Chapter 688
Voluntary Exit
"It's this house, it's a little old."
In an apartment in West Los Angeles, agent Dani Garcia led Joanna and Allison into the bedroom and said, "It hasn't been cleaned in a while, so you might have to do it yourselves."
Even as a former singer, Allison still habitually viewed her manager as a service provider, saying, "Why don't you hire someone..."
“We can clean it ourselves.” Joanna, though not the brightest, was much smarter than Allison and quickly interrupted her, saying, “We’ll move as soon as we find a suitable place to stay.”
Dani Garcia said with a smile, "We're old friends, please feel free to stay."
Even before the videotape incident, Allison had never experienced such a predicament. She thought of Dani Garcia's ex-husband and asked, "Does Dwayne Johnson know about us?"
Dani Garcia has divorced Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, but they remain close, and she even continues to act as his agent.
She said, "You don't need to contact Dawn. Johnson asked me to arrange this property. You two stood against Hawke and the Twitter group at a crucial moment, and that's Johnson's backer. This is all Johnson can do..."
"Please thank Johnson for us." Joanna knew very well that she needed to find a place to stay before she could look for a job.
Although the two women had very low moral standards, they couldn't exactly go prostitution, could they? The gangs wouldn't let them off the hook then.
As if she had just remembered something, Dani Garcia said, "By the way, Dawn also bought several investment properties in World One Tower. The Dong Group has already refunded the deposit and fully compensated the breach of contract penalty. Haven't you two received it?"
Joanna was surprised: "No, no one has contacted us. The lawyer we finally found just contacted Mr. Dong's side yesterday, but they are still dragging their feet."
“I saw in the media that many people have received compensation.” Dani Garcia took out the Wall Street Journal that she had brought with her and handed it to Joanna: “There are related news articles in the newspaper.”
Joanna took the report and quickly browsed through it, and sure enough, she found a report about the Dong Group.
Banks and courts have sealed off the Tung Group building in New York. Mr. Tung's wife, Melanie, has filed for divorce, and Inie is leading the refund and compensation process for the Tung Group.
Many people in both the political and business circles received compensation.
This includes some Hollywood stars.
Besides Dwayne Johnson, Joanna also saw Tobey Maguire's name in the newspaper.
She could barely tolerate it at first, but after reading the newspaper, she was about to explode.
Why did other Hollywood stars receive compensation, but he didn't?
If neither of those apply, then forget it...
But Joanna couldn't vent her anger on Dani Garcia, saying, "I'll contact a lawyer and have him go to the Dong Group."
Allison quickly interjected, "Could Dawn ask for us quietly?"
Since the other party isn't saying anything, Dani Garcia will guide them to consider this direction anyway, which saves them trouble.
She said, "I will pass that message on to Dawn, but what he does is not up to me."
Joanna thanked her, saying, "Thank you for your help."
Dani Garcia glanced at her watch: "It's getting late, I have to go to my agency, I should go."
"Newspapers?" Joanna didn't want to spend money on newspapers anymore.
She felt like she was turning into Whitney Houston, who drowned in the bathtub after the New Year, having to borrow even a few dozen dollars.
Dani Garcia waved her hand: "Keep it."
After seeing the people off, Joanna didn't clean up. Instead, she carefully read the newspaper and quickly contacted a lawyer to go to the Dong Group.
But the lawyer only sent bad news.
The Dong Group stated that there were problems with the contract signed by both parties, but there was no breach of contract.
Joanna had a feeling that she was being targeted by the Dong Group.
"That damn golden retriever deserves to go to hell!" Allison, who was of Black descent, uttered a vicious curse: "When I see him again, I'll kill him!"
Joanna was also very annoyed.
How can people without money survive in this society?
The two women did want to go out and sell themselves, but after the sting operation, the FBI kept an eye on them.
Now, not only has their house been seized by the bank, but they also owe the FBI a hefty fine.
Joanna said, "Let's wait for news from Dwayne Johnson."
