America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz

Burbank, Pacific Film Production Company.

As soon as Martin entered the reception room, a middle-aged man brimming with enthusiasm came over and shook his hand vigorously.

Louise simply stood by with a smile.

Wu Maoting, an investor from Southeast Asia, said in his accented English, "Martin, 'Infernal Affairs' was a huge success, and your performance was brilliant and moving."

Martin responded with a smile, "Mr. Wu, you flatter me."

Wu Maoting said, "Thank you and Miss Mel for giving me this investment opportunity, allowing me to step out of Asia and expand my business to America."

Martin didn't immediately reply but glanced at Louise.

Even if 'Infernal Affairs' was a box-office hit, companies in Hollywood had ways of making their books show a loss.

Louise gave an imperceptible squint of her eyes.

Martin understood; this was about playing the long game and operating legitimately.

It wasn't hard to understand why Wu Maoting, with mines at his disposal, wouldn't dare keep the converted money locally and naturally wanted to find better channels for investment.

There was also the fact that anyone who could control a jade mine in Myanmar wasn't just armed; they had a lot of arms.

Martin said something pleasing, "It's also thanks to Mr. Wu's good judgment. At that time, out of so many people, Mr. Wu chose to believe in Louise and me, and thus received the rightful rewards."

Wu Maoting expressed his desire to continue collaborating, "I've come to appreciate the openness and inclusiveness of Hollywood. Although there are unlimited business opportunities here, I have more faith in partners I've worked with before."

Louise chimed in, "There will soon be another opportunity to collaborate."

Wu Maoting beckoned, and two attendants came over, each holding a rosewood box.

He took one and handed it to Louise, then placed the other in Martin's hands and said, "Just a small gift as a token of respect."

At that moment, host and guest were both merry.

Wu Maoting took his leave.

Louise and Martin returned after seeing off the guest, and upon looking at the rosewood boxes on the table, she said, "I hope it's not another piece of jade?"

"Jade is quite nice," Martin replied as he opened his rosewood box which contained a piece of jade.

It was almost completely green and of exceptionally good quality, though as a layman, he couldn't discern its true value.

Louise, on the other hand, received a platinum inlaid jade bracelet.

She examined it closely and said, "It might be worth hundreds of thousands of US dollars."

Martin remarked, "To a mine owner and a warlord, this trinket is nothing. I think his wealth far exceeds ours."

Louise pushed her black-rimmed glasses up and said confidently, "Definitely more than yours."

Martin nodded, picked up his box, and prepared to leave, "I need to make a trip to the agency."

Louise offered an invitation, "Come over for dinner at my place this afternoon. By the way, I got a new setup in my bedroom. Aren't you coming over to check it out?"

Now single again, Martin said, "How about this, I'll call you after I finish my business."

Louise replied, "I'll be waiting for your call."

It had been three and a half years since she met Martin, and while she hadn't changed much, Martin had undergone a complete transformation.

From a penniless bit-actor to a star with formidable clout.

Lately, Louise had been adjusting her mindset to sustain and further develop their relationship.

Martin left Pacific Pictures and headed to Century City, where he entered WMA's lobby and was greeted with nothing but smiles.

On his way to Thomas's office, almost everyone, whether acquainted or not, took the initiative to greet him.

A few agents working in the lobby asked if he had any new projects and if he could pull their clients into a deal.

Martin was mostly noncommittal, deferring to Thomas. An agent's role, after all, was to carry the burden.

He reached Thomas's office, where Bruce, as usual, stayed outside chatting with Natasha.

Thomas, seeing Martin, picked up a document and handed it to him, "I just got this from Warner Bros. You have been successful in your collaborations with them, and they are willing to disclose some information to us."

Martin opened it and found a comic book sandwiched inside, Frank Miller's 'Batman: The Dark Knight Returns.'

Thomas elaborated, "You asked me to keep an eye on Christopher Nolan's side, and I've got reliable intel that the Nolan Brothers have more or less confirmed the next Batman sequel's storyline, which is set to be adapted from The Dark Knight Returns, as confirmed by the information Mene got from Emma Thomas."

While perusing, Martin asked, "Is there anything else?"

"The film's main characters will be Batman and the Joker, much like 'The Wire', in a protagonist versus antagonist setup. 'Infernal Affairs' was a hit, and if 'Limitless' also succeeds at the box office, there shouldn't be many hurdles from Warner Bros. and DC Comics," Thomas had spent considerable effort on this recently.

Without mincing words, Martin said directly, "Get the script as soon as possible."

"I will," Thomas replied, stroking his hair which he had recently had transplanted, to prevent his hairline from appearing too thin.

But the transplant wasn't very successful, and his forehead was quickly shining bald again, "This is going to be a huge commercial film, and I'm hopeful that we can get you a salary of over ten million US dollars."

Martin nodded, "Let's hope we both get rich."

