King of Hollywood - Chapter 39
Chapter 39: Those People
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation
Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“Honestly Eddy, if the chef knows that you think a pizza from a takeaway shop is more filling than the food he made with so much effort, he or she will probably cry,” Claude said while flipping a switch on the wall, which made the living room instantly light up.
This was his other rented villa in Beverly Hills, which had a modern style, and was nicely decorated from inside out. He moved out after graduating from university, unlike Adrian—the past Adrian—who was idling his life away. After the sudden profit, Claude decided to buy his own villa.
“Pay attention, Claw, I said that it’s more filling, but I didn’t say that it tastes better,” Adrian corrected him. “The small beef dish he made was delicious, I didn’t deny that.”
Adrian twitched his mouth when he said that. Although he did not despise Western food because of the remaining part of the other soul in his body, he really missed Chinese dishes. He did visit Chinatown a few times, but… The Kung Pao chicken dish there was a platter with chicken cubes soaked in sweet orange syrup. Fortunately, he knew how to cook a few dishes in his past life, and could remember them through his exceptional memory, thus he cooked for himself once in a while. Besides, not all of the Chinese restaurants at Chinatown made westernized food, hence he could still fix his cravings.
“Look at you, French dishes are meant for taste. If you’d like to have something filling, you can just order two burgers from Burger King.” Claude shook his head as he poured two glasses of whiskey behind the bar in his living room.
“Kate said that too, but neither of you caught my point. I didn’t deny the deliciousness of French dishes, I only said that they’re not filling, which is a fact, right?” Adrian took his drink from Claude.
“Kate? The chick you picked up in England? Are you still dating?” Claude asked strangely. “This isn’t like you, you were never interested in a lady for more than five days.”
“That was the past,” Adrian replied. “I brought her home.”
“Wow, wow, wow, is the world ending?” Claude gestured exaggeratingly. “Our Eddy brought a lady home! Fella, this is a first! It’s too shocking, are you planning to marry her?!”
“Shut up, Claude.” Adrian rolled his eyes at him. “Do you think I’ll abandon the forest for a tree?”
“Then you…” Claude was curious.
“I want the tree, and I want the whole forest too.” Adrian shrugged.
Claude was slightly startled, but he quickly laughed. “As expected, this is the Eddy I know, but don’t you think that you’re being greedy?”
“Oliver Stone had a famous quote in ‘Wall Street’.” Adrian took a sip of whiskey.
“Greed is good,” Claude finished his sentence for him.
“I made a slight change to that quote. Moderate greed is good.” Adrian smiled. “The key is if you know where your boundary is, and I need to increase my boundary now.”
“Alright, what do you plan to do? The profit is enough for you to secure a spot in those corporate groups, right?” Claude changed the topic.
Adrian grinned, then said to him seriously, “Let’s do this together, Claw.”
“What did you say?” Claude was so surprised that he paused when he was going to take a sip of his drink.
“Do you remember what I told you back at the coffee shop? I want to take control of Hollywood! I meant to build a media empire of my own, not by being a shareholder of a well-established company!” Adrian wielded his fist in the air. “We can do this together, Claw. You have a talent in business that is beyond my reach, whereas you’re far behind me in terms of films, and we both have good insights for the bigger picture! If we work together, we’ll be successful in every endeavor!”
Claude was stunned. He twitched his mouth as if he wanted to laugh. “You really went through a drastic change, Eddy. A year ago, you were still…”
“Enough, Claw, turning over old accounts is meaningless to me. I’ve changed.” Adrian sneered.
He put his glass down, then stared into Claude’s eyes. “Tell me, why are you hesitating? Why are you worried? Are you telling me that you’re planning to stay in Godfather’s company, and wear out your courageous spirit until Godfather retires?”
Claude did not reply. He pursed his lips tightly as he looked back at Adrian.
“Think about it, what is it that you want the most?!” Adrian questioned. “Do you want to take over your dad’s company, and follow the path that has already been set? Or do you want to start from scratch, and build something that belongs to you?! We’re still young, Claw. We’re capable, and we have opportunities! Even if we lose, we can start again!”
Upon seeing Adrian’s feverish expression, Claude sighed deeply. “Tell me, why the media?”
“Why?” Adrian raised his brows, then turned to walk toward the window. He pulled the curtains, revealing the dazzling night view below Beverly Hills.
