Fiori Italian Restaurant, Fifth Avenue, New York.

A couple of women dressed in chic evening dresses who looked like ladies dressed for a banquet were taking photos on the restaurant's iconic staircase, and even had a gaffer on board to pose the fluttering silk staircase.

"If I were the head chef of a restaurant, I would be happy to know that someone called a week in advance to reserve a table, but when I knew they arrived, I didn't care if the food was delicious or not, but huddled up the stairs to take pictures, and I would have kicked them out with a kitchen knife." Tommy looked at the women, and while complaining, he took out his wallet and motioned for the waiter to come:

"My girlfriend and I are sitting here in the hope that while tasting the food, we can better appreciate this satin staircase that looks like a work of art, instead of being interrupted by flashing lights or other lights every ten seconds, which affects our mood. I'll give you some tips, and you can splash the women with blueberry jam or some other colored ...... for me."

"Be lenient, Tommy." Otilia didn't sit across from Tommy, but sat side by side with him, gently holding Tommy's palm with her hand, smiling at the waiter and saying, "Take the tip, by the way, I like the Italian coffee ice cream in the restaurant, can you bring me another one when we're done?" ”

"Of course, ma'am." The waiter was relieved, took the tip from Tommy's hand, and walked away quickly.

Otilia shook Tommy's palm and said, "Every time you eat with me in New York, you don't look very happy. ”

Tommy shook it back slightly, then let go and continued to eat with his head down: "Because no one in California will come in with a photographer and lights to take pictures of restaurant guests while they are eating." ”

"This is New York, and those ladies may just be from other states and want to make some good memories when they travel in New York." Otilia said softly to Tommy:

"It's like when we go on a trip, we take pictures, and then put them in an album, open them when we get old, and slowly look through each memory."

Tommy nodded, and gave Otilia a relieved smile in response: "Of course, every time you make my unhappiness disappear quickly, speaking of which, you seem to be in a good mood today." ”

"My administrative assistant, Judy, whispered something to me today." Otilia looked at Tommy with a small look of pride on her face.

Tommy put down the cutlery in his hand and looked at Ottilia cooperatively, "What's going on?" ”

Otilia looked at Tommy happily and said, "Because of my work in Gabon, I was nominated for the Albert Topfer International Humanitarian Award. ”

"I'm so proud of you, Otilia." After Tommy wiped the corners of his mouth, he immediately congratulated him and gave his girlfriend a hug: "You are enough to match all the honors in this world." ”

The Albert Topfer International Humanitarian Award is an international philanthropic award established only last year, initiated by Mr. Albert Topfel, an American businessman in the grain business in Germany, to recognize philanthropists who have contributed to the humanitarian cause.

Otilia deserves this charity award, after all, KeyBank promised the other party that if its charity business in Europe involves food procurement, it will give priority to the other party's business.

"I didn't expect to win this award, and the nominations have already surprised me, you know? The others nominated are all ...... I felt that each of them was the one who deserved it, and I was already flattered by the fact that my name was lined up with them, including Mr. Desmond Tutu, Archbishop of South Africa, Ms. Marianne Wright, an American civil rights activist, and Ms. Isolina Ferré, Abbot of Puerto Rico......"

"Of course, I know you don't care if you win an award, the important thing is to help those in need, but don't be too humble, you really helped a lot of poor people, not everyone is willing to put down their good life and pay attention to them." Tommy said to Otilia.

In fact, among the four nominees, three are people of color and one is a white woman, and the answer is already obvious, but Tommy can't congratulate Otilia in advance on the award.

Otilia said to Tommy seriously: "Without your encouragement, I would still be in Newport to help my godmother as an assistant, Tommy, you have shown me the other side of this world, poverty, famine, injustice, and are willing to accompany me to change it, even if it is only a small change, but there is always someone to benefit." ”

"It's your kindness that moves you, not me." Tommy spoke.

Otilia looked at Tommy expectantly, "Now that you've graduated, can I do these things with you?" ”

"Me?" Tommy paused for a moment, and then said: "No, I can't, I mean I'm in California, I have more important things to do, I'm going to prepare a small TV channel, focus on black people, help black people, and try to make more people no longer have stereotypes about black people, it's still in the preparation stage, there is a lot of work that I need to solve personally, and ...... I don't want to rely too much on you, think about it, if I show up with you, your work assistants will be slandered, look, Miss Farrell's boyfriend is eye-catching again, and pretending to accompany Miss Farrell to focus on charity only proves that he is a guy who has nothing to do......"

"They don't think that, I told them, you just don't have the time, otherwise all the people who are helped, they should thank you, not me." Otilia said seriously:

"However, if you have other arrangements, it doesn't matter, maybe those who don't know you will indeed misunderstand you, if you think that you will show up with me, there will be psychological pressure, I can understand, don't be sad, Tommy, I promise to fly to California on time every holiday to accompany you."

