his review were organized by importance, and with the shares in his hand, he had no worries about losing control of the company.

Glancing at the time, Adrian stood up, changed into casual clothes in the back room, and then walked out again.

"Charli, I have a date tonight, you can go back alone—go to Kate’s. I probably won’t be back tonight, please look after Lily for me," he said to his secretary, then raised an eyebrow, "What’s wrong?"

"Nothing, just curious about who you’re setting your sights on this time," Charlize said, organizing things on the desk with a smile that was not quite a smile, "I know you’re up to no good the moment your right hand’s index and middle fingers start fiddling back and forth."

"That’s truly shocking, do I really appear so disreputable in your eyes?" Adrian sighed exaggeratedly.

"Exactly, that disreputable," Charlize answered without hesitation.

"Alright, I’m in the wrong, shouldn’t have asked. I could guess your response with my knees," Adrian shrugged helplessly and lifted his legs to walk out.

"Which one?" Charlize asked from behind, "The one from this afternoon, the one from the day before yesterday, or the one from a few days ago?"

Adrian turned around in astonishment, but Charlize spread her hands leisurely, "I have to arrange your schedule, Ed, so it’s important for me to know who will be on the list. I am a responsible secretary after all."

He chuckled softly, then pursed his lips and pondered for a moment before giving an answer, "Guess."

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When the doorbell rang, Naomi, who had prepared herself and rehearsed several times in her mind, was still startled. After all, they had only interacted twice, and she wasn’t sure of Adrian’s preferences, but she was certain that he was a gentle and amiable man, so...

Calming her nerves, Naomi opened the door to find Adrian outside, dressed casually with a touch of unruliness adding to his charm.

"Hi, Ed, you’re punctual," she said with a smile, stepping aside to make a welcoming gesture, her nervousness before now replaced with ease after seeing him.

"Punctuality is a virtue for a man," Adrian came in, then brought out a gift from behind his back, a fiery red rose.

"This is..." Naomi’s eyes flashed with indescribable joy. The rose still had its thorns, so its stem was wrapped in something, obviously, it had been freshly picked.

"I was in a rush coming from the office, didn’t have a gift for you. Luckily, someone’s yard nearby had roses, so I secretly..." Adrian explained with a smile, while dusting off his hands, a slight dark stain was still visible on his thumb, clearly telling the truth.

"Thank you, I... I really like your gift." Naomi said excitedly, the feeling in her heart was indescribable. Stealing roses from someone else’s garden to give to her was something that would have happened many years ago.

She quickly found a somewhat old small vase, cleaned it out, filled it with water, and placed the rose on the windowsill.

"You really have a way with romance, Ed." After calming her emotions, she served Adrian a coffee, Naomi said with an increasingly gentle smile on her face.

"Facing such a beautiful woman as yourself, even a fool would know what to do," Adrian said with a light laugh.

After chatting for a bit, Naomi busied herself in the kitchen. Her culinary skills weren’t particularly good, and she was still quite strapped for cash—she had declined Adrian’s financial help, not wanting to owe more before the rent was paid off. It was a matter of pride, and besides, don’t forget what she had said to herself in the mirror that night.

Still, having cooked for herself for many years, she had a couple of specialties, and she had some cash on hand. If she spent it all, she could buy some cheap ingredients.

"The flavor is great, this soup is surely of a first-rate chef’s quality. I didn’t expect to taste such delicious soup; if it wasn’t for you being here, I might even lick the plate clean," Adrian praised unceasingly, causing Naomi’s smile to grow. No woman dislikes being complimented on her cooking skills.

After enjoying dinner, she quickly gathered the dishes into the kitchen. Surprisingly, Adrian followed her in to help.

"I may not be able to cook, but I have no problem cleaning up. I’ve never done it at home before, but is such a little thing really something that needs training?" he said while loading the dishes into the dishwasher. Then a plate provided a good annotation to his statement—it slipped from his hands, caused a bit of commotion, and bounced several times towards the floor. If Naomi hadn’t caught it quickly, it surely would have shattered with a crash.

"Okay, a little accident, that’s normal," Adrian coughed to cover his embarrassment.

"I should do it," Naomi said, trying to suppress her laughter.

"No need, I was just careless for a moment. It won’t happen again."

"But I can’t afford that, this is the only set of dishes I have. If they get broken by accident, I’ll have to eat takeout from now on."