Adrian took a deep breath, then pointed at the lights. “Look, take a look at this city! It has the biggest film industry and the brightest celebrities in the world! Countless people come here to fulfill their dream, and they dream about standing like a shining star on the stage one day to show themselves to the world! But they don’t know, they don’t know that they’re only seeing a side of it, which is the glorious, attractive, and bright side! The other side that’s dark, dirty, and full of lust is being masked very well! Why? Because they only see what people want them to see! We both know that very well! Think about it, when they twirl according to our baton, and when they cheer for us blindly, how would we feel?”
As Adrian’s intense voice echoed in the room, Claude subconsciously sat up straight. Adrian later stared at him with his burning eyes.
Claude suddenly stood up after downing his drink, and his brown eyes were clearly shining.
“Then let’s do it!”
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Adrian knew how the world would develop for the next 20 years, and he had pretty good qualifications and abilities—it was not easy to replicate films. Therefore, it was actually possible for him to control Hollywood, as long as he solved a problem, which was management and operation!
Yes, he knew what could earn him money, but since he was only a director in his past life, he never managed and operated a big company. The past Adrian might be slightly experienced, but he mostly wasted his time back then. Thus, the only way to solve this problem that could eventually make his dream come true was to get Claude’s help.
In the beginning, Adrian did not realize this as he only wanted to earn his initial capital with Claude’s help. He eventually realized how valuable Claude was when his first task for him was done perfectly, hence he simply decided to let him take charge of the futures. Needless to say, the result was also desirable.
As such, Adrian made up his mind to let Claude stick around, who was actually eager to explore the world without being protected by his parents. When he gave such an engaging speech earlier, Claude finally agreed.
“Tell me about your plan, Eddy,” Claude mentioned when they were in his study, “Don’t tell me that you don’t have one.”
“Of course I have a plan, but you know that I’m not an expert in this, so I only have a general concept, and I need you to fill in the rest.” Adrian did not try to hide his shortcomings.
Claude lifted his hand and gestured to him to tell him about it.
“Firstly, of course, is to establish a media company. We can buy a shelf company, then invest it in accordance with our own preference, whereas things like the share allotments and whether Bosworth Film Company will be a subsidiary will be further discussed,” Adrian answered. “You’re the CEO, so you’ll make the final call, and I won’t be involved.”
“In simple terms, you won’t manage anything, and you’ll be a big shareholder while I handle everything.” Claude sighed. “That’s really unfair, Eddy, it’s too easy for you.”
“You can put it that way, but everything will be decided by you.” Adrian was not bothered by his jokes. “If I have any opinion or suggestion, I’ll discuss with you to get your approval and support.”
“If that’s the case…” Something crossed Claude’s mind. “What if you insist on something that I disagree with?”
“Then I’ll stick with you for 24 hours to persuade you no matter what you’re doing. Whether you’re working, eating, showering, sleeping, or even sleeping with a woman, I’ll be beside you,” Adrian responded calmly.
“Jesus! You’re so disgusting!” Claude waved his hands as he was disgusted.
“I have no choice, I can’t turn against you anyway,” Adrian expressed.
“Okay, okay, I’ll ignore this for now. What’s next?” Claude changed the topic.
“We’ll establish a risk investment film, and focus on targeting the IT industry.” Adrian was well-prepared.
“A risk investment company? The IT industry?” Claude was rather surprised. “I thought we’re talking about the media industry?”
“Yes, I know.” Adrian nodded. “How should I put this… What’re your thoughts on the general election this year?”
“The general election this year?” Though Claude was puzzled, he gave his answer, “The Democrats have the upper hand.”
“Really?”
“Really—you?”
“The Democrats have the upper hand.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
They looked at each other for a while, then suddenly burst out laughing. The Ronries family had always been siding with the Democrats because Canada was mostly the Democrats’ territory. On the other hand, the Cowell family had always been neutral, thus Claude took the opportunity to mock Adrian.
“Do you know who the Democrats’ preliminary presidential candidate was in January? Adrian asked.
“I think it was…” Claude pondered. “William Jefferson Clinton?” [Note]
[Note: In reality, for America’s general elections, both parties will only officially confirm their candidates in July or August, which is different from what was stated above. I thought about changing the content to match the reality, but it’ll be too troublesome for the plot after this, so I decided to just let it be.]
