Chapter 565: A Little Favor

[Chapter 565: A Little Favor]

Eric Williams didn't think of any real person, but rather his favorite female character from the Resident Evil series, the mysterious, stunning, and fierce Asian agent Ada Wong.

Taking a look again at the Asian woman occupying his seat, Eric noticed that her outfit perfectly matched the image of Ada Wong he had created in the novel adaptation of Resident Evil he had written a few years back based on the game's plot. In his book, Eric didn't follow the traditional qipao-style from the first few games, but rather depicted Ada as the short-haired red-dressed queen from the sixth installment of the game.

As someone approached, the woman, who had seemed somewhat distracted with her head slightly down, looked up and saw Eric smiling at her. She instantly showed a bewildered expression.

They faced each other, and Eric recognized her as the actress Kelly Hu, who portrayed the character Lady Death in X2: X-Men United. Although Lady Death possessed the same incredible regenerative abilities as Wolverine in the Marvel universe, her character didn't get much screen time in the film, barely making a splash after a few brief scenes.

Noticing Eric's silent gaze upon her, Kelly felt more anxious. Although Resident Evil hadn't been officially greenlit yet, word had already spread in Hollywood. Kelly's manager thought she might have a shot at landing the role of Ada Wong. So when she learned that Eric would be attending a fashion show for a clothing company during New York Fashion Week, her manager went to great lengths to secure an invitation.

While Brighton Apparel, owned by the Emily family, was just a mid-tier clothing brand, Emily had invited several A-list Hollywood stars because of her ties to Eric. There was no way that a lesser-known actress like Kelly, especially as an Asian-American star, would claim a front-row seat; money couldn't buy that.

However, Kelly's manager suggested that she sneak in, find the seat marked with Eric's name, remove the label, and sit there. This would allow her a chance to interact with Eric. It was a common tactic among less well-known stars and models who couldn't afford VIP invites; major stars often arrived late, and the aspiring ones would fill the front-row seats. By the time the main guests arrived and found their seats occupied, the show would be beginning, leaving the superstars to squeeze in with the others. Unless they encountered a particularly strict brand, this plan often succeeded.

Front rows at fashion shows were usually very crowded, not because there weren't enough seats, but due to these seat-invaders.

It seemed that plans never changed as quickly as circumstances did. Kelly never expected Eric would arrive so early.

She observed Eric's calm demeanor amid her panic, and he gently shook his head and said, "Miss, this isn't right. Ada is the kind of woman who remains 100% composed and confident even in dire situations."

Seeing a hint of a smile on Eric's lips, Kelly realized he wasn't angry and quickly calmed down. She elegantly rose and extended her hand toward Eric. "Hello, Mr. Williams. My name is Kelly Hu."

"Hello," Eric replied as he shook her hand. He glanced at the seat beside him labeled Nicholas Cage and casually sat down, gesturing for Kelly to take a seat as well.

Feeling somewhat shy, Kelly took her seat but recalled Eric's words and tried to sit a little taller. Nonetheless, a trace of self-doubt lingered, and she suddenly forgot all the lines she had prepared to say.

In Hollywood, African American actors had long struggled to gain a foothold, finally being able to portray roles beyond just thieves or other negative characters due to political efforts. However, Asian actors had never received significant recognition since Hollywood's inception. If it weren't for Ada Wong's Asian identity in Resident Evil, Kelly wouldn't have felt confident sitting here, interacting with this suddenly rising young mogul in Hollywood. Even so, she remained worried they might cast Ada Wong as a White character or someone of another ethnicity in the film.

Noticing her silence, he asked, "Miss Hu, I think I've seen you somewhere before; are you an actress?"

Kelly eagerly nodded, "Yes, Mr. Williams. You can call me Kelly. I had a role in Growing Pains, and I also appeared in Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan, and the biopic The Doors starring Val Kilmer."

Hearing her nervously recite her resume as if it were a script, Eric chuckled softly. Though he recognized the titles Kelly mentioned, he hadn't seen those films.

Noticing Eric's light laugh, Kelly instinctively bowed her head again. To someone like Eric, who had accumulated a domestic box office of over a billion dollars, those films were hardly noteworthy, especially since she had played minor roles in them.

As the crowd grew denser, just as Eric was about to continue the conversation, a charismatic male voice rang out, "Eric, it's so great to see you again! How have you been?"

Eric turned to see Nicholas Cage and Bridget Fonda approaching, and he stood to greet them. As the lead couple from Ghost, Nicholas and Bridget had maintained their A-list status in Hollywood for the past two years. Their appearance together at this fashion show would surely stir up headlines the next day, making quite an impact that might rival Eric's presence.

"It's been a while, Nick," Eric said, embracing Nicholas Cage before turning to Bridget Fonda. "Bridget, you're looking more beautiful than ever."

Bridget stepped forward and greeted Eric warmly, "Thank you for the compliment, Eric. But what's the point of looking pretty if you've probably forgotten about me and Nick?"

The three of them walked over to the seating area, and upon seeing Nicholas Cage and Bridget Fonda together, Kelly felt a twinge of envy and stood up without thinking.

Nicholas gave Kelly a brief glance before resuming the conversation with Eric, while Bridget curiously surveyed Kelly's outfit and inquired, "Eric, aren't you going to introduce us to this lady?"

