I am Hollywood

Chapter 927: Chapter 929: A Touch of Dark Humor

Chapter 925: Chapter 927: The Antitrust Issues

Chapter 923: Chapter 925: RealD

Chapter 921: Chapter 923: I Am Monica

Chapter 919: Chapter 921: Based on My Analysis

Chapter 917: Chapter 919: Prodigal Daughter



[Chapter 919: Prodigal Daughter]

Eric sank back into the sofa, choosing not to mention the table incident again, and Melanie, of course, wasn't going to bring it up either. She walked over and said, "Eric, it's already six o'clock. If there's nothing else, Caroline and I are heading to the hotel."

"What's the rush to go to the hotel? You should stay here. We can fly straight to New York in the morning without all the running around," Eric replied. Not hearing a response from the two women, he looked up and saw Caroline blushing, while Melanie's expression seemed slightly awkward. Unable to resist, Eric chuckled and added, "Don't worry, I won't bother you. But if you two dare to attack me at night, I will fight back."

Melanie, hearing Eric's joking, laughed lightly as she settled next to Caroline on a single armchair and wrapped her arms around her small frame. "Eric, who knows, maybe someone hopes to be bothered by you."

"Who would?"

As soon as Melanie finished her comment, Caroline retorted playfully, which caused both Eric and Melanie to burst out laughing, making Caroline bury her face into Melanie's embrace.

"Alright, stop picking on Caroline," Eric said as he regained his composure. "Has the first- week sales report for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone come in?"

Last week, thanks to the powerful global distribution network of HarperCollins under News Corp, the first book in the Harry Potter series launched simultaneously in the UK, USA, Canada, Australia, and other major English-speaking countries.

In order to make the novel a hit as soon as possible, Firefly Group created a comprehensive promotional plan modeled after a movie release. A month before the book officially hit the shelves, a pre-launch campaign had already begun. With the book's release, every media channel within the Firefly system -- TV, film, internet, magazines, and newspapers -- was tirelessly promoting Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.

With Caroline still shy against Melanie, she replied, "I spoke on the phone with HarperCollins this afternoon, and they are still tallying the numbers. We won't have detailed data until the day after tomorrow. However, preliminary feedback suggests that first-week sales globally should be no less than 100,000 copies."

Eric nodded in satisfaction, though he didn't seem overly excited. He recalled that the final book in the Harry Potter series had achieved a staggering 11 million copies sold within the first 24 hours, making the current numbers feel underwhelming by comparison.

Melanie, intrigued by Eric's calm demeanor, asked, "Eric, first-week sales exceeding 100,000 copies would be enough to put Harry Potter on the bestseller list in most countries. Aren't you satisfied?"

Eric shook his head. "Of course, I'm satisfied, but I think it's still far from the book's full potential."

"And how many copies do you think it should sell?"

"That's beyond my prediction; I'm not a prophet," Eric said, placing another finished resume aside and glancing at the last one, which made him smile.

Melanie noticed Eric's subtle shift but didn't dwell on it. After a moment's thought, she said, "Honestly, sometimes I think you really do act like a prophet. With Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, you seem to have known it would be successful ahead of time, which is why you invested so many resources into its promotion."

Eric flipped through Marissa Mayer's resume, nodding slowly. "Well, just keep that to yourself -- don't let it out. I'll have to silence you."

"Hehe," Melanie chuckled, patting Caroline's back. "Well, here's someone who already knows. What do you plan to do about that?"

Caroline finally sat up from Melanie's embrace, her cheeks still flushed, and she shyly glanced at Eric before averting her gaze.

Eric didn't tease Caroline any further but finished reading Marissa Mayer's resume and said, "Let's hire her. Call Kelly and have her arrange for this Miss Marissa Mayer to start her onboarding process."

