บท 490: Chapter 491: Your Cooking Isn't Good
[Chapter 491: Your Cooking Isn't Good]
Through the VIP entrance of Kennedy Airport, Eric slipped into the waiting car with two of his aides.
Once the car started moving, Kepler, sitting beside Eric, spoke up. "Miss Pacula has signed on for a Universal action movie in which she plays an FBI agent. Charlie told me that she insisted the lead female role be filmed in a month, so Universal extended the working hours every day to accommodate her request..."
Eric nodded briefly, cutting Kepler off. "Kepler, you know I don't care about this."
Kepler paused before continuing. "She fainted from exhaustion due to her pregnancy, but the doctor has checked her and there's nothing serious. She just needs to rest..." After a moment's hesitation, Kepler added, "And the baby is fine."
Eric finally sighed, relaxing against the chair.
Seeing Eric's reaction, Kepler cautiously asked, "Eric, what are you planning to do?"
"I'll have Charlie Walker handle all of Joan's work from now on. Just don't schedule her for anything else before the baby's born. And drop that Universal movie; I'll call Michael Eisner to discuss it."
Kepler seemed to want to ask something more, but ultimately held back. Though they were good friends, this matter was too personal. However, he still felt it was strange that Eric had so easily accepted this child. He had thought Eric rushed back for an entirely different reason.
Half an hour later, the car arrived outside a private clinic in Manhattan's East Hydee. Eric looked out the car window to see a throng of journalists waiting outside, but he wasn't surprised. Twister was still playing globally, and after more than three months, it had easily surpassed $300 million at the North American box office, with overseas gross steadily rising. Now, Joan, as the lead, was at the peak of her fame.
The security guard opened the clinic's door. Eric and his party didn't get out but drove straight inside.
"Not many people know about this. Besides Charlie and Miss Pacula's assistant, only the director who brought Miss Pacula here and a few crew members, oh, and the attending physician of this clinic," Kepler said as they entered the building. "We won't leak anything, and I signed a confidentiality agreement with this clinic this morning, but you should still discuss things with Michael Eisner."
Eric nodded, although he imagined that Eisner had likely already issued a gag order on the production side at Universal. There would be no benefit from letting this information leak, and it wouldn't harm him much either. Keeping it under wraps would actually earn him a favor.
"This is Dr. Robert Bean," Kepler introduced a middle-aged man in a white lab coat who came to greet them as they entered.
"Hello, Dr. Bean," Eric said politely, extending his hand.
"Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Williams," Dr. Bean shook Eric's hand and gestured toward the hallway. "Please follow me, Mr. Williams. Miss Pacula is just down there."
Walking through the hallway, they climbed the stairs to the second floor, where a few people sitting on a bench outside the ward stood up as soon as they saw Eric.
Charlie Walker, who obviously had dark circles under his eyes, was the first to speak. "Mr. Williams, I'm so sorry."
Eric knew that Joan must have concealed this from Charlie Walker, so he decided not to make things difficult for the agent. He patted Charlie's shoulder and addressed the group. "I need to talk to Joan first."
...
Pushing open the door, Eric saw a brown-haired girl with a ponytail sitting in a chair, chatting quietly with Joan. Both women turned at the sound of the door opening.
"You can head out for a bit," Eric told the brown-haired girl, recalling that she was Joan's personal assistant but unable to remember her name.
The assistant nodded and hurriedly left the room. When Joan caught sight of Eric, her eyes clearly widened in panic. She instinctively pulled the blanket over her face, trying to hide herself.
Seeing what Joan did, Eric felt a pang of sympathy and sighed as he sat down beside her.
"Eric..." Joan said, looking worriedly at his expression.
Eric reached out and gently brushed a stray hair from her forehead. Noticing her slight flinch, he sighed again. "Why didn't you tell me sooner, Joan? Do you really have so little faith in me?"
"No, it's not that," Joan said, seeming to calm with Eric's gentle touch. She shook her head lightly. "It's just... Vicki said that..."
"It seems getting you two together wasn't a great idea," Eric commented, almost able to envision what Virginia would say. He shrugged helplessly. Virginia had been in Hollywood long enough to have seen all the breakups and reconciliations amongst stars, and her fiercely independent nature left her with little faith or dependence on romance. Despite her always being accommodating with Eric, he often sensed her casual approach to relationships -- after a night of passion, he felt he could vanish from her life without causing any upset.
Hearing Eric's lament, Joan appeared flustered.
