Chapter 190: I Want to Go to Los Angeles

Since the commercial required virtually no visual effects and had a low shot count, it only took Duke three days to cut the two-minute video. After grading the color, adjusting the lighting, and laying down the soundtrack, the project was essentially finished. All that remained was to bring in the two leads for their voiceovers.

Compared to the grueling post-production of his previous films, this felt like a breeze. Duke had been in a great mood over the past few days.

Sitting at the lounge table in the studio, Duke sipped his coffee and chatted with Tina Fey about some business back in Los Angeles as he leisurely waited for his two leads to arrive. But before Elizabeth Hurley and Leonardo DiCaprio showed up, Aerin Lauder pushed the door open. She didn't look happy. Walking straight over, she sat down next to him.

"Did something happen?" Duke asked.

Aerin had been acting as the Lauder Group's on-set liaison lately, and the two of them had become quite familiar. Duke poured her a cup of coffee.

"You seem pretty upset," he said.

"The media just exposed Hugh Grant for soliciting a prostitute here in America!" Aerin was clearly furious. "How could I possibly be happy?"

"Uh..."

Duke opened his mouth but didn't quite know what to say. He could tell that Aerin was blossoming into a mature, shrewd woman; how could she tolerate something like this?

"You've got the wrong idea," Aerin said.

Catching his slightly surprised expression, Aerin guessed what he was thinking and quickly clarified. "Hugh Grant isn't my boyfriend! I have absolutely nothing to do with him! His girlfriend is Elizabeth Hurley. Now that this prostitution scandal has spread across America—and will soon spread across the globe—Elizabeth has become the center of media attention. A lot of people are even treating her as a laughingstock. She's Estee Lauder's spokesperson. This is going to affect our commercial, and it might even damage Estee Lauder's brand image!"

"Sorry, Aerin. I overthought it," Duke said.

Duke gave her hand a gentle, comforting pat.

Aerin shook her head. "It's fine. I didn't make myself clear."

After getting to know her recently, Duke felt increasingly certain that Aerin Lauder was someone he could call a friend. She was an incredibly likable woman—rational yet not without a touch of innocence, shrewd and capable without being overly cynical. Most importantly, she had a relatively mild temper and knew how to keep her mouth shut. She was much easier to get along with than the prickly Sofia Coppola.

"How is Elizabeth reacting to all this?"

Duke rarely paid attention to tabloid gossip, and since he had been holed up in the studio working for the last few days, he was completely out of the loop. "She didn't say anything to the press, did she?" he asked.

"She gave an interview!" Aerin curled her fingers and lightly tapped her forehead, looking deeply distressed. "She said she felt like she was experiencing death."

"Well, she isn't completely stupid," Duke said, frowning.

"I remember you facing your own public relations nightmare," Aerin said, looking at the frowning, thoughtful Duke without any hesitation. "You have more PR experience than I do. Do you have any good advice?"

"Advice?" Duke looked at her in confusion.

Aerin didn't hide anything. "I was just appointed Vice President of Brand Image Promotion by the board the day before yesterday. This falls entirely under my jurisdiction."

"Congratulations!"

Duke only said that to help her relax a little; staying completely tense wouldn't solve anything.

Understanding his intent, Aerin gave him a light shove. "What is there to congratulate? I run into a mess like this right after taking over. If things go wrong, I'll be forced to step down just as I've started."

"If you're willing to pay a consulting fee," Duke joked, "I can offer you a few suggestions."

"You're just leaving me to die," Aerin grumbled in dissatisfaction. "Is this how you normally treat friends in trouble?"

"Sometimes, a bad thing can be turned into a good thing." Duke could easily see that Aerin lacked experience in handling the scandalous mess of the entertainment industry. He reminded her, "Don't forget, Aerin—Elizabeth Hurley wasn't the one caught soliciting a prostitute. She's merely being dragged down by Hugh Grant."

Not wanting to keep her in suspense, Duke continued. "You should contact Elizabeth's agent and launch a joint PR campaign to turn this disadvantage into an advantage. Based on what you just said, Elizabeth is currently the center of media attention, chased by countless cameras and flashes. That means the conversation around her is incredibly hot right now. It's explosive. You absolutely cannot let her break down at a time like this. Instead, she needs to stay strong and pull herself together."

"And kick that British bastard to the curb?" Aerin asked. "Then do everything we can to smear him?"

"No..." Duke shook his head. "Doing that would only benefit Elizabeth. It wouldn't do us any good."

Aerin wasn't stupid, merely inexperienced. She gradually began to understand. "You mean..."

"Exactly!" Duke dropped all pretense of joking and switched into a purely professional mode. "Not only should you encourage Elizabeth not to break up with Hugh Grant, but you also need her to publicly forgive him. She needs to fully display her generosity and loyalty."

