Chapter 442: Awaiting the Future

[Chapter 442: Awaiting the Future]

Tina Fey had a light breakfast before bidding farewell to Drew and Claudia. Although she was quite tempted by Drew's invitation, she had not forgotten her primary responsibility. She was supposed to send back information about the acquisition from the previous day to Philadelphia last night. Now, with no materials in hand, she could only imagine the furious expression on her editor's face.

Drew called a car to take her back to her hotel in Burbank. As they drove smoothly through Malibu on the Pacific Coast Highway, looking out at the blue expanse of the ocean, Tina felt as if she was awakening from a daze. She opened her handbag and took out a camera, pondering over it thoughtfully.

This camera wasn't new, but it definitely wasn't the one she had brought from the newspaper. She remembered clearly that her old camera had a slight scratch on it, while this one did not. However, if one wasn't particularly observant, they likely wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

She imagined that the camera had been damaged when she fell yesterday, and that Eric had prepared another for her. To care for her pride, he hadn't simply bought a brand-new one.

A faint smile crept onto Tina Fey's lips. No wonder this man had managed to attract so many women; apart from his occasional roughness, he seemed practically flawless. She found it impossible to harbor any resentment towards him and instead felt a peculiar urge to defend him, thinking to herself that if he were perfect, how could he possibly have any quirks that would allow others to live?

After politely bidding farewell to the driver from the estate, Tina made her way to the hotel. As soon as she stepped into the lobby, a front desk attendant called out to her, "Are you Miss Tina Fey?"

"Uh-huh," Tina nodded.

"Great! You're finally back. Since yesterday afternoon, we have received 11 calls from a gentleman named Simon Patrick. He insists that you return his call as soon as possible."

"Got it," Tina replied, taking the note the front desk provided and hurrying to her room.

Simon Patrick was the editor of the The Philadelphia Evening News, a man in his fifties.

Back in her room, Tina immediately dialed the editor's office at the newspaper. The moment he recognized her voice, Simon launched into a tirade. Tina frowned in annoyance but had no choice but to patiently explain all that had transpired the previous day.

Upon hearing that she had secured an exclusive interview with Eric, Simon's tone shifted dramatically, turning warm as he praised her and urged her to get the interview written up and sent back quickly.

Tina hung up the phone with a light sigh. The scene from last night when she had been knocked down had been captured live on television. Even if Simon hadn't seen it, many staff at the newspaper would have caught wind of it, and clearly, some hoped she would fail this task.

The Philadelphia Evening News wasn't large, and opportunities for travel were few. Many hoped for the chance to cover the acquisition in Los Angeles; it amounted to a paid trip, and Hollywood's epicenter held considerable allure. For many, Tina's experience at the paper was relatively shallow. Her chance to cover this event stemmed from not only her decent performance over the past two years but also because of her looks, which led the somewhat lecherous Simon to give her this opportunity.

She knew Simon was an old man with a wandering eye but felt no qualms accepting the assignment, seeing it as a feather in her cap.

She had initially thought that completing this interview successfully would put an end to any gossip. Now, however, she began to realize how naive she'd been. Had she only accepted Eric's invitation to attend the celebration last night without nabbing the exclusive interview, she would have undoubtedly botched the assignment, and unless she wanted to cozy up to that old geezer for favors, she'd have to leave the paper in disgrace.

Tina couldn't help but recall Drew's invitation. Perhaps coming to Hollywood was a good opportunity. Staying at the newspaper, she could envision a future filled with backstabbing and petty sabotage among colleagues, climbing her way up, and if lucky, reaching a position like Simon Patrick's by the time she was his age. Or perhaps in a few years, she might marry, quit her job, and lead a humdrum life as a housewife.

None of these ideas appealed to her; she wanted a life filled with excitement and variety.

Glancing at the phone before her, she hesitated for a few seconds before pulling out Drew's contact information and dialing the estate's number.

...

Drew hung up the phone and returned to sit by the coffee table again. Claudia was leaning forward with the script for The Mask in front of her, curiously asking, "Did she agree?"

Drew nodded, taking a sip from a glass of juice to ponder his thoughts. "Yeah, it's a hassle that she had to call after returning to say she would. Not very straightforward at all."

"After all, this is a big deal. When I got an offer from a modeling agency, my dad treated it like it was something serious. I had to wear him down for quite a while before he finally relented," Claudia said with a glance at Drew's left hand, which was resting on the table.

On his ring finger was a rose gold ring adorned with a sparkling heart-shaped red diamond, glinting in the sunlight streaming through the glass wall, making it hard for Claudia not to be captivated. She remembered that a few days ago, Drew hadn't worn it. Unable to contain her curiosity, she asked, "Hey, Drew, I've been meaning to ask you, where did you get that?"

Drew set down her juice and proudly showed the ring to Claudia. "Isn't it beautiful?"

"Of course. The design is so unique; can I take a look at it?" Claudia smiled, her eyes twinkling.

Drew carefully took it off and handed it to Claudia, grinning, "This can't be bought, you know. If you work hard enough, maybe someone will gift you something similar."

Claudia raised an eyebrow, catching on, and asked, "Eric gave it to you, didn't he?"

Drew nodded.

Claudia examined the ring closely. The heart-shaped red diamond was perfectly set in soft pink rose gold, surrounded by elegantly carved floral patterns, and on the other side of the diamond was a small engraved letter "K."

