I am Hollywood

[Chapter 866: Not a Cent Less]

The lawsuit filed by Sony Music, BMG, and Polygram against Fireflyer for facilitating music piracy was dismissed by a federal court in San Francisco. This ruling indicated that the electronic product now had an official legal market position, and it would face little to no risk of similar lawsuits in the future. With the unstoppable growth momentum of the Fireflyer player, traditional portable music player manufacturers were destined to face strong, even devastating impacts.

Stimulated by this news, as soon as the New York Stock Exchange opened that morning, the stock prices of traditional portable music player manufacturers, led by Sony, showed significant declines. By 9 a.m. Pacific Time, when the federal court in San Francisco held a press conference to announce the news, Sony's stock had already dropped 2.7%. In just a few hours, nearly $1.5 billion in market value vanished. Coincidentally, the authoritative financial newspaper, The Wall Street Journal, estimated that Firefly Electronics was worth about that same figure of $1.5 billion.

Although Firefly Electronics was not a publicly traded company, the news had indirectly manifested on the stock market. The company that had first developed the one-inch micro hard drive was Seagate Technology.

The original development agreement stipulated that Firefly Electronics would have exclusive rights for three years after the company launched its first product associated with the micro hard drive. In return, Firefly Electronics was required to prioritize purchasing micro drives from Seagate Technology.

As the largest mechanical hard drive manufacturer in the previous timeline, Seagate's strength at that time was far from comparable to traditional tech giants like IBM, Hitachi, and Toshiba. Last year, Seagate's shipment of mechanical hard drives only reached 5 million units, barely accounting for less than 10% of the total mechanical hard drive market share.

While the research and development of micro drives wasn't particularly difficult, established hard drive manufacturers like IBM and others with deep technological roots could likely produce mature products in just six months. However, due to their early lead and the priority supply agreement with Firefly Electronics, Seagate was destined to become the main supplier of built-in micro hard drives for Fireflyers in the years to come. The exact sales capacity of Fireflyer remained uncertain; although micro drives were much cheaper than traditional hard drives, Seagate's micro drive business might even match the scale of traditional hard drives due to sheer numbers.

After the day's series of announcements, while the stock prices of traditional portable music device manufacturers like Sony plummeted, Seagate Technology's stock skyrocketed, rising 12% in just a few hours. Aiming to further stimulate the stock price, Seagate's CEO held a press conference that afternoon, showcasing prototypes of their 2GB micro hard drives and stating that this product would potentially be utilized in the next generation of Fireflyer players.

As the market fluctuated over news related to Fireflyer, a surprising twist occurred: a newspaper in New York uncovered that Firefly Electronics had initially approached IBM in hopes of commissioning them to develop micro drives. However, due to IBM's arrogant and sluggish response, this collaboration eventually fell through.

Under the leadership of their new CEO Lou Gerstner, IBM had begun to show signs of recovery in recent years, but their situation was still far from their former glory. They were even at risk of being surpassed in market value by the very Microsoft they had once supported. Although hard drive manufacturing was just a fringe business for the IBM Group, the revelations from the news indicated serious internal issues within this traditional high-tech giant. Gerstner even had to personally appear before the media to defend this "minor issue."

...

Meanwhile, at Jeffrey's Farm in Maryland, despite occasional disturbances from external news, the small farm maintained an atmosphere of joy. The wedding was set to take place on the large lawn behind Jeffrey's house. To accommodate most guests' schedules, the wedding ceremony was scheduled for 11 a.m. the following morning, rather than the traditional afternoon time. The ceremony, surrounded by flowers, was undergoing final checks and preparations. The air was fragrant with flowers.

Eric and Chris welcomed guests as they arrived. Besides the guests due to arrive the next day, there would still be some long-distance guests arriving, like Katzenberg, Victor McNally, Bill Olsen, and Jeff Bezos.

Even though it was summer, the weather on the farm felt nothing like the scorching heat. Eric busily worked until around 2 p.m., had a light meal, and then took a break to join the schedule review on the lawn, mainly rehearsing the roles of the flower girl and ring bearer.