Eric took one of Joan's hands, soothingly patting it. "Joan, do you remember what I said to you the night I was in San Francisco two years ago?"
Joan froze for a moment, recalling bits of that evening. Her face flushed slightly, and she attempted to glare at Eric like Virginia would, but in the end, she simply looked down and nodded.
"I wasn't joking that night, so you can rest assured and have this baby. I will be there to raise it with you."
"But," Joan raised her head helplessly. "You..."
"If you're worried, I can hold a press conference right now to announce that I'm going to be a dad."
Upon hearing this, Joan finally relaxed. Her worst fear was that Eric would refuse to acknowledge this child or would keep the child's identity hidden. If that happened, the child wouldn't have a good environment to grow up in. A child needed more than just material support to thrive.
"Eric, as long as you accept this baby, we don't need a press conference. I don't want it to be under media scrutiny so early."
Seeing Joan finally wear a relieved expression, Eric relaxed too. "Okay, we'll do it your way. Right now, you're the priority."
Joan gave a soft smile, feeling a bit of sweetness. She gently caressed her abdomen through the blanket, playfully whining, "Eric, I'm hungry."
"What do you want to eat? I'll cook it for you."
"Your cooking isn't good."
"Alright, I'll call your assistant in. She can get you whatever you fancy; I need to talk to the doctor and Kepler about some things."
Joan nodded but added, "Eric, in that movie, I'll be done with my scenes in a week. I'm planning to..."
"Forget about that movie. Just focus on your pregnancy. I'll take care of everything else."
As Joan watched Eric prepare to leave, she felt a slight struggle within. She wanted to savor this moment of affection from Eric all to herself but thought it would be selfish. In the end, she held onto Eric's hand. "Eric, Vicki is shooting a film too. She's in Philadelphia."
Seeing her tense up again, Eric gently squeezed Joan's small hand. "I understand. Once she finishes filming, I'll have her come babysit for you, and I might as well get her to sew up that loose tongue of hers."
"No, that's not what I meant. I meant..." Joan looked up at Eric, biting her lip slightly as she gathered her courage. "I meant, she's pregnant too."
"Ah..." Eric nearly stumbled, almost falling.
...
Philadelphia was less than a two-hour drive from New York. As Eric approached noon in New York, he received the news from Joan and had to rush to Philadelphia immediately. Although he was surprised that both women were pregnant at the same time, he wasn't about to have any more issues happen with Joan in the hospital.
As Vicki's agent, Kepler rode along with Eric on the million-dollar drive to Philadelphia. He was currently informing Eric about Vicki's movie filming. "I've confirmed it -- Vicki's crew is shooting in the Old City District of Philadelphia on Vine Street. We can head straight there. It's a script from Carolco Pictures, which I personally negotiated. It has some thriller elements, but really it's not too risky."
Eric nodded in relief.
Without GPS navigation in those days, after reaching Philadelphia, it took Eric and his team a while to locate the destination. Once they got out and followed the crew members into the set, they were almost stunned by the scene being filmed.
...
In the center of the set surrounded by crew members, a two-story bus was parked on the side of the street with a one-meter-thick sponge mat laid down below it. Virginia, dressed in a red gown, stood with her back to Eric and Kepler, negotiating in a hushed tone with a middle-aged man operating the camera from high above on a crane. "Mr. Pyne, this is the one time only. I won't fall a second time. If you mess this up, you'll have to use a stunt double next time."
The middle-aged man adjusting the camera was quite straightforward, and he waved his hand decisively. "Don't worry, Miss Madsen. I'll personally run the camera; there won't be any mistakes. Alright, everyone pay attention. Actors, get in position...."
...
Suppressing the urge to rub his temple, Eric thought to himself: Can this lady really be pregnant? This is just too ridiculous. Although falling a couple of meters onto a thick sponge mat wouldn't usually cause issues, she was still pregnant!
Pregnant!
Pregnant!
She was pregnant!
As a series of complaints surged in his mind, Eric couldn't hold it back anymore and shouted out, "Cut!"
"..."
Everyone froze. The middle-aged man on the crane squinted toward them, roaring, "Who was that? We haven't even started yet, and someone wants to call cut? You don't want to work anymore?"
Virginia, who had been poised and ready at the bus, turned in surprise upon hearing that voice. Upon seeing Eric, she tossed everyone aside, swiftly descended the bus and ran towards him.
"Kepler, I'll leave the rest to you," Eric said to Kepler, scowling as he grabbed Virginia's hand and headed out.
Honestly, he was just wanting to give her a good ear tug...
*****
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