Chapter 2

The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Frozen in his chair, a new set of memories surfaced in Matthew's mind, confirming his fears: the crew outside was preparing to shoot an adult film.

Worse, the previous owner of this body hadn't just agreed to it willingly—he had signed an official contract.

The reason, of course, was money.

And the agent had swindled him, spinning a tale about it being a surefire path into Hollywood, a so-called backdoor into mainstream movies.

Matthew couldn't help but roll his eyes. Even with his limited knowledge of America from this era, he knew you didn't become a legitimate Hollywood star by starting in pornography. Who in the world of respectable cinema would ever take an adult film actor seriously?

The previous Matthew hadn't been clueless; he'd just been blinded by money.

He'd been in Los Angeles for several months, and times were tough. He dreamed of becoming an actor but couldn't even land a minor role.

Fortunately, filming hadn't started yet.

For someone with no education or skills, acting might have been a way out, but becoming this kind of "actor" was a surefire way to kill any future career.

Having made up his mind to refuse, Matthew looked down at himself, clad only in a pair of baggy shorts. He searched the small dressing room and, guided by his new memories, quickly found his own clothes and changed without hesitation.

It was a faded, well-worn denim outfit, washed nearly white, but Matthew immediately felt more at ease in it. As he dressed, something else occurred to him—he finally understood why the agent had approached him in the first place.

He was genuinely handsome, tall and lean, with a bright, friendly face and a well-defined physique.

Knock, knock, knock!

A sharp rap sounded at the door again, and the same voice he'd heard earlier called out, "Matthew, what are you doing in there? Get out here!"

The voice was laced with anger.

Matthew walked over and opened the door. Standing on the threshold was an extremely irritated bald man. The relevant information clicked into place in his mind: this was Morris, the agent who had duped the original Matthew.

"Fuck!" Morris cursed the moment he saw Matthew in his street clothes. The bald agent stepped inside, hastily shutting the door behind him. "Why are you still dressed?" he demanded.

"I'm not doing it," Matthew stated plainly.

Morris stared in disbelief, as if he couldn't comprehend Matthew's words. "What did you say? And drop that damn Texas accent. You sound like a hick."

Matthew realized the words had come out awkwardly, sounding strange even to his own ears. He cleared his throat, adjusting his speech. "I'm leaving."

Clearly, he still needed to get the hang of American English.

"Leaving? Yeah, right." Morris assumed he was joking. "Stop screwing around and get changed. The whole crew is waiting for you."

Matthew's expression remained firm. "I'm leaving. It's not a joke."

Morris studied Matthew's face, saw that he was serious, and his eyes instantly turned cold. "Are you out of your mind, kid? This isn't some driving gig you can just walk away from. You have a contract, and if you breach it..."

His voice rose sharply. "You'll be paying a hefty price!"

"I don't have any money," Matthew said. He had checked earlier; his wallet contained only a few dozen dollars.

"Then stop talking nonsense and quit fooling around." Morris's tone softened into a persuasive coo. "Listen to me. You'll get eight thousand dollars for this contract. Before you know it, you'll be a big star, making lots and lots of money. In the future, you'll be pulling in fifty thousand—no, a hundred thousand dollars a picture!"

As an agent who specialized in luring in young hopefuls, Morris knew exactly how to press their buttons. "With that kind of money, you won't have to be a chauffeur anymore. You can do anything you want. The opportunity is right in front of you. If you let it slip away, you'll never get another chance."

His gaze dropped to the floor as he whispered, "Not everyone gets a golden opportunity like this."

A large hand landed on Matthew's shoulder, patting it firmly. "Don't waste your talent. You're going to be a great actor."

Being looked at like that made Matthew's skin crawl. At the same time, he sighed in relief. Thank God the person before him hadn't done anything irreversible. Like, for instance, actually starring in this piece of trash.

Morris suddenly changed his tack. "I introduced you to Jessica on the way here. What do you think, is she pretty?"

Matthew realized he was talking about the blonde woman and gave an involuntary nod.

