Chapter 887: Chapter 293: Family Affairs
“Disney and Warner merged?” Adrian, flipping through the documents in his hand, raised this question from behind his desk.
“Really? How come I didn’t know?” Charlize, sitting in the chair in front of him, snorted softly. She leaned lazily to one side, with one arm resting on the back of the chair and one hand on her raised thigh, exuding a lazy yet cool charm.
“Alright, I misspoke. It was the Disney Channel and Warner’s WB network that merged…” Adrian rolled his eyes with amusement, “Okay, that’s not quite right either. Basically, Disney, Warner, and a few other small networks formed a brand new TV network, WD, that finally covers the entire nation… Is there a problem with that?”
“Of course not, but ABC wants to know your opinion,” Charlize said with a hint of displeasure, “So they sent me here, asking the vice president of ABC to personally come over and inquire about a newly formed network. It’s quite something they came up with.”
“And also Facebook’s shareholders,” Adrian added with a laugh, “Even without an IPO, you’re still one of the wealthiest young single women.”
Compared to the shares the ABC vice president must reclaim upon resignation, the equity in Facebook is evidently more jaw-dropping. Charlize and Ivanka practically did nothing, yet their net worth is already in the billions—though that’s just an estimate.
“Is the keyword of that sentence ‘single’?” Charlize squinted her eyes.
“Of course not, what I meant was, since they’ve sent you to seduce me, you should be more professional about it,” Adrian chuckled as he raised his eyebrows suggestively.
Charlize rolled her eyes at him but still stood up, walked around the desk to stand in front of him, then turned her back and bent over. She wore a standard black OL outfit; although the short skirt was a bit longer than before, almost reaching her knees, the black garter stockings made her long, beautiful legs particularly enticing. Especially those two black seams at the back. Some people think they don’t look good, while others think they’re very sexy. Adrian was among the latter, and he immediately caressed her leg lovingly upward.
“There’s nothing to worry about, even if the new WD network can cover the whole nation, their competitiveness is still at the bottom. I can almost predict what direction they’ll take. This is just right; I have a TV show that’s perfect for them, and given that other networks aren’t clear about the situation, maintaining a certain amicable relationship is necessary. After all, there’s not much threat. As for Eisner, he’s beyond recovery; stepping down is only a matter of time. Our side is already considering how to cooperate or compete with Disney in the post-Eisner era,” Adrian said admiringly, as he rolled up her skirt and slid his fingers inside.
Charlize hissed softly as she maintained her posture, “Obviously, there will be more competition. Innie told me there’s a teen-oriented TV show about to come out, right?”
“She really tells you everything.” Listening to her heavy breathing, Adrian’s fingers didn’t pause for a second.
Just then, the office door opened, and Ivanka, dressed in a similar OL outfit, walked in, placing the documents she was holding on the desk. Her eyes didn’t linger on the abused Charlize; she had seen such situations countless times and done the same herself many times over.
“Thank you, Innie,” Adrian greeted with a smile, using one hand to flip through the files, “Just leave it here for now; I’ll take a look later.”
Then, with a snort from Ivanka, he pulled out a document and handed it to her, “Also, recommend her to the Vaughn Law Firm as an intern.”
“Oh?” Ivanka seemed slightly surprised, then laughed dryly after taking a look, “What, planning to discard after playtime? I remember you never did such things before.”
“What things?” Charlize took the opportunity to free herself from Adrian’s fingers, dropped her skirt, and took the document from Ivanka’s hand, “Josephine Nordgreen? Who’s that?”
“A legal intern, he just got his hands on her,” Ivanka simply explained.
“Her sister introduced her to me, and I had no idea she was an intern in the company’s legal department at first,” Adrian raised his hand defensively.
“Didn’t know?” The two women sneered in unison, and then Charlize playfully asked, “Why are you transferring her out now? Didn’t enjoy enough?”
“Haha, of course, it’s to nurture her. Our legal department doesn’t have that many things to handle,” Adrian said, his eyes twinkling.
The Nordgreen sisters weren’t naive women. Erin Nordgreen introduced her sister to him during a party at his own home. Though Adrian and Woods barely knew each other, both were socialites, and since ESPN had a good relationship with Woods, he attended their party when he was invited and happened to have time.
While chatting with this couple, Josephine “happened” to come over and “happened” to let him know she had obtained a master’s degree from a law school in Sweden and was currently studying at Stanford Law School, likely to obtain another master’s degree in law while also interning… in the legal department of AC Media.
Such an obvious hint, and Josephine being a sexy and attractive woman, Adrian naturally enjoyed her. However, there’s no need to stay in the legal department afterward. For women with such scheming, if they can’t be as well understood as Kate, Charlize, or Ivanka, he wouldn’t keep them close, especially after incidents like Penelope’s.