Although Eric had a good relationship with Emily, Joanna and Virginia were not suitable to serve as bridesmaids. Instead, Joanna's sister, Ewa Pacula, would partake in the festivities.

Eric considered the two women and declined the role of chief best man, passing it on to one of Chris's cousins. However, the three little ones would still serve as the flower girl and ring bearers.

On the lawn, in addition to Joanna and Virginia, Jeffrey and Emily's parents, Jack Brighton and Melissa Brighton, were also present. Around them were other relatives, all smiling and watching the performance of the five or six little ones.

After greeting Jeffrey and others, Eric sat next to Virginia and Joanna, watching the wedding officiant desperately trying to entertain a group of restless kids in the middle aisle. He smiled at Virginia and asked, "Wouldn't it be enough to just have a pair of flower girl and ring bearer? With so many little ones, won't things get chaotic tomorrow?"

"Even if a few small issues arise, everyone will just laugh it off," Virginia explained, then leaned closer to add, "With so many friends and family, it's hard to manage with just two kids."

Eric nodded, and taking advantage of everyone's attention on the kids, he wrapped his arm around Virginia's waist and playfully asked, "Are you envious?"

Virginia turned her head to look at Eric, smiling as she replied, "I'm so jealous! What are you planning to do about it?"

"Why don't we have a wedding too? I've never taken a wedding photo with three people before -- just you and Joan."

"Ugh, you jerk! I'm not going to mess around with you," Virginia grumbled, spitting lightly before leaning against Eric. She raised her left hand, shaking the rose gold ring encrusted with ruby on her ring finger, and added, "Joan and I discussed it; if you mistreat us in the future, we'll take Kevin and Elia to Europe and never see you again."

Eric laughed, "You two are secretly plotting this?"

"Yep," Virginia shot Eric a look, adding, "And you still have to pay child support -- $1 billion a year, not a cent less."

"Wow," Eric feigned shock, his voice trembling, "How did you come up with that number?"

Virginia was quite assertive, "I just made it up."

"What if I don't pay?"

"Then Joan and I will find Elia and Kevin a new dad."

Eric immediately raised his hands in surrender, "Okay, I give up."

Joanna, who had been listening to their light-hearted banter, playfully swatted at them and laughed gently, "You two stop joking around."

Virginia giggled, wrapping her arm around Eric, her eyes fondly looking toward their precious son in the crowd, "There's something I need to discuss with you. Kevin and Elia need to start school, and there aren't any suitable schools in Hampton."

Eric thought for a moment and suggested, "Why not move to Manhattan? There are more private schools there."

But Virginia shook her head, "Joan and I are used to living in Hampton. Manhattan is too noisy."

"Well, we can't just create a school just for the two kids, can we?"

Eric's casual remark, however, touched on a sensitive issue for Virginia. She said, "Why not? Rockefeller set up a school for his kids back then, Browning School in Manhattan. Your net worth is not much different from the Rockefeller family's back then, right?"

Eric shook his head, "Starting a school isn't just about the money."

Virginia insisted, "As long as you're willing to pay, Joan and I will handle the rest ourselves."

Eric had no choice but to concede. He knew Virginia and Joanna placed more importance on their children's education than he did, so there was really no need to worry. He nodded, "Alright, I'll fund it. You both can do whatever you want."

...

After a busy day of preparation, most people stayed up that night, and as dawn broke, the farm buzzed with energy once again.

After breakfast, guests who could only stay in the Frederick area began arriving. Although this wedding wasn't as extravagant as many wealthy individuals touted as "the wedding of the century," the number of guests added up to two or three hundred. Three hours before the ceremony, the farm was already bustling with activity.

Frederick City was just over sixty kilometers away from Washington, D.C., and at 9 a.m., the Clintons arrived by helicopter at the farm.

Though Chris may not have been a public figure, he had made a name for himself in North America's business community in recent years. The presence of numerous high-profile guests at his wedding garnered significant media attention.

