Volume 2: Knocking on Heaven's Door Chapter 61 Cooperation Must Take the Initiative
"Chatting with adults who are too smart is always too tiring and the topics are heavy, so..." At eight o'clock in the evening, Tommy Hawke sat on a bench in the lobby of this old British-style hotel built in the Edwardian era and said to Catherine who was drinking juice beside him.
Unfortunately, before he could finish, Catherine had already withdrawn her gaze from the long bar and looked at Tommy, saying, "So, this explains why you have only had two childish and stupid friends since you were a child?"
Tommy thought about it and finally nodded: "Yes, Dennis is right, you are very good at ending the conversation."
"So, did that guy ask you to come and see if I was targeting him or all boys?" Catherine asked.
Tommy Hawke looked around and said regretfully, "Yes, I told him the answer, but he didn't think it was safe enough. In fact, normal boys wouldn't think this way, but Dennis happens to be slightly different from normal boys in two ways. First, he has no shame, and second, he has no brains."
This old luxury hotel has now become a student dormitory, and thanks to the fact that there are few televisions in this country, the only entertainment in the evening is some entertainment facilities in the hotel lobby, such as billiard tables, card tables, band performances, etc.
Ottilia and the local high school principal Susan were sitting on the second floor, overlooking the students relaxing in the hall and chatting intimately, perfectly fulfilling their duties, supervising the students without ruining everyone's interest.
The card table is the first entertainment facility that people abandon because they are tired of playing. It’s not because there is no gambling so it’s not exciting, but because when you sit opposite someone your age who has been practicing poker skills since childhood, is proficient in various playing methods and has an astonishing winning rate, you will find that there is no sense of participation in this game at all.
For the poor students who like to show off, this is the happiest moment. They take control of the musical instruments and the stage, the pool table and the long bar, using all the ways and techniques they are good at to try to attract the girls' attention.
For example, Dennis, who was slamming the table in front of the long bar, was shouting at his peers who were now occupying the small stage:
"Let's arm wrestle! Decide who gets the stage like a real male creature! Don't tell me about the damn first come first served!"
David Schaeffer, who was lying on the bar like a lazy man, immediately became excited: "If anyone is willing to place a bet, I can provide services for everyone, and the commission is reasonable ."
"David, you are not allowed to gamble with money! Can't you use cookies as chips?" Ottilia stood up immediately and warned, holding the railing on the second floor.
Right under the eyes of Police Chief Dennis, Pam, who was trying to transform two bicycles of unknown origin into a double couple's bicycle in the corner of the hall, rarely reacted. She took out the change from her pocket and walked over to the bar, slapping it on the bar, and said to David indifferently, "Exchange these two dollars for soda, and buy Dennis to win."
After saying that, the guy turned around and walked back to the corner to start his modification.
"David, I'll buy a two-dollar soda too. I bet on Dennis to win." Tommy whistled loudly while sitting on the bench to attract David's attention , and then shouted.
Catherine asked curiously, "We don't know who will stand up and teach that guy a lesson, but you're betting on him to win?"
"This is why the three of us, naive and stupid guys, have been friends for so long. It doesn't matter who our opponent is, but you have to know who your companions are. I think it's not too few to have two friends who have never betrayed each other since they were young," said Tommy.
Before his opponent came out, two of his best friends had already placed bets on him to win, which made Dennis smile even more. He raised his hands and looked around: "The person standing in front of you is Dennis Herbert! From the Hope Hill neighborhood in the west of Warwick, Kent County, Rhode Island! The owner of the neighborhood with the most drunken brawlers at the Warwick Beer Festival for seven consecutive years, where the most vicious and evil people in the United States gather..."
"Stephen said, let me try." At Stephen's instigation, Frank slowly stood up and said to Dennis who was talking nonsense.
Seeing Frank's well-defined muscles, Dennis maintained his momentum, but his eyes began to glance towards the stage unconsciously: "Frank, I am challenging those guys on the stage..."
"Dennis! You are a tough guy made by Warwick! Let him see how powerful you are! Let him know how tough you are!" Tommy hissed loudly, "Don't be a coward!"
Dennis turned his head and yelled a series of dirty words at Tommy: "Fuck You! Tommy! Look at this guy Frank, the muscles in his neck are more than my fucking abdominal muscles! Put boxing gloves on this guy, he looks exactly like the white boxing champion John Dempsey! And you actually want me to die in his fucking hands?"
Although he said this, his actions were not cowardly. Dennis put his hands on the bar and stared at Frank who was eager to try with excited eyes.
"Mathematician, what do you think the probability of Dennis winning is?" Tommy asked Chris who had just finished a poker game next to him.
Chris looked at Tommy speechlessly: "Tommy, if you still have to ask others to find out the winning rate in this kind of game, I don't recommend you to go to college."
At this time, one of Zoe's trainees hurried into the bar under the escort of two black local policemen. After a round of inspection, he walked up to Tommy who was chatting with Chris and said, "Tommy, Mr. Elton, the producer of Nickelodeon, called and wanted to talk to you. Zoe asked me to inform you."
"So if you don't crave power, don't be a politician. It's such a beautiful night, and there are so many beautiful girls around you to chat up, but I have to chat with a middle-aged man." Tommy stood up and raised his hand. Chris clapped his hands with him: "I can do the job of chatting up girls for you, Mr. Prime Minister."
