The music gradually subsided, and the villa was shrouded in darkness. Matthew slipped out from a side door and immediately turned off the DV camera. Using the light from the streetlamps, he saw someone approaching and quickly crouched behind a cluster of shrubs to avoid the security patrol. Only then did he put the DV into his handbag, covering it with clothes. He looked around vigilantly, and seeing that the surroundings were quiet, he hurried toward the estate entrance.
Images of what he had peeked at in the villa's banquet hall flashed through his mind, and he couldn't help but sigh with envy, "Now, this is the life!"
Jonny Lee Miller taking on six sexy beauties all by himself—that scene was truly stimulating!
"These bastards really know how to have fun!" Passing the fountain, Matthew no longer hid himself and walked out along the driveway. "One against six is just too wasteful!"
He shook his head. These wealthy and famous Hollywood Stars really lived the good life!
Soon, Matthew reached the estate entrance and waved to the guard. "Thanks, buddy!"
It had only been about ten minutes, so the guard didn't suspect anything. He nodded and said, "If I need you to come pick someone up, I'll notify you in advance."
"Great! Great!" Matthew quickly replied. "No problem."
He exited the estate through the small door next to the guard and walked toward the ford minivan. This job had been completed without any scares or dangers, proving to be quite smooth.
Reaching the car, Matthew pulled open the door and sat directly in the driver's seat. Angelina Jolie immediately looked at the handbag in his hands. "Did you get it?"
Matthew didn't answer. Instead, he took out the DV camera, opened the small screen, turned it toward Angelina Jolie, switched it on, and pressed the play button. The footage was unsightly, and the frantic screams rose and fell one after another.
"Good!" Angelina Jolie's expression was very ugly. "I'll have someone bring the money over."
Having said that, she pulled out her phone and prepared to make a call, but Matthew spoke up to stop her. "Wait, Miss Jolie!"
Angelina Jolie looked over, her thick eyebrows tightly furrowed.
Matthew turned off the DV camera and said weakly, "Besides those five thousand dollars, I have one very small request."
He glanced at Jolie and said as softly as possible, "It's really small."
Angelina Jolie looked at the DV camera in Matthew's hand and spoke coldly, "Speak!"
"Well, Miss Jolie." Matthew carefully chose his words to avoid ruining everything. "I... I'm also an actor, the kind of small-time actor with no fame at all. I can't compare to a big figure like you. I... I haven't landed a job in a long time."
Angelina Jolie's face turned even gloomier than before, and she seemed about to speak, but Matthew hurriedly said, "Please let me finish, please!"
Regardless of whether Angelina Jolie was listening, he sped up his speech. "I just want to ask you to help me secure a job when the time is right."
"Impossible!" Angelina Jolie refused outright. "I'll have someone bring you the money. You're too greedy!"
Matthew knew she had definitely misunderstood and said quickly, "I'm not asking for a named role or a role with lines. I just want to appear on camera, even if it's just as a background extra!"
He was very careful with his words, using an extremely sincere tone and a completely pleading manner, for fear that Jolie would take it as coercion.
You can't become a fat man in one bite. Angelina Jolie would never agree to an excessive request. Although this madwoman's head didn't quite work like an ordinary person's, she wasn't actually insane after all.
He had thought it through; he just wanted to use tonight's opportunity to take the first step toward truly entering the ranks of Hollywood actors. The memories left by his predecessor clearly told him that this seemingly low-threshold first step was actually not easy to take. There were plenty of people like him who came to Los Angeles with dreams of being an actor but didn't even get the chance to serve as a background extra,
and they were everywhere.
Beginnings are always difficult; this was Matthew's understanding. It was just like waiting for work at the labor market in the past—for jobs that required even a little bit of skill, people preferred to hire those with experience!
Although he didn't know much about Hollywood, he figured that a role with no lines that only required being a background extra shouldn't be a difficult task for a star of Angelina Jolie's caliber.
Angelina Jolie sat there without speaking for a moment, just constantly sizing Matthew up, finding that this guy was smarter than she had thought.
"He's greedy," was her impression, "but he knows when to stop."
A small role as a background extra was indeed no trouble for her. She didn't even need to speak herself; for instance, in the film she was currently shooting, she could just have her assistant mention it to the Casting Director. After all, she was the Second Female Lead!
Was it more important to ruin the husband who betrayed her and make him suffer in the future divorce lawsuit, or was this insignificant little request more important?
"Heh..." Angelina Jolie suddenly laughed.
A few years ago, not only would she have refused to agree, but she would have also called her bodyguard over to teach him a lesson, even if she couldn't get the recorded content. But people eventually grow up; she couldn't forever be that crazy, muddled little girl. As she aged, her mind had become clearer and clearer.
Otherwise, how could her career have been steadily rising over the past few years?
