It was already dark by the ti Matthew pulled up to the Angel Acting Agency. As he walked through the front door, he saw Helen standing behind the reception desk, clearly waiting for him.
Matthew approached her. "What's going on?" he asked.
Helen got straight to the point. "After our talk the other day, I had soone look into it. He's supposed to be in Los Angeles tonight. He received invitations to two events, but I'm not sure which one he'll attend."
"What are the events?" Matthew asked curiously.
"The first is a business mixer for the IT community," Helen replied. "The other is a charity dinner in Hollywood."
Her words ca quickly. "We'll each take one event."
Matthew nodded. "Of course."
Helen added, "The IT world has a pretty high barrier to entry for their networking events. It's hard for outsiders to get in, and you're a recognizable star—they'd never let you through the door. I'll go to that one."
Although Frank Miller wouldn't begin official negotiations with him and Zack until the end of April, ti was of the essence. Matthew didn't hesitate. "I'll take the charity dinner."
"Here's the invitation." Helen picked up an envelope from a small table by the desk and handed it to him. "The host is soone you know—Jennifer Aniston," she noted, her tone cautionary. "Make sure you handle it well."
Matthew took the envelope. "Of course."
Helen had confidence in Matthew; he'd proven his competence ti and ti again.
Matthew opened the trunk of his rcedes G-Class, pulled out a formal suit, and changed in the first-floor conference room. Once he was ready, he drove toward Beverly Hills.
The charity dinner he was attending was being held at the Regent Hotel in Beverly Hills.
In Hollywood, attracting investnt could sotis seem deceptively easy. For a project like a Pirates of the Caribbean sequel, for instance, a whole host of venture capitalists and film funds would line up to throw money at Disney Pictures if they decided to seek outside financing.
To be more precise, it was relatively easy to raise funds for mainstream comrcial productions from any of the six major Hollywood studios.
But for smaller studios or individuals, securing a seven or even eight-figure investnt was no simple feat—especially for soone like Matthew and Zack, who didn't even have a small production company to their na.
So, what was the solution? Based on what Matthew had observed over the past few years, the best strategy was to... swindle—no, to persuade with the utmost sincerity—people who were new to the business and had a lot of cash on hand.
These days, there were plenty of wealthy individuals eager to break into Hollywood and invest in a film, just like that Fox Sherman he'd t.
Although the film in question, titled Monkey, had yet to be released, Matthew had made a point of rembering David Ellison's na.
After he'd ntioned David Ellison to Helen the other day, she had done so digging. What she found confird that his attempts to break into Hollywood made him exactly the kind of investor they were looking for.
He was a wealthy young man with deep pockets and total control over his funds, whose investnt decisions were driven purely by personal preference.
Upon arriving at the Regent Hotel, Matthew presented his invitation. A waiter imdiately escorted him to the second-floor ballroom, where hundreds of people—many of them Hollywood insiders and stars—had already gathered.
The invitation had stated that the host of the charity dinner was an old acquaintance of Matthew's: the woman known across the country as Rachel—Jennifer Aniston.
Matthew had just stepped into the ballroom when he spotted Jennifer Aniston standing near the entrance, greeting her guests.
"Hello, Jen." Matthew walked right over. Jennifer's face lit up as she opened her arms to give him a hug. "Welco, Matthew," she said warmly. "I'm so glad you could make it."
Matthew had read the invitation carefully before arriving, so he was ready with the perfect line. "How could you possibly be helping children with leukemia without ?" he asked with a charming smile.
He lowered his voice slightly. "Besides, it's an event hosted by you."
He made it sound as if he and Jennifer were the closest of friends.
Jennifer released him from the hug, taking a step back with a smile. "Thank you for coming to help."
She gestured toward the ballroom. "Go on in and make yourself comfortable. We'll talk later."
Another guest appeared at the entrance, so Matthew didn't linger. He moved over to the guest registry, signed his na, and pledged a donation amount underneath it, just as the other stars had done.
