King of Hollywood-Chapter 541 - 262 Master

"What?" Spears was stunned for a moment; he had been passionately orating when Adrian suddenly interrupted him, causing his brain to take a moment to catch up.

"If it’s not in California?" Adrian leisurely repeated his question, appearing entirely at ease with an unchanged expression.

Since Spears had patiently planned for over a month before coming here, he naturally understood many things. So after a pause, he immediately grasped Adrian’s intent. His face first turned pale, then flushed with red, his breathing grew rougher, and with clenched fists, he glared at Adrian, his body trembling slightly as if he had suffered a great insult.

Adrian, who observed Spears’ reaction, couldn’t help but smile slightly; he had probed how much the other party knew with just one sentence. Britney had done well, she had kept her mouth shut over the month.

"I know, Mr. Adrian, you are an important person, you have power, but if you think you can make me submit like this, you are sorely mistaken! I am a father, I love my daughter, I love my family, and I will never let her be hurt..." Spears continued to speak fervently, his righteous demeanor almost convincing.

Adrian’s mocking smile deepened as he rudely cut him off again, "Enough, Mr. Spears, we’re both respectable people. Please let’s not engage in low-class, unrefined street scuffle-like arguments, shall we?"

Spears’ face instantly showed a choked expression, his face growing even redder, but Adrian’s voice floated into his ears once more: "0.01% stake in Cisco."

"What... what?" Spears was confused by the sudden change of topic and looked at Adrian with a puzzled expression.

"Cisco was founded in ’84, providing internet solutions; their devices and software products are primarily used to connect computer network systems and they are currently among the top in the IT industry, with a market value that has just surpassed 200 billion US dollars. So, 0.01% stake is 20 million US dollars." Adrian, with his hands crossed in front of him, explained to Spears in a calm manner.

Spikes’ eyes widened upon hearing this. Despite his efforts to appear unfazed, his Adam’s apple bobbed involuntarily.

Adrian, noticing this, smiled softly. Ever since he’d signed Britney, he had instructed people to investigate her family background. With Vincent Price—or rather Martin Modimmer—under his control, he had an even clearer picture. Therefore, when Britney came to him in a panic that day, he hadn’t taken it to heart at all.

James Spears was a building contractor, which in layman’s terms meant he was a small-time contractor and also possessed all the typical American flaws: arrogance, blindness, self-righteousness, and so on. His wife, Britney’s mother, Lynn Spears, was slightly better—a primary school teacher with more brains—but altogether not much different from him.

Even though a small contractor could earn a decent income if business was good, the Spears family annual earnings were still only a few hundred thousand—no different from the average middle class. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have sent Britney to the Mickey Mouse Club so readily, nor would they have moved the entire family from Louisiana to California after she got signed. Britney had become a highly popular teen star this year with her debut album, earning her millions in less than a year, which easily recouped the past few years of her parents’ investments. Moreover, Britney clearly had even greater potential; it was like stumbling upon a gold mine!

Although these earnings weren’t directly the Spears couple’s, they were still Britney’s parents, so they certainly wouldn’t allow her to slip from their control now, nor would they allow others to touch or even share their daughter. This was a form of protection, wasn’t it? And, perhaps they could even squeeze out more benefits from Adrian—greed is endless, after all.

"Not only that," Adrian continued in his usual calm manner as if nothing could perturb him, "the market value of Cisco is expected to triple to quintuple in the coming year, so..." ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com

He raised his hands slightly but didn’t finish the sentence. Spears involuntarily tugged at his collar and swallowed more visibly, his face reddening once again, but this time from excitement rather than pretense. The previous 20 million had already tempted him—when had he ever had so much money? Not to mention that it could increase several folds within the next year; tripling would be 60 million and quintupling...

"You may have doubts, but as long as you keep an eye on Cisco’s stock price, you’ll know whether my words are true," Adrian spoke again at this time.

Spears became even more convinced; since the other party dared to say this, they must have some confidence. Obviously, he still harbored some apprehension, perhaps he could be more... Just then, he met Adrian’s gaze, involuntarily shrank his neck a bit, confronted with a seemingly amused yet condescending look, as if he were viewing an ant.

The words that had reached his lips were swallowed back down. Spears wasn’t a fool; he understood the principle of quitting while ahead and immediately lowered his stance, carefully offering a smile, "You... are you serious, Mr. Adrian?"

"In my view, your daughter is worth the price," Adrian spread his hands.

The overt nature of this statement left Spears somewhat embarrassed, but his skin was thick enough to quickly recover, and he nodded right away, "I greatly appreciate your generosity, Mr. Adrian."

