Chapter 211: Trying to Be Clever and Ending Up Worse Off
Chapter 211: Trying to Be Clever and Ending Up Worse Off
While subtly sizing up Rupert Murdoch, who was not yet sixty years old, Eric’s deepest impression of the media tycoon undoubtedly came from the phone-hacking scandal that had caused such an uproar in his previous life. Perhaps because of that scandal, the media in his memories had always chosen rather disheveled photos of the man. But the current Murdoch appeared spirited and vigorous. His thinning hair was combed neatly, he wore rimless glasses, and a genial smile hung at the corners of his mouth.
While Eric observed him, old Murdoch was also carefully examining the young man before him who was not even twenty years old. The process lasted only a few seconds before both men simultaneously extended their hands.
“Hello, Mr. Murdoch. I’m Eric Williams.” Although the other party had certainly seen his appearance in photographs, out of courtesy for a first meeting, Eric still introduced himself.
“Hello, Eric,” Murdoch said as he shook Eric’s hand, then turned toward Aniston. “This must be the beautiful Miss Jennifer Aniston. Your performance in Friends was truly wonderful.”
It was the first time Aniston had been praised like this in front of her boyfriend. She revealed a slightly shy expression and shook hands with him. “Thank you, Mr. Murdoch.”
While Eric and Aniston exchanged greetings with Barry Diller, old Murdoch shot his daughter a look.
Looking at the affectionate atmosphere between the couple before her, Elizabeth could not help feeling a little sour inside. Realizing that she was feeling jealous only made her even more uncomfortable.
But very quickly, the girl found a reason for her emotions. She felt she was standing up for Julia. On the plane a few days ago, she had personally seen Eric sleeping comfortably with his head resting on Julia’s lap. After the guy woke up, Julia’s legs had gone numb, and she had sat on the sofa for quite a while before recovering. Julia treated him so well, yet after returning to Los Angeles these past few days, she had not once seen him take the initiative to contact Julia. And now he was appearing here all lovey-dovey with another woman. What a bastard.
“Hi, Liz. You look very beautiful tonight,” Eric said after greeting Barry Diller, finally turning toward Elizabeth.
“Hello, Mr. Williams,” Elizabeth said as she lightly shook Eric’s hand, clearly wanting to keep her distance. Then the girl revealed a bright smile and affectionately pulled Aniston over beside her. “Hello, Miss Aniston. My name is Elizabeth. Wow, your gown is so beautiful. Come on, I’ll take you inside.”
As Elizabeth spoke, she dragged Aniston away without waiting for a response. The girl glanced at Eric for confirmation. Although Eric sensed that Elizabeth probably harbored some ill intentions—otherwise she would not have deliberately mentioned Aniston’s gown—he was also certain that in this kind of setting, Elizabeth would not behave too rudely. So he nodded toward Aniston. Only then did the girl obediently allow herself to be led away by Elizabeth.
His daughter’s actions were completely opposite to what he had instructed earlier, which irritated old Murdoch, though he could do nothing about it.
Although Murdoch was busy with his career, he paid close attention to his children because he was already nearing sixty. Westerners might refuse to admit old age, but he still had to consider a successor for his media empire. Compared to his eldest daughter, who had no interest in business, and his two younger sons, who were still very immature, Elizabeth was undoubtedly the most capable. While still in school, the girl had successfully established a small local cable television station. However, Elizabeth’s personality was both stubborn and proud, and in many matters she always liked going against him, her father.
Watching his daughter casually greet Eric before dragging off the man’s girlfriend, Murdoch could only say to Eric, “Sorry, Eric. Liz is still somewhat immature. Let’s go inside.”
“Of course, it’s fine, Mr. Murdoch. Actually, I quite like Miss Elizabeth’s straightforward personality,” Eric said politely as the three men walked toward the villa where the party was being held.
About twenty guests had already arrived in the villa, and more continued to come as time passed. Aside from the cast and crew of Friends, Fox had also invited quite a few Hollywood celebrities to support the event.
Although Murdoch had already been driven frantic these past few days by Eric’s constant delays, he obviously could not drag Eric off to discuss business the moment he arrived. So after chatting idly with Eric inside the villa for a while and telling him to enjoy the party, Murdoch and Barry Diller casually went off to entertain the other guests.
Only then did Eric finally find time to look around the crowd. He quickly spotted Aniston and could not help sucking in a breath of cold air at the sight. That little girl Elizabeth had absolutely done this on purpose. Just look at the group of women standing together chatting and laughing as though nothing was wrong—Julia Roberts, Brooke Shields, Gabrielle, and even Nicole Kidman had shown up.