Meanwhile, Dani Garcia returned to William Morris, where Dwayne Johnson was already waiting for her in his office.
Compared to when he first met Hawke, Dwayne Johnson has grown much larger and is clearly using more drugs.
He asked his ex-wife, "Is everything going smoothly over there?"
“It was much easier than I expected.” Dani Garcia leaned down and kissed Johnson’s cheek, saying, “Joanna has a little bit of a brain, while Allison has no brains at all except for doing that.”
She then made another request to the mother and daughter.
Dwayne Johnson shook his bald head and said, "In a couple of days... well, after the Oscars ceremony, you give them the feedback as planned."
Dani nodded: "I will. They're already furious. If we provoke them any further, who knows what they might do."
Johnson shrugged: "That's none of our business. We're just helping them."
Dani was still somewhat worried: "Won't something bad happen if we do this?"
Johnson said, "Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Jennifer Ferguson will become the First Lady tomorrow. Even if they fail, they will still control California and Los Angeles. I've had such a successful run these past few years, and nobody even dares to talk to me about the Red Sofa. What is it that I've relied on?"
Dani Garcia, who was involved in Johnson's early career, automatically chimed in: "Your relationship with Hawke."
"That's right, I have a pretty good relationship with Hawke and Brian." Johnson's ability to become a Hollywood star who almost reached the level of a superstar after 2010 shows that he is much smarter than the average actor of Black descent.
He said, "But this kind of relationship can only be used once, and I'm far from being a collaborator like Tom Cruise and Eric Jones. So, I want to be a collaborator, not just a friend."
Dani understood: "My considerations are not as comprehensive as yours."
Johnson continued, "Furthermore, this is about befriending the next president. Countless people would kill for an opportunity like this. Even if something unexpected happens, the FBI in Los Angeles is under Jennifer's control, and the LAPD is heavily influenced by the Ferguson family. So what if we directly bewitch them, let alone help Joanna and Allison?"
Dani nodded: "I understand."
Johnson glanced at the time and said, "Let's go to my house."
Dani left the agency with him.
Johnson, this big guy with a cute little heart, is loved by both his ex-wife and current wife.
After getting into the car, Johnson made a special phone call to Jennifer's people. ...
Beverly Hills, a hilltop estate.
Jennifer put down her phone, picked up her teacup, took a sip of black tea, and said to Erica and Hawke, "Things are going very well with Johnson."
Hawke took the teapot, poured her some more tea, and said, "Why did you think of using Johnson?"
Jennifer laughed and said, "I still remember the videotape scandal from back then. Wasn't it Johnson who introduced you to Joanna and Allison?"
Erica chimed in, "That's right, Hawke was a public relations professional back then."
Hawke said, "Johnson introduced me to several business deals, and I made hundreds of thousands of dollars from him. He also contributed a lot to my initial capital accumulation."
Erica asked Jennifer, "Can they handle the two of them?"
“It would be difficult under normal circumstances,” Jennifer said calmly, “but Mr. Dong’s whereabouts are not a secret to them.”
Federal prosecutors restricted Mr. Dong from leaving Los Angeles because of enforcement measures requested by the FBI.
Hawke said, "The Dong Group is selling off some high-quality assets at low prices. If you are interested, you can try to take them over."
Jennifer asked curiously, "Aren't you interested?"
Hawke, who has never been involved in real estate projects, said, "I had someone buy Mar-a-Lago, intending to use it as a vacation spot in Miami."
Jennifer said, "My brother has already made his move, but many wolves and tigers are eyeing the Dong Group, so we can only barely get a piece of the pie from them."
Without a doubt, the Tung Group has crossed the line into the social hierarchy.
Erica replied, "I don't know much about these things, so I won't get involved."
Brian arrived late and came straight to her as soon as he entered.
Hawke asked, "What's the situation in Washington?"
“Tom Emer gave John Boehner a reply today, saying he can issue a statement of withdrawal.” Brian sat down opposite Hawke and said quickly, “However, he asked John Boehner to vouch for him, so we can’t keep pushing him.”
