Made in Hollywood

After having lunch at a restaurant, Duke opened the rear door, waited for Scarlett to get in the car, opened the front door and sat in the driver's seat, fastened her seat belt, and looked behind.

"Are you going home?" Duke asked.

"I don't want to go back." Scarlett immediately shook her head, leaned on the driver's seat, blinked her smart eyes and said, "Are you going to leave me again, Duke?"

Duke frowned, "I'm going to Malibu this afternoon."

"Didn't you go to see the house?" The little girl remembered it clearly, "The godmother said that I should follow you today. You are alone anyway. Can I go with you?"

"Yes, but don't talk too much, Scarlett!"

Signaling Scarlett to sit down, Duke started the Bentley and slowly drove out of the parking lot, "It's almost time, we have to hurry."

"Aren't you going to continue living in North Hollywood?" The little girl's head popped out of the back again, and Duke had to slow down and remind, "Scarlett, fasten your seat belt, or I'll send you home. !"

"It will bully me!"

She grumbled as she sat back and fastened her seat belt, and continued, "Are you going to move out of North Hollywood?"

"Um..." Duke just nodded.

The apartment here is leased. Since the North American box office of "Independence Day" broke 300 million US dollars, many paparazzi have also listed him as a target. Although the community management in North Hollywood is also strict, it cannot stop the pervasive paparazzi. , and his finances are getting richer and richer, and it is time to buy a house of his own.

What's more, the current real estate prices are relatively low, even from the perspective of value preservation, it is very cost-effective to start a luxury house.

Passing through the canyon of Highway 1 and entering the area of ​​Malibu, Duke soon met with the real estate agent, and under the leadership of the other party, drove towards the Malibu beach area.

As early as a few days ago, the other party sent him pictures of many houses. Duke took a fancy to one of them and went straight to his destination.

Ten minutes later, Duke had followed the real estate agent and stood in front of a mansion.

"It's nice, it's quiet, it's beautiful."

Holding Duke's sleeve and looking at the sea not far away, Scarlett looked very satisfied, "It's big enough."

Duke turned to look at her, and the little girl immediately closed her mouth.

This is not a seaside villa, but a seaside manor, covering a full 3 acres, facing the Pacific Ocean, backed by the Santa Monica Mountains, out of the private driveway among the trees, it is the coastal highway No. 1, traffic Convenient enough.

Moreover, the manor occupies a separate cliff, keeping a sufficient distance from the left and right neighbors. The unique eye-shaped main building is guarded by two small houses on the flanks, standing on the cliff by the sea, and has special elevators and The passage leads to a private beach under the cliffs.

Accompanied by the real estate agent, Duke saw the manor's woods, gardens, outdoor swimming pools, tennis courts and other facilities, and was basically satisfied, especially the groves surrounded by three sides, which not only played a greening role, but also covered the outside world. Line of sight, effectively protect the privacy of the manor.

"It was designed by the famous architect John Trauner."

For the real estate agent, Duke is definitely a top customer. He did not make any sales during the whole process. Now that Duke seems to be satisfied, he introduced the basic situation. "Built in 1962, the predecessor of the house The owner is the famous musician Lars Garcia, known in Los Angeles as the house on stilts..."

Nodding lightly, Duke motioned for Scarlet, who was looking around curiously, to follow, and walked into the huge eye-shaped villa first.

The real estate agent named Lynch immediately followed and continued to introduce, "There are 11 bedrooms and matching reception rooms, bathrooms, plus the dining room, living room and grand banquet hall, a total of 53 rooms on three floors..."

Listening to the real estate agent's words, Duke walked into the living room, stepped on the empty and spotless floor, and walked to the floor-to-ceiling windows facing the sea. The manor seems to be wrapped in the fresh air and the sea breeze blowing slowly. It is the first choice to escape from the busy Los Angeles and enjoy a natural and clean life.

In addition to the factors of the house itself, Duke has to consider other factors.

This manor is close to the Santa Monica Mountains. If you drive along Coastal Highway 1, you can reach Santa Monica's private marina area within half an hour, not far from the mother's side. Close, just right.

In addition, the Internet era is coming, and the privacy of celebrities will not be guaranteed in the future. The manor occupies a separate small cliff. Except for the side facing the sea, the other three sides are covered by high walls and tall evergreen trees, unless the paparazzi use an airplane. , Otherwise, don't even think about peeping into the scenery inside the manor from outside.