Incidentally, apart from having their own legal departments, every large corporation also keeps a few law firms, and Vaughn Law Firm is one of the nationally ranked firms with AC Media investments, so arranging Josephine to intern there isn’t exactly burning bridges. Moreover, it provided an opportunity to observe whether this woman who can earn multiple law degrees can grow into something more, especially considering she and her sister are twins. Just think of Erin Nordgreen and Woods, tsk tsk…
“I think he’s harboring some ulterior motives, don’t you?” Ivanka said to Charlize.
“Obviously. It’s not the first time he’s caused this kind of situation in the family and still messes around with women.” Charlize shrugged.
Adrian quickly became speechless; at home, there was really nothing… Well, Sophie and Monica were a bit unhappy. After all, they’re Europeans who hold a fondness for European films, and have been hounded by reporters lately asking for reactions to Adrian’s remarks. Monica was fine; she had come to Hollywood not long after deciding to pursue a film career and met Adrian. But Sophie, having gone through a lot in the European film circle, took those words as a significant blow.
Fortunately, her biggest wish was already fulfilled by Adrian, and having been by his side for many years left a considerable impression. Her career also gradually transitioned to Hollywood, so after being patiently coaxed several times and with Monica’s guidance on the side, Sophie eventually calmed down.
Moreover, Zeta-Jones’ belly was becoming more prominent, and she was getting plumper as well, with the expected delivery date set for late August. Soon, Adrian’s daughter lineup would expand again. Correct, a daughter; he was one hundred percent sure it was a daughter, and not just one. After linking arms with Nicole to return to the hotel in Cannes in front of reporters, not only caused a stir and prompted him to start his plan prematurely but also resulted in Nicole’s pregnancy.
“Congratulations, Ed, you’ve finally secured the VIP card.” Nicole had a pleased glow at the time, rubbing her belly as she told him, looking as if Ed was the one who got pregnant instead of her.
Of course, even though Nicole often spoke privately with the tone of a personal call girl, she was genuinely delighted about the pregnancy. Interestingly, besides her, Naomi got pregnant too, just the day before Adrian left Cannes, which happened to be the night after he severely humiliated Tier and others at a salon.
With the full rollout of the plan, an especially excited Adrian spent a passionate night with Nicole and Naomi, and since Nicole, who was already successfully pregnant by instinct, protected herself, Naomi ended up receiving the majority of the “essence,” thus also successfully conceiving that night.
“This isn’t so bad.” Upon confirming and telling Adrian, Naomi said this as she gently caressed her belly. Unlike Nicole’s eccentricity, she was full of maternal love, evidently ready to be a mother.
Though a surprise, Adrian wasn’t too distressed; after all, he already had a soccer team, and he didn’t mind having another one later. He could certainly afford it. The only concern was that if there were too many daughters, they might become increasingly difficult to manage. The oath made long ago was humorously realized in this manner. It was a pity though; if Nicole and Naomi could have conceived simultaneously like Sophie and Monica, it would have been even more interesting.
That’s currently the situation at home, the story could be called the Birth of the Cowell Family Girls’ Soccer Team. As for Kate’s and Lily’s reactions…
“Really? Sounds interesting, maybe I should consider playing a role in it?” Kate had a noticeable fake smile as she turned her gaze to Adrian, “What do you think, Ed? This is a movie series with all the top-level actors in the United Kingdom, and I’m British, right?”
“Hmm… could consider it, but… still need to ask Joe’s opinion, after all, she’s the original author.” Sitting at the top, Adrian replied while awkwardly deflecting.
“Don’t evade, Ed, I’m serious,” Kate raised an eyebrow, “Even if Joanna is the original author, as the owner of the film company who has helped her too, she surely would respect your opinion.”
“That’s not appropriate, Kate,” Little Emma sitting to Adrian’s left subtly pursed her lips, “Do you mean to have Ed force Joe?”
“What, do I look like I’m going to force Joe?” Kate squinted her eyes.
“Of course not,” Little Emma said with a grin, “I’m just trying to remind you to pay attention to this point.”
Adrian, observing all this, lowered his head to eat lunch, feeling a bit tired and not wanting to manage them anymore. Sitting a bit lower down, Lily furrowed her eyebrows, and her eyes moved among Mom, Dad, and Emma, sometimes looking puzzled and sometimes thoughtful.
“Dad, is there any conflict between Mom and Emma?”
“Mom, is there any conflict between you and Emma?”
“Emma, do you have any conflict with Mom?”
After having lunch, Lily asked the same question three times and received the same consistent answer.
“Darling, Mom and Emma have no conflict.”
“Darling, I have no conflict with Emma.”
“Silly Lily, Kate and I have no conflict.”