Tommy kissed the other cheek lightly, "Thank you for your understanding, Otilia. ”

"I hear you...... I'm not racist, I'm just ...... Hearing that you can't be with me every day in order to help black people makes me feel that I may not be as attractive as black people. Otilia rested her head on Tommy's shoulder and whispered her little complaint about Tommy.

Tommy touched Otilia's shoulder and smiled, "What made you have this delusion?" Your father, Mr. Farrell, has said some bad things about me and persuaded you to break up with me? ”

"Of course not, my dad likes you very much, did you forget the last time you saw him, and he helped you open the bottle of red wine that he was going to open when he was going to celebrate retirement?" Otilia immediately denied it.

"It took three years, three full years, for Mr. Farrell to recognize me, and every time I recall these three years of life, I can't help but burst into tears." Tommy said to Otilia.

Julian Farrell, Tommy's future father-in-law, although he has never directly opposed Tommy's relationship with his only daughter, but there are constant small actions behind the scenes, if it weren't for Tommy's bodyguard, Mr. Paige, who was a police officer in Los Angeles before and has deep connections in the California police community, Otilia would have broken up with him happily at this time.

That guy actually hired a private detective to keep an eye on Tommy, responsible for filming the ambiguous scene between Tommy and the woman, and just waited for the hot content to tell his daughter Otilia to stay away from Tommy, a scumbag.

Fortunately, the hired California private investigator also has the status of a retired police officer, and has some friendship with Peppa, and when he learned that Paige helped Tommy drive, he called Tommy to learn about Tommy's situation, but was told by the loyal Mr. Paige, and Tommy was able to transform into a good man immediately.

It wasn't until the last dinner with his future father-in-law's family that Julian gave up his determination to persuade his daughter to break up with Tommy.

In the words of Julian and Tommy's casual conversation in the cigar bar, when he was young, he would have a bachelor party the day before he got married, and he had fun with women, all of whom were men, so he knew what Tommy was, but seeing that Tommy could last for three years even if he pretended to be a good man for his daughter, it showed that Tommy really valued his daughter.

Of course, Tommy won't believe the other party's nonsense, the main reason why the other party tolerates himself is that he has seen the aura on Otilia gradually increase, and the reason why Otilia will become more and more dazzling is all due to his silent efforts behind the scenes.

Another secondary reason is that Tommy chose to use the same method of an eye for an eye.

Relying on the almighty Detective Pinkerton, Tommy finally gets a picture of his future father-in-law dating his two lovers, and if Mr. Farrell is ready to continue to help Otilia keep an eye on him, Tommy doesn't mind hurting each other with his future father-in-law.

Ottilia broke up with him, and Tommy had nothing to lose, but if this Mr. Farrell suffered a divorce, the loss would not be half a bit.

That's why Tommy hates dealing with gentlemen, and when they have to hold each other's eggs, they are willing to tear off their disguises and communicate with themselves with a sincere face.

"You should try this pasta, it's very good." Hearing Tommy burst into tears because of his father, Otilia awkwardly changed the subject:

"And aren't you going back to Warwick? Flying straight back to California? ”

Tommy swallowed the food in his mouth, and said a little depressedly: "Forget it, the last time I talked to my dad on the phone, he was a little angry with me, he said that he was busy helping the Naval Preparation Academy dismantle a scrapped training ship, his tone was full of pride, I mocked him, I don't understand, Tony obviously won more for him, and my dad, the demolition of a broken ship in 1920 was actually very excited, what is there to be excited about?" Tony relied on connections to help him get a long-term ship recycling order from the Naval Academy, and he could move his workers to Maryland to open a new ship recycling yard, and the result...... He actually said that he didn't want to make trouble for Tony, what was the reason? Did he forget the time when he went to the police station and gave Tony and me a lot of trouble? ”

"Families think of each other and it's normal for Mr Hawke to do that, Tommy, and Mr Hawke doesn't want to leave Warwick, he loves it." Otilia spoke beside her and said:

"Tony will definitely understand his decision, just like my father, who has to spend most of the year in New York and Miami, Los Angeles, but he still likes to go back to Newport as long as time permits, maybe Warwick is not as prosperous as Annapolis in Maryland, but that's his hometown after all."

"I understand, I'm just ......"

The mobile phone rang, and Tommy smiled apologetically at Otilia and got up and walked away a few steps before answering the phone: "I'm Tommy." ”

"Tommy~" On the other side of the phone, Sophia's voice came: "As you wish, your black CEO Mr. of the black TV station that you admired and appointed, finally decided to take his people to SBG because of your procrastination and inefficiency, I reminded you to set a non-compete clause, you didn't consider my suggestion at all, what should I do now?" I got the news that SBG would launch a black channel in six months......"

