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Chapter 220: Coal Digger

Then the doorbell rang, and Jay went to answer it, with me following behind.

"Hi, hi, hi, hi! How ya doin'?" Jay greeted warmly.

Hey, I thought, outraged. That is for flirting (without the 'g' at the end). I’ll talk to Joey about how we have heretics here.

"Hey, Gramps," Alex greeted.

"Hi, beautiful," Jay responded.

"Hi, Phil," Jay continued. "Good to see ya."

Claire was the last to arrive. "Let me guess. Game's on?" she asked, noticing her dad welcoming ...

Chapter 219: The Call IV

“I mean, and you, son? You and Scarlett?” Mom asked me.

“Yeah. But she’s moving to Europe in April for a new movie, so we both know not to get too involved.”

Mom nodded without saying anything.

“But I think I should tell her the truth about Marshmello. I was thinking about inviting her on Saturday, when I’ll be recording with Brit and Shakira.”

Mom approached me and kissed my head. “It’s good that you have more people you can trust.”

“Oh, ...

Chapter 218: Valentine’s Day III

I sat down at the piano and began to play:

You Are The Reason (Calum Scott)

♪There goes my heart beating
'Cause you are the reason
I'm losing my sleep
Please, come back now♪

♪And there goes my mind racing
And you are the reason
That I'm still breathing
I'm hopeless now♪

♪I'd climb every mountain
And swim every ocean
Just to be near you
And fix what I've broken
Oh, 'cause I hope you can see
That you are the rea...

Chapter 217: Valentine’s Day II

"Oh great, another one," I could hear Claire mutter.

"J-money!" Phil greeted enthusiastically.

"Phil!" Claire snapped, then turned toward me. "Hi Jake," she waved with one hand while holding her coat with the other.

Glancing at more people around them (apparently acquaintances), and already understanding the situation, I remarked, "I overheard security mentioning a woman got stuck on the escalator, and that someone was being sent to help. So you don’t need to worry, mainte...

Chapter 216: Valentine’s Day

I picked Scarlett up at the airport.

The number of paparazzi had dropped significantly after a few serial maniacs melted or glued camera parts onto their bodies. They woke up naked in busy public areas.

To make it worse (or better, depending on who you ask), tabloids even published those photos. Karma at its finest.

The public loves a freak show. Celebrities, for the most part, despised them. So basically, no one came to their defense.

Police had always consid...

Chapter 215: Scarlett (Again)

I was calling Scarlett.

“Hey Jake, what’s up?” she answered the phone.

“Hi Scarlett. Are you gonna go to the Oscars with anyone?” I asked.

“Are you asking me out?” she asked with a mischievous tone.

“I am. Would you accept?” I asked without hesitation.

“You know, I’m flying to LA tomorrow. I’ll be there until the end of April.”

“For Freaky Friday, right?”

“So you knew it,” she said over the phone.

“Ye...

Chapter 214: Nomination II

"I already have four, including mom. Two more tickets available," I murmured.

"Congratulations, Jake," Pippa said with a sweet smile, though there was still astonishment on her face.

"Thanks, Pips."

---

During the break, I saw the messages lighting up on my phone:

Laura: Oscar??! Wooow

Scarlett: Oscar!! Congrats!!

Britney: Oscar, let's go! I got an invitation too, I’ll root for you o/

Yeah, Sc...

Chapter 213: Nomination

February 12th, 2002

I was sleeping peacefully when my phone rang.
I woke up, groaned and looked at the clock: it was 5:45 AM.
"Who the hell is calling me so early..."

I looked at the phone and saw it was Pepper.

"Morning, Jake," she greeted as soon as I answered.

"Pepper, it's still the middle of the night. What just happened?" I questioned, still groggy.

"Jake, you were nominated for the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay," she announced.

"What Oscar...

Chapter 212: Songs

Sam said she had something to do and that she’d see us later at Regina’s party. Freddie took advantage of the ride to go as well, to meet Cara

“All done. Now I’ll only make changes toward the end of the year—unless something completely shifts the stock market,” I murmured.

In my family’s portfolio (Harper Fund), the returns will be much higher (especially since I acquired put options), but the fund’s people can make money in other ways.

“Jake, when will I b...

Chapter 211: Business Plan for Everyone

Britney was still holding my arms, eyes wide like a kid about to enter Disneyland for the first time.

"I can’t believe it. My own cosmetics brand..." she whispered, then looked at me dead serious. "You’re not just playing, right?"

I leaned in with a smirk. "Brit, I’m putting millions into this. Do I look like I’m playing?"

She smiled, full diva mode. "Okay then. But I want it to be very, very good. Smells great, and high quality."

