I am Hollywood

[Chapter 1057: My Own Trouble]

After going through countless trials and tribulations, Ryan finally felt the solid ground beneath her feet. She scooped up some dirt beside her, relishing the moment of relief after surviving the ordeal. As she tried to stand, she suddenly felt weak and fell back down. Laughing at herself, she wasted no time trying again. This time, she succeeded, albeit a bit wobbly, but she managed to finally stand amidst the vastness of the earth.

Captured from a unique upward angle, the woman in the frame appeared like an ancient and mysterious totem.

...

Once the shot ended, Eric, seated behind the director's monitor, reviewed the playback several times. Under the expectant gazes of the crew, he raised his left hand, signaling an "OK" to everyone.

Applause erupted.

The excitement was palpable as everyone cheered. Eric stood up, embracing and shaking hands with everyone around him. After a brief moment of celebration, the crew began to clean up the set. Eric chatted with William Stewart about the schedule for the coming days. He realized he needed to call the team back in Los Angeles and patted his pockets, only to remember that he had left his phone with Caroline to avoid it getting wet from the lake earlier that morning.

He turned around and asked Caroline, who had been quietly following him, for his phone. Noticing her unusual steps as she approached, Eric asked with concern, "What's wrong?"

Caroline, wanting to avoid troubling Eric, handed over the phone and shook her head, saying, "It's nothing."

But Eric took her hand gently, saying, "Come on, let me take a look."

"Eric, really, it's nothing," Caroline insisted, albeit lightly trying to free herself from his grip. As she stumbled a bit, Eric felt a wave of guilt for not noticing sooner. Without another word, he scooped Caroline off her feet and started walking toward his director's chair.

Caroline didn't mind being held so assertively by Eric; in fact, she felt a sweetness from his care. However, considering the number of people around them, she shyly closed her eyes and rested her head against Eric's chest.

...

This unexpected situation drew everyone's attention. No one believed that Mr. Director was acting out of impatience; they all knew something must have happened. As they gathered around, Mayer stepped in to offer an explanation.

Eric set Caroline down on a makeshift folding chair, crouched down beside her, and gently unfastened the shoelaces of her muddy flat shoes. Her light blue socks had also picked up some dirt from stepping in water earlier. Nonetheless, Eric didn't seem to mind. Holding her tiny foot tenderly, his first thought was, Wow, that's so small.

That thought flashed through his mind as he continued to remove her sock, revealing a foot that could only be described as delicately beautiful -- smaller than his palm and likely a size 9 (UK size 7) at most. Her unpainted toes were smooth and round, resembling pearls, and showed no signs of calluses, just a hint of redness from the soaking, with the rest of her foot resembling the rest of her body -- fair and flawless.

However, the outer area of her ankle had turned red and swollen, which made him feel protective. Eric took a brief glance before subtly sliding the slightly damp sock back onto Caroline's foot. He turned to the crowd and ordered, "William, contact a hospital in Phoenix immediately. Mark, get the helicopter ready. I'm taking Caroline back."

Without waiting for a response, Eric picked Caroline back up and headed toward the VH-60 helicopter parked nearby.

Most of the men around were still lost in a daze from the sight of her delicate foot, while several female crew members had dreamy expressions, thinking how wonderful it would be if someone like Eric Williams were to care for them that way -- if they could even die happy in that moment.

William Stewart quickly snapped back to reality, commanding the crew, "Mark, Mary, and Carter, you follow them. Everyone else, get back to work. Come on, let's move!"

At William's command, the crew sprang into action. The helicopter pilot, Mark Biermann, called for his co-pilot, racing toward the helicopter with Marissa Mayer and several of Eric's bodyguards. The others began to scatter, readying the equipment for filming, while William pulled out his phone to call Phoenix.

...

As everyone was occupied with their tasks, Judy watched the VH-60 ascend into the sky and suddenly felt a twinge of jealousy thinking about her time with Eric over the past few months. In a fit of frustration, she kicked a small stone away from her path.

After calming her sudden emotions, Judy decided to find something else to do to distract herself from her earlier feelings.

Turning around, she noticed her young assistant gazing dreamily at the departing helicopter. Judy asked, somewhat annoyed, "What are you thinking about?"

Lost in her fantasies, the assistant blurted out, "I wish I could be Eric Williams' assistant!"

Judy rolled her eyes back at her, "What, do you want me to recommend you?"

The assistant's eyes lit up with hope, "Really?"

"Just kidding," Judy replied.

The assistant's face fell, and she admonished, "Judy, how could you do that?"

Having gotten to know the two assistants who frequently followed Eric over the past few months, Judy said, "Caroline and Marissa -- one graduated from Cambridge and Harvard, the other from Stanford. What about you?"

The assistant hung her head shamefully, "Compton Community College."

Judy squinted her sharp eyes, chuckling mischievously, "You know, I'm suddenly thinking of changing my assistant."

It seemed the assistant was coming back to reality, following Judy closely as she pleaded, "Judy, don't fire me."

Rolling her eyes again at her assistant behind her, Judy said, "Alright, enough of that. Get me a glass of water."

The assistant perked up at once, urgency in her smile, as she rushed off to get Judy some water.

...

California had an area of more than 400,000 square kilometers and a population of over 80 million. In comparison, Arizona stretched over nearly 300,000 square kilometers, housing only about 4.5 million people, showcasing the vastness and sparse population density of the state.

