America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz

Early in the morning, Martin woke up from his sleep, feeling something with a faint scent pressed against his face.

Struggling to get free, he realized that Elizabeth's face wash had somehow ended up on his face.

She seemed to be having a sweet dream, still smiling in her deep sleep, which could brighten anyone's mood from morning till night.

After getting up and freshening up, Martin came to the floor-to-ceiling window, pulled open the curtains a bit, and the dawn's glow fell on the spacious courtyard, tinting the road, the lawn, and the trees golden.

Compared to the recent hustle and bustle in the Cody Community, it was much quieter here.

Martin went downstairs to prepare breakfast since Elizabeth had brought back quite a few semi-finished products yesterday.

Just as he reached the kitchen, he found Bruce busy inside and asked, "Did Thomas go back last night?"

Bruce, who was frying eggs, paused, then caught on, "If he didn't go back, was he supposed to stay?"

Martin's bastard remark came readily: "I thought he would stay at your place."

Bruce lifted the frying pan and dumped the eggs inside right into the trash can: "You've got no breakfast now."

"I smelled something burning." Martin said, "Your cooking skills are too poor."

He went over to help, and before they had finished making breakfast, Elizabeth had already come down from upstairs, taking the initiative to get the utensils.

When the three of them sat at the table, Martin said, "We need a long-term chef."

Elizabeth glanced at the large yard outside: "Seems like we might also need a housekeeper."

"Let's search slowly." Martin focused on his breakfast.

After breakfast, Bruce left to find Ivan, leaving Martin and Elizabeth alone in the new house.

The two of them walked hand in hand into the garden.

As they walked, Elizabeth said, "You'll come back with me to Sherman Oaks this afternoon to help me move."

Martin asked, "You're going to live here from now on?"

Elizabeth turned to look at him, a slight surprise on her face, "Is that not okay?"

"I'm worried your sisters won't agree." Martin quickly replied, "Whenever you want to move in, just move in, and you can stay as long as you like."

Elizabeth drew circles on his chest: "As long as you don't move away, I want to live here forever."

Martin nodded, "No problem." He suddenly thought of an important question: "Haven't you been going to your acting class lately?"

Elizabeth hugged Martin, finally showing worry, "I'm afraid something will happen to you, afraid you'll be continuously affected by the role, afraid you'll really become the Joker; by being with you, playing the games you like, I can always make you feel more relaxed and happier."

Martin hugged her back with his free hand, and the two shared a passionate kiss.

A long while passed before they parted.

Being with Martin every day, Elizabeth was blissfully satisfied in both body and mind, and her career ambitions faded. She continued the earlier topic, "It's okay, I can catch up with the next session of the actor's class if I miss this one. The class is for professional actors, and it's common for everyone's schedule to be sporadic."

Martin nodded, "You decide what's best for yourself."

Suddenly, Elizabeth remembered, "I have to go to Europe with my sisters before the weekend; they're expanding into the English market, and I might need to help them there for a while."

She explained, "From childhood till now, I've actually been spending their money, enjoying the benefits they brought, protected under their wings; now that I've grown up, I need to help out where I can."

Martin understood her worry and said, "There's nothing going on my end, just go with peace of mind."

Elizabeth nestled into Martin's embrace: "Shall we do it here once? I've never tried it outdoors."

Martin picked her up, and they headed to the swing in the garden.

......

In Matt Damon's mansion in Brentwood,

Ben Affleck grabbed a bottle of liquor, poured himself a large glass, and downed half of it in one gulp.

Damon glanced at Jennifer Garner, who was with his wife Lucy, and asked, "Are you guys having a disagreement?"

Ben shook his head, "It has nothing to do with Jennifer, just a bit down because of the recent news."

Damon got it: "Martin Davis and The Dark Knight?"

"Yes, that bastard," Ben finished the rest of his glass, "Why does such a bastard have such good luck? Playing a supporting role in a movie, it's one thing for the box office to blow up, but his character completely overshadowed the main character, the Joker is ten times more glorious than Batman."

Damon didn't have a good impression of Martin either, but his conflicts and knots had faded over time since there hadn't been any direct confrontation with Martin. He poured himself a drink and before sipping asked, "I heard The Dark Knight broke the North American weekend box office record?"

In Ben's eyes, Martin was the bastard who had meddled and snatched a project he was about to land, so he kept an eye on Martin and The Dark Knight.

He said roughly, "It's not just the North American weekend box office record, but also the single-day box office record and the fastest to reach $200 million. Just yesterday, it set another record for the fastest to surpass $250 million. Without any surprises, The Dark Knight will also own the record for the highest second weekend box office in North America."

Damon hadn't paid much attention, but he was surprised to hear it: "With such a trend, won't North America break $500 million? The world could hope for $1 billion? I did see that Joker is everywhere, and with such commercial success added, Martin is set to become a megastar."

"Fame and fortune! I heard he signed for a base salary plus a share of the profits." Thinking that Martin could earn tens of millions of dollars made Ben feel worse than if he had gone bankrupt, suffocated as if there was a mountain pressing down on him: "That bastard, it's not enough to have a project like The Dark Knight, he even came to steal mine!"

