Chapter 273: The Nuisance Neighbor

[Chapter 273: The Nuisance Neighbor]

Drew moved around the house, checking on the party preparations. After a while, she noticed that Aniston was missing. She casually grabbed a waiter and asked, "Where's Aniston?"

The waiter, balancing a tray, recalled, "Ms. Aniston seemed to be looking for Mr. Williams and Ms. Kidman. She didn't find them inside the villa, so I saw her head outside."

"Alright, go on about your business," Drew nodded. After the waiter left, she rolled her eyes, making her way to the entrance of the studio. She pressed the button by the door.

After a moment, Eric's voice came through, "Who is it?"

"Eric, it's Jenny. Open up!" Drew squeezed her voice to mimic Aniston's.

Inside the studio, Nicole had been kneeling in front of a man when she heard that voice. Startled, she looked up at Eric, lost for words. Eric was also taken aback by the sound. In a moment of excitement, he couldn't help himself, accidentally spilling everything on the pretty girl's face.

After taking a deep breath, Eric realized that Aniston and Drew had very different voices, so the girl's attempt to imitate Aniston sounded nothing like her.

He gave Nicole, who was looking disheveled, a reassuring glance and handed her a box of tissues from the table. Then he directly picked up the microphone on the table and said, "Drew, don't mess around."

Outside the door, the little girl let out a bubbly laugh, "Eric, you're not scared, are you?"

Eric let out an indifferent grunt, and Drew, seemingly unfazed, chimed in, "Just a reminder, the fat girl is searching everywhere for you two." With that, Drew hung up.

Eric put the microphone down and pointed toward the bathroom door. "Why don't you go take a shower? When you come out, just say you were here reading. I'll leave first."

Nicole nodded. Eric quickly tidied up and soon left the studio.

...

After hurrying back to his room and washing up, Eric changed into a fresh outfit and walked outside the villa. After a bit of searching, he finally spotted Aniston sitting on a bench by the tennis court. When she saw Eric approach alone, the previously sullen Aniston finally broke into a relieved smile. Although he felt a twinge of guilt, Eric quickly fabricated a story about why he had just stepped out. He knew the girl wouldn't appreciate hearing the truth, and he wasn't foolish enough to spill it.

As night fell, the party commenced.

Drew had handled the guest list, and Eric couldn't be bothered with it. Besides many people he already knew, they also invited neighbors from Malibu's Point Dume area, along with their partners, resulting in close to two hundred attendees.

At this point, Eric found himself dealing with a "nuisance neighbor." He labeled him this way upon first meeting because the man was far from charming; he had straightaway offered to buy Eric's estate.

"Eric, how about $35 million? Come on, sell me this estate, and I promise one lump sum payment." Facing Eric's rejection, the middle-aged man with a scruffy beard revised his offer.

Eric replied helplessly, "Mr. Ellison, I've told you many times, I will not sell this estate."

"How about $37 million? That's actually $10 million more than what you built it for. Eric, please reconsider." Larry Ellison insisted with a glimmer of fervor in his eyes.

Having read about Liberty City in the paper lately, Ellison, who had a penchant for luxury and collecting mansions, had his sights set on the majestic cliffside property of Liberty City. Compared to it, he felt that the series of mansions he previously purchased in Malibu looked almost disposable. The arrogant Larry Ellison believed such a grand estate was only meant for someone like himself.

As a "neighbor" who received a party invitation, Larry Ellison clung to Eric as soon as he arrived, raising the price from $27 million to $37 million.

"How about this, Mr. Ellison? You could contact Frank Gehry; I'd be happy to let you use the design for this mansion for free. You could just build it again somewhere else."

Ellison immediately shook his head. "A mansion like this has to be one of a kind! Besides, where else has a location like Malibu Point Dume? Oh my God, why didn't I think of this sooner? I should have bought this place much earlier. Eric, how about this -- I have sixteen mansions in Malibu, I could trade them all with you. What do you think?"

Eric opened his mouth in surprise. Given Larry Ellison's status as CEO of Oracle, those mansions could easily be worth over a million each -- sixteen mansions could amount to a total price of around $40 to $50 million.

However, Eric shook his head without a second thought. "Mr. Ellison, under no circumstances will I sell this estate; please don't bring it up again. Besides, I have to mingle with other guests now. I'm sorry."

Seeing Eric impatient to leave, Larry Ellison conceded, "Alright, Eric, just remember that whenever you want to sell, please contact me first."

"Alright, I promise, if I ever consider selling, I will reach out to you, Mr. Ellison." Eric left that remark behind and walked over to Robert Shea, who was accompanied by a fifty-something Asian man.

"Hey, Eric, this place is incredible! I can hardly contain my excitement." Robert Shea laughed as he shared a brief hug with Eric.

Eric released Robert and said, "Larry Ellison from Oracle has been hounding me for over ten minutes. You're not looking to buy this estate too, are you? If you say anything, I'll call security to escort you out."

Robert Shea laughed and replied, "Of course not! How could I be so thoughtless? By the way, let me introduce this gentleman. This is Mr. Raymond Chow from Hong Kong."

"Hello, Mr. Chow, I'm Eric Williams."

*****

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