American History 1988
Chapter 165 - 159: The Late Show with David Letterman

Chapter 165: Chapter 159: The Late Show with David Letterman

Because the backstage room was very close to the stage, Dean and his team could clearly hear the band playing in the studio.

"The Late Night Show with David Letterman" was not a personal show of David Letterman, but the result of an entire team’s collaboration.

At the opening, the live band would play cheerful music, and the TV screen would simultaneously switch to the cheering crowd.

Half a minute later, David would take the stage amidst the music and cheers, "Ladies and gentlemen, good evening~ this is The Late Night Show with David Letterman, and I’m David Letterman."

That face with the wide chin, gap-toothed smile, and enthusiastic grin once again appeared clearly on the stage.

"Hi~ Paul. I heard you just celebrated your 40th birthday yesterday, did you have a big party?"

"Of course~" the band’s conductor, the bald Canadian, responded with a laugh, "I enjoyed it, I think I captured the essence of the party."

"So, there were beautiful girls, right?" David asked with an expectant smile on his face.

"Absolutely, they were dazzling~!" the bald man confirmed proudly with a nod of his head.

"But I bet you didn’t even talk to them, because Erin was right beside you! Hahaha~!" A streak of devilish laughter came from David’s mouth.

The audience below the stage also burst into laughter, while the bald man could only smile wryly, shaking his head. Why expose him?

Those who were familiar with the show knew that Erin was Paul’s wife. And the former was a very formidable person, kind of like a tigress.

So, the beautiful girls mentioned by the bald man were definitely not going to appear.

That was David Letterman’s hosting style; he would often interact with his team, teasing them or making fun of himself.

This process, along with the opening monologue, could last a few minutes. During this interval, Dean couldn’t help but glance at Jennifer across from him.

He was curious, he remembered her from her movies. It was Dean’s first time up close with a person from Hollywood, so his gaze inevitably strayed there now and then.

Brad was a busy man; he had been called out the door by the ringing of his Motorola in his arms during the band’s performance.

Now Dean was the only one sitting on the sofa, bored and left to enjoy the scenery.

Seemingly noticing his gaze, Jennifer Connelly, who was still in her youth, curiously sized up Dean.

"Are you the new guy here?" Her voice was not as clear as imagined, but rather deep.

"Me?" Dean was stunned for a moment before realizing she was speaking to him, "Yeah, it’s my first time here."

"You’ll be less nervous once you get used to it. You could take a deep breath or have a cup of coffee. It was the same for me the first time."

She was sharing her own methods of relieving nervousness. Dean, having been left alone by his agent, sitting here all by himself, probably wasn’t shown much regard by the company.

Well, our fallen angel also had a kind heart.

"Thanks~" Dean then deliberately made a deep breathing gesture, "Wow~ I feel so much better now."

Jennifer laughed, and so did Dean.

"Jennifer Connelly"

"Dean Price"

The two shook hands through the air; alright, they had completed their first meeting.

Dean wanted to say more, but the woman by her side—her mother—pulled at Jennifer and then gave Dean a look laden with warning.

Irin thought the new guy opposite was a bad boy definitely aiming for her daughter.

Especially since Jennifer had just appeared in a movie with extensive exposure, now Irin was very sensitive to everything around her daughter.

Dean shrugged helplessly, then smiled at Jennifer before he focused his attention on the presentation in his hands, as if there was something important on it.

"Friends, I don’t know if you’ve been keeping up with the news recently. Up north in California’s Silicon Valley, a young man has emerged to challenge the grand Bell.

Some say he is a Don Quixote charging at windmills, others say he’s a William Wallace fighting for freedom.

Wow~ and their endings don’t seem too great," David Letterman paused his string of patter as if seeking confirmation from the audience, and immediately laughter erupted below.

Dean, having been reminded by the staff and now standing ready backstage, could only smile wryly. Here, everyone could become the subject of teasing.

Jennifer and Irin, however, were somewhat confused; this didn’t seem like the introduction for a new actor.

"OK, so who is this young knight exactly? Let’s welcome the founder of Byte Company, Dean Price!"

The bald Canadian’s band once again played exciting music, and the television camera smoothly switched to the edge of the stage where a tall and slender figure slowly came into view.

Stepping in time with the music, Dean quickly walked toward the host, David.

"Hi, Letterman~"

"Welcome, Dean~!"

The two greeted each other with a friendly handshake, while the audience cooperated with cheers.

With David’s prompting, Dean first turned and greeted the audience below, especially not missing a few hidden camera lenses.

