King of Hollywood

Chapter 160: Chapter 160 Party (Part 2)

“What’s wrong?” Adrian asked, noticing Sarah’s reaction as he looked up.

“Nothing, just a bit…” Sarah gestured, her eyelids still drooped, seemingly reluctant to elaborate.

“Alright, is there something on your mind?” Adrian pursued other questions, “I saw you looking quite distracted when you came down the stairs earlier, is that why you twisted your ankle and fell?”

“It’s not like that.” Sarah repeatedly denied, but her furrowed brows clearly told Adrian: he was right.

“Well, let me guess.” Adrian smiled, grabbed Sarah’s foot, and began massaging it.

Sarah suddenly let out a cry of “Ah,” her foot in Adrian’s lap neither retracting nor staying put, her facial expression full of embarrassment and a bit of restlessness, but Adrian’s next words made her shiver: “I think, perhaps it’s because you were rejected at the audition for ‘True Lies’?”

“I… um…” Sarah wanted to deny it, but after stuttering twice, she finally confessed, “Yes, that’s right, Mr. James… said I wasn’t suitable.”

She hung her head seeming very dejected, her hands tightly clasped, showing how unwilling she was to accept it, and Adrian then gently patted her arm: “Don’t be like this, it’s just one audition, there will always be other opportunities.”

“But…” Sarah suddenly looked up, her eyes pleading as she looked at Adrian, “Mr. Adrian, could you… could you give me another chance? I heard… I heard you’re a sponsor of the movie…”

By the end of her plea, her breathing had become somewhat hurried; she bit her lip, her eyes begging even more.

Adrian looked at her intently for quite a while, until Sarah seemed almost unable to bear it any longer, then he reached out and touched her head: “Alright, I’ll ask James to give you another audition chance. Make sure you grasp it well.”

“Thank you, Mr. Adrian… Ed.” Sarah said gratefully, but paused for a moment as she suddenly thought of something, her expression showing a subtle change, looking somewhat uncertainly at Adrian who bent his head down to continue massaging her foot.

Just then, the room door opened, and Roselan and Kate, who had changed clothes and was carrying a first aid kit, hurried in, surprisingly, Monica was also with them.

“Did Sarah twist her foot? How is it now?” Kate hurriedly walked a few steps and crouched in front of Adrian.

“It’s nothing, not very serious.” Adrian smoothly handed Sarah’s lower leg to Kate, “It’s a bit red, but it doesn’t need bandaging, she just needs to rest a bit and then she can walk, just not too fast.”

“So I came for nothing?” Kate cocked her head at Adrian, shaking the first aid kit in her hand.

“How could it be for nothing,” Adrian chuckled twice, “you and Rose stay here and keep Sarah company, I still need to go downstairs to handle some things, and when I come back I’ll bring you some drinks and snacks.”

With that, he stood up and walked towards the door. As he passed by Monica, he acted as if he had just remembered something and was about to say something to Monica, but Monica spoke first: “Well, it seems there’s nothing for me here, I might as well go downstairs with you, Ed.”

Then she greeted Kate, turned, and left the room without looking back; Adrian watched Monica’s back, shrugged, exchanged another greeting with Kate and the others, and also followed Monica out of the room.

“What were you all talking about today?” Adrian asked as he caught up to Monica in a few steps.

“Is there a problem?” Monica spoke indifferently.

“No, I’m just asking, I’m a bit curious.” Adrian gestured.

“Some simple and very personal topics, like stuff about Vogue,” Monica looked at him and slightly tilted her chin, “Don’t worry, nothing you need to worry about will happen.”

“That so?” Adrian smiled, suddenly pulled Monica close by the waist, and pressed her against the wall with a light thud, then pinched her cheek, lifted her leg, and assertively occupied her sensual lips. His body pressed tightly against hers, leaving her no chance to resist.

After a moment, the two separated. Monica breathed slightly heavier, looked at the nearby staircase entrance, the sound of commotion coming from below, then looked at the relatively quiet corridor where no one was walking.

“I have to remind you, Ed, it’s easy to be seen here.” She puffed out her chest, trying to appear indifferent, but the slight irritation and defiance did not escape the other’s eyes.

“It’s fine, she’ll find out sooner or later.” Adrian unapologetically grabbed her softness and gave it a squeeze, only releasing her body after Monica let out a small moan.

“So you’re ready to confront her now?” Monica adjusted herself slightly, regaining her composure, “To be frank, your little girlfriend is still very naive and innocent. It’s probably not going to be easy for her to face reality.”

