"What?" Helen Herman couldn't hide her surprise. "When did this happen?"
Matthew shrugged. "Just this morning, right before I met you, we made it official."
Helen didn't respond immediately; instead, she thought for a moment before speaking. "You could have used this information with Iliana Poyar, I..."
"No need," Matthew interrupted. "Britney is now my girlfriend, and we've secured the role. I think that's enough."
Helen paused, taken aback by Matthew's sense of propriety. She knew him well enough to recognize when he understood the limits. After a moment, she said, "Alright. This way, we can also avoid potential conflicts with Britney's management and record label."
She warned, "You won't be able to keep it under wraps for long."
Matthew shrugged nonchalantly, "We'll just go with the flow."
Leaving Warner Studios, Matthew rode with Helen back to the Angel Agency. Before they reached the agency, Britney called. Matthew briefly explained that he had signed the contract with the production team.
They spoke for a few minutes, and Matthew could hear other voices in the background on Britney's end, indicating she was busy. He ended the call first.
Helen seemed to have no intention of delving further into Matthew's relationship with Britney. Instead, she brought up another matter, "It's over a month until the crew pays your first installment. You shouldn't take any more side jobs. Just focus on finishing your classes in acting and language. Aren't they ending soon?"
"Yeah, mid-October," Matthew replied, having already planned his next steps. "I'll resume classes at the Los Angeles School of Performing Arts tomorrow."
"If you need money..."
Having secured the role of Ronald Speirs, Helen's demeanor towards him had softened noticeably. "You can borrow some from the company temporarily. Once your first payment of twenty thousand dollars arrives, I'll have accounting deduct it."
Matthew's remaining funds were limited. Although he was frugal and his basic living expenses weren't high—enough to last until next month's trip to England—having Britney as a girlfriend would undoubtedly increase his spending.
"Alright," he responded without hesitation. "Lend me three thousand dollars for now."
Though Helen hadn't explicitly stated it, Matthew sensed a shift in her attitude. Before landing the role of Ronald Speirs, she would never have agreed to lend him money from the company.
Could this role really be a turning point in his acting career?
The car stopped outside the Angel Agency. Helen spoke again before they got out, "And remember, this is just the beginning. Don't ease up on yourself! Continue to work hard for this role as you have been doing."
"I know," Matthew unbuckled his seatbelt, recognizing that his minor role was still far from his dream of becoming a Hollywood star.
They walked into the Angel Agency together, where Matthew completed the paperwork to borrow three thousand dollars, officially becoming indebted.
In the following days, Matthew returned to a very structured routine—exercising in the morning, attending acting classes in the morning, reading newspapers during lunch, language classes in the afternoon, and studying acting techniques from old Oscar-winning movies in the evening.
Despite the relationship's new status, which would typically mean spending a lot of time together, Matthew had only seen Britney once since the audition—briefly at the airport lounge before she left Los Angeles, talking for no more than five minutes.
Britney was in the middle of promoting her debut album, preparing for a national tour and gearing up for a world tour next year, leaving her with little free time.
It was an unavoidable situation; a top-charting singer's schedule was far more hectic than that of an actor.
As Helen had said, a popular singer's life could be summed up by four locations: the recording studio, airplanes, hotels, and concert venues.
Apart from Helen Herman, who needed to be informed, Matthew didn't disclose his relationship with Britney to anyone else. However, he didn't hide it either; he just let things happen naturally.
Britney's promotional tour was even busier than expected, and she could only spare fifteen minutes a day to talk with Matthew on the phone. Fortunately, her music video was about to be released, and the record company had invited Matthew to the launch event in New York where they could meet again.
This audition experience, especially the lengthy and rigorous preparation, made Matthew more composed and aware that external factors influenced auditions, but performance was key.
For figures like Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, it was hard to impress with ordinary interactions given their status and the sheer number of people they met; auditions remained the critical deciding factor.
Matthew valued his time at the acting class greatly. After more than five months of lessons, he had improved noticeably. However, starting late and with no extraordinary talent, he finished the course as a middling student among his peers.
As the language classes also wrapped up, the six months of intensive training were beneficial, regardless of the outcome.
"The classes are all done."
Exiting the language class with Rachel McAdams, Matthew slung his backpack over his shoulder and asked, "Are you still planning to go back to Canada?"
Shortly after resuming classes, Rachel had told him she planned to return to Canada to develop her career after the acting classes ended before eventually aiming for Hollywood.
"The competition is less fierce in Canada," Rachel seemed resolute, her dimples showing as she smiled. "There are more opportunities there."
"If I had landed a role like yours with Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, I would stay and try to make it in Hollywood," she added, somewhat enviously.
Having spent half a year in the same acting class, Matthew and Rachel had become friends. He couldn't offer much help but said, "Coming back when there's a suitable opportunity might be better."
This was preferable to staying in Los Angeles without accomplishing anything, which would be far worse than Rachel's potential struggles.
They walked out of the school, and Rachel stopped, looking towards the Hollywood hills, then smiled with her dimples showing, "I'll definitely come back."
"When you do," Matthew smiled back, "dinner's on me."
Rachel turned to him, "It's a deal!"
Matthew extended his hand, and Rachel slapped it, solidifying their promise.
Then, Rachel drove away from the Los Angeles School of Performing Arts, headed back to Canada that night.
Watching Rachel's car disappear, Matthew felt lucky.
How many actors in Hollywood could move from a newcomer to a significant role in a major production in just over half a year?
Matthew didn't linger. He soon returned to his apartment and called Helen Herman. Recently, following her advice, he had tried several times to contact Angelina Jolie. Only once did he get through, and not to the same assistant as before. After a brief conversation, the line was cut, and he couldn't reach the number again.
Helen had tried to arrange for Matthew to attend the premiere of "The Soul Switcher" but got no response from the production's producer, Georgia Kennedy.
After ending the call with Helen—who had just informed him that Kennedy had politely declined the invitation via email—it was clear that Matthew had no connection to "The Soul Switcher" premiere.
Matthew hadn't had high hopes; he was, after all, just a minor actor with a couple of lines. Rejection was normal, especially considering neither Angelina Jolie nor Winona Ryder wanted to see him.
Both Matthew and Helen had given up on pursuing a connection with Angelina Jolie. Instead, Matthew focused entirely on preparing for his role as Ronald Speirs.
This role, among many others in the series, required exceptional performance to stand out.
Thus, he set up a simple plan with Hawk Braxton and Eric Pope over several phone calls.
He would exercise each morning—running and doing push-ups in the park due to budget and equipment limitations; afternoons were for studying the script and character; evenings were for watching videos of past Oscar winners and mimicking their performances; and he ended his nights with a phone call to Britney.
For a long stretch, Matthew didn't even leave Westwood. His preparations for the role of Ronald Speirs were more intensive than for the audition.
Matthew believed that opportunities were reserved for those who were well-prepared.
Despite his commitment to staying put, some things couldn't be avoided.
In late October, calls from Wilson, his lawyer, and Helen heralded significant progress in the out-of-court settlement negotiations with the production company behind "The Forbidden Tarot." An agreement was nearly reached; they needed Matthew, the concerned party, to attend the final negotiation and sign the settlement agreement.