Chapter 39: Bro Has Wanted to Teach You a Lesson for a Long Time
Chapter 39: Bro Has Wanted to Teach You a Lesson for a Long Time
It was more than an hour later before Eric finally left John Aniston’s house. Unwilling to give up, he drove to Los Angeles International Airport and searched all over, but he still couldn't find Aniston. He estimated that she had already boarded a flight to New York.
Through his conversation with John Aniston, Eric finally came to understand the immense pressure Aniston had been under these past few days. At the same time, he realized he had still underestimated just how competitive this girl was.
When he thought about it, Aniston’s character really was like this. In his past life, after Aniston discovered Pitt’s infidelity and saw that there was no hope of saving the relationship, her divorce was neat and decisive. Compared to those philistine women who wished they could drain the man’s entire family fortune during a divorce, Aniston hadn't even asked for the alimony Pitt was supposed to pay.
Since that's the case, I'll just let you go for a while.
Eric thought to himself as he drove home, though he had a bit of a headache over how difficult it would be to explain away that mess with Drew from this morning.
However, Eric had absolutely no intention of giving up on Aniston. This was his first woman since his rebirth. Deep down, Eric was intensely possessive; even if he had to use some underhanded tactics, he would reel this stubborn girl back in.
Arriving home, he saw Drew sitting on the living room sofa, already fully dressed and looking anxious. Eric scratched his head again: What should I do with this little goblin who has stuck herself to me completely without even needing to be reeled in?
He certainly couldn't give her a nice look, otherwise, the girl would definitely start pushing her luck [1].
Sitting down on another sofa expressionlessly, Eric picked up a newspaper and began reading as if there were no one else around.
Seeing Eric return with a grim face and remain dead silent, acting as though she didn't exist, Drew grew even more uneasy. This kind of situation had never happened before.
Although she had always wanted to snatch Eric away from Aniston, she had never thought of forcing a breakup through such a misunderstanding. As a clever girl, she naturally knew that this method wouldn't just fail to win Eric over; it would make him despise her.
Although the scene this morning was unintentional, Drew knew that the primary responsibility still lay with her. And given Eric’s current expression, he had definitely broken things off with Aniston.
To break the standoff before her, Drew got up and ran to the kitchen. She reheated the breakfast Aniston had brought this morning and carried it over, placing the plate before Eric with a face full of small anticipation.
Eric ignored her and continued reading the newspaper.
"Eric, Mr. Carter Hunt from Fox called just now. He wants you to go over and discuss the contract."
"Mm-hmm..." Eric snorted a syllable out of his nose to show that he heard.
"Eric..." Drew called softly, taking small steps to move closer to Eric's side.
Rustle—
Eric intentionally flipped a page of the newspaper with force. Drew, who had intended to sit down right next to Eric, backed away quickly like a startled cat.
Seeing that Eric didn't follow up with any fierce reaction, Drew slowly edged back over. When she was still a meter away from Eric, the girl bent down, knelt on the floor, and crawled to Eric’s feet. She carefully tugged at the hem of Eric’s trousers, lightly rubbing her face against his knee, her voice already carrying a slight sob. She was truly terrified that Eric would loathe her because of this morning. If even he ignored her, what would be the point of her living? "Eric, I'm sorry. I... I didn't do it on purpose. I can... I can help you explain to Aniston."
Sensing the terror in Drew’s voice, Eric let out a sigh. He had intended to give the girl a lesson, but at this moment, his heart softened again.
Just as he was about to speak, Drew turned around and propped herself over the coffee table, perking up her rounded little bottom. "Eric, how about... you hit me, as long as you don't hate me."
Eric moved the newspaper away and saw the girl sprawled face-down over the coffee table. The light green cocktail dress tightly outlined her well-developed figure. Her slender waist dipped down naturally, and her perked-up little rear rose into a perfect heart shape. A pair of porcelain-white little bare feet were exposed, exuding a charming temptation everywhere.
Eric’s breathing grew slightly heavy. Feeling the shift behind her, Drew—who was anticipating Eric's punishment—turned her head. Seeing Eric’s eyes tightly fixed on her bottom with a burning desire, the girl reflexively wiggled her little rear, striking an even more provocative pose.
Smack—
In the end, he still couldn't hold back. Eric swung his hand and slapped down hard.
You torturous little goblin, bro has wanted to teach you a lesson for a long time.
After teaching the little goblin a lesson and looking at the baby face before him that was rubbing its bottom while drenched in tears, Eric couldn't help but offer some comfort before sending the girl out the door. Afterward, he took his lawyer, Edward Lewis, to Fox’s headquarters in Century City.
