Chapter 248: Ritz-Carlton

Arthur finally reached an agreement with William Johnson after staying in New England for a week. He purchased the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Management Group for a hundred million dollars in cash. The ownership of the Boston Ritz-Carlton Hotel still belonged to William Johnson and continued to be managed by Ritz-Carlton.

At the same time, Arthur also met with Abigail Johnson of Fidelity Investments and Peter Lynch, head of the flagship Magellan Fund under Fidelity. Within the next five years, Ritz-Carlton planned to build luxury hotels in cities like Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Chicago, and overseas in London, Paris, and Tokyo.

Horst Schulze, the CEO of Ritz-Carlton, continued in his role as Arthur did not replace him. The hotel's motto, "We are Ladies and Gentlemen serving Ladies and Gentlemen," aligned well with Arthur's vision.

After leaving the Boston Ritz-Carlton, Arthur returned to New York and reminded Emily Shead, "Emily, the project in New York is ongoing, and Los Angeles is my main base and shouldn't be neglected. Tell Horst Schulze that New York and Los Angeles are the priorities.

The scope should be broader, and opening hotels in international cities or resort destinations is the way to go."

Emily Shead nodded, "I will coordinate with Mr. Schulze to develop Ritz-Carlton well."

As a manager at California Pacific Investment Company specializing in real estate management, Emily Shead was not just limited to investing in villas.

In New York, on 69th Street between Park Avenue and Lexington Avenue in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, Arthur had recently purchased a three-story townhouse.

Jennifer Aniston angrily put down the newspaper in her hand. "Arthur, aren't you mad?"

Arthur looked up. "Uh, why should I be mad?"

"The newspaper says The Crying Game involves gender discrimination and violent scenes, and there are political issues too!"

Jennifer Aniston pointed to the newspaper on the table as she spoke.

Arthur smiled. "But The Crying Game has already grossed $30 million at the North American box office. Think about how much its investment was."

The production cost of The Crying Game was only $4 million, and the North American rights were bought for just $3 million. After a month in theaters, it had already grossed $30 million. With such good performance, why would Arthur be unhappy?

As for the minor bad reviews and controversies, they were no big deal.

Arthur put down his newspaper, which included news about Hollywood star James Caan going to prison. Carl Anderson's team was indeed efficient.

"$30 million already?" Jennifer Aniston nodded. "Then there's really no issue. The romance film I released this year didn't make much of a splash."

This year, Jennifer Aniston not only had Emma set to be released but also starred in a horror film Army of Darkness and a romance film. Though all were low-budget films, they were valuable for her acting experience.

"No wonder you're so busy, with movies and TV shows," Arthur shook his head and walked over to hug the girl. "Galaxy is also producing TV shows, preparing a sci-fi suspense series that started filming last month. The lead is a secret agent. Otherwise, you could have tried for a role!"

Arthur was referring to The X-Files, starring Mädchen Amick.

"Can't I play a secret agent or a cop?"

Arthur smiled and stroked Jennifer Aniston's hair. "You're America's sweetheart. You should fit into romantic comedies. I need to prepare a good script for you."

"Romantic comedies? There are so many of those every year. It's hard to stand out. Look at Julia Roberts' I Love Trouble last year; it wasn't very successful."

"Meg Ryan's Prelude to a Kiss this year also failed, even with Alec Baldwin as the male lead," Jennifer Aniston sighed while holding Arthur's waist. "Romantic comedies really depend on the script!"

"Don't worry, it'll come," Arthur said and then kissed Jennifer Aniston.

After leaving the restaurant, Arthur wrapped his wool coat tighter. In December, New York was still quite chilly.

He held Jennifer Aniston close, ready to walk back to the townhouse. As they passed a convenience store, they suddenly heard two gunshots.

Arthur instinctively pulled Jennifer Aniston into a nearby alley.

"Shit," he thought, "this is the Upper East Side on Madison Avenue, and there's a convenience store robbery?"

Soon, a man hurriedly ran away.

"Arthur, our luck is really bad tonight," Aniston held onto Arthur.

"Let's go back quickly," Arthur didn't care if there were any casualties. Most of these robberies were just about the money. Even in the Upper East Side of New York, you could encounter such situations just coming out for a meal. Their luck was indeed bad.

"Damn," Arthur muttered to himself while thinking about accelerating the establishment of Seraphim Security Company.

*****

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