"Six months? What are you kidding, I'm going to help SBG do all the plans for the black channel, and then it will take six months for them to go live? This work efficiency has opened my eyes......" After Tommy listened, he first sighed speechlessly, and then immediately instructed Sophia on the other side of the phone:

"Okay, according to the plan, fire the dozen or so black employees who were recruited before for pretending, and prepare them with a generous enough resignation treatment, you have to tell them sincerely that the dismissal of them is entirely because of the resignation of the person in charge, and the young, enthusiastic, and equal investor Mr. heard the news, and is now at a loss in New York, he doesn't understand why he just wants to do something for black people, but is betrayed by the black elite he trusts, there is no way, the TV station may not be able to do it, so he can only regretfully fire them."

"After dealing with this group of blacks, buy all the newspaper pages that black people like to read in California, find some black reporters, and ask them to tell their black compatriots that there is a black elite who can independently control a channel to speak for black people, but he is willing to run away and be an SBG dog."

"Then, despite the betrayal of black people just now, Tommy Hawke is willing to stay true to his original intention and go to California in person to provide jobs for black people, provide a voice channel, and provide quality TV programs."

"That's all?" Sophia wasn't surprised at all how Tommy reacted when she heard the news that more than half of her employees had changed jobs, but just continued to ask.

Tommy walked back to the table and sat down, holding the phone in his left hand, and kissing Otilia's long, tender fingers to his lips with his right hand, and said with a smile:

"The black elite abandoned me, and I couldn't find a suitable black professional to take over for a while, so I could only temporarily select a few white production teams to survive the difficult moment, so find out the list of alternate white people that Mark gave you before, and let them go to Los Angeles to meet me, and I will fly back to California as soon as possible, so that the black audience can determine for themselves which is the TV channel that really serves black people."

……

Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California.

"I've always thought you're a frugal man, Tommy." Delia, dressed in a modest lady's suit, accompanied by a maid, walked through the hall of the two-story mansion to the backyard, and smiled at Tommy, who was standing in the backyard wielding a golf club, and said:

"And then I found out, you actually rent a Beverly Hills villa that is not rich or expensive?"

"Long time no see, Delia, by the way, I haven't congratulated you on becoming a senior partner at Davis Polk & Associates, the first woman to be a senior partner at the White Shoes Club, better than Elizabeth MiG." Tommy struck the ball out with a light putt and said to Delia.

Delia surveyed the villa's surroundings, "I thought you'd prefer to settle in the drunken New York. ”

"New York isn't for a bastard like me." Tommy handed the club to the maid and opened his arms to Delia and hugged him: "I like California that is more comfortable." ”

There was a noise of construction in the distance, and Delia gently pointed her finger in the direction where the noise was coming from, and smiled at Tommy, "Are you sure you like such noisy California?" Do you want me, a lawyer, to help you warn your neighbors to pay attention to the noise volume during construction? For the sake of our familiarity, there is no charge for this service. ”

"That's my house, I bought it two years ago, and it took two years to complete all the formalities required for construction, and in order to avoid being complained by neighbors, before the construction was completed, I had to rent three houses from my neighbors who could lie about being disturbed by noise 500 meters away from me, and this is one of them where we are now." When Tommy heard Delia's suggestion, he was a little excited:

"I should have thought of letting you out, Delia."

"Which celebrity's mansion was snatched by you, and then you brutally knocked it down and rebuilt it completely?" Delia asked curiously.

Beverly Hills, a long-established white-rich district, sold its first property in 1907 with the slogan:

This is an all-white community, and if there are Jews or blacks in the community, don't worry, we promise that they will not be your neighbors, but your attentive servants.

And every owner is required to sign a Beverly Hills Neighborhood Friendly Deed when buying a property, stating that the property cannot be rented to Jews or blacks, otherwise the owners' association has the right to evict the person who broke the contract from the community.

It wasn't until the end of World War II that wealthy Jewish and black businessmen were allowed to buy property in Beverly Hills, and with the advent of people of color, a large number of racist white original owners sold their properties and left Beverly Hills.

That's why most of Beverly Hills' owners today are Hollywood stars.

"Bing-Crosby." Tommy said the name of the original owner.

Delia's first reaction was that Tommy was joking, and she had an expression of disbelief on her face: "How is it possible, Crosby's legacy is worth at least more than 100 million, and his family can't be so short of money that they have to sell the property......"

Bing Crosby, the most successful artist in the United States, won the Oscar for Best Actor for making a movie, broke the Guinness World Record for his record, the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and left three stars on Hollywood Boulevard alone.

