Chapter 397: Chapter 119: Counter-Analysis and Start Shooting

“Listen, Natalie, you’re a smart girl, you’ve always known what you’re doing, and today shouldn’t be an exception! So, from now on, drop those impractical fantasies. It’s been enough today, take two more rounds then just go home honestly! Grow up, and stop complaining that they say you’re still a child, yet you act like a foolish little girl who knows nothing.”

With her hands against the wall, Natalie kept her head down, repeatedly telling herself this. After a while, she finally calmed down, slightly tidied herself up, took out a small mirror to check her reflection, and then took a deep breath and walked out of the restroom.

Adrian was still standing at the edge of the skating rink, talking to a young woman who was walking her dog. From the woman’s smiling face, it was clear that he had made a good impression. Natalie involuntarily bit her lip, then the images from before flashed through her mind again, reigniting the electrifying feeling that made her heart race. She then pinched her nose bridge to suppress her emotions.

“Learn to control, understand? Control!” she whispered to herself with a hint of helplessness, ignoring some other things hidden deep inside her heart again.

Suddenly, a drop of liquid fell on Natalie’s cheek. She touched it, then looked up at the sky; it was as gloomy as when she had woken up in the morning, with no sunlight visible. Then another drop fell on her forehead, and before she could react, a sudden deluge of rain came crashing down, as if the heavens had opened their taps fully.

Natalie screamed, holding her head as she ran towards Adrian. She was halfway there when she got completely soaked, but fortunately, a tall figure quickly embraced her.

“Are you okay, Nata?” Adrian asked loudly in the pouring rain, removing his coat and placing it over their heads to shield most of the rain, “Let’s find somewhere to take shelter first.”

With Natalie’s consent, he led her through the heavy rain towards the main road. They ran for several minutes until they took shelter under the awning of a convenience store.

“It’s just a shower; it shouldn’t last too long,” Adrian said. However, the downpour continued for a long time, blurring distant buildings and causing traffic jams in the streets.

Giggling, Natalie began to shiver and hug her arms; her face grew considerably paler. Although Adrian had blocked most of the rain, she had already been soaked through, her hair sticking in wet strands against her face. The weather in New York by the end of April had warmed up, but it was still chilly when it rained.

“I’m sorry, Nata, I didn’t see…” Noticing the girl’s symptoms, Adrian immediately cradled her in his arms.

“Do you need help, sir?” a convenience store clerk came out and kindly asked.

“Uh… thank you, no, we’re going back soon,” Adrian thought for a moment then answered, then he looked down at the girl in his arms, “Nata, listen, the hotel where I’m staying is just two blocks from here. Given the current road conditions, it might take a while for a driver. Can I just carry you back? It won’t take much time.”

“No… no problem,” Natalie replied, shivering, evidently freezing.

“Good, hold tight to me, it will be fine. Once we’re back at the hotel, this situation will improve,” Adrian reassured her, then once more placed his coat over their heads, had Natalie wrap her arms around his neck, held her close and briskly moved towards their destination.

Luckily, there were no hindrances along the way. They had the pedestrian signal in their favor when crossing streets. What was initially a ten-minute run made it in just seven minutes.

“Bring some hot drinks in, anything to keep warm. Also, take the soaked clothes to wash, and dry them as soon as possible. We have a lady here waiting to go home.” Despite their disheveled arrival into the hotel, Adrian managed to make it back to his room. Having stayed at this hotel several times during his visits to New York, the doormen and waitstaff recognized him.

Another flurry had to be handled: drying off the rainwater from body and hair, changing out of soaked clothes to be washed, Adrian could have someone buy a new outfit to fit his size, but Natalie couldn’t; she still needed to head home.

“Might need to wait a bit, won’t be long. Their room service is quite good.” After finishing his call to his driver, telling him he was back at the hotel, Adrian, clad in pajamas, took a seat on the armchair, looking across at Natalie curled up on the long sofa, cupping a hot drink.

“It’s alright, we still have time.” The girl smiled, also wearing pajamas–men’s, since they had nothing more suitable–her small form curled on the sofa making her look particularly petite, like a kitten curled into a ball.

“Feeling better now?”

“Mm, thanks for carrying me back.”

“Oh, as long as you’re not mad at me.”

“Ed!”

Watching Natalie’s chiding look, Adrian couldn’t help but laugh, then he reached over to tuck her hair behind her ear: “You know, you look absolutely adorable like this.”

Under his gaze, the girl involuntarily turned her head, laying it in the palm of his hand near her cheek. Suddenly, as if snapping out of a trance, Adrian quickly withdrew his hand and stood up to walk away.

