Upon seeing the ssage, Matthew imdiately called Jas Wan back. They spoke briefly, just long enough for him to grasp the situation. He pocketed his phone and paused at the door to straighten his slightly disheveled clothes.
Noticing his abrupt stop, Anne Hathaway asked, "What's wrong?"
"It's Jas... sothing's happened with that Chinese director I was with earlier." Matthew quickly straightened his shirt. "I have to go."
Hearing this, Anne Hathaway also quickly straightened her own clothes. "Can I co with you?" she asked.
Matthew didn't give it a second thought. "Co on, if you want," he replied casually.
He closed the door and headed for the elevator. Anne Hathaway hurried to catch up, taking his arm and walking beside him.
Once inside the elevator, Matthew fell silent, his brows furrowed in thought.
The phone call with Jas had effectively doused any passion he'd been feeling; he had always drawn a clear line between won and his career.
Though these won often seed like they could love him forever, he knew precisely what it was about him that they found most attractive.
The elevator doors slid open, and Matthew stepped out. He glanced at the nearest two room numbers, turned left, and strode quickly down the hall.
Anne Hathaway, not understanding what was happening, simply kept pace beside him, her hand still on his arm.
Matthew could already see it: at the end of the hall, a double suite with a heavy, dark-red door, shut tight.
The sight of the locked door, combined with what Jas Wan had told him on the phone, made his expression darken. This ti, Harvey Weinstein had gone too far.
He knew Jas Wan had already initialed a cooperation agreent with Production Company 13, yet Weinstein still had the audacity to pull a stunt like this—locking a director in his room.
Matthew had never been a kind or forgiving man, and Harvey Weinstein's stunt directly interfered with his future plans.
Jas was the linchpin of the horror universe he was planning, a project central to his ambitions.
As he reached the door, Matthew glanced down the hall and happened to see a waiter nervously peering in his direction. He beckoned with a wave. "You. Over here."
The waiter hesitated, clearly reluctant to approach.
Matthew's voice grew firr. "Get over here!"
Reluctantly, the waiter shuffled closer.
Anne Hathaway's gaze shifted from the waiter to Matthew, then to the hotel room door, her expression a mask of confusion.
What was going on? Why had they suddenly co here?
As the waiter approached hesitantly, Matthew looked him in the eye, gestured to the door, and ordered, "Open it."
"Mr. Horner." The waiter, obviously, knew Matthew. "This is not your room."
He seed to gain a sudden burst of confidence. "You have no right to ask
to open another guest's room."
He was the regular attendant for this floor and knew perfectly well whose suite this was. He also knew that the owner, a generous fat man, often used it for sordid affairs. What's more, managent had given clear instructions to never interfere with whatever happened in this room.
Matthew couldn't be bothered to argue with a junior staff mber. He pulled out his phone and dialed a number. When the call connected, he spoke directly into it. "Hello, Howard? It's Matthew."
Both the Hilton and the Four Seasons were hotels he frequented, and as a VIP guest, he knew several of the Hilton's senior managers.
"My friend has been locked in a room." Matthew listened to the question on the other end, glanced at the room number, and repeated it. There seed to be so hesitation from the manager. Matthew's brow furrowed. "Howard, I know this is Harvey Weinstein's suite, but you need to understand sothing. The man he's locked in there is a friend of mine. That's false imprisonnt. If you and I weren't on good terms, I'd have called the police by now!"
He added a warning, "If the hotel can't handle this, then the police will."
Receiving a satisfactory response, Matthew hung up. He discreetly pressed a button in his pocket, alerting his security. The manager would almost certainly inform Harvey Weinstein, which ant trouble was likely on its way.
Anne Hathaway stood beside Matthew. Though she couldn't hear the person on the other end of the line, she heard Matthew's words loud and clear: his friend was locked in this room, and the man who'd locked him in was Harvey Weinstein!
Despite her earlier dismissiveness in the banquet hall, she certainly knew who Harvey Weinstein was.
The hand Anne Hathaway had on Matthew's arm instantly fell away. A pang of regret shot through her. Why on earth had she followed him here?
