6. Nonreciprocal Agreement

The music gradually subsided, and the villa was shrouded in darkness. Matthew emerged from the side door, immediately turned off the DV camera, and, aided by the light of the street lamp, saw someone approaching.

He quickly hid behind a clump of bushes to evade the security patrol. Then he stowed away the DV in his tote bag, covered it with clothes, and cautiously scanned the surroundings. Finding it quiet, he hurried towards the entrance of the estate.

The images he had glimpsed in the villa's banquet hall flashed through his mind, prompting him to envy, "Now, this is living!"

Johnny Lee Miller single-handedly taking on six sexy women; now that was an exhilarating scene!

"These guys really know how to have fun!" Passing by the fountain, Matthew no longer concealed himself, proceeding along the driveway. "One man with six is too wasteful!"

Shaking his head, he thought about how these wealthy and famous Hollywood stars led such good lives!

Soon, Matthew reached the entrance of the estate and waved to the guard. "Thanks, buddy!"

It had only been about ten minutes altogether, and the guard didn't seem suspicious. He nodded and said, "If you need to pick someone up, I'll inform you in advance."

"Okay! Okay!" Matthew hurriedly responded. "No problem."

Through the small gate beside the guard, he exited the estate and headed towards the Ford station wagon. The task had been completed without incident, quite smoothly indeed.

Arriving at the car, Matthew opened the door and directly took the driver's seat. Angelina Jolie immediately looked at the tote bag in his hand. "Did you get it?"

Matthew didn't answer. Instead, he took out the DV camera, opened the small screen, turned it towards Angelina Jolie, and pressed play. The footage was unbearable, with frantic screams echoing one after another.

"Good!" Angelina Jolie's face turned sour. "I'll have someone bring the money."

After saying so, she took out her phone to make a call, but Matthew stopped her. "Wait, Miss Jolie!"

Angelina Jolie glanced over, her thick eyebrows furrowed tightly.

Matthew turned off the DV camera and said weakly, "Besides the five thousand dollars, I have a very small request."

He glanced at Jolie, trying to soften his tone as much as possible. "Really small."

Angelina Jolie looked at the DV camera in his hand, then spoke coldly, "Go on!"

"Well, Miss Jolie," Matthew carefully chose his words, so as not to sound coercive, "I'm, uh, an actor too. Not famous, just a struggling one. I haven't had any work for a long time."

Angelina Jolie's expression darkened even more. It seemed she wanted to speak, but Matthew hurriedly continued, "Please, hear me out, please!"

Regardless of whether Angelina Jolie listened or not, he hastened his speech. "I just want to ask you to help me get a job at the right time."

"Impossible!" Angelina Jolie refused outright. "I'll have the money brought to you. You're too greedy!"

Matthew knew she must have misunderstood. He quickly said, "I'm not asking for a famous role or one with lines. Just to appear on screen, even as a background actor!"

He was very careful with his words, using a completely pleading tone, fearing Jolie might perceive it as coercion.

"One can't have a cake and eat it too, and too much demand would be unreasonable," Angelina Jolie wouldn't agree to overly audacious requests. Though her mind might not function like a regular person's, she wasn't insane.

He pondered carefully. He just wanted to take advantage of tonight's opportunity to take his first real step into Hollywood as an actor. His clear memories reminded him that even seemingly low-entry steps could be difficult. Many dreamers like him arrived in Los Angeles aspiring to be actors, yet couldn't even land background roles.

Starting out was always tough, as Matthew understood. Even in casual labor markets, slightly skilled jobs preferred experienced workers!

Though he wasn't very familiar with Hollywood, he figured that for someone like Angelina Jolie, a role without lines, merely as a background actor, shouldn't be a big deal.

Angelina Jolie sat there for a moment, not saying a word, just continuously observing Matthew, realizing that this guy was smarter than she had thought.

"He's greedy," that was her impression, "but knows when to stop."

A minor role as a background actor meant nothing to her. For example, in the ongoing film production, she could casually mention it to the casting director through her assistant. After all, she was the second lead actress!

Was it more important to make her husband suffer in the future divorce lawsuit for betraying her, or to fulfill such a trivial request?

"Hmm..." Angelina Jolie suddenly laughed.

If it were a few years ago, not only would she not agree, but she would also have her bodyguard come over and deal with him properly. Even if she couldn't get the footage, people always grow up. She couldn't always be the crazy, absent-minded little girl. With age, her mind had become clearer.

Otherwise, how could her career steadily rise these past years?

