"After the millennium, the development of technology will be faster and the market will be wider, so why not take a longer view? Especially the rise of the Internet, it is bound to become a new force in the media. " Claude spoke to Murdoch with a glass of wine. Since Adriaan was here, as one of the two giants of AC Media, he naturally had to come as well.
"Don't you think the IT stocks are a bit overheated now, Claude?" Murdoch, who was dressed very formally, asked.
"A little, but it is far from overheated. We have always been bold and cautious on this," Adriaan immediately made an excuse.
Murdoch raised his eyebrows and didn't speak. He just looked at Claude, who shrugged. "In this regard, I have always been consistent with Eide."
"You are indeed a young man." Murdoch laughed. "Full of ambition. I only started my business when I was your age."
"The environment is different. The era we are in is better than decades ago, so I still admire you, Rupert, especially the fact that many dying newspapers can be revived in your hands. This alone is enough for people to look up to," Adriaan said respectfully.
Murdoch laughed again, and after a few more words of flattery, the groom immediately left.
"He doesn't seem to think much of our views." Claude took a sip of the wine in his glass and said, "Or rather, he doesn't think much of the Internet."
"After all, he was born in the 1930s. No matter how bold a person is, after the washing of time, he will become conservative, cautious, and difficult to accept new things. We will be the same in a few decades." Adriaan chuckled. "Although the signs of IT stocks overheating have just emerged, it is enough for him to not be optimistic."
Just thinking about how he "once" denounced online news as a thief was enough to show his attitude. Although it was largely for the development of News Corporation, it was also his personal view.
"So, the future is ours, right?" Claude laughed. "But I still prefer to deal with Lei Shidong. Although they are both sly old foxes, Lei Shidong is not as slippery as Murdoch."
"I know, so our main partner is still Viacom." Adriaan nodded. "We just need to maintain a good relationship with News Corporation."
The Telecommunications Act passed in 1996 greatly amended the Communication Act of 34, thus untying the last rope on the large media groups. Today, the basic situation had been set. Although AC Media, which had the advantage of foresight, was ranked at the bottom of the first group, it had also left Warner and Disneyland far behind. Now they had to face bigger companies such as Viacom, News Corporation, Bertelsmann, and General Electric.
General Electric and Bertelsmann could be ignored. The former's main focus was not in the media, but NBC was under their umbrella. Bertelsmann's main business was magazine publishing, television broadcasting, and music distribution, and its base was not in North America. Therefore, the real opponents of AC Media were Viacom and News Corporation, which also had big movie companies in Hollywood. As for Sony, like Bertelsmann, their base was in Japan, and games were their biggest source of profit.
Among them, Viacom had always cooperated well with AC Media, and they also exchanged shares. Although Viacom now had Paramount and CBS, and also competed with AC Media in Canada for movie theaters, it did not mean that they needed to fight against each other. But News Corporation was different. It was almost an all-around competition with AC Media. Not to mention that Adriaan poached Cameron, they established Fox News Network after CNN was released in 1996.
Although News Corporation had a major setback in the early 1990s, it was now not only out of trouble, but also developing very well. As the largest multinational media group, the power it had could not be underestimated. Although the media companies of the first group rarely competed with each other, and although AC Media was young, it had accumulated a lot of strength, and was not afraid of competing with them. But if it really developed to this point, it would have a great impact on the development of AC Media, and many opportunities may slip through the fingers, so it was necessary to show goodwill.
What AC Media needed most now was time. Adriaan and Claude needed time to stabilize their current base, time to seize more opportunities to expand, and time to wait for News Corporation to make mistakes and go downhill, just like Sony. Besides, Adriaan still had a trump card in his hand. One must know that Murdoch had a good relationship with several British Prime Ministers, and some things did not need to be verified. As long as the topic was thrown out, the British government would naturally find evidence.
"How do you feel?" After the groom returned to the bride, the ceremony was about to begin. It was simple but necessary, so Charlize also returned to Adriaan's side.
"She speaks well. She is a very smart and shrewd woman." Charlize thought about it and commented, "It is rare to see such a shrewd Asian woman. Mr. Murdoch is obviously looking for a partner, not a wife."
Her words were quite sharp. Adriaan also did not believe that Murdoch would marry her because he fell in love with Deng Wendi, or because he fell in love with her. As a person who created his own huge media empire, the supremacy of interests had been engraved in his bones. There were also rumors before that Anna wanted to retire and enjoy life, so there was a conflict between her and Murdoch.
There was no need to investigate whether these rumors were true or not. Anyway, it was certain that Deng Wendi was a third party. From how she settled in the United States, it could be seen that she was very resourceful in this area. At the same time, there was no lack of ambition, ability, and self-awareness. Murdoch naturally wanted a younger, more attractive, more intelligent, and more capable woman to accompany him and continue to maintain his empire.