Morris pressed on. "Jessica is a certified knockout in this industry!"

He clapped Matthew on the shoulder again. "Money and beauty are right there for the taking. Don't you want it?"

"I..." For someone who had struggled to survive for twenty years, the temptation of money and beautiful women was immense. Matthew swallowed hard. "Of course, I want it."

Hearing the expected answer, Morris broke into a grin. These poor country boys... how many of them could ever resist such a lure? He'd had plenty of them try to back out before, but once he brought up the money and the women...

This case, surely, would be no exception.

Morris cracked the door open and glanced back at the statuesque Jessica, certain that no kid under twenty could possibly hold out.

He then watched as Matthew's eyes darted toward the open door.

Seeing the look on Matthew's face, Morris was convinced he had him back on the hook and began plotting his next move.

For a man who had lived in poverty for twenty years, even struggling to find food at times, the allure of money and beautiful women was almost unimaginable.

Hot blood rushed to Matthew's head. The hormones surging through his young body screamed for him to nod and say yes. But he wasn't some naive kid fresh off the bus. After so many years at the bottom of society, he knew better than anyone that behind the glittering bait of fame and fortune often lay a painful, lifelong price.

Slowly, he pulled his gaze away from the blonde woman, his eyes hardening with resolve.

Morris, however, failed to notice the change. Believing he had the situation under control, he reached out to touch Matthew's shoulder again. The man really did touch him way too often.

"Matthew, stick with me, and you'll be a big star. You'll make big money and drive the best cars."

The hand he extended froze in mid-air as the young man shifted his shoulder out of reach.

Morris looked up, but before he could speak, Matthew said, "I love money, and I love beautiful women."

He offered a faint smile before his tone shifted. "But I'm not going to get them this way."

"What?" Morris's eyes widened. "What did you say?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Matthew gestured to his own chest. "I quit. I'm not doing the shoot."

"Matthew!" Morris's voice boomed.

The shout echoed through the studio, and several heads turned to watch as a middle-aged director in glasses headed straight for them.

"What's going on?" the director asked as he approached.

"I'm not doing the film," Matthew replied. "You'll have to hire someone else."

The director immediately shot a look at Morris, who shook his head to signal he wasn't to blame, his face contorted with rage.

"So you want to breach the contract?" Morris's face turned completely venomous. "You'll have to pay a massive penalty! Ten times the cost of all the costumes, props, and custom-made condoms! And if you think you can just walk away—"

Matthew cut him off. "Don't try to scare me. I have nothing. I'm broke."

He pulled a cell phone from his pocket and waved it in front of Morris. "And I can call the police. This is a pretty busy part of Los Angeles, right? You don't want to deal with the cops, do you?"

"Hmph, you arrogant brat. How dare you talk to me like that? Why did I even bother with you?" Morris grumbled. This wasn't the seventies or eighties; there were certain things you just couldn't do anymore. Theirs was a delicate industry, and a visit from the police could lead to all sorts of trouble.

The director suddenly spoke up. "You can quit. For breach of contract, you'll pay a penalty of five times the fee, plus the crew's expenses for you. I'll have our legal counsel collect fifty thousand dollars from you."

Last-minute changes were common in this business, and even when actors quit suddenly, he, the director, could easily find a replacement. And while this young man was incredibly handsome, it wasn't worth the risk of bringing the police here.

"I'll have our lawyer collect the money from you," the director said with an air of indifference, as if Matthew's departure was a trivial matter. He turned to leave, tossing a final remark to Morris: "Next time, find someone more reliable."

With the director gone, Matthew said to Morris, "Well, see ya."

With that, he turned to leave.

"$50,000, Matthew. You owe us $50,000." Morris blocked his path. "And just so you know, kid, you're done. You just lost your agent. I'll make you come crawling back to me, begging for my forgiveness."

To that, Matthew simply walked around Morris and tossed a parting shot over his shoulder. "Don't think so highly of yourself, old man. Los Angeles is a big city, and it's full of agents who are way better than you."