Chapter 240: Chapter 240: How Should I Tell Jenny?
[Chapter 240: How Should I Tell Jenny?]
Of course, Eric couldn't tell the girl the truth. Even if he did, she wouldn't believe him. He had to analyze the facts instead. "I've heard of Griffin Dunne. He seems like a pretty nice guy, but when it comes down to it, he doesn't really have any power to decide on casting. All he can do is recommend you, giving you a few more audition opportunities than you'd get at an agency. However, I happened to catch that 007 movie this summer. Honestly, Ms. Lowey, your acting won't help you snag those opportunities. So I'd say he can't really help you."
Kelly Lowey bowed her head, going silent for a moment, her expression showing a bit of struggle, even forgetting that Eric had been pinching her calf. After a while, she seemed to come to some realization and raised her eyes to Eric, boldly asking, "So, Mr. Williams, can you help me?"
Without a second thought, Eric simply shook his head, "I can't either."
Kelly Lowey was the same age as Virginia, but while Virginia had acted in several films and even earned a Golden Globe nomination, her acting skills weren't in question; she just lacked opportunities. But Kelly Lowey lacked genuine acting ability. Besides playing a pretty face in 007, she would find it hard to handle other roles. If she were ten years younger, Eric might have put in the effort to train her himself, but now, he decided against it.
"Then what about...?" The girl suddenly seemed to remember her situation and tugged at Eric's grip on her calf, "Mr. Williams, please. Let me go, okay?"
As soon as Kelly finished speaking, she felt the man across from her loosen his grip. She quickly pulled her leg back and, having gained her freedom, hesitated instead of rushing to escape the room.
Eric smirked mischievously and pushed the glass of milk toward her, saying, "Why not drink this? It'll help you sleep."
"Oh," Kelly Lowey nodded instinctively, as if mesmerized, and obediently picked up the glass.
Under Eric's intense gaze, the girl hurriedly drank the milk and put down the empty glass. "I think I'll head back to my room now."
"Mhm," Eric showed no signs of stopping her and nodded as he sat in his chair.
Kelly stood up and took a few steps to the door, but her hand hesitated on the doorknob, standing still for several seconds without opening it.
Eric had quietly moved to stand behind her and coaxed, "Why not stay for another glass of milk? I've got plenty here."
"I think... well, no... I think I'll pass." The girl felt Eric's hot breath on her neck, a pair of large hands wrapping around her waist. She found her words stumbling.
Eric ignored her refusal and leaned in, kissing her long-awaited red lips. She pushed back gently a couple of times but soon succumbed to the kiss. Eric confidently slipped his tongue past her teeth and moved in deeper.
After a breathless make-out session, Eric picked Kelly Lowey up and walked over to the round table, tossing aside the empty cup before placing her on top.
Kelly gazed around the table in confusion, twisting and turning with mild reluctance, "This... isn't right!" But she received no reply, only feeling the buttons of his trench coat being unfastened. Then that infuriating man leaned close to her ear, grinning wickedly as he whispered, "I'll feed you some milk later."
...
The morning sun streamed through the wooden blinds and lit up a corner of the room. Eric awoke, glanced at his watch, and stretched luxuriously. He looked at the other side of the small single bed, where a pillow lay, but Kelly Lowey was nowhere to be found. Assuming she had already gotten up, Eric paid no mind, dressing and heading out to his own room.
While washing up, Elisabeth walked in again, but her expression looked downcast. She didn't greet Eric or sit down as she usually did.
When Eric stepped out, Elisabeth threw today's memo onto the small round table. "Here, take a look."
"Uh..." Eric blinked in surprise, then quickly realized something. Not bothered, he asked, "So, where's my breakfast?"
"I saw a few stray cats outside looking pretty pitiful, so I fed them," she said proudly, raising her chin and stomping out in her little boots.
Eric shook his head with a chuckle and picked up the day's agenda to review, intending to head out soon to grab some breakfast.
The door swung open again, revealing Nicole, who walked in and sat beside Eric, placing a bag in front of him. "I thought you might need this today."
Eric caught the faint smell of food wafting from the bag and grinned at her. "You're the best, Nicole."
Nicole crossed her legs, resting her hands on her knees, and looked at Eric with interest. "So, how should I tell Jenny?"