Angelina Jolie spoke slowly, "Do you have a business card?"
Hearing this, Matthew quickly found paper and a pen, wrote down his phone number, and handed it to Angelina Jolie. Jolie casually stuffed it into her pocket and pulled out her phone to dial a number. "Bring the money over."
Matthew breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that he had likely seized this opportunity.
However, he immediately became vigilant again because a sturdy white man was walking toward them from the front side. Fortunately, this white man just gave Angelina Jolie a paper-wrapped bundle and quickly left.
Angelina Jolie opened the bundle, which contained a stack of brand-new bills, clearly prepared specifically for this. Without saying much, she threw the bills over. Matthew caught the cash and returned the DV camera to her.
After putting away the DV camera, Angelina Jolie prepared to get out of the car and leave, but she suddenly turned back and asked curiously, "Aren't you worried that I won't keep my word?"
"I am," Matthew said truthfully. "But there's nothing I can do about it. I can only gamble on your character."
The difference in their status and position was too great, and Jolie had a bodyguard here—the bodyguard might even be carrying a gun. What could he do? This was fundamentally an unequal verbal agreement. He had been clear about this from the very beginning. If Jolie only talked and didn't act, he could only consider himself unlucky.
Matthew could only bet that this matter was trivial to Angelina Jolie and required no effort at all. Besides, he had already gotten five thousand dollars. Even if Angelina Jolie lied to him, he had actually still come out ahead.
Since she had gotten what she wanted, Angelina Jolie's mood was clearly better now. "As long as you don't talk too much."
Without the video material, talking too much would be useless. Especially in Hollywood, which star didn't have rumors—both true and false—surrounding them? As long as there was no evidence to prove them, they would always just be rumors.
Matthew made a zipping gesture across his lips. "I promise!"
Of course, he wouldn't talk too much now. Perhaps without Angelina Jolie's help, if he kept waiting, there would be opportunities in the future—after all, the threshold for being an extra wasn't high. But what he had seen and heard today made him really not want to wait anymore. He urgently wanted a better life, just like Jonny Lee Miller in the estate.
As long as Angelina Jolie was willing to keep her promise, it would greatly accelerate this process.
Although he was in a different country, Matthew believed that having a network of connections made things easier to accomplish.
Angelina Jolie got out of the car and soon disappeared into the night. Matthew guessed it wouldn't be long before she divorced Jonny Lee Miller. The latter would probably suffer great misfortune and might even face huge financial losses.
"is doing this a bit too unethical?" At this moment, Matthew thought of professional ethics, then shook his head. "For a small person like me who wants to get ahead, I can't be too rigid!"
As for professional ethics? It wouldn't be too late to talk about that once he had money.
He pulled out those five thousand dollars and snapped them in his hand, producing a crisp sound. This sound was exceptionally pleasant and extremely beautiful to his ears.
"The feeling of having money..." Matthew's fingers gently rubbed the portrait of Benjamin Franklin on the bills. "It's so damn good!"
After putting away the five thousand dollars and sitting there reading a magazine for a while, Matthew checked the time, locked the car doors, and went to the back seat to sleep. When he woke up, the sky was already turning light. He took a bottle of mineral water, got out of the car to briefly rinse his mouth and wash his face, and after waiting for a short while, the guard at the estate entrance came to notify him to pick up the people.
Matthew drove the car to the main entrance of the estate villa. The six disheveled girls got into the car one after another. They smelled strongly of alcohol and cigarettes, along with some other indescribable scents. Their faces were all written with exhaustion, as if they hadn't slept all night.
These female models sat in their seats, and not one of them spoke. Even Rachel, who had chatted with him all the way yesterday, was so tired she collapsed into her seat.
Matthew started the car and shook his head slightly. These girls seemed glamorous, but in reality... He stopped thinking about it and drove the girls back one by one. Then he returned to the company to hand back the keys according to the regulations, completing his day's work.
After getting off work, he immediately went to the nearest real estate agency. Now that he had some money in hand, he planned to rent a suitable place to live.
Having rested fairly well last night, Matthew had plenty of energy. He visited three real estate agencies in a row and looked at seven ordinary studio apartments. Finally, in an ordinary residential area on the outskirts of Westwood, he rented a single Room in an old apartment building that was move-in ready.
The Room was very small, less than twenty square meters, with a tiny private bathroom. Because the old wallpaper was peeling off, the monthly rent was only 400 dollars. Matthew paid for six months in one go, finally establishing a foothold in Los Angeles.
At night, he continued to drive for Red Penguin Company. The work was much the same and didn't really affect his sleep at night, so he would still have the energy to do other things the next day.
The next morning, just as Matthew walked out of Red Penguin Company after finishing work, his phone rang.
He pressed the answer button, and a professional female voice came through the receiver, "Hello, I am Miss Jolie's assistant, Vanessa..."