America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz

Chapter 172: Chapter 172: Worried Sick

On Christmas Eve, the remaining tenants all went up to the rooftop to join the party. Bruce especially made his rounds among several male groups and found plenty of discussion about Nevada's dark secrets.

Mene, as talkative as ever, said, "Based on my twenty years of following Washington D.C., this definitely has an inside story."

He looked at Martin and Antonio and continued, "Boss, Antonio, here's what I'm thinking: Could The Pentagon be conducting biological weapon experiments there? Creating a humanoid weapon that feels no pain and knows only mindless slaughter?"

Martin lifted his glass and said, "You're wasting your talent not being a screenwriter."

Mene, a bit embarrassed, laughed: "I've been helping Bradt revise 'Wanted Order' lately, I guess his influence on me has been a bit much."

Antonio patted his basketball-sized belly and asked Martin, "Are you going to be the main character again?"

Martin nodded, "Pretty much. A new film is coming out early February next year, and there's another one in preparation that I'm the absolute lead in."

"Becoming a big star and still living here doesn't seem fitting." Antonio was quite concerned for himself, "It's not that I'm kicking you out, but if paparazzi offer me a six-figure sum to plant spy cameras in your room, I can't turn it down."

Mene said, "You're very direct."

Antonio turned to Bruce, who was walking back, "I want to make money, but I'm afraid of becoming a freak."

Martin took a sip of his drink and said, "Don't worry, Old Cloth won't blow anyone's head off."

Antonio shifted his weight, thinking that decapitation wasn't what he was afraid of. He said to Martin, "If you're changing apartments, you can come to me. I can introduce you."

Curious, Martin asked, "Do you have property for sale?"

"No," replied Antonio, lifting his head, "but I know lots of rich people."

He stated a fact, "Don't forget, when I was a millionaire, you guys were still broke."

Mene glanced at the rotund Antonio, then at his own handsome and dashing self, thinking how unfair society was. Why were the wealthy always these greasy old men?

Martin clinked glasses with Antonio, "No problem, I'll look for you when I need to buy."

Bruce was back.

Jessica and Emily came over and clinked glasses with Martin, "Merry Christmas!"

Martin raised his glass, "Merry Christmas!"

After finishing her drink, Jessica added, "There's a package for you from Atlanta, I received it for you."

Martin nodded, "I'll come and get it in a bit."

At a little past ten, Mene prepared to head back to his place.

Before leaving, he said to Martin, "Boss, I'll be eternally grateful for you covering my fine, I'm completely at your disposal for anything you need."

Martin pushed him away, "Go on, what use would I have for you?"

Bruce jokingly put an arm around Mene's neck, "We'll just need your smooth talking."

Mene, serious as can be, said, "Just tell me who to lick, and I'll lick them." He glanced at Antonio, "Even the fat landlord is no problem."

Martin waved him off, "When I need you, I won't be polite."

Mene was the first to leave the rooftop.

A while later, Martin and Bruce went downstairs together.

Jessica and Emily followed them down.

Martin went to retrieve the package, standing at the door, while Jessica entered the living room to grab it.

The petite Emily stood at the entryway, looking up at Martin, and suddenly asked, "Martin, don't you have a date tonight?"

Martin casually replied, "No."

Emily lowered her voice, "You can stay here, Jessie wouldn't mind."

Jessica came over with the package and heard her, but neither agreed nor objected.

Martin shrugged, "Annie drained me dry when she went back to New York."

He took the package from Jessica's hands and went back to his apartment.

Emily closed the door and asked, "Does he not fancy us?"

Jessica, young but sharper than Emily, said, "Our work at The Hills Have Eyes' studio comes from his recommendation, strictly speaking, we're his employees."

Emily didn't quite grasp the meaning of these words.

Out of exasperation, Jessica patted Emily's chest, "All of your brains are in here!"

On the other side, Martin returned to his apartment.

Bruce was surprised, "You actually came back?"

Martin found a wallpaper knife, began opening the package, but spoke of another matter, "You're my manager, specialized in dirty work."

The first part sounded pleasant enough, but the latter part made Old Cloth want to draw a gun, "Because you, a bad guy, always make trouble."

"So, I need an assistant to manage my blog, communicate with fans, and handle daily tasks," said Martin. "This position is very important. Who do you think is suitable?"

Bruce thought of Kim Kardashian and Paris Hilton, how glorious the former was after being betrayed and how pitiful the latter was.

He thought for a moment, "I feel like Jessica is more suitable. She has simple social relations, is somewhat intelligent, and easy to control."

Martin said, "She studied at an art school, has struggled in Hollywood, and is somewhat clever, making her more suitable than picking a stranger."

"Keep an appropriate distance, especially in male-female relationships," Bruce suddenly thought of a sad experience.

Hadn't he experienced exactly that? He had been drugged by a former boss and then... he quickly left.

