I am Hollywood

[Chapter 1003: Upcoming Lawsuit]

Eric was chatting with Barbara Broccoli when Madonna approached from a distance.

"Good evening, Maddy! What took you so long to get here?" Eric said, giving Madonna a gentle hug. He added, "This is Barbara Broccoli, the producer of the 007 series."

"I was having dinner with some executives from Warner Records Europe, so I'm a bit late," Madonna explained. She warmly shook hands with Barbara Broccoli, exchanged a few pleasantries, and then said, "Eric, where are our girls? I need to say hello to them first."

"Well, we can chat later," Eric nodded toward Barbara Broccoli, gesturing for them to move along. "Come on, let me introduce you to them. But you better not bully the young ones, Big Sister."

As they walked together, Madonna laughed. "I can only feel envy. After all these years, I've never had a new album sell more than twenty million copies. The only one to break that number was a compilation album. You clearly have a bias toward me since you only wrote me one song."

"It's not the same. I'm not a music producer. They started from scratch, and everyone just happens to love their image, so that's why they're a bit more popular now. Your image is already set; I can't turn you, Madonna, into another Madonna. Besides, this new album should have crossed ten million in sales by now, right?"

Writing a few hit songs doesn't make one a superstar. It takes a significant investment in marketing and operational resources to create a popular singer. Elevating a popular singer to megastar status requires luck and opportunity. The songs released during the first Victoria's Secret fashion show had a huge impact, but Firefly Records' attempts to promote a few newcomers didn't really create any waves.

The entertainment-in-its-essence style represented by the Spice Girls happened to align with the current public taste, which is why they shot to fame so quickly. Eric primarily played a catalyst role in that. Madonna knew that after being in the business for so long, providing the audience with something fresh and exciting had become increasingly difficult.

Madonna understood this too, and hearing Eric mention her recent album made her feel quite good. Since the release of a compilation album in 1990 that peaked at over twenty-three million in sales, Madonna's subsequent albums have hovered around six to seven million in sales worldwide. While those figures might be considered lofty for second and third-tier artists, for her, it felt like a downward trend.

However, this new album had already surpassed ten million in sales worldwide just over three months after its release, and Warner Records predicted that future total sales could reach fifteen million. Fifteen million in album sales would be enough to bring Madonna's career back to its peak state.

Though Eric had only contributed one single to the process, Madonna felt that the success of the album was significantly due to the luck Eric, the little guy, brought her. The sudden rise of the Spice Girls further solidified her belief in this.

...

As Eric accompanied Madonna, she enthusiastically chatted with the five girls from the Spice Girls. Then she pulled Eric aside.

Holding a glass of red wine, Madonna teasingly gazed at Eric and curiously asked, "So, can we talk about you and Princess Diana? Are you trying to pursue her and it backfired?"

Of course, Eric couldn't share the story of tossing Diana out of his mansion with Madonna. He merely glanced at her defined arms peeking out of her blue plunging evening dress and changed the subject. "I suggest you tone down the intense workouts. I worry you might suddenly take a swing at me while standing next to you."

To put it bluntly, Madonna wasn't unattractive. After some meticulous dressing, she could even be quite pleasant to the eyes. However, paired with her robust arms, it all gave off a vibe of a Barbie doll gone too far.

"How could I hit you, little boy?" Madonna provocatively licked her red lips and said, "I'd rather have you for dinner."

"Alright," Eric raised his hands in a mock surrender. Generally, he was the one taking charge in interactions with women. Yet in front of Madonna, he quickly realized he was at a loss. "Didn't you say I would have trouble this morning? What's going on?"

Madonna understood when to rein it in and turned serious. "Have you been following the recent sales figures of the major record companies?"

Eric shook his head honestly. He had been paying attention to Firefly Records' operations but not in too much detail. Besides, Firefly Records had been steadily climbing in the youth pop market in recent years, and Eric hadn't felt anything amiss.

Madonna continued, "Last week, Roger Ames saw Warner's sales data and threw a fit all day. I happened to witness it. Apparently, because of the impact of Internet piracy, Warner's sales revenue for the first half of this year is expected to decline by thirty percent. A thirty percent drop was enough for Roger Ames to offer his resignation. The situation isn't much better for several other major record companies either. I guess they need to pass the buck to keep their jobs, and your Fireflyer player is selling like hotcakes, making it the perfect scapegoat."

Although Universal had become the largest record label after acquiring PolyGram, Warner Records, Sony Records, and EMI remained traditional giants of the recording industry, much larger than the current Firefly Records. The condition of these big record labels reflected the overall trend of the music industry.

A thirty percent drop in record sales was startling, even though Eric had long been aware of the declining trend in the record industry. The impact of the Internet on the recording industry had finally become apparent, emerging fiercely.

Eric, however, wasn't too worried about the impending lawsuits. Since the launch two months ago, the sales of the second-generation Fireflyer had just surpassed five million units. Counting the previous generation, it was just over ten million.

No one would think that ten million Fireflyer players could shoulder the blame for a thirty percent drop in the entire music industry's sales. The downturn in physical record sales ultimately stemmed from the explosive growth of the Internet industry in recent years. A few taps on a keyboard could yield any desired music resource for free, which naturally deterred people from spending big money on records.

