Chapter 165: Borrowing Money
Chapter 165: Borrowing Money
Late at night, in Nicole’s bedroom on the second floor of the villa, the woman looked at the already packed suitcase and suddenly felt that the experiences of these past two months were like a dream.
Seven years ago, she had gotten her first opportunity to appear in an MV. It was precisely that experience that made her realize that perhaps her life could become even more dazzling. Beautiful women were always ambitious.
So she quickly dropped out of girls’ high school. While searching for opportunities, she also studied at a drama academy. Over the next few years, she played supporting roles in quite a few films and television dramas, and even won the Best Actress award from the Australian Film Institute. But none of that was enough to satisfy her.
Her gaze had never lingered on the small pond that was the Australian entertainment industry.
What she longed for was Hollywood.
At the beginning of the year, she auditioned in Australia for a Hollywood film. Full of confidence, she still failed to get the role in the end. Then she realized she was already twenty-two years old and could not afford to wait any longer, so she packed her luggage and came alone to Los Angeles.
Soon afterward, she realized the cruelty of reality.
Her acting credentials and awards from Australia brought almost no help to her career. She was basically treated like a newcomer and could only get small roles in obscure films or television dramas.
Then, two months ago, her career finally reached a major turning point.
She had been noticed by the suddenly rising young Hollywood director Eric Williams. He asked her to come here and work as a maid for a few months, and afterward she would receive the female lead role in his new film.
How could something this good possibly exist?
After walking out of that office, that voice constantly echoed in her heart.
For the next several days, she remained trapped in violent emotional conflict.
She desperately, desperately wanted this opportunity, but she also felt that if she agreed, what awaited her would definitely be a hellish and terrifying life, perhaps becoming a nightmare that would haunt her forever.
She was not some naïve little girl unfamiliar with the world. She had heard many stories of women being toyed with and abused.
Several days later, she still could not resist the temptation and voluntarily delivered herself to his door.
But the terrifying things she imagined never happened.
She was not stripped naked and stuffed into a basement, nor was she subjected to any sort of abuse. He truly only dressed her up prettily, then had her wash clothes, cook meals, fold blankets, and make beds for him every day.
His lifestyle was healthy and disciplined. He had no bad habits, nor any of the frivolous vanity that came with becoming famous at a young age. Though only eighteen years old, he was as steady as a middle-aged man who had experienced the ups and downs of life.
Young, wealthy, talented, handsome, mature — almost every excellent quality a man could possess in the eyes of most women had been gathered into him all at once.
Even though rationally she told herself it was impossible and that she should stay grounded, she still could not help developing faint feelings of admiration for this man who was younger than her.
During the early days, she even tried seducing him several times, but none of it succeeded. Instead, she made a fool of herself a few times.
He even treated her little seductive gestures like a performance and watched them with great amusement.
If she had not known he had a girlfriend and lovers, and even kept a little demoness at home, occasionally staying out overnight as well, she definitely would have thought he was gay. The proportion of homosexuals in Hollywood was simply too high.
Letting her thoughts wander aimlessly, Nicole changed into her pajamas, neatly hung the sexy maid uniform inside the wardrobe, then climbed into bed after shutting the closet door and turning off the bedside lamp.
In the darkness, the slender figure rolled back and forth restlessly for quite a while.
Perhaps… she should try one more time?
Recalling the few sentences she had accidentally overheard after dinner between Eric and Drew, she could not help producing that thought.
Even if she could not become this man’s girlfriend or wife and save herself ten years of struggle, she at least wanted to leave a somewhat deeper impression on him.
Judging from the conversation she overheard between the two of them, doing so would definitely help her career greatly.
After a while longer, she finally came up with a fairly good excuse.
Actually, it was not entirely an excuse.
Originally, she had planned to mention it to him that night, but that little demoness Drew had remained present the entire time. She did not want that hateful little girl mocking her, so she had intended to say it tomorrow before leaving.
Now it could be put to use perfectly.
Feeling around, she turned on the bedside lamp and sat up. After thinking for a moment, she reopened the packed suitcase and took out a bottle of perfume, spraying some onto herself.
She rarely used this perfume during this period because after using it once, he had said the scent was too strong and that he did not like it. To please him, she had not used it again afterward.
But perhaps this time it could be useful.
The perfume carried a musk rose scent. Supposedly, musk had aphrodisiac effects.
After checking the time, she sat on the bed and waited a little longer. Once the clock hands pointed to midnight, she quietly pushed open the door and carefully crossed the corridor to arrive outside Eric’s room.
After softly knocking several times, she took a deep breath and waited patiently.
She knew he could hear it.
He usually worked in the study until after eleven, so at this hour he definitely was not asleep yet.
A moment later, the bedroom door opened.
Eric, dressed in sleepwear, looked at Nicole in confusion, his eyes flickering slightly. “Nicole, it’s so late. Is something wrong?”
“Eric, this matter is rather difficult to bring up, but I don’t know many people in Los Angeles, and there are even fewer who can help me.”
Nicole’s originally calm expression became uneasy.
“Mhm?” Eric still showed no intention of moving aside to let her enter.
“I mean… could you lend me some money? Didn’t you say the apartment rent was… was 4,000 dollars a month? But I don’t have much money left now.”
Nicole’s voice became slightly stammering.
This was not an act. She genuinely had a stuttering problem when she was young. Though she had mostly recovered after growing up, she still spoke haltingly whenever she became nervous.
Eric leaned against the doorframe and nodded. “I see. Wait a moment, I’ll go get the checkbook.”
As he spoke, Eric turned around. Just as he reacted and wanted to remind her of something, the woman had already followed closely behind him into the bedroom.
Eric could only let things proceed naturally.
Fortunately, he had forcibly stuffed the little girl into the wardrobe earlier. Otherwise, getting discovered would have caused another troublesome situation.
“Is one hundred thousand enough?” Eric found the checkbook and looked up toward the woman.
Nicole quickly nodded. “That’s more than enough. I… I’ll repay you immediately once I receive my acting payment.”
“There’s no rush. You can repay it whenever you have money,” Eric said casually with a smile. “Heh, I believe once your first film releases, you’ll have money soon enough. At the beginning of the year, Julia was still living in a rented house. Now she’s already bought a mansion in Beverly Hills and hired several assistants and bodyguards. She’s become more of a big shot than I am.”
As Eric casually talked about amusing stories regarding Julia, he lowered his head and filled out the check.