And he is very good at making money, investing in horse farms, oil fields, film technology industry, real estate, etc., etc., let's put it this way, in the early years of the United States to make sitcoms, the canned laughter used in the United States, all need to pay royalties to the technology company in which he has a stake, because his company was the first to register canned laughter as a patent.

At the time of the other party's death in '77, the newspaper also said that Crosby's assets were worth $80 million, and now ten years later, it is not surprising that the appreciation has exceeded 100 million, so Delia can't believe that Ben Crosby's descendants need to sell the property in exchange for cash.

"I don't believe it either, but it's true, you know? His family hated him to the core. Tommy told Delia what he knew:

"This guy doesn't believe in his wife, his own children, he thinks they are all stupid, if they are handed over to take care of it, they will all be lost, so he made a decision, he handed over all his assets to the trust fund he trusts more to take care of, and left a will, his children are not yet sixty-five years old, they don't want to inherit the inheritance, they can only receive two thousand yuan a month from the trust fund for living, yes, you heard it right, sixty-five years old, he thinks that his children may be able to really mature at the age of sixty-five."

"Isn't he worried that his child won't live to be sixty-five?" When Delia heard this will, she couldn't help but laugh.

Tommy continued: "Then the family trust fund that he trusted, after his death, decided to invest conservatively, so he chose a safe oil industry, but he didn't expect that the United States announced the arrival of the era of oil surplus, the price of oil fell from $35 a barrel to $10 a barrel, and in three years, the United States shut down 1,200 oil rigs, so if he didn't sell his property to raise cash, Mr. Crosby's trust fund might not even survive his children." ”

"It looks like seven acres." Delia said as she looked at the land that had been fenced off for renovation.

Tommy shook his head slightly: "It's only a little more than five acres, because Otilia used to live in her family's nine-acre mansion in Newport, so I was worried that too small a residence would make her unaccustomed, and she once told me that if we get married, I hope that the family can plan a family zoo to raise some gentle little animals and grow up with the children." ”

"So how much money did you use this mansion that you obviously intended to use as a wedding room, and tell me a price that made me dispel being a neighbor with you." Delia asked with a smile as she looked at Tommy.

"In '85, when it was listed for 7 million, the real estate consultant told me that it was worth 11 million, and it was my luck to be able to buy it, because during that time, I just asked Sophia to help me go to Wall Street to earn some extra money, so after calculation, the mansion and the renovation fee and the rent of these three residences were paid by the Japanese for me, thanks to the appreciation of the Japanese yen, so that I, a poor American ghost, can get this big house for free." Tommy spread his hands towards Delia:

"In order to express my sincere gratitude to Japan, after I got this house, I specially donated 100,000 yuan to the Big Cigar Foundation established by General Curtis LeMay and the 509th Composite Group of the U.S. Army Air Corps to thank them for making Japan a loyal ally of the United States with barbecue and nuclear bombs."

"So, is Sophia okay?" Delia asks Tommy when she hears Sophia's name.

Tommy nodded: "It's so good, I rented three villas nearby, and in order to avoid being vacant, she is now staying in another villa for me that I was forced to rent, and I even pay for the maid's fees." ”

"And one did you give to Susan or Holly? I guess they have a close relationship with you. Delia asked with a smile.

Tommy shook his head and looked into the distance: "Vacant, ready to be used exclusively to receive black guests who come to the door, to show respect for them." ”

"I guess you don't just want to talk to me about the big house that the Japanese gave you for free." Seeing Tommy's expression, Delia stopped chatting and asked why the other party saw her.

Tommy retracted his gaze and looked at Delia, "I need a black lawyer, a black lawyer as good as you." ”

"No, you should tell me that you need me, and if there is a case, I will be angry if you don't take care of me." Delia winked at Tommy.

Tommy let out a turbid breath: "You're not black, Delia, I don't have a new business to take care of you, I just need a black litigator to help my TV station do some legal work, you know?" There are many things that black people can do, you can't. ”

"For example?"

"For example, a black man can attack another black man who betrays his skin color, but you can't."

"There are some really good black lawyers, but I guess you don't need those black lawyers who have a strong sense of justice and are very racially conscious?"

"You know me, Delia, if you have a suitable candidate, call me or Sophia."

"So, you're so busy, too busy to have time to eat with me?"

"Busy, my poor team, waiting for me to preside over the first meeting."

"Then why are you still practicing golf?"

"I'm waiting for my black bodyguard, my driver, Mr. Page, has gone to pick him up and is coming."

"Why do you have to emphasize black bodyguards?" Delia asked, puzzled.

"Because black bodyguards can be my proxies for swearing, black bodyguards are responsible for swearing, and Mr. Page is responsible for beating." Tommy turned and walked towards the living room:

"In order to avoid being called racist, I generally do not interfere with the behavior of my black bodyguard who insults his fellow black people on my behalf out of indignation."

(End of chapter)