In other densely populated regions, the crew's sudden actions early in the morning might have caught the media in Phoenix off guard, but residents would have likely noticed and tipped off the press. However, Powell Lake was surrounded by vast, pre-arranged farmland.

By noon, Phoenix reporters had yet to receive any credible information. But shortly after four o'clock, those searching for the Gravity crew on the northern highway of Phoenix spotted a black helicopter speeding toward the city. With only one helicopter in the sky so close to rush hour, the reporters' instincts kicked in, prompting them to jump in their cars to chase the chopper while frantically calling their companions still stationed in Phoenix.

When the VH-60 finally touched down at a private hospital in Phoenix, the city's reporters erupted into a frenzy.

In less than five minutes, sensational headlines like "Major Safety Incident with the Gravity Crew" accompanied photos of the helicopter landing at the hospital began flooding major news websites. Television stations soon connected with the reporters stationed outside the private Carlson Hospital, urgently inquiring about the situation.

Banned from entering the private hospital, some irresponsible media outlets online began spinning various absurd stories. In less than an hour, the entire North American media landscape was aware of the safety incident surrounding the Gravity crew. A surge of calls began flooding into the Firefly Group's various departments, and nearly everyone associated with the Gravity crew started receiving calls from all directions.

...

After hanging up from Jeffrey Katzenberg's call, Eric simply turned off his phone and told Mayer beside him, "We need to avoid any wild speculation. Go out and give a brief update."

Remembering the reporters that seemed eager to break in, Eric directed his bodyguard Carter Moen, "Carter, you and Marissa go out as well."

Mayer nodded and headed outside with the group.

Moments later, a nurse wheeled Caroline out of a nearby CT room. Eric stepped forward to grasp the armrest of Caroline's wheelchair, querying the nurse, "How is she?"

The curvy, Latina nurse answered respectfully, "Mr. Williams, we just need to wait five more minutes. Dr. Brown will come to explain everything shortly; let me take you to his office."

"Okay," Eric nodded, following the nurse as he pushed Caroline toward the doctor's office.

...

After a short wait, when the so-called Dr. Brown had yet to arrive, Mayer returned with Carter appearing slightly flustered, saying, "Eric, they... they don't believe us."

"Then forget it," Eric sighed, knowing it was hard for the media to imagine someone simply twisting an ankle. "What's happening outside? Has anyone made a scene?"

Mayer responded, "No, the city sent a patrol unit to help maintain order; the reporters are currently being held outside."

Eric thought for a moment and said, "Tell Mark and the others to hold off on picking anyone up for now. We'll return to the resort once everything here is settled."

Mayer nodded and hurried off again.

...

After waiting a while longer, a short, slightly stout middle-aged doctor wearing glasses entered the office with a nurse. Eric immediately stood up.

The doctor extended his hand warmly, "Hello, Mr. Williams, I'm Dr. Dax Brown."

Eric politely shook his hand. "Hello, Dr. Brown. What are the results?"

Dr. Brown took a CT scan from the nurse and placed it on the light board on the desk. "Don't worry, Mr. Williams, she has no fractures or serious symptoms. However, it appears there was a mild dislocation, likely because she didn't rest immediately after twisting it, but continued to move, which strained the joint -- right here."

Eric observed carefully at Dr. Brown's direction, feeling relieved. "What's the procedure? Does she need a cast?"

Shaking his head with a smile, Dr. Brown said, "No need for that. We can just reset the joint and secure it with a splint."

Though Eric felt a cast would be more secure, he knew enough about medical practices, so he nodded, "Thanks for the help."

"That's what I'm here for," Dr. Brown replied courteously. "Mr. Williams, can you help lift her onto that bed over there?"

"Of course," Eric nodded and followed the doctor's guidance, lifting Caroline and placing her on the nearby black examination table.

...

After about an hour of managing her care, Eric finally took Caroline from the hospital, boarding the helicopter while fluorescent lights flashed around them to return to the resort where the crew had been staying in North Phoenix.

The clock struck five in the afternoon. As the sun began to set on this October day, Eric stepped off the helicopter carrying Caroline, noticing that part of the crew had already returned while another helicopter was parked on the resort's lawn.

William Stewart approached with the others to greet Eric, glancing at Caroline seated in the wheelchair, slightly embarrassed. He asked Eric, "Eric, how is she? Is everything alright?"

"She's fine, just a sprain. A couple of weeks of rest will do," Eric replied, shaking his head. "No need for everyone to fuss over us. William, get things ready for tonight's party. By the way, how many stayed at Powell Lake? We should send Mark to pick them up."

"No need," William replied. "The remaining crew borrowed a truck from a nearby farm and should be close to Phoenix by now."

Eric nodded, and after a brief chat, William led the others to disperse.

...

Pushing Caroline toward her quarters, Eric placed her on the living room sofa of her suite and asked, "Carly, how do you feel?"

"I'm fine; it doesn't hurt anymore," Caroline said, shaking her head, her cheeks tinged with pink hue as she shyly added, "Eric, I... I must have caused everyone a lot of trouble."

"Don't dwell on things that don't matter," Eric said gently, squatting in front of her to brush her golden hair back. "If it's a trouble, it's just mine alone. I wouldn't let anyone else take it away from me."

Caroline nodded, her cheeks flushing a deeper shade as she hesitated, then slowly reached out to touch Eric's cheek softly before quickly retreating.

Eric caught her retreating hand and pressed it against his cheek, rubbing against it, saying, "You should rest now. I'll go make you something to eat."

*****

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