"Say what?" Eric asked, finishing up the schedule and pulling out food from the bag.
Nicole raised an eyebrow, "What do you think?"
Eric quickly displayed an 'aha!' expression. "Wow, I didn't know you had a habit of eavesdropping. What did you hear last night?"
The girl blushed but replied, "Not much. Just something about drinking milk. Oh, and there was a big rat running around the hallway in the middle of the night."
"None of that matters. Just tell Jenny the truth. Lots of people drink milk before bed," Eric replied nonchalantly.
Nicole was just joking around with Eric. She wouldn't dare use this to manipulate him. Hearing Eric's opinions, she could only giggle along.
"By the way, have you seen Ms. Kelly Lowey?" Eric popped a piece of breakfast into his mouth and suddenly asked.
Nicole seemed to recall something amusing. "Oh yeah! But I think she didn't want to get caught by anyone teasing her afterward. She rushed off early this morning. Seriously, what did you promise her? You two had a wild time last night!"
Eric shrugged, "Nothing at all. It was just a mutual thing, a regular casual encounter."
Nicole laughed in surprise, quickly adding, "In that case, I think that poor woman must be completely dazed by you."
Eric shot her a look, chewing his food as he mumbled, "You're slandering me. Watch out for defamation charges!"
...
At Jonah's girlfriend's house.
Jessica is sitting defiantly in a chair in the middle of the living room. There's a clock on the mantel. Sam is in the room with Jessica's mother and father.
Her mother walked up to her. "Jessica, this is not acceptable."
Then her father stepped up, arms crossed, trying to assert his authority. "If you don't tell us right now, right this minute, I'm going to kill you."
The girl rolled her eyes, ignoring her parents. Looking at the clock on the matntel, seeing the time is 8:30, she felt it was time to speak up. In her usual style, she blurted out, "He's on his way to NY."
"What's that?" Sam quickly asked.
"No way! It means impossible!" Jessica's dad answered.
"That's NW," Sam corrected, feeling hopeless.
All three adults looked at the little girl.
"New York! He went to New York," she continued.
"What!"
"How did he get there?"
The three adults expressed surprise.
"On the flight United 597," Jessica provided, naming the flight number.
Sam rushed to ask, "When did it leave?"
"Eight-thirty," Jessica's dad interjected, and all three turned to the clock behind the girl, just as the eight-thirty chime rang out.
...
"Okay, great! Alice, your performance was fantastic!" Eric exclaimed happily, noticing the girl stand up from her stool.
Excitement filled the air as everyone applauded -- not because the girl had acted so brilliantly, but because this marked the last shot for the crew in Seattle, on September 24 in the morning, on the eighth day of shooting. Initially scheduled for ten days, they wrapped up early as Victor Morris, playing Jonah, had improved rapidly under Eric's special guidance, saving them two and a half days of filming. While that might not seem like much, to a crew spending tens of thousands of dollars every day, those two and a half days could save over a million in budget.
Checking the time, it was still before ten o'clock, so Eric lifted the bullhorn and addressed the crew, "Take a day off! You can explore Seattle, but don't miss tomorrow morning's flight. If anyone misses that, you'll have to fly to New York on your own."
"Haha..." Amid the laughter, most people began packing up to leave, except for those necessary to stay and clean up.
...
On the side of the road, Eric thoroughly briefed a few crew members responsible for transporting the developed film back to Los Angeles for initial processing and editing. Watching them board the van, he finally felt relieved and returned to his motel.
Back in his room, Eric took off his director's vest, changed into a black trench coat, thought about the weather, and grabbed an umbrella before stepping outside again.
"Hey, where are you headed?" Elisabeth called out curiously when she saw Eric preparing to leave. Though she had a fiery temper, she also had a terrible memory. After a couple of days, she no longer fixated on Eric's escapade with Kelly Lowey, and their relationship returned to normal -- at least on the surface.
Eric didn't answer her and threw back, "Do you have somewhere to be?"
Elisabeth took a couple of steps forward. "Not really. I was just curious where you're going. Can I come along?"
"If you'd like," Eric nodded.
"Then wait for me! I'll change first," Elisabeth replied without a second thought, turning back to her room.
*****
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