“You don’t need to worry about that, Monica.” Adrian grabbed her chin, “I can guess a bit of what’s on your mind. It’s okay, such thoughts are normal. Nothing serious, as long as… you understand?”

Watching his fingertips slide across Monica’s face, Adrian smirked slightly and then turned to walk downstairs, “Alright, I’m heading down now. Let’s leave it at that.”

Not until his figure had disappeared at the staircase, did Monica angrily punch the wall, then sighed.

Though the living room was still noisy and couples were dancing in the makeshift dance floor, with time passing, people began to leave the party. Most left because Adrian didn’t provide lodging; those males and females had to resort to hotel rooms or potentially deepen their relationships by going to each other’s homes. However, a few left because it was too late and they needed to rest.

“Leaving already, Julia? Won’t you stay a bit longer?” Adrian walked Julia to the front yard.

“It’s almost midnight, I should be heading back. You know, sleeping late isn’t good for the skin,” Julia said, toying with her wind-tousled hair.

“You are always beautiful,” Adrian said earnestly.

“Really?” Julia turned, looking at him playfully, “No matter how beautiful, it can’t be more enticing than those iconic lips of yours, right?”

“Oh, hell, that was just a joke,” Adrian raised his hands and shrugged, “Don’t be so sensitive, alright?”

Leaning forward, Adrian looked at Julia, who said nothing and slightly leaned back in response, the two averted their gazes in mutual understanding. Thankfully, Julia’s car rolled up and broke the awkward silence.

“Goodnight, Ed.” Julia smiled as she walked to her car, hesitating for a couple of seconds before leaning in to peck his cheek, then she got in.

“Goodnight, sweet dreams.” Adrian didn’t say much, closed the car door for Julia and watched her drive away from the villa before touching the spot on his cheek where she had kissed him and shrugging with a light laugh as he headed back inside.

Even with some having left, the party didn’t quiet down much; people were still enthusiastically frolicking about. As the host, Adrian made another round inside the house, exchanged pleasantries with many guests and approached the bar for a beer to take a break, but he was quickly drawn to Dennis on the other side of the bar.

The kid was joking around with a young girl. Adrian initially thought he had brought Winona, but reconsidered since it was unlikely after the love triangle between her, him, and Depp became a media frenzy last month. Dennis had admitted to needing a cool-off period with Winona, so it couldn’t have been resolved that quickly, right?

Adrian eyed the girl more closely—long brunette hair, a bit of baby fat making her face round but cute, about 5 feet 6 inches tall, but weighing in at least between 135 to 140 pounds, which made her somewhat too plump.

What has Dennis developed a taste for now? Adrian wondered amusingly. Although Dennis had been pursuing Winona, he hadn’t been in a confirmed relationship yet, thus he hadn’t refrained from one-night stands, mostly with the sweet, girl-next-door types. How could he… wait! Adrian suddenly furrowed his brows, taking another close look at the girl laughing with Dennis. She seemed so familiar. Could it be?

With curiosity, he approached with his beer and greeted, “Hey, Dan, how’s the night?”

“Hey, Ed,” Dennis replied with a smile, clinking his beer against Adrian’s, “Fantastic party.”

“And this is…” Adrian turned to the girl sitting next to Dennis.

“This is Jennifer,” Dennis introduced, “Jennifer Aniston.”

Indeed, it was crystal clear in Adrian’s mind as he smiled and extended his hand, “Hello, Miss Aniston—do you mind if I call you Jennifer or Jen? You can call me Adrian or Ed.”

“Nice to meet you, Ed,” the plump Jennifer shook his hand, slightly overwhelmed, “I really loved your direction in ‘Scent of a Woman.’ That tango scene was spectacular.”

“Thank you, I’m glad you enjoyed it,” Adrian replied with a smile, a sparkle in his eye, “Are you an actress as well? I seem to have heard your name somewhere.”

“Yes, Jen’s an actress,” noticing Adrian’s expression, Dennis subtly leaned closer to Jennifer, “Her father and godfather were actors, and she herself has played in quite a few Broadway stage productions.”

This guy. Adrian chuckled to himself internally and shook his head. Alright, Jennifer Aniston is indeed a pretty woman, but he wasn’t particularly interested; what he had actually just thought of was the show that claimed there would be no more sitcom after its end—’Friends’! (To be continued, for continuation please visit www.qidian.com, more chapters available, support the author, support genuine reading!)