Chapter 552: Quite Expensive

[Chapter 552: Quite Expensive]

Hollywood was undoubtedly the dream destination for countless dreamers, celebrated for its endless parties. Whether it was spring, summer, fall, or winter, parties scattered across Los Angeles, from the lowly ranks of extras to the highest-tier megastars. For those wanting to blend into Hollywood, attending various types of parties was the fastest way.

At a lavish mansion in Beverly Hills, a lavish scene unfolded. As night fell over Los Angeles, the hallways, pool, and lawns of the mansion filled with countless revelers, including many familiar faces from the silver screen. The occasion for the party was the birthday celebration of the host's new girlfriend, a moderately famous Hollywood producer, though it seemed that few cared about such details.

Amidst the pounding rhythm of the music, two young men sat at the bar in the mansion's entrance, ordering two bottles of beer from the bartender. The brown-haired youth took a hearty swig from his bottle and looked at the men and women dancing wildly in the makeshift dance floor. He turned to his blonde friend and said, "Luke, this place is amazing. Thanks for bringing me here."

The blonde youth named Luke clinked his beer bottle with his friend's and smiled, "No big deal. I just happen to know Tony. Matthew, bringing you here is just a way to celebrate that great role you just landed."

Matthew couldn't help but boast with a smirk, "Speaking of which, I got lucky with that audition. Paramount had already decided on another actor for that supporting role, but that poor guy got caught driving drunk the very night he received the role. Haha! Sure, I had a couple of tough competitors after that, but my agent pulled some strings, and now I've landed the part! I might even get to share scenes with Harrison Ford. Jamie said that if I can make a strong impression with this film, I could aim for a lead role in a small-budget movie next."

As Luke listened to Matthew excitedly recount his role acquisition, he felt a tinge of jealousy but kept it to himself, still engaging in playful banter.

Suddenly, cheers erupted from the dance floor, drawing their attention. Matthew turned around just in time to see a girl dancing wildly like a mermaid. She was petite, wearing a cropped top and denim shorts. Although the lighting was dim, both young men could clearly see her flawless skin and pretty doll-like face.

For some reason, despite the crowded dance floor where men often groped women, the doll-faced girl was pulling nearby girls in for close dances, which only heightened the excitement among the male spectators. Yet, not a single man dared to approach her.

"That's Drew Barrymore. That chick is smoking hot," Matthew said, staring at the girl's slim waist, taking a gulp of his beer with eager eyes.

Luke noticed his friend's gaze shifting and said suddenly, "Remember that movie you were in, Buffy the Vampire Slayer?"

Matthew, still focused on the girl, nodded. "Of course! What's up?"

"That film has been adapted into a TV series. I heard that it's being produced by Drew Barrymore, Julia Roberts, and Murdoch's daughter."

Matthew couldn't help but rub his chin, considering this a good way to strike up a conversation. Although he hadn't been in Hollywood for long, he knew a bit about its gossip. He added, "Luke, I heard Drew Barrymore is Eric Williams' girlfriend, right?"

Luke casually remarked, "Who knows? That was three years ago. In Hollywood, do you really think relationships last that long?"

Matthew felt confident entering the Hollywood circle and pretended to be knowledgeable, nodding while stealing another glance at the doll-faced girl. He began to imagine that her connections might just be a consolation from Eric Williams for his former fling. If he could snag her, he believed that through Drew Barrymore's network, he could shave off five, maybe even ten years of struggling in Hollywood. After all, Drew Barrymore's godfather was Steven Spielberg!

As he got more excited, Matthew tossed his empty bottle aside, adjusted his clothes, and headed towards the dance floor, completely oblivious to the smug look on his friend's face.

...

The dance floor was packed tighter than a can of sardines. Initially, Matthew joining in didn't catch anyone's attention. But as he moved his body closer to Drew, more people began to notice. Many slowed their dance moves, whispering amongst themselves, as though a show was about to unfold.

"Hey, Drew, I'm Matthew," Matthew finally managed to get close enough to introduce himself, feigning nonchalance.

The girl, who had been blissfully dancing with her eyes partially closed, noticed the unexpected intrusion and bore a surprised expression on her doll-like face. But instead of stopping her movements, she gave him a sweet smile and greeted, "Hi, Matthew!"

Seeing that smile made Matthew's heart race, instantly boosting his confidence. He edged closer, hesitating only a moment before attempting to place his hand on her inviting waist and continued, "I heard your company is producing Buffy the Vampire Slayer. What a coincidence! I was in the movie version!"

