King of Hollywood

Chapter 363: Chapter 87: Another Step Up

“How much longer?” Adrian glanced at the time and said with some impatience, “They haven’t changed their minds again, have they?”

Of course, he tried to suppress his voice, as this was a public place after all. Even though ABC’s people hadn’t arrived yet, there were still others present.

“Don’t be anxious, it’s not time yet,” Claude said with a smile, “We’ve arrived a tad early. Although there have been plenty of acquisitions overturned at the last moment, it will definitely not happen to us.”

He paused, then his expression turned curious, “To tell you the truth, you weren’t this impatient at the contract signing of the TBS acquisition—are you feeling like you’re in a dream?”

“A little, but more than that, I’m eager to firm everything up as well as consider the potential future developments,” Adrian didn’t hide his feelings, “You know, our acquisition of TBS involved a lot of luck. Ted Turner and Warner have always had a good relationship. If we hadn’t acted early and discreetly, if Warner had extended an olive branch, he would have definitely chosen them over us. And there’s no need to mention ABC—after nearly a year’s struggle with Disney, although I played a small role, I know how hard it was. So it’s only when they sign their names under the agreement that I can relax even a bit.”

“You underestimate yourself, Ed,” Claude laughed heartily, “Not to mention how that Pixar animation you pitched won us great opportunities, Ted agreed to our terms back then because of your charm. I still remember your proud assertion that ‘if not now, then never.’ Those achievements are also one of the reasons we’ve been successful.”

He was about to ask Adrian why he only relaxed halfway after signing when ABC’s people finally arrived. The signing ceremony wasn’t long; after some brief warm exchanges, under the watchful eyes of lawyers and many others, they signed their names on the documents already prepared, exchanged signatures, and then the whole acquisition was basically concluded.

“Congratulations, it’s the era of you young people now.” ABC’s chairman, Tom Murphy, almost 70, said this as he shook hands with Adrian amidst applause, then took a sip from the champagne a waiter handed him and left the scene without looking back, skipping the press conference altogether.

Such a move might seem impolite, but Adrian understood his feelings; whether from the perspective of power or emotion, it was a hard reality to accept.

“Tom isn’t attending the press conference?” Claude joined Adrian after schmoozing with a few people, champagne in hand.