King of Hollywood
Chapter 342 - Chapter 342 Chapter 66 The Formal and Complete

Chapter 342: Chapter 66 The Formal and Complete Chapter 342: Chapter 66 The Formal and Complete “Hey, darling, you’ve been in there for almost an hour and a half now.”

“Don’t rush me, I’m almost done.”

“You said that same thing 20 minutes ago.”

“Oh, Ed, you should know that patience is a virtue.”

Listening to the teasing words coming from the inside, Adrian, sitting on the couch, shrugged his shoulders. Gwyneth had gone inside to get ready to make an impressive entrance and hadn’t come out yet.

What could possibly take her so long to prepare? Adrian thought, feeling somewhat frustrated.

Finally, the door to the room opened, and when Gwyneth appeared at the doorway, even someone with Adrian’s self-control couldn’t help but be slightly moved. She was dressed in a beige Victorian-era lady’s gown with lace trims, the voluminous pleated skirt puffing out on the ground, adorned with exquisite decorations. The low-cut bodice pushed up her full figure creating a deep cleavage, her arms covered in white long gloves, and the wide-brimmed hat on her head was adorned with a feather, looking every bit the high-brow lady off to a banquet at Buckingham Palace.

“Wow,” Adrian exclaimed in amazement, then was at a loss for words, not knowing what else to say. Gwyneth now appeared both noble and elegant, with her small chin tilted up a bit defiantly, as if she was reluctantly admitting defeat. Her grey-green eyes were sly yet alluring, making it hard not to be tempted.

“Good evening, Mr. Adrian, I’m pleased to meet you,” said Gwyneth, spreading her arms and lifting the corner of her gown in a curtsey, both gracious and elegant. She purposefully adopted a British accent, as if this was the boudoir of a lady and not a hotel room in a small town.

“Good evening, Miss Gwyneth, sorry for disturbing you so late,” Adrian said, standing up and straightening his clothes before bowing, also using a British accent and with a gentleman’s demeanor.

“It’s quite all right, I’ve been looking forward to your arrival,” Gwyneth said, sauntering over to the table and giving him a meaningful look, “I heard you’ve just returned from Costa Rica, is that right?”

“Yes, the scenery of the Caribbean Sea is hardly inferior to the Mediterranean,” Adrian replied with a smile, smoothly getting into character, “Of course, none of it compares to Miss Gwyneth’s beauty.”

“Your words are always so pleasing,” Gwyneth’s lips curved into a seductive smile, “I heard Costa Rica has many famous specialties, I wonder if Mr. Adrian brought any back.”

In the presence of such a lady of impeccable poise, Adrian took a deep breath, and even with his battle-hardened composure, he couldn’t help but feel a bit parched.

“Thank you ever so much.” Gwyneth tapped on the table, then elegantly pulled out a chair and sat down properly.

For the next two weeks, due to rainy weather, even though there were only a dozen or so shots left to wrap up the outdoor shooting, the crew had moved inside to the studio. Adrian wasn’t in a hurry, even if he had likely run into paparazzi outside next time, a quick shoot indoors would suffice–after all, they couldn’t just wander onto the set.

“Let me have a look… Very good, that’s it. When you handle things, I’m always at ease.” Adrian nodded after briefly reviewing the documents and handed them back to Charlize sitting opposite him.

Charlize didn’t say anything extra, stood up and was about to leave, but Adrian stopped her: “Wait, Charli.”

He patted his thigh with a mischievous smile, “How about coming over here for a chat? You know, it’ll be quite boring to fly for several hours alone.”

At the moment, the two were on a private jet heading to New York. Although the shooting of “Emma” was significant and another major production was waiting for Gwyneth, things that had to be done took priority, and it wouldn’t take much time.

Charlize hesitated for a bit but eventually sat obediently in Adrian’s lap.

“What do you want to talk about?” She glared at him, moving his hand from her thigh before asking with annoyance.

“Just chitchat, like, what’ve you been talking about with Gwyneth lately?” Adrian was still smiling, his arms wrapped around her slim waist, and they even slipped down a bit further.