Only then did Melanie realize the resume Eric was holding was the one she had intentionally placed at the bottom of the pile. She opened her mouth, but remembering the previous incident involving scratches on the table, she kept her expression neutral, taking the resume from Eric. After a moment's contemplation, she said, "Eric, aren't you going to interview her personally? She graduated from Stanford and might still be in Palo Alto."

Stanford was right next to Atherton's affluent neighborhood. Upon hearing Melanie's reminder, Eric nodded, "Why don't you give her a call? If she's in Palo Alto, invite her for breakfast tomorrow morning. If not, she can just come to work in Los Angeles."

As they were speaking, Eric's phone rang. He picked it up, checked the caller ID, and turned to Melanie. "I need to take a shower. Could you help me prepare some hot water? And dinner is on you too. If you can't cook, just order takeout."

Watching Eric walk into the backyard to answer his call, Melanie inspected Caroline's face and sighed, "Sigh, I really am like a maid. He never seems to consider asking you to prepare his bath."

Caroline turned red again, pushing Melanie's hand away as she stood up, "Come on, let's go together. I can help you."

...

On the West Coast of the United States, it was already evening, while in Brisbane, Australia, it was still not yet two in the afternoon.

On the road leading to Brisbane Airport, John Kerr was driving and was incredibly upset, or rather, during the three months since his daughter returned to Brisbane for the summer, watching her adorned in clothes and jewelry that he could never afford, John Kerr had been simmering with indescribable anger.

Now, he could no longer hold back and practically slammed his hands on the steering wheel while glaring at the rearview mirror, shouting, "So, Eric Williams sent a plane to pick you up. Why on earth did he send a plane for you?"

As Miranda Kerr was about to leave Australia, she could no longer endure her father's outburst. This summer, the father-daughter duo had already had their share of clashes, so she bluntly replied, "Eric likes me."

If they weren't on a highway, John would have almost slammed on the brakes. How could he not guess what was going on? However, since his daughter had kept silent about it, he couldn't explode, "Ha! Do you even know how old you are? This is criminal, I'm suing him!" "Go ahead and sue, because I'm not going to stand by your side." Miranda shot back defiantly, "Who knows, the federal court in America might not even accept your lawsuit."

John smacked the steering wheel again and yelled, "Don't forget, I'm your father! If I don't allow it, you're not going anywhere!"

"My legs belong to me; I'll go wherever I want!"

As the argument intensified, Therese Kerr, sitting in the passenger seat, quickly patted her husband's shoulder in a calming gesture and turned to her daughter in the backseat with a hint of accusation, "Miranda, since Mr. Williams sent a plane to pick you up, why didn't you mention it earlier? Your father worried that you wouldn't be comfortable on the plane and even bought you a first-class ticket. It would be very costly to cancel now!"

Miranda had only wanted to surprise her parents, but hearing her mother say that, she nonchalantly replied, "Mom, it's only a few hundred Australian dollars; if it's gone, it's

gone."

John scoffed coldly, "Exactly, if it's gone, it's gone. You're not leaving Brisbane today -- or anytime soon. We're heading back right now."

"Then you'd better break my legs first, because otherwise, I'm running away and never

coming back!"

"Oh, I'll gladly break your legs! You think I'm afraid?"

Noticing the fierce look in her father's reflection in the rearview mirror, Miranda shrank her neck and shook her mother's hand in the front seat, "Mom, look at him!"

"John, don't scare the child."

John Kerr immediately vented his anger on his wife: "It's all your fault for spoiling her! I didn't consent to her going to Los Angeles, and now look -- she's so young and involved with

someone else."

Miranda shot back in discontent, "Hey, Eric isn't married. Maybe I'll become his wife in the future!"

"Who would want to marry a crazy girl like you?"

"Dad, I know you're just jealous."

|| ||

The car fell silent for a moment. John Kerr slammed the steering wheel again, determined to create a scene at the airport. He figured he would smash Eric Williams's so-called private

plane and take his daughter home.

...

