Chapter 90: You Have to Fulfill a Few Dreams So You Won’t Regret It
Chapter 90: You Have to Fulfill a Few Dreams So You Won’t Regret It
After hanging up the phone, Eric turned to the woman and said, “Alright, go to UTA and find Kapoor. He’ll know what to do.”
Virginia had already changed into a rose-colored business skirt suit, adding a touch of intellectual elegance. She carried a small handbag in her hand.
“You’re not coming back to the city with me?”
“No. I’m waiting for my lawyer to come here. Besides, if the paparazzi spot us together, it won’t look very good.”
Virginia took out a set of keys and handed them to Eric.
“This is the spare key to the villa. If you want… you can come anytime.”
Eric smiled and slipped the keys into his pocket.
“Don’t worry, I’ll come often.”
As he spoke, he could not resist pinching the woman’s pointed chin.
“You look really sexy in that outfit. Wear it for me in bed next time.”
Virginia shot him a seductive glance.
“It’s only a little after eight. I could leave later, you know.”
Eric smacked her shapely rear through the skirt, rubbing it a few times afterward as he laughed.
“Stop acting so horny, or I’ll make it so you can’t leave the house for three days. Go on now.”
“Ah, you wrinkled it.”
Virginia swatted away Eric’s wandering hand and straightened her skirt.
“Then I’m leaving first.”
Not long after Virginia left, a black Mercedes stopped outside the villa.
Eric’s personal lawyer carefully checked the address on his note before pressing the doorbell with some confusion.
“Eric, did you buy another house here?” Edward Lewis asked after Eric opened the door.
Eric explained, “No, this is a friend’s house.”
Edward followed Eric into the living room. Even without looking at the feminine decor, the faint fragrance lingering in the air alone was enough for Edward to determine that this was a woman’s home. It made him somewhat envious of Eric’s luck with women.
Eric led his personal lawyer all the way to the second-floor balcony and pointed toward the distant pointed stretch of land.
“Edward, if I want to buy that piece of land, what would I need to do?”
Edward adjusted his glasses and squinted into the distance before shaking his head.
“Eric, it’s too far from here. How about we go over and take a look? I can’t really tell clearly from here.”
“No problem.”
Eric casually picked up the script with the design sketches drawn on it and followed Edward outside.
The two stood at the edge of the cliff on the pointed stretch of land. Beneath their feet were exposed brown rocks, while weeds grew wildly around them. Only the azure sea ahead offered a beautiful and soothing view.
Edward held one of the design sketches in his hand. Although it had been drawn with a fountain pen, Eric’s solid sketching skills still made the building on the page appear vivid and lifelike.
Inwardly, the lawyer admired the grandeur and luxury of the architectural design. If it were truly built, it would definitely become a landmark in Malibu.
“Eric, are you really sure you want to build a mansion like this?”
“Why, can’t I?”
Edward nodded.
“Both sides are private villas. While I don’t understand architectural engineering, I can still make a rough guess. The reason this place was turned into a park is probably because it isn’t suitable as construction land. Otherwise, nobody would leave several acres sitting vacant like this.”
“As long as I can get the land,” Eric replied, “I’ll build it no matter how much money it takes. If the terrain isn’t stable, reinforce it with concrete. If it needs soil, haul it in from elsewhere. If excavators can’t do the work, then use explosives.”
Edward laughed and shook his head.
Eric also felt that what he had just said sounded too much like a nouveau riche upstart and laughed along.
“Edward, you’re not secretly thinking, ‘damn rich people,’ are you?”
“Of course not. I just think it’s unnecessary, Eric.”
Edward pointed toward the villas on both sides.
“Houses like those are already very comfortable to live in. But here? Aside from rocks and weeds, there’s nothing.”
After saying that, Edward looked toward Eric curiously. He truly wanted to know why Eric had suddenly developed the idea of building a mansion here.
“You could call it one of my dreams.”
Understanding what the lawyer wanted to ask, Eric gave a half-true, half-fabricated explanation.
“When I first moved from England to Los Angeles as a child, my father brought me here once. I was young, and out of nowhere I got the idea of building a huge house on this exact piece of land. Later, I gradually forgot about it. But this morning, seeing this place again suddenly brought back that absurd childhood fantasy. It feels like another lifetime ago. And now that I finally have enough financial power, why not make it real?”
After speaking, Eric plucked a blade of grass and chewed it lightly between his teeth.
“Growing up, people have countless ideas and dreams that they slowly discard one after another. But if you don’t fulfill at least a few of them, won’t you regret it later? Edward, have you ever had any unusual dreams?”
Edward seemed to be drawn into old memories by Eric’s words.
“When I was in high school, I wanted to become a rock star. I skipped classes to learn music, got caught by my father, and was locked in confinement for a month. After I got out, I obediently applied to Yale Law School.”
Eric laughed loudly and sized up Edward, whose refined temperament resembled more of a scholar than a former rock enthusiast.
“You really don’t look like someone who used to play rock music.”
Edward sighed.
“Of course not. It’s been almost thirty years. Back then, The Beatles had just formed, and Elvis Presley was still at the peak of his fame. Now all those legends have already faded away.”
Elvis and the Beatles felt too distant to Eric, but he could still hear the nostalgia and sentiment in Edward’s voice. He searched through his pockets.
Edward glanced at Eric’s movements, then reached into his own pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes.
“Looking for this?”
Eric accepted one, lit it, and took a hard drag.
“I thought you didn’t smoke.”
Edward instinctively glanced around before lighting one himself.
“I only smoke occasionally. Back in high school, my nicotine addiction was pretty severe. Every time my father caught me smoking, he’d beat me with a cane. It hurt badly. Eventually it became a psychological shadow. Even after my father stopped controlling me, I still developed the habit of smoking secretly. Most people think I don’t smoke at all.”
The two men, both with the mental age of middle-aged uncles, chatted while smoking and letting the sea breeze wash over them for half an hour.
Finally, Edward crushed the last cigarette butt beneath his shoe, stuffed both his and Eric’s cigarette butts into the empty cigarette box, and slipped it into his pocket.
“I haven’t relaxed like this in a long time.”
“Then come here more often in the future.”
“Too busy.”
Edward shook his head before continuing, “Eric, prepare the check. I’ll do my best to help you acquire this land.”
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. I’m getting a commission for it, after all.”
Edward joked before adding:
“But Eric, you need to find yourself a financial manager. Strictly speaking, what happened today is outside the scope of my services.”