I am Hollywood

[Chapter 1129: The Tail]

Colin Southgate fell silent for a moment before saying, "Eric, all of this is just your side of the story. I need to see the divestiture plan for Firefly Electronics first. Also, what price are you planning to transfer that equity at?"

Eric replied, "$1.6 billion, approximately a 20 times earnings multiple. That price is fair. Similarly, there's no room for negotiation. I'll just repeat what I said earlier, I don't want to waste too much time negotiating."

"Cash?"

"Of course, I'm not interested in equity swaps."

Colin shook his head. "Polygram can't come up with that much cash. We've already reinvested the $1.2 billion from selling Virgin Records back to shareholders."

"If Polygram announced plans to acquire a stake in Fireflyer Company, I believe any financial institution would be eager to provide financing. Polygram currently only has $830 million in debt, and with this $1.6 billion added, your debt ratio wouldn't exceed 25%. Most companies can handle that kind of risk."

"Alright, Eric, but I have to say, your conditions are too harsh and inflexible. Even if I were willing to agree, the board would struggle to sign off on it in a short time."

"Well, that's not my problem," Eric shrugged, saying, "But you're right about one thing: Firefly Electronics needs to partner with a major record company in the short term. If Polygram hesitates too long and other record companies agree, you will permanently miss out on this opportunity. Even if a partnership happens in the future, Fireflyer won't give up equity anymore."

"Are you not worried about Polygram siding with another digital music player?"

"I don't think any digital music platform can surpass Yahoo Music Store. If you pursue that, you will only be losing out."

After saying this, Eric waved for the waiter to start serving the food.

During the meal, Colin repeatedly asked Eric about some details, and by the time they finished lunch and he saw Colin off, it was already 1:30 PM.

...

The casting work for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone had started in London, and Eric needed to head to the London office of Firefly Group to check on the project's progress. He also had to go to Pinewood Studios, where Bond 19 had started production, and the crew was currently stationed.

Two identical black Land Rover SUVs were waiting outside the Royal Garden Hotel. Merissa Mayer stood by the car holding a stack of documents. When he saw Eric coming with Poppy Delevingne, the driver proactively opened the doors for them.

Originally planning to drop Poppy off at home first, Eric couldn't resist the girl's pleading look. Since the upcoming work wasn't anything too confidential, he decided to take her along.

Since securing the film rights directly, the movie project had only been publicly announced last month, but the company had spent the last two years refining the script for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. The director was confirmed as Chris Columbus, the original version director.

Thus, the crew's main focus was casting. If everything went smoothly, filming would start in September, with a release set for the end of next year.

Firefly Group's UK headquarters was located in the Mayfair district, east of Hyde Park, occupying a six-story building with a slightly European classical style, not far from the Royal College of Art.

To build anticipation for the film, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone ran an open casting call that recruited young actors from across the UK. Since the announcement at the end of last month, this had become one of the hottest topics in the UK, and in just a month, the crew had received over 20,000 applications. Had the application period not ended, that number would have likely increased significantly.

Despite it being the weekend, Eric brought Merissa and the tail-like Poppy Delevingne to the branch headquarters, which was still bustling with activity.

Although the crew publicly stated that there were no restrictions on role selection, in reality, if they viewed all 20,000 applications, the casting team would surely be overwhelmed. Therefore, in the first round of selection, they mainly filtered out candidates who were clearly not a fit or had no acting experience, with some standout children being specially noted.

Casting for adult actors proved to be much smoother, and several roles had already been confirmed.

With the director and script locked down, Eric had no intention of getting involved in the casting process, finding no need to seek original young actors. With J.K. Rowling and Chris Columbus personally overseeing the selection, they were sure to find the most suitable roles for the trio.

After spending over two hours at the branch, Eric hurriedly left for Pinewood Studios on the outskirts of London.

...

Since it was the weekend, the Bond 19 crew wasn't filming, and Barbara Broccoli personally welcomed Eric. They reviewed the shooting progress together, and in the evening, at Barbara's invitation, Eric attended a party she was hosting.

After returning to central London, it was already past 10 PM.

...

Feeling as though she had stumbled upon a completely foreign world, Poppy had spent the entire day faintly excited. Thus, even though it was late at night, she showed no signs of sleepiness.

The car arrived in the Belgravia district where the girl lived, stopping in front of the same house as last time. The driver opened the door from the outside, and Eric handed a bag to the girl, saying, "Alright, go back. Goodnight."

At that moment, Poppy was no longer wearing the long hoodie from the morning but instead had changed into a small dress with a beautiful light yellow Chanel coat over it. Eric had casually instructed someone to bring this outfit earlier, considering London's unbearable weather. He couldn't always have the girl wearing his clothes.

When Poppy took the bag with her hoodie, she tugged at Eric's hand. "Eric, can you come in for a bit?"

Eric smiled and shook his head, "I'm tired, I just want to get home to sleep."

"Don't be like that, Eric," Poppy insisted, pulling him up. "If you keep rejecting girls like this, you'll never find a girlfriend."

...

As she dragged him along, Poppy took Eric up the steps, pressed the doorbell, and held on to him as if afraid he would run away.

The door opened quickly, revealing a thirty-something maid who upon seeing Poppy immediately began to chatter, "Miss, you're finally back! Madam just called asking, and oh, Mr. Williams, good evening!"

Eric nodded at her, "Hello."

"This is Rosie," Poppy introduced casually, pulling Eric inside. After taking a few steps, she turned back to the maid named Rosie and said, "You can go to bed now. Also, don't say anything silly in front of my mom."

