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After more than a decade in Hollywood, Casey Affleck considered himself an excellent and patient top talent hunter when dealing with these so-called genius students still in school.
He asked, "May I have the honor of appreciating more of your work?"
"All the work I have completed is here," Lily replied, her gaze fixed on Casey, sweeping him up and down nonstop, carefully examining his body structure to determine where to make cuts most effectively.
Seeing that the girl's eyes were constantly on him, Casey beca even more confident. She was obviously very interested in him.
Lily's gaze was intense and sincere. The hand hidden in her pocket quickly caressed the carving knife.
Casey felt Lily's fondness for him and decided to be more straightforward, pointing at the sculpture nearby, "I am fortunate to acquire such a splendid art piece today. I should celebrate. Beautiful Lily Carter, may I invite you to join ?"
Lily gave a peculiar smile, "I have to go to the airport to pick soone up in a bit. I don't have ti."
Casey wasn't a rookie and knew he needed to be a bit patient, "I'll call you another day." He emphasized, "I hope to appreciate your masterpieces again. I really like your style and want to collect more of your work."
Lily courteously responded, "Thank you."
Casey went on, "Maybe in a few years, I won't be able to afford your work."
With flattering words, he handed Lily his business card, which bore only a series of phone numbers.
Lily accepted it, politely bade farewell, and left. During the departure, she deliberately looked back at Casey, deciding how to make it look like self-defense, how many stabs wouldn't result in serious injury.
Casey's smile was decadent and completely dispirited—the most charming smile in the art circle.
Lily nodded at him and was about to turn out of the exhibition hall when she stopped in front of soone else's human sculpture, pausing to asure with her fingers.
As the organizer ca over to pack up the bust, Casey watched, his mind working on what kind of surprise could score him a coback with Martin Davis.
The Affleck Brothers received solid news that Chuck Hogan had already signed a contract with Martin Davis, selling the film and TV adaptation rights of "Prince of Thieves" to Davis Film Studio.
It was a project they had eyed and approached first, but was snatched right before their eyes, leaving them with an undeniable anger they couldn't vent.
Before the exhibition ended, Lily took leave from her ntor and drove her red Cadillac to Los Angeles International Airport.
Today Martin was returning from New York, and she was going to pick him up.
Getting to the terminal, Lily didn't wait long before she saw Martin and Bruce coming out with their luggage.
She hurriedly waved at the two.
After approaching, Martin handed a bag to Lily, "Where's the car?"
Lily, carrying the heavy bag, led the way, "This way."
The three of them loaded the luggage into the Cadillac, and Lily drove out of the parking lot, asking, "Did you finish all your work in New York?"
"All done," said Martin. Rembering sothing very important, he specifically instructed, "When you go to New York next ti, tidy up the house in Central Park a bit, it's slightly ssy."
Lily habitually replied, "Alright."
Bruce glanced at Martin and then at Lily—one oblivious, the other habitual—hopeless.
Rembering his good intentions, Martin quickly added, "Or you could hire a specialized housekeeping company to clean up."
"I got it." Accustod to doing these things for years, Lily found it all quite normal.
The mansion gifted by Pitt was still being renovated, but it was reaching the final stages.
Martin still resided in the Cody Community.
The Cadillac drove straight through the gate, with the house neat and tidy inside and out.
Martin didn't need to ask; it was definitely Lily's doing. He said, "I've brought you a gift from New York this ti."
Hearing the word "gift," Lily felt overwheld. Those past gifts were better left not sent.
She probed, "I have plenty of raw materials now. I carve every day at school or at Warner Bros. Studios, so there's no need to send more buffalo horns or Bay Crocodile teeth."
Martin had already opened his suitcase and took out a set of carving knives, handing them to Lily, "For you."
Lily took it, opened it to glance inside, and instantly felt everything she did was worth it.
Martin set aside the suitcase filled with gifts, including those for Elizabeth, Jolie, and Aniston.
The latter two had specifically supported Lily, and he wanted to show his appreciation.
Lily, never one to sit idly, stored the carving knife and then opened a cupboard to take out several letters for Martin, "These have been delivered to the mailbox while you were gone."
Martin flipped through them. Most were sales ads, but the genuinely valuable ones were notes from two neighbors left in the mailbox.
One was from the next-door neighbor Jenna Jones, a beautifully wrapped DVD with a close-up of her firing a gun on the cover and the words "Limitless" in bold letters.