“Oh? Did she get upset about something?” Charlize raised her eyebrows and asked.

“Sort of. Looking back, the only comparison would be your ‘office girl’ look,” Adrian replied somewhat enigmatically, confident that Charlize, with her cleverness, would understand his meaning and likely embellish it further–this was the beauty of saying half and hiding half, of course, timing was key.

“So I want to know, what exactly did you tell her?” Adrian said, resting his hands on her waist and leaning back on the chair. Charlize got caught off guard and fell against his chest; had she not grabbed his shoulders in time, she might have even hit the cabin wall. Annoyed, she glared at him once more.

However, her annoyance didn’t last long. Charlize glanced at the end of the cabin and then shrugged, “Nothing much, just told her I overheard her conversation with Kate and thought it was interesting.”

“Kate?” Adrian looked at her, puzzled.

“Oh, I forgot,” Charlize said with a mischievous glint in her eye, “You have more than one Kate around you.”

“Alright, I know who it is now,” Adrian burst into laughter, “It would have been at the Best Director celebration party that day, and Kate couldn’t attend because she was pregnant.”

Charlize hummed lightly and said no more.

“Well then, what did Kate and Gwyneth talk about?” Adrian immediately asked, only to be given a laughable response by Charlize: “How would I know? I just saw them talking.”

“So you would tell Gwyneth that you heard their conversation?” Adrian deliberately frowned at her.

“Firstly, I wanted to see how she’d react; secondly, they indeed looked quite entertaining during their conversation,” Charlize raised her slender eyebrows, “The way they looked at each other, as if they were born adversaries. Although I couldn’t hear clearly, words like ‘nothing special’ and ‘I understand how you feel’ were discernible. I really don’t get what they were competing over, what’s there to fight about.”

Though she spoke lightheartedly, her eyes were unblinkingly fixed on Adrian, with mockery now replaced by scorn.

However, Adrian seemed oblivious to her tone and joked with a smile, “Maybe they were just kidding?”

Without waiting for Charlize to respond, he quickly waved his hand, “Alright, I suppose I don’t need to ask what you said to her. With Little Charlie’s sharp wit, ruffling Gwyneth’s feathers is a piece of cake–should I reward you for something?”

Charlize looked at him steadily, her gaze becoming complicated and helpless.

“Have you ever counted, Ed,” she said in a low voice, with a slight grinding of her teeth, “how many women you’re involved with right now?! If it was just a one-night stand it wouldn’t matter, but what is this now?!”

“Wow, wow, wow,” Adrian exclaimed dramatically, “my Little Charlie is jealous, that’s rare indeed.”

“I’m seriously discussing something with you, Ed!” Charlize grew somewhat emotional.

“Okay, okay, but…” Adrian spread his hands, “it’s a matter of free will, Charli, just like those mainstream movies in Hollywood, it’s the expression of free will. People always chase after beautiful things, why should I be an exception? I love them, their coming and going is free, as are you.”

“Is that so?” Charlize stood up abruptly, “Can I resign now then?”

“I’ll try my best to keep you,” Adrian said earnestly, “but I won’t stop you if you’ve made up your mind.”

He paused before revealing a sly smile, “But I won’t give you a letter of recommendation.”

“You…” Charlize glared at him hatefully, she was still too young, and even if she had done well with Adrian, without a letter of recommendation, not many companies would dare to boldly hire her, and those companies would inquire about her from her previous employer. If Adrian were to say just a little something…

“Look, just now you were saying ‘I won’t stop you,’ and now your true colors show,” Charlize said through gritted teeth.

“What necessary connection is there between not giving you a letter of recommendation and stopping you from leaving?” Adrian asked, spreading his hands in confusion.

“…” Charlize was once again at a loss for words. After glaring at him fiercely for a long while, she finally said, word by word, “I finally understand, Ed, you’re just a despicable, shameless jerk!”

“Oh, you saying that really breaks my heart, Charli,” Adrian sighed exaggeratedly, suddenly pulling Charlize into his embrace and then, stroking her cheek, he dropped the playful expression, gazing into her eyes, “Is there really nothing about me worth your fond remembrance, am I really that awful?”

