Volume 4: White Devil Chapter 188 The original intention of joining the television industry
At 5:50, Tommy woke up ten minutes earlier than the alarm clock. He first reached out to turn off the alarm clock on the bedside table, and then gently kissed the forehead of Ottilia who was lying beside him. Ottilia might have felt a little itchy, so she buried half of her face in the pillow before going back to sleep.
In order to avoid waking up Ottilia, Tommy got out of bed quietly, walked out of the bedroom in his pajamas, changed into sportswear for morning exercise in the cloakroom outside, drank half a glass of water, and then walked briskly to his front yard.
The fitness trainer who ran with Tommy, and Paige were already waiting outside.
Although Tommy did not expect to have a body as strong as Jason or his brother Tony, he also did not want his body to be ruined by alcohol or partying before the age of 40. So he insisted on jogging every morning, swimming when he got home in the evening, doing stretching exercises, etc., to keep his figure and weight at a relatively healthy level.
The fitness coach helped Tommy do some warm-up exercises, and then they started jogging along the roads in the community to the park. Paige drove the car, holding the steering wheel with one hand, half of her body leaning against the open window, supporting her head with her free left hand, and slowly followed behind the two of them.
After running five kilometers in the scenic Rogers Memorial Park in Beverly Hills, Tommy did not return through the park, but walked out of the park and onto the main road, preparing to go home along the main road.
There is a reason for doing this, of course, because the day of the local residents of Beverly Hills is almost the same as Tommy's, starting around six o'clock. People can be seen jogging in the morning accompanied by coaches or bodyguards in the parks and Santa Monica Boulevard.
Most of the stores on Santa Monica Boulevard also open at six o'clock, such as coffee shops, newsstands and some specialty breakfast shops, but the most popular ones are the gyms on Santa Monica Boulevard. This is why Tommy is reluctant to return the same way after his morning run, but instead takes a walk on the avenue to buy a cup of coffee before going home.
Although Beverly Hills sounds like a general term for the living area near Beverly Hills, it is actually different. Santa Monica Boulevard is a clear dividing line. On the north side of the avenue is the luxury residential area where Tommy lives. The further north you go in Beverly Hills, the higher the mountains, the better the scenery, and the higher the price of the houses.
South of Santa Monica Boulevard are many of the regular attractions that ordinary people visit when traveling to Beverly Hills, including some luxury stores, department stores, and some residential areas that are relatively cheap and can be purchased without a letter of recommendation. Ordinary movie stars choose to live on the south side of Santa Monica Boulevard because they are likely to empty their bank accounts and go through great pains to get a letter of recommendation approved by the homeowners' committee to barely buy a mansion, but still not be able to pay for daily expenses.
By referring to Tommy's tragic experience, you can understand how scary the daily expenses can be. For example, the mansion he bought as a wedding house needs to be renovated. In order to avoid noise complaints from neighbors, he needs to rent three mansions from nearby neighbors. The construction must also be carried out strictly within the time limit stipulated by the homeowners' committee. Once the regulations are violated, he will be complained about immediately. At the very least, he will be identified as a bad neighbor, and at worst, a joint petition will be launched to force him to resell and move out. This has also caused the construction period of the mansion to be continuously extended, and the various labor costs during this period have been increasing exponentially.
So, basically, the Hollywood group living on the north side consists of only the real top male stars, followed by the bosses of various film companies, gold medal producers and the like .
For many Hollywood stars, Santa Monica Boulevard is their touchstone in Hollywood. Only by entering the North Side can you prove that you have become a legend in the American film industry.
There is a reason why the gym business on Santa Monica Boulevard is so booming from morning to night. When the gym opens at six o'clock, countless ambitious and beautiful young girls rush in to grab the fitness equipment closest to the window. They don't care whether it's a spinning bike, a treadmill, or even weightlifting.
These women have the most expensive VIP membership cards at the gym, but never use the gym's locker room. They change into tights at home and then wait outside the gym's door until it opens, just so they can be the first to appear in front of the gym's floor-to-ceiling windows in the early morning wearing tights that show off their beautiful bodies, observing the men enjoying the morning on the street accompanied by drivers or bodyguards. They are hunters and prey at the same time.
They all held the same idea, that is, if a Hollywood producer happened to pass by their window this morning and felt that their work was to their taste, they might have the opportunity to become famous overnight.
These girls would do anything to hook up with rich men or get to know big names in the film and television industry. Paige, George and her fitness coach were all approached directly by these women after work. They would tell Paige, who was old enough to be their father, that as long as they were willing to introduce her to Tommy and give her the opportunity to live in a mansion in the North District, they would pay her or ask her to go to bed with them.
Many gardeners, drivers, and housekeepers have encountered this kind of thing. Even at the risk of being discovered and fired by their employers, there are always people who take risks and use this excuse to trick girls into having sex with them. They will also introduce each other to their employers under these false pretenses, and in fact, tricking girls into having sex with them is considered an extra benefit of working in Beverly Hills.