"Of course," I said. "Guy prob...

Chapter 210: Britney Business Plan

"Man, it is not only about trusting you, but we think you are a very good money maker," Freddie said. "Basically, all the money I have was your idea. And it's not like I really worked hard for it..."

"Besides," Carly added, "we know you’re incredibly generous with your friends. Apart from the 'Paranormal Activity' bonus, our iCarly contract is waay out of the ordinary."

"I talked to Mikayla," she continued, "and I know she’s making around $12,000 per episode, same as ...

Chapter 209: Britney 2.0

A few days had passed since the Jingle ceremony (which we didn’t attend). Britney and I were in my room.

Ever since Britney joined JDS, we kicked out — one by one — every single leech, bloodsucker, incompetent, and dimwit from her team. Which means… basically everyone.

To be her manager, we hired a young (30-year-old) Guy Oseary last month. Pepper told me he’s super talented and would get the job done. Larry Rudolph? He can go open a food truck in Vegas

First thing...

Chapter 208: Charlie is a Better Man

"Did we just walk into a treasure cave?" Uncle Charlie remarked, eyes wide. "And you hid this from me?"

"Obviously," I replied dryly. "Otherwise, my collection would be long gone."

He glared at me but kept inspecting the labels.

"Romanée-Conti and Louis XIII," Heidi noted. "You guys are really wealthy."

"Take whatever you like for tonight. Though, for the record, those two are on the cheaper end here"

Romanée-Conti depends on the vintage. No way I’m letting t...

Chapter 207: Showing Off

After talking to Heidi, Lindsay returned.

"She had another call, that’s why I took longer. Heidi agreed, but only as a friend."

I gave a slight nod.

"Lindsay, I’ll be upfront. I almost never do this with girls I go out with, and I don’t want you to get the wrong idea," I began, holding her hand. "I want to give you a few gifts so you look even more stunning tonight."

"Okay..." she murmured, still processing. "I guess I can live with presents," she added playfully...

Chapter 206: JD Talent Universe

After the supermarket, I was back in Malibu, kissing Lindsay on the deck.

We stopped for a while, she was admiring the view, and I was admiring her (she really is a beautiful model), while I wrapped my arm around her waist.

"I really miss a view like this. NYC beaches are kind of ugly..." she murmured.

"Kind of?" I said, amused. The beaches there don’t even compare to Malibu—or to San Diego, where Lindsay used to live (before that, she lived in Moreno Valley, in San Bern...

Chapter 205: Supermarket

Sarah drove to the Bristol Farms in Malibu.

Yeah, we pay an overpriced premium for the products just to get personalized service—well, my family does, since I basically don’t go to the grocery store (I had started ignoring small amounts of money entirely).

In the parking lot, we met up with Uncle Charlie and Dad. Other cars with more security were parked nearby.
"Let’s go in," Charlie said, and the three of us followed.

Another good thing about Sarah: she turned hea...

Chapter 204: Malibu Life

After chatting more (I had no classes this afternoon), I went back home (Malibu again).

When I arrived, Uncle Charlie and Dad were still having lunch.

"Good afternoon!"

"Hey kid," Uncle Charlie greeted.

"Hello son. What is that graphene your mother was talking about?" Alan asked.

"It is a 2D carbon structure. Nothing much," I replied.

"Isn't that something that could win a Nobel??" Alan exclaimed weirdly.

"It is. But probably not for me. The Nobel pri...

Chapter 203: Future II

After long discussions, we settled on an initial project budget of seventy million dollars. Gordon and I each contributed twenty-five million, JD and Henri added ten million each, and Caltech agreed to provide the facilities and infrastructure.

The intellectual property would be split accordingly: thirty percent to Caltech, ten percent to Henri, twenty-five percent to Gordon—who transferred his entire share to Paige—another twenty-five percent to me, and the remaining ten percent to...

Chapter 202: Future

In one of the conference rooms at Caltech, I sat in a regular seat near the center of the table. Pepper was to my right, flipping through her handwritten notes.

Siebert sat across from me with a thick book filled with printed research. Paige was beside him, jotting quick thoughts into her notebook, occasionally glancing my way. Harvey leaned against the wall near the whiteboard, arms crossed, observing quietly.

The door opened, and Gordon Moore entered—an elder statesman of scie...

Chapter 201: Business Updates

I still had my hands on Paige’s shoulders.

"Heh, since we’re already here, let’s take a walk around Cowtech. Paige, I already know it, but maybe you can show the others.

"She got excited. "Come on Carly and Sam, let’s go!"

