Chapter 346: Turning a Blind Eye

During the outdoor shooting for the Mercedes-Benz commercial, most of Matthew's scenes involved posing much like they had in the studio, following Michael Bay's vision to capture a cool and wild essence in the cooperation between man and vehicle. However, with another crew still filming nearby, all they could do for now was make their preparations.

After a quick makeup session that merely accentuated his facial contours, Matthew emerged from the makeup trailer and noticed that the crew members who had finished their preparations were curiously watching the filming of the neighboring set.

Upon arriving at the location, Matthew had already noticed the neighboring crew from San Fernando Valley. Standing on the outskirts of the crowd, he watched a vigorous close-combat scene being filmed, featuring a muscular male actor and a blonde woman engaging fiercely in battle. 

Standing beside the equally curious Michael Bay, Matthew observed the other set for a while, thinking the blonde woman looked somewhat familiar.

"If I had failed to transition to film directing," Michael joked, stroking his long chin, "maybe I'd be shooting that kind of stuff."

"Shooting those kinds of films can be fun too, right?" Matthew replied jokingly.

Michael shook his head, "If there's a problem during the shoot, the director might have to step in himself."

"There must be many who aspire to that profession," Matthew laughed. "Otherwise, San Fernando Valley wouldn't draw so many newcomers."

Michael chuckled, "You don't need to go there to pick up women."

"Right, we don't need to," Matthew understood his meaning.

In Hollywood circles, Michael Bay was known for his flirtatious behavior with actresses in his films.

As Matthew and Michael chatted casually about women, the neighboring crew seemed to finish their shoot and began to pack up their temporary set. With their filming concluded, Michael ended the conversation with Matthew and loudly called for their crew to start shooting.

Matthew handed over his personal items to Bella Anderson, who had driven him there, and entered the set alone.

Unlike the studio shoots, this time the crew planned to shoot all of Matthew's scenes in the first half of the day, leaving the stunt scenes for later. Two specially modified Mercedes G-Classes were brought in; one drove directly onto the set while the other was kept on standby nearby.

Matthew resumed his position next to a Mercedes G-Class, his expression as stern as before. A photographer approached to take pictures; this shoot covered the entire advertising campaign, including television, online videos, and print photos.

Following the photographer's instructions, Matthew posed in various ways. His scenes were shot quickly and smoothly, finishing even before the San Fernando Valley crew had packed up. The complex car stunts would be performed by the stunt drivers later.

After his part was done, Matthew approached Michael Bay to check if there was anything else needed. "If there's nothing else, Michael, I'll head out."

"That's it," Michael replied, seemingly pleased with Matthew's work. "Let's catch up over drinks sometime."

As a purely commercial director, Michael appreciated working with high-value actors.

"Sure, just give me a call anytime," Matthew agreed.

After a brief chat with Michael, Matthew also spoke with the Mercedes-Benz ad director—always good at networking. He then returned to the makeup trailer, quickly changing back into his clothes and walked alone to where Bella had parked the car.

Bella handed Matthew his phone, saying, "Miss Herman called. She asked me to tell you that David Ellison on behalf of Sky Dance Productions has just signed the official rights agreement with Frank Miller."

Taking his phone, Matthew was about to get in the car when a blonde woman he had seen earlier approached him.

"It really is you!" she exclaimed.

The woman, clad in tight jeans and wearing heavy makeup, looked striking.

Bella recognized her as the lead actress from the neighboring set and stepped forward to intercept her.

"Don't you remember me?" the blonde asked Matthew, pointing towards the other set. "I thought you looked familiar and decided to check. I can't believe it's actually you."

Matthew gestured for Bella to step aside and allowed the blonde to approach.

"Hello, Miss Drake," Matthew certainly remembered her, "It's very nice to see you again."

Jessica Drake came closer, saying, "I didn't expect to see you here. It's just so surprising that you've become a Hollywood star."

Matthew smiled, "I didn't expect to make it in Hollywood either."

Jessica recovered from her initial shock and smiled, "I almost got to work with a Hollywood star."

Matthew steered away from that topic, "Let's catch up another time; I have to run now."

Previously, tabloids had speculated about his nearly getting involved in the San Fernando Valley scene, which didn't hurt his reputation but rather, made him an inspirational figure to many.

Even if someone wanted to exploit this connection, without photos or videos, their claims lacked credibility.

"You're leaving so soon?" Jessica suddenly stepped closer, pulling out a card

 from her pocket and handing it to Matthew in a low voice, "Here's my number. If you need anything, I'm just a call away. If you want to involve more people, I can arrange that too."

Matthew understood her implication, glanced at the card with a phone number on it, and pocketed it.

"Hopefully, we'll meet again," Jessica said as she departed, "Goodbye, Matthew Horner."

"Goodbye, Jessica," Matthew nodded to her.

Bella, who had remained silent throughout, watched Jessica leave, then went to the driver's side and started the Mercedes.

The ride was not particularly comfortable in the back of the Mercedes G, so Matthew sat in the front passenger seat, directing, "Let's head to the office in Burbank."

As Bella drove off the barren land and onto a state highway, she stole a glance at Matthew, who took a cardholder from the glove compartment and tucked Jessica's card inside.

Bella knew what this meant but chose to turn a blind eye, as her sister Kara had advised. She understood that many stars had their vices and that as a personal assistant, it was best to ignore them.

Yet, as an adult, she had her thoughts. Matthew was officially dating Charlize Theron, reportedly even house-hunting together, yet here he was, accepting Jessica Drake's card...

Bella quickly dismissed these thoughts as none of her concern.

According to her sister Kara, Matthew, despite his flaws, was far better than most male stars in the industry.

From her observations since becoming Matthew's personal assistant, aside from Charlize, he seemed to have no improper relationships with other women.

The black Mercedes sped through San Fernando Valley and soon arrived at Burbank, parking under an office building. Matthew, accompanied by Bella, returned to the office and redialed Helen Herman's number, which had been unreachable earlier.

After a brief conversation confirmed Helen had just finalized the agreement with Frank Miller and was celebrating with David Ellison, Zack Snyder, and Frank's agent, Matthew hung up.

Helen would return to Los Angeles the next day to assist with starting "The Spartans" project, including scriptwriting and contacting distributors, and to discuss promotional plans for "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" with Avi Arad, ensuring a major promotional campaign to compete effectively in May.

Ultimately, the success of this promotional effort would rest on Matthew and Charlize Theron.

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