Erica took the teacup, poured him some tea, and said, "It's not us who have a grudge against Tom Emer."
Hawke cautioned, "But after this, there will be a grudge."
Erica's logic has always been brutal: "To avoid future troubles, find a way to get rid of them."
Jennifer, who has recently become addicted to manipulating Mr. Dong, said, "So, our strategy is to agree to his demands and then wait for the right opportunity."
Hawke nodded: "The Walker and Cheney families will be patient until he steps down."
Erica asked, "Tom Emerson doesn't understand these things?"
“Of course he understands. Sitting in the White House, he sees things more clearly than anyone else,” Brian said simply. “But Tom Emer is very good at choosing between facing a fatal blow from both us and those two families at the same time, or only facing the blow from those two families.”
To put it bluntly, the conflict between the Los Angeles Group and Tom Emmer stems from the White House position and the party's sole nominee.
Hawke added, "Most of the heads of various departments in the White House have joined the AI Manhattan Project."
Jennifer thought of Regina, Tom Emmer's assistant.
Brian said, "Just wait, Tom Emer will probably make a statement first thing tomorrow morning."
Hawke said, "It will be done in a more respectable way."
That evening, George Walker flew to Los Angeles and met with Hawke and Brian.
The Walker and Cheney families suffered considerable losses in this protracted civil war.
Both sides will temporarily tolerate and accept Tom Emmer's ceasefire agreement, and after the latter issues a statement, they will overturn the verdict and apply for federal compensation.
The specifics will be handled by a professional legal team, so Hawke and Brian don't need to worry about it.
Everything will have to wait until Tom Emer leaves the White House.
After all, getting a sitting president to have such wild ideas is quite a troublesome thing.
…………
The following morning, when Hawke arrived at the company, Edward brought him a copy of The Washington Post.
This newspaper exclusively revealed the big news about the current president on its front page.
According to confirmed information from the White House medical team, Tom Emmer recently felt unwell and underwent a comprehensive physical examination, which revealed multiple problems with his heart and brain nerves. Doctors advised him to reduce his workload and ideally undergo long-term recuperation.
After the news broke, Claire Emerson, who was in Houston, was interviewed and asked about Tom Emerson's condition. She told reporters that it was Tom Emerson's old ailment, which was not too serious at first, but had become significantly worse in recent years.
The situation began to change; Tom Emer's ex-wife, Claire, seemed less sharp than before.
Subsequently, reporters photographed Tom Emer appearing at a neurosurgeon's clinic at a large hospital in Washington, D.C.
Public opinion across the United States is quietly shifting, especially on Twitter and Fox News, with top news turning to the upcoming Oscars ceremony.
Just the week of the Oscars ceremony, the White House announced that Tom Emmer would personally attend the next White House press briefing and make an extremely important announcement.
On Wednesday, hundreds of reporters gathered in the White House press room, and Twitter and Fox News set up live cameras.
Facing the media cameras, Tom Emmer announced that due to chronic heart and neurological problems, he was no longer fit for high-intensity work and, considering his personal health, would be withdrawing from this year's election. He also expressed his strong support for Elephant Party candidate Bryan Ferguson.
Although the decision was somewhat unexpected, considering the previously announced news of his illness, it can be considered a dignified exit.
With Dong Zong and Tom Emmer announcing their withdrawal, the elections within the Elephant Party are essentially over, and all that remains is to go through the routine procedures.
Brian has won the Elephant Party nomination.
Meanwhile, some things are also proceeding quietly and rapidly.
Regina's lawyer reached an out-of-court settlement with Tom Emmer's lawyer, who paid her a large sum of money in exchange for dropping the charges.
Tom Emer's former assistant, Krish, also received considerable compensation and left North America for Ethiopia to enjoy a comfortable life in Damajing.
Claire's lawyer has discussed the terms of the divorce, and the two will quietly finalize the divorce once the news about Tom Emmer has subsided.
The latter will certainly not share in the former's wealth, while the former will take a significant portion of the latter's assets. (End of Chapter)