Chapter 228: A Typical Woman

[Chapter 228: A Typical Woman]

The conference room door swung open, and Mrs. Ronkel peered in, her gaze landing on Charlie Ronkel, who had just stepped out behind Eric. After receiving a slight nod from Mr. Ronkel, Mrs. Ronkel displayed a pleased smile.

"Mr. Williams, you're a remarkable person. I hope we have the chance to work together in the future." Now that everything was settled, Brian Kuzman no longer regarded Eric as a negotiating rival. He extended his hand toward Eric with a calm demeanor mixed with a hint of respect.

"I think we will," Eric replied with a smile as they shook hands. Kuzman's decorum was genuinely admirable; had it been anyone else facing Charlie Ronkel's antics, they probably would have stormed out in anger.

But Brian Kuzman didn't linger too long. After exchanging a few polite words with the Ronkels, he made an excuse to take his leave.

Eric thought that while Stu could bring a hefty income for this agent, Brian Kuzman would inevitably give up his position representing young Stu as working with a nearly uncooperative and incompetent client is intolerable for any capable agent.

...

Checking his watch, he realized that after more than half an hour of negotiation, it was just past noon.

"Charlie, how about we grab lunch together?" Eric hesitantly suggested to the whispering Ronkel couple standing nearby.

Charlie Ronkel looked up, seeing Eric still wearing a friendly expression. It faintly reminded him of that high school neighbor he once knew, but Charlie could never view Eric as that young boy again. He figured it would take a long time to shake off the memory of Eric's commanding presence from their earlier meeting.

"No, thank you, Eric. We have other matters to attend to," Charlie responded politely.

"No, I want to go." Hearing his father refuse, the young boy immediately protested, wanting to rush over to Eric. However, Mrs. Ronkel pulled him back tightly, giving him several warning glares.

Eric understood that the rift between them, born from conflicting interests, would be hard to mend. Therefore, he didn't press the point further. He reassured the boy for a moment before leaving with Elisabeth and the others.

...

At a restaurant near Century City, Allen and the driver sensibly took a seat at another table, leaving Eric and Elisabeth sitting across from one another. After ordering, Elisabeth eagerly inquired, "So, Eric, did you finalize everything that quickly?"

"How long did you think it would take?" Eric countered.

Elisabeth pondered a moment and replied, "I remember that Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman's Rain Man took over six months to negotiate, and it nearly fell through. And then there was Running Out of Time. You guys were at a standstill with CAA for quite a while, right?"

Eric chuckled slightly, "This situation is different. If I were negotiating with an agent from CAA, it might take some time. But I spoke directly with Charlie Ronkel."

The young lady nodded, a little uncertain, and then asked, "How much is that young lad getting paid?"

"Eight million plus three percent of the North American box office."

"That's quite high, isn't it? It's too generous to that little creep," Elisabeth said half-jokingly.

Eric mused that during his negotiation with the Ronkels, the girl must have been bullied by the little guy: "It's not too high, and Stu is worth that amount. If it were with CAA, the final price would certainly have been even higher. Unfortunately, that couple aren't clever enough and don't trust others, so ultimately, they'll be the ones losing out."

"You really have no compassion. Didn't they used to be your neighbors?" Elisabeth immediately shifted her stance upon hearing that.

While Eric liked the clever little guy, he held no fondness for the Ronkels. He didn't feel like taking credit, so he remained quiet when the waiter brought their lunch and focused on eating.

...

"Do you really stay this busy every day?" Elisabeth asked as the clock hit six in the evening. After a hectic day, Eric returned to his office. He still needed to review a few documents regarding the merger between New Line and Firefly Films. By that time, the office at Firefly was mostly empty. Unlike others, Elisabeth chose to stay in Eric's office, restlessly picking things up and looking around.

"Not really; it's just that things have been particularly hectic lately," Eric responded without looking up.

"Oh," Elisabeth replied, opening a file cabinet and casually pulling out a document to browse through.

