The Best Movie Actor Chapter 45

"Aguilera?" Matthew asked, pouring Britney a glass of water. "You ran into her?"

He would never forget that this shared object of loathing was what had brought them closer.

At the re ntion of Christina Aguilera, Britney seed to seethe with disgust and anger. "No, but if I could get my hands on her..." She struggled to find the right words to fully express what she would do.

"Drink so water," Matthew prompted, gesturing to the glass. As Britney took a sip and her anger subsided slightly, he asked, "If you didn't see her, what's got you so worked up?"

After another gulp of water, Britney explained, "My record label originally set up a performance on Los Angeles Public Radio this afternoon to promote my new album."

Matthew nodded, settling into the role of a listener.

"When my agent and the label checked in again at noon, the station had suddenly changed their minds," Britney said, her expression turning furious once more. "They invited Aguilera and were going to make

sit in the sa room with that bitch and talk, face-to-face, about what happened between us back in the Mickey Mouse Club!"

She slamd her hand on the arm of her chair. "Those bastards!"

Then Britney shot to her feet. "And Aguilera—she must be behind all this!"

Matthew couldn't quite follow Britney's logic. It was obvious the radio station had engineered the eting, hoping to use her conflict with Christina Aguilera to create a stir and boost their ratings.

"If my agent hadn't stopped ," Britney said venomously, "I would've gone after Christina Aguilera and ripped out every last strand of her hair!"

Matthew was at a loss for words. Glancing around, he noticed the other patrons staring at them and said, "Calm down, Britney. People are watching."

Britney sat back down, her face like a thundercloud.

A waiter began bringing their orders, and Matthew and Britney changed the subject. They had only managed a few bites when Britney's phone rang.

She pulled it out and glanced at the screen, her expression instantly souring as she told Matthew, "That bitch is calling !"

Matthew was curious. "How'd she get your number?"

Britney explained, "Everyone from the Mickey Mouse Club used to keep in touch. She probably got it from one of them."

Her mood ruined, she jabbed the answer button and listened to the voice on the other end with extre irritation before jumping to her feet again, shouting into the phone, "What did you say?! I set you up?! As if I'd need to set up a dumb bitch like you?!"

Listening to Britney curse out Christina Aguilera, Matthew grew more certain that the radio station had deliberately instigated this confrontation.

The phone call raged on. As Britney argued and yelled, she drew the attention of everyone in the restaurant. From her expression and her retorts, Matthew guessed that Aguilera was on the other end, giving as good as she got.

The argunt lasted for a full minute before Britney angrily hung up. Without another word, she slumped back into her chair, fuming.

"Don't be angry," Matthew said soothingly. "The angrier you get, the happier Christina Aguilera will be."

Britney picked up her glass and drained the rest of the water in one gulp. "I'm not angry! I'm not!" she insisted.

She said the words, but her indignant expression hadn't changed in the slightest, and her hands were clenched so tightly on the table it looked like she was ready to fight soone at any mont.

Seizing the mont, Matthew reached out and touched the back of her hand. "Why do you think Christina Aguilera goes after you at every turn? You're prettier than her, you sing and dance better than her, and you're more popular than her."

His words hit their mark. A triumphant look flashed across Britney's face. "You're right. She's jealous of !"

"Yes, she's jealous. Jealous that you're better than her in every way." Matthew racked his brain for the right words. "Maybe last year you were lagging behind her, but this year you've not only caught up but surpassed her, so of course she's envious."

Britney blinked, her eyes fixed on Matthew.

Matthew continued to stroke her ego. "You shouldn't be angry. The more Aguilera tries to annoy you, the more it proves she can only watch your back, green with envy."

Britney nodded repeatedly, utterly delighted by his words.

Matthew smiled and added, "As long as you keep moving forward, Aguilera will only get angrier and angrier. And if you can keep her from ever catching up, I'm sure Christina Aguilera will destroy herself on her own."

Britney kept her eyes fixed on Matthew, feeling as if every word he spoke was aid directly at her heart.

Her expression softened. "Thanks for saying that, Matthew. I feel a lot better."

Everything Matthew had done since they'd t seed to be exactly what she needed. The ti she spent with him was uniquely relaxing and comfortable, sothing she hadn't experienced with anyone else.

Britney watched Matthew, her gaze unwavering.

Now in a much better mood, she was eager to change the subject from Aguilera. "Enough about ," she said. "How are the audition preparations going?"

"Well, or at least I think so," Matthew replied. "I just started acting this year, so I'm too new to have any real advantage over the competition."

"I don't agree," Britney said, lifting her chin. "Your performance was excellent when we were shooting the music video."

Matthew picked up his knife and fork, speaking as if lost in thought. "My acting coach gave

so advice today. I'll probably start so military training in a few days. This is a rare opportunity, so even if the odds are slim, I have to give it my all to get the part."

Britney suddenly reached out and touched the back of his hand, just as he had done earlier. "You'll get it."

They continued to eat and chat, the atmosphere warr than on their previous outings. Laughter punctuated their conversation, and the al stretched on for over an hour.

By the ti Matthew and Britney left the restaurant, it had grown dark.

Britney's car and driver were still waiting nearby. Matthew checked the ti and suggested, "Are you heading back already? Or do you want to go for a walk?"

The street was full of pedestrians, but no one even glanced twice, oblivious to the fact that she was the Britney Spears.

For so reason, Britney also found herself enjoying the ti she spent with Matthew.

She was tempted to agree but slowly shook her head, thinking of her father. "It's late. I should get ho, or my dad..."

Britney swallowed the second half of her sentence.

"Hmm?" Matthew seed to have caught sothing and looked at her curiously. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Britney didn't know what to say and just stamred, "My dad, he'll be angry if I don't get ho on ti."

Matthew didn't press the issue. "Well, see you then."

"Bye, Matthew." Britney walked toward the car, then turned back one last ti. Seeing him still standing there, she waved. "Don't forget to call !"

Matthew pointed to his forehead. "You got it."

Britney gave him a sweet smile, got into the car, and rolled down the window to watch him until the car turned a corner and drove away.

After returning to his rented apartnt, he sat on the old couch to continue his study of the original novel, Band of Brothers.

Matthew didn't just read the book; he also took out a notebook to copy down and analyze every passage that ntioned Ronald Speirs.

As he was getting ready for bed that evening, Helen called to inform him that she had found a suitable candidate and had arranged a eting for the next morning.