"What?" Helen Herman's tone sharpened upon hearing Matthew's words. A rare edge in her voice hinted at the unpleasant scenario she was envisioning. "Matthew, are you saying that the missing old camera might have a video of you and Britney together?"
"Yes," Matthew nodded. He could sense Helen's misunderstanding and quickly clarified, "But don't get the wrong idea. It's not that kind of video. I remember one time I was in the kitchen cooking for Britney, and she thought it was interesting, so she filmed it."
Amanda interjected at this point, "You can cook? Did you learn it just to impress women?"
Everyone present was a long-time friend, so Matthew didn't hold back, "Without a few unique skills, how could I attract beautiful women?"
Amanda rolled her eyes slightly, "You're overconfident, Matthew."
Helen quickly regained her composure, "As long as it's not that kind of video, we're fine. Britney was already using your first love and virginity story for publicity last year, so she probably won't care."
Matthew had ended things amicably with Britney, without any drama. After thinking for a moment, he said, "I'll still give Britney a heads-up."
Helen didn't object, "That's a good idea."
In today's internet age, videos like that, once leaked, can quickly spread online.
Compared to the video, Matthew was more interested in the burglar who broke into the Horner Estate. He turned to Helen and said, "Keep an eye on the police and put some pressure on them to catch the thief quickly."
Having broken into his home and stolen his underwear, he was determined to see that jerk spend some years picking up soap in prison!
Helen didn't respond directly to Matthew's remark. Instead, she said, "I think we first need to understand this person's motive."
Amanda immediately asked, "Helen, do you mean this isn't just about theft?"
"How many ordinary burglars steal underwear?" Helen spread her hands. "People who steal underwear usually have more complicated motives."
Matthew frowned, thinking about a certain perverse individual from a far-off country, and looked at Helen. "You think the thief deliberately took the underwear?"
Helen didn't answer directly, "The thief specifically chose tonight, knowing you were the owner. After entering the bedroom, they didn't take the most valuable items. Instead, they focused on your underwear."
She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "I suspect the thief might be one of your fans or admirers."
Matthew felt a cold sweat forming on his forehead. "I hope not. I can't handle fans like that."
The thought of a fetishist fan stealing his underwear was chilling and gave him goosebumps.
Helen wasn't joking. She seriously advised, "Any star would be troubled by such fans. You need to upgrade the security at Horner Estate to prevent such incidents from happening again. Also, enhance your daily security measures. Make sure Brown-Williams keeps a closer watch, especially in public places. Don't step out of the bodyguards' sight."
"Okay." Matthew knew the importance of such precautions. "I'll take care of it tomorrow."
He doubted the police could catch the culprit quickly, given the few clues left behind.
Later, Matthew called Bella Anderson. For convenience, Bella had moved to the outskirts of Beverly Hills long ago. She arrived shortly after receiving his call, first taking photos upstairs and then logging into Matthew's blog to report the break-in at Horner Estate.
The burglary was temporarily set aside. Helen and Amanda stayed to discuss work with Matthew, especially the charity auction that night, which was their reason for visiting Horner Estate.
Amanda took out a statistics file from her briefcase and, while looking through it, said to Matthew, "Tonight's donations and charity auction raised a total of $22.56 million. Of course, that's on paper. The donations haven't been received yet, and some might never come through."
Matthew was curious, "Do people pledge donations and then back out?"
"Yes," Helen replied. "Hollywood has many such people, including big stars like Julia Roberts, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Oprah Winfrey, who do this frequently."
Amanda added, "We definitely won't receive all the pledged donations." She flipped through the file and calculated, "But I estimate we can collect at least $20 million."
Matthew nodded, "That's still a substantial amount."
Amanda smiled, "Starting tomorrow, we'll begin publicizing information about the two charitable foundations globally."
"Don't forget to spend some money," Matthew reminded. "We need to show real action."
"Don't worry," Amanda had a plan in mind. "By early next month, we'll organize a large-scale donation event through the charity foundation, spending 40% of the first batch of funds. We need to build a good reputation for you, expand your visibility, and let the world see your philanthropy."
Matthew eyed Amanda, "Why do I feel like there's a catch in what you're saying?"
Amanda laughed and winked at Matthew, "If we manage these charity foundations well, I can ensure a high-quality life for myself in the future."
After the joke, she returned to the main topic, "Matthew, if your schedule allows, it would be best if you visit Africa again with the UN Refugee Agency. This will also enhance the credibility of the charity foundation."
Matthew looked at Helen, "Coordinate with Amanda according to my schedule."
For stars, charity is a performance. Since it's a show, they must participate personally.
After Bella Anderson finished the blog update, she left Horner Estate with Helen and Amanda. Matthew had other rooms to stay in since the villa was large enough.
Early the next morning, Brown-Williams arrived at the estate. After discussing with Matthew, he contacted his former security company to plan for a targeted security upgrade at Horner Estate.
Matthew took this matter seriously and allocated a budget for it.
Brown-Williams also enhanced Matthew's daily security to guard against potential encounters with extreme fans.
After a busy morning, Matthew received a call from Elena Boyar. The internet and traditional media were abuzz with news of the break-in at Horner Estate. Because Matthew had proactively shared the news on his blog, there weren't too many wild speculations.
At noon, Helen Herman and Beverly Hills Police held a press conference to brief the public on the case.
However, there was little progress. The police hadn't found many valuable clues.
After the press conference, Matthew called Britney to inform her about the camera and video. Britney remembered the incident and wasn't too concerned since the video contained nothing explicit.
But within two hours of their call, Britney rang back, wanting to discuss things with Matthew and Helen.
Though unsure of Britney's intentions, Matthew agreed and informed Helen, inviting Britney and her team to Horner Estate.
Britney, who now lived in Beverly Hills, wasn't far from Horner Estate, just about a ten-minute drive.
That evening, they had over two hours of negotiations and reached a series of agreements.
Though Matthew and Britney were no longer a couple, they were still willing to cooperate on things beneficial to both.
Afterward, Helen contacted Disney and the "Pirates of the Caribbean" crew. With only about ten days until the release of "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," Disney was eager to get involved in the final promotional push.
Unexpectedly, the stolen camera and video seemed to have vanished without a trace, as if they had sunk into the sea. The thief appeared to have no intention of exposing the video.
Even by early July, the video hadn't surfaced.
Since the thief didn't release the video, Matthew and Britney decided to do it themselves.
Matthew had almost forgotten about the video, but Britney had kept a copy. She soon found it and, through Matthew, contacted TMZ's Elena Boyar.
With Britney's new album release imminent and Matthew's movie about to hit theaters, they leveraged their former relationship to mutual benefit, easily agreeing on a joint promotion.
Elena Boyar quickly posted the heartwarming video on TMZ. It was soon picked up by countless websites and TV stations, causing a frenzy among fans of both movies and pop music. The buzz was enormous.
This skyrocketed both Matthew's and Britney's visibility in a short time, drawing massive attention to their new movie and album, exceeding their promotional expectations.
Some media outlets and fans even expressed regret that such a golden couple had broken up.
Neither Matthew nor Britney would answer such questions. They had more important work to focus on.
Just after the Independence Day holiday, with a new weekend approaching, the world's movie fans turned their attention to California's Disneyland in Los Angeles. The pirate festivities were about to begin.
Disney claimed to have invested $5 million to create a super premiere for "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest."
_________________________
[Check out my Patreon for +200 additional chapters in all my fanfics! $5 for all!!] [[email protected]/INNIT]