Chapter 221: Chair Slam
Chapter 221: Chair Slam
Elizabeth’s guilty little movement exposed a flaw under Eric’s gaze, and the girl’s face finally flushed slightly. However, she seemed to treat this confrontation like a “war.” With her naturally strong competitive streak, she stubbornly remained seated there, as though standing up would mean losing something.
Yet seeing Eric completely unconcerned by her presence only made her feel even more indignant.
“Hey, what are you thinking about now?”
Eric did not even look at her. Casually pointing toward a standing landscape lamp on the nearby lawn, he said, “That lampshade over there looks pretty nice. I was thinking that once you can’t stand it anymore and leave, I’ll dismantle a few and stuff them into my trunk to take home.”
Elizabeth could not help bursting into laughter, but she quickly stiffened her little face again and fiercely glared at Eric. “Don’t even think about it. I’ll keep an eye on you.”
“What a pity,” Eric sighed, though there was not the slightest trace of regret in his tone.
“I mean it, can’t you be serious for once?” Elizabeth finally said helplessly.
Eric extinguished the cigarette in his hand and tossed it into the nearby trash can before saying, “All right, Liz, what exactly is it? Just say it directly, okay?”
“I…” Elizabeth paused briefly. “I wanted to say, don’t forget to pay me.”
Eric looked baffled. “Huh?”
“The assistant director thing. Even if my father’s the one making me go, don’t think I’m working for free. I want financial independence as soon as possible. That way the old man won’t be able to threaten me by freezing my credit cards anymore.”
Eric smiled. “You really plan to become some assistant director, Liz? We both know perfectly well what your father’s intentions are, but neither of us has that kind of interest, so stop fooling around, okay? Even though you don’t have many classes left, I still suggest you go back to school. Properly enjoy your final year on campus. Once you leave, you’ll never find that feeling again for the rest of your life.”
“My business is none of your concern!” the girl shot back unhappily.
Then she added, “I already have plans for my future. I want to become a film producer, so naturally I need to familiarize myself with this kind of work first.”
“Oh? Then what about News Corporation? Didn’t you study media specifically to inherit your father’s business?”
Hearing Eric ask that, Elizabeth’s expression dimmed slightly. “He… even though Dad never said it directly, I know he wants my younger brother to take over.”
“Your father’s pretty… traditional then.”
Eric had not expected Murdoch to have such patriarchal tendencies. Instantly, Eric felt a strange sense of… familiarity.
“More like an old fossil,” Elizabeth muttered dissatisfiedly before speaking to Eric again. “Actually, there’s something else.”
Eric realized this was the real reason Elizabeth wanted to talk tonight. He nodded lightly, signaling for her to continue.
“I already discussed it with Julia. Maybe next year, after gaining some experience, I want to try producing my first movie. She agreed to play the female lead.”
“And then?”
“So… I mean… could you… sell us a script?”
Eric did not answer immediately. Instead, he pulled out his cigarette pack again. This time Elizabeth finally could not tolerate it anymore. She snatched the cigarette from Eric’s hand and threw it straight into the trash can.
“Hey, haven’t you realized that smoking in front of a lady is extremely rude?”
“All right, all right, I won’t smoke anymore.”
Eric raised his right hand in surrender before asking again, “Putting the script issue aside for now, where are you getting the money to make a movie? Didn’t you just say you wanted financial independence? With your rookie status, even with Julia as the female lead, it’ll probably still be difficult to attract investors.”
“That’s completely different,” Elizabeth said matter-of-factly. “I already thought about it. First I’ll borrow ten million dollars from the old man to establish a film company. That amount is enough to make one movie. Julia also agreed to invest her salary as shares and then split profits proportionally afterward.”
Elizabeth spoke as though this sort of thing were perfectly ordinary to her. After thinking about it briefly, Eric understood.
This was one of the common methods billionaires used to pass down family wealth while avoiding massive inheritance taxes. Under the name of a loan, they would provide their children with startup capital to help them establish and develop their own companies. Once the companies reached a certain scale, they would reacquire them through high-priced share swaps or mergers. This method allowed wealthy families to transfer assets to the next generation at the lowest possible cost.
