Brisk footsteps, falling on the thin snow, stepping on a faint footprint, Duke against the occasional falling snowflakes in the sky, through the square in front of the villa, ran into the garden of his home, just returned to New York from New Zealand in the summer, he was somewhat unaccustomed to the cold of winter, feeling the air inhaled in his lungs, as if his internal organs were about to freeze.

Still, Duke kept running forward, just as he had kept going all these years.

After running around the snow-white garden, the dark clouds in the sky gradually dispersed, the sun sprinkled down, and the sun in winter seemed to shorten the distance with people, which seemed to be exceptionally clear and dazzling, but the temperature of the sun seemed to have been cooled by ice and snow, and it couldn't get hot.

After another run in the garden, Duke returned to the villa, took the hot towel from the servant, wiped his flushed face, changed out of his snow-stained running shoes, entered the dining room in cotton slippers, took the day's newspaper and read it for a while, his mother came in from outside, sat down across the table, and the maid brought breakfast.

Lady Leah looked at it and said, "You're in a much better spirit than the other day. ”

"You can relax when you get home."

Picking up the skim milk, Duke took a big sip, "I feel much better, when I was in New Zealand, I felt like a mountain on my body, and I couldn't stop working in my head, as if the whole person had become the CPU of a computer, only knowing how to run, but I couldn't stop and take a proper rest." ”

"You're putting too much pressure on yourself."

Swallowing the food in her mouth, Lady Leah stared at Duke for a moment and said, "Don't push yourself too hard, honey. ”

"So, Mom ......"

Duke looked down at the omelette on his plate. With a rare smile on his face, "I fled New Zealand and hid back home to recharge my batteries." ”

Mrs. Leah didn't eat much, Duke ate quickly, and breakfast was over quickly.

Lady Leah asked as she walked out of the dining room. "What are you going to do today? Or hide at home? ”

"I don't want to go out."

Duke dropped his mother to the door of the villa, and before she got into the car, he said, "I don't want to do anything right now when I stay at home for a few days." ”

"That's it, Duke."

Just as she was about to get into the car, Lady Leah turned around and said, "There's a banquet in the evening. It's not an ordinary pie, it's a New Year's dinner in New York's high circles, and you accompany me to attend. ”

"No problem."

Duke nodded in response.

Watching his mother's car drive out of the house, Duke returned to the villa, sat on the sofa in the living room, picked up today's newspaper, and flipped through it.

This is not the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, but the gossip tabloids on the streets of New York. It's full of celebrities, including himself. That's with Kate? Beckinsale walked into a picture of a Western restaurant in Wellington, and these gossip newspapers confirmed that he had a new love in a convincing tone.

Duke has never cared about these gossip scandals, whether true or false, and he just wants to relax himself completely when he looks at these things. Don't think about New Zealand jobs anymore.

Reading, lunch break, gym, the day passed quickly, and when his mother returned home in the evening, Duke changed into a crisp dress, and the ease and laziness on his body disappeared. The whole person has returned to a state of shrewdness and ability.

When Duke walked into the banquet hall with his mother in his arms at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, there were already a number of people seated, some of whom looked familiar, either business elites seen in the financial media or descendants of certain business families.

Regardless of the usual relationship, on such formal occasions, whether it is those in the business world or their descendants, they will greet people politely and warmly.

The people who can appear here, even if there are people who are not very clear-headed, but the people who accompany him are definitely sober enough.

Even if there is a mocking face in nature, no one will jump out and take the initiative to find trouble, and it is not their own face that will be lost, but the face of the entire family and even the entire group company.

Such a fool may be, but the chance of encountering it here will not exceed 0.1 percent.

For example, Duke saw Michael here? Ovitz, "Godzilla" was hit by "The Matrix", and the box office was far less than expected, and the director called Sony Columbia Pictures to stop the series, making Michael? Owitz's new company's first packaging project suffered a heavy setback, coupled with the contradictions accumulated in the previous CAA, this wealthy agent had thoughts about him in his heart, which was inevitable.

But the two of them were like old friends, shaking hands and greeting each other warmly, as if all the contradictions did not exist.

And the rich people on the east and west coasts are notoriously not dealing with each other, and Duke saw the famous madman Larry? Ellison, even if he is as arrogant as he is, and in the face of the rich New Yorkers who privately ridicule him as an upstart, is still a standard civilized man.

These rich people or the descendants of the rich have done countless bastard things in private, but no one will throw away their face in public.