"This is Kelly Hu, a friend of mine who is also an actress," Eric introduced, omitting that they had just met out of consideration for Kelly.

Realizing Eric's kind intention, Kelly suppressed her slight gratitude and greeted Nicholas and Bridget, quietly sitting beside Eric once they were seated.

As soon as they sat down, Nicholas was eager to ask, "Eric, I've watched Jurassic Park several times; it's fantastic! But why haven't I heard any news about your new projects lately?"

Eric shook his head and smiled, "I haven't found a script that interests me yet, and I've got too many other matters to handle. So my next film might take a while to get going. What about you two? What have you been up to lately?"

"We just received a script from Universal, but we haven't decided whether to take on the roles yet," Nicholas replied, glancing at Bridget.

"You two together?"

Nicholas nodded and said, "Michael Eisner personally invited us, and the paycheck is quite high, but we're still weighing our options."

Eric understood Nicholas's hesitation. The chemistry they had built in Ghost was incredibly strong, and thus, a second collaboration would likely bring in a substantial paycheck. However, if the film flopped, their chemistry could suffer -- a classic one-time consumption scenario -- so they needed to be cautious with their script choices.

"Eric, why don't I tell you about the script, and you can advise us?" Bridget offered as she leaned slightly forward, her eyes sparkling with anticipation.

Eric considered this but didn't refuse, saying, "Sure, but now isn't the time; the show is about to start."

"Let's do it at the afterparty," Nicholas chimed in immediately.

They had barely exchanged a few words when a father and daughter duo entered the venue. The flamboyantly styled Donald Trump spotted Eric and quickly made his way over, entirely ignoring his daughter's eye roll.

Eric was taken aback by Trump's sudden appearance but remembered Emily mentioning the after-show celebration at the Hyatt, which just happened to be under Trump's company.

"Eric, it's great to see you again!" Trump greeted him with an enthusiastic bear hug.

With a playful poke at Trump's hair, Eric teased, "Donald, you've gotten even more handsome!"

"Thanks, Eric. I think so too," Trump beamed.

"Daddy is so clueless; he clearly meant that as a joke," a small, light voice piped up next to him.

Trump was a little embarrassed. Eric turned to look at Ivanka Trump, whom he hadn't seen in a while, he feigned surprise as he exclaimed, "Wow, who's this little beauty? I barely recognize you!"

Ivanka raised her chin slightly, gave a proud huff, and completely ignored Eric's comment.

"Ivanka, don't be rude," Trump immediately scolded.

At just twelve years old and already nearing five feet, Ivanka rolled her eyes without hesitation. Seeing her cute demeanor made Eric laugh as he appraised her simple pale yellow dress and asked, "Ivanka, don't you think you're missing something?"

Ivanka looked down at her outfit, took a moment, and replied, "Missing what?"

"A stuffed animal! I think you could totally go for a giant one right now."

Ivanka pouted slightly, grabbing her father and heading toward the seating, clearly intent on ignoring Eric.

Donald Trump and Ivanka were seated right next to Bridget Fonda. To facilitate their conversation, Eric sat himself between the two groups.

As Kelly observed Eric, engaged in lively conversation with others, she hadn't even had a chance to feel disappointed when a woman wearing a work badge approached from backstage. She scanned the seats and quickly focused on Kelly. The woman walked over and asked, "Excuse me, Miss, may I see your invitation?"

Kelly felt a jolt of fright but still retrieved the invitation from her purse. The woman glanced at it and said, "I'm sorry, Miss Hu, but we have a lot of guests today, and the front row is already quite crowded. Could you please return to your assigned seat?"

Their conversation quickly drew the attention of the others, and Eric recognized the woman as the assistant who had accompanied him and Ewa previously. Seeing Kelly's flustered expression, he interjected, "Kelly is my friend. If it's okay, just let her sit in the front row."

The assistant, seeing Eric personally advocate for Kelly, didn't dare to refuse outright but replied, "Mr. Williams, it's possible to squeeze in a bit. However, Miss Hu is currently in Ms. Wintour's seat..."

Eric glanced around and saw his own earlier seat was empty. Kelly had casually seated herself on his left. Little did he know, that seat belonged to the renowned Vogue editor Anna Wintour. He hadn't expected Emily to seat the major fashion figure next to him.

Though unfamiliar with Anna Wintour, Eric recognized that securing her presence must have taken substantial effort from Emily. Disrupting those little arrangements certainly wouldn't be worth it, so he waved Kelly over to sit next to him.

The assistant sighed in relief but didn't leave. She stood nearby, closely watching the incoming guests as if Emily had stationed her there specifically to monitor VIP seating. Sure enough, in the ensuing minutes, the assistant escorted several up-and-coming stars away from the front row.

The crowd continued to swell, and just as the assistant was about to step away, Eric waved her down.

"Anything you need, Mr. Williams?" the assistant slightly bent toward him and asked.

Eric beckoned her closer, and once she crouched down, he whispered, "I need a little favor..."

Upon hearing Eric's quiet request, the assistant smiled and nodded. Glancing briefly at Ivanka, she hurriedly got up and left.

*****

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