With filming suspended and no word on when Britney would recover, Matthew found himself with nothing to do. He returned to his acting school the next day, but the mont he stepped into the classroom, he noticed everyone was staring at him as if he were a giant panda on display—even Rachel McAdams, with whom he was on good terms.
"What's going on?" Matthew asked, walking over to Rachel McAdams, who was seated in a corner of the room. "Is there sothing on my face?"
Instead of answering, Rachel asked curiously, "Did you really hook up with Britney Spears?"
"No." Matthew had already seen the papers and felt a wave of embarrassnt wash over him as the subject ca up. "Don't believe the tabloid hype."
He explained, "Britney got injured yesterday. All I did was carry her to her car, and I guess the press snapped a picture."
Rachel pulled a copy of the U.S. News & World Report from a bag at her feet and handed it to Matthew. "This tells a different story," she said.
The front page featured a large photo of him carrying Britney in his arms, with a massive headline splashed beneath it: "Britney's Secret Romance Revealed!"
Not only that, the article went into detail about his identity and vividly described how he had landed the lead male role in her music video.
The article was credited to a single reporter: Ilana.
Matthew figured Ilana must have been in the scrum of reporters yesterday, but he hadn't been paying attention to any of the faces in the crowd.
Rachel smirked. "And here I was thinking you were cool enough to land Britney Spears. Turns out it's all just hype."
"What do you an, 'hype'?" Matthew retorted, spreading his hands in a helpless gesture. "Ask any guy in this class if he wouldn't want to be with Britney."
He shook his head. "The problem is, Britney isn't soone you can just land because you want to."
Just then, Matthew's phone started ringing. He fished it out of his bag and pressed the answer button, and Helen's voice ca on the line.
"Congratulations, Matthew. You're famous now."
Matthew gave a dry laugh. "I was just helping her. I didn't actually do anything."
Helen continued, brushing aside his comnt. "Have you seen today's edition of the U.S. News & World Report?"
"I have," Matthew confird.
"Here's the situation," Helen said, getting straight to business. "The feud between Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera that the U.S. News & World Report first broke has been confird, so this new story is getting a ton of attention. I expect a swarm of paparazzi are already digging into your past, and they'll probably track you down soon."
She then asked, "Where are you right now?"
"The Los Angeles School of Performing Arts," Matthew answered.
"Listen to ," Helen instructed, her tone serious. "When the paparazzi find you and ask about your relationship with Britney, keep your mouth shut. Got it?"
Matthew understood her implication imdiately. "I know."
Helen added, "The best strategy for now is to say nothing. Don't confirm it, but don't deny it either."
Having been in Hollywood for several months, Matthew took only a mont to grasp Helen's strategy. "You got it," he said imdiately.
By not confirming this fabricated story, he wouldn't have to worry about pressure from Britney's record label or her agency. By not denying it, he would give the dia reporters free rein to write all the nonsense they wanted, which in turn would fuel the hype and increase his own visibility.
Without a doubt, Helen's strategy served his best interests perfectly.
Matthew also figured that the record label would eventually have to issue a clarification, and they might even ask him to make a statent. But until they made a move, he could simply keep quiet.
After hanging up, Matthew put his phone away. "Your agent's smart," Rachel comnted.
"Huh?" Matthew looked at her, a little confused.
"I really didn't an to eavesdrop," Rachel said, gesturing to his phone. "You should really get a new one. The earpiece on that thing leaks sound like crazy."
Matthew picked up the old, battered phone and looked at it. "Yeah," he agreed. "I guess it is."
It was a good thing he and Rachel were sitting by themselves in the corner, or that could have been embarrassing.
Then a thought struck him. Michael had been right there when Martin Jackson called him. Since the phone's speaker was so 'leaky,' could Michael have overheard his conversation with the director before he went to the hotel?
Matthew glanced down at the worn-out phone again, wondering how much a new one would set him back.
The classroom door swung open, and David Astor walked in. The morning acting class was about to begin.
...
anwhile, in the offices of a Los Angeles newspaper, the editor-in-chief, a man with glasses perched on his nose, sat at his desk and regarded the tall female reporter before him with a complex expression.