Natalie also turned her head aside, using her hot drink to hide her embarrassment and quickened heartbeat.

“Maybe, have a shower instead, just wiping isn’t… quite enough to ward off the cold virus,” Adrian suggested from in front of the floor-to-ceiling window.

“Mm… okay, but you go first, I think… I want to sit here a little longer.” Natalie tried hard to keep her voice steady.

“Alright then, I’ll go ahead.” Adrian walked toward the bathroom, not once looking back at her until he was inside.

The bathroom door slammed shut, and Natalie let out a sigh, setting down her cup and covering her face as she moaned softly. Damn! What’s wrong with me! What am I even thinking! This is absolutely insane!

But the more she thought, the more helpless she felt, especially recalling how Adrian had held her in his arms and sprinted through the rain, her feelings becoming even more muddled. Although they had been open and close in their correspondence, their in-person interaction had always been polite and restrained, at most a handshake or a friendly tousle of the hair. The most intimate they had been was during The Professional’s birthday party, where she had looped her arm around Adrian’s head for a photo.

Yet today, being held so close by him, that warm sensation, that mature male scent enveloping her–it all left Natalie feeling dazzled.

The doorbell rang at that moment, pulling the girl from her chaotic emotions. She jumped off the sofa, pulling her oversized pajama top tight as she tiptoed to the door and peeked through the peephole before opening it: “Is there something you need?”

The waitress outside paused for a moment, but quickly conjured a professional smile and lifted the plastic-bagged clothes in front of her, “Here are your clothes, miss.”

“Um… please wait a moment.” Having used up too much mental energy previously, Natalie had no idea how to proceed and simply scooted off to the bathroom after saying this.

“Ed, the waitress brought…” Without thinking, she reached for the bathroom doorknob, which yielded as she turned it, and there stood Adrian, stark naked.

The air froze at that moment, and it took about two seconds before two screams erupted simultaneously.

“I’m so sorry! I’m so sorry! I didn’t know… I shouldn’t have…” Natalie, her face in her hands, ran back into the living room shouting, her blush spreading to her ears.

There was no sound from the bathroom for a while, until finally Adrian sputtered back, “The waitress brought the clothes? Just put them down somewhere, leave the tip on the tea table by the window.”

After saying this, he shut the door and locked it with a click. Despite her face blushing furiously, Natalie quickly found the tip, went to the door, and handed it to the waitress.

“Thank you.” The waitress maintained her professional smile, appearing completely unfazed as if she had heard nothing.

Damn it, Natalie, you are such an idiot, the biggest idiot in the world! The girl slumped against the wall, her face expressing dismay, but her heartbeat quickened once again. The events earlier started replaying in her mind, overlaying the scene from just moments ago, and now not only her cheeks but her entire body began to heat up.

Stop this, Natalie, control yourself, stop being silly! Do you know how serious this is?! Natalie told herself over and over, yet her eyes fell on the telephone in the room.

Please, Natalie, think clearly, you need to know what you’re doing, what you can and cannot do! Although she shouted internally, she slowly stood up, walked over to the phone, lifted her hand, put it down several times, and finally picked up the receiver, quickly dialing the number.

Listen, if no one answers after the third ring, just hang up, okay? A voice in her mind made one last plea.

Unfortunately, a familiar voice soon came through, it was her mom, “Hello, who are you looking for?”

“Hi, Mom, it’s me,” Natalie said in a tone of surprising calmness, “I’m at 47th Avenue, I was about to go to Emily’s and then head back, but as you know, it’s pouring, so… I was thinking of staying over at her place tonight and coming back tomorrow since it’s the weekend anyway.”

“No problem, dear, I’ll tell your dad.”

“Thanks, I’ll have her call you soon.” Natalie hung up and then quickly dialed another number.

“Hi, hello, Mrs., it’s me, Natalie. Is Emily there? Thanks… Hey, Emily, I need a favor, could you call my house right away and say I’ll be staying over at your place, don’t refuse, remember how I helped you before… Just leave that, I have something very important to handle… Okay, bye, if they ask just say I’m still on my way, bye.”

After hanging up the phone again, she blanked out for a few minutes before forcefully slapping herself on the cheeks as if waking from a dream.

“God, what are you doing, Natalie! You idiot! How could you do such a thing! Is your brain fried?” she muttered to herself, pacing back and forth in the room like a headless fly.

“You’re really crazy, do you understand what this means? Are you ready to face the consequences?”

“Oh, don’t forget, he’s a Playboy, think about what those briefings said?”

“This will destroy you, and it will destroy him too!”