Tommy was not prepared to play this game of men and women where there was no clear distinction between prey and hunter, but that didn't stop him from coming to Santa Monica Boulevard after his morning run every day to admire the beauties of all races and skin colors, which provided him with more visual enjoyment and put him in a good mood to start the new day.
After enjoying the beautiful women working out, when I returned to my residence, Ottilia had already gotten up and washed up. She was discussing today's arrangements with her assistant in the corridor. When she saw Tommy coming back, she interrupted the conversation, stood up, walked over to Tommy, gave him a good morning kiss, and then let him go to take a shower.
By the time Tommy changed his clothes and sat at the dining table, breakfast was ready. Dorothy had placed a newspaper in front of his seat, and the TV had been turned on early by Dorothy and tuned to the morning news that he often watched.
"I'm going to KeyBank's California branch this morning to attend a meeting with outstanding California customers, and then I'm going to a grassroots community to give a keynote speech on how KeyBank will help them revitalize the community." Ottilia sat down next to Tommy and took a sip of hot milk. "My assistant Irene asked me a question when we were finalizing the speech. It mentioned why my boyfriend joined the TV industry. Of course, this is not an important question, but if someone starts a conversation about this and asks you why you joined the TV industry, how should I tell them?"
Tommy looked from the newspaper to Otilia's face, a little confused: "Why did this problem come up? I mean your speech? Who wrote it for you? Fire her, Otilia. Don't let your family or relatives appear in your public image all the time. When a man shows his family and relatives in his public image, it means that he is responsible. But every time a woman appears in public, she is always accompanied by her family and relatives, which will dilute your image as an independent woman and a working woman."
"So, when other people talk to me about family problems or love issues, I just put on a stern face and say, hey, watch your attitude. I'm an independent woman. I don't need a family. I don't need love. Why be so hypocritical? I'm a woman and will be a mother in the future. I will eventually return to my family." Ottilia thought for a few seconds after hearing Tommy's words and asked back.
Tommy put a piece of light shrimp on Ottilia's plate. "It's not hypocrisy, it's unnecessary. Of course you need family and love, but your speechwriting secretary didn't understand one thing at all, that is, not everything about you needs to be said to everyone, right? This is her problem, you should consider firing her. Of course, you don't have to listen to my advice, but you have to tell her that if she works as a speechwriting secretary for Tommy Hawke, she doesn't have to do anything except dress up beautifully every day and stand beside me as a vase to please my eyes, because I will never use the garbage speeches she writes."
"Just like my job?" Sophia walked in from outside, sat down at the dining table and asked with a smile: "Good morning, Ottilia, good morning, Tommy."
Like Ottilia's assistant, Sofia would come to Tommy's house every day at breakfast time, have breakfast with him, and give some work arrangements for the day.
"Good morning, of course you are different, Sophia!" Otilia immediately said to Sophia seriously, and then looked at Tommy, trying to use a serious tone to make Tommy realize the seriousness of what he just said: "Tommy, anyone who hears what you just said will feel hurt, whether it is my assistant or Sophia."
"Of course you are different, Sophia." Tommy's words made Ottilia feel relieved, but after taking a sip of coffee, Tommy added something:
"Because you are not pleasing to the eyes. But I must admit that although you are not a vase, you are indispensable now. Let's put it this way. Except for being unable to work as a lawyer or judge, you can now work as an assistant to the president or handle some vice president work in any company. This is all thanks to me. In the past two years, I taught you how to work word by word, but to my regret, you never paid me tuition. What's more regrettable is that after making so much money, you never thought of improving your appearance and making yourself look more like a beautiful vase."
"Tommy~!" Otilia frowned: "You have to show due respect to Sophia."
Sophia was already used to it. She just smiled and said to Otilia, "Otilia, can you provide me with legal aid? I want to sue Tommy Hawke, that bastard, for verbally harassing me all these years. I want to make him lose everything and ruin his reputation."
"Can you wait until I marry him and then file a lawsuit? This way, when I divorce him, he will be the party at fault and I can gain more sympathy from the court and get more property." Of course, Ottilia knew that Sofia was joking, and she also said with a smile.
Tommy looked at the two women with a firm tone, "You know what? If I were the dean of your law school, I would never let you kindhearted people get a diploma. You are kind, sentimental, and imaginative. You are a disgrace to American law schools. You two want to sue me? Let me put it this way, it's more difficult than if I were to believe in Mormon fundamentalism, become the leader of this cult, and then use the doctrine to brainwash all the young women in California into accepting polygamy and willingly marrying me."
"I can't believe that there are still people who believe that Tommy respects women, and this guy said in front of me that he wants all the young women in California to marry him. Tommy has such a big appetite." Sophia said sarcastically.
"I've always had a big appetite." Tommy nodded without denying it.
Sophia looked at Otilia and said, "You have to be careful, Otilia. You just heard that this guy has revealed his true colors. He has designs on young girls all over California."
