I am Hollywood

Chapter 915: Chapter 917: I Actually Don't Care Much

[Chapter 917: I Actually Don't Care Much]

Mulholland Drive wound its way through the entire Santa Monica Mountains, where two luxury cars parked quietly along the side of the road, gazing toward Malibu's sharp edge.

It was already early morning. On a hilltop near the highway, Eric lay on a camping mat, propped up on his arms, watching the sky shift from a dull gray to a bright blue. The surrounding area was open and serene. Beneath him was a grassy meadow, but the ground wasn't particularly even. Aniston, resting in his arms, instinctively searched for a more comfortable position in her sleep, rolling most of her body toward him.

Eric felt a pang of guilt over Aniston's public breakdown the night before. He had allowed her to vent all the pent-up frustration from recent years, enduring her pinches and bites in the car, and wandering aimlessly for hours along the lengthy Mulholland Drive.

By the time they reached the Malibu hilltop, it was late at night. Eric had intended to drive back to the estate at the Liberty City, but she insisted on staying to watch the sunrise. Eric naturally acquiesced. He sent their bodyguards back to fetch some camping gear and food, and accompanied her to the hilltop. After crying and fussing, she had stayed awake until just past two in the morning before finally dozing off.

Perhaps tempted by the lingering scent of last night's snacks, a little squirrel suddenly popped out from nearby bushes, eagerly grabbing a small piece of chocolate and munching on it. After finishing in just a few bites, the little guy seemed reluctant to leave, sniffing around for more and dashing toward a snack bag.

Eric had initially watched the little creature steal food in silence, but he didn't expect the critter to be so oblivious to its surroundings, making the bag crinkle loudly.

Concerned that Aniston might wake up, Eric carefully reached out and flicked the fluffy tail of the little creature. Startled, the squirrel leapt forward, creating an even louder commotion as it scampered away, only to stop at a distance and cautiously glance back at Eric, clearly reluctant to leave empty-handed.

The sudden noise jolted Aniston awake. After a moment of grogginess, memories of the previous night flooded back to her -- the way she had stubbornly toyed with Eric's patience. A wave of regret washed over her, making her question if she had been too willful.

She didn't dare look up at Eric's reaction. Instead, Aniston's hand snaked out from beneath the blanket wrapping them, slipping under Eric's shirt collar to touch the shoulder she had bitten the night before. The sensation of his skin was vivid under her fingertips, even feeling the scab from the blood that had dried there.

Eric naturally wrapped his arms around her slender waist. She was still clad in the silk gown from last night, its smooth texture caressing against his skin. Even though he had jokingly claimed a ninety percent chance of getting her back in bed, he didn't act on it.

However, feeling her movements, Eric couldn't help but tease, "What's this? Can't wait to take advantage of me first thing in the morning?"

Aniston's fingers paused but didn't pull back. Instead, she shifted her body fully onto him, resting her face against his chest, listening to the strong rhythm of his heartbeat, whispering, "Eric, I don't know what to do."

"If you don't know what to do, just set it aside and focus on what you can manage."

Aniston scrunched her nose in displeasure and replied, "Do you say these brainwashing lines to all the women around you?"

"No, not at all. You know I'm actually quite lazy."

"Uh-huh, lazy enough not to seek me out for six years."

"I thought you didn't want to see me again for the rest of your life."

"Now you're just arguing. You know I didn't mean it. That tie, that tie..."

"Ha! I remember getting seven ties that day. Well, it must have been seven, maybe eight."

"..." She fell silent for a moment, then added grumpily, "I really want to bite you again."

Golden sunlight gradually spilled over them as Eric gently rubbed her waist, saying, "The sun's up. Let's head down the mountain. You can take your time biting me at home."

Aniston suddenly recalled something and exclaimed, glancing around before turning Eric's wrist to check his watch. "It's already seven o'clock! Where are we? I have to shoot today."

With the fall season approaching, filming for the new season of Friends had kicked off. Eric was well aware of this, lightly patting Aniston's side. "No worries. The production company and the network's owners are here. You've got such a valid reason to be absent. It would be a waste not to use it."