"Wow, really?" Drew showed genuine interest. "You're... Matthew, right?"

"Matthew Abrams. I'm from Canada."

"Did Tony invite you?" Drew asked.

Matthew hesitated, then pointed his chin slightly outside towards his friend. "My buddy brought me along."

Sitting by the bar, Luke noticed the unfolding drama, realizing things were about to get messy. Seeing Drew's beautiful face turn toward him made him shudder. As soon as the flirtation between them resumed, he wasted no time getting up and leaving the lively party scene altogether.

Drew watched as the guy scooted a bit closer. She grabbed half a bottle of champagne from a drunk girl beside her. Matthew saw Drew's action and immediately said, "Drew, I think you'd better not drink this kind of champagne."

The girl's smile was unchanged; she didn't bring the bottle to her lips but looked at him instead. "So you are Matthew, right?"

Matthew, playing hurt, responded, "I thought I already introduced myself."

"I only wanted to confirm again," Drew said with a playful smile. "Matthew, didn't your 'close' friend just tell you anything?"

Matthew failed to notice the emphasis Drew placed on the word "close". He casually replied, "I doubt he had anything to tell me."

Drew glanced outside the dance floor and noticed the figure had already vanished. The smile on her doll-like face grew even sweeter as she said to Matthew, "You truly are pitiful."

Matthew thought he had misheard her and leaned in closer, reaching out as if to casually touch her waist. "What did you say?"

She quickly dodged his hand, raising her voice, "I said you, are truly pathetic!"

With those words, the champagne bottle she held flew towards Matthew's handsome face. A loud thud followed, sending shards of glass mixed with champagne flying in all directions, demonstrating just how hard she had thrown it.

As the glass shattered, cheers erupted from the onlookers in the dance floor.

"Ahhh!!!!"

"Cool!"

"Do it again, do it again, do it again!"

The force of the champagne bottle hitting Matthew's face sent him into a daze. Only when the crowd erupted in cheers did he slightly come to his senses. Touching the blood oozing from his cheekbone, he recognized the potential risks of facial disfigurement and losing the role he had just secured. A surge of rage overtook him, and he lunged at Drew, only to collide with two women of the similar stature.

As he fell backward, the last thing he barely registered were the two identical faces of Slavic women.

Meanwhile, the party host had caught wind of the incident and hurried over. When he saw Drew's innocent expression alongside her empty hands, he sighed and said, "Drew, you've caused me trouble again."

"It's not my fault, Tony," she retorted. "Who let such a rule-breaking guy into your home?"

Tony crouched down to assess the unconscious Matthew. Apart from a nasty gash on his left cheekbone, it seemed there weren't any serious injuries. However, a mild concussion was unavoidable. After instructing a servant to attend to the unfortunate fellow's wound, Tony turned to Drew and said, "Alright, I'll handle things here. But Drew, I think it's time for you to leave."

The girl shook her head nonchalantly. "I'm not done partying yet! I'm not going!"

"I mean, you do know, right?" Tony said, leaning in closer to tell her, "Mr. Williams should be back this afternoon."

"Wow," Drew squealed excitedly, darting outside. The pair of Slavic twins who had previously thwarted Matthew's advance quickly followed her.

Tony watched the twins leave with Drew, feeling a wave of envy. As a boxing enthusiast, he had seen a feature on the twins in Sports Illustrated the previous June. Don King, a renowned boxing promoter, had unearthed these twin sisters from Russia. Not only did they possess stunning, perfectly toned bodies, but they also had a unique, delicate beauty characteristic of Eastern Slavic women. Tony had even asked about their fight schedule, intending to watch, but now they'd inexplicably become Drew's bodyguards.

"What a waste!" Tony muttered to himself. As a well-known Hollywood producer, he had long ceased to place value on women's allure; rather, the competitive thrill of boxing excited him even more. Viewing that identical twin pair battling in the ring would certainly provide more sensory stimulation than engaging with a hundred different women.

...

The hefty SUV pulled up outside the estate at the corner. Seeing the lights shining from the mansion, Drew excitedly yelled to the driver up front, "Natasha, stop the car now, right here!"

"Sure thing, boss," replied the Russian woman named Natasha, who quickly halted the vehicle.

Drew jumped out of the car but didn't rush toward the mansion. Instead, she tapped on the driver's window. "Natasha, you all come down here with me to meet Eric."

"Okay, boss," replied the woman again.

...