Damon asked, "What happened?"

"I had my eye on a novel and had already made significant contact with the author, but then Martin Davis intervened..." Ben embellished the story of "Prince of Thieves" as he told it.

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Damon recalled the incident that happened during the competition for "Infernal Affairs", "He really doesn't play by the rules."

Jennifer Garner, who was talking to Lucy, looked up and interjected, "I heard Martin Davis has a lot of support behind him, it's not a big deal, let bygones be bygones."

"Shut up!" Ben pointed at Jennifer, nearly roaring, "What do you know? He's not just stealing the adaptation rights to a novel, he's destroying my career and future."

Damon quickly said, "Ben!"

Lucy looked at Garner's changing expression and said, "I just got a cat, it's really cute, shall we go see it?"

Jennifer Garner held back, knowing that a drunken Ben was beyond reason, and followed Lucy out of the living room.

Damon tried to calm him down, "Drink less, control your temper."

Ben rubbed his face, "I'm not usually like this, it's just when I think about that asshole Martin, how he stole my project and then reaped both fame and fortune with Joker, it pisses me off!"

He expressed himself candidly, "Martin makes big money, it hurts more than losing millions, and it frustrates me! Plus, I've had a rough couple of years, I've earned too little."

Damon said, "It won't be hard to make money with your skills, given the right project."

Ben nodded, "I'm looking, I can't keep going on like this. If I made big money like in the past, Jennifer wouldn't be arguing with me."

A stark reality, a man who doesn't make enough money to support his family, can't assert his dignity at home.

Ben returned to the previous issue, "Why can assholes like Martin Davis make big money?"

Damon knew that the guy he also found annoying had become influential, "Ben, don't have a head-on clash with him. If you can't find a good opportunity, just endure it. There will be a time to get even."

Ben muttered vaguely, "I won't provoke him directly, but I suspect he's behind Pitt's downfall to this day, probably second only to Jolie and Aniston."

Damon said, "Actually, Harvey is also pissed with Martin because he rejected Harvey's favor once again. Don't worry, there will be opportunities."

He picked up the bottle to pour a drink and asked, "I heard Cassie's been hanging around art exhibitions lately? Got a thing for art now?"

Ben had a general idea but didn't go into detail, as it was just a probing move, "He thinks he's an artistic youth."

Damon said, "Cassie asked me for a loan to buy some pricey artwork."

Ben nodded, "He borrowed some from me too."

......

Los Angeles, Museum of Contemporary Art.

The multi-day art exhibition was coming to an end, with Martin and Bruce making a point to visit on the last day.

Entering the exhibition hall, Martin found a spot with fewer people, as if he was interested in a painting, and started appreciating it quietly from across the room.

Bruce went over to the sculpture area, standing in an inconspicuous corner, occasionally scanning Cassie Affleck.

Today, Cassie Affleck came to the exhibition hall again to make one last effort.

The exhibit of Lily Carter remained unattended, with no sign of her presence.

Cassie had previously had some unpleasant suspicions, but as a man brimming with overconfidence and a decadent air, he always believed in his own charm.

When no one came over, Cassie started to get a little anxious.

The empty exhibit stand reminded him of the art sculpture he had purchased at a high price, having thrown in more than a hundred thousand dollars in total.

Cassie's standing in Hollywood wasn't that high, his fees weren't considerable, and he didn't have the habit of saving, always spending as much as he earned. A hundred thousand was a significant amount for him.

Not only did he max out his credit cards, but he also borrowed a portion from Matt Damon and Ben.

The money was spent, yet the person had been out of sight for the past few days.
Experience tales at empire

Although they always just chatted inside the exhibition hall, their art discussions had been pleasant.

From sculpture to engraving, from movies to medicine, they always found common ground.

Noticing it was getting late, Cassie pulled out his phone and dialed it.

"Hello, this is the business department of the California Institute of the Arts." Instead, a man's voice came through the phone, "May I help you?"

Cassie paused for a few seconds before asking, "Isn't this Lily Carter's phone?"

The voice on the other end chuckled in reply, "During the exhibition, to facilitate contact, the institute provided a business cell phone for each participating student, which they have to return after the exhibit."

Cassie's face fell, "Do you have Lily Carter's contact information?"

"Sorry, I don't have it. If there's nothing else, I have to hang up." The other side was busy, and the call was cut off.

Cassie listened to the dial tone, put his phone down, and muttered, "Lily Carter..."

Looking at the empty exhibit stand before him, it dawned on him – he had been played by a college girl!

Cassie circled the exhibit stand, and as the bubble of his blind self-confidence burst, his mind started recalling many details he had previously overlooked.

That Lily Carter had clearly exploited his proximity deliberately, selling him those worthless student sculptures at inflated prices.

And damn it, she even used the method of price-tagged artwork!

Cassie ran his fingers through his hair in a frenzy, leaving a pile of dandruff after his manic scratching, and left the exhibition hall.

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