Winners had the privilege of not being criticized, and Adriaan did not have a bad impression of her. Originally, he wanted to tease her about Su Shi's poem, but it seemed a little abrupt. Apart from him and Deng Wendi, no one present would know the story behind it. So, in the end, he gave up. Moreover, although he had only spoken a few words with the woman, Adriaan could still conclude that even if he teased her about "A pear blossom overshadowing a begonia," she could still change her expression.
"How does she compare to you?" Adriaan suddenly asked.
Charlize turned his head and looked at him up and down, then asked with a faint smile, "Are you proposing to me?"
Adriaan immediately coughed twice, looked forward, and stopped talking.
Murdoch's wedding was very simple, so it didn't last long. Although the people who could attend were all famous celebrities, it was basically over after the ceremony and lunch. Since the purpose of attending the wedding had been achieved, there was no need for Adriaan to stay any longer. After saying goodbye to Claude, he accompanied Charlize to walk around Manhattan.
"You seem to be in a good mood today?" After coming out of a fashion boutique, Charlize, who was walking in front, said. She reached out and brushed her hair behind her ear. The smile on the corner of her mouth was very charming.
"As long as you are in a good mood, I will be in a good mood." Adriaan said in a relaxed tone. The way he carried big and small bags made it impossible to associate him with the famous miracle director, media tycoon, and playboy.
"Really?" Charlize turned his head and looked at him with a smile. He seemed to want to say something, but after thinking for a moment, he shook his head and said in a tone that seemed like he was going to let him off the hook, "Forget it, I better not hurt you."
"Oh?" Adriaan raised his eyebrows, but he didn't say much. He knew what Charlize meant. As his personal secretary, she knew a lot of things.
"Okay, it's getting late. Let's go back to the apartment first. There's a party to attend in the evening." He then said, "We have to go back to Los Angeles tomorrow."
"Your schedule is really full." Charlize teased, "You know, you could have declined."
"That was also arranged by you — why should I decline?"
"I could have arranged it more loosely for you, but you didn't accept it."
"Of course, how you arrange it is your business, and whether I accept it or not is my business."
The two returned to Adriaan's luxury apartment in the Upper East Side. They tidied up and waited for the sun to set. After eating something to fill their stomachs, the two went out together.
The party was held at Donald Trump's house, which was why Adriaan refused to decline. Charlize, who was wearing a black backless evening dress, was elegant, mysterious, and charming. He attracted a lot of attention at the party. Many men looked at Adriaan with envy, and many women were hostile to Charlize, especially a young lady.
"Hello, Mr. Adriaan, it's nice to see you again." Ivanka came to Adriaan with a very formal and calm expression. She maintained it well. If one didn't know the inside story, they wouldn't be able to see the hatred in her eyes.
"Me too, Miss Ivanka. You're even more charming than before." Adriaan said with a smile. Then, without giving her a chance, he turned his gaze to the young man next to her, who was about the same age as her. "This is?"
"Eddie, Eddie Jeffrey." The young man immediately reached out his hand. "It's nice to meet you. Adriaan is very happy."
"Me too." Adriaan still had that appropriate smile. "I remember that the general manager of Prida Hedge Fund, Hamel Jeffrey, has a child named Eddie..."
"Yes, Hamel, that's my father, Mr. Adriaan. I didn't expect you to remember him." The young man was a little surprised and surprised.
"Although we've only talked a few times, your father left a deep impression on me." Adriaan looked like he was reminiscing. "And when your father graduated from Stanford, we were schoolmates. We've talked a lot about Stanford."
"I used to often hear him talk about Stanford, so I plan to apply there after I graduate this year." Just like that, the young man named Eddie Jeffrey was triggered by Adriaan. The two of them began to talk in high spirits, from Stanford to Silicon Valley to the use of computer technology in movies. They were very opportunistic and completely ignored the things around them, leaving Ivanka to stare at them helplessly.
"He's like this. You'll never be able to take the initiative in front of him." Just when she was a little anxious and did not know whether she should leave or continue to stay, a somewhat lazy voice rang in her ears.
Ivanka turned her head to look at Charlize. His beautiful blonde hair hung down like silk, and his facial features were exquisite and just right, unlike her who still had a little baby fat. Coupled with that decent sexy evening dress, he was beautiful and charming. He indeed had the qualifications to make the women present jealous.
"Really?" She replied noncommittally while snorting softly in her heart at the same time.
"Of course, you should know this." Although Charlize smiled slightly, it added another layer of coldness to her.
With this sentence, Ivanka knew that Charlize not only knew that she had slept with Adriaan, but also knew her situation very well. After all, she was also a very smart girl. An embarrassing anger suddenly surged from her heart. Although she controlled her emotions at the first moment, a flash of red still flashed across her face.