Before coming on stage, Brad had already told him where cameras were placed on the stage.

These gentlemanly details were very likely to win the audience’s favor.

And Dean, in his tailored suit, ignited an even more enthusiastic round of applause from the audience seats the moment he turned around.

Especially the high-pitched screams of the female audience had David Letterman somewhat surprised.

Why? Because Dean’s handsome face made many Hollywood pretty boys pale in comparison.

Are you kidding me? Is this really a company founder, not a rookie actor?

"Wow~" David, feeling a bit jealous and somewhat skeptical, looked towards the audience, "Why have I never enjoyed such treatment?"

"Hahaha~" There were a few laughs from the audience, followed by compensatory screams.

"No!" David waved his hands dismissively, "That makes me look like a poor little thing~! I want what he has!"

Just like a child jealous of someone else’s toys, David pointed at Dean, who was standing beside him, smiling and clapping, with a hint of petulance on his face.

"Oh~!","Whew~!" This time, there weren’t just screams, but also whistles.

"Great~!" David finally laughed contentedly, "OK, no joking, let’s welcome Dean Price once again!"

David gestured to the two grey sofas beside him, Dean nodded, and then sat down on the one closest to David’s desk.

All these were prearranged; the stage was actually very simply set up.

A natural wood-colored desk which was David Letterman’s spot, and behind him, a matching bookshelf for decoration.

Not fifty centimeters from the desk were two sofas, designated for the guests.

Guests usually came on stage in turns, so Dean needed to sit on the one closest to the host.

This placed them so close to each other that David could easily pat Dean on the shoulder.

"OK~ How does it feel?" When the cheering subsided, David, grinning with his gap-toothed smile, asked Dean.

"Crazy good, I’ve never imagined enjoying so many cheers." Saying this, Dean waved to the audience again.

"Yeah," David thought the guy was pretty slick, see, he’d won another round of hearty applause.

"So?" David turned his body to face Dean and gestured with both hands, "You look so young, like a high school student."

"I am indeed a student, just that I attend college," Dean explained with a smile.

"Oh~" David opened his hands in surprise, "So, you started a company in college? Mind if I ask how old you are?"

"20, a few months shy of my birthday. I just finished my sophomore year of college this summer," Dean introduced himself with ease.

"20 years old?" David raised his head to recollect, "Well, I can’t quite remember what mischief I was getting up to at that age?"

Amid the audience’s laughter, David continued to steer the conversation, "Tell us about your company. Not just me, but our audience here is very curious, and I noticed there’s been some news about it recently..."

"Yes," Dean wasn’t surprised by this turn; after all, he’d been on TV before, and here on the West Coast, Byte Company already had a bit of a reputation.

"Byte Software is a software company..."

"Yeah~ I could tell from the name," David nodded seriously.

Dean and the audience both laughed; this guy knew how to play along.

"OK," Dean decided to keep it short and sweet, "Teams is an app for communication, text messages, file transfers, voice calls... with it, you can do a lot, it’s very convenient."

"It sounds like a combination of email and phone?" David Letterman instantly found an apt comparison.

"That’s a creative metaphor," Dean agreed, nodding, "but it’s more immediate and faster than email, and certainly has some limitations compared to the phone."

"What’s the trouble now?" David always led the pace of the topic, "I hear you’ve got into trouble with Bell?!"

Byte Software might be unfamiliar to those present, but everyone had heard of Bell.

"To be honest, we were also surprised," Dean spread his hands innocently, "Byte is just a software company, while Bell is a telephone company.

Does a dog ever trouble a rabbit? Come on~, they aren’t even in the same ecosystem."

"Hahaha~" David’s gap-toothed grin shone even brighter, "Maybe it’s a hunting dog, huh?"

"Yeah," Dean agreed, nodding, "unless it’s ready to hunt."

"So what’s the actual issue? Give us a simple rundown."

If he could subtly diss Bell in the process, all the better. David was secretly hoping for a highlight; the show needed it.

"Hmm..." Dean thought for a moment and then gestured, "Bell is like a book publisher that sold printed books to libraries."

"Mmhmm~" Up to this point David and the audience could follow the metaphor.

"Then someone named Byte went to the library and borrowed the book. Now, Bell shows up demanding, ’Hey, kid, that book is mine, did you pay for it?!’"

"Haha~" David clapped and laughed, "Oh my god, I feel a bit sorry for you now."

Dean shrugged helplessly, "That’s the reality, no one can break through Bell’s thick skin with reason, not even America’s laws."

Ha-ha-ha~ the audience’s laughter grew louder.