It was only because he was a good person and Vincent had treated him well that he didn't retaliate against his former employer.

Martin opened the package, inside was the gift mailed by Harris: a crystal star, a brass plate inlaid with rhinestones forming a star chart, along with a high-end, prestigious certificate.

Putting the set together, plus shipping, would cost over 100 US dollars.

Bruce came over to have a look and the more he looked, the more intrigued he became, "Get one for me, I'll give it to Kim."

Martin said, "She'd be so excited, pull you into filming?"

Bruce's face turned solemn, "Soon. I've decided to film with her, then say goodbye after we're done."

"You're going to become a world-famous celebrity." Martin had no doubt about this, as the awakened Kim Kardashian was definitely an expert in generating buzz. He exclaimed, "You might even become more famous than the other Bruce, a globally renowned top celebrity."

Bruce said, "Of course, it has to be me in control, and I won't show my face."

Martin lost interest, "Not showing your face? That's no fun."

Bruce had Martin arrange a star gift for him and then said, "Get some rest early, I'm going to spend Christmas with Kim."

Martin sadly realized that he had become a loner.

Fortunately, just before going to sleep, he received a phone call from Louise, "Thank you for your Christmas gift."

"Don't mention it, it was specially prepared for you," Martin specially mentioned, "A master bartender can not only create original drinks but also improve existing recipes, three revised classic cocktail recipes that better suit modern tastes."

It wasn't just Louise, but friends from Atlanta like Kelly Gray, Elena, and Lily, including partners like Vincent and Sophia—Martin had mailed Christmas gifts to all of them.

Louise realized she hadn't prepared a Christmas gift for Martin. Thinking about Martin's warm gestures after the failure of "Alexander the Great", she softly said, "I will take over the early preparations for Wanted Order entirely. You focus on getting ready for the role, and I'll handle all the miscellaneous tasks...

Mm, we're heading to Harbor City the day after tomorrow, and I'll cover all expenses."

Martin laughed, "It feels great to be taken care of like this."

Louise said, "It's not just you and me, but also Angelina Jolie."

Martin was surprised, "What's she doing attending the Bartenders' Association annual meeting? She wants to be a bartender?"

Louise simply said, "Jolie is taking a trip to Cambodia, she's transferring through Harbor City."

Martin vaguely remembered, among the children Jolie adopted, several were from Southeast Asia. After considering it for a moment, he said, "You in charge of Wanted Order is perfect, to invite Jolie to play the role of Fox. You've seen the outline of Bradt's script, 'Cool Girl' suits Jolie well."

Louise was surprised, "You still dare to invite her? With 'Tomb Raider 2', 'Moving Murder', and this new one, the market response has been really average. Are you sure she can make a comeback?"

Strictly speaking, Jolie had botched three movies in a row. If "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" failed, her career in Hollywood would basically be done.

But Jolie had managed to turn the tables with her scandal with Pitt.

What was scarier is that Jolie had no publicist, all her responses came from herself.

Martin said, "Her salary must have dropped, right?"

Louise said, "I'm confident that we can get her for 5 million US dollars and she'll even be grateful to me, but her draw..."

"I heard during the filming of 'Mr. & Mrs. Smith', Jolie got together with Pitt," Martin could only say, "Scandals aren't necessarily bad. If Jolie exposes it herself, in conjunction with the production company's promotion... Many times, the audience only looks at the hype, regardless of whether it's a scandal or not."

Louise directly said, "You're gambling."

But Martin said, "In fact, I am the lead. If she rises, it adds luster. If not, she wouldn't be a burden either."

He considered even further, "Besides, if she doesn't expose it, we can expose it for her."

Such dirty matters were nothing new to Louise; she thought with a Hollywood mindset, "If Jolie steals Pitt, and then you as the third person split them up, stealing Jolie, wow..."

She got excited, "Just thinking about it is thrilling; the movie would be a blast."

Martin asked, "You think it's feasible?"

Louise carefully considered the ins and outs and, finding it indeed had potential, said, "We'll talk more after meeting Jolie."

......

Meanwhile, at a party in Century City.

Thomas encountered Annie Hathaway's agent, Maha.

The two of them found a quiet spot to chat on their own accord.

Maha said directly, "Annie and Martin are tied together. They have garnered much media attention. They are both quite young, and there are some matters we need to handle for them."

Thomas thought to himself that his own client was clearer-headed than anyone, but he agreed with Maha's point, "I've communicated with Martin, and he has agreed to cooperate."

Maha was relieved, "Annie has too." She emphasized, "Annie is still very young, as is Martin. They are both in the rising phase of their careers. You have to remind Martin well; he must take precautions. I don't want Annie to get pregnant."

"Martin will handle it," Thomas was confident in Martin regarding this matter, "Next, let's discuss the exposure rhythm and plan for the two of them. They must stay visible to media and the public without becoming off-putting."

The two agents were deeply concerned about their clients' love lives.