"I don't want that. But, um, the way I was last night... they, they..." She murmured, sinking back down on Eric.

Eric continued to hold her soft body, chuckling, "Yeah, so what to do? How about I build a little wooden cabin here, and you can live here in hiding from now on?"

"With all that money, you're only willing to build a cabin? How stingy! At least it should be a castle, like Hearst Castle!"

"Do you know Hearst Castle took thirty years to build? Old William Hearst didn't finish it before he died. Do you really think you can wait that long?"

"Of course, I can be very patient."

"But I don't have that patience," Eric said with a laugh, rolling over to plant a few kisses on her sweet face. "Alright, let's get going. I told them last night, and no one dares to say a word."

Suddenly pressed down by Eric, Aniston let out a couple of light squeals, reciprocating his kisses, unknowingly wrapping her arms around his waist. "You... if you could be a little more devoted, you'd be the perfect man in the world. Why can't you just be a bit more dedicated?"

Eric leaned down again, kissing her lips lightly, laughing, "I didn't expect such high praise from you. But there really is no perfect person in the world," he said, pausing his teasing tone, serious now, "and you might already know, I have two kids now."

Aniston's eyes dimmed slightly as she nodded, forcing a smile, then mockingly added, "Of course, I know. I even know you named your daughter Hawaii. It's so chaotic; only a father like you would give your child such a bizarre name."

"What's wrong with Hawaii? I think it's nice."

"Hmph, not at all! When I..." She abruptly stopped, her gaze flitting away, her cheeks flushed, making Eric want to bite her.

Eric nodded with a grin. "Of course. When we have kids, I'll leave the naming to you."

"Who said I want to have your kids?" Aniston exclaimed, playfully pushing Eric's head away, her shyness evident.

"After last night, do you think you'll find any other guys?"

"You arrogant jerk," Aniston shot Eric a glare, but thinking back on last night's events made her sad again. She tightened her grip around him, whispering, "You better not bully me anymore."

"Yeah, I promise."

"And you better not make me sad."

"No problem."

"And you can't bring other women around me."

"Sure."

"And you can't talk about our business with others."

"Absolutely."

"And you can't touch other women."

"Uh... let's renegotiate from 'you jerk' onward."

Aniston playfully thumped her fist on Eric, then, in an instant, leaned over, kissing him. "Alright, you jerk, I'll let that last one slide. Let's go down the mountain; I have to shoot."

"I was serious just now. What if you take a few days off? I'll take you to New York for Fashion Week, and we can pick out some beautiful clothes."

"Absolutely not! The filming team is already in production. Even if you don't care about money, I can't make everyone wait for me." n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Seeing Aniston's determined expression, Eric had to relent. He stood up, pulling her along as they walked down the slope, leaving their belongings for the bodyguards to take care of.

...

After leaving the Emmy Awards victory party, Eric had turned off his phone.

Having eaten breakfast with Aniston after hiking down, he turned his phone back on. It flashed a long list of missed calls.

Despite efforts by Robert Iger and others to keep last night's events out of the newspapers, the people around Eric had evidently already learned everything they needed to know.

Sifting through and returning a few calls, Eric set the matter aside and began his workday.

Last night, The Sopranos had won big at the Emmy Awards. While there were inevitable reports in the media about the Weinsteins' dealings with the Emmys, the exceptional quality of The Sopranos's episodes kept the comments from stirring much controversy.

FFM Television seized this moment to announce that their second self-produced new drama, Prison Break, would be premiering soon. They also started releasing tapes and DVDs of The Sopranos.

...

In September, summer vacations for students across North America were coming to an end. However, without a standardized holiday schedule, different schools had varying start dates.

Miranda Kerr had returned to Australia during the break and was now nearing the start of school. Unable to resist the girl's wishes, Eric arranged for a Boeing 767 to fly to Brisbane and bring her back to Los Angeles. He initially planned to head to New York once the plane returned, but then received a call from Larry Ellison in San Francisco. The acquisition negotiations with Apple's board had reached a final stage, and they wanted Eric there for the final discussions, so he had to head over to San Francisco on short notice.

