Chapter 246: Those Helpless Little Schemes
Chapter 246: Those Helpless Little Schemes
Because if things were like that, it would bring her many benefits. Just like Aniston. As Eric’s girlfriend, her status on the Friends set was like that of a princess. Even though the other five leads were currently just as famous as Aniston, on the Friends set, the special treatment Aniston received far surpassed the other five. The way UTA tilted resources toward Aniston was something the other five leads simply could not compare to. Although this partly had to do with Aniston’s father being a producer of Friends, everyone knew the main reason was Eric.
Nicole naturally also wanted to enjoy this kind of “treatment.” She did not care at all whether those who found out would gossip behind her back. As long as they knew she was Eric’s woman and had to treat her carefully, that was enough. However, although Nicole harbored such thoughts, Eric had never shown any intention of proactively introducing their relationship to others. So the woman could only do it herself. During this period, by subtly creating little accidents and little hints without leaving traces, more or less everyone who should know about her relationship with Eric already knew, while those who should not know still remained unaware.
Eric was actually perfectly aware of the woman’s little schemes as well, but Nicole had always been very careful and had never touched his bottom line. What else could he do? He certainly could not go around personally explaining things one by one to everyone who had found out about their relationship.
Walking silently to the large bed, Eric propped two pillows behind himself against the headboard, picked up the file Allen had delivered, and casually patted the spot beside him.
The woman immediately revealed a charming smile, slipped off the thin gauze nightdress covering her body, and climbed onto the bed wearing only delicate black lace lingerie. Like an obedient cat, she slid into Eric’s arms, using her warm, soft, smooth body to lightly tease and rub against him while her small hand tried to pull away the towel around Eric’s waist.
Eric smacked the restless woman on the rear and said, “Stop fooling around. Let me finish reading this first.”
Nicole leaned over and asked, “What is it?”
Eric’s large hand slid along the woman’s smooth skin to her chest. Catching one of the soft mounds beneath the lace, he kneaded it lightly while saying, “Information on the real estate tycoon who invited me to lunch today.”
“Oh.” The woman nodded, looking completely uninterested. Under the kneading of Eric’s large hand, she leaned against the man’s chest, letting out soft little breaths from time to time while occasionally nibbling at Eric’s chest with her teeth.
Eric ignored the woman’s small movements. From time to time, he withdrew his hand from her chest to turn another page of the file. The information Allen had hurriedly gathered was not extensive, but it was enough for Eric to gain a thorough understanding of Donald Teplang.
After reading the materials in the file, Eric discovered that what Donald Teplang had said during lunch was half true and half false. Perhaps the man also knew that if Eric became interested afterward, he would definitely collect related information himself, so he did not dare fabricate things recklessly.
It was just that in some places, he had swapped concepts around a little, while other things were described ambiguously.
For example, Donald’s claim that his real estate company needed financing was true enough. Donald’s company’s cash flow really had become so strained that it was on the verge of breaking at any moment. However, the reason banks refused to lend to his company anymore was not because of the overall American economic situation, but because Donald Teplang’s ambition had caused him to spread his company too wide. Therefore, when the real estate industry’s decline began this year, his company suffered the greatest impact. The impact was so severe that the banks were stuck in an impossible position and practically had to treat him like an honored ancestor. Because once Donald’s real estate company went bankrupt, the ones who would suffer the greatest losses would actually be those banking groups. Although the banks had done some work to avoid Donald’s company going bankrupt, they still refused to lend him another cent.
Feeling the large hand kneading her chest growing lighter and lighter until it eventually stopped moving altogether, Nicole’s eyes flickered. She rubbed her thigh against Eric a few times and softly asked, “Eric, what do you think about me getting breast enhancement surgery?”
Eric lifted his gaze from the file in confusion and pulled open the woman’s bra for a look. “They’re fine. What enhancement?”
Nicole directly pulled the bra down farther and pushed herself toward him. “But… don’t you think they’re too small?”
Eric replied indifferently, “Do whatever you want. If you want surgery, then get it.” After saying that, he lowered his gaze back to the file.
Nicole bit her lip. Although Eric verbally said it was up to her, the woman still sharply caught the trace of dislike in Eric’s eyes and immediately abandoned the thought she had originally entertained.
When Eric flipped farther into the file, he discovered that Allen had also conveniently found several articles analyzing the North American real estate industry over the past few years written by economic experts. Eric then noticed another problem. During lunch, Donald Teplang had told him that now was a great opportunity to buy into real estate at the bottom. However, the economic experts analyzed that this decline in the real estate industry had only just begun. According to past patterns, this kind of downturn would continue for another two or three years. As for how long the market would remain at its low point afterward, that would depend on the subsequent economic situation. In other words, over at least the next five years, investing in North American real estate would not be a wise choice at all.
And the final chart showing North American housing price trends completely extinguished the last trace of temptation Eric still had. Because from the 1950s to 1990, the overall trend of North American housing prices was not, as Donald Teplang had casually claimed during lunch, one of continuous growth. Although prices constantly rose and fell, they remained within a relatively stable range. Even though inflation certainly existed over those forty years, housing prices themselves had not changed dramatically.
This was unlike the other side of the ocean in his previous life. In North America, housing prices were closely tied to economic conditions, and politics had little influence over them. On the other side of the ocean, however, it was exactly the opposite. Housing prices were hijacked by politics. Therefore, every year in his previous life, experts over there loudly predicted housing prices would collapse, yet they never did. That was because those experts only analyzed things from an economic perspective and forgot the political factors. Housing prices supported national strength, supported face, supported the status of being the world’s number two. So they could not be allowed to fall. Even if money could be discarded, face still had to be preserved. Thus, whenever housing prices showed signs of decline, the original tightening policies loosened as quickly as a lecher’s belt upon seeing a naked woman, and all sorts of stimulus policies immediately followed one after another.
Eric vigorously shook his head, throwing those thoughts out of his mind. He tossed the file aside, pulled away the towel around his waist, and pressed lightly on the woman’s shoulder. “Go soothe it. I’ll punish you more gently later.”
“You’re awful,” Nicole shot Eric a glare, yet obediently crawled downward.
Eric soon let out a long, comfortable breath.