Buying a House

After leaving New Line Cinema, Kevin went straight to the CAA building.

Dawson had received the transfer long ago and was waiting for him in the building.

After they met, Kevin said seriously,

"Dawson, help me register a film company. We'll take the independent production route."

Dawson nodded. Kevin had already discussed his goals with him.

First and foremost, it was naturally for tax purposes. Filing taxes in the name of a company meant considerably lower taxes than filing as an individual—at least for the wealthy.

Second, Kevin did not want to be a director who only collected a salary. He wanted to be an investor.

A director who consistently produced successful works was, in itself, an enormous resource. It would be far too wasteful to merely make money for others.

"Call it Dawnlight Pictures. For the logo, use a ray of morning sunlight spreading after the sun rises. Find an art company and have them design it properly."

With Kevin's memories of the future, it was not impossible for the company to grow into one of the Big Five. A person had to have dreams.

As for the CEO...

And the company's specific structure, Kevin was not in any hurry about that. Although he was riding high in Hollywood at the moment,

until he achieved consecutive successes, no one could be sure whether he was just a shooting star. If he publicly recruited now, he would not be able to attract genuine talent.

For now, an empty shell was enough. As long as it could participate in the plans for his next film, that would do.

After assigning Dawson his tasks, Kevin returned directly to the hotel.

"Jolie, shall we go look at houses?"

"Okay."

Jolie was already beginning to act like the mistress of the house, though unfortunately, she did not know that Kevin did not believe in marriage.

As a wealthy man, marriage would not restrain him. It might even ruin him.

Nicolas Cage and many other celebrities had ended up drowning in debt because of marriage. Kevin did not want to suffer through that.

Of course, Kevin would not treat Jolie poorly either.

He would definitely give priority to his own people in his films. For example, Get Out needed a sexy white actress with presence in order to fully convey the female lead's devilish nature.

The femme fatale quality was exactly the feeling Kevin wanted.

The two soon arrived near Beverly Hills.

Kevin had not originally planned to buy a house yet, but after carefully sorting through his memories, he suddenly realized that the next economic crisis would not arrive until 2007.

That meant there were still sixteen years to go, and the economy was currently recovering from a crisis. In other words, buying property now was actually the most cost-effective choice.

Since that was the case, he had nothing left to consider.

After all, the Los Angeles Riots would break out next year. The safest place in all of Los Angeles was probably Beverly Hills.

It could not be helped. The United States was probably the only country in the world that allocated police numbers according to the amount of taxes paid.

As a major taxpayer, Beverly Hills naturally enjoyed the strongest police protection.

At the very least, here, Kevin did not have to worry about being forced into an alley by a Black man with a knife and robbed or murdered while walking down the street.

A Black person walking through this neighborhood would probably be stopped by the police every few steps, and Kevin was undoubtedly glad to see that.

After wandering around for a while, Kevin truly experienced what a sense of security felt like.

In half an hour, Kevin saw police cars pass by them three times. However, perhaps because he and Jolie were both white, and because they were a handsome man and a beautiful woman who clearly did not look suspicious,

the police did not come over to question them. After making eye contact with them, they merely smiled and left.

Kevin did not pay it much mind. He and Jolie found a real estate agency and walked straight inside.

As soon as they entered, a bald middle-aged man approached them.

"Hello. What can I do for you? Are you buying or renting?"

The middle-aged man wore a slightly ingratiating smile. Anyone seeking a real estate agent in Beverly Hills had considerable wealth.

Even if he lowered his commission to the minimum, he would still make a fortune.

"Buying!"

Kevin answered decisively.

The middle-aged man, Litt, immediately lit up and quickly said,

"Come with me!"

Kevin and Jolie followed him farther into the building.

A scale 3D model of Beverly Hills appeared before them. Seeing the surprise in Kevin and Jolie's eyes, Litt could not help feeling a little proud.

To stand out among high-end real estate agencies in a place like Beverly Hills, one needed an advantage, and this 3D model, which he had spent a great deal to create, was precisely his advantage.

The quality of each property was clear at a glance in his model.

Clients could choose first, then inspect the property in person. That usually led directly to a sale, because not many people wanted to buy a home in Beverly Hills.

Anyone who had that idea naturally possessed the means to do so.

The only thing that determined their desire to buy was the quality of the house.

With a hint of pride, Litt explained,

"Sir, look at this house. It belongs to Hollywood star Nicolas Cage. The house beside it is currently vacant, and its owner intends to sell it."

"This house's layout..."

As Litt introduced the properties, Kevin examined them one by one.

It had to be said, these were properties prepared for the super-rich. They came with multiple bathrooms and bedrooms, as well as swimming pools, gardens, and even patches of forest.

Just looking at them was enticing.

Living in a house like that would naturally put one in a pleasant mood.

The neighbors were either wealthy tycoons, business elites, or major stars. Tom Cruise's home was also located here.

All of this made Kevin make up his mind. Buy, buy, buy.

If he did not buy during this price trough, then once the financial crisis passed, he would have to pay much more.

Besides, with taxes looming over him, if he did not spend the money, he could only wait to hand most of his wealth directly to the tax bureau. To prevent that from happening,

what he needed to do now was spend lavishly.

"This one. Take us to see it."

Litt suppressed the excitement in his heart. The house Kevin had pointed to was the expensive villa Litt had mentioned at the beginning, neighboring Tom Cruise and Nicolas Cage.

It was a small two-story villa with a flat roof.

Its price exceeded six million dollars, far beyond what ordinary people could afford.

Litt attentively led the two to the entrance. A Lincoln was parked beside it, a luxury car in Americans' eyes that cost over a hundred thousand dollars.

Clearly, Litt was quite wealthy as well.

But that was perfectly normal. Anyone who could do business in Beverly Hills and keep doing it would not find a net worth of a million dollars remarkable.

After closing up the shop, Litt led the two into the car and drove directly toward the villa.