Looking more carefully, he thought, Good grief, even Drew is here. Wasn’t that little girl supposed to be at boarding school?
Seeing the situation, Eric immediately turned around as inconspicuously as possible, intending to stay far away. Unfortunately, Nicole happened to be facing him and caught sight of him immediately.
A moment later, the woman wearing a black pencil skirt and high heels appeared beside Eric, who was hiding in the crowd.
“Good evening, Eric,” the woman said as she approached him, holding up the red wine in her hand. She stood less than thirty centimeters away from him. It was said that the intimate distance between people was within forty-five centimeters; beyond that, at most they were friends. The woman obviously did not know this theory. The reason she moved so close to Eric was probably pure instinct. Sure enough, several nearby people unconsciously cast extra glances toward the two of them.
Eric naturally knew nothing about the forty-five-centimeter theory either, but instinctively felt uncomfortable. He subconsciously stepped back before asking, “Nicole, why are you here?”
Nicole noticed Eric’s retreating motion and revealed a slightly resentful expression, though she did not dare move closer again. “I’m Australian too.”
Eric quickly dug up memories about the so-called Australian clique in Hollywood. It was said to be one of the most united circles in Hollywood. However, it was still only the late 1980s. The Australian clique probably did not yet exist. Figures such as Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett, and Nicole herself were all still unknown. Therefore, he was certain Nicole’s appearance here had absolutely nothing to do with both her and the Murdoch family being Australian.
Although the woman had not told the truth, Eric could still guess part of it. Thinking about how Gabrielle had managed to thrive in Hollywood merely by relying on vague rumors linking her to him and had even secured the female second lead role in a movie despite being a newcomer, then with Nicole’s status as the female lead in his next film, plus schemes and methods that surpassed Gabrielle by several streets, even though she still had no Hollywood works yet, she was definitely living very comfortably.
Having figured this out, Eric had no intention of digging deeper. He did not care how Nicole schemed or played little tricks, so long as she remained tactful in front of him.
“Nicole, what were you all talking about just now?” Eric pointed toward where the women had gathered earlier.
The woman chuckled lightly, her face carrying just the right amount of teasing without overdoing it. “Don’t worry, Eric. No one discussed Miss Aniston’s gown. We talked about some Friends things. That’s tonight’s theme, after all. And also you. Murdoch’s second daughter is paying quite a lot of attention to you.”
After saying the last sentence, Nicole mischievously blinked at him.
Eric could not help taking a sip of red wine to conceal the awkwardness on his face before asking, “Anything else?”
“No,” Nicole shook her head, then added in a seductive tone, “But tonight, you definitely won’t be climbing into a certain someone’s bed, Eric. So how about coming to my place instead?”
“You really are harboring bad intentions,” Eric narrowed his eyes slightly as he glanced at the woman. Aniston usually adopted an ostrich mentality regarding his romantic scandals. But tonight, with so many women who had complicated relationships with him appearing before her, the girl was definitely feeling miserable inside. If he dared abandon her tonight to spend the night with another woman, then he could prepare himself for a storm.
“Honestly, is that the kind of bad woman I am in your eyes?” Nicole glared at Eric unhappily. If he had not happened to catch the flicker in her gaze, Eric might almost have believed that her words had been unintentional.
“Do me a favor, Nicole,” Eric said after thinking for a moment.
Seeing the woman reveal an interested expression, Eric continued, “Go help me keep an eye on Jenny. Jenny’s simple-minded. You can definitely cheer her up easily.”
“Ah!” Nicole’s eyes widened immediately as she protested, “I don’t want to.”
Eric glanced at her and said solemnly, “No refusing. And one more thing—watch Drew carefully. Absolutely don’t let the two of them start fighting.”
Whenever he thought about those two girls fighting, Eric still felt lingering fear. Both girls showed a certain degree of atavistic behavior when fighting—put simply, they liked scratching people with their little claws. If someone got scratched on the face, that would be disastrous.
Nicole had stayed in Eric’s villa for quite a while before and knew Drew’s unruly, unpredictable personality very well. That little girl was no less calculating than Nicole herself. If she truly clashed with Aniston, that one-track-minded girl, how could Nicole possibly stop them? Thinking of all this, the woman shook her head again, her pretty face bitter as she pleaded faintly, “This is too difficult, Eric.”
Eric casually took another sip of red wine, his tone calm yet unquestionable. “Go already. If the two of them make a scene tonight, then you won’t be acting in Sleepless in Seattle anymore.”
Nicole could tell Eric was not joking. She inwardly lamented, Who did I even offend? But she did not dare continue dawdling. Turning around, she hurried away quickly in her little leather heels, the sharp tapping sounds echoing as she left.