The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 327

“Matthew! Matthew Horner! Are you pursuing Miss Theron?”

“Matthew, Charlize, are you two dating?”

“Charlize, you and Matthew have been close friends for a while. Were you impressed when he stood up to Stuart?”

At Los Angeles International Airport, Matthew and Charlize had just emerged from the arrivals gate when a dozen reporters swarmed them, bombarding them with a long list of questions.

However, Matthew and Charlize had no intention of answering and simply pushed their luggage carts toward the airport exit.

The reporters didn't give up and continued to pursue them, even after Matthew and Charlize got into their car.

The car pulled away from the airport, and Matthew glanced back, knowing those guys would definitely follow them all the way to see if he and Charlize would get out at the same place.

“Where’s your assistant?” Matthew asked Charlize, pulling out his phone and turning it on. “Why isn’t she here to meet you?”

Charlize replied, “I brought a lot of things back from South Africa, so she needed to arrange for people and a vehicle to transport it all.”

Speaking of assistants, she remembered something and said, “I recall you were looking for a personal assistant a while back. How’s that going? Have you found anyone you like?”Matthew shook his head. “I interviewed a few candidates, but none of them felt right. Then I got busy and put it on the back burner.”

“Can I recommend someone?” Charlize turned her head to look at him.

“Go ahead,” Matthew nodded.

“Carla, my red-haired assistant, she’s been with me for years,” Charlize said. “Well, her sister graduated from college last year and also moved to Los Angeles. She’s currently working as an intern at a newspaper.”

A referral from someone he knew was a bit more reliable than a random hire. Matthew considered it and said, “I’m leaving town in a few days. Could you find out if she’s free? I’ll meet with her.”

Charlize took out her phone, made a call, and hung up quickly. A few minutes later, another call came in. She chatted for a few moments, then asked Matthew, “She can make it tomorrow afternoon.”

Matthew, whose schedule was clear for the next couple of days, said, “Alright, 2 p.m. at Notte Cafe on Great Street in Southboro.”

Charlize repeated Matthew’s words into her phone, and the two parties agreed to meet the following afternoon.

Ten minutes later, Charlize was the first to get out of the car. The black vehicle started up again and dropped Matthew off at his house in northern Burbank.

Seeing no more photo opportunities, the reporters soon dispersed.

Back home, he unpacked his things. He didn’t feel tired from the long flight, thanks to flying first class. He went to his office, turned on his computer, and checked the emails that had piled up over the past few days.

He had two email addresses: one for work and a personal one that very few people knew.

His work inbox contained dozens of unread emails. Matthew opened it and started scrolling through them.

Matthew didn't reply to any of them, figuring he could wait until after meeting Charlize's recommendation tomorrow before making a decision.

Besides the job applications, there were also interview requests from newspapers and magazines, though they were clearly sent to the wrong address; such invitations should have gone to the Angel Agency or to Helen personally.

Closing his work email, he opened his personal account, which fewer people knew about. There were only two unread messages.

Two days ago, Ilana had asked if he and Charlize had really gotten together.

Matthew didn’t reply and simply deleted the message. Mr. & Mrs. Smith wouldn’t be released until May, and now wasn’t the time to answer that question.

The other was a regular email from Lily, the girl who had sent two emails a month ever since he gave her his address. The content was always more or less the same, mostly just a teenage girl sharing her thoughts and feelings, but this time was different. In her email, Lily asked if she could interview him as a reporter.

In fact, Matthew was well aware that his biggest fans at the moment were teenagers.

After reading the email, he thought for a moment and then replied to Lily, asking her or the magazine she was contributing to, to contact Helen. He also jotted down the contact information for the Angel Agency’s PR department and sent it to Lily.

It would be up to Helen and the Angel Agency to weigh whether such an interview would benefit him and boost his appeal among young people.

It seemed the magazine Lily contributed to had a certain influence among teenagers.

The magazine had been able to give Lily a column, partly because she genuinely had some talent, and partly due to her family background.