Charlize opened her mouth but then fell silent as if thinking of something, and after sitting in Adrian’s arms for a long time, she stood up and straightened her clothes.

“I’ll go reorganize the data about TBS and TNT,” she said to him, her tone very calm, as if the previous conversation had never happened.

“Thank you,” Adrian nodded, and only after Charlize had turned away did a hint of a smile pass across his lips.

Several hours later, the plane landed smoothly in New York. Adrian couldn’t help but marvel once again that he really should buy a private jet. Although it was convenient for a customer like him to rent, it simply wasn’t the same as owning his own. However, even if he wanted to buy one, it would have to wait; the company’s development was at a critical juncture. So, after a brief adjustment to the time difference upon arrival in New York, he went to visit his uncle and aunt.

Everything was as it always had been. Uncle Anderson’s bad temper was unlikely to change in this lifetime, and Aunt Martha was probably the only one in the family who could stand it. Surprisingly, their only son, and Adrian’s cousin, Victor Cowell, was also at the New York family home; although they had met a few times, it was the first time in his uncle’s house in New York.

“I just came back to see Mom,” Victor said, making no effort to hide his indifference towards his father. They hardly spoke to each other, but he said this behind Uncle Anderson’s back.

Adrian wanted to use his own situation to offer some words of comfort, but on second thought, some things are never fully understood until experienced firsthand. Although Uncle Anderson always liked to control everything at home and was very picky about all sorts of things, there were several occasions when he spoke of his son and, even if he quickly changed the subject or made some unpleasant remarks, a look of melancholy was inevitable on his face. Therefore, Adrian simply patted Victor on the shoulder to offer some comfort and left it at that.

Victor stayed at home for only two days before heading back to Boston. Adrian, too, left afterwards. The financing was already a done deal; now it was just a matter of how much. If his plan succeeded, it would proceed as originally planned; if not, then he would inevitably have to increase the scale of financing.

But these operations were handled by Claude. Adrian’s visit was merely to maintain good relations with his uncle. With his uncle’s connections and strength on Wall Street, support could be secured in the shortest possible time if needed. Sometimes, victories are decided within these crucial minutes.

After leaving his uncle’s place, Adrian rested in the hotel for a day before heading to Long Island.

“I’m so sorry to have you come pick us up,” Shelly greeted Adrian enthusiastically.

“It’s no problem; I had some things to take care of in New York anyway. Since I happened to catch the film premiere and haven’t had time to see the finished product, I thought it’d be nice to invite you all to watch it together,” Adrian said with a smile, then turned to look at Natalie, who was sitting opposite him, “And I’m really curious to see how outstanding Nata’s performance is.”

Natalie’s composure had grown in the few months they hadn’t seen each other, but at this moment, she seemed quite uncomfortable. Her smile was forced, her eyes lowered, biting her lip, looking around as if she dared not meet his gaze.

Seeing this, Adrian chuckled softly to himself and didn’t go out of his way to talk to her. Although over the past few months, in the letters they continued to exchange and the occasional phone call, she seemed to have returned to normal. But this face-to-face encounter immediately reverted her back to her former self. The shadows or temptations were not so easily cast off, even for someone as intelligent as her.

“I’m all set now, let’s head out,” Evan announced, finally emerging from the bedroom.

“You said it would only take ten minutes, but it’s been twenty now. If we don’t leave soon, the movie will be over!” Shelly chastised her husband without holding back.

“Alright, even Nata and Ed haven’t said anything, so shut it, dear,” Evan glared at his wife with annoyance, then gave Adrian an apologetic look.

Hearing her parents’ banter, Natalie suddenly laughed out loud, her previous unease forgotten, looking quite adorable.

“Alright, folks, let’s head to the cinema,” Adrian stood up and smoothed things over, “If we delay any further and, heaven forbid, run into traffic, we might actually miss it.”

With that, the Helarg family left, and two cars drove towards the downtown area, one after the other. They were on their way to see the newly released “Fly Away Home.” (To be continued. If you like this work, please visit NovelFire.net to cast your vote for recommendation and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)

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