Hollywood Zenith

Robert was sitting on the balcony. It was a Sunday which meant he could enjoy morning tea with his old friend, the newspaper.

He also planned to spend some time with his son, Samuel. With the shooting done, it was a rare holiday for him too.

Robert made sure that her schedule was also open. They hardly get to spend time together.

Three of them could visit someplace like a small family vacation.

While he was lost in thought, his phone rang, which was unusual. He specifically instructed everyone not to disturb him today.

He glanced at the caller ID, and it was someone unexpected. Nathanial, his father-in-law, was calling, but he hardly received any calls from him.

He turned toward his wife to ask.

"Did something happened ? your father is calling me." He showed her the phone.

" I don't know. he didn't mention anything to me." Laura replied. She was also puzzled.

" Okay. " he would find out soon enough.

" Hello. Robert?"

" Yes, father. How can I help you?" He said with a stiff tone but was respectable about it.

" Hmm, How is my daughter?" Nathaniel asked, ignoring Robert's question.

" She is fine. We were just having morning tea together."

" What about my grandson?"

" He is also good. He must be in training, it became like a morning routine for him."

Robert kept answering, but Nathaniel was still elusive about his purpose of calling.

Laura, who listened to their conversation, was amused. Robert and her father had a strange history; they were enemies the first time they met, but it all changed when she married him.

Her father was apprehensive about it at first but with time and the support of her mother. Her father had to accept it.

Now, whenever they talked, it was always weird to witness their dynamic.

"Father is something wrong you never call me out of the blue like this." Robert asked.

" It's about Samuel, we haven't properly had a conversation yet. I heard that he is getting into movie business?"

"Yes, he has been busy with a lot of things. Why don't you ask him yourself? I am sure he would be glad to hear from you."

" Hmm, I was hoping that we could meet face-to-face."

" That's a great idea. I think Laura is also feeling homesick lately." Hearing him, Laura flinched. Visiting home was good, but there was only one problem with it, her mother.

" One more thing. What is your plan for the movie?"

" Movie? I don't know what you mean by that."

Suddenly Robert heard another voice on the phone. He knew who it was.

" Samuel's movie, It will be premier in US right? We were hoping to attend the ceremony." Eleanor said.

" I know the premier is months away but we thought we should let you know." Nathaniel said.

" That's a great idea. We would also be there." Laura was excited about it too.

They began to plan everything on the spot. It took them the whole morning; Robert and Nathaniel were left at the sidelines as a daughter, mother pair took hold of the conversation.

But this incident gave Robert an idea for which he would need the help of Nathaniel.

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Returning after his training, Samuel met his parents. It was Arthur who told him that his parents were looking for him.

As soon as he entered the room, his mother called.

"Hey, isn't this our Young Master or should I say a celebrity. What a pleasure to have you here! "

"Mom, stop it. It's embarassing." Samuel touched his nose and sat down on the sofa.

"Heh, what's the trouble? You have been busy all this time that you hardly made time for me, right?"

" When did I ever do that? Wasn't it the opposite? You have been working while avoiding you son."

He wanted to say more. However, Samuel only dared to think about it in his heart. As for speaking out, huh, he had learned that provoking his mother too much was a recipe for disaster.

Faced with her mother's cheerful attitude, he secretly admitted defeat.

"My young Master Samuel is saying some funny things. I think you have been in the limelight recently, getting attention from all those little girls while actively pursuing other 'candidates.' I don't remember teaching my son these things." Laura's voice was full of soreness. Like a mother repenting of the crimes of his son.

" Eh, I already told you it was nothing. I couldn't have possibly declined them right? we have a long road ahead of us, I don't want to upset my colleagues."

" Right? Why burn the bridge and shatter their hope." Laura teased him some more, but Samuel was weary from the start. He didn't want to give in and suffer a potential 'backlash.'

He was unsure how she would react, but he didn't have to worry about it. His father, who was silent till now, helped him by changing the subject.

"Sami, I heard you are acquiring tech shares recently. You were bearish about this industry Right?"

" It's for the future. I will ramp it up some more."

" Is that so? It's already close to a billion, no? It's quite a risky move."

Robert had a solid reason to be surprised when he learned that his son, who had profited heavily by bringing the tech industry down, was trying to revive it.

He knew the temper of those old Wall Street folks; they would go mad when they learned about his son's ploy.

How could he be sure about it? There was no explanation other than his son was a born businessman.

Moreover, it was even more surprising that the 450 million US dollars were used to purchase some relatively unknown company's shares.

There were some blue chip companies among them, but everyone knows that the industry's leaders were oil and gas giants.

But defying everything, he went for some start-up companies. No one would even consider this type of investment; it was mostly for established venture firms that needed to diversify their portfolio or were trying to strike it rich by throwing money at any and everything.

What's more surprising was Samuel's growing wealth. It seems like he crossed a billion-dollar mark only yesterday, but seeing his son bleeding hundreds of millions without much consideration made Robert worry a little.

As usual, he instructed Paul to find the answer. Paul discovered that it was indeed his own profit that he was spending; they first thought that Sami had taken some loans to fund his growth.

Even if he failed, at least he would not be in debt with his 'reckless' funding.

"Father, I know what you are worried about, but I did make a lot of money recently. I also planned out my direction for the next few years. So, don't worry about it too much." Samuel explained vaguely, but of course, such an explanation did not satisfy Robert.

Paul had also investigated, and there is absolutely no problem with the source of the funds.

The source is very clean, and it shouldn't be a problem.

Robert could only sigh that his son was promising.

"Honey, you shouldn't pressure my son too much. I can't possibly image what he has been going through because of you. I told you that we should stop him from indulging in business at such a young age." Laura blamed Robert for allowing Samuel to continue.