Although he already had a preliminary agreement with Barry Diller, they still spent several hours consulting over various details. It wasn't until past three o'clock in the afternoon that both parties finally signed the contract. When leaving Fox’s headquarters, in addition to the contract, Eric had an extra check for twenty-five million dollars in his hand.
"Jeffrey, can you contact Nicol and the others tonight? I want to host a party at home to celebrate... Everyone, of course. All the crew members who participated in filming Home Alone have to come... Great, let's leave it at that."
Hanging up the phone, Eric did a massive round of shopping at the supermarket. After thinking about it, he drove over to Jeff’s Italian restaurant, intending to ask a chef to help prepare for the party.
Just as he pushed open the door and walked into the Italian restaurant, the fat Jeff, who habitually loitered around the dining area, spotted him. He walked over with a face full of joy and gave Eric a powerful hug. "Hi, Eric! Long time no see. You’ve really been making waves lately. I watched both of your movies—truly excellent."
Eric smiled and hugged Jeff back, and the two of them sat down at an empty table.
"Julia, two coffees," Jeff called out to a girl dressed in a server's uniform after they took their seats.
"No problem, Mr. Jeff," a female voice responded from behind the counter.
Julia? Eric was somewhat curious. Having worked at the restaurant for several months, he knew there wasn't a server named Julia. He figured Jeff had hired a newcomer after he left.
Curiously turning his head to look, inside the counter, a tall lady with a head full of brown curls was facing away from the two of them, busying herself in front of the espresso machine.
Following Eric’s gaze, Jeff smiled and said, "Julia is a newcomer who arrived after you left. She’s also an actress. I heard she has a movie coming out in October."
Eric retracted his gaze and asked curiously, "An actress's income should be pretty good. Why would she come to work as a server?"
Jeff said, "To make a living, what else? There are thousands upon thousands of men and women chasing stardom in Los Angeles. How many can be as lucky as you? I heard that movie of hers was actually filmed last year. Because it’s an independent film, they tossed and turned for a whole year just to secure a release. She hasn't landed any acting gigs for nearly a year now, so she can only temporarily work at the restaurant to get by."
Eric shrugged indifferently. The countless independent film companies in Hollywood produced an unimaginable number of indie films every year. To be able to secure a release after a one-year delay was already considered quite fortunate.
Many independent films were made without even getting the chance for a VHS release, thrown straight into a warehouse to gather dust.
In this regard, it was very similar to the TV drama market in China in his past life. During the peak of the mainland Chinese TV drama market, over 1,000 series totaling more than 30,000 episodes were produced every year, but those that became household names numbered only a handful or a dozen or so a year. A vast portion of TV dramas were archived directly without ever getting the chance to be broadcast on a television station.
When Eric heard this information in his past life, he had really wanted to find those wealthy tycoons who threw billions into filming TV dramas every year only for it to go down the drain, grab their thighs, and yell, "Tycoon, let's be friends, alright?!"
"Mr. Jeff, and... sir, your coffees."
While Eric was casually chatting with Jefferson [2], the server named Julia walked over carrying the coffees.
"Thank you." Eric reached out to take the coffee cup, simultaneously catching an inadvertent glimpse of the girl beside him. This single glance instantly made Eric’s hand shake, causing the scalding coffee to splash out and spill onto him.
Sharply inhaling a breath of cold air, he endured the burning pain to place the coffee cup on the dining table, then frantically pulled out a few napkins to wipe the back of his hand where it had been scalded.
"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry." Seeing Eric’s skin turning red from the scald, the lady apologized repeatedly.
Jeff glared fiercely at the lady, then turned to Eric and said, "Eric, quick, go to the back and rinse it with cold water."
Eric nodded, got up, and walked toward the back kitchen. When the other people in the restaurant noticed Eric appearing in the kitchen, they all gathered around warmly. The girl, holding a wet towel and wanting to help, stood on the outer edge of the crowd, completely at a loss. This boy seemed to have a very good relationship with the owner, Jeff. Having scalded him like this, she wondered if Jeff would punish her.
"Alright, I'm fine. Everyone go back to your own work, otherwise, Jeff is going to have an issue with me."
Among the crowd, Jeff pretended to be angry and said, "Eric, am I really that petty of a person?"
Everyone laughed and bantered for a few moments before dispersing.
Following Jeff back out to the main hall, the two of them sat down. Only then did Eric notice that the girl had followed them like a little tail, her face full of anxiety.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Eric. I didn't do it on purpose, truly." The girl had learned Eric’s name from how people had just addressed him.
"It's fine, I was careless myself just now. Your name is..." Although he was intimately familiar with that iconic large mouth, at this moment, he could only act like a stranger.
"My name is Julia Roberts," the girl replied.