Chapter 87: But I’m Not an Angel
Chapter 87: But I’m Not an Angel
After finally sending Kapoor away, Jeffrey came over next. Then several Fox executives stopped by to greet him. Just when he finally finished socializing with them, James L. Brooks came over and said a few producers wanted to meet him.
No problem. Continue!
After greeting and seeing people off like this for over an hour, the smile on his face had practically stiffened before things finally quieted down.
Exhausted to death. Forget picking up women.
He simply walked to a sofa in the corner and sat down.
“Mr. Williams, may I have the honor of a dance?”
Eric instinctively revealed a stiff smile. Before the girl opposite him could become happy, she saw Eric shake his head.
“Sorry, miss. I’m too tired.”
“Oh… sorry.”
The other party turned and left dejectedly.
After rejecting two more bold actresses who came over to invite him, Eric thought nobody else would bother him again.
Then a blond, blue-eyed, pretty-faced, soft-spoken… man approached him.
“Mr. Williamss, my name is…”
Eric forcibly restrained himself from taking a defensive stance.
I don’t want to know your name at all. I just want to quietly be a handsome man with a normal sexual orientation. Is that really so hard?
“Sorry, could you let me stay alone for a while?”
“Oh~ sorry.”
Could your tone not sound so resentful?
Eric covered his forehead and inwardly complained.
Just after enjoying peace for barely ten seconds, another voice sounded.
“Eric, want some juice? It helps sober you up.”
Eric raised his eyes and saw another soft and charming face, holding two glasses of orange juice.
“Of course. Thank you, Miss Madsen.”
Eric accepted the juice.
Virginia Madsen naturally sat down beside Eric and subtly leaned toward him. The full softness of her chest rubbed against his arm as she spoke in a resentful tone.
“I’m so happy you still remember me. Can you call me Virginia?”
“Alright, Virginia… hmm, Vicky?”
“Whatever,” the woman smiled. “By the way, how did Gerald end up approaching you? Could it be that you…”
Eric immediately raised his voice in denial.
“Absolutely not.”
“Heh, why such a huge reaction? Relax, I don’t discriminate against gay people. I’ve met many directors like that. I actually think gay men are more emotionally delicate.”
“Vicky, can we change the topic?”
Virginia carefully studied Eric’s expression before nodding.
“So you really aren’t, huh? Then what happened just now?”
“Didn’t you see?”
Virginia shook her head.
“I went to the restroom. When I came out, I just saw Gerald leaving your side.”
Eric explained, “I was too tired and rejected several girls who invited me to dance. Maybe that made the guy misunderstand something.”
Virginia chuckled.
“Good thing I didn’t invite you to dance, or I probably would’ve been chased away too.”
Eric did not want to continue discussing the topic. Rejecting several women in a row really had been somewhat rude.
“So, what movie are you filming lately?”
The moment she heard that question, Virginia felt a strong sense of disappointment.
Ever since hearing Eric’s words the first time they met, she had always believed Eric truly had drawn inspiration for Pretty Woman from her.
Unfortunately, she had failed to get the female lead role.
Earlier tonight, Virginia had seen Julia Roberts moving through the crowd like a princess more than once. The jealousy in her heart almost clawed her insides apart.
Before this, Julia had not even been as famous as her. But now, that lucky girl had become a world-famous Hollywood actress.
If she had taken a little more initiative that night, perhaps she would be the one enjoying all this admiration now.
Thinking this, Virginia secretly resolved that tonight, she absolutely had to hold tightly onto Eric.
“A while ago, I just finished filming a movie. I played a rich businessman’s wife who drives into a river and dies at the end.”
“That’s… I’m sorry.”
Eric awkwardly did not know how to respond.
This doesn’t seem to have anything to do with me, right? You didn’t really die. Why does it sound like I’m the murderer or something?
After thinking about it, Eric still comforted her.
“Things will get better eventually.”
“It’s hard to see any hope. I’m almost washed up already. I can’t play innocent girls anymore. In another couple of years, maybe I’ll only be able to play housewives.”
Hearing the words “innocent girls,” Eric laughed.
Looks like Virginia still remembered what happened a few months ago very clearly.
At that party, while dancing with her, he had casually mentioned it, though most of his words had simply been compliments about her beauty.
He did not care about the little schemes hidden in Virginia’s words.
Hollywood was also a world where men held power over women. A woman without status or backing who wanted to rise to prominence—how could she possibly avoid using a few tricks or doing a few guilty things?
Thinking back to his previous life…
Ten whole years.
He had never even climbed over that wall. He could only circle around outside it, peering through the cracks as he watched it build towering mansions, host lavish banquets, bask in splendor and noise, indulge in drunken excess.
“Vicky, do you want an opportunity?”
Virginia’s eyes lit up.
“Of course I do.”
Eric’s gaze boldly swept over the mature body wrapped in her black evening dress.
“But I’m not an angel. What can you offer?”
“Everything.”
The party had already gone on for several hours.
Many men and women had begun leaving in pairs one after another.
Maybe they had simply developed mutual attraction and were heading toward a one-night stand.
Maybe some sort of transaction had been reached, with both sides willing.
At Hollywood parties like this, fairy tales about love at first sight rarely happened. On the other hand, stories about people getting scammed for money or sex surfaced from time to time.
The two rode the elevator together down to the underground parking lot.
At this season, Los Angeles nights were only around ten degrees Celsius. As the chilly late-night wind blew over them, Virginia—wearing a thin evening dress—became a little more clear-headed and started regretting agreeing to Eric so impulsively.
She felt she should at least have teased this young director a little first and secured some reliable benefits before sleeping with him.
What was this now?
He had not promised her anything at all.
If this little man decided to deny everything afterward, then she would truly have been played for nothing.
A jacket gently settled over her shoulders.
Virginia grabbed the lapels and smiled at Eric.
Forget it. Just treat it as a one-night stand.
At least this little man was fairly considerate.
After quietly discussing it, the two decided to go to Virginia’s home in Malibu.
When Eric arrived earlier, he had been completely surrounded by paparazzi. Those people were probably very curious whether he would bring a woman home tonight. His Beverly Hills mansion was undoubtedly already under surveillance.
Taking Virginia home now would basically mean personally delivering explosive gossip material to the paparazzi.
It took nearly an hour to drive from the Hilton Hotel to Malibu, and that was without traffic.
Fortunately, both of them were fairly talkative, so there were no awkward silences along the way.
Following Virginia into a small villa north of the coastal highway, far from the beach—probably so far that even the second-floor balcony could barely see the ocean—Eric casually asked:
“Why live here?”
Virginia hung Eric’s jacket on a rack and answered frankly:
“Being able to buy a small villa like this in Malibu is already pretty good. You don’t think that just because I acted in a few movies, I’d be able to buy property in Beverly Hills, do you?”
Eric shrugged, realizing he had just asked an idiotic “why don’t they eat meat?” kind of question.
Thinking back carefully, after Virginia debuted in David Lynch’s Dune, she really had not produced any particularly notable works before the 1990s.
Of course, she did not have many afterward either. Later, she switched over to television dramas.
An actress at her level might possess a certain degree of fame, but not box office appeal. Therefore, the movies she could get were mostly low-budget independent films, and her salary might only be tens of thousands of dollars.
After tonight, yet another woman’s fate was going to be changed by him.
After all, ever since he appeared, Hollywood history had already been destined to become a complete mess.
So he might as well alter things however he pleased.
If he got to live a second life but still could not do whatever he wanted, then what would be the point of living again?