Of course, this type of inheritance strategy also demanded relatively high competence from the children. If the next generation was completely useless, the method naturally would not work.
Although Murdoch did not plan to let Elizabeth inherit News Corporation, when it came to wealth inheritance, if Elizabeth asked, Murdoch presumably would not refuse either.
While Eric was thinking, Elizabeth suddenly interrupted his thoughts. “Eric, what are you thinking about? Are you agreeing or not?”
“Agreeing to what?” Eric asked reflexively before immediately remembering. Revealing a curious smile, he asked, “The script? Then how much are you planning to pay for one of my scripts?”
That question immediately stumped Elizabeth.
Every movie script personally written by Eric so far had grossed no less than one hundred million dollars at the box office. Almost every one of them earned investors at least fifty million dollars in profit. By that standard, even paying according to Hollywood’s top-tier screenwriter rates definitely would not be enough.
“See? You haven’t thought anything through yet. So wait until you’ve figured it out before bringing it up again.”
After speaking, Eric stood up. As long as Elizabeth’s comprehension ability was normal, she would naturally understand he was rejecting her.
This was not merely about money.
Eric possessed countless “scripts” in his mind. Giving one to Elizabeth would not actually matter much. But not now. Although several consecutive films had already achieved box office success, his footing in Hollywood still was not firmly secured.
If he handed over a script for Elizabeth to fiddle with while he himself could not maintain control and supervise the movie’s quality, then if the film failed, it would ruin the undefeated aura he had painstakingly built through several successful movies.
Clearly, although Elizabeth had persuaded Julia, that still was not enough for Eric to believe the two girls would succeed.
“Hey, Eric, wait.”
Elizabeth hurriedly stopped Eric from standing up completely. Although she did not know Eric’s concerns, after thinking for a moment, she temporarily abandoned the idea of obtaining a script from him because she realized she simply could not afford his price.
But the girl was quite clever and quickly thought of another idea.
“Eric, how about this instead? I won’t ask you for a script anymore. Julia and I will choose a script ourselves, but when the time comes, you help us evaluate it and see whether it has blockbuster potential. That should be fine, right?”
Eric rejected the idea without even thinking. “That’s even more impossible, Liz. Even with the exact same script, different people will ultimately produce two completely different styles of films. So even if I say it has potential, if the director you hire lacks ability and ruins it in the end, the damage will still be to my reputation.”
Elizabeth grabbed Eric’s lapel stubbornly and refused to let go. “Then we’ll invest together, and you can also act as producer, okay? That way you can personally supervise the film’s quality.”
“If I released news that I wanted to co-produce a movie, forget second- and third-tier companies—even the Big Seven would come crying and rushing over. And the conditions they offer would definitely be much better than yours. Come on, give me one reason to work with you.”
“You…” Elizabeth was momentarily speechless. After glaring unwillingly at Eric for a while, she finally ground her teeth and snapped, “You bastard with absolutely no manners.”
“Wow, someone’s embarrassed and angry now.”
Eric laughed as he stood up, then suddenly braced one hand against the backrest of the bench and leaned close to the girl. Seeing her reflexively shrink backward, he softly said, “So, little girl, since your father doesn’t want you inheriting the family business, stop struggling already. Just enjoy the life of a rich heiress, then find a man to marry. Wouldn’t that be nice?”
Because of their interactions during this period, Elizabeth had not been entirely without feelings toward Eric to begin with. Now, seeing him suddenly so close to her, even able to clearly smell the faint scent of cigarette smoke on him—a scent that strangely did not repel her at all—Elizabeth, completely unprepared mentally, instantly lost all composure.
All kinds of thoughts buzzed chaotically through her head, and an unconscious blush gradually spread across her cheeks.
Under the soft glow of the estate’s streetlights, the girl looked even more enchanting, and the atmosphere between them gradually became hazy and ambiguous.
Perhaps infected by this mood, Eric—who originally had no improper thoughts at all—unconsciously lowered himself further. Breathing in the captivating fragrance coming from the girl, he accurately captured her soft lips in a kiss.
