Chapter 51: The Controller

The filming was put on hold, and no one knew when Britney would be back on set. Since Matthew had nothing else to do, he decided to attend classes at the acting school the next day. But the moment he walked into the classroom, he noticed everyone staring at him like he was some rare animal in the zoo. Even Rachel McAdams, who was usually friendly with him, was no exception.

"What's going on?" Matthew asked curiously as he walked over to Rachel in the corner. "Do I have something on my face?"

Rachel didn't answer right away. Instead, she asked with an amused look, "Did you seriously hook up with Britney Spears?"

"No way," Matthew rolled his eyes. "You actually believe that tabloid nonsense?"

He explained, "She got hurt yesterday, and I carried her to the car. That's probably when the paparazzi took the photos."

Rachel went to her bag, pulled out a copy of American News Weekly, and handed it to him. "Well, they made it sound really convincing."

Matthew had already read the paper earlier that morning. Right on the front page was a photo of him carrying Britney, with a giant headline screaming: "Britney's Romance Exposed!"

But that wasn't all. The article even dug into his background, painting a dramatic picture of how he'd allegedly landed the lead role in her music video with her help.

And right at the end of the article, the journalist's name was printed clearly: Elena Boyar.

Matthew figured she must've been among the reporters present that day. But with everything going on, he hadn't noticed who was taking pictures.

Rachel folded the newspaper and teased, "I thought you had some serious game, managing to score Britney. Guess not."

"What do you mean, guess not?" Matthew laughed and held up his hands. "Ask any guy in this class—who wouldn't want to date Britney?"

He shook his head. "But wanting and actually doing it are two very different things."

Just then, his phone rang. He dug it out from his bag and answered. Helen Herman's voice came through on the other end.

"Congratulations, Matthew. You're famous now."

He gave a sheepish chuckle. "I just helped out a bit. Didn't really do anything special."

Helen's tone turned serious. "Did you read American News Weekly today?"

"I did," he replied with a nod.

"Alright, I'll keep it short," Helen got straight to the point. "Since the magazine's report about the Britney-Christina feud turned out to be true, this latest story has grabbed even more attention. A bunch of paparazzi and gossip reporters are now digging into your past. It won't be long before they find you."

She asked, "Where are you right now?"

"Los Angeles Performing Arts School."

"Okay, remember this," she warned. "If reporters come asking about you and Britney, do not say anything without thinking. Got it?"

"I get what you mean," Matthew replied.

Helen continued, "Best option—don't say a word. Don't confirm, don't deny."

Matthew had been in Hollywood for a few months now, and he quickly understood where she was coming from. "I get it."

If he didn't confirm the fake rumour, there'd be no pressure from Britney's record label or management. If he didn't deny it either, it gave the media room to keep spinning the story—boosting his own visibility in the process.

Clearly, Helen's advice worked best in his favour.

He also figured the record label would eventually issue a statement. They might even ask him to speak up himself. But until then, he'd keep his mouth shut.

After hanging up, he put the phone away. Rachel suddenly spoke up, "Your agent's really smart."

"Huh?" Matthew was confused for a second.

"I didn't mean to eavesdrop," Rachel gestured like she was on a call and said, "But your phone's got serious sound leakage."

Matthew looked at his old second-hand phone and sighed, "Ah, no wonder."

He hadn't realised how bad the leakage was. If Rachel hadn't pointed it out, he wouldn't have known. Luckily, it was just the two of them in the corner. Otherwise, that would've been pretty embarrassing.

Then he remembered something—when Martin Jackson had called him that time, Michael Sheen had been nearby. If the phone had been leaking sound even then, maybe that's how Michael had found out and rushed to the hotel?

Matthew glanced at the old phone again. "This phone leaks sound so bad, I'm practically leaking my life away with it."

Clearly, it was time for an upgrade. He just wasn't sure how pricey phones were in this day and age.

Right then, the classroom door opened and David Astor walked in. The morning's acting lessons were about to begin again.

Meanwhile, at a newspaper office in Los Angeles, the editor-in-chief sat behind his desk, looking over his glasses at the tall woman standing in front of him.

"Well done, Elena," he said, visibly pleased. "First, the Britney-Christina feud, and now Britney's new love life. You've really been delivering surprises."

Elena Boyar smiled but gave a quick disclaimer. "Sir, just to be clear—Britney's relationship is fake."

"No problem!" The editor waved it off. "As long as the readers love it, and it sells papers, it's as good as real!"

He looked curious. "Where are you getting all this info? And how did you verify that Matthew Horner guy so quickly?"

"I have a source," Elena replied casually. "And a bit of luck."

The editor saw she wasn't going to spill any details, so he simply said, "You're getting a double bonus this month. Keep it up!"

"I will." But Elena's expression tightened.

"Alright, get back to it," the editor dismissed her. "Dig deeper into this lead."

Elena turned and left the office. Once the door shut behind her, her frustration showed.

The editor had promised her a deputy editor position, and now he was pretending it had never come up.

"F$%K!" she muttered under her breath. "Bloody bastard!"

With a boss like this who just wanted to suppress her, all she could do was curse and go back to work.

At the hospital, Britney lay in her room, bored out of her mind, staring at the ceiling. Thinking about the gossip her agent had just mentioned, she couldn't help but curse the reporters—how jobless could they be, writing stories like this?

She had to admit, Matthew Horner had left a good impression. But technically, they'd only just met yesterday, hadn't they?

Those guys were ridiculous. Honestly, they were even worse than Christina Aguilera.

Just then, the door flew open. Her father, Jamie Spears, stormed in with a newspaper in hand. Her agent, who had just been on a call, hurried in behind him.

"Look what you've done!" Jamie threw the paper onto Britney's bed and snapped, "Look who you're hanging around with—a broke kid from Texas!"

Britney had grown up under his strict control. She tried to explain, "Dad, it's not like that—"

"Brit, I've told you before!" Jamie cut her off sharply. "Your career comes first! Even if you want a boyfriend, find someone on your level!"

Britney had no strength to argue with her father. She looked at her agent pleadingly.

The agent stepped between them. "Jamie, calm down."

"How can I calm down?" Jamie's voice only got louder. "That boy's clearly after her fame!"

"Jamie!" The agent had no choice but to raise his own voice. "It's just tabloid drama! I was there the whole time yesterday. Britney and Matthew only just met!"

Before Jamie could respond, he added, "I've already contacted the record label and Matthew's agent. We're planning to issue a joint clarification."

Jamie blinked. "Really?"

The agent felt like banging his head against the wall. No wonder Britney was so naïve—it ran in the family.

"Of course!" he said firmly. "Do you think I'd lie to you? Neither you, nor the label, nor our agency want to see Britney getting linked with some small-time actor!"

The two men continued their discussion, completely ignoring Britney.

Small-time actor? Britney didn't see it that way. Matthew's really sweet—warm, cheerful… and kind of cool, actually…

But with her overbearing father still in the room, she didn't dare say it out loud.

Jamie calmed down slightly. "So, you reached the label and that guy's agent?"

"The label's on board. They're taking it seriously," the agent said, frowning. "But I haven't been able to reach Helen Herman yet. Her phone's off. I called her office, and her assistant said she's out of town and left her mobile behind."

"When's she coming back?" Jamie asked.

"In two or three days, I think," the agent replied, feeling something wasn't quite right. Still, in this industry, it wasn't unusual for agents to be out of station. "Her assistant promised to get her in touch with us."