When seven rolled around, after organizing the documents in front of him, Eric noticed Elisabeth still curled up on the office couch.

"Everyone else has left. Why aren't you going?"

Seeing that Eric appeared to have finished his work, the girl quickly stood up and put her book back on the shelf: "There's nothing to go home to. Besides, doing things should be about seeing them through to the end, right?"

Eric wanted to tease her, but seeing that she had followed him all day and had been reasonably obedient made him hold back the words. However, the girl clearly was not letting it slide: "You were definitely planning to insult me just now, weren't you?"

"Not at all," Eric denied, "Let's head out." With that, he stepped outside first.

The girl quickly followed and insisted, "You just wanted to mock me. Something about a lazy rich girl, right?"

"Fine, I did think that," Eric admitted helplessly, greeting the security guard as they walked towards the stairs.

She wore a knowing expression: "I've worked an entire day, and I didn't even ask you for overtime pay. You better apologize."

"Sorry." Eric didn't feel like arguing with her.

The girl pouted: "You're not sincere at all. You have to take me out for dinner since I've been with you this long, right?"

Eric was just looking for a place to grab dinner, so he nodded reluctantly: "Alright."

Elisabeth suddenly appeared skeptical: "You agreed that easily. What are your motives?"

"You're a real typical woman," Eric sighed in exasperation.

Knowing that if he pressed, Eric certainly wouldn't provide any positive remarks, Elisabeth could not help but ask, "What do you mean by that?"

"Too far and you resent, too close and you lose respect," Eric replied, as they arrived at the parking lot. He looked around and asked, "Where's your car?"

"I didn't drive today," the girl shrugged her shoulders.

Eric reluctantly opened his car door: "Then hop in."

...

After having dinner, they walked out of the restaurant just past eight. Eric glanced back at Elisabeth, who was still trailing him, and asked, "How are you getting home? Should I call your driver to pick you up?"

Elisabeth looked at Eric incredulaously and said, "How can you be so rude? In this situation, shouldn't you be the one to drive me home?"

"Come on, Princess. Your house is in Malibu. It takes two hours round trip. This isn't the way to make someone go through all that."

"Then I'll just take a taxi home," the girl shrugged nonchalantly, tucking her hands into her jeans, taking a few steps along the curb while watching the traffic flow on the street. She added glumly, "But there have been several taxi murders in Los Angeles lately, and I heard the victims are always young women. But don't worry, if something happens to me, my dad won't blame you."

"Get in the car!" Eric ground out through clenched teeth.

The girl responded with a laugh, agile as a cat, as she opened the door and hopped into the passenger seat. Seeing Eric join her, a look of vexation on his face as he buckled his seatbelt, she chuckled, "Alright, I was just kidding! I've been staying at Julia's for a few days. It's not directly on your way, but it won't take much longer."

Eric snorted, pressing down on the gas.

...

They had barely driven a block when Elisabeth pointed ahead and said, "Hey, there's a movie theater! Why don't we catch a movie before going back? It's still early, and I haven't seen a film in ages."

Eric stopped the car at the curb, not taking out the key or getting out, placing his hands on the steering wheel as he turned to ask, "Liz, what do you really want?"

Seeing Eric's impatient expression, she hesitated, then waved her hand dismissively: "Forget it, I was just suggesting, you are always so complicated. If you don't want to, that's fine. Just drive me home."

Eric smacked the steering wheel: "Come on, it's just a movie!"

Not just to watch a movie but also to see what trouble this girl could stir up tonight.

"That's more like a gentleman," she replied cheerfully, unbuckling her seatbelt and stepping out of the car.

Eric parked in the lot and, together with Elisabeth, walked into the nearby theater.

"I'll treat. What do we watch?" In the ticket lobby, she generously pulled out her small wallet.

Eric glanced at the promotional posters plastered around the cinema, pointing at one: "Let's go with that one."

"When Harry Met Sally...?" Elisabeth peeked at the poster's tagline, "'Can two friends sleep together and still love each other in the morning?' This looks interesting; let's go with it."

*****

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