America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz

Chapter 281: Chapter 278: The Real Human Poster

The light outside the window brightened, and Martin opened his eyes. The room's floor was littered with things, and the sound of running water came from the bathroom—someone was showering.

He really didn't expect things to progress at such an astonishing rate.

He had thought it would take a few more tugs and pulls.

But instead, Annie couldn't wait to take him upstairs.

But then again, women of Annie's age are all about being practical, aren't they?

Martin propped himself up with his hands and sat up. He spent most of last night lying down, but now he felt full of energy.

Just as he was about to enter the bathroom, the door on that side opened.

Annie walked out. Last night, she fully demonstrated that an actress in her thirties could be both adorably cute and carry off maturity, as well as being unmatched in the art of love.

Now, she switched to playing the role of a mature woman training a "puppy," legs crossed, sitting on the sofa chair and asking Martin, "There's one question you've never answered."

Martin with an innocent look: "Really? You have control over everything about me, though."

Annie crossed her legs again, swapping their positions as if it were instinctive: "Confess, have you ever done something naughty with a poster of Rachel?"

Martin, with a look of difficulty: "That's... hard to say."

"Out with it!" Annie was fierce like a tiger not letting go of her little puppy: "Confess, and I'll reward you."

Martin, who was very good at playing along, covered his face: "It's too embarrassing to say... how about I demonstrate instead?"

Annie tilted her head: "Sure, a demonstration is more illustrative."

But Martin seemed very troubled, giving Annie a meaningful look: "There's no poster of Rachel here; I can't get the feeling, so I can't demonstrate!"

Annie lifted the face of America's sweetheart and asked, "With Rachel's poster right here, what about this face? Can it give you the feeling?"

No matter how beautifully made, a paper poster can't compare to a real-life one, right?

This is a story about an atypical "male fan" and his goddess.

While the two were extremely busy, Martin's phone, left in the suite's living room, lit up again, with Jolie's number displayed on the screen.

After a while, the call hung up automatically because no one answered.

The number of missed calls displayed on the screen reached 10!

In another room on the same floor, Jolie felt so distressed she wanted to cry. She put away her phone and cursed, "Fuck! Martin, you bastard, why aren't you answering the damned phone!"

So close yet only able to imagine, unable to see or hear—she felt it was killing her.

Helplessly, Jolie once again let her imagination run wild: Martin and Annie, these two dogs, hadn't left the room all night long. What could they be doing?

Meanwhile, in a mansion at Beverly Hills.

Brad Pitt, with significant dark circles under his eyes, opened a bottle of whiskey and poured it directly into his mouth from the bottle.

Only after burping did he temporarily stop.

Alcohol could make one forget many worries.

He sat on the couch, turned on the TV and the entertainment channel came up, broadcasting news. Stay tuned to ???

"Last night, Brad Pitt's manic disorder struck again; he kicked someone's car before smashing his own phone!"

In sync with the voice-over, the news showed footage from last night's parking lot, clearly shot by sneaky paparazzi.

"Ever since splitting from Jolie, this Hollywood giant has become alcoholic, frequently losing control of his emotions. Many in the industry speculate he might be facing psychological and mental issues, suffering from manic disorder..."

Pitt took another big swig and gave the TV the finger: "Fuck!"

Just then, the doorbell of the mansion rang. Pitt stood up, staggered to the door, and pressed the intercom—and his manager was on the other end.

He opened the door, waited a bit, and the manager walked into the living room.

"What brings you over so early?" Pitt asked.

The manager glanced at the time, took two glasses, and poured a quarter of Pitt's whiskey in each, saying, "Your lawyer couldn't reach you on the phone, so he contacted me."

Pitt asked, "What happened now?"

The manager handed Pitt the newspaper he brought with him and pointed to a picture, "The car you kicked last night, it wasn't ours. The owner reported it to the police; it might be about compensation."

"Fuck!" Pitt felt that when one's down on luck, nothing goes right: "They just want compensation, right? Give it to them."

The manager nodded and reminded him, "You should avoid being in front of the media lately. Those paparazzi and entertainment reporters won't let you off; your state..."

With his heart deeply wounded by Jolie and Annie, Pitt waved his hand, "I don't want to deal with the outside world these few days. Let me know if there's any news, just like before. Keep an eye on Annie."

"Okay," responded the manager and then promptly took his leave.

Pitt calmed down for a moment, picked up the whiskey to drink again, and made a call to a domestic agency: "Where is my housekeeper? Send her over right now!"

A hurt soul needed comforting.

...

Near noon, Annie lay limp on the couch, half-asleep.

Martin came out of the bathroom, quickly dressed neatly, and came over to gently pat her cheek, "Honey, I ordered lunch; it's on the dining table."