"Maybe, but at least I won't submit to him because I want to get benefits from him!" She bit her lip and whispered.
Charlize smiled noncommittally, still with that cold and elegant expression, which made Ivanka even more unhappy, and her words became more and more impolite. "I think, Charlize — Miss, you must have gotten a lot of things from him, right?"
"Yes, he gave me a lot of things that a child from a rich family like you will never care about." Charlize said softly, and his greyish-green eyes also became deep.
Ivanka was stunned for a moment, and for a moment, she didn't know what to say. Then, Charlize raised his chin and smiled somewhat meaningfully. "You will understand sooner or later, Ivanka."
The girl naturally understood the meaning of this sentence, and the anger that had just subsided suddenly rose again. At this moment, Adriaan finally finished talking with Eddie.
"Let's stop here for now. When Stanford approves your application, you can go to Hollywood when you have time." Said Adriaan, and then he bent his arm, and Charlize, who was next to him, immediately took his arm.
"Sorry, Ivanka, I seem to have neglected you again." He turned his head towards Ivanka, and that smile was as hateful as it could be in the eyes of the girl.
"It's okay, I'm glad that you guys had a good chat." Ivanka squeezed out a smile, and like Charlize, she also held Eddie's arm, but she pulled several times before Eddie reacted.
Adriaan looked at the two people who were a little embarrassed, and smiled slightly. "By the way, you guys …"
"We are on a date." Ivanka finally seized the opportunity to say this sentence, but unfortunately, what she wanted to see was destined to not happen.
"Is that so? Well done, Eddie. Ivanka is not the kind of girl that is easy to pursue. "Adriaan said and even patted Eddie on the shoulder.
Eddie didn't react at all, and could only respond with an "ah", and only after Adriaan left did he become a little more clear-headed. Looking at Ivanka who was still holding his arm, his mind couldn't help but become active. "En … Ivanka, if you are willing …"
"Now it's none of your business." Ivanka, who had been staring at Adriaan's back, said without turning her head, and then shook off his arm, as if she was shaking off a toy that she no longer liked.
"Wh … what?" Eddie's eyes widened, and he seemed a little hurt. "Didn't you just say …"
"Pulling you along and saying those words was to prevent that playboy from hitting on me. He has done this several times." Ivanka snorted heavily.
"Hit on you? Mr. Adriaan is not that kind of person. " Eddie frowned, and then said in a low voice, "And he has such a beautiful female companion."
Ivanka immediately turned her head and glared at him, and then strode out of the banquet hall. Eddie shrugged, and indifferently looked for someone else to talk to.
Damn Adriaan! Damn bastard! One day, I'll teach you a lesson! Ivanka, who was constantly cursing in her heart, angrily passed through several passages and came to the empty balcony upstairs. Facing the night view of New York and the cool breeze, she finally calmed down.
'I can't be led by the nose by him, Yini. I can't be impatient either. I have to be patient. He's not an ordinary bastard.' She said to herself over and over again in her heart. 'If I want to take revenge, I must not be impatient. Otherwise, I will only give him a chance!'
After repeating this to herself several times, she finally suppressed the unhappiness that was provoked before. Letting out a long breath, and rubbing her face, Ivanka turned around and walked back slowly. Even so, she could not help but recall Charlize's appearance from time to time. She was wearing a light colored dress with a light yellow coat on the outside, and her five-inch high heels perfectly showcased her figure. Her two long legs that were exposed added a touch of sexiness, and her upbringing made her look natural and unrestrained. But why did she always feel like she was lacking something when compared to Charlize?
She didn't realize at all what basis she was standing on for comparison.
After walking through a long corridor and going downstairs, she could return to the hall. At this moment, the door next to Ivanka was opened. A figure suddenly hugged her waist from behind, lifted her up, and covered her mouth at the same time.
"Wu wu wu!" Ivanka, who was suddenly attacked, screamed in horror. She twisted her body and limbs reflexively and began to struggle, but it was useless. The other party easily grabbed her into the room.
The lights were not turned on, and it was very dark inside. After slamming the door, Ivanka was thrown onto the sofa. Then, the man's low laughter sounded, with an indescribable taste, as if he was excited about the prey in his hands.
"Let me go, Adriaan! You bastard! "As soon as the hand on her mouth was removed, Ivanka shouted angrily.
"Huh?" The man was slightly surprised. "You recognized me so quickly."
"You are familiar with the layout of my house, and you still dare to treat me like this. Who else can it be other than you, you bastard!" Ivanka, who was thrown on the sofa, raised her leg to kick Adriaan, and at the same time, her heart beat slightly faster.
Because the light was very dim, only she knew that her face was burning. She could sense that the person who forced her in was Adriaan, not because of what she said before, but mainly because she smelled his scent. It seemed a bit mysterious, and the two of them had done it only a few times, but she did remember his scent …
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