After handling some business at the studio's office in the afternoon, Eric returned to the estate shortly after dinner. He settled into an eastside lounge in the mansion, skimming through the recent newspapers.

"Eric, you're finally back," Drew pushed open the door of the living room, and when she saw Eric, she pounced on him pressing him on the sofa.

Eric tossed the newspaper aside, held her down, and sniffed. He then asked playfully, "Been drinking, huh? Where did you go wild this time?"

Drew giggled and avoided answering his question, instead pointing to the Russian sisters standing quietly at the door, "Eric, look! My new bodyguards! What do you think?"

With the TV drama still playing in the background, Eric noticed the commotion at the door. He caught sight of what Drew was pointing at and raised an eyebrow, playfully tugging at her ear, "What kind of nonsense are you getting into this time?"

Drew squealed, "They're really my bodyguards! I snagged them from that old creep Don King. I spent a lot of money!"

Eric didn't care about boxing events and, of course, had no knowledge of Don King's reputation in that realm. He waved toward the two girls. "Come over and sit down."

The twins were dressed in matching white T-shirts and denim jeans, making it impossible to tell them apart. Following Eric's words, the one on the left looked confused, while the girl on the right gazed at Drew.

"Eric is also your boss -- his word is the same as mine," Drew told them.

Once hearing Drew, the right-side girl tugged her sister along and they both walked over, taking a seat on the single sofa Eric had pointed out.

Looking at the tall sisters crammed onto a single chair without crowding each other, Eric curiously asked, "Are you models?"

"No, boss," said the girl who had just answered.

Still resting against Eric, Drew chuckled. "Eric, I snagged them from Don King. How could they be models?"

Eric had to ask, "Who is Don King?"

"Um... he is a famous boxing promoter for the WBA! How could you not know him?"

"Why should I know him? A boxing promoter... Are they boxers?" He glanced back at the twins. They appeared somewhat aloof, and it was hard to see any boxing characteristics; rather, one might easily mistake them for models due to their strikingly beautiful faces. However, Eric recalled that many famous models took up boxing to keep fit, and female boxers didn't always exhibit the same muscular lines as their male counterparts. Often, they looked just as shapely and refined.

Seeing Eric finally putting the pieces together, Drew nodded. "Yeah, they're pretty fierce!"

"Ha, how fierce could they be?" Eric chuckled, shaking his head. Before Drew could respond, he asked, "What are their names?"

"Natasha."

Eric waited for further elaboration, but when Drew fell silent, he prompted, "Natasha?"

Drew scratched her head awkwardly, chuckling, "Since they look identical, they can just both be Natasha! The other name is simply too tricky for me to remember." She turned to the twins and pointed the girl who had spoken. "What's your name?"

"Boss, my name is Natasha Sokolov, I'm the sister. My sister's name is Yevgeny Sokolov."

Eric noted that the twin sister Natasha spoke a bit of English, but her sister clearly struggled. Natasha's English wasn't perfect either and Eric could barely comprehend her sister's name upon hearing it, quickly acknowledging that remembering would be another challenge.

Curious, Eric meant to ask Drew for more details after the girls left. "Drew, I hope you arranged a place for them to stay. They should go rest now."

Natasha nodded obediently at Eric and took her sister by the hand, leading her out.

"Alright, tell me. What's the story with them?" Eric asked once the twins had left.

"They're both talents Don King discovered back in Moscow. I don't know much more than that. I saw them featured in a magazine last month and found them interesting. So, I had an ICM agent get in touch. I promised to help them and their family immigrate to the U.S., but in return, they'd have to be my bodyguards. I offered them a better deal than that old Don King!"

In the wake of the Soviet Union's collapse, in addition to a half-century's worth of wealth evaporating, the former Soviet states faced an economic winter that deprived many of the basics for living. This led to a significant wave of immigration, where capable individuals sought out better lives elsewhere. Clearly, these sisters were part of that migration.

Glancing at the fluttering eyelashes of the girl in his arms, Eric wondered whether they were lucky or unfortunate to fall into Drew's hands.

"Just handle things well and don't cause any trouble. Also, treat them nicely; they're... all a bunch of unfortunate people," Eric reflected on the images from past newspapers highlighting the living conditions of Soviet citizens after the collapse, unable to help but sigh.

"Of course! I spent a lot of money on them!" Drew replied cheerfully.

Eric pinched her cheek. "They are people, not commodities."

Drew nestled into his palm with a grin, "Hey, they're mine! And Eric, I'm kind of yours too, you know. They are quite expensive -- one million dollars!"

*****

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