King of Hollywood Chapter 784: 190: Power and Influence

Chapter 784: Chapter 190: Power and Influence

“The six most popular friends in the world are finally leaving the small screen, which really makes one feel a myriad of emotions. We probably won’t be able to see the lovable Rachel, the old-fashioned Ross, Monica with her obsessive-compulsive disorder, the insecure Chandler, the confused Joey, or the neurotic Phoebe anymore,” Adrian sighed as he stood facing the few leading actors, holding a glass in his hand.

“It’s because you won’t continue writing the script, Ed,” said Dennis, who was hugging Aniston, with a smile. Only he could speak like that, “Everyone admits that the scripts for the first three seasons that you supervised were the funniest.”

“Give a break, Dan. There are quite a few episodes in the later seasons that were very popular. The eighth season also maintained the highest ratings in Arica, and it received high praise,” Adrian said as he playfully slapped him on the shoulder, “Besides, I’m not omnipotent. ‘Friends’ has co to an end, and even I can’t make it co back to life. So when it’s ti to let go, we should let go. A proper ending is an important reason whether a TV series can beco a classic or not.”

With that, he raised his glass to the six leading actors, “Regardless, congratulations to you, my old friends. It’s because of you that this TV show has created such a splendid record of success.”

“Thank you, Ed,” Schwimr, Perry, and Courtney and the others also raised their glasses.

After chatting for a while, Adrian left them, taking Dennis with him.

“Tell the truth, Dan?” he said with a mischievous smile as he slapped his shoulder hard, then glanced over in the direction of Aniston and the other six, “I’ve seen the looks on their faces, so… have you…?”

Although he didn’t finish his words, the aning was quite clear. Dennis’s face imdiately beca uncomfortable, and he coughed for a long ti without being able to speak.

“Alright, no need to say it. I understand,” Adrian burst into laughter. “No wonder Noni, who was always inseparable from you and Jenny, is now over there. And no wonder Dana would pause her career to go back to Yale.”

“Noni went over there because today is the wrap party for ‘Friends,’ and she didn’t want to disturb us. Dana went back to college because her family wanted her to,” Dennis wasn’t sure whether he was stating facts or making excuses.

“You did well, Dan. You achieved what Jean-Claude Van Dam didn’t manage to do in episode 13 of the second season, and it’s the second ti around,” he continued laughing.

“It was Jenny…” Dennis said weakly as Adrian looked at him in astonishnt, “You an… Jenny took the initiative?”

“No, no, not proactive, but in a kind of… accidental circumstance. I admit I haven’t completely… so she presud… after all, she, Noni, and Dana…” Dennis gestured with his hands, speaking disjointedly, seeming both resigned and frustrated.

“You know what I think, buddy?” Adrian slapped him hard on the shoulder again, “After all these years, you’ve finally, um, ‘achieved completeness.’ You know the aning of this Chinese phrase? It’s like… to put it simply, you’ve finally drawn a perfect circle, coming back to the starting point, though of course, you’re no longer the sa person you were once. I’ve always said, Dan, as long as you’re willing to make the effort, you can always make it happen.”

Dennis could only roll his eyes and force a bitter smile.

“Alright, to encourage you, let think,” Adrian tapped his head with his finger, “this year you have two movies being released during the sumr blockbuster season, ‘The Expendables 2’ and ‘Resident Evil 2,’ right? But it seems that next year you don’t have any good works lined up, so I’ve decided to produce an action movie, then cast you and Jenny as the leads.”

“ and Jenny as the leads?” Dennis frowned, “You wouldn’t be thinking…”

“Yeah, it’s an action movie and also a movie about a married couple’s relationship,” Adrian couldn’t conceal his smugness. “A young couple, they t in Columbia and quickly fell in love. However, after they got married, they found out the saying ‘Marriage is the grave of love’ wasn’t wrong at all. The mundane life after marriage started to cool their passion, and their marriage beca precarious; not even a psychologist could save it. Of course, the main reason was that they both had secrets they couldn’t possibly tell anyone—they were assassins, tasked with eliminating those their companies wanted ‘cleared off the list’.”

He stopped there, and Dennis imdiately continued, “Then one day they discovered each other’s identities, started fighting, and then rekindled their spark, right?”

“No no no,” Adrian started laughing, “Their respective companies were the first to notice and, what’s more, they were competitors. So, they issued a mission for them to kill the sa target, eventually leading to the discovery of each other’s identities, and then the company ordered them to kill each other. Thus, their dostic and professional conflicts erupted. Of course, it ended up pretty much like you said, rekindling the spark in the fight and then teaming up against the company to carve out a chance for themselves.”

“Wow, sounds pretty good. Jenny must be thrilled,” Dennis said, although his face showed no pleasure, giving the impression he could already picture his wife using this as an opportunity to give him a good kick and punch.

