America 1982-Chapter 308 - 18: I’m Just Cutting My Losses_4

"The problem is, custody of the girl was always in her mother’s hands. To shoot the film, the movie company contacted the girl’s mother, who was a nightclub dancer. She would do anything for money, so of course, there was no problem. Her father was furious but helpless and could only start battling the mother for custody, trying to restrict his daughter from acting in movies. As a result, she ran away from home in anger, joined a friend, and headed to Hollywood. Unexpectedly, she easily landed a movie role, and it was the lead role, no less. After shooting, she quickly returned to New York, transformed from a wild child to a well-behaved girl. That movie seemed to become a memory she didn’t wish to mention," Stephen said as he walked over to the liquor cabinet and picked out a bottle of whiskey, continuing,

"The father also realized that his rigidity could harm her, so they resolved their conflicts. Then, the father began to oversee her acting, and she started to make a name for herself, with one hit after another being born. Sadly, it didn’t last long. Her mother, being a nightclub dancer, learned of her daughter’s earnings and, together with others, took her away while her father wasn’t paying attention. Using the reason that custody hadn’t been clearly defined, they successfully transferred the more than a million dollars she had earned from acting from the age of thirteen to seventeen into her mother’s account. Her mother even forced her to take a bunch of children-inappropriate bad movies in her name as guardian. If she refused to shoot, she would face hefty penalties. A renowned director, Coppola, who was very fond of her acting, found a film company he worked with to offer to pay the penalties for those bad movies. However, the condition was that she would have to act exclusively for that company for the next ten years. Fearing being exploited for her acting talents, she ultimately refused."

"What’s worse, she started having issues selecting scripts. She became America’s teenage sweetheart overnight after helping Coppola with ’The Godfather’ and ’Battle Fish.’ Later, as the leading lady in two consecutive movies, both bombed at the box office and received terrible reviews, leading two small film companies to bankruptcy. Meanwhile, the movies she turned down earned a fortune, catapulting the replacement actresses to stardom. This quickly tarnished her reputation in the industry, as no film company wanted to hire her for a movie only to end up closing their doors," he added.

"Moreover, these past few years, the film merchants have been suing her relentlessly for breach of contract, leaving her anxious about lawyer fees and damages while unable to land high-paying roles. If it weren’t for me writing a blank check this time, allowing her to write any figure, my wife wouldn’t have been able to persuade her. She’s not like the women I introduced to Chris and Frank, those slightly famous TV actresses, you know? She’s a well-known movie star. If it hadn’t been for a pair of French twins added to the equation, she would be mine tonight, not accompanying David, but you," Stephen said.

"What I’m more concerned about is how much money you bloody spent on her, praising her to high heaven while talking about her hard luck. So how much did you spend on my behalf?" Tommy turned his head and looked into Stephen’s eyes, asking suspiciously. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

"It’s a reasonable price, Tommy. The girl asked for half a million, so including my wife’s thirty percent commission, you only need to pay about seven hundred thousand to spend a spring night with her. She will also be the considerate companion, staying by your side throughout the night’s party," Stephen replied.

"Seven hundred thousand? Seven hundred thousand US dollars?" Tommy’s eyes widened in disbelief, gritting his teeth as he asked,

"Stephen, seven hundred thousand, and I’m the one suffering! So, if I don’t touch her, does it mean I don’t have to pay? Let her go; I’m begging you. I’m a pauper; I don’t have your aristocratic mindset of throwing money around carelessly. Seven hundred thousand means if I were to have her company for ten nights, she could buy a mansion in Beverly Hills Estate with seven million. Sounds bloody tragic to me! How many loans to African Americans would I have to give out to make a profit of seven hundred thousand? F*ck!"

Stephen poured himself a drink of whiskey, casually saying, "Whether you do it or not, the bill will come. To persuade this future screen star to continue collaborating, my lady paid upfront, meaning you have to pay her seven hundred thousand whether you send the girl away now or do nothing."

"Seven hundred thousand, just to sleep for one night... This rate of spending, if your grandfather doesn’t come back from heaven to chop you to pieces, I can only say atheism must be correct. Otherwise, if he had any spirit in heaven, he would find a way to take you, his unworthy descendant, out of this world," Tommy said, agitatedly running his hands through his hair, pushing past Stephen, heading to his own room:

"So what’s that chick’s name?"

"Diane Lynn, right? I mentioned the movie, and you didn’t catch on? She’s the dream girl of all young Americans, and you, you’re her first customer in this business, the third man in her life; it’s absolutely worth it," Stephen said from behind, sipping his drink:

"Dry your tears, Tommy, try to look happy; you’re a rich man, don’t cry over this," he said, seeing Tommy sweep his hand across his face, thinking he was upset about the high price.

"Even if I’m her first man, she’s not worth seven hundred thousand," Tommy grumbled as he moved on. "Oh, and remember to keep the contact information for that mixed-race girl, Lisa Burnett. If she’s doing this kind of business, it means she’s hard up for cash. My TV station has a show that could really use a slightly famous mixed-race black girl like her," he added.