"Freddie, you can leave the camera with my bodyguard and grab it later. You can do your tour as a couple." I spoke

Freddie and Cara smiled and did just that.

Leslie ended up joining us.

"You know that Jake just wants to check if t...

Chapter 200: Graphene II

Paige and Leslie walked out of the lab as if they had just seen a ghost.

"What just happened?" Carly asked, looking at the two in shock.

"I showed them something incredible," I said, then turned to Sam. "Remember that prank you pulled with some tape and pencil dust?"

"Yes," she nodded, raising an eyebrow. "But heh, not one of my finest moments," she shrugged.

"Well, I showed them that," I said, holding up a piece of tape with graphite stuck to it.

Everyone stared...

Chapter 199: Graphene

Two days have passed since the Patriots won Super Bowl XXXVI.

Yesterday was Freddie's 16th birthday. He wanted a simple celebration without much noise. So it was just a small gathering of close friends, with his mom organizing everything (with Cara's help).

I respected his wish and didn’t throw any flashy surprises. Even though I love big parties, I have to admit, now and then, these smaller, more intimate gatherings have their charm. 

"Hey," I began, but paused when ...

Chapter 198: After the Super bowl

I woke up with a 'slight headache'. "What a rookie mistake..." I murmured and took some pills.

Leaving the room, a voice came right beside me.

"Good morning, Jake."

"For God’s sake, Sarah, want to kill me of a heart attack?" I said, placing a hand over my heart after the scare she gave me.

She just gave me an amused smile and continued,

"Everyone is safe," she added.

People went a bit overboard with the Patriots’ victory last night (maybe I encouraged i...

Chapter 197: Another Superbowl III

As the applause slowly faded, the stadium remained hushed for a moment longer

Chester gave a small bow, nodded toward me, and then quietly exited the stage.

Then I exhaled.

A soft chime in my earpiece snapped me back to the moment. "Jake, you're clear. Get ready for the next set," Pepper’s voice came through.

I turned to the deck and started queuing up the next track

Back in the VIP box, I knew my friends were watching.

---

Alan, Judith, Freddie, Ca...

Chapter 196: Another Superbowl II

Finally arriving at our destination, Louisiana, everyone was sent to their respective hotels. With such a large group, tighter organization was inevitable. 

A few people were assigned responsibilities, and George Cooper was put in charge of the football team. Despite the headache, nothing could wipe the grin off his face—he was just hours away from watching the Super Bowl live in the stadium.

The rest of my group split up as well, but always escorted by security.

A fe...

Chapter 195: Another Superbowl

2002 February 3th, another Super Bowl was about to happen. I’ve always had a special feeling about them. It all began with bets in Football, after all.

But this time, there would be none— I owned the Patriots now. Club owners were strictly forbidden from betting, even if it was in favor of their own team winning.

Besides, betting money had stopped being relevant ever since JD grew to its current scale. Not to mention the kind of trouble it could bring from the shady figures be...

Chapter 194: Beats One

In addition to the strict curation of licensed product quality, we had another clause imposed on manufacturers of products aimed at children: a prohibition on exorbitant profits (the price can't be much different comparing to the similar ones).

Adults, on the other hand, should know what they're doing. If they're willing to pay a premium price for something, that's their choice.

I began comparing the headphones. I first picked up the matte black Beats One and placed it beside the ...

Chapter 193: Beats by Mello

I was with Pepper inspecting another idea I had (stole) last year. Earlier, we had gone over everything again about how things would unfold during the Super Bowl.

Beats by Mello

The idea is straightforward: an over-ear wired headphone called Beats One. The brand uses a minimalistic logo — a "b" inside a circle — placed on both earcups. Visually, it suggests the head of a person using the headphones.

The headphones come in five color options: snow white (my signa...

Chapter 192: New Song

"And I don't go after girls who are taken. So, forget it." I finished

Just then, Judith walked up with two dessert plates in hand, looking slightly amused.

"Should I even ask what’s going on here?" she asked, handing me one of the plates.

"Your son is too charming. Now even the mother is pushing her own daughter," I said.

Mom kept a stone-faced expression and turned to Claire. "Was the boy who came to your house really that bad?"

That made Mitchell and Claire l...

Chapter 191: Lily II

Jay’s voice rang through the house. “Knock, knock, we’re here!”

Mitchell turned slightly toward me, lowering his voice to explain, “My dad, uh, my dad isn’t completely comfortable with this. He still does this thing... where he announces himself before walking into any room we’re in.”

I nodded to him. That reminded me of another one: Knock knock, Mitchell… Knock knock, Mitchell… Knock knock, Mitchell. Classic. I still haven’t seen it... 

M...