If Matthew clashed with Harvey Weinstein, wouldn't she be dragged into the trouble right along with him?
She began to subtly edge away, wanting to leave, but of course, Matthew noticed.
Anne Hathaway tried to put as much distance between herself and Matthew as she could, hoping she would go unnoticed when things escalated.
Matthew sent a quick text to Jas Wan and then waited, unhurried.
He didn't need to guess; he knew the hotel would inform Weinstein. All he had to do now was wait for the man himself to show up.
Before Weinstein arrived, Brown Williams and another bodyguard stepped out of the elevator and into the corridor. Spotting Matthew, they moved to stand beside him.
Matthew gave them a slight nod but said nothing. The FBI had confird that the drug dealer was now in Colombia.
Two minutes passed. He didn't say another word to the waiter, who was no longer the person he needed to deal with.
The hotel had no right to hold soone against their will; the police could be called.
Matthew ignored the others. He just wanted to see if Harvey Weinstein would show.
Faint footsteps echoed from the direction of the elevator. Matthew looked over to see one of the hotel's assistant general managers hurrying toward them with his aide. But before he could even reach them, the short, stout figure of Harvey Weinstein erged.
"Matthew!" The assistant general manager hurried forward to shake his hand. Matthew returned the gesture briefly before pointing to the suite's door.
"Open the door, Howard."
"Wait!" Harvey Weinstein's voice bood.
Matthew ignored Howard, turning to face Weinstein. "You want to open it yourself?" he asked directly.
His voice wasn't loud, but carried an unnerving calm.
Harvey Weinstein stepped forward. "I'm the one who booked this suite," he declared. "Jas Wan wanted to rest, so I let him use it. He asked not to be disturbed."
Matthew smiled and shook his head. "You want
to call Jas and ask him?"
Howard, the manager, stood off to the side, saying nothing. He was caught in the middle and had no desire to offend either Matthew or Harvey Weinstein.
Harvey Weinstein stared at Matthew, his face a mask of malevolence. His eyes flickered occasionally toward Anne Hathaway, who was hovering nearby.
Anne Hathaway bit her lip, overco with regret. Not only had Matthew and Harvey Weinstein co to blows, but Weinstein had now noticed her. If she had known this was going to happen, she never would have co with Matthew tonight.
'Why did I have to get dragged into this ss?'
Anne Hathaway had a desperate urge to step forward and tell Harvey Weinstein that she wasn't with Matthew, that this had nothing to do with her.
Getting on Harvey Weinstein's bad side... how much trouble would that cause for her future Oscar campaigns?
She even considered approaching Weinstein later to make it absolutely clear that she had no part in this.
As for Matthew...
Matthew and Harvey Weinstein were both titans she couldn't afford to cross. They could tear each other apart for all she cared, as long as she wasn't caught in the crossfire.
Seeing the fear on Anne Hathaway's face, Weinstein seed to swell with power, his expression growing even more nacing.
Matthew, however, was completely unfazed.
While his own influence might not yet rival that of Harvey Weinstein, who had been entrenched in Hollywood for three decades, he was far from powerless.
Seeing Matthew's unnerving calm, his expression unchanged, Harvey Weinstein spoke slowly, his low voice seething with anger. "Matthew, are you trying to start a war with ? With The Weinstein Company?"
Matthew laughed unexpectedly. "Harvey, are you the one who wants to make this a big deal?"
"You're the one blowing this out of proportion," Weinstein retorted coldly.
Matthew nodded. "You're right. I'm the one who wants to make this a big deal. An opportunity like this is too good to pass up." He slowly angled his phone, as if about to dial. "I'll call the police... and after that, I'm sure the dia will be very interested. You can try to kill the story, of course. But you've got so deep-seated issues with Disney, and you've been clashing with Warner Brothers for years, haven't you? TMZ is owned by Warner, and they've always taken a special interest in you."
At this, Weinstein's expression flickered, but he quickly regained his composure.
Matthew remained impassive. "So, Harvey," he asked, "do you really want
to use this to stir up a storm?"
Harvey Weinstein glared at Matthew.
Matthew ignored him and turned back to Howard. "Open the door."
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