Angelina Jolie slowly spoke, "Do you have a business card?"

Hearing this, Matthew quickly found paper and a pen, wrote down a number, and handed it to Angelina Jolie. She stuffed it into her pocket, took out her phone, and dialed a number. "Bring the money over."

Matthew breathed a sigh of relief, knowing he might have seized the opportunity.

But he immediately became more vigilant because a sturdy white man approached from the side. Fortunately, this man handed Angelina Jolie a paper bag and quickly left.

Angelina Jolie opened the bag, revealing a stack of brand-new bills. Obviously prepared in advance, she didn't say much and simply threw the money over. Matthew caught it and returned the DV camera to her.

After putting away the DV camera, Angelina Jolie was about to leave the car when she suddenly turned back, curious. "Aren't you worried I won't keep my word?"

"I am worried," Matthew spoke honestly. "But there's nothing I can do. I can only gamble on your character."

With such a vast difference in their positions, with Angelina Jolie having her bodyguard here, possibly even armed, what could he do? This was basically an unequal verbal agreement from the start. He knew that if Jolie decided not to keep her word, he would just have to accept it.

Matthew could only bet that this matter was insignificant to Angelina Jolie, requiring little effort, and that getting five thousand dollars, even if she deceived him, would still be profitable for her.

Perhaps having obtained what she wanted, Angelina Jolie was in a better mood. "As long as you keep quiet."

Without the video evidence, speaking out would be useless, especially in Hollywood, where every star had their share of rumors, true or false, as long as there was no evidence, they would remain rumors.

Matthew made a zipping motion with his hand. "I promise!"

Now, of course, he wouldn't speak carelessly. Perhaps without Angelina Jolie's help, there might still be opportunities in the future. After all, the threshold for temporary actors wasn't high. But what he had seen and heard today made him unwilling to wait any longer, urgently wanting a better life, just like Johnny Lee Miller in the estate.

As long as Angelina Jolie kept her promise, this process would be greatly accelerated.

Though in a different country, Matthew believed having a better network of connections would make things easier.

Angelina Jolie got out of the car and soon disappeared into the night. Matthew speculated that it wouldn't be long before she divorced Johnny Lee Miller. The latter would probably be in big trouble, perhaps facing significant financial losses.

"Is this too immoral?" Matthew thought of professional ethics at this moment, then shook his head. "As a small fry like me, wanting to make it big, I can't be too rigid!"

As for professional ethics? It could wait until he had money.

He took out the five thousand dollars, tapped it in his hand, making a crisp sound, remarkably pleasant and delightful.

"The feeling of having money..." Matthew gently rubbed the Franklin on the bill with his fingers. "Damn, it's so good!"

After stowing away the five thousand dollars, he sat and read a magazine for a while. Checking the time, he closed the car door, went to the back seat, and took a nap. When he woke up, the sky was already bright. After rinsing his mouth and washing his face with a bottle of mineral water, he waited for a while before the guard at the estate gate came to inform him to pick up someone.

Matthew drove to the front gate of the estate villa, and six disheveled girls successively got into the car. They smelled of alcohol, smoke, and some other unidentifiable odors, their faces marked with exhaustion, seemingly having spent the night without sleep.

These female models sat silently in their seats, not uttering a word. Even Rachel, who had chatted with him all the way yesterday, was too tired, collapsing on her seat.

Starting the car, Matthew shook his head slightly. These girls seemed glamorous, but in reality...

He didn't dwell on it. Driving the car, he dropped each of them off one by one and then returned to the company to return the keys as per regulations. His day's work was done.

After getting off work, he immediately went to the nearest real estate agency. With some money in hand now, he was ready to rent a suitable place.

Having rested fairly well last night, Matthew's energy was sufficiently replenished. He visited three real estate agencies in a row, viewing seven ordinary single apartments. Finally, in an ordinary residential area on the outskirts of Westwood, he rented a single room in an old apartment building where he could move in immediately.

The room was small, less than twenty square meters, with a tiny independent bathroom. Because the old walls were peeling off, the monthly rent was only $400. Matthew paid six months' rent in advance, securing himself a foothold in Los Angeles.

In the evening, he continued to work for the Red Penguin company, which was almost routine work and didn't affect his rest at night. He'd still have energy to do other things the next day.

When he finished work again in the morning, just as he stepped out of the Red Penguin company, his phone rang.

He pressed the answer button, hearing a professional female voice, "Hello, I'm Miss Jolie's assistant, Vanessa..."