At San Jose, Eric and his entourage exited the airport, where Larry Ellison eagerly awaited him.

Eagerly throwing his arm over Eric's shoulder, Larry didn't bring up the Apple acquisition but instead asked, "Eric, what's happening with the lead role in Iron Man? I'm still waiting to see who gets the privilege of having me as their driver."

Ignoring Larry's smug tone, Eric hopped into the car he provided and replied, "You'll know when we start filming next year."

"Hey, I put down five million for that! If you pick someone terrible, I have the right to decline to do product placement."

As their cars left the parking lot, Eric suddenly regretted not having kicked Larry into the back seat. He shook his head and said, "No, Larry, you don't have that right. The contract is already signed."

Larry hoped to make a cameo in a Hollywood blockbuster, but he still felt a sting over the five million Eric had taken from him. Realizing Eric wasn't going to let that slide, he quickly shifted topics, saying, "Apple's chairman Ed Woolard and CEO Gil Amelio are waiting for us at their headquarters in Palo Alto. Steve's also there. The deal we agreed on was a fifteen percent premium on the average stock price for the last week, totaling $2.45 billion."

Eric calculated in his mind that this price wasn't too steep, nodding in agreement. "If you've worked it out, what do you need me here for? You can just call Chris. I plan to keep my share under Firefly Investment anyway."

"I called! Hansen seems too busy, and--" Larry rubbed his hands together, saying, "He implied that some things would be more effective if you handled them."

Eric, sensing Larry's tone, anticipated that their call had not been purely beneficial.

Sure enough, when they arrived at Apple's headquarters, Steve Jobs bluntly demanded that Eric approve the reopening of Apple's ARM technology licensing and presented a large stack of documents proving the violation of the prior agreement requiring Apple to relinquish the ARM chip technology during Firefly Electronics' acquisition of ARM.

Apple had previously invested five million to develop mobile chips for the Newton tablet, becoming one of ARM's major shareholders.

After the acquisition of ARM by Firefly Electronics, they gradually reclaimed or halted licensing of ARM chip technology to others. After years of operation, few companies currently held the licensing rights, remaining were Nokia, Qualcomm, and Firefly Electronics itself.

In the conference room, Eric perused the pile of documents in front of him with an amused smile as he looked at Steve Jobs. "Steve, you called me here for this trivial issue?"

"Of course not just this," Steve looked around the conference room, pointing to the seven or eight Apple board members present. "I'm requesting that after the deal closes, they all resign, and you must ensure you don't interfere in Apple's affairs."

Eric noted the stunned expressions on the board members as they exchanged incredulous looks at Steve, who seemed unfazed. He felt a mix of bemusement and exasperation. "You expect me to support you in getting rid of these people, only for you to turn around and push me out of the decision-making? Do you think that makes sense?"

Steve stood firm, justifying, "This is my condition for returning to Apple."

Eric shrugged and turned to the board members. "If that's the case, you all ought to resign."

Apple CEO Ed Woolard exclaimed, "Eric, you can't do this!"

Eric kept a smile on his face, resting his hands on the expansive conference table, injecting humor into the situation, "You all see, working with a madman has no advantage. Apple could be bankrupt any day now, and you'd leave in a far worse state. So might as well leave now where you won't lose out on your severance pay."

The decision to sell Apple had already passed the shareholder meeting and although they were still board members, they couldn't jeopardize this deal just to cling to their positions.

While Larry was publicly presented as the lead in the Apple acquisition, many investors involved came on board due to Firefly Investment's positive view on Apple.

As a key figure in the Firefly network, Eric's influence was certainly stronger than that of both Larry and Steve combined. Everyone assumed Eric would intervene against Steve's chaotic antics, not anticipating his reaction would be to support the idea, leading to the final flicker of hope dwindling.

Nonetheless, a few board members found Eric's logic compelling. Although their expressions still bore traces of reluctance, they nodded in agreement. The others, seeing this, also resigned themselves to the decision.

*****

/Sayonara816.