Annie, extremely satisfied with her little puppy in every way, lifted her head and asked, "Aren't you going to eat with me?"

Martin said softly, "Ari Emanuel has a lunch meeting with me at noon; I can't miss it."

Knowing who Ari was, Annie didn't cling to Martin and said, "Go ahead, I'll rest a bit and then go straight home."

Martin kissed her forehead and then left the suite.

Before he reached the elevator, the door to the suite next door suddenly opened, and Jolie stood in the doorway.

She flashed a mysterious smile at Martin and asked, "Why didn't you answer my calls?"

Martin made up an excuse on the spot, "My phone was on silent, I didn't hear it."

Jolie hinted with her eyes towards her room, "Do you want to come in and sit?"

Martin replied with unusual firmness, "I have important things to do, so I won't come in now. We can chat when there's time."

Jolie nodded, but she wasn't planning to let Martin go, "I'll wait for you at Cody Community when you go home."

"Suit yourself," Martin was a man of principle.

Jolie returned to her room and closed the door.

Martin took the elevator downstairs, met up with Bruce, and headed to Century City for a meeting with Ari Emanuel.

Bruce got into the car and handed Martin a newspaper, "Pitt is not in a good spot."

Martin saw it, "Was he caught on camera last night? Did you do it?"

Bruce shrugged, "I was worried our journalist friends couldn't pay their rent or buy food, so I gave them a call. Sacrificing one Pitt could give many people a good life, it's worth it."

He added, "Jody even specially reminded that driver to demand a hefty compensation from Pitt."

Martin praised, "Old Cloth, those entertainments journalists should give you a big medal, engraved with 'Friend of the Reporters'!"

Bruce, thinking of the gold avocado Sophia gave Martin, said, "It has to be pure gold, I don't accept the ordinary!" He then asked, "The gift I sent up for you, was it left behind?"

Martin said, "I left it for Aniston."

Bruce asked, "Is that okay?"

"Aniston is a bona fide billionaire," Martin was very clear about that, "No matter how expensive the gift, she might not pay much attention to it. It is better to give something with a commemorative significance."

He emphasized, "That was prey I hunted myself."

Bruce straight raised his middle finger to the passenger seat, not knowing how many crocodiles and wild buffalo in Australia were crying foul.

...

Marmont Hotel, the floor where the luxury suites are located.

Aniston finished lunch alone, tidied up a bit, and then noticed that on the living room coffee table, Martin had left a gift specially for her.

Opening the mahogany box, there were two gifts inside, both not very expensive.

One was a fang pendant.

The other, a bull horn carving over twenty centimeters tall.

The carving was a model of Martin himself, styled as the Joker with a large head and hands side by side; from the face to the hair, and then to the clothes, every detail was intricately carved, creating a textured pattern on the surface.

Aniston picked up the Joker carving by the legs, feeling there was something odd about it.

Underneath the gift box was a note.

"I thought of it suddenly last night, wanted to give you a gift that had a special significance. The materials for these two pieces come entirely from bay crocodiles and wild buffalo that I personally hunted in Australia during my work. They are not of great value, but they are very special to me. I hope you like them."

Aniston didn't lack money, she didn't lack all kinds of valuable things.

This seemingly simple gift made her feel that the little puppy was particularly attentive, not tainted with the unpleasant odor of money.

Aniston took out her phone and sent Martin a message, "I really like your gift."

After sending the message, she couldn't help but think about whether she should give Martin a return gift?

Considering the special nature of Martin's gift, Aniston thought that whatever she gave to Martin should also not be too tainted with the scent of money.

Martin probably wouldn't like that.

Thinking about these miscellaneous things, Aniston grabbed her bag and left the room.

...

On that day, after his meeting with Ari Emanuel, Martin re-signed a new agency contract with WMA, reducing the agency commission from 10% to 8%.

Among the WMA clients born after the 80s, he was the first.

Even Natalie Portman, who starred in the Star Wars Prequels and was directly under Ari's management, had not enjoyed such treatment.

The signing went very smoothly, and after that, Martin followed Thomas to his office.

Thomas asked directly, "Some tabloids are buzzing about you and Aniston's affair today, what's going on?"

Martin replied, "I was with Aniston last night, don't mind the tabloids."

Thomas was very cooperative, "How should we spin this story?"

"The time isn't right yet, no need to respond," Martin said half-truthfully, "I'm just adding a layer of insurance for the movie. It's not easy to succeed in film; we need to use all the favorable factors."

In reality, he was no different than Pitt, also climbing the ladder with the help of a woman.

Thomas understood, Martin wasn't just chasing girls, he was also creating publicity stunts for "Limitless."

After all, movies rely heavily on promotion and marketing.

A film that is guaranteed quality and creates marketing buzz usually doesn't perform poorly.