Although the entire farm was private property, keeping journalists from sneaking in wasn't an easy task. Eric felt that the biggest advantage of the Clintons' arrival was that they could now rely on the Secret Service agents stationed around the perimeter of the farm to help deter prying media.

The plan was to keep the wedding entirely private without accepting any media interviews. However, since the Clintons were attending, the White House hoped for some media coverage.

After a brief discussion, Eric arranged for reporters from ABC News, the New York Post, and The Washington Post to attend the wedding. ABC News was part of the Firefly Group, the New York Post belonged to News Corp, and The Washington Post was introduced by Warren Buffett, who was a major shareholder of Berkshire Hathaway.

...

At 11 a.m., all guests had taken their seats. The music started, and the best man, bridesmaids, and flower children entered one after the other. Eric, sitting near the aisle, watched his two children walking ahead. Kevin held the ring pillow, looking quite serious, a result of Virginia's repeated coaching. Meanwhile, Hawaii was carrying a small basket of flowers, her curious eyes surveying the surroundings. Behind her, Emma was excitedly scattering petals, and by the time she reached the end of the aisle, it looked likely her basket would soon be empty.

The groom then stepped onto the platform, and everyone rose to welcome the bride.

Under everyone's gaze, the vows, the ring exchange, and the embracing kisses occurred in rapid succession. Once the ceremony concluded, Chris and Emily briefly left for photographs, and the guests started to depart for the adjacent outdoor banquet area.

...

Just as Eric stood up, a little Emma, dressed in a pink flower girl dress, rushed over to him. Compared to his two children, Emma seemed more attached to him. Seeing her reaching her arms up for a hug, Eric smiled and picked her up.

"Dad, I still have petals! They smell so good," she said, wrapping one arm around Eric's neck while with the other hand she brought petals up to Eric's nose, "Smell this."

Eric sniffed them in her palm, nodding, "Mmm, they smell great. Emma smells great too."

"Hehe," Emma laughed joyfully, then covered her little belly and said, "Dad, I'm hungry."

"Just be good; we're about to eat soon," Eric replied, noticing the Clintons approaching, so he passed Emma to Joanna, who was nearby, and went to greet them.

...

Clinton glanced at the two women and the three little ones before returning his gaze to Eric, smiling casually, "Eric, you'll surely be staying in Maryland for a few more days, right?"

The leaders of various companies under the Firefly umbrella, including Firefly Group, Nokia, Cisco, Qualcomm, America Online, Firefly Electronics, and Amazon, had gathered in Maryland. Jorma Ollila even flew in from Northern Europe. With such a large gathering, they wouldn't just be there to eat and drink before leaving.

Eric had already planned out the next few days, as everyone would stay at the farm for at least three more days to discuss the development of the various Firefly companies and collaborative issues.

Not fully grasping why Clinton asked that, Eric nodded; after all, that wasn't a secret.

Seeing Eric nod, Clinton continued, "Well, I'm planning to host a high-tech entrepreneur dinner at the White House soon. I'm curious if you'd be interested?"

Though he couldn't be re-elected, the Clintons clearly had not given up on their political ambitions, which Eric remembered well. The companies under Firefly Investments gathered many of the most talked-about internet tech firms in recent years; attracting them could significantly bolster their future political aspirations.

Eric found the question a bit ironic; if we weren't interested, would the dinner even happen?

However, he certainly wouldn't engage in stirring up pointless tension with the President, so he quickly nodded and smiled, "Of course, Bill. I'll mention it to them, but we'll probably be in Maryland for three days."

"Oh, perfect timing," Clinton said, a hint of delight on his face, "By the way, you'll come to that, right?"

Eric hesitated a bit; he wasn't exactly a fan of the Clintons. He replied ambiguously, "Maybe. I have a lot on my plate lately and might not be able to squeeze it in."

Clinton seemed unfazed. He patted Eric on the shoulder and said, "I hope you'll be able to make it."

*****

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