“What about you?” Adrian asked, struggling to hold back his laughter.

“You know I’d never refuse you,” Dennis spread his hands.

Having the Dennis couple star in “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” wasn’t a whim. Ever since Aniston began changing her image on the big screen to play tough won, Adrian had this idea. Of course, most of the ti the success of a movie depended on the context, unless it was a film that could completely forsake contemporary settings like “Winter’s Bone,” so he was always very careful to slightly adjust things in advance using his foreknowledge.

The timing now was ripe for making this movie. With “Friends” ending, Aniston was also putting an end to her sweetheart persona, fully moving towards action film roles—now she wasn’t anything like she was in her past life—and it wasn’t far off from when the original was released. Adrian took this opportunity to bring up the idea, oh, and of course, commissioning the Porn Queen to produce an adult version was a must.

Although it was an ABC party celebrating the end of “Friends,” many people attended, not limited to just the entertainnt industry, even including notable figures from outside Los Angeles, like—

“The contrast, that’s the real draw of the entire reality show. People envy you and can’t beco you, so they enjoy seeing you make fools of yourselves,” Adrian said in a leisurely tone to the two girls with sowhat similar yet different faces on his left and right. “Then, how to tickle their funny bones, how to show off your charm to them, changing their envy to adoration, is up to you.”

Both of the girls were very young and about the sa age, the one on the left slightly younger, with straightened black hair that looked dyed. The one on the right was a bit older, with similarly straightened hair but platinum blonde—perhaps this made it easier to tell them apart? Or maybe Nikki didn’t want to be labeled as just another version of her sister? The last ti at Victor’s wedding, she had beautiful blonde hair, just like Paris.

Right, the two girls being embraced by him were none other than the Hilton sisters, who were both looking at him with a half-smiling expression since his hands were placed on their perky rears, occasionally giving an unabashed squeeze.

“So you want and Nikki to go work on a farm and get all dirty to make people laugh?” Paris narrowed her eyes and asked.

“Don’t worry, all of this is for the audience to see; your delicate skin won’t suffer a scratch, and the TV station will naturally edit the footage into what the viewers want to see,” Adrian said with a smile.

“But why does it have to be Nikki and as a team? Couldn’t it be soone else? I have lots of girlfriends,” Paris then asked.

“Because Nikki is your sister; with a sister to help, everything is more efficient, and Nikki can also use this opportunity to hone herself. She won’t be following the sa career path as you, and besides…” Adrian chuckled, his hands on their rears pressing down slightly, “what’s more sensational than sisters joining forces?”

Paris rolled her eyes at his double entendre, “I figured as much.”

“But I think it’s not bad,” Nikki suddenly said, chewing her lip as if she was really contemplating the reality show issue. “Just like Ed said, I could accumulate so… experience.”

“Nikki!” Paris snapped.

Nikki was startled, then realized what was happening, and imdiately rolled her eyes and twisted her pert behind, seemingly trying to shake off his hand.

“Isn’t that so?” Adrian continued with a mischievous grin.

Paris huffed lightly, suddenly taking her sister’s hand. “Alright then, that’s settled. I look forward to the mont this reality show airs.”

Saying this, she pulled her sister away. Adrian shrugged but didn’t follow them. They hadn’t escaped his grasp; just last month, he had already bedded both Hilton sisters.

It’d been said before, Paris was actually quite smart. She knew the benefits of cozying up to a dia tycoon like him. She was seeking to make a na for herself, to build montum for her future fashion brand, and the reality show was the first step. So even though Adrian had first mingled with Lydia from the Hearst family at Victor’s wedding, then took Nikki into the room, Paris was furious yet still had to find a way to win Adrian’s support.

In Paris’s view, it just ant spending more ti with him, which wasn’t a big deal. Adrian was tender and considerate, and excellent in bed—to the point where, had she not known about his playboy nature and later heard rumors about his bunch of kids, she might have considered dating or even marrying him long-term.

Unfortunately, even though she played various gas with him afterward, one ti at a cocktail party, she was half-forcibly played within an unnoticed corner behind the curtains. That ti left a deep impression on Paris; it was brief, but the thrill easily sent her soaring to heaven, thanks to Adrian. Perhaps that’s why, even though Adrian always dodged the topic, Paris was obsessed over him like bewitched, not considering other approaches.

This went on until early last month when Paris asked Adrian to continue the talk at a bar. By chance, Nikki was also in Los Angeles and joined them at the bar. Adrian finally acquiesced, agreeing to create a reality show for the sisters, all while teasing them with his words. Given Paris had been muddled, and Nikki inexperienced and slightly drunk, the sisters ended up going ho with him for a wild night.