In Hollywood, having a good family background could be very useful. Matthew had heard that after Robert Downey Jr. was released from prison, although many studios were wary of him, there were plenty of people willing to promote him because of his family's influence.

Suddenly, his phone rang. Matthew picked it up, glanced at the number, and immediately answered. “What’s up, Ilana?”

A woman's voice came through. “You’re back in Los Angeles? I just saw the photos my people took at LAX.”

“Yeah, just got back.” Matthew stood up and walked toward the window.

Ilana said from the other end of the line, “I sent you an email two days ago. Did you read it?”

Matthew feigned surprise. “Not yet.”

“What’s going on between you and Charlize?” Ilana asked directly. “Are you two dating?”

Reaching the window, Matthew began to scan the surrounding area, as if looking for someone. “It’s too early to say. Wait a little while, and I’ll let you know when there’s any progress.”

“Fine.” Ilana didn’t press the issue. “I’ll be waiting for good news.”

With that, she hung up.

...

It was already dark and approaching nine o’clock in the evening when Charlize called to say that her assistant would bring her sister to meet him at Notte Cafe the next afternoon.

The next day, after lunch, Matthew drove his black Mercedes-Benz G down Great Street in Southboro.

He had earned a lot of money over the last few years but had only bought one entry-level luxury car. Plans for mansions and other extravagances remained just that—plans on paper. In reality, he was far more frugal than other Hollywood stars who threw money around without a second thought.

Matthew still had a long-term vision and a certain sense of crisis. He knew perfectly well that his memories of pirated movies had once played an extremely important role in his current success, allowing him to avoid several pitfalls, but what about the future?

Hollywood was full of stars who had been in the spotlight during their prime but were now in decline after a string of failures.

He loved luxury cars, beautiful women, and grand mansions, and he enjoyed indulging in them. He was willing to pay for these pleasures, but only up to a certain point.

He couldn’t end up like Nicolas Cage, flying across the Pacific to shoot bad movies just for a paycheck.

Besides films, another major part of a star’s income came from endorsements. Helen handled deals that were on the level of his Mercedes-Benz G-Class partnership, although securing endorsements of that caliber required both luck and opportunity.

Matthew walked into the cafe and immediately spotted Carla, with her long red hair, sitting at a table near the door. She was with another young woman who had the exact same shade of red hair. Carla greeted him as soon as she saw him.

“Hello, Mr. Horner.” Carla, who of course knew Matthew, introduced the short-haired girl beside her. “This is my sister, Bella. Bella Anderson.”

Seeing Matthew’s slight confusion, she added an explanation, “We’re stepsisters.”

Matthew smiled. “Hello, Miss Anderson.”

The redhead replied graciously, “Please, just call me Bella.”

Matthew said, “Alright, let’s talk.”

“Mr. Horner, you can speak with Bella privately.” Carla knew the etiquette of her profession. “I’m going to head over to Miss Theron’s. I’ll be back later.”

She left immediately, and Matthew sat down with the young woman named Bella.

She looked to be about twenty-two or twenty-three, with an average appearance, faint freckles on her face, and eye-catching, short, reddish-brown hair.

Since this was someone Charlize had recommended, Matthew didn’t beat around the bush and got straight to the point. “The job is similar to what your sister Carla does. You’ll mainly be assisting with various things and running errands.”

Bella nodded cautiously.

Matthew continued, “The salary is $30,000 a year, with benefits, and a bonus of a certain amount each year depending on how well you perform.”

“That’s about it.” He thought for a moment, then asked, “Tell me about yourself.”

Bella was reserved as she spoke. “I graduated from a university in Arizona last year with a degree in media and public relations. I came to Los Angeles in August and am currently an intern at the California Independent.”

After hearing her self-introduction, Matthew was generally satisfied. He then asked a few more questions to conclude the so-called interview.

In the following days, he met with a few more candidates but ultimately chose Bella. She had already resigned from the newspaper and, as of late January, officially became Matthew’s personal assistant.

And in February 2005, Matthew received a call from Disney Pictures.