Attached to the back of the DVD was a note from Jenna informing Martin that the movie was finished, and she sent over a collector's edition just for him.
Martin was curious to see how the Sacred Valley version turned out with a female lead, and the heroine's journey to find the smart drug.
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Finding smart drugs in genetic material, that idea is unbeatable.
I wonder if Jenna is interested in "The Reader" and "Benjamin," especially the latter. What kind of Sacred Valley ideas could she co up with based on the movie?
A man can't help being curious. Filming Little Benjamin with children sure would be exciting.
Martin received a drawer, inside which was a collector's edition disc, the Sacred Valley version of "Wanted Order."
Lily sneaked a peek and muttered, "Who gives this kind of stuff as a gift?"
Martin said, "The Jones family are artists; they think differently from other people."
"I'm an artist too," Lily declared, then added, "My ideas are pretty normal."
Martin looked at Lily and couldn't be bothered to respond.
He had long known that she carried a carving knife in her pocket every day.
Another useful email ca from Gillian Flynn, the neighbor across the street. It was just a handwritten note.
Gillian, not wanting to disturb Martin during his New York shoot, hadn't rashly called. She had written the beginning of the novel she ntioned last ti and, if Martin had returned, planned to show him the first draft.
Martin picked up his phone, dialed Gillian's number, and when she answered, told her straight away that he was back in Los Angeles, at ho.
Lily helped Martin and Bruce pack up the luggage and brought up the past, "Rember the photo of the Affleck brothers you sent last ti?"
Martin imdiately asked, "What about it, did they give you trouble?"
"Casey Affleck bought one of my sculptures today..." Lily quickly recounted what had happened.
Bruce took over the conversation, "They know you're not easy to deal with, so they went after soone young and inexperienced by your side."
Lily's hand erged from her pocket, the small carving knife flitting about like a dancing butterfly around her fingertips.
Martin asked, "What are you thinking?"
Lily actually had quite a plan, "I was thinking of finding a place to poke 108 holes in him with my carving knife. It would still be self-defense."
Bruce warned her, "Don't ss around."
"I've seen too many rascally bastards like him growing up." Lily's upbringing was different. "Take the Clayton Community, there are far more dangerous ones than him."
She suddenly laughed, "Casey Affleck paid a high price for one of my sculptures and expressed interest in the others. I think soone like him, even though he's no Ben Affleck, must be quite rich."
Martin knew Lily too well; he knew what she had in mind the mont he heard her.
Lily said, "I've spent most of the past two years learning and practicing, and I've accumulated quite a few practice pieces. I'm really poor, and Casey Affleck is a rich man. To beco financially independent sooner, I was thinking of trying to sell him a few more sculptures."
Bruce finally understood why Elena always showed such tough love for her sister.
Without that love, she would've completely gone astray!
Martin shook his head, "I rember the salary from 'The Dark Knight' crew wasn't low."
"It's different." Lily was very clear that the job and salary from 'The Dark Knight' Crew had a lot to do with Martin.
She thought for a mont and said, "Let try, and if anything happens, I'll pull back."
Martin looked at Bruce. Old Cloth gave a nearly imperceptible nod.
"Alright, just be careful." Martin believed that people couldn't live in a greenhouse forever.
Lily nodded repeatedly, contemplating how to use this opportunity to sell more sculptures at a high price.
You can't pass up the chance to empty the wallet of a sucker who cos knocking.
Bruce ssaged the two bodyguards he employed year-round, redirecting one to follow Lily.
In Los Angeles, a bodyguard's job would be much easier.
At that mont, the doorbell rang, and Gillian Flynn was outside the front door.
Bruce opened the door to greet her and soon ca in with Gillian.
Martin stood up to shake her hand, "I just saw your note; I apologize for not contacting you sooner."
"You're busy with work; it was presumptuous of ." Gillian held so manuscript pages, "I wrote part of a manuscript and wanted to share it, but couldn't find the right person. Within the circle of writers, there's too much chaos and undercutting; I didn't dare show it to my peers."
Martin said with a smile, "It seems I'm a neighbor to be trusted."
Gillian handed over the manuscript, "This script might be worth a few days of your filming fee at most. Maybe even less."
Martin took it and asked, "Is this the piece you told about, inspired by Agatha Christie's real-life cases?"
"Yes, that's the one." Gillian seed embarrassed, "I can only write in my spare ti, so the pace is slow. It took over a year to write the first third, and the remaining might take another year and a half, or even longer. I'm not even sure if what I've written is of any value."
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