America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz

Chapter 483 The Real Incident Behind the Scenes

That day, Martin had two guests over, who were also his new neighbors.

Cameron-Stuart entered with a beaming smile and said, "Martin, we just moved in last month, and I knew you've been tied up with the Oscars, so we didn't rashly come to disturb you."

Kristen-Stuart presented a bottle of red wine at this moment, "A small gift, this red wine was brought by my mother from Australia."

"Thank you," Martin accepted and invited them to sit at their leisure, adding, "We're neighbors, no need for formalities."

Kristen had been mingling in Hollywood since September and spoke pleasantly, "I'm also a member of the actors' union and the academy, and that one vote of mine went to you. I bought movie tickets twice just to watch The Dark Knight..."

While speaking, Kristen suddenly opened his jacket, revealing a red T-shirt underneath, "I'm also a member of the Cola Cult."

Learning that the other person was a Cola Cult member, Martin wasn't surprised, as there were at least several million members across America, spanning all industries.

Martin politely responded, "It's an honor for me."

Cameron handed over an invitation, "We're hosting a housewarming party this weekend, please honor us with your presence."

Martin took it, contemplating his schedule, "I'll be there on time."

The Stuart siblings still had other neighbors to visit and soon took their leave.

Martin called his butler, handed over the red wine, and asked her to prepare an appropriate gift for the weekend.

The pre-film promotion for "John Wick" had started that past week, but it wasn't too busy yet; Martin had time during the weekend.

In the afternoon, Martin went to the Warner Building to meet with Daniel, who was in charge of the publicity for "John Wick."

Daniel inquired, "I heard the project's concept originally came from a real-life event?"

"Marcus's dog got killed..." Martin roughly outlined what had happened, "One of the dogs was named Daisy."

Daniel put forth, "I'm thinking of adding some details to that story."

Martin thought for a bit and said, "There shouldn't be a problem on Marcus's side, get in touch with Thomas, Marcus's agent is also Thomas now."

Daniel nodded, "I'll get someone on it to contact Thomas right away."

The Santa Monica Pier incident had already boosted the fame of "John Wick," but a movie's attractive points can never be too many, only too few.

The new promotional plan in the works was called "The Real Events behind 'John Wick'."

Martin's popularity had been consistently high, and this plan focused on Marcus.

Coming out of Daniel's office, Bruce hurriedly came over and said, "Jessica called, Antonio has been shot."

Martin immediately asked, "Our former landlord?"

Bruce nodded slightly.

"Which hospital?" Martin quickened his pace.

Bruce kept up, "Saint Lade Hospital in North Hollywood."

The two rushed there without delay.

Upon arriving at the hospital and inquiring about the ward, Martin went upstairs and found Jessica sitting on a bench outside the ward, asking, "What's the situation?"

Jessica stood up and said, "The LAPD is inside taking a statement, they're not letting anyone else in, Antonio is not in life-threatening danger."

Relieved that there was no life-threatening danger, Martin steadied himself and inquired, "How did Antonio end up getting shot?"

Jessica explained, "This morning, two armed robbers burst into the apartment building wanting to rob the place, and Antonio confronted them with a gun. Somehow, shots were fired."

The door to the ward opened at that moment, and two LAPD officers walked out.

Martin stepped forward.

The lead middle-aged officer smiled and greeted, "Hello, Mr. Davis."

Martin questioned, "My friend is all right?"

The younger officer behind him glanced back at the ward involuntarily— that fat man has a friend like Martin Davis?

The middle-aged officer's demeanor became serious and he said, "Mr. Antonio is the victim. We just took his statement, and we've also obtained the surveillance footage from the scene. We will do our utmost to catch the criminals."

Martin spoke politely, "Please do catch them and give my friend justice."

"That's the duty of the LAPD!" the middle-aged officer declared righteously.

Once Martin entered the ward, the middle-aged officer stepped outside, contacting his superior, "Chief, I suggest upgrading the North Hollywood Apartment case to the highest urgency. The victim is a friend of Martin Davis—I just met Martin in the ward."

The voice on the other end responded promptly, "Get back to the station immediately. We'll convene an incident analysis meeting right away. A few armed robbers, we'll do our best to apprehend them today."

The two officers hurried back.

Minuscule robbery cases like this were as common as hairs in Los Angeles, and most couldn't be cracked.

However, it was different for a friend of Los Angeles city hero Martin Davis.

The case had to be solved, and quickly at that!

In the ward, Martin looked at the middle-aged fat man lying on the hospital bed and said, "Well, you're lucky you've got a lot of padding on your backside."

Bruce asked, "How did you end up getting shot in the buttocks?"

Antonio replied somewhat helplessly, "Firing indoors, the bullet ricocheted."

"It's good to know no one was hurt," Martin consoled, "The LAPD will crack the case soon. Those petty thieves won't have it easy."

Antonio's big belly was all flattened, and he complained, "Lying down is so uncomfortable."

