America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 424 Big Earthquake

It was getting late, and Martin was getting ready to go home. For him, these art parties were not fun at all, far less interesting than Hollywood parties.

When everyone pretends to be civilized, the fun is greatly diminished.

Before leaving, Alexandra came over and asked, "Aren't you going to call your friends?"

"Menez? Never mind him." Martin glanced at Menez's location. "He's made new friends, they seem to be quite famous."

Alexandra glanced over there and said, "The person he's talking to is Celine Dion."

Menez was standing in front of a sculpture, chatting animatedly with Celine Dion, who was laughing every now and then at Menez's antics.

Celine Dion, at forty, is at the age when Menez is most adept at winning people over.

Martin, certainly not wanting to disturb his old friend, said, "Let's go."

Alexandra and Catherine followed Martin out. When they reached the front hall, the latter gave the former a shove and secretly exchanged a glance.

"The driver went back to pick up my father, and he may not be able to come for a while." Alexandra's body trembled quite a bit as she walked, giving the impression that she was always living in an earthquake.

She looked to Martin for help: "Could you give us a ride in your car?"

Martin, being a principled and kind-hearted person, naturally wouldn't refuse, saying, "No problem."

Catherine pulled out her phone and waved it, saying, "Don't worry about me, my classmate called me. She'll be walking this way in a bit and will grab my arm."

She added, "She drives a two-seater sports car, which can only seat two people."

Alexandra gave Martin a word of advice, then followed him out the door and got into the Cadillac that Bruce had driven.

Martin asked, "Where do you live? Which borough of Manhattan?"

Alexandra didn't answer; instead, she leaned back completely against the seat and stretched.

She said, "It's still early, shall we find a place to have a drink?"

Martin was always considerate of others; when someone raised a problem, he would try to solve it: "I have an apartment on the Upper East Side with a few bottles of good wine stored there. The apartment overlooks the entire Central Park. How about we go there for a drink?"

Alexandra replied, "Yes, how romantic to enjoy the beautiful scenery and fine wine!"

Martin recalled that after Lily bought the apartment, he had her fill the apartment's liquor cabinet.

Fifth Avenue is not far from Central Park. The car soon arrived at the apartment that Martin had purchased. The two entered the apartment building, and Martin swiped his card to take the private elevator upstairs.

When Martin opened the door, he found that everything inside was brand new and spotlessly clean, probably tidied up by Lily before she left.

Martin wondered if he should call Lily and have her fly over tomorrow to clean up the apartment, thinking it was bound to be a mess tonight.

That seems a bit inhumane.

Martin eventually abandoned the idea.

"What a beautiful house!" Alexandra stepped out of the foyer, through the spacious living room, and opened the electric curtains. Before her lay the night view of Central Park.

Martin had only seen photos of the house and this was his first time here. He found the liquor cabinet and asked, "What kind of liquor do you want?"

Alexandra wasn't really interested in drinking; she said, "A glass of red wine, please."

Martin took a bottle of Bordeaux and two wine glasses, went to the small round table in front of the French windows, and without much trouble, opened the bottles and poured a glass for each of them.

Alexandra pulled out a chair, sat opposite Martin, picked up her glass of red wine, and asked, "It must have been difficult to buy a house here, right?"

"It was extremely difficult, and it took several years in total." Martin's words were not an exaggeration. If you count from when he hooked up with Jolie, it took him more than three years just to deal with Pitt.

If Pete hadn't been completely disgraced, how could he possibly sell this house? He wouldn't have had the chance to get it at such a low price.

Alexandra praised, "Martin, you are a very persistent person."

"Not bad patience." Martin lightly clinked glasses with her. "A toast to our acquaintance."

Alexandra took a small sip of her drink and said, "I've read about your experiences, and they're admirable. Although I haven't experienced that kind of life, I have been to several chaotic neighborhoods in New York, and it was terrifying."

Martin smiled. "This country is a paradise for the rich and a hell for the poor."

Alexandra, who comes from a well-off family and has traveled to many countries, said, "Actually, aren't all countries pretty much the same? When I went to Europe, the poor there didn't have it easy either."

Martin didn't continue the conversation, but instead clinked glasses with her again: "So, if you have money, you should try to live as happily as possible."

Alexandra agreed: "Yes, nothing is more important than happiness."

The two drank a glass of red wine and chatted for a while before going into the bedroom.

This is all too common in open New York and the entertainment industry.

However, Martin deliberately kept a distance between the two of them while sleeping, and he suffocated again, with no chance of ever returning to North America.

The next morning, when Martin woke up, he found that Alexandra had already gotten up and tidied up the bedroom and even cleaned the living room.

