Chapter 360: Need a Pillow?

[Chapter 360: Need a Pillow?]

Jennifer Connelly rang the doorbell again while holding breakfast. This time, the door opened directly. The girl curiously peered inside before stepping in, making her way along the spiral staircase into the study. She gazed at the walls covered in drafts, surprised just like many who entered that room for the first time.

"Eric, where should I put breakfast?" she asked, looking around.

Eric got up from the corner sofa and pointed to the coffee table beside him. After taking a sip of milk, he noticed Jennifer Connelly was sitting next to him, her right hand resting on her knee as she propped her chin up to look at him.

"Jenny, have you eaten?"

The girl shook her head and smiled, saying, "I'll just have an apple later, that's enough for me."

Eric only nodded, not saying anything further. He knew women were often stubborn about such things. Convincing one to stop losing weight was usually much harder than trying to get cash from her.

"Eric, did you not sleep at all last night?" After a while, seeing that Eric was enjoying his meal and appeared to be in a good mood, Jennifer couldn't help but ask.

Eric swallowed his food and replied, "Had some things to take care of. By the way, I might need to go to New York for a few days. Amy Pascal and the others should be sending over the script we discussed last night. You can stay at the manor and wait."

Jennifer shifted closer, her eyes on Eric as she said expectantly, "If I'm left alone here, it'll be so boring. I want to go to New York with you."

Eric shook his head, solemnly stating, "I have important business to attend to this time. If you tag along, I won't be able to keep you company. You'll end up worse off than staying here alone. How about this: after I'm done with all this, I'll take you to New York for some fun."

Jennifer tugged at the hem of Eric's T-shirt, fidgeting in discontent. After a while, realizing Eric wasn't going to relent, she reluctantly gave up.

After breakfast, Eric finally felt a bit tired. He got up to help the girl clean up the tableware. Glancing at the time, it was only six-thirty. He considered it for a moment and decided to rest for a few hours. Having lived two lives, he knew very well that health was the most important thing.

"I'm going to take a nap. Wake me up at ten, please."

Just as Jennifer was about to go for a jog around the manor, she shot him a knowing look and said, "Need a pillow?"

Eric paused for a moment, quickly understanding. He appraised the girl, who had changed into form-fitting workout gear, and said with interest, "Sounds good."

Jennifer opened her arms and winked at Eric, "Then you'd better take action yourself."

Without saying much more, Eric stepped forward and lifted Jennifer Connelly into his arms. Amidst her light laughter, he carried her upstairs.

...

Jennifer didn't hear the alarm. When she finally woke up, it was already eleven o'clock. She hurriedly got dressed and went downstairs. She quickly spotted Eric, who was standing by the floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the sea, pacing while talking on the cordless phone. As she got closer, she could finally make out what Eric was saying.

"... Yes, John, all the money. Pixar only needs to keep the minimum liquidity for July. The rest should be deposited into my designated account. I need it urgently... No, no, no, John, where's your head at? I'm not on the board; I'm right at home... I'll provide my account by this afternoon or evening, it should be the account for Firefly Films, the one that owns Cisco stock... Don't worry, just a month; I guarantee it... Alright then, I've got several other calls to make; I'll hang up now."

After hanging up, as Jennifer was about to approach, she saw Eric quickly dial another number with practiced ease. "Hello, Stan? It's Eric... Yeah, things have been good lately, how about you?... Well, there's something I wanted to discuss. Isn't there still some money left in the Digital Domain account? I need to borrow some urgently... Don't worry, within three months, I'll return all the money to the Digital Domain account, do you really not trust me?... Alright, alright, I know, but don't leave too much, I really have something important... So, let's do this: have the accountants at Digital Domain compile the financial statements, and I'll send the account info later... Okay, then, goodbye... Oh, I'll come by when I have time, but I've been super busy lately... Uh-huh, goodbye..."

After hearing more of Eric's discussions, although Jennifer wasn't quite clear on all the details, she gathered he was pulling funds from a company called Digital Domain. After several similar calls, Eric finally placed the cordless phone back on its cradle. Noticing Jennifer standing nearby, he walked over, wrapped his arm around her waist, kissed her, and said hurriedly, "Jenny, I'm heading to the Firefly headquarters now and will probably go straight to New York. You stay here for now."

With that, Eric picked up a small suitcase he had set aside. Jennifer Connelly went over to help him carry another small bag as they both walked out of the villa. A black van was already parked outside, and the driver approached to take Eric's bag and put it in the trunk.

Just as Eric was about to jump in the car, he quickly remembered something. He pulled out his wallet and handed a credit card to Jennifer. "If you get bored staying at the manor, you can go shopping. You don't have a place to stay in Los Angeles yet, do you? Pick out a villa yourself; anywhere in Hollywood Hills, Beverly, or Malibu is fine. Use this card to pay. I'm off -- goodbye."

Feeling Eric place the card in her hand and kiss her on the cheek, he then got into the black van and drove off. After a while, Jennifer finally processed what just happened. Looking at the Citibank credit card in her hand, she recalled everything and confirmed she hadn't misheard Eric.

...

"What? All the liquidity? Eric, you can't do this." In the conference room, Robert Shea was the first to stand up in objection after hearing Eric. "Eric, even though we don't have any films releasing this summer besides Ghost, the overseas distribution for Sleeping with the Enemy and Ghost still needs funds. Also, there's the promotion for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles tape and the production plans for the second half of the year..."

Eric knew that compared to his other companies, which he wholly owned, getting things done at Firefly definitely wasn't something a simple phone call could accomplish. However, he didn't intend to prolong the discussion with Robert Shea, so he quickly interrupted him, "Robert, I'm not trying to withdraw all the funds. I thought I made it clear earlier. I only need to use this money for a month, and I'll gradually return it after a month. Plus, I'm not asking for your opinion, do you understand?"

*****

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