"I think you should be more careful, Sophia. If Tommy is really that bad, you, as his assistant, would be the first woman to be hurt by him." Otilia said to Sophia with a smile, then turned her head to look at Tommy and said with a firm look:
"He respects women, I'm sure."
But soon, Otilia's expression changed:
"But I don't understand why every time you disparage the American judiciary, you have to mention Sophia and me? What's wrong with us going to law school?"
After that, Ottilia put her sandwich of fried eggs, Spanish sausage, and half-melted Swiss chocolate on Tommy's plate:
"This is what you pay for teasing me and Sophia."
In Ottilia's opinion, forcing Tommy to eat two high-calorie, high-fat sandwiches for breakfast was a very cruel punishment.
"Maybe you can add my piece?" Sophia pushed the sandwich in front of her, which she had not eaten yet, in front of Tommy and made a gloating expression.
Tommy looked at the three sandwiches in front of him and ate them without hesitation. He seemed to have a big appetite. He swallowed all three sandwiches in just a few minutes. Then he picked up the coffee and took a sip: "I said, I always have a big appetite."
"I don't think it's a matter of appetite, but Dorothy's breakfast is delicious." Ottilia saw Tommy eat all the sandwiches, so she helped herself and Sophia share two apple pancakes to fill their stomachs.
"Dorothy is certainly a very good cook, but I still have a question. Dorothy has mastered the preparation of various European and American cuisines in home economics class, but it has been two weeks since I suggested that she help me learn how to make a Chinese breakfast, and she has never let me see Chinese food on the table." Tommy simply changed the subject.
"If you hadn't paid her enough, your gardener and other servants would have taken Dorothy and you to court long ago. Her children are ready to break off relations with her because she forced them to taste her practice works. Dorothy practices hard every day, but she wants to make sure she doesn't poison anyone, and that the food is delicious before she lets you taste it. Don't let him change the subject, Ottilia, let him..."
Tommy didn't wait for Sophia to finish her question before redirecting it to an earlier one: "Let's go back to Ottilia's original question, OK? Why did I join the television industry? Because now and for a , I believe that compared with newspapers, television is a more important channel for the public to understand the truth and the world. The eyes are the windows to the soul. I am the eyes of the American people, and I will let them see the truth they need to see."
Ottilia nodded thoughtfully. No matter what her boyfriend did, he always had a great and impeccable reason.
When he was working on software, he wanted to help the lower classes change their destiny through technology and knowledge.
Now working in television, he wants to give the American people eyes to see the truth and understand the world.
"So, you think that the current TV networks are deceiving the American people, and you are going to show the truth to the audience?" Otilia followed the answer Tommy told her and asked another question: "Doesn't that mean that all TV networks will give you a lot of resistance like Lotus did back then? So, your TV station will also be remembered by the American people like Actor because of a competition or a confrontation?"
"No, there may be competition based on ratings, but it won't be what you think." Tommy said to Otilia in a firm tone, "Besides, in my opinion, the first time BT TV is remembered by the American people will not be because of ratings competition or confrontation."
"So in your opinion, what was the reason why BT TV first became famous across the United States?" Ottilia asked curiously.
"Because BT TV allows the American people to see..." Tommy drank the last sip of coffee, wiped the corner of his mouth, and said with a smile:
“A beautiful sight to behold.”
"Oh... that must be beautiful." Ottilia heard Tommy's perfunctory answer and did not continue to ask. She responded perfunctorily and continued to enjoy breakfast.
After Otilia finished her breakfast and left with her assistant team, Sophia said to Tommy in a firm tone: "Behind greatness and beauty, there must be some little thoughts hidden."
She knew Tommy's character back then. He was waving the banner of equal rights in technology, but in fact he frankly admitted when he first met her that large companies in the computer industry were building the industry's ecological structure. It was just that when they first met, she didn't understand the meaning of this sentence at all. It was not until a long time later, when she accompanied this idiot to meet Delia, that she completely understood that equal rights in technology and women's employment were all empty words. He just wanted to kill Lotus and replace it.
So what Tommy said just now sounded great and pure, but Sophia was sure that Tommy had other thoughts in mind.
"I'm not that insecure, and I don't need to hide it. I have one question: after the Murdoch Group established its media empire in Australia and the UK, why did it continue to borrow heavily and carry billions of dollars in debt to land in the United States, trying to gain a foothold in the American media industry? Even if it was regarded as a thorn in the eyes of countless American newspaper tycoons and the three major TV networks, and even if his American business would lose millions of dollars every day, he would not look back?" Tommy looked at Sophia with a smile and asked a question in return.
Sophia thought of several answers in her mind, but she rejected them without saying a word and finally shook her head.
"Okay, let's change the question. In this magical country of America, what is the most effective weapon for politicians?" Tommy saw Sophia hesitate to speak for several times, and finally shook her head, smiled and changed the question.
Thinking of the arrangements made by this guy in front of her for Tony, Susan, David, Dennis, and even Otilia, Earl Rush, and others, Sophia tried to speak slowly, word by word:
“The sentiment of the people.”