"Excellent work, Ilana." The editor-in-chief was clearly pleased with her latest scoop. "First, the feud between Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, and now a new romance for Britney. You've truly surprised ."
Ilana smiled but felt it was best to be upfront. "Sir, I have to point out that this romance story is completely fabricated."
"Don't worry about that," the editor-in-chief said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "As long as the readers love it and it sells papers, it's the truth."
He then asked curiously, "Where did you get your information? And you managed to identify this Matthew Horner very quickly. Too quickly, I'd say."
"An informant helped," Ilana replied, far too smart to give up her sources. "Plus a bit of luck."
Seeing that Ilana was unwilling to elaborate, and knowing it was pointless to press her, the editor-in-chief changed the subject. "I'm doubling your bonus this month. Keep up the great work."
At his words, however, Ilana's brow furrowed slightly.
"You can go now," the editor-in-chief told her. "Keep digging into this story."
Ilana turned and walked out of the editor's office. The mont she closed the door behind her, the displeasure on her face was unmistakable.
The editor's earlier promise to promote her to a junior editor position was conveniently forgotten, as if it had never been made in the first place.
"Fuck!" she couldn't stop herself from muttering under her breath. "That son of a bitch. He played ."
But when it ca to a boss who broke his promises, there was nothing Ilana could do except curse him out and get back to work.
...
In a private hospital suite, Britney stared at the ceiling, bored out of her mind. She replayed the gossip her agent had shared with her earlier, silently cursing the shaless journalists who could just make things up like that.
Britney had to admit that Matthew Horner made a good impression on her, but they had technically only t the day before. What 'romance' could they possibly be talking about?
These reporters were even worse than that damn Christina Aguilera.
Suddenly, the door to her room flew open. Britney saw her father, Jamie Spears, storm into the room clutching a newspaper, his face a mask of fury. Her agent, who had stepped out just monts before to make a call, hurried in right behind him.
"Look what you've done!" Jamie Spears snarled, roughly tossing the newspaper onto Britney's hospital bed. "Look who you're ssing around with! So hick from Texas! What in the world were you thinking?!"
Britney, having grown up under her father's iron fist, could only stamr, "Dad, it's not—"
"What have I told you?!" Jamie Spears cut her off sharply. "Your career cos first! And if you're going to have a boyfriend, he damn well better be soone on your level!"
Unable to stand up to her father's rage, Britney looked pleadingly at her agent. He stepped forward to stand beside Jamie Spears and said, "Jamie, calm down."
"How am I supposed to calm down?!" Jamie Spears roared, his voice losing none of its intensity. "She's dating so bastard from Texas! And she hid it from ! From her own father!"
"Jamie!" The agent had no choice but to raise his own voice. "It's tabloid garbage! I was with her the entire day yesterday. Brit and Matthew are just friends!"
Before Jamie could react, he added, "I've already been in touch with the record label to issue a clarification."
Jamie Spears froze for a mont, then asked, "Is that true?"
The agent had the sudden urge to smack his own forehead. He finally understood where Britney got her simple-mindedness from—it was clearly genetic.
"Of course, it's true," he said firmly. "Why would I lie to you? You're not the only one who doesn't want to see her getting involved with so B-list actor. The agency and the record label feel the sa way."
The two n conversed, completely ignoring Britney, who was lying right there beside them.
B-list actor? Britney thought, not seeing him that way at all. Matthew is sweet, and warm, and funny, and cool...
But with her father, who had controlled her entire life, standing right there, Britney kept these thoughts to herself, not daring to speak them aloud.
Jamie Spears seed to accept the agent's explanation. He had cald down considerably as he asked, "Have you contacted the guy's agent?"
The agent frowned. "Matthew Horner's agent, Helen Herman, is unreachable at the mont. Her cell phone is off, and when I called her office, her assistant told
she's out of town on business and forgot to take it with her."
"When is she coming back?" Jamie Spears asked, his own frown returning.
"She should be back in Los Angeles in two or three days." The agent had a vague feeling that sothing wasn't quite right, but he couldn't put his finger on what it was. "Her assistant said she would get in touch with her as soon as possible."
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