"You always know how to make me sadder, Chris," Tommy said with a smile.
Seeing Tommy walk into the external relations office, Zoe, who had been waiting in the external relations office, handed the unhung phone to Tommy. When handing it over, she did not forget to cover the receiver with her hand and quickly introduced the situation: "Elton Byrne, the producer of Nickelodeon's Are You Afraid of the Dark? I just introduced some basic information to him, but he doesn't seem to be that interested."
"We are the paying party, Zoe, and they are the dancers who were chosen." Tommy took the phone and said in a voice that the other end of the line would definitely hear, "Didn't I tell you that it's best to wait until Disney Channel has feedback and then work it out together? I hate having to repeat myself every time. There are a lot of things waiting for us to do in this country."
Zoe silently gave a thumbs up, and Tommy smiled and handed the phone to his ear: "Hello, Mr. Bourne, I am Tommy Hawke, Chairman of the CSLS Committee, founder of this summer summit, and interim Prime Minister of St. Vincent."
"Kid, your title is almost longer than our president." Elton laughed on the other end of the phone.
Tommy ignored the other party's teasing and continued seriously and arrogantly: "Long story short, if I want to promote the summer camp on Nickelodeon, how much do I have to pay you to show up at St. Vincent with a film crew?"
"You sound very rich. Usually, few partners will directly discuss price during the first formal phone call. This makes me feel frustrated. I feel like the producer is the same as a stripper." Elton obviously found Tommy's tone more and more ridiculous.
Tommy adjusted his breath, and then there was a little more dissatisfaction in his tone: "If my Secretary of Defense Catherine Nunn hadn't had a good impression of Nickelodeon TV Channel, I wouldn't have considered you. Disney Channel is the first choice. We are not short of money. Not only is the country's treasury in the hands of my Minister of Finance, but as long as we want, we can let Nickelodeon Channel broadcast our advertisements 24 hours a day."
"This is ridiculous, kid, no country would actually hand over wealth to a bunch of high school kids in this experience game."
"Do you know what's even more ridiculous? Mr. Bourne, my high school finance minister has a fortune of $600 million. The interest he generates from his wealth in the bank in a year is several times more than the salary earned by everyone in this country."
"Kid, what on earth are you talking about?"
"The current Minister of Finance of this country, Stephen Bean, is from the Bean family in New York. Take a look at the recent news about Mr. Leon Bean and his family in the New York newspapers, and you will know that I am not interested in joking with you, no matter what the point is." Tommy Hawke took the initiative on the phone and talked freely:
"I think you need to accept this absurd reality first, and then talk about cooperation. When you think I am not joking, it may be easier for us to communicate. I want to promote the summer camp, promote this brand, and promote this beautiful country. This is why I hope to find a TV station to cooperate with. If you want to cooperate, then think about how to help create an interesting and profound documentary or other program. Also, don't ask for too much just because we have enough wealth. We are rich people, but not philanthropists. It is much more difficult to make money from rich people than from poor people."
"Kid, you just said Leon Bean's grandson..."
"Mr. Byrne, you have called me kid four times since this call. Let me remind you, if you let me hear you for the fifth time, I guarantee that you will not make a penny from me. I will directly choose to cooperate with Disney Channel. For the sake of my Minister of Defense Katherine Nunn, I will introduce myself to you for the last time. I am Tommy Hawke, Chairman of the CSLS Committee and Interim Prime Minister of St. Vincent." Tommy Hawke said word by word into the receiver:
"Next time you call, call me Mr. Prime Minister."
After that, Tommy hung up the phone. Zoe looked at Tommy in surprise: "It seems that it's over before we even get to the point?"
"Before we get started, let him verify the authenticity of the news I told you, and then through this conversation, he will believe that we are a group of children who care about titles and like to talk to people in an adult tone even though they are childish, which makes it easy for them to take the initiative..." Tommy Hawke lit a cigarette and smiled at Zoe: "Thank you for your hard work, Miss Lady. I can escort you back to the hotel on the way."
"Actually, you've seen my information, right?" Zoe nodded, walked out of the external relations office with Tommy, carefully locked the door, and asked as she walked side by side with Tommy in the corridor.
Tommy nodded. "I've seen it."
"So when they called me Lady, you didn't come up with another nickname for me?"
"I thought about it, but I think it would be better for you to tell them yourself one day," Tommy said.
As soon as the two walked out of the government building, they heard the sound of musical instruments coming from a hotel in the distance. An old song by Bob Dylan, "Knocking on Heaven's Door", was performed by Dennis in a rock style, floating in the night wind:
Knock knock knocking on heaven's door!
Knock knock knocking on heaven's door!
Knock knock knocking on heaven's door…
It sounded a bit like the cover of Guns N' Roses that Tommy Hawke liked in his previous life. Other people in the hall seemed to be infected by the sound and joined the singers, making the song resound throughout the night sky of Kingston.
"It's an old song, but it's still very infectious." Zoe listened to the song, looked up at the starry sky, smiled and said, "Great summer camp."
"Of course, great summer camp and even better us. Let's go, Miss Shrew." Tommy said softly, "I hope you like the nickname I gave you in my mind."