Thomas was full of vigor, "We definitely will."

The two discussed awards season strategies for a while longer.

There weren't many occasions where Martin needed to personally lobby; an actor's main job was to increase visibility and show a positive attitude at screenings, leaving the persuasion to professional public relations experts.

Of course, spending money was most crucial.

As part of the key PR campaign, Thomas mentioned, "The company has already contacted the relevant agencies, looking for the right time to set up a charitable foundation."
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He worried Martin might misunderstand, "Charity fundraising can be tax-deductible; a significant portion of the funds raised can be used for institutional operations."

Martin had done his research, "I know, get the procedural stuff done as soon as possible." Thomas really wanted to refuse, to say that it wasn't the job of a talent agent, but thinking about the person sitting opposite him, who could soon demand over 10 million US Dollars per film, he swallowed his words back down.

As an aspiring millionaire, Thomas felt that a bit of extra work was no big deal, after all, he had Natasha as his assistant.

In the CPU hierarchy, it's always about one layer pressing down on another.

Martin stayed in Thomas's office for nearly an hour before he took his leave.

As they were going downstairs, Bruce caught up from behind and said, "Taking Natasha's words into account, Thomas is working very hard."

Thinking of Thomas's increasingly sparse hairline, Martin said softly, "You can tell."

Upon arriving at the WMA lobby, Martin had just come out of the elevator when someone suddenly called him, "Martin!"

Before he could turn around, Jennifer Aniston, dressed in a short trench coat, quickly walked up to him and, regardless of the people around, stretched out her arms and gave him a tight hug.

Now that Martin was single and didn't care about others' opinions, he hugged Aniston back and kissed her forehead forcefully, saying, "Jen, you're still so beautiful."

Aniston, however, cupped Martin's face and kissed him on the lips, saying, "Congratulations on your new film's big success."

The agent following behind, Steve, coughed loudly, reminding the two, "This isn't the place to talk."

Under normal circumstances, WMA's office space was off-limits to reporters, but as for other rumors, there had been no shortage of gossip when the two had worked together on "Limitless"; neither Martin nor Aniston cared.

Aniston, with puppy-dog eyes fixed on the increasingly charming Martin said, "You feel a bit different now."

"Do you have any important work right now?" Martin asked.

Without hesitation, Aniston shook her head.

Martin took her hand and walked away, telling Bruce, "Bring the car around to the underground parking lot."

Steve wanted to intervene, but seeing the coquettish smile bloom on Aniston's face, he stood still and said nothing, just watched as Martin snatched his client away.

The two of them got into the car, and Bruce, without needing instructions from Martin, headed straight for the nearest five-star hotel.

At times like this, no words could compare to going all the way.

Everything else, like completing the golf game, could wait until later.

At the hotel, Aniston ended up against the wall, becoming Martin's poster.

In Martin's words, it was the highest form of worship a fan could give to their idol.

Also known as joyful worship.

As the song concluded, Martin's phone rang; he picked it up and saw it was Jolie calling.

Aniston noticed the name displayed on the screen and said, "Just pick it up."

Though she stated so, her legs turned to ropes, entwining Martin, not letting him get away.

Although Aniston's enthusiasm for competing with Jolie had faded, she found the nuisance delightful.

Martin pressed the accept call button, "Hi, Angie, what's up?"

Jolie was direct, "Heard you're back in Los Angeles, it's been a while, let's have a drink together."

Martin glanced at Aniston and then thought about Louise later in the evening and decided to play it cool, "I don't have time today, maybe some other time."

Jolie's mind raced with speculation, "Are you with Aniston?"

Martin neither confirmed nor denied.

"Let her take the phone!" Jolie demanded.

Aniston's hand reached out.

Martin said, "Don't worry about her."

Aniston insisted.

Martin handed the phone over to her.

Aniston picked up the phone and quickly said, "I'm with Martin, want to know where?"

Jolie responded without a second thought, "Tell me quick!"

"Guess for yourself!" Aniston snapped off the call, draped her arms around Martin's neck, and teasingly asked, "Have you ever thought about getting me and Jolie together?"

Martin shook his head, "Never crossed my mind."

"Really?" She was skeptical.

Martin didn't continue with that topic and went back to playing golf.

As the end of work approached, Martin went down alone, changed clothes at home, got into an inconspicuous car, and headed for the south hillside.

Life was truly hard, requiring back and forth travel, enough to make one's back sore.

Upon arriving at Louise's mansion, Martin walked into the living room and saw Louise behind the bar preparing a drink for him; he sat down to catch his breath.

There was no help for it; men are naturally at a disadvantage in this respect.

He asked, "Are you going to attend the International Bartender's Conference this year?"

Louise pointed to the medals and certificates in the glass cabinet, "How could it go on without the only female master bartender?"

Martin nodded, "I've recently concocted a new cocktail called 'Hole in One.'"