As she was in a state of turmoil, the bathroom door clicked open, and Adrian, wearing a bathrobe and clutching his head, appeared at the doorway, “Um… I’m ready, if you want…”

He seemed embarrassed, his eyes fixed on the floor. Startled and feeling even more mortified, Natalie kept silent, rushed into the bathroom, slammed the door shut, and leaned against the wall, taking a deep breath.

Okay, calm down, take a hot shower, rest for a few more minutes, and then go back. Don’t think too much. Natalie forcefully suppressed her agitated emotions, removed her nightgown, adjusted the water temperature, and quickly stood under the showerhead, letting the rushing water drench her body.

“… you must practice restraint in all matters of sex before marriage. If you think that just because two people really commit to each other or just feel so, you can engage in overly intimate behaviors before marriage in the name of God, then it is an outright compromise of the sacred standards with the filthy ways of the world, and in fact, is righteousness corrupted. Sexual intimacy after marriage must also be restricted to between spouses…” She clasped her hands together under the flowing water and softly recited the words of prayer, but before finishing, she frustratedly punched the wall repeatedly, “Damn it! It’s useless! All useless!” (Note: Can’t find the correct Jewish Old Testament chapter, had to make do)

After a long while, the girl, now dressed in a bathrobe, finally staggered out of the bathroom, her gaze somewhat vacant.

“Ha, you finally came out. If you had delayed a few more minutes, I was about to knock,” Adrian joked, his eyes still not meeting hers, then lifted Natalie’s clothes from the couch and shook them, “Look, they did a great job, just like new. Try them on, and if there’s no problem, I’ll drive you back. It’s getting late.”

“Um… okay,” Natalie replied weakly, picking up the similarly oversized robe and walking towards him. Perhaps because she was in a daze, she stepped on the hem dragging on the floor after a few steps, lost her balance completely, and stumbled forward into Adrian’s arms.

Adrian caught her, stepping back a few steps to prevent her from getting hurt, but he didn’t expect Natalie to rush so suddenly, and he ended up sitting on the floor with the girl clinging to him.

“You… are you okay?” Adrian asked with a bitter smile, looking at Natalie in his arms.

Feeling the strength in those arms, Natalie lifted her head. She had never been so close to Adrian, and her already chaotic thoughts turned into a complete mush.

“Maybe let’s get up first, your… um… your bathrobe is all…” Adrian’s rambling was cut short when the girl suddenly wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her tender lips against his.

(One must learn control as well as how to let go.)

Adrian blinked, seemingly stunned by her move, completely unsure of what to do, letting her naively kiss him.

“Nata… Nata… you should go back now…” He stammered after they parted.

“I already called home and told them I’d stay at a classmate’s house tonight.” Natalie gasped softly, her eyes half-closed, a drunken expression on her face as her bathrobe slid off one shoulder, revealing her smooth, white skin, seemingly completely overtaken by her emotions.

“I’m not a good man…”

“I’m not a good girl either…”

As Natalie spoke, she kissed him again, trying hard to push her tongue into his mouth, just like she had seen on TV and in movies.

(When it’s time to let go, don’t hesitate)

—————————–

Yawning, the young girl finally woke from her light sleep. She rubbed her eyes, feeling an unprecedented sense of satisfaction, but when she tried to turn over, she felt a slight pain below. Natalie took in a cool breath, looked around–the room’s lights were dim, but the decor was still quite visible.

She froze for a few seconds, finally remembering what she had done. Ignoring the ache, she turned over and met those dark eyes.

“Ed…” Natalie timidly called out, shrinking her neck, unsure of what to say.

“I have committed a sin, Nata.” Adrian, who had been awake for who knows how long, sighed, “What should I say?”

“Oh my God…we…God, I actually did it… I actually… with you… I actually did such a thing… God will punish me…” Natalie suddenly covered her cheeks and started sobbing.

“Oh, dear Nata, don’t be like this,” Adrian immediately wrapped his arms around her, comforting her by stroking her hair, “Even if there is punishment, it will be my affair, whether it’s God or a judge, or… your father.”

Hearing such words, Natalie couldn’t help but chuckle, although her eyes still shimmered with tears.

“If my dad knew, he would kill you,” she said.

“Of course, of course, I have no doubt about that,” Adrian shrugged, “If it were my daughter who slept with such a man, I would kill the man too, no questions asked.”

He paused before adding, “But this time, if someone finds out, it won’t be just your father who’ll want to kill me.”