Brisbane Airport, located right next to the coastal area, appeared shortly after. Minutes later,

the Toyota sedan parked in the airport's lot.

John was set on making a fuss, watching his wife grab luggage out of the trunk for their

daughter. He didn't intervene or offer help.

Miranda had just pulled out her Chanel bag when she spotted a man and a woman approaching

them from a distance.

As they got closer, Miranda recognized her assistant Claire Weissman. After ICM had sent Claire to accompany her to the Bahamas for a shoot, Claire had also taken on the role of her

life assistant.

Once she recognized her, Miranda excitedly ran over, "Hey, Claire! What are you doing here?"

Claire hugged Miranda and smiled, "Mr. Williams asked me to come along. Oh, this is our pilot, Mr. Paul Cornish."

"Hi, Mr. Cornish," Miranda smiled sweetly, extending her hand to the tall middle-aged man. Mr. Cornish gently shook Miranda's small hand and nodded with a smile, "Just call me Paul,

Miss Kerr."

"Sure, Paul. Um, this is my mom, Therese Kerr, and this is my dad, John Kerr." Miranda enthusiastically introduced them all, showing no signs of the tension she'd just had with her father. She was quite clever, realizing that if her father genuinely didn't let her leave Brisbane today, it would create complications. So, she decided to adapt her approach, considering his

fragile pride.

Indeed, when Paul Cornish and Claire Weissman politely extended their hands to John Kerr,

the tension that had been building up within him began to dissipate. He unconsciously shook

their hands.

Exchanging pleasantries, Paul Cornish then turned to Miranda and said, "So, Miss Kerr, the plane is ready. Shall we?"

Upon hearing Paul's words, John Kerr began to react, but before he could speak, Miranda

preempted him. "Paul, can we take off a little later? I want my parents to see the plane."

With a slight smile still on his face, Paul Cornish nodded, "Of course, Mr. Kerr, Mrs. Kerr, please follow me."

Seeing Claire take the suitcase from Miranda with little fuss, Therese Kerr instinctively linked her arm with her husband's, whispering, "Let's go, John. Don't make a scene."

John Kerr, who had been on the verge of destroying the aircraft, found his previous impulses considerably diminished. He shot an exasperated look at his wife and reluctantly followed

along.

They went through a VIP passageway, and since it was a private jet, the security process was much simpler. In a few minutes, they entered the airport.

John Kerr scanned the enormous form of the Boeing 767, then looked around. Brisbane Airport wasn't large, and among the dozen or so aircraft parked there, only two or three were larger than the nearly 50-meter-long plane before him.

The eyes of Miranda Kerr sparkled with excitement as she pulled her mother up the boarding

ladder and quickly disappeared into the cabin.

Seeing that John Kerr had not followed them, Captain Paul Cornish stayed back and politely

introduced John to several other crew members.

John mechanically shook hands with the crew members, and ultimately couldn't help but ask,

"Paul, is this plane specifically for picking up Miranda?"

As an ordinary middle-class individual, John Kerr had always pictured private planes as small aircraft just a few meters long. Seeing a Boeing of this size being used as a private plane was a

first for him, and he could never fathom connecting such an experience with... his daughter. Paul Cornish smiled politely and nodded, "Yes, John. Is there a problem?"

"Well," John reluctantly lowered his voice, "this trip from Los Angeles must cost a lot,

right?"

"For a one-time rental, a round trip from Los Angeles is about $500,000." Suddenly, John felt a wave of helplessness wash over him, and he involuntarily hunched

slightly.

$500,000 -- that's nearly 700,000 Australian dollars! He had never seen so much money in his life. His desire to stop his daughter from going to Los Angeles evaporated in an instant.

Alln/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

he could think about was what it would be like to have that $500,000 in cash; they could buy a

new house, a nice car, maybe even a yacht. It felt so wasteful to just fly to Los Angeles for a

quick trip.

What a prodigal daughter!

*****

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