Regardless of whether she had ulterior motives, these things at least made people feel comfortable.

When Lily bought the wine, she also prepared clothes. Martin's clothes all fit well, of course, but the women's clothes here were all one size fits all, and they were a bit too tight for Alexandra.

After washing up, Martin said, "It's the weekend today, let's go shopping on Fifth Avenue."

The two went downstairs for breakfast, then drove a Cadillac from the garage directly to the luxury shopping district on Fifth Avenue.

When Martin was broke, he was incredibly stingy, and all the gifts he gave were supposedly handmade.

But once he became truly wealthy, Martin remained very generous and never hesitated to spend money.

If you want to have fun, spending money is the most basic requirement.

Martin took Alexandra on a shopping spree, buying everything from Chanel fashion to Hermès bags and Cartier jewelry, spending six figures in half a day.

The clown statue and the crocodile pendant have not yet had a chance to appear.

Martin also had plans to give these things to Alexandra when she left the film crew.

Otherwise, it would be unfair to Australian bison and saltwater crocodiles.

………….

The hotel bar was quite crowded on the weekend.

Bruce invited Menez out for drinks.

He asked, "You seemed to be having a pleasant chat with Celine Dion yesterday. Why did you come home so late?"

Menne shrugged: "I heard from Celine that her husband calls several times every night to check up on her."

Bruce sighed, "Poor diva."

Menne, however, has a special sensitivity to the minds of people in this age group: "She was abducted when she was a teenager and kept in a cage. Before she could figure out what life was all about, she got married. Her husband, who was decades older than her, was not good in bed, so she had a child through IVF. She was a good wife and mother for half her life, and now she is restless."

Bruce brought Menne a beer: "Dude, you're fucking amazing, you figured that out."

Menez retorted, "Aren't all people their age like this?"

Bruce suddenly remembered something: Kim's mother looked at him like a wolf.

No, it seems there's also Kim's stepfather.

Bruce couldn't help but sigh: Life is too damn dangerous; one wrong step and you'll crash, and the consequences seem to be quite serious.

Menez and Old Brooks shared a beer, and Menez asked, "Where's the boss? He hasn't come back yet?"

"Probably having a good time somewhere," Bruce said casually.

Menez was about to ask another question when an emergency news report suddenly broke on the television hanging high in the bar: a major earthquake had occurred somewhere in the Pacific Ocean.

"This station has received breaking news that a major earthquake has struck the Mariana Islands. The Twin Peaks, the islands' highest active volcanoes, are shaking violently. As a volcanic eruption is imminent, the snow-capped peaks are melting, causing the summits to swell, and the flowing lava has turned the peaks a deep red."

"It is understood that the epicenter of this earthquake was located at the deepest part of the Mariana Trench. The violent shaking caused the trench to crack and contract continuously, and the squeezed seawater bubbled and rolled, rushing onto the coast. This disaster has been going on for a long time and there is no sign of it stopping."

Bruce also saw the news and stared blankly into space.

…………

Before evening, Alexandra received a call from home telling her she was going home.

Martin drove her home.

When the Cadillac stopped in front of an apartment building, she prepared to get out of the car.

Before getting out of the car, Alexandra kissed Martin passionately again, and after a long while, she said, "You can call me anytime you want, even if you're in Los Angeles, I'll get there as fast as I can."

Martin took a brand new iPhone from the back seat, handed it to Alexandra, and said, "This is for you."

Alexandra kissed him again, got out of the car carrying several bags, came to the apartment building entrance, turned around and stood in front of the door, waving to Martin.

Martin honked the horn and then drove away.

Alexandra carried her things upstairs, opened the door and went inside. She had moved out of her family home when she was 21 and lived here alone.

Of course, my parents live in the building next door.

"You're back?" Catherine ran out from the side bedroom, her face flushed from drinking quite a bit.

Alexandra frowned. "Where did you go to that party? And you were secretly drinking again?"

Catherine smiled and hugged her sister, "That's why I came all the way here. I'll stay here tonight."

For some girls, the stricter their parents' discipline, the more rebellious they become. "Looks like you succeeded?" Catherine asked.

Alexandra put away her belongings and said, "If you can't speak, then shut up. I'll think you're mute."

Catherine sat on the sofa, her face full of gossip: "Tell me quickly, how did it go?"

Alexandra didn't want to talk to her.

Catherine added, "We're sisters, good things should be shared."

Alexandra turned around, leaned down and stared at Catherine, her gaze incredibly intimidating: "I'm warning you, don't do anything rash."

Catherine nodded subconsciously: "I understand."

Alexandra is fireproof, theftproof, and Catherine-proof.

(End of this chapter)