Chapter 370: I Have Something for You

[Chapter 370: I Have Something for You]

Since early August, Eric had spent half a month in New York before quietly returning to Los Angeles.

Before Eric made his return, he had pulled cash flow from several of his companies. With hundreds of millions of dollars flowing back into businesses like Firefly, companies that had panicked due to sudden cash shortages quickly got back on their feet. Firefly's financial director, Carolyn Elliott, had also quietly withdrawn a loan application from Citibank earlier that month.

At this point, even the slowest person realized that Eric had won his bet.

...

Over in the Middle East, Saddam had not halted his offensive after invading Kuwait. His army of a hundred thousand men pushed toward the Saudi Arabian border after quelling resistance in Kuwait. While the West had merely been shocked at Kuwait's annexation, Saddam's actions at this moment filled most Western countries with fear.

Saudi Arabia, with a land area of over two million square kilometers, only had seventy thousand conventional troops -- less than Kuwait's. When it came to resisting an Iraqi invasion, their ability was even less impressive.

If Saddam invaded Saudi Arabia again, controlling the Persian Gulf chokepoint, the West would be left entirely powerless in the Middle East. The proven oil reserves of Iraq, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia accounted for 45% of the world's total reserves. The remaining 55% were spread across the globe. Thus, if Iraq were to annex Saudi Arabia, Saddam could easily command high prices of $100 per barrel, forcing Western countries to comply and pay up.

Faced with this clear threat from Iraq, Arab nations that previously wished for the West to avoid meddling in Middle Eastern affairs quickly compromised and accepted the U.S. troop deployment proposal.

Simultaneously, Western nations swiftly imposed large-scale sanctions on Iraq, freezing billions of dollars in Iraqi and Kuwaiti overseas assets and enacting the strictest embargo measures against Iraq.

However, none of this curtailed the skyrocketing oil prices, as Iraqi troops remained poised to move into Saudi Arabia. Within just a week, oil prices surged to $29, an increase of over 40%. It wasn't until August 7, 1990, when the Pentagon announced that the U.S. military's elite 82nd Airborne Division's advance forces had arrived in Saudi Arabia, that the panic-driven spike in oil prices began to ease.

When Eric returned to Los Angeles, over 100,000 American troops were stationed in the Persian Gulf, facing off against Iraqi forces. The pace of oil price increases slowed, but with the threat of war imminent, the price hikes showed no signs of stopping.

...

A black helicopter landed in Playa Vista, on the western outskirts of Los Angeles. As Eric stepped off the chopper with a group, he exchanged introductions with the regional executives who had come to greet him. He then turned to Stan Winston, who had come along, and said, "Stan, what do you think of this place? Less than a hundred meters ahead was once Howard Hughes' airport. Of course, it's now abandoned. I plan to buy about 100 hectares here to build a filming base for Firefly."

Stan looked around and replied, "I can say for sure that you've made a lot of money this time."

Eric smiled slightly but chose not to pursue that topic.

Many who knew he had been speculating on oil futures were curious about how much he actually made. The subtle probing had never ceased during that time. However, he didn't even know the specific figures himself since it would take three months to wrap things up in New York.

Noticing Eric's expression, Stan chuckled. He had only been joking around, but quickly shifted the conversation back to business: "We're only about five kilometers from Venice. If you're building a filming base here, perhaps a digital effects studio can also be relocated here. The T-Rex model from Jurassic Park is supposed to be a whopping 20 feet tall, requiring a lot of space to operate."

"I had thought of that," Eric stated. "I not only want to build regular soundstages but also establish a special effects film base. Stan, if you're interested, this base can be under your supervision."

Stan was mildly excited but cautiously replied, "Eric, the geographic conditions here are indeed favorable, but there's a significant drawback: it's too far from downtown Los Angeles. Transport would be quite inconvenient, and your plan would require a large number of professionals."

"I've thought about that as well. I'll fund the construction of a complete set of supporting infrastructure, including residential areas, supermarkets, schools, and more," Eric quickly responded.

While Stan was still processing the news, the Playa Vista executives who accompanied Eric were already super excited. Eric's plan, if realized, would significantly boost the economic development of this administrative region.

"Mr. Williams, is what you said true?" a tall, slender middle-aged white man couldn't help but ask.

"Of course," Eric replied seriously. "However, if you all could cooperate fully, I guarantee the completion of this plan will take no more than three years, with a total investment of at least $1 billion."

The executives started whispering among themselves. A $1 billion project was something they never dared to imagine, let alone stumble upon such an opportunity.

Eric continued walking with Stan and the others. The reason for choosing this area was not a whim but because, in his memory, it was where Spielberg and others established DreamWorks, which years later developed into the well-known Playa Vista community where many famous films were shot, including the Iron Man series.

After spending the morning exploring Playa Vista and discussing preliminary plans with the executives, the group of them stood by a man-made lake, pointing out the surrounding terrain as noon approached. Suddenly, an SUV drove onto the road nearby and several people got out.

At the time, Playa Vista was still like the outskirts of Los Angeles, so sparsely populated that it was hardly an exaggeration. Therefore, the sudden appearance of the off-road vehicle captured everyone's attention, and many realized the occupants must have ties to their group.

Sure enough, as the occupants stepped down, Eric immediately recognized the tall blonde woman at the front and was shocked. How did Nicole find her way here?

