Chapter 142: Delivered to the Door
Chapter 142: Delivered to the Door
“Mhm, I understand. Then roughly when will the movie start filming?”
“I don’t know either,” Eric explained after taking a sip of champagne. “Look, next I need to handle the post-production for Running Out of Time. After the movie releases in July, I still need to produce a television series for Fox. Barry Diller requested that I personally direct the first two episodes, so I’m not too sure when the movie can officially begin filming. Tom, haven’t you already filmed two movies this year? This is the perfect chance to give yourself a vacation and rest for a while. Being an actor is already exhausting enough. If you can’t properly enjoy life, then what’s the fun of earning such high salaries?”
“Heh, according to what you’re saying, you’re shooting four movies this year. I heard you’re simultaneously producing another three films too. A lunatic producing seven movies in one year must have no will to live, right?”
“No, that’s different.” Eric calmly shook his head and repeated, “I’m very different from you people.”
Hanks rolled his eyes. “What, are you an alien?”
“Yeah. My destination is the sea of stars!”
The two laughed together. The party continued until midnight before finally ending. Although Eric had been force-fed several bottles of beer at the beginning, he had not drunk much afterward, so he refused a designated driver and slowly drove home himself.
To avoid paparazzi, many mansions belonging to Hollywood celebrities in Beverly Hills did not have streetlights outside the gates. Eric’s house was the same. Therefore, when Eric got out of the car to open the gate, the woman’s voice that suddenly sounded from beside him truly startled him.
The woman called his name, then stepped into the range of the car headlights. Only then did Eric recognize the tall figure. It was Nicole Kidman, who had not shown any news for several days. After Eric proposed that condition filled with malicious amusement, he had temporarily tossed the matter aside. He had not expected her to suddenly appear here.
“Nicole, why are you here?” Eric asked instinctively while unable to stop himself from sizing up her outfit.
At this moment, Nicole Kidman wore a fitted black trench coat with black knee-high high heels, making her figure appear even taller and more elegant. If one ignored the fluffy curly hair that Eric thought looked terribly outdated, she actually carried a bit of the cold queen aura from his memories of his previous life.
Under Eric’s gaze, the woman unconsciously took a step back and stammered, “I… I thought it through. I… I’m willing.”
“Willing to what? Marry me?” Eric could not help teasing her.
Although the lighting was dim, Eric still saw the woman’s fair face flush red almost instantly. He stopped teasing her, took out his keys to open the gate, and said, “Alright, come in first.”
Nicole Kidman returned to where she had been standing earlier, pulled out a small suitcase, lowered her head, and climbed into Eric’s car.
After parking the car, Eric brought the woman into the villa and pointed at the sofa. “Nicole, sit first.”
Nicole Kidman placed the suitcase beside the sofa, took off her coat and hung it on the rack, then sat stiffly on the sofa. When she saw Eric turn and walk into the kitchen, the tension in her body eased slightly. She began observing the surroundings.
Although the villa mainly followed a modern minimalist design style, refinement could be seen everywhere. Although Nicole came from a fairly good middle-class family, she had always envied the famous mansions of Beverly Hills. Perhaps, if this man’s promise was real, she would only need a few years to buy a villa like this in Beverly Hills herself. Thinking of that, the uneasiness in the woman’s heart lessened somewhat and was replaced with anticipation.
Eric quickly walked out of the kitchen carrying coffee. Nicole Kidman immediately stood up, wanting to step forward.
“Sit down. Right now, you’re still a guest.” Eric pushed a cup of coffee toward her as he spoke.
Nicole Kidman sat down again. After lifting the coffee and feeling its scalding temperature, she set it back onto the table. Her slender fingers rubbed lightly against her knees before she finally looked up and met Eric’s gaze directly.
“Mr. Williams…”
“Call me Eric.”
“Mhm, Eric… could we first… confirm that… I don’t want…”
The woman twisted her fingers together atop her knees. Her voice was full of unease. She feared that appearing too eager would displease the man opposite her, but she also hoped to hear some definite promise from Eric.
Nicole Kidman did not want to stay here for several months, acting both as maid and plaything, only to end up with nothing after being casually discarded by him. As for Eric previously saying she would merely act as a servant, Nicole Kidman did not believe it at all. That was also the reason she had hesitated for several days. But her desire for fame and fortune ultimately prevented her from resisting the temptation, and she had voluntarily delivered herself to his door.
Eric leisurely admired the woman’s embarrassed appearance for a while before finally standing up. “Wait a moment.”
With that, he walked toward the staircase.
