[Chapter 566: You Guessed It Right]
With only three minutes before the show began, Eric finally saw Emily personally escorting Anna Wintour, the editor-in-chief of Vogue, into the venue. Noticing the two won walking toward him, Eric stood up, curious about the renowned fashion powerhouse.
Anna Wintour, sporting her iconic bob hairstyle, had not donned her signature Prada sunglasses this evening.
"Eric, this is Ms. Anna Wintour. Anna, this is Eric," Emily formally introduced them, even though everyone already knew each other.
"Hello, Mr. Williams. It's a pleasure to et you," Anna Wintour said warmly, extending her hand to Eric.
Her voice was a bit raspy, giving off a tired vibe, although she spoke rapidly like many elite people. Eric shook her hand and replied, "Likewise, Ms. Wintour. You can call Eric."
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Anna Wintour walked toward her seat. Just as Eric was about to return to his spot, Emily gently tugged on him. Eric had to shift Nicolas Cage and Bridget Fonda slightly to his left to sit right next to Anna Wintour.
...
As the three settled into their seats, Emily's assistant appeared from backstage, holding a small brown teddy bear. She approached Eric and said, "Mr. Williams, ti is tight, and this is all we could find. Is this okay?"
Eric realized that she had brought a teddy bear. A mory of a certain R-rated cody that had ruined childhoods flashed through his mind, and he instinctively broke into a mischievous smile. Taking the teddy bear from the assistant, he said, "That'll do, thanks!"
The assistant blushed a bit, smiled shyly, and nodded at Emily before she headed back backstage.
Many Hollywood stars who were invited to the show had been glancing over at Eric from ti to ti. If not for the nurous dia reporters present, they would have likely approached him. Seeing a staff mber inexplicably deliver a teddy bear to Eric seed to give many guests a justifiable reason to look his way unabashedly.
Eric glanced at Anna Wintour, who was about to speak, and held up a finger to indicate a mont of pause. He then walked a few steps to Ivanka Trump and handed her the teddy bear. "Here you go, Ivanka. This is your mascot for tonight."
Ivanka instinctively took the bear. With everyone around watching her, she felt too embarrassed to toss it away and instead hugged it to her chest, looking toward her father, Donald Trump, for help. He, however, wore a beaming smile. Naturally, Donald enjoyed being in the spotlight, especially after Ivanka had appeared with a stuffed animal in Jurassic Park, which had made her beloved by the world. As a father, he felt proud.
When Eric handed the teddy bear to Ivanka, many attendees instantly grasped the situation and stifled laughter. anwhile, the dia jumped at the chance to capture the mont, and the room erupted in flashes from caras.
Seeing that Eric was still lingering near her, Ivanka asked a reporter nearby to snap a photo of them together. She maintained her adorable deanor, but after the photo, leaned closer to Eric and whispered, "You bad guy, I'm never acting in your movies again."
"Oh, that can't be. I've paid for your ti. Are you planning on breaching our contract, Miss Trump?"
"How about this ti?" Ivanka raised the teddy bear in her hand. For so reason, she felt there was sothing wicked in Eric's eyes when he looked at the bear.
"Would a thousand dollars be okay?"
"You're wealthier than my dad, and you're only offering a thousand bucks? How stingy!" When Ivanka heard that, she instinctively began to negotiate, almost making Eric laugh. It seed that even though she had grown up, a hint of that little money-grubber vibe Eric had unintentionally instilled in her remained.
Eric calmly replied, "Why don't you make an offer?"
After considering for a mont, Ivanka mustered up her courage and said, "Ten thousand dollars!" Once she said it, she realized she might have been too bold, her cheeks flushed as she quickly added, "I need to save for my future tuition to avoid needing my dad's money."
"Alright, ten thousand it is," Eric said, feigning a pained expression.
Ivanka completely disregarded Eric's theatrics; with his acceptance, her eyes lit up, and she stretched out her hand eagerly. "Give it to ."
Eric raised his palms. "I don't have it on right now; I'll have soone send it to you after the show."
The girl seriously warned, "But you better not forget."
...
Upon returning to his seat, Anna Wintour, who had been observing him keenly, imdiately remarked, "Eric, you're quite an interesting person."
"Thank you, Anna."
Eric nodded with a smile, feeling that Anna's enthusiasm was a bit excessive. After chatting a bit more, he understood that Anna wanted to invite him for an interview with Vogue. She was an excellent communicator, and if it hadn't been for Emily chiming in briefly, Eric might have found it hard to turn her down.
Plan or not, Anna Wintour showed no signs of disappointnt when a half-hour later, the fashion show officially started.
With so eerie and lodic music playing, the models began walking down the runway.
Eric felt completely indifferent about the models' attire on stage, but when he heard the accompanying music, it captivated him.
The song's lead was a woman whose voice carried a soft rasp. Her low, haunting lodies were like whispers from a ghostly muse in the still of the night.
"Eric, this is a song by The Cranberries from Ireland called Pretty. The lead singer is Dolores O'Riordan. Their music is quite evocative; if you're interested, you should consider buying a record," Anna Wintour explained, noting Eric's appreciation.
Eric nodded slightly in gratitude, ntally noting the song title and details about The Cranberries.
Aside from Pretty, the following segnts of the show provided little more for Eric to pay attention to.
After more than ten minutes, the fashion showcase concluded. Most people hurried off to the next event, while Eric, under Emily's arrangent, moved to a nearby studio to shoot several
cover photos for Vogue.