Elizabeth had never imagined Eric would suddenly do something like this. Her eyes instantly widened. She wanted to push him away, but instead felt a tingling electric current racing wildly through her body, leaving her completely limp, unable to even lift a finger.
Feeling the girl’s lips trembling rapidly like startled butterfly wings, Eric finally realized his loss of control. But since he had already done it, he simply followed through, sucking gently on her soft lips a few more times before finally straightening up.
Seeing the slight trace of moisture left at the corner of the girl’s lips from the kiss, Eric reached over and wiped it away with his finger before saying, “Sorry, Liz. I didn’t mean to.”
In those brief few seconds, Elizabeth felt as though her soul had floated somewhere far away.
Her entire field of vision had been filled with Eric’s face. She could feel him sucking on her lips, feel the touch of his slightly rough fingertips.
This feeling…
Well, honestly, it was pretty nice.
Then he seemed to say something. What was it again? Oh right, he said he did not mean to.
Didn’t mean to?!
The girl snapped back to reality, blinking rapidly several times as if confirming whether she had heard wrong.
She definitely had not.
How could he say something like that? It was completely shameless.
In an instant, the little spark rising inside the girl ignited like an engine catching fire. The strength that had scattered throughout her body rapidly gathered again.
Before Eric had completely pulled away, Elizabeth quickly glanced around. Failing to find any suitable weapon, she instinctively raised her leg and viciously kicked Eric with her sharp high heel.
“Ah!”
Amid the cry of pain, the girl kept her face tense and strode away without even turning back.
By the time the estate’s two security guards rushed over after hearing the noise, they only saw Eric sitting on a bench at the edge of the garden, pant leg rolled up as he rapidly rubbed his shin.
The two quickly recognized Eric’s identity and relaxed, returning their batons to their waists.
“Mr. Williams, what happened just now?”
Eric awkwardly laughed and shook his head. “Nothing. I just accidentally bumped into something.”
One of the guards glanced at the obvious bruise on Eric’s leg and asked concernedly, “Mr. Williams, would you like us to help you inside to rest?”
“No, no, no. That won’t be necessary. I’ll rest for a while and head back myself.”
The older guard figured Eric probably did not want others seeing him embarrass himself, but he also noticed the injury on Eric’s leg looked serious enough, so he said, “Mr. Williams, we have a first aid kit in our break room. I don’t know whether you… might need it?”
“Oh, then thank you very much.”
Eric immediately nodded and gratefully smiled at the man.
Meanwhile, Elizabeth did not return to the party hall. Instead, she went back to her bedroom. After taking off her evening gown and showering in the bathroom, the girl’s emotions still had not calmed down.
Although she had kicked Eric hard in the shin earlier, by the time she walked from the garden back to her bedroom, most of her anger had already dissipated. Now she instead felt restless and conflicted.
She irritably paced around several times, threw a few cushions, took countless deep breaths, yet none of it helped much. Finally, she flopped onto the bed and buried her head beneath a pillow, letting out several muffled cries in frustration.
After lying there quietly for a moment, she reached for the telephone on the bedside table, hugged it in her arms, and dialed a long string of numbers.
Julia, who had only just entered the city, heard her mobile phone ringing. She pulled the car over to the roadside before pressing the answer button to her ear.
Immediately afterward, Julia heard a voice sounding aggrieved like that of a little girl.
“Julia, he kissed me.”
Julia almost did not need to think to understand who the “he” Elizabeth referred to was.
Although the drunken confession incident had caused Julia to become timid and awkward around Eric during this period, her original personality had not changed. Hearing this, Julia seemed almost unsurprised. Not only was she not jealous, she even teased her.
“Liz, I only asked you to talk to him about the script issue. You really went all out, huh? So? He kissed you already. Did he agree?”
Elizabeth replied dejectedly, “No.”
Then the girl roughly explained the course of events, naturally omitting many details.
Julia patiently listened to the girl’s complaints from the other end of the phone, softly comforting her for a while before hanging up.
Starting the car again and continuing onto the road, Julia glanced toward Drew, who had been leaning over curiously with her ears perked up in the passenger seat.
Curling her lips, Julia complained, “Your little daddy really is awful. He forcibly kissed Liz, yet still refused to hand over even a single script.”