In the distance, Nicole instructed the bodyguards before approaching with a thirty-something blonde woman.

As she came within four or five meters of Eric, the tall blonde's expression turned mildly resentful, her gaze locking directly onto Eric without reservation.

Noticing the eyes drawn towards him, Eric helplessly greeted her, "Nicole, how did you know I was here?"

"Yeah, finding you wasn't easy," Nicole replied without answering the question, her tone carrying light dissatisfaction.

Eric didn't pry further, knowing only a few people were aware of his whereabouts and could guess where Nicole got the intel. He turned to the blonde woman beside Nicole and asked, "And who is this?"

"Hello, Mr. Williams. I'm Pat Kingsley," she replied.

Eric looked her over in surprise. He recalled casually mentioning to Nicole to switch managers, not expecting that just a few months later, she had indeed made a change.

They shook hands, and Eric smiled, "Nice to meet you, Ms. Kingsley. By the way, how's Tom Cruise doing lately?"

"Very well, thank you for asking," Pat Kingsley replied politely, discreetly sizing up the young man before her. Despite Eric working with Cruise before, it had been under Paula Wagner's management at that time, making this their first encounter.

After exchanging pleasantries, Eric glanced at his watch and informed Nicole, "Nicole, you're coming at a rather inconvenient time. I'm just about to head back."

The young woman's eyes filled with deep disappointment. "You really don't want to see me, do you?"

Hearing her, Pat raised an eyebrow and quickly took a few steps back, leaving the space for the two to converse.

Eric shook his head, insisting, "No, I really meant it."

"Then can I come visit you?" she asked again.

"Alright, but since I flew in by helicopter, you might have to let your bodyguards drive back on their own," Eric said.

Nicole's discontent vanished, replaced by excitement, and she nodded eagerly, "I'll go tell them right away."

Moments later, Eric and Nicole boarded the helicopter back to Malibu, and Stan Winston, Pat Kingsley, and the others discreetly stayed behind, respecting their privacy.

...

Half an hour later, the helicopter landed on the helipad at the Liberty City. Eric walked with Nicole toward the villa while casually asking, "When did you switch managers? I had no idea."

"Well, you haven't shown any interest in my affairs, so how could you know? I... I just followed your advice to switch," she confessed.

Eric coughed awkwardly, quickly changing the subject, "What do you think of her?"

"She's alright, I guess. Pat suggests I pursue a low-key, mysterious acting route to maintain distance from the public. Other than that, I haven't seen anything particularly special about her," Nicole replied.

Eric merely nodded, withholding any comments. In his past life, Pat Kingsley had managed Tom Cruise's career impeccably, possibly following this packaging strategy. Over the years, Cruise's image remained impeccable, proving the route was practical.

Pushing open the door to enter the lobby, Eric found the villa relatively empty.

Drew had returned to Los Angeles with Eric but had left for Culver City after just one day, busying herself with Elisabeth on their second film. Connelly had joined the cast of Hot Shots!, and with Eric's approval, Fox had greenlit the film, which had already begun shooting.

Thus, the villa was left quiet once again, with only Eric inside. The staff usually didn't come into the main villa.

Deep down, Eric enjoyed this solitary living situation.

"Make yourself comfortable. I'll call for takeout," Eric said casually to Nicole.

"Or I could prepare lunch instead. What do you want to eat?"

Eric saw no reason to refuse. "I don't know; just make something simple."

Nicole nodded and headed to the kitchen. Although she hadn't visited here many times, she was fairly familiar with the villa.

...

After Eric took a shower and changed clothes upstairs, Nicole had already laid out a simple lunch on the dining table.

Sitting down at the table, watching Nicole plate his lunch before returning to her seat, Eric asked, "By the way, how did your film perform?"

Just as Nicole picked up her knife and fork, she paused and answered despondently, "Flop."

"Uh, alright, let's eat first," Eric quickly replied, realizing Nicole's demeanor. Previously, when he had raised funds, he had taken $8 million from her, which was likely her savings for the year, if not more.

As for what film that was, Eric racked his brain but couldn't recall.

As for Nicole's discontent, it stemmed from her belief that her relationship with Eric should have been more significant than Julia Roberts'.

But now, Julia had three consecutive hits with Pretty Woman, Steel Magnolias, and Sleeping with the Enemy, each crossing the $100 million mark, while she had managed only one film, Sleepless in Seattle. After that, Eric had seemingly lost interest in her altogether.

Nicole's last film was selected with the help of her former manager, and after Sleepless in Seattle gained success, without Eric's involvement she didn't dare change her path, sticking to another romantic comedy. However, after releasing in July, it had grossed only $10 million after nearly a month. With a $5 million paycheck and a total cost of $30 million, it needed at least $60 million to break even, and now it was unlikely even to clear $20 million.

Having risen to fame with a rom-com like Sleepless in Seattle, now facing failure in her strongest genre, she feared quickly becoming a box office poison unless she could find a turnaround.

To make matters worse, she had reached out to Eric several times during this period, but the little jerk before her had always dodged her for various reasons. Fed up, she had driven out to confront Eric today.

"Oh, by the way, I have something for you later. I hope you'll like it," Eric said, trying to lighten the mood as they ate lunch, sensing the air was a bit chilly.

*****

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