"Okay, alright, Miss," Rosie replied with a slightly hesitant tone but still went to her room.

...

Poppy eagerly led Eric to the second floor to a bedroom full of feminine charm, urging him to sit at her vanity. The girl dashed into the adjacent changing room and quickly changed back into the hoodie from the morning. Then she scampered down the stairs, returning a while later with a coffee pot.

Eric sat in the chair, leaning against the vanity while watching the girl bustling about with interest. He took a sip of the coffee she handed him and laughed, saying, "So attentive. Just so you know, you can't come along with me tomorrow."

Poppy sat at the edge of the bed, both hands propped up, her bright eyes sparkling as she looked at Eric. "I wasn't thinking that at all! I had a great time today."

Eric nodded, continuing to sip his coffee.

After a moment of silence, Poppy took the initiative to say, "Eric, why aren't you talking?"

"I'm tired. I'm not in the mood to entertain little girls."

Poppy giggled, saying, "So you were fooling me on purpose during the day?"

"Yeah," Eric lightly tapped on the vanity with his left hand. "That was my 'work' for the day."

"Ha, Mr. Williams, I see right through you."

Eric didn't respond, finishing most of the coffee, then set the cup down. "Well, you should sleep early. I need to head back."

Poppy's eyes flickered, and before Eric could stand up, she leaned in and gently pushed him, sitting directly on his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck and lightly pecked his lips before pulling back, her cheeks flushed but still boldly saying, "Eric, I want to make love with you. Can we do it?"

"Sure," Eric nodded, encircling the girl's small waist to keep her still. "But let's see what you know first?"

The girl's face turned red as an apple, and she complained, "You're such a bad guy. Of course, you have to take the initiative next."

"Okay, but let me ask you a question. What's the most painful experience you've had in your life so far?"

"When I was little, my finger got caught in a car door," the girl said, giggling. "Eric, you're just trying to scare me, right? I'm not afraid. One of my good friends had that happen, and they said it's not as painful as people think."

"I wasn't referring to that," Eric said, gesturing to her small belly. "If we did it, your belly might very well grow. Then, you'd have to carry a big round ball around for ten months. That's the scariest part -- an experience ten times worse than the car door incident, culminating in ten hours of pain before some little guy gets out of you. There's a chance you could even die from the pain during that process."

Poppy's eyes did flash with a hint of fear, but she quickly regained her certainty. "You're just trying to scare me, Eric. You wouldn't let that happen, right?"

"Yeah," Eric stood, effortlessly picking the girl up and placing her on the small bed next to him. "So just sleep well. Come to the premiere of Iron Man the day after tomorrow, and bring your friends."

Poppy, being just a fleeting thought of a young girl, was easily swayed by Eric's diversion and 'scare tactics.' She stopped pushing for now and obediently lay down on the bed, still holding Eric's hand. "Eric, can you wait until I fall asleep before leaving?"

Eric chuckled, "Not very considerate of you, I'm tired too."

"I'm just a girl," Poppy pouted. "Boys should definitely give in to girls."

"Alright then, I'll stay for five more minutes. If you aren't asleep in five minutes, I'm leaving."

"I usually take half an hour to fall asleep."

"Half an hour? What do you think about during that time?"

"Last night, I was wondering whether I should call you after getting up this morning, and if you might forget me. I also thought about what to wear and whether I should put on makeup. I've been learning makeup lately, and everyone says I have a talent for it. I think when I grow up, I might even create my own cosmetics brand."

Eric sat by the bed, letting the girl ramble, and perhaps having played all day, within just ten minutes, she had already fallen asleep.

After tucking her in, Eric quietly left the girl's room.

...

Downstairs, the living room was lit by a wall lamp. As Eric walked down the stairs, the maid appeared before him.

"Mr. Williams, are you leaving?"

"Yeah, Poppy's asleep. And please send my regards to the Delevingne couple."

"Certainly."

The maid nodded, courteously leading Eric to the door, helping him open it, and watching as he got into the car by the curb. She stayed until the two SUVs turned and disappeared down the street before closing the brown-red wooden door of the apartment.

...

Back at his place on Kensington Garden Street, it was already past 11 PM.

However, Eric felt little sleepiness. His female assistant had stayed over at the villa last night and had moved to the Royal Garden Hotel across the street today, leaving Eric all alone in the villa.

Quietly brewing a pot of coffee, Eric went upstairs to his study, sipping coffee while sorting through some legal documents he had recently requested from Edward Lewis, the Chief Legal Counsel of Firefly Group.

After carefully reviewing all the documents, Eric pondered for a moment, then got up to grab a DV from the bookshelf. He set it up beside the study sofa, tested various shooting angles, and began recording a video file.

After more than half an hour, Eric finished recording the video, then pulled out a prepared laptop, transferring the video file to the hard drive, encrypting it with Steve Mitnick's encryption software.

Once this was done, checking the time, it was already 4 AM.

Though London was in a summer season with long daylight due to its high latitude, it remained dark outside the window. Only by looking up could one notice the faint glow permeating the London sky from city lights.

After deleting the original files from the DV, Eric physically destroyed the storage card, ensuring it could not be recovered before locking the newly encrypted laptop securely in the safe. He then quietly left the study.

After taking a shower in the bathroom and lying down on the bed, he suddenly thought of Poppy's half-hour before bedtime.

He began to randomly contemplate what he might think about during that half-hour, but overwhelming fatigue washed over him. His thoughts became scattered without focusing on anything in particular, and before he knew it, he had fallen sound asleep.

*****

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