Nicole Kidman watched Eric’s figure disappear around the stairway corner before withdrawing her gaze. Subconsciously, she glanced toward the trench coat hanging not far away on the rack.
Eric soon reappeared. Nicole hurriedly composed herself and picked up the coffee for a small sip.
Walking to the sofa, Eric placed several printed documents before Nicole Kidman. “The top one is the script. The two underneath are actor contracts. After reading them and signing, keep one copy yourself and give the other to me.”
Nicole Kidman had completely not expected things to be this straightforward. Excited, she picked up the top script and looked at the title.
Sleepless in Seattle.
As the woman flipped through it, Eric explained while holding his coffee beside her, “The male lead has already been decided. Tom Hanks will play the role. As long as you pay slight attention to entertainment news, you should know who Hanks is. The female lead originally could have gone to Julia Roberts, but according to the schedule, she’ll also have another movie releasing at the end of the year. Plus, the impact of Pretty Woman was too great. In the short term, she isn’t suitable for another romantic comedy. I hadn’t had time to invite other actresses yet when you appeared in front of me. Honestly, Nicole, you’re very lucky.”
Nicole Kidman listened attentively to Eric’s explanation, but her eyes never left the script. After rapidly flipping through it once, she placed the script back down, her mind feeling dizzy.
“Eric, this… this really is for me?”
“Of course. However, your résumé in Australia is completely unusable in Hollywood, so you can only count as a newcomer. Your salary will be the same as when Julia took Pretty Woman: three hundred thousand dollars, with no profit-sharing.”
Listening to Eric, Nicole Kidman reached toward the two contracts again, but Eric stopped her.
“It’s too late tonight. We should rest. Anyway, there’s still several months left. You can take your time reading them. After signing, just hand me one copy.”
Hearing Eric’s words, the woman lowered her head slightly. “Then… alright.”
“Come with me.”
Eric stood up as he spoke. The woman hugged the documents to her chest, took her coat and suitcase, and followed him upstairs.
Eric led the woman to the second floor and opened an empty bedroom. “This is your room. The bedding is inside the wardrobe. It’s all new. Make do for tonight. If you’re not satisfied, you can replace it tomorrow.”
“Mhm, thank you,” the woman replied softly.
Eric briefly introduced several facilities in the room before saying, “Rest early. I’m going back to my bedroom.”
Eric turned and left, casually closing the bedroom door behind him.
Just as Nicole Kidman, standing beside the bed, was about to move, the bedroom door was suddenly pushed open again. The woman instinctively covered her chest before slowly lowering her hands again. She let them hang at her sides, biting her lips while waiting helplessly for certain things to happen.
Seeing the woman looking like a lamb awaiting slaughter, Eric smiled and gestured lightly in the air. “Nicole, I just forgot the most important thing and wanted to remind you. Starting tomorrow, you’ll begin carrying out your responsibilities. I usually wake up at seven, so I don’t want you waking up later than me. Breakfast must be prepared before eight. I’m not picky in this regard. Just make whatever you’re best at with the ingredients in the kitchen. Dinner is the same.”
“The villa and the surrounding cleaning are also your responsibility. You can decide how to clean, as long as everything stays tidy.”
The woman nervously nodded. “Eric, I understand.”
“Good. Good night. Sleep early.”
After speaking, Eric once again closed the bedroom door.
Hearing the click of the lock, Nicole collapsed weakly onto the large bed behind her. After breathing heavily several times, she stared blankly at the door.
Several minutes later, after confirming that he would not come back in again, the woman pulled over the black trench coat lying on the bed, took a recorder out from the inner pocket, pressed the stop button, then turned her gaze toward the documents on the bedside table. The corner of her lips twitched, as though she wanted to smile, but she could not.
After thinking for a moment, the woman rewound the tape, lowered the volume, and pressed play.
Voices immediately came from the recorder. Although not loud, every sentence could still be clearly distinguished.
Click—
The bedroom door was abruptly pushed open again.
Eric appeared at the doorway holding a pillow. “Sorry, I thought you might need this—”
With a smack, the recorder fell onto the floorboards, bounced twice, yet stubbornly continued playing.
“…Tom Hanks will play the role. As long as you pay slight attention to entertainment news, you should know who Hanks is. The female lead originally could have gone to Julia Roberts…”
Eric’s voice, small but perfectly clear, echoed through the silent midnight bedroom.
Eric stared blankly at the tiny object.
Nicole, meanwhile, completely did not know what reaction to make. Sitting on the bed with icy hands and feet, her body trembled slightly. Her eyes were filled with despair and fear.