Natalie put away her smile, hesitated and then rested her head on his chest, speaking in a troubled tone, “I can’t believe I really did such a thing, I must have been out of my mind, you must have cast some sort of magic on me…”

She suddenly looked up, swung her fist furiously and punched Adrian, “Why didn’t you push me away! Why couldn’t you control yourself! Don’t say you couldn’t!”

“Because I didn’t want to.” Adrian replied softly, gazing at Natalie’s face while his fingers gently traced over it.

The girl stopped her movements immediately, staring at him blankly, her beautiful face flushed quickly with a brief blush, although it was a very brief statement, it implied far too much.

The room fell into silence suddenly, the two of them just gazing at each other, Adrian calm and sincere, and Natalie embarrassed and ambiguous. It’s unknown how long they were like that until it was broken by a growl.

“I’m kind of… hungry,” Natalie said awkwardly.

“That makes sense, we did quite a lot of exercise, and you took a nap; you must be hungry,” Adrian said with a mischievous wink, making an embarrassed Natalie pretend to hit him again.

Speaking, he placed a pillow at the head of the bed, carefully helped Natalie sit up against it, turned on the TV for her, and then walked over to the coffee table to make a call.

Natalie clutched the blanket to her chest, watching Adrian’s back, carefully sticking out her tongue, but then frowned, a slight gloom passed through her eyes that she herself might not have noticed. Eventually, she shrugged and settled into calmness.

—————————-

“These have all been signed, send the documents over tomorrow, and also, tell Crow if it’s possible it’s better to wrap things up by mid-year, don’t drag it to year-end,” Adrian said to Charlize in his study after dealing with the accumulated work.

“No problem, got it,” Charlize nodded, packing up to leave, but her curiosity got the better of her; she stopped at the door and turned back, “Ed, have you encountered something happy?”

“Why, does my face look like something happy happened?” Adrian asked in surprise.

“It’s all over your face,” Charlize sighed, “You’ve been radiating a passionate and lively smile ever since you came in, even whistling continuously, and just now you were dancing in the hallway, nearly bumped into Nakama Yukie; Mrs. Galen was secretly asking me if you had been stimulated by something.”

“No no no, nothing much, but I indeed had some interesting encounters, what they are isn’t important,” Adrian laughed and spread his hands.

“You didn’t happen to seduce someone else, did you? Oh, she’s really lucky to have made you lose your composure like this,” Charlize hummed softly.

Adrian didn’t say a word, just grinned at the female secretary. Charlize then realized her tone carried a hint of jealousy, her pretty face blushing slightly, and she hummed again before opening the door and walking out.

Adrian burst into laughter immediately. It was too amusing–he hadn’t seen that expression on Charlize in a long time. Well done, Natalie! He thought, sighing leisurely. He hadn’t expected Natalie to be the first one to fall.

He had thought that he was just one step away from sealing the deal with Kirsten and that it wouldn’t be long before he could “devour” her next. So, she would have been the first. Although Britney was still in the early stages, progressing slowly but smoothly, considering her EQ and everything she had shown so far, she would easily be the second one. Natalie was supposed to be last since she was smart, and even with scheming, she wouldn’t be easy to influence.

However, what surprised him was how proactive Natalie turned out to be. When he returned to the hotel, Adrian had already noticed some clues. He hadn’t thought deeply about it then, so he maintained good etiquette and occasionally hinted, but Natalie’s subsequent actions completely exceeded his expectations and almost “reversed” the roles.

At this point, Adrian had no longer any reservations and gave Natalie a profoundly memorable first time.

He brought his finger to his nose, lightly inhaling as if he could still smell the faint fragrance of the girl. Afterwards, he held her in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows as they ate dinner and watched the night view of New York, then played some small games and talked about many topics. Eventually, he held her in his arms and she slept through the night–everyone desires a second round, but could Natalie handle it? Did he want her to struggle to walk the next day just to feel satisfied?

“I’m leaving.” This was Natalie’s last sentence before he left New York, said just three streets away from her home on Long Island. It was simple, but some things didn’t need to be said aloud; a look was enough to understand.

“I will still visit you the next time I come to New York.” This was Adrian’s final sentence. Although he wanted to kiss her again, considering some factors and even though Glover had been with him for several years, he ultimately restrained himself.

Picking up on his meaning and observing his actions, Natalie adorably blinked her eyes and then turned around and walked towards her home. After a night’s rest, unless one observed deliberately, it wasn’t apparent that walking was a bit difficult for her.

Well, so the New York part of “Eyes Wide Shut” could be postponed; it was only a few shots anyway. Adrian thought, touching his lips, then his brows slightly furrowed. A subtle sensation, an excitement previously ignored, now surfaced spontaneously. He couldn’t pinpoint what it was exactly, but… he had felt this before.