Duke watched Aerin as she mulled it over.

After a long moment, she nodded and said, "We can work with the media to market Elizabeth as a forgiving, tolerant girl. We use that loyalty to win the public's sympathy, shaping a wholesome, positive image for her. That way, she becomes even more famous and popular by riding on Grant's scandal. Then, we can pick the perfect moment to release the commercial..."

"But what if she breaks up with Hugh Grant later?" Aerin asked.

Before Duke could answer, her eyes lit up. "We find a way to get her to sign a supplementary agreement. While she's fulfilling her contract with Estee Lauder, she cannot initiate a breakup with Hugh Grant."

"Darling, you really belong in Hollywood," Duke said, already laughing. "Not stuck out here."

"If you're willing to pay me an annual salary of ten million dollars," Aerin said, clearly far more relaxed now as she returned the joke, "I could reluctantly agree to be your PR manager."

Draining the rest of her coffee, she stood up and said earnestly, "Thank you, Duke. I'm going to head out. I'll notify Elizabeth to go to the Lauder Building; she probably won't be coming here today."

It wasn't until the following afternoon that Elizabeth Hurley finally appeared at the studio. She smiled and greeted Duke and Leonardo, looking to be in fairly good spirits. As the male and female leads headed toward the recording booth, Aerin stepped up to Duke and leaned in close to his ear.

"It's done!" she whispered, keeping her voice low. "She'll wait until she finishes her contract with Estee Lauder before she kicks Hugh Grant to the curb."

This outcome was exactly what Duke had expected. While Estee Lauder wasn't the absolute pinnacle of luxury, it was still one of the most famous cosmetics brands in the world, and it offered its spokespersons a very lucrative salary. For an actress like Elizabeth, who had been navigating Hollywood's circles of fame and fortune for over a decade, making this choice wasn't hard at all.

Just like how Elizabeth Hurley and Hugh Grant were now destined to break up eventually, the relationships between Hollywood celebrity couples were full of calculated maneuvers that outsiders could never even begin to imagine.

Giving Aerin a nod, Duke walked into the recording booth as well, ready to begin the dubbing process.

Since they were using an existing track for the score, the only thing left for the commercial was the voiceover. There weren't many lines to record, so it posed no real challenge for Elizabeth and Leonardo.

"...I don't care about tomorrow!"

Seemingly completely unaffected by her boyfriend's prostitution scandal, Elizabeth was in excellent form. The lines she delivered were brimming with emotion, perfectly matching the artistic mood of the commercial's visuals. "No one can ruin our dream. No one. Goodbye."

Leonardo didn't perform poorly either. "She left," he said affectionately. "Unless she forgets... but I know I won't. I won't forget her kiss, her smile, and her perfume!"

As Elizabeth Hurley stepped onto the red carpet in a black velvet gown, a deep, resonant monologue began to play.

"This is not a journey, for journeys always have an end. But we will continue... Wherever I go, you are there! My luck, my destiny. Estee Lauder Youth-Dew. Irreplaceable!"

Although the first take of the voiceover was quite ideal, Duke still asked Elizabeth and Leonardo to record it three consecutive times so the sound engineer could splice the very best segments together for the final cut.

With the commercial shoot officially wrapped, Duke temporarily set his work aside and returned to his mother's house. He planned to give himself a few days off while waiting for the results of Nancy Josephson's negotiations with Lily Fred. Duke knew himself well; he simply didn't possess the professional expertise of a dance and vocal choreographer. If he wanted to produce Chicago, an outstanding choreographer was absolutely essential.

Following the completion of the commercial, in accordance with his directorial contract, the Lauder Group paid Duke $2.2 million of his $3 million fee. The remaining balance would be paid out once the commercial officially aired.

"Duke, after your birthday next year, the Victoria's Secret share trust will take effect."

Over dinner, Mrs. Leah brought up a matter that Duke had nearly forgotten, adding a sharp warning. "Just because I don't say anything doesn't mean I don't know what's going on."

"Mom." Duke helplessly spread his hands. "Am I the kind of person who likes to mess around?"

He knew exactly what he should be doing and when. Besides, there were so many Victoria's Secret Angels coming and going. If he spent all day trying to pick them up, he'd never get any actual work done.

Of course, if he bumped into a few that caught his eye at the right time and place, he would still give it a try.

After spending three days accompanying his mother in New York, Nancy Josephson finally reached an agreement with Lily Fred's team. The price was finalized at one million dollars. Duke, representing Duke Studio, initialed a preliminary contract with her. Barring any major surprises, this experienced Broadway choreography expert would be serving as the dance instructor for Chicago.

At the same time, news that Duke's next film would be a musical somehow leaked out, sending the entire industry into an immediate uproar.