Chapter 314: Sales Pitch

"And the award for Favorite Male Star goes to..."

On the stage of Wilton Theatre, Anne Hathaway opened the envelope in her hand and announced the answer, "Matthew Horner!"

Loud applause erupted around, and Matthew stood to applaud as well, feeling no surprise since Helen Herman had arranged with the organizers that he, being one of the most prominent actors in attendance, was bound to receive a grand prize.

As he passed by the "Mean Girls" crew, he hugged Rachel McAdams and Amanda Seyfried, who had stood up to congratulate him, before ascending the stage to take the unusually shaped black trophy from Anne Hathaway and standing before the microphone.

"Wow, this trophy is heavy!" Matthew looked down at it, gripping it firmly before continuing, "I'm thrilled to receive this award; it's a great recognition for me. Thank you to my fans, you're the best, and I love you forever!"

He didn't drag everyone into his thank-you speech, and there was no need to.

Matthew then went backstage. The Favorite Male Star award was one of the grand finale awards of the ceremony, followed by the Favorite Movie Award, marking the close of the Teen Hollywood Awards.

However, no matter the size, the format of Hollywood awards shows tended to follow the Oscars.

After the ceremony was a grand party, and the guests didn't need to leave the theatre; the party was held in a hotel next door, accessible through a dedicated pathway from the theatre.

Because he had agreed to attend the celebration with Amanda Seyfried, Matthew didn't leave immediately like some others. He walked through the long corridor into the hotel's banquet hall. Amanda Seyfried hadn't arrived yet, so he found an unoccupied round table and sat down, asking a waiter to bring some food over.

Like the "Oscar Night" parties, the banquet offered a lavish spread.

Most stars, especially those who are very image-conscious, tend to eat little or nothing on the day they walk the red carpet. Now that the awards were over, they were famished.

Matthew had attended an "Oscar Night" party before, and one of his lasting impressions was seeing major stars devouring food.

After receiving his food, Matthew began to eat small bites. Half a steak later, his growling stomach was somewhat sated. Looking up, he noticed many others had filled the dining room, and directly across, he saw the Olsen twins, although the youngest, Elizabeth Olsen, was absent; it was the twins who were eating.

The click of high heels approached, and a woman in a red evening gown came towards him. Tall and about thirty, she was strikingly pretty.

Unexpectedly, the woman came right up to Matthew.

"Hello, Mr. Horner." The red-dressed woman pointed to the chair beside Matthew and asked, "Is this seat taken? May I sit here?"

As this was not a pre-arranged seating event like the awards ceremony, Matthew wiped his mouth with a napkin and responded, "No one's there, feel free to sit."

The woman sat down, extended her hand, and introduced herself, "Pleased to meet you, Mr. Horner. I'm Claire Wilkinson."

Matthew gently shook her hand, "Pleasure to meet you, Miss Wilkinson."

While speaking, he quickly assessed the red-dressed woman named Claire Wilkinson, certain he didn't know her, nor did her name sound familiar from Hollywood.

Matthew glanced at his watch; Amanda Seyfried was still not there.

Claire Wilkinson smiled at him then lowered her voice, "Did I just see Mr. Horner looking at the Olsen twins?"

"Uh?" Matthew frowned, unsure of her implication.

"Are you interested in the Olsen twins?" Claire's voice was low but startling, "If so, I could introduce you."

Matthew wasn't naive; he understood what kind of "introduction" Claire meant.

"Miss Wilkinson..." His tone neutral, "Are you joking?"

"Of course not," Claire said seriously, "You must have heard, there are organizations like ours in Hollywood and the modeling circles."

Matthew stayed silent. Such transactions weren't secret in Hollywood; some lesser-known actors, models, and even TV hosts, facilitated by intermediaries, sold themselves for hefty cash rewards.

Less common in Hollywood, it was reportedly rampant in modeling. He had heard from James McAvoy that, with enough money, meeting those famous British models wasn't impossible.

This included men as well.

Services like Red Penguin's models were relatively low-end.

Using one's body in exchange for Hollywood roles wasn't new, nor was it scorned as a stepping stone.

For instance, Brad Pitt's saga—how he, armed with good looks and humility, won the favor of actor Tom Rachna, who hired him as a manservant, fulfilling "other needs" beyond mundane chores, thereby launching Pitt into Hollywood—was an old story, unverified and possibly spun by TMZ.

Seeing Matthew's silence, Claire

 perhaps thought he was tempted and added, "With a small fee, Miss Olsen would gladly spend a wonderful evening with a charming gentleman like Mr. Horner."

Matthew glanced at the Olsen twins still eating, then back at Claire, unsure whether to believe her, especially given the twins' status as successful and affluent figures in the media.

His guard was up. Hollywood wasn't just stars and directors; it was also rife with fraudsters exploiting the industry.

And this was just the Teen Hollywood Awards banquet, not the high-threshold "Oscar Night."

Casually, Matthew asked, "How much is this small fee?"

Claire raised a finger, "You must pay one million dollars upfront."

Hearing this amount, Matthew raised an eyebrow. Before he could speak, Claire added, "For both Miss Olsens together, it's three million dollars."

Matthew was tempted to joke about "what kind of diamonds" these were but restrained himself.

Because Claire continued, "This three million isn't just for tonight; we'll also give you goods of equivalent value."

Now thoroughly confused, Matthew thought of a term: pyramid scheme. Was this about the Olsens recruiting him to then recruit others?

Claire then revealed, "The Olsen twins just took over as presidents of the entertainment conglomerate they invested in, owning numerous brands from clothes to cosmetics. We'll give you three million dollars' worth of their brand goods. Of course, we'll claim you extensively purchased because you highly value the Olsen brand..."

Now, Matthew understood—if Claire wasn't lying, this was a unique marketing and sales tactic by the Olsen twins.

Once more, he looked towards the twins.

"Prepay the fee?" Matthew asked.

"Yes," Claire smiled, "At least a third as a deposit."

Matthew saw Amanda Seyfried enter the banquet hall and pointed her out to Claire, saying, "I'm sorry, but I have no interest in such transactions. Miss Wilkinson, please proceed, my companion has arrived."

Claire frowned slightly, glanced at Amanda, and politely excused herself, "I apologize for disturbing you, Mr. Horner."

She got up and approached another single male star.

Amanda Seyfried reached Matthew, eyeing Claire's retreating figure curiously, "Who was that woman?"

"She was pitching something," Matthew replied honestly, "but lost interest when she saw you weren't interested."

"Running around here pitching," Amanda muttered, then leaned close and whispered, "I just booked a room upstairs."

Hearing this, Matthew immediately lost interest in staying, "Shall we go?"

"Sure!" Amanda responded.

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