Bruce looked surprised, "What about your 'Friendship Gun'? Aren't you a good shot?"

"You said it," Antonio replied, "It's the 'Friendship Gun'."

Just then, the doctor pushed the door open and said, "Time for a dressing change."

Martin and Bruce prepared to leave.

Antonio called out to Martin, "Let me introduce you, this is the Hyena Doctor."

After saying that, he scratched his chubby face, "Shoot, the business cards I gave you guys didn't come in handy; now I'm the one ending up at the Hyena Doctor's."

The doctor nodded at Martin and Bruce, then reassured Antonio, "Don't worry, you won't be enjoying my rectal suturing surgery."

Antonio said, "Martin, the Hyena Doctor is a good friend of mine. When you leave, take more of his business cards with you. You may not need them now, but if someone you know does, feel free to introduce them to the Hyena Doctor."

Martin gave a thumbs-up to the injured big guy, then shouted, "Gotta go, I'll come back to see you another day."

That afternoon, Martin received a call from the LAPD informing him that Antonio's case had been solved, and both petty thieves were apprehended. Enjoy new tales from empire

......

At Warner Bros. Studios, Elizabeth Olsen was shooting a commercial for Estee Lauder.

With the help of her older sisters and the exposure and attention brought by Martin, WMA didn't expend much effort to secure this advertisement contract for Elizabeth.

Lily, who was on spring break and didn't want to go back to Atlanta to face Elena's strict discipline, had nothing better to do than to come over to see the shoot and help out Elizabeth by acting as a temporary assistant.

Sitting around was very boring, so while the crew took a break for makeup touch-ups, Lily stepped out of the studio to get some fresh air.

The studio across from her was bustling with activity, and she even saw someone in a red triangle suit hustling into the studio.

Lily curiously asked the person next to her, and found out that it was the studio for the Warner/DC joint production of the "Superman Prequel."

Since Martin had played Batman, Lily, who never read comics, still knew enough about DC's superheroes to recognize Spider-Man, Batman, and Superman as America's three most popular superheroes.

At that moment, a blonde woman came out from the other studio, looking quite beautiful. She noticed Lily's gaze and gave her a slight nod.

When someone else shows goodwill, Lily is polite too, nodding back with a smile.

The blonde woman then got into a trailer.

The studio was stuffy and Lily didn't return; instead, she sat on a bench outside, took out her iPhone, and began to play with it.

Soon enough, Elizabeth called.

Lily answered and asked, "Are you done shooting?"

"Not yet, it seems the temporary assistant is missing," Elizabeth said, "Did you leave?"

Feeling a bit embarrassed, Lily replied, "The air was a bit stuffy inside, wasn't feeling too good. I'm just outside getting some fresh air. Once you're done, just come out. I'll be waiting for you."

In a trailer across the way, the female lead of the "Superman Prequel," Allison-Mack, was watching Lily through the window.

Young and beautiful, with an impressive figure—she was a top-tier beauty even by Hollywood standards.

Allison had been watching Lily since she got into the trailer because she thought of the important task given to her by Sect Hierarch Raniere.

He had asked her to find and recruit as many young and beautiful female members as possible, to serve him with the same dedication as her.

Service in every sense!

Allison was sure she didn't know this girl, so she got out of the trailer and approached her.

Lily noticed someone coming from the opposite direction and looked up to see the pretty blonde woman from before.

"Hello," Allison said, pointing to the studio behind her and introducing herself with a smile, "I'm Allison-Mack, the female lead of this show. You might have seen me on TV."

Lily was refreshingly honest and shook her head, "I don't know you."

Allison's smile froze for a split second, but she quickly recovered and looked at the studio across from them. She asked, "Do you work with this ad crew? How may I address you?"

Lily replied casually, "I'm Lily, just being a temporary assistant."

Allison immediately found an angle to enter the conversation, "With your qualifications, being a temporary assistant is beneath you. If you're willing, you can come work with me. I'm in need of an assistant right now."

Lily was surprised, "Is it that easy to be a star's assistant?"

"Of course it's not easy," Allison earnestly replied. "I just see that we get along, so I thought I'd let you try. It's a high-paying professional job. You'll need to go through special training before officially working."

She handed Lily a business card, "This is for the NXIVM organization's executive success programs, many excellent assistants in Hollywood have been through this training, and some of them have even become managers for stars."

Lily took it and looked it over carefully.

Allison continued, "This program's main goal is to empower women, offering personal and career development training, overcoming psychological and emotional barriers to better self-fulfillment. I'm the best example: without the NXIVM organization's executive success training, I wouldn't be where I am today."

Lily was skeptical and casually replied, "I'll think about it."

Elizabeth called again, asking where the water bottle went.

Lily, the temporary assistant responsible for carrying bags, had brought the water bottle out with her and hurried back to the studio.

Allison watched Lily's departing figure, especially her long legs and shapely behind, thinking that bringing her into the fold would certainly earn her a great reward from the Sect Hierarch.