"What does the 'K' mean?" Claudia asked curiously.

Drew scrunched her lips, recalling Eric's quirky sense of humor. "I can't tell you; maybe you'll figure it out someday."

Thinking it was a little secret between Drew and Eric, Claudia didn't press further and asked, "And those designs? They look odd yet beautiful."

"Well," Drew said, glancing at Claudia's vibrant lips. "Get me your lipstick, and I'll show you."

Claudia was a little puzzled but took out a Revlon lipstick from her bag and handed it to Drew along with the ring.

Drew took the items, grabbed a tissue from a nearby box, and carefully folded it. She then applied the lipstick to the outer side of the ring and gently pressed it against the tissue. After finishing, she pushed the tissue toward Claudia.

Claudia picked it up and inspected it curiously. At first, she was puzzled, but she quickly realized that the patterns resembled a string of cursive letters. After examining it closely, she read it aloud, "Eric-Williams, wow, this is... Eric's name!"

Drew nodded, carefully wiping the ring clean and placing it back on her left hand. She chuckled, "So, even if you like it, you can't buy this one. This ring will never appear on the market."

Claudia made a face, waving her hand in jest, "There's no way I'm wearing that guy's name on my hand! By the way, you seem to have it on the wrong finger; that's the ring finger!"

"Not at all," Drew replied, slightly disappointed. "It's just a pity that I can't wear it in public."

Claudia raised her eyebrows thoughtfully and turned back to the script, mulling over the recent 'K' letter and wondering if there might be an 'A', 'B', or 'C' somewhere.

While Drew's eyes were focused on the materials in front of her, her thoughts drifted to the first time she'd seen the ring. Oh my God, Eric had actually made a complete set of 54 rings, the entire deck of cards! How infuriating! Even more annoying was that Eric hid the jokers, leaving her with just the heart K, claiming that one day when she was really down, he might pull out the jokers as wedding rings.

So far, aside from the heart K, a few other rings had made their way to several women. Drew only knew that Julia received the heart 4; she wasn't too clear about the others.

...

"The first time I saw you, I knew you were destined for Hollywood greatness. I've always wanted to bring you to Disney, but I never expected it would turn out this way," Michael Eisner said with a wry smile from his office at Disney Headquarters, his fingers tracing over a thirty million dollar check.

Michael tried to sound nonchalant, but remembering Barry Diller's exit from Fox with a $129 million paycheck, he found it hard to maintain that front.

As Barry Diller's former assistant, he admitted he could be no comparison to Barry. Yet, Disney's development over the years hadn't lagged behind that of 20th Century Fox. Both their departures coincided, with Barry walking away with $129 million while he would get just $30 million.

"People always say Hollywood is a dream factory, but they don't realize that it can be a brutal place. You can fulfill many people's dreams but often can't achieve your own," Eric reflected, recalling an article he had read about Barry Diller, feeling somewhat sentimental.

Although the chaos of two years ago had left an irreparable rift between the two, he didn't harbor much animosity towards Michael Eisner. Business competition was always ruthless, and using any means was fair game. If someone was too sentimental, they'd likely get swallowed whole without leaving a crumb behind.

Michael Eisner didn't know the source of Eric's melancholy but felt a faint chord of resonance in his heart. Looking across at Eric, he asked, "Who do you plan to replace me with, Frank?"

"Frank is too conservative. I want a new Disney CEO who is passionate."

Michael Eisner observed Eric and said, "That has to be Jeffrey then."

Eric only smiled, still having not met Katzenberg, but Barry had personally recommended Katzenberg to him, so Eric was fairly set on that choice.

Michael tucked the check away and opened his mouth to say something but ultimately held back. Although Katzenberg was someone he brought over from Paramount and promoted to president of Disney Animation Studios, their rocky relationship was well-known in Hollywood, so any assessment he offered would likely send Eric in another direction.

"Well, I'll be on my way then," Michael Eisner said as he stood up, and Eric rose, walking him to the office door.

While waiting for the elevator, Michael suddenly turned to Eric and said, "Oh, there's something I should tell you."

Eric raised an inquisitive eyebrow, prompting Michael to continue, "I've received an invitation from the Panasonic Group; I might be heading to Universal Pictures."

Eric raised his eyebrows, unable to hold back his reaction, "Don't they know about your conflict with Spielberg?"

From the start of his career, Spielberg had maintained a strong relationship with Universal; it was said he still owed them seven film commitments.

The fallout over movies like Who Framed Roger Rabbit had created a rift between Michael and Spielberg, and for the last few years, Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment had no collaborations with Disney.

Compared to Michael Eisner, Eric considered Spielberg to be far more crucial to Universal. Even though the recent box office for Hook had been underwhelming, Spielberg's position in Hollywood was not so easily shaken. Even without Jurassic Park, Eric believed Spielberg could develop other film franchises.

If the Japanese brought Michael Eisner in as CEO of Universal, it would undoubtedly affect Spielberg's collaboration with the studio.

When the elevator arrived, Michael stepped inside, and Eric thought for a moment before following suit.

"This failure may not be a bad thing for me," Michael said, gazing at the flickering elevator lights. "A few years ago, I made quite a few poor decisions, including those involving Spielberg. Once I'm at Universal, I'll work to mend things with him. I surely won't make those mistakes again. So, Eric, watch out, next time I won't lose to you again."

"I'll be watching," Eric replied with a smile.

*****

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