Of course, Eric didn't deny that the emergence of MP3 players significantly contributed to the trend toward digital music. He thought about reminding the Firefly electronics management team to be aware of this issue, but lightly remarked to Madonna, "If lawsuits start flying, I think they should first sue IBM, HP, and Dell. Our Fireflyer player promotes licensed digital music, but personal computers from companies like IBM allow downloads of free music at will. And if it's about sales, global PC shipments might break one hundred million this year. Comparatively, the Fireflyer player is still far behind."

Madonna was certainly one of the victims of the rise of Internet piracy, but given her current status, she didn't seem too concerned about record sales revenue. Big-ticket advertising endorsements and her touring revenue were her main income sources.

"You telling me this doesn't help," Madonna chuckled. "Remember, you owe me a favor."

Eric nodded, "Alright, I'll treat you to dinner sometime."

Madonna gave Eric a seductive glance, "Dinner sounds rather boring, don't you have free time tonight?"

"Nope," Eric's tone was firm, mixed with a hint of shyness as he glanced at Madonna's arms. "I'm afraid you'll hit me."

While Madonna was just a little over five feet tall, twenty centimeters shorter than Eric, and even though she might slightly overdo her workouts, the natural physical differences between men and women made her a non-threat to him.

Moreover, recalling the incident when Eric had playfully pinned her down and only used her mouth to serve him, Madonna knew that he was undoubtedly the dominant one in bed.

Imagining a scenario where she was ruthlessly taken down by him made Madonna feel a slight heat rush through her. Hearing Eric's teasing, she rolled her eyes and said, "You know, I'm really tempted to knock you out now."

Just as Eric was about to respond, Demi Moore approached and winked at Eric. "Eric, the music has started! Don't forget you owe me a dance."

Eric couldn't recall owing her a dance, but he didn't want to embarrass Demi, so he was about to agree when Madonna, feeling a bit irritated by Demi's sudden interruption, said, "Oh, Demi, how about I dance with you? I'm quite good at dancing."

"Ha, Maddy, you must be joking," Demi replied confidently, pushing back against Madonna's offer with a fiery gaze directed at Eric.

Both women were not easy opponents. Since Eric was somewhat of a host, he didn't want to see them at odds in this setting, so he quickly reached for Demi's hand and said, "Let's hit the dance floor, and Maddy, we'll chat later."

Demi placed her hand in Eric's, glancing back at Madonna with a smug look before following Eric to the dance floor, keeping her gaze lowered and submissive.

Madonna still held onto some sense of pride but continued to tease Eric with her words. Demi moved closer to Eric on the dimly lit dance floor.

...

As Demo Moore pressed against him, Eric felt a bit strange with the two soft mounds against his chest.

From Eric's memories of Demi in the original Ghost, she had been flat-chested, and now she suddenly appeared to be a D-cup. It became evident what had occurred.

While Eric preferred women to have a more natural look, he found himself curious about what such a substantial sensation could feel like.

Demi seemed to either intuit Eric's thoughts or was deliberately teasing him, moving in closer as they swayed to the slow music. She suddenly leaned in to whisper, "Eric, I got a room upstairs; do you want to check it out?"

Eric chuckled. While the idea sparked his curiosity, he preferred to avoid complications. Since Demi had been entangled with Barbara Broccoli, it was clear she had a clear agenda: she wanted to be the Bond girl in Bond 19.

Without the opportunity of Ghost, Demi hadn't been as hot in recent years, mostly managing to stay afloat in Hollywood due to her status as Bruce Willis's ex-wife. She barely qualified as a second-tier actress.

The Bond girl role in the upcoming Bond 19 was significant and influential, akin to the impact Vesper Lynd left in Casino Royale.

However, because of that, Eric was cautious about casually handing over such a role for a one-night affair. He wouldn't pull a stunt that could have him backtrack after the fact, so he shook his head with a laugh, "I think I'll pass for now; it's not the right time for me to leave."

Demi wasn't ready to let go. She pressed even closer and whispered, "Why not? No one would care about those details."

"That may not be the case," Eric remained unfazed. When the song ended, he led Demi out of the dance floor, turning to leave amidst her lingering, disappointed gaze.

...

Eric didn't leave the Albert Hotel until the party wrapped up.

Arriving back at his villa on Kensington Garden Street just after one in the morning, Eric felt slightly tipsy from the drinks he had consumed but wasn't overly tired. He plopped down on the couch in the living room and casually turned on the TV, flipping through channels before saying to Mayer, "Mary, can you get me a glass of water?"

Mayer nodded and headed to the kitchen. Inside, she felt a tinge of personal satisfaction that her boss had spent the night entangled with various women but ultimately returned with her.

Well, okay, something felt off.

Mayer quickly brought a glass of water and handed it to Eric, slightly bowing as she did so.

Feeling thirsty, Eric downed the glass in one go and absentmindedly set it aside, noticing Mary still standing in front of him in a maid-like pose, waiting for instructions.

In the deep of the night, feeling slightly influenced by the alcohol, Eric found himself a bit moved. He gestured to Mayer and softly said, "Come over."

*****

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