Helen had instructed him to do so before he left, so the amount Matthew pledged was a hundred thousand dollars.
At charity events like this, showing up without making a donation would make you a laughingstock in the industry. Even stars who were struggling financially would rather take out a loan than face that kind of humiliation.
Of course, one could always pledge an amount and then simply renege on the promise later. A pledge wasn't a legally binding contract, after all, and no one could force you to pay up.
Doing so, however, was in extrely poor taste. Anyone who pulled a stunt like that would see their reputation and standing within Hollywood—and beyond—evaporate overnight.
Finding a spot with a good view of the ballroom, Matthew scanned the crowd. He didn't see his target, so his gaze returned to Jennifer Aniston.
Jennifer was radiant, seemingly having completely escaped the whirlwind of her divorce. Matthew had even read in the papers that she apparently had a new boyfriend.
This was Hollywood, after all. No one mourned forever. A breakup, even a divorce, wasn't the end of the world.
In fact, since the divorce, Jennifer was living her best life. She hadn't faded from the public eye just because Friends had ended—on the contrary, the attention on her was imnse, and she remained Arica's sweetheart.
The tabloids were often the most intuitive baroter of public interest. The paparazzi knew what the public craved, and if soone wasn't popular or in the spotlight, they couldn't even pay a reporter to print a rumor about them.
A single pregnancy rumor could be milked for multiple headlines: Jennifer's Pregnant! Jennifer's Not Pregnant! Did Jennifer Suffer a Miscarriage?
This kind of sensationalist coverage was not only common, but it was also exactly what readers wanted.
Brad Pitt, on the other hand, was struggling to clean up his image after the divorce. While he still had his fan base, his reputation had definitely taken a hit, and his career was no longer smooth sailing. In recent months, he made a point of ntioning Jennifer in every interview, calmly trying to one-up his ex-wife.
In the world he rembered, Mr. & Mrs. Smith had put both Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie in a complicated position, a far cry from their previously relaxed public personas.
Just then, footsteps sounded at the ballroom entrance. Matthew glanced over and saw a young man with short, light brown hair walk in. The man went straight to Jennifer, greeted her, and then found a seat not far from where Matthew was sitting.
Rather than rushing over to introduce himself, Matthew first pulled out his phone and sent a quick text to Helen. Then, he settled in to patiently wait for his opportunity.
Rushing things in a situation like this could easily backfire.
He kept an eye on the young man. Helen had shown him a photograph earlier, identifying him as David Ellison, the son of Oracle CEO Larry Ellison.
The research Helen had done revealed that David had an imnse passion for the film industry. He had attended the University of Southern California's film school and was so eager to get his start that he'd dropped out and rushed to Hollywood before even graduating.
Rumor had it that Larry Ellison had given his son a staggering two hundred million dollars in startup capital.
That was just a rumor, of course, with no way to verify its truth.
After arriving in Hollywood, David's initial attempts to invest in top-tier projects with the six major studios were unsurprisingly t with the cold shoulder that the community always gave to outsiders.
Just as with any high-stakes investnt world, it wasn't always easy to get a foot in the door, and David had hit one brick wall after another in Hollywood.
A man like that was the perfect prospect for Matthew and his team.
No matter how you looked at it, David Ellison was the perfect moneybag.
Matthew sat and waited patiently. After a while, the charity dinner officially began. When Jennifer, as the host, finished her opening speech, he took the opportunity to approach her.
"Yes, Matthew?" Jennifer asked as he ca closer.
Matthew subtly gestured with his eyes toward David. "Jen, do you know Larry Ellison's son well?"
Jennifer answered frankly, "Not well. We've t a few tis."
"Could you do
a small favor?" Matthew glanced over at David. "I'd appreciate it if you could introduce us."
Jennifer didn't know what Matthew was after, but it was a simple enough request. "Of course," she replied.
"Co with ," she said.
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