I thought only Dad and Mom would lie, but I didn’t expect Emma would lie too. What are they hiding from me? Lily angrily noted this heavily in her little notebook. She always felt that Mom and Emma had some unspeakable secret, like whenever there was a chance, Mom would target Emma, and every time this happened, Emma would pull her away to play in front of Mom, and Mom would become unhappy…
“Really annoying, what exactly is going on?!” Lily fell onto her bed and then rolled over and squirmed around. This kind of feeling was truly awful for the little one who considered herself smart.
Unfortunately, she would not know the truth for at least a long time, don’t think that only Mom, Dad, and Emma are guarding against her in this family.
“Alright, that’s enough for today.” Facing the temptation before him, Adrian took a deep breath.
“Why?” Little Emma looked down at her chest and then used her hands to hold up her little budding breast with a dissatisfied look, “It could definitely be rubbed for two more rounds.”
“This kind of thing should proceed gradually,” Adrian explained, “and there’s no effect visible in the short term. If you set this aside and suddenly remember it one day and look in the mirror, you’ll find they’ve grown a lot.”
“How do I know if it’s natural development or because you’ve been helping to stimulate them, just one more time,” Little Emma acted coquettishly, filled with youthful desire. Once her young body started to sway, the temptation grew rapidly, especially since she wasn’t wearing anything on her upper body, “I’m not asking for much, just having a B-cup size would be enough.”
Adrian quickly coughed and leaned back, “Listen, Emma, if you’re really worried, go look at Keira’s chest and you’ll understand.”
“I knew it, Keira must have grown bigger with you helping to pinch her,” Little Emma said with a triumphant smile, as if she had grasped some handle, but then her expression turned pleading, “I also want the same treatment.”
“Emma.” Adrian called her name earnestly.
Little Emma’s face immediately fell, “You’re going to Kate’s place?”
“No… I’m just…” Adrian said tiredly, “Emma, you should know.”
“But I waited for you for so long in London… you always left just after a few days… finally waiting until summer vacation to come to the United States…” Little Emma pouted with teary eyes and looked at him.
“Alright, Emma, I won’t go to Kate’s place, I promise…” Adrian sighed and then hugged her, gently kissing her small nipple, “Don’t worry, there’s still a long summer vacation ahead of us, we have plenty of time.”
“Okay.” Although very reluctantly, Little Emma agreed. She did know what he was mindful of.
Adrian finally let out a sigh of relief. Even when giving chest massages, he was extremely careful. If Lily saw, it would truly be awful. Still, Little Emma and Kate were annoying; even if they had disagreements for various reasons before, there’s no need to be so obvious, right?
This is indeed the situation at home, of course, despite so many vexing matters, what needs to be done still has to be done, such as the premieres of various summer holiday blockbusters.
“Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith,” premiered at Cannes, was already released in the United States, as usual, criticized by fans, and many flocked to the cinemas to watch the last of the prequel trilogy. Likewise, major productions from different companies were set to release on selected dates, with DreamWorks’ “War of the Worlds” scheduled for mid-June.
“To be honest, sometimes I really wish I could see firsthand a commotion like in 1938.” Adrian said to an elderly man standing in front of him, who wore round glasses and had a neatly trimmed beard, “If you could fulfill this dream for me, Steven.”
“Trust me, Ed, that’s definitely not a good idea.” Spielberg laughed heartily, very appreciative of his indirect compliment, “Though I hope this work would have such an impact, I can’t remain calm and continue editing and broadcasting when the police storm the studio.”
“That’s truly unfortunate.” Adrian shrugged.
“Speaking of which, why did you want to produce a movie like ‘Pianist’?” Spielberg suddenly asked.
Adrian couldn’t help but smile slightly, “I mentioned to reporters before that I had the idea ever since you made ‘Schindler’s List,’ it’s just that there wasn’t a good script at the time, and I needed more experience, so it remained a faint thought until I discovered Mr. Spyman’s biography. Even so, I brewed it for several years before daring to bring it to the big screen.”
“It’s truly a pity I didn’t go to Cannes this year,” Spielberg sighed, “but many people say it’s an outstanding work; otherwise, the jury wouldn’t have awarded you the Palme d’Or under such circumstances.”
Adrian maintained his smile, a flash of light passing through his eyes, “Thank you.”
“You’ve really taught European filmmakers a lesson.” Spielberg suddenly laughed again, “It’s been a long time since anyone taught them like this.”
“I’m just telling the truth.” Adrian’s smile turned even more intense, “I’ve always hoped to see some truly outstanding European commercial productions, but aside from stubbornly clinging to their pride, they offer nothing else, always disappoint.”
“By the way, when do you plan to release ‘Pianist’ in the United States, not going to Cannes, the U.S. certainly won’t miss it.” Spielberg switched the topic or perhaps returned to the previous topic.
“It’s not completely settled yet, but definitely not now. I have no interest in pitting art films against commercial blockbusters,” Adrian spread his hands, “Even if it’s an art film, maintaining the cost is the priority.”
The two exchanged a glance and laughed again. (To be continued. If you like this work, please come to Qidian () to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)