...
By the ti all these activities wrapped up, it was 8:30, and Eric had just appeared in the ballroom of the Hyatt hotel. Several eager individuals were approaching him.
In addition to the Ghost duo, Nicolas Cage and Bridget Fonda, Emily had also invited seven or eight other Hollywood celebrities. They weren't expecting to land any imdiate offers from Eric; their main goal was to beco more familiar with him. The more morable they were, the better their chances of landing suitable roles in future Firefly projects.
After socializing with the group, Eric finally joined Cage and Fonda on a couch, discussing that upcoming movie before the fashion event.
"It's essentially a story about a reserved cop in Manhattan who ets a waitress at a diner. After a chance encounter where the cop forgets to bring his money, he makes a deal with the waitress: if his lottery ticket wins, they split the prize. Sure enough, the ticket hits, and after so internal conflict, he ends up sharing the million-dollar reward with the waitress, and they find romance along the way..."
Cage's storytelling wasn't particularly strong. If it had been a completely unfamiliar narrative, Eric might have shook his head, but he rembered the movie. Oddly enough, in the original tiline, Cage and Fonda had portrayed those very roles in a film titled It Could Happen to You. Eric didn't see the film as anything particularly remarkable, but it wasn't terrible either. It was just decent; their continued discourse wouldn't significantly benefit their careers, but it wouldn't hurt their box office draw either.
Eric shared his honest opinion with both actors.
"So, we're not going to take it, then," Bridget Fonda said after considering Eric's feedback.
Cage seed to share this sentint.
Eric smiled, "If you're not planning to take this project, you'd better not let Michael Eisner know about our discussions; otherwise, he'll be furious with ."
"I won't just blurt this out," Cage chuckled. He well understood the dynamic between Michael Eisner and Eric. "Since we won't pursue this film, Eric, do you have any roles that might suit
?"
Eric shook his head honestly. "Firefly has been focusing on big-budget, special effects films lately. Since the 'stars' of those films are typically computer-generated, they generally cast outstanding second-tier actors to save costs."
Cage shook his head sadly, then thought for a mont and added, "Eric, I thought the movie you did with Sony, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, was fantastic. That Hong Kong director's na was..."
"John Woo," Bridget Fonda interjected.
Cage nodded, "Right! John Woo. I really admire his directing style; the action sequences are just incredible. Do you think there's a possibility for us to collaborate?"
Eric wore a peculiar expression, wondering if this was so kind of historical inertia. "John's currently working on another film, but he signed a three-picture deal with us. There's
still one more film left for next year. If you're interested, I have a suitable script that could fit you."
Since the script for Face/Off was still under wraps, Eric didn't divulge any specifics to Cage. They made an initial agreent. Seeing Cage get a potential project, Bridget Fonda wasn't one to be outdone but, being an actress who lingered in secondary status in this tiline, Eric couldn't think of any fitting project for her in the imdiate future and only politely suggested they could discuss
tential roles in the ire.
Nicolas Cage and Bridget Fonda weren't idle people; after their conversation with Eric, they
quickly left the party.
...
Emily had mingled with a large crowd at the event and soon approached Eric, holding a
champagne flute.
"Emily, where's Ewa?" Eric asked, glancing around.
"She's doing a photoshoot; they need it for the magazine tomorrow. I expect they'll be
working late," Emily explained, giving Eric a playful roll of her eyes. "She's Joanna's sister, so
keep your thoughts to yourself."
||||
Eric could only respond with a silent eye roll before shifting the topic. "Didn't you already discuss matters with Anna Wintour? Why did she want to invite for an interview with
Vogue?"
"If Anna Wintour didn't know how to seize opportunities like this, do you think she would have beco the editor-in-chief of Vogue before turning thirty? Besides, after taking the helm at Vogue, she's been emulating Tina Brown's approach from Vanity Fair."
Upon hearing Emily ntion Vanity Fair, Eric realized that the magazine focused on the private lives of high-society stars and the wealthy. Given Vogue's mimicry of Vanity Fair, it wasn't surprising for them to extend an invitation to him.
Seeing Emily take a sip of champagne to wet her throat, Eric smiled, "I think I've done everything I needed to tonight. What do you think of the outco?"
"Absolutely fantastic, Eric. Thank you!" Emily's mood brightened imdiately. "With the news pieces built up from tonight, Brighton Apparel's brand will spread across the U.S. in no ti. Do you rember that British buyer from Marks & Spencer I was talking to before the
show started?"
Eric nodded, recalling the image of a bearded man.
"I had been negotiating with him for a while, and he wasn't budging. But seeing you here
tonight, along with Nicolas Cage and others, he just promised a $5 million order! While many buyers are still considering, just the orders secured tonight have already surpassed last year's sales by over double. Eric, I plan to invest in twenty more specialty stores in the major cities. Do you think that's feasible?"
"I'm not too knowledgeable about that, so it's up to you to figure it out."
Emily blinked at him. "I an, if each store requires a $500,000 investnt, that would
roughly need $10 million."
Though $10 million wasn't a trivial sum, Eric assud Brighton Apparel should be able to pull
that off without issue.
Noticing Eric's puzzled expression, Emily proactively said, "You guessed it right, the
company is out of cash. For this fashion show alone, I've already spent over $5 million."
*****
spatreon/Sayonara816.
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