"Let’s leave it at that then. Tomorrow, my lawyer will contact you to discuss the details," Adrian said casually, "However, half of this will be under your wife’s name."

Spears was taken aback for a moment, then understood his intent. Despite feeling a bit of pain, he did not object. After Adrian gestured for him to leave, he got up, bowing and nodding his way out.

"Oh, and Mr. Spears, there’s one more thing I must remind you of," Adrian called after him as he reached the door, his hands folded on the desk still displaying that superior demeanor, "Even though our agreement leaves nothing in writing, since we have made a deal, it must be honored, understand?"

"I... understand," Spears hesitated for a moment before nodding repeatedly after realizing what was meant.

It was an unmistakable warning; with no written contract, there was no legal obligation, so the Spears couple could completely disregard today’s transaction if they wished, using it to their advantage when necessary. However, the reverse was also true; if they dared to do so, Adrian would also be free to take care of them with unlimited means, ensuring their utter ruin.

After James Spears left, Adrian continued to sit leisurely in his chair, unmoving until a knock on the door sounded. Next, Charlize appeared at the doorway, her expression somewhat complex as she made a gesture.

"Let her in," Adrian said with a smile, and then winked at Charlize, who rolled her eyes and turned to wave someone in from outside.

"Ed!" Britney rushed in, anxious, not even caring that Charlize was still present, circling the desk to throw herself into his embrace. Adrian had informed Britney of the appointment time with Spears beforehand, so during the negotiation, Britney had been waiting in a room outside the office for news.

"There, there, it’s okay now, Britney," Adrian patted the young girl’s back gently after Charlize closed the office door.

"Really? Is it really okay?" Britney asked twice, her cheeks laden with worry, "I was so scared waiting in the other room, just thinking that if... if... I really didn’t know what I would do."

"I’ve said you have to believe in me, Britney," Adrian stroked her hair, kissing her beautiful face, "You did well, not carelessly revealing any more information."

"I’m not stupid!" Britney pouted somewhat displeased, but she quickly became nervous and grabbed his lapel, "What did you say, Ed?"

"Nothing much, I just spent tens of millions to buy you from your father," Adrian said with a relaxed tone.

"Buy... buy me?" The girl was slightly stunned, then a look of disappointment crossed her face. Despite her emotional intelligence being in the negatives and having been brainwashed by Adrian for many years, she still harbored feelings for her parents. She naively hoped that her parents would agree to let her maintain a relationship with Adrian. Hearing this result, it was normal for her to feel lost.

This was precisely the result Adrian wanted. He immediately picked up Britney, let her straddle him, pinched her chin, and kissed her tender red lips, "Alright, stop thinking about those things. In any case, you don’t have to worry anymore. You’re mine now, Brit, no one will hurt you or give you a hard time. You just need to focus on your music and aim for higher goals."

There was no need to belabor the point; the seed had been planted. As time passed, she would slowly erase the significance of her parents from her heart.

"Aim for higher goals?" Britney finally shook off her despondent mood, tilted her head, and after staring at Adrian for a while, she asked.

"Yes, to rival and even... surpass Madonna," Adrian pressed his forehead against the girl’s and kissed her lips again, which led to a whirlwind of kisses from her in return, a flurry of wet kisses before they finally stopped.

"Thank you..." Britney said breathlessly, then something seemed to cross her mind. She giggled and moved closer to Adrian’s ear, sensually blowing air into it, "Master!"

Hearing this title, Adrian’s eyebrows rose, a surge of immense pleasure welling up within him. Just for this title, those 20 million in Cisco stocks were worth it. Although Britney was calling him this now more for fun and as a joke, it was like opening a small crack in a dam. It wouldn’t be long before it completely crumbled under the force of the current, and when she would use this title unobstructed in her life, she would be completely his, inside and out.

It was just said that she would slowly erase her parents’ weight in her heart over time, and now she had already taken a big step forward. Celebration was in order.

"I like this title," Adrian said, smiling at the girl, "You should be able to move out now, right?"

"No problem, I’ll get my agent to find a suitable house quickly, Ed..." Britney smiled sweetly, then noticing Adrian’s displeased look, she burst into giggles, wrapped her arms around his neck, and breathed softly against his chest, "I’ll move out quickly, my Master."

This matter was thus settled. It not only resolved Britney’s parents’ issue but also brought her a big step closer to fully becoming his own. However, those 20 million US dollars were not easy to claim.

"I’ve already had it prepared," Regret said in Adrian’s study, "Though I’ve considered many variables, I must remind you, Ed, the final figure might be less."