Finally, I came to the private beach under the cliff through the elevator. The beach is not big, less than half an acre. The northernmost beach was cut off by the protruding cliff, and the previous owner built a passage and a tiny pier on it. , can dock small yachts.

After going around the main facilities of the manor, Duke is generally satisfied, except for the price. Although the US dollar is stronger than the future due to the relationship between the years, the seller still offered a high price of up to 9.5 million US dollars!

"Mr. Rosenberg..."

When walking into the parking lot, the real estate agent asked politely, "Are you satisfied with this place?"

"It's okay." Duke said casually.

Although there will be a large amount of revenue sharing, the price is still a bit high for Duke. Of course, he will not negotiate the price in person. Nancy Josephson's assistant will handle related matters, and according to the current market, this price There is also room for price cuts.

"Did you see it, Duke?"

On the way back, Scarlett Johansson sat in the back and asked, "I think it's pretty good, what do you think?"

"Ok." Duke replied casually.

"Hey, I'm seriously discussing the issue with you!" Scarlett raised her voice dissatisfied.

"I'm serious too!"

Having said that, Duke's attitude has not changed at all.

Scarlett puffed out her cheeks angrily, and found that Duke was so absorbed in driving that he couldn't look at the back at all, and let out the breath he deliberately held back, folded his arms around his chest, and stared at the tall figure driving in front of him.

"I understand." Scarlett said crisply, "You will definitely buy that house, your eyes betray your thoughts, that house..."

This was completely intentional. On the way back to North Hollywood from Malibu, Scarlett successfully turned into a chatter, poisoning Duke's ears in a way that Duke did not like.

The consequence is that as soon as he entered the confines of North Hollywood, Duke turned to the road leading to the suburbs of Burbank, and regardless of Scarlett Johansson's objection, he forcibly sent her back home.

"I'll remember you, Duke!"

The little girl who got off the car was full of grievances, and seemed to cry at any time, "Remember that when I was young, you always used your age advantage to bully me! When I grow up in the future, I will definitely come back, I swear! I swear I will settle accounts with you in the future!"

The little girl walked towards the house angrily, as if she didn't want to look back at Duke, but the moment she knocked on the door to go in, she saw the familiar Bentley still parked, the corners of her mouth turned up unconsciously.

But before she could show her joy, there was a crisp sound similar to that of china falling on the floor in the kitchen, followed by the sound of a man and a woman arguing, and the quarrel was accompanied by more sounds of falling things...

This scene has happened countless times in the past year. Scarlett stood at the door blankly, looking over there, the corners of her mouth slowly fell, her blue and green eyes were full of confusion and sadness, as if she was being attacked by someone Abandoned the general.

No one cared about her, no one cared about her, even the brother who helped her open the door didn't look back at her when he walked upstairs, and he didn't even give her a comforting look.

The little girl's proud little head, which was always held up in the past, slowly lowered, and her big eyes gradually filled with tears, but she was stubborn and refused to let it fall.

After staying at home for less than a minute, Scarlett Johansson turned to open the door and walked out again. She lowered her head, like a purposeless little zombie, and came to the door of the garden crookedly. Location.

As soon as the car was started, Duke saw Scarlett pushing open the door and walking towards this side in a dejected manner, not at all naughty and mischievous.

Although he didn't know what happened, Duke still opened the car door and walked over. The little guy seemed to be distracted, and he didn't even see him.

"Scarlett, what happened?"

Hearing the familiar question, Scarlett looked up at Duke, as if she had found a target, bypassed him and walked straight towards the Bentley, Duke quickly followed.

Seeing that the little girl skillfully opened the door and fastened her seat belt, but didn't speak, Duke got into the driver's seat and turned around and asked, "Dear, what's the matter?"

Scarlett raised her head, looked at Duke seriously for a while, and then said softly, "They are arguing again, no one cares about me, and no one cares about me."

"Can I follow you, Duke?" She stared at him eagerly. "Although you are fierce and bullying, and you always like to lose your temper at me inexplicably, I know you care about me."

Hearing the words in front, Duke almost got his nose twisted, but when he heard the words in the back, he could only sigh. From the phone call, it can be seen that Scarlett Johansson's current family environment is not good. There is a big problem with the relationship.

"Okay, let's go to Santa Monica." Duke started the car. "I'll call you home later."

"Can I stay with my godmother at night?" she asked expectantly.

"As long as you are willing to."

Anyway, he can throw it to his mother when he gets home, and he doesn't have to worry about it himself. If possible, he can just put her down and go directly to his apartment in North Hollywood.