Chapter 32: Chapter 32: Turmoil
[Chapter 32: Turmoil]
Back at home, Eric noticed a growing number of reporters outside his door. He had no choice but to call his lawyer to discuss the compensation agreement, even though he was already aware of Columbia's tricks; being cautious seemed wise.
Once that was settled, Eric finally remembered he needed to call Aniston. He dialed her number several times, but no one answered. At this hour, Aniston should have been at home. Worried, Eric was about to redial when the phone suddenly rang.
"Williams residence?" he answered.
"Eric, it's me," came Aniston's voice through the receiver.
Eric responded with relief, "Jenny, are you alright? I called your apartment multiple times, but no one picked up."
"I moved in with my dad, Eric. Didn't you know? The paparazzi found out about us and started following me everywhere. They even pretended to be delivery people and knocked on my apartment door. It scared me to death," Aniston admitted, her voice tinged with lingering fear.
Eric exclaimed, "Jenny, are you okay? When did this happen? I called you right before I boarded the plane yesterday, and everything seemed fine."
"I'm fine, Eric. It happened this morning. I don't know how the paparazzi found out. It was already in the papers by then, and they... they said..." Aniston's tone grew increasingly upset, and Eric thought it must be something discouraging. He quickly tried to soothe her, "Alright, Jenny, as long as you're safe. Just stay at your dad's place for a while. You can quit that convenience store job too."
Aniston complained unhappily, "Eric, it won't stay like this forever, right? How am I supposed to live?"
"Of course, it won't be like this forever. Things will calm down eventually. My house is surrounded by reporters too. Give me your dad's address, and I'll come visit when I can."
Aniston provided the address, and after Eric reassured her a bit more, they hung up.
...
In a Beverly Hills villa, Aniston moodily put down the phone. She glanced at the crumpled newspapers scattered across the floor and picked up a pillow from the couch, hitting it a few times in frustration. The papers portrayed her romance with Eric as the Hollywood version of Cinderella and Prince Charming, praising Eric while belittling her. Most of the articles painted a bleak picture for their future, and some even compared her unfavorably to Drew, suggesting she was less suited to be Eric's girlfriend.
As she read on, Aniston's feelings of self-doubt and unease grew. To her, Eric was extraordinary, while she felt so ordinary. Now, he was about to become Hollywood's youngest multi-millionaire, while she was the "convenience store clerk" the papers mentioned. The gap between them had never felt wider.
...
Unbeknownst to Aniston, Eric was clueless about her inner turmoil. After waiting for half an hour, Edward Lewis, the lawyer handling the wager agreement, finally arrived.
"Hello, Mr. Edward, thanks for coming personally," Eric greeted Edward Lewis and his assistant as they stepped inside.
Edward quickly extended his hand to shake Eric's, saying respectfully, "Eric, I couldn't believe how huge Home Alone became! Congratulations! This is my assistant, Carter."
The three sat down on the sofa, and Eric pulled out the compensation agreement from Columbia. He recounted the entire situation.
Edward listened quietly to Eric's explanation and then examined the compensation agreement closely. After a few minutes, he stated, "Eric, there's nothing wrong with this agreement. You can sign it without worries."
"That's great," Eric nodded in relief and took out his pen to sign the document.
Edward hesitated for a moment, looking at Eric. "Eric, I think you might need a full-time legal team to handle your ongoing legal affairs."
"Huh?" Eric caught on to Edward's pitch, smiling as he looked up.
Edward met Eric's smile directly, stating, "I believe my firm has the capability to handle this, Eric. Based on your account, if you hadn't been so vigilant, you might have faced a situation where the wager agreement could have been torn up. Therefore, I think our team could be your representatives, fully managing your dealings with Columbia. If Columbia defaults again, we can fight for you in court to ensure your rights."
Eric had seen Edward and his legal team's professionalism when they first drafted the wager agreement. He acknowledged he truly needed a dedicated legal team. After a bit of discussion, they quickly came to an agreement. Edward pulled out a prepared power of attorney agreement, and Eric immediately signed it.
"Alright then, I'll leave the rest in your hands, Edward. Please forward this compensation agreement to Columbia; I really don't want to deal with them anymore."
"Okay, Eric. If there's nothing else, we'll take our leave."
After seeing Edward and his assistant out, Eric finally breathed a sigh of relief. He could now focus on his love for filmmaking. He trusted Edward's firm; after all, they were merely his representatives and held no authority to make decisions on his behalf. If they decided to collude with Columbia against him, once exposed, that would ruin their entire firm's careers. Columbia wouldn't pay to support a whole team for a lifetime either.
...
While Eric felt assured, Columbia found itself caught in a media storm due to Eric's statement. Many newspapers, which had already gone to print, scrambled to revise their layouts because the news was too explosive. That evening, articles detailing Eric's accusations against Columbia appeared on the front pages. Various analyses and speculations quickly filled the media, as many papers sought to fan the flames and increase sales.
After reprinting Eric's statement verbatim, the papers began dissecting every word. It was surprising how robust sensationalism could be. Some newspapers somehow linked Eric's declaration to Michael Eisner. Eric had indeed subtly undermined Eisner in his statement, mentioning their pleasant conversation and potential collaboration, which led the papers to speculate that Eisner played a key role in exposing Columbia's "underhanded tactics."
...
Eisner had been mulling over how to inform his old friend that Eric had seen through their shared tricks. After seeing the news, he promptly called Cohen Blunt to explain, but sadly, Cohen seemed unconvinced.
With a bitter smile, Eisner realized he understimated Cohen's suspicious nature and sighed at how this friendship might reach its end. Strangely, he felt little animosity toward Eric; instead, he found himself appreciating him more.
...
Several newspapers quickly discovered that Home Alone had only hit about 1,500 screens that week, even less than 17 Again, which had bumped their screen count up to 1,600. This revelation spurred the media to viciously criticize Columbia while also questioning the company's integrity.
The competing studios, already envious of Columbia monopolizing the Home Alone success, jumped on the bandwagon to condemn them, even calling on fans in some tabloids to boycott Columbia films.
Once the news broke, Columbia's public hotline became inundated with outraged citizens, leading to a few female staff members receiving enough abuse to cry, with two of them submitting their resignation letters the following morning.
Columbia's president, Cohen Blunt, in a fit of frustration, smashed everything in his office and then reluctantly called a meeting with his public relations executives to discuss a response strategy.
That night, the TV stations controlled by Columbia issued a statement justifying the screen count for Home Alone and announced the terms of the compensation agreement while suggesting that Eric's claims about Columbia intending to tear up the treaty were baseless, attributing them to a misunderstanding over screen counts.
However, without Eric stepping up to corroborate this, the media and public overwhelmingly dismissed Columbia's explanation.
*****
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