"No problem, it won’t be less than 10 billion anyway, right?" Adrian shrugged nonchalantly, "We’re also snatching food from the tiger’s mouth, Uncle Regret."

Then he looked curious, "Don’t you always say that I have no talent in finance? Why are you preparing almost entirely based on the data I provided this time?"

"Because you are the Miracle Director," Regret said nonchalantly, shrugging his shoulders, which made Adrian burst into laughter.

Of course, humor aside, some explanation was still needed, "You know, Ed, I’ve worked for your father for many years, and we have a very professional team. Although there are differing views on the outlook, the emergence of a bubble is certain. Your suggestion just happened to hit the middle ground of the divergence, so, after deliberation, the accountants decided to prepare based on the data you provided."

"I knew it couldn’t possibly be because I synthesized the information from messages I got from my uncle," Adrian sighed and then changed the subject, "It’s a shame that we’re still not qualified to wield the scissors now."

In ’92 and ’97, Adrian had been able to shear the sheep because the situation was clear, and the real giants didn’t mind sharing a bit of the soup. But next year would be different; no one could predict, not even the people on Wall Street. Only the real giants, the ones who were part of this country, were qualified to wield the scissors. Although the Cowell family also had a history, it was not of a major lineage. Uncle Anderson had considerable influence on Wall Street, but he was nothing compared to the real giants.

Thus, Adrian started preparing from that moment on. The company’s industries were managed by Claude and had been discussed from the start, so there wasn’t too much to worry about there. But Adrian himself still had so much investment to deal with. Even someone as mediocre in finance as him knew that cashing out wasn’t something that could be done instantly. To avoid being harvested, one must prepare in advance, snatch food from the tiger’s mouth, even at the risk of some losses, but the actual profits were already enough.

Therefore, despite the $20 million given to the Spears couple potentially multiplying several times in the future, it was uncertain whether they would be able to get their hands on it unless they sold off now. But considering their greed, was that likely? Especially after a few weeks, when the stock prices would start to skyrocket, they would be even less likely to let go.

Their faces would certainly be a sight to behold at that time, Adrian thought with a touch of malice. He had no sympathy for them. He hadn’t urged the Spears couple to invest everything they had, hadn’t urged them to speculate in futures; he had been merciful enough.

Alright, let’s move the topic back to movies. At the end of January ’99, a movie was quietly released in cinemas. Despite its low profile, this movie was destined to make a significant mark in the history of film because it was called "The Blair Witch Project"!

Ever since Bossworth’s Perez and Harmon received Adrian’s support, they had started their own hype campaign, setting up related websites, spreading rumors across major websites, directing netizens’ imaginations. During the second half of ’98, many people were discussing the so-called Blair Witch of Maryland and the three missing college students.

Maryland’s local police, unable to bear the harassment, issued statements several times declaring the absence of such a case, but no one believed it. The enquiries kept coming like snowflakes. Eventually, the state government had to organize a small-scale search, which, of course, turned up nothing.

Yet the public remained incredulous, insisting the government was hiding the truth – after all, no country’s citizens ever really trust their government. Especially since the relevant websites had released interviews with the students’ parents, and after claiming to have found films left by the college students, a segment of footage was released online and parts were sent to the "Science Exploration" channel.

With such stirrings, the situation became even more sensational, particularly the image of a female college student crying and talking to herself on camera, tugging at many people’s emotions. By early January ’99, word spread on the websites that a movie company had bought the college students’ film and planned to edit and screen it in cinemas, attracting the attention of countless people who followed the case.

Then came the release at the end of January ’99. Although it only opened in 20 theaters, and those were in rather remote locations, it still made $2 million at the box office within five days! Considering the number of screens and the box office take, such a staggering ratio was quite rare. According to feedback, each of these theaters was packed, with almost no one leaving mid-show!

Faced with this situation, Bossworth quickly put operations into full swing. By the second week, the number of screens had increased to 500, and the box office jumped to $15 million! With improved promotion, the movie attracted the public even faster and better than the original, naturally achieving a higher box office.

"Now, do you all understand the importance of internet promotion?" Adrian asked the executives of the four main companies after summoning them to headquarters to introduce the successes of the film.

At first, inside Bossworth, not everyone was optimistic about "The Blair Witch Project," even with Adrian’s support—a stance Adrian had always advocated: not to be overly superstitious about authority. Although the current success of the movie already spoke for itself, he still hoped that this attitude would continue to be maintained and expanded upon.

Of course, Adrian also took this opportunity to reemphasize the importance of online promotion to everyone, to view the internet as a new medium on equal footing with traditional media, rather than something dependent on it.

(To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation votes and monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation.)

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