From Flower Vase to Film Emperor in Hollywood

At this moment, Anson realized his mistake. The introduction he had started was only half-finished, hanging awkwardly in the middle.

"Oh, my apologies, my fault," Anson chuckled. "But it doesn't matter. Judy has been with our family for many years. How long has it been? Six years? Seven years?"

Judy noticed Anson's inquiring gaze. "Seven years."

"Seven years," Anson nodded, repeating. "She can practically be considered a member of the Wood family. In fact, her children often come over."

Officially, Judy is the housekeeper, but unlike the housekeepers of truly aristocratic, upper-class families, Judy doesn't live here. She only comes here daily to manage and maintain the entire building.

After all, this is a historical building, and daily maintenance is key, just like yachts, castles, estates, and other unattainable luxuries. The cost of the items themselves is already staggering, but the subsequent daily maintenance costs are the real burden, burning money every day.

That's the role Judy plays.

Therefore, Judy's relationship with the Wood family isn't a simple employer-employee relationship. It's truly like a friendship. They occasionally sit down and discuss topics, and she even tutored the Wood brothers for a while.

Speaking of which, Anson looked at Judy, inquiring about her children, "How are they?"

Judy politely nodded slightly in response—

Before them was a guest who wished he could disappear into a hole in the ground. They shouldn't engage in deep pleasantries.

Edgar felt a lump in his throat. This entire day was a collection of chaos and confusion. He had lost count of how many mistakes he had made.

This, was unprofessional.

But Edgar didn't run away. Making mistakes was okay; learning from them was more important. Facing mistakes with equanimity was also a form of growth.

"God, I'm behaving like a fool, always choosing the wrong words at the wrong time. I apologize, please forgive my rudeness."

This was not only to Judy but also to Anson and the unseen Mrs. Wood.

Judy's response took a different approach.

"Perhaps, I should examine my own work, whether I've become too comfortable and complacent, to the point of considering myself the master, which caused the misunderstanding."

Clearly, Judy was still maintaining her professionalism and hadn't become conceited because Anson said she was a member of the Wood family, always adhering to the boundaries.

But if it was only that, it would seem too rigid and inflexible.

Judy added another sentence.

"However…shhh. I think we should keep it a secret. There's no need for others to know about this."

A harmless joke that placed all the blame on her own unprofessionalism, not only keeping a secret for Edgar but also keeping a secret for herself, so that the two people's mistakes would cancel each other out.

Finally, Judy glanced at Anson, deliberately giving a "warning" look.

The entire handling was appropriate and well-measured, and the atmosphere immediately lightened.

Anson understood and raised his hands, making a gesture of surrender, then silently zipped up his mouth, putting an end to the interlude.

Involuntarily, Edgar looked at Anson again—

Perhaps, that's why Anson is so special?

Anson didn't notice Edgar's churning thoughts but looked at Judy, "Where are Mom and Dad?"

Judy, "You should have called in advance. They would definitely want to see you. Mr. Wood is in London and needs to stay for a while; Mrs. Wood went to Paris the day before yesterday and her itinerary is temporarily uncertain."

The Wood family isn't particularly wealthy. Anson is only the third generation. The first generation was a scholarly family, with modest assets but strict family education that highlighted their heritage. It was only in the second generation that they entered the wealth accumulation stage.

Charles Wood is an interior designer, but unlike ordinary interior designers, he isn't responsible for the design of layouts, decorations, color schemes, etc., but for advising on the matching and arrangement of artworks.

For example, how can one use an oil painting to highlight their high-end image?

For example, what position should an antique be placed in to show taste?

These details seem unimportant, but they are actually key, because the nouveau riche often don't understand the tricks of the trade. They display everything that's valuable all at once, not only not knowing how to match things but also fearing that others won't see that they have money. Such interior decoration can easily expose their background.

Therefore, those "new money" urgently need professional advice to tell them how to flaunt their wealth appropriately and truly enter the upper class.

That's Charles's job.

He not only has vision but also knowledge and heritage. Only by truly understanding the upper class and the origins and values of those artworks and antiques can he complete these tasks, a true professional.

Because of this, he accompanies clients around the world to auctions all year round, with new money and old money, emerging elites and senior nobles, exploring artworks and antiques worth paying attention to at auctions.

In the eyes of those upper-class people, Charles, such an elegant man with knowledge and integrity, is very authoritative and is often a sought-after person in different parties and societies. That heritage is the pass.

And in the original owner's memory, his father was more like a professor, knowledgeable and reasonable; but without the arrogance of a literati, willing to put down his status and integrate into society. The Wood family's rapid accumulation of assets stemmed from his social skills.

Lucas is more like Charles.

It seems that Charles's trip to London was for an auction; and Judy said that he needed to stay for a while, probably to accompany a VIP.

Such work can be long or short, entirely depending on the mood of that VIP. In the original owner's memory, Charles once accompanied a VIP for three whole months, traveling all over Europe. After the trip, Charles's skin was tanned a beautiful wheat color in Italy, almost changing him into a different person.

Nora Wood is an art curator, specializing in planning different exhibitions, including but not limited to paintings, photographs, antiques, etc. Although her strength is painting, and she has a good reputation in this field, she also dabbles in other fields and constantly makes new challenges.

What's hard to believe is that Nora has a background in financial management, which has nothing to do with art, but her father is a master of oil painting appraisal, able to authenticate the authenticity of oil paintings from ancient times to the present, and is still one of the top and most authoritative appraisal masters in the industry.

So, Nora combined her heritage with her profession and opened up a path in an unexpected way, choosing an unexpected career.

From this, it can be seen that Nora, like Charles, is also a character who dares to break tradition and is informal. The two people fell in love in a vigorous way, like a movie, full of romance, different heritage, and different personalities but colliding with wonderful chemistry.

Fifth update.