"Are you saying I can only cause you trouble and make you more unlucky?"

"You said that, not me. I just want to prevent the worst-case scenario."

"Come on, that’s what you mean, there’s no denying it."

Joking words drifted from the kitchen, reminiscent of a playful banter between a young couple, conveying a cozy feeling.

Fortunately, that damn antique dishwasher didn’t break down. With Adrian’s help, Naomi quickly tidied up the kitchen, and they moved back to the living room to chat. They talked about everything, such as childhood memories, and different perspectives on various matters. Adrian always knew how to make Naomi laugh with joy, her demeanor playfully charming.

Initially, one of them sat on a chair and the other on a sofa. Then, both sat on the sofa, and after that, Naomi leaned against Adrian’s arm.

"Right, you should have read through that screenplay several times by now, right?" Adrian suddenly brought up the new screenplay. "What do you think about it?"

"Um... it’s still about the same as last time, I don’t know what it’s really trying to say," Naomi hesitated before saying.

Adrian noticed her hesitation but didn’t press her further; instead, he took a different angle, "What kind of personality do you think the female lead should have?"

"...Vulnerable, sensitive, even somewhat neurotic, so after a series of blows, she begins to despair and then from despair becomes mad," Naomi’s gaze became somewhat distant.

"Then you’re saying you don’t know what it’s about?" Adrian’s teasing voice sounded at that moment.

Naomi started, then realized he had seen through her thoughts, so she pouted and gave him a resentful look. A moment later, she sighed, "I’ve only made out that part of the plot, where the female lead, because she can’t find success in Hollywood, and her female partner becomes a star through some producer, feels betrayed by her and hires a hitman to kill her, then goes mad... and commits suicide?"

She paused, thought for a few seconds, and then added, "But I don’t know what the rest of it stands for. Aside from that, the whole screenplay is illogical, seemingly composed entirely of fragments, and even the part I described doesn’t necessarily make sense. After all, I don’t know what you’re thinking, Ed."

"Noticing all that is already quite impressive," Adrian said with praise.

"Perhaps because... I resonate with it," Naomi said with a self-deprecating smile.

"Of course, this screenplay was written for you," Adrian suddenly smiled.

"For... for me?" Naomi was immediately stunned.

"Not entirely," Adrian shrugged, "I’ve always wanted to make a movie that defied logic, but there has to be some logic, at least a vessel to carry these fragments, otherwise, the film would be a mess. I couldn’t find the right one until I met you."

"Met... me?" Naomi looked at him bewildered, her heart beginning to pound loudly.

"Do you remember that night we went out shopping in Hollywood, when we reached Mulholland Drive, what you said?" Adrian ran his hand gently over her cheek, his eyes filled with sympathy, "You said that when Mrs. Lawrence threw all your things out, you were completely in despair; at that moment, you even thought of driving to the end of Mulholland Drive and over the cliff. I kept wondering, what kind of despair is it that would drive someone to confront it by ending their Life, and how many people in Hollywood, this DreamWorks, have the same thought? So I included it in the screenplay, made up a Hollywood story, added that despair and madness, using that emotion to carry the logical fragments, so the screenplay is named ’Mulholland Drive.’ Do you understand?"

His words struck at Naomi’s heart like a hammer, hitting her over and over again. She might not yet grasp the whole meaning of the screenplay, but the fact that a complete script existed because of her ordeal was undeniable, a fact that Adrian conveyed without missing a word. The events of that day came flooding back into her mind, and in just a moment, her eyes became uncontrollable red.

"I’m sorry, I need to leave..." Naomi covered her mouth, about to stand up when suddenly a force from her shoulder pulled her into Adrian’s embrace.

"It’s okay, I understand how you feel," he held her in his arms, gently patting her back.

Naomi struggled symbolically a couple of times then stopped moving entirely, burying her head in Adrian’s chest and taking deep breaths, her body trembling slightly. After a long while, she lifted her head. Though the tears had stopped, the rims of her eyes were very red, and her cheeks bore a look of intense sorrow.

"I’m sorry, I just... I just..." She sniffled, trying to explain.

"I told you, it’s okay," Adrian said, cradling her face and gently caressing it, still with that warm, affectionate gaze, his voice filled with a calming strength, "Everything is in the past now, you’re a strong girl, Nami, things are changing, and you will have your own success."

To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.