With his mother, Duke met many celebrities in New York, and this party can be described as a microcosm of New York's high society.

In fact, the purpose of holding such a dinner is also very clear, celebrities in the business world also need to socialize, need to expand their network and capital circle, this is an opportunity, some business and investment may start from the dinner.

"Rosenberg Director ......"

"Please call me Duke."

Mother just introduced an investment director of Goldman Sachs Group, he looked at Duke, as if he was looking at the green dollar bills, "Duke, the movie you directed yourself is not only a guarantee of profit, but also the "Titanic" and "Mission Impossible" invested in are all big hits, how much income did that big ship bring you last year?" At least $300 million, right? ”

Duke just laughed, but didn't answer.

"When will we work together?"

His words gradually shifted to investment, "Goldman Sachs is interested in investing in your films, or we will invest in your favorite films together." I heard you're working on the Lord of the Rings trilogy? If you don't have capital, don't forget about Goldman Sachs. ”

"If you don't have the funds, I'll definitely call you." Duke said politely.

The two had just exchanged business cards.

The other party didn't seem to give up, and said, "The film industry is a high-risk industry, but Goldman Sachs has always been very optimistic about you, don't you plan to make Duke Studios bigger?" Goldman Sachs can give you financial support. ”

"Accepting outside funding requires consulting with Warner Bros."

Without even thinking about it, Duke pushed it onto Warner, "I can't make a decision alone." ”

Finally getting rid of the entanglement of Goldman Sachs, Duke returned to his mother, and while greeting people, he walked to the banquet area, where nearly 100 oak round tables were placed in the huge banquet hall of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, and there was a wide enough passage between the tables to facilitate the people to walk back and forth.

"Hey, Duke, over here."

As they walked towards their table, Duke heard a familiar voice next to him, said to his mother, and walked over to say hello, "Hi Irene, I didn't expect to see you here." ”

"You've been hiding at home these days." Erin? Lauder stood up and shook Duke's hand, "Not used to the cold weather in New York?" ”

"I'm just tired and want to rest." Duke smiled, looked at her short blue evening dress and said, "You're beautiful tonight." ”

"Thank you."

Erin? Lauder motioned behind Duke to him, "I'll introduce you." ”

"Okay."

Duke followed her.

"This is Jane, my sister."

"This is Robert, my cousin......"

In Irene? Under Lauder's introduction, Duke shook hands with the direct descendants of the Lauder family one by one, but except for Jane? Outside of Lauder, other people's enthusiasm for him is only superficial.

After the introduction, the only one standing next to Duke was the Lauder sisters.

"When will your new film come out?"

Simple? Lauder leaned next to Duke like an ordinary movie fan, and whispered, "And the sequel to "The Matrix"? ”

"The new film will be ...... in the spring as planned"

As soon as he said a word, Duke sensed Erin? Lauder tugged at him, "Aunt Leah is waving over here." ”

Duke looked back and said, "We'll talk about it another day, I'll go over first." ”

Wait for Duke to turn and walk away, Erin? Lauder and Jane? Lauder returned to her table, and the two sisters gathered together to whisper small talk, the conversation revolving around Duke.

"Didn't he invest in Titanic?" Simple? Lauder asked curiously, "Erin, you have always had a good relationship with him, do you know how much he made on this investment?" ”

"The return on investment is definitely high......"

Originally, I just wanted to deal with a few words, but when I saw my sister's curious and persistent look, Irene? Lauder had no choice but to say, "I heard Duke mention that as of Christmas, his $50 million investment has received a return of more than $380 million from the box office and all the peripherals of "Titanic", and the income will be there later, but it will not be as terrifying as the release year." ”

"Nearly eight times the return on investment is ......"

Even if she was born into a business family like Lauder, Jane? Lauder was still stunned, "This is terrifying." ”

"Horror?" Erin? Lauder said as a matter of course, "What did he do in the movie that wasn't terrifying?" ”

On the other side, Duke walked over to the table they were at and sat down on his mother's left hand side, "Is there anything wrong, Mom?" ”

"Introduce you to a few people."

Mrs. Leah looked to her right, a middle-aged man with short blond-brown hair, and next to him sat a young girl with long blond-brown hair, who looked unusually tall despite being seated.

Duke glanced at them and immediately confirmed that it was a father and daughter, and that they were familiar. (To be continued......)

PS: The codeword is too devoted, and I almost forgot to update, and it was a little late.