There was a knock on the door. Upon his permission, Nakama Yukie appeared at the doorway.

“Dinner is ready, Ed,” she said, bowing respectfully.

“Okay, I’ll be there soon, thank you,” Adrian said with a smile, then he set aside that feeling for the moment, knowing that not understanding it now did not mean he wouldn’t understand it later.

The dinner, not lavish but lively, went on pleasantly as per Adrian’s insistence that everyone dine at the table. Yukie’s submissive demeanor earned her the favor of Charlize and Mrs. Galen, making the gathering quite harmonious.

“Your English is improving quickly; that’s very good. How much do you understand about the acting style in Hollywood now?” After dinner, Adrian inquired about Yukie’s learning at school. He could easily arrange for her to attend a prestigious acting school and could just as easily find out her status from the school authorities–the school said she was doing quite well–but he wanted to know Yukie’s opinion of herself.

“Living in an English-speaking environment naturally improves spoken language a lot, but reading and writing still need some work,” Yukie, having grown familiar with Adrian but maintaining an inherent submissiveness to authority, stated, “As for acting, I can only say I’ve roughly understood the differences. Adjusting to them will take more study.”

“Hmm, how about this? In a few days, I’ll arrange an audition for you,” Adrian mused and then lifted her chin with his hand. “If anything untoward happens, you must tell me. If I’m not around, Charli will do. You belong to me, understand?”

“I understand.” Yukie nodded obediently.

“That’s it, then. Come to my room tonight,” Adrian said as he rose to his feet and looked Yukie up and down before chuckling lightly, “Remember to wear outfit number four.”

Outfit number four was a maid’s uniform. This was not the kind of maid outfit sold in any novelty shops but a proper European estate-style maid outfit.

Play it officially. That was always Adrian’s philosophy. Since Yukie worked part-time as a maid and Adrian had decided to buy a bigger villa, she seldom wore this outfit during working hours; she wore it mostly in the evenings when visiting Adrian’s room. Back in Japan, Yukie was aware of Adrian’s preferences, so she always performed well.

Not to mention how Adrian spent the rest of his energy in New York, meticulously concerning himself with Yukie Nakama, dressed as a standard European estate maid. Soon after returning, shooting began in Studio 45 in May. The props and set team built a lavish hall inside the studio, beginning with the scene of the cocktail party.

“A gentleman of high society in public life, impeccably dressed but privately indulging in drugs, soliciting prostitution, and attending exclusive parties, so this man is a gentleman in front of strangers but behaves recklessly around those who know his secrets. Yet, when it comes to someone who knows him but is unaware of the specifics, he should appear calm yet slightly panicked,” Sidney Pollack shared his understanding of the character.

“Very good, Sidney, excellent. Clearly, there’s no need for me to say more,” Adrian applauded lightly in approval.

Pollack’s character was that of Doctor William’s boss played by Tom Cruise, a successful man who appears respectable but leads a somewhat degenerate private life. The story begins at his cocktail party where he, mingling with prostitutes and overdosing on drugs, is compelled to call Doctor William for assistance.

To be honest, Adrian would have loved to cast Woody Allen in this role had Stanley Kubrick not already decided on the cast. With Allen’s unrepentant ways, he would navigate such a role effortlessly, and the combination of Kubrick and Adrian might have appealed to him. Unfortunately, Adrian never got the chance to tease him about it.

“All right, shall we get started, Brian?” Adrian clapped his hands and called out loudly.

“Yes, sir, what do you need?” Brian Cook, one of the assistant directors, promptly appeared. He had worked with Kubrick on “Full Metal Jacket” but was then just a minor character.

In fact, several people on the crew who had worked with Kubrick were in similar positions, and a deeper collaborator, like Kubrick’s brother-in-law who was always responsible for distributing his films, wasn’t involved in this movie production. Consequently, Adrian encountered virtually no obstacles in taking over.

“Have the Cruise couple arrived yet?” Adrian asked.

“Sorry, Mr. Adrian, they haven’t,” Cook gestured with his hands.

“They haven’t?” Adrian raised an eyebrow, “Did you call?”

“Yes, his assistant told us they would arrive at the set in about 30 minutes,” Cook cautiously replied, uncertain of Adrian’s reaction to this news.

“30 minutes?” Adrian chuckled lightly, “Alright, let’s start with a trial shoot in the meantime. Just find someone to substitute for Tom’s image.” (To be continued. If you like this work, we welcome you to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets on wuxiaworld.site. Your support is my greatest motivation.)