The next day, a sober Paris was furious, but Nikki didn’t care and even teased her sister about having a good figure. Instead of settling scores with Adrian, the sisters ended up bickering, leading to another tryst the next morning. Nevertheless, Paris was Paris—perhaps not as mature as she’d be in a few years—if a certain incident hadn’t occurred, that maturity might have been delayed—but she was still a party girl at heart, and in the end, well, in her words, she just let Adrian off the hook temporarily.

And once there was a first ti, a second was inevitable. This was Adrian’s first ti flying with the Hilton sisters, watching the two similar girls whine and moan beneath him. The feeling was extraordinary, and he couldn’t help but crave more. So Paris’s current uncooperative attitude, despite the wild threeso they’d all enjoyed each ti, was probably ant as a warning to Adrian. They weren’t just toys for him to play with. Of course, whether it was effective or not, only God knew.

Putting that aside, after the Hilton sisters left, Adrian was planning to take a walk around when he saw Claude standing alone with a glass of champagne, staring into space in front of the long table laden with food—after all, “Friends” could be counted as one of the most classic TV shows of the past decade and had played a significant role in ABC’s developnt. Therefore, not just Adrian from AC dia’s top brass was attending.

“Hey, Claude, what are you daydreaming about over here?” Adrian walked over imdiately.

“Hey, Ed, I’m just feeling a little nostalgic,” Claude replied with a smile and a shrug.

“Nostalgic for what? You rember you haven’t watched many episodes of ‘Friends,'” Adrian asked half-jokingly, “and I recall you once said that the show was too exaggerated in so parts.”

“Yes, but that doesn’t affect today’s celebration. For , any show that brings in a lot of advertising revenue for the network is a good show,” Claude raised his glass and took a sip of champagne.

“Really living up to the CEO of a corporation, always thinking about this kind of thing,” Adrian’s conversation took a sharp turn, “So why are you spacing out here? Let guess… the acquisition isn’t going smoothly? Or did the Dallas Cowboys flat out reject your proposal? Or maybe…”

Watching Claude remain composed, Adrian’s smile took on a more suggestive edge, “Co on, Ed, stop sounding like my dad every ti we talk about this, and direct your energy elsewhere. Look around, there are so many beautiful girls here, and you didn’t bring a date, just a snap of your fingers and they’ll be lining up to sleep with you.” Claude said, rolling his eyes.

“Unfortunately, Crow, I’m not on the prowl at today’s party,” Adrian said seriously.

“Is that so? Okay, that’s a funny joke, Ed. I bet that, given the ti and energy, you could pick up any woman here, no exceptions, even if so of them already have husbands.” Claude said half mockingly.

“I’m serious, Crow, I already have plans, and besides, there aren’t many here that catch my eye…” He stopped mid-sentence and looked off into the distance, as if he had discovered a new world.

Claude followed his gaze but didn’t see anything special. There were several won over there.

“I’ll be right back, Crow,” Adrian said with a smile before striding off in that direction.

I knew it. Claude shrugged his shoulders, sipped the champagne in his hand, and looked over again.

Adrian stopped when he reached the group of won and waited for one woman to finish her conversation before he approached her to chat. She was a brunette wearing a light green V-neck dress, around thirty, seemingly with a touch of Slavic heritage, not that beautiful from a distance, but with a really nice aura, which suited his taste just right.

The woman seed a bit surprised at first, then shy and exhilarated, for obvious reasons. They struck up a conversation, and her face often lit up with a happy smile. Adrian was indeed charming; within five minutes, it would have been very easy for him to take her away.

However, it didn’t seem to be Adrian’s full plan, as he patiently chatted with her, making her laugh again and again until… another woman nearby finished her conversation. With Adrian’s body blocking the other woman’s path, she turned around and bumped into him, making it seem like an accident. Honestly, if Claude hadn’t been watching him the whole ti, he surely would have thought it was an accident. The guy could really act.

Seizing the opportunity, he struck up a conversation with this other woman, too. She had golden brown hair, seed a bit younger than the first, and wore a unique black strapless… jumpsuit, very beautiful, and with dimples when she smiled.

Recognizing Adrian, she too showed a surprise, and then the two won and one man engaged in conversation. However, as they continued to talk, the atmosphere between them seed to change. Claude kept watching — maybe it was just his imagination from staring too long, but the two won definitely beca a bit uneasy, while Adrian remained as jovial as ever.

This guy couldn’t be… Claude’s mind raced with thoughts. Then, just a few minutes later, Adrian walked over with the two won, his hands placed on their waists.

“Hey, Crow,” he greeted him cheerfully, “Let introduce you. This is my wingman, also my best business partner, without him there would be no today, Claude Ronris.”

Then Adrian gestured to the woman on his left in the light green V-neck dress, “This is Vera, Vera Farmiga.”

And pointing to the woman on his right in the black strapless jumpsuit and golden brown hair, “This is Rachel, Rachel McAdams.”(To be continued. If you like this work, feel free to visit qidian to cast your votes for recomndation and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)