Thinking about the opportunity to build a higher-level network, Dennis Cooper couldn't wait and said, "How about this, Matthew Carter, let's meet up. Come to the company and we'll talk in detail face to face."

After hanging up the phone, Dennis Cooper noticed the young man across from him was still staring at him. He snorted coldly and said, "What are you looking at? This was my client to begin with."

He wasn't wrong. The young man glared at him one last time in frustration, then sat back down in his chair helplessly.

About forty minutes later, the receptionist brought in a young man. As soon as they entered, the receptionist said, "Dennis Cooper, someone's here for you."

Following the receptionist's gaze, Matthew Carter saw a big, chubby man wearing glasses, who looked to weigh at least over two hundred pounds.

"Are you Matthew Carter?"

The chubby man broke into a big smile and came over. Matthew Carter nodded, "Are you Mr. Dennis Cooper?"

"Just call me Dennis Cooper," the chubby man said warmly.

He glanced at his watch and said, "Come on, let's go to the café on the first floor to talk."

Matthew Carter had no objections and followed the chubby man to the café. The man ordered two coffees and asked, "Is this the job that Miss Julie Smith introduced?"

"Yes." Matthew Carter didn't hesitate to use her name for leverage, and added, "Please keep this confidential. Miss Julie Smith doesn't want outsiders to know."

Dennis Cooper nodded. "Tell me the general situation."

Matthew Carter had already prepared, and embellished everything he could say. Basically, he came to Hollywood to chase his dream, met Julie Smith by chance, and then Julie Smith helped him get a temporary acting job.

"Don't worry, I'll go with you on Monday."

After listening, Dennis Cooper said with great confidence, "You just focus on acting, I'll handle everything else!"

Chapter 8: Six Dollars an Hour

On Monday morning, Matthew Carter had just finished washing up when his phone rang. His agent, Dennis Cooper, was already waiting in his car downstairs. He changed into a brand-new suit, hurried downstairs, got into the agent's car, and headed to Universal Studios together.

On the way, Dennis Cooper gave Matthew Carter a lot of reminders, especially not to talk carelessly on set, not to be too curious, and if he saw anything strange, to pretend he hadn't seen it.

Matthew Carter nodded on the surface, but didn't really take it to heart. He was starting from the very bottom, and if he wanted to climb up quickly, he needed to improve his hard skills like acting, but also needed opportunities!

But opportunities don't just appear out of thin air; sometimes you have to create them.

For example, helping Angelina Jolie catch her cheating partner—if he hadn't asked for something extra, would he have this opportunity now? Over the past few days, Matthew Carter had thought a lot about why Julie Smith was fulfilling their verbal agreement. He figured it was probably for a few reasons: first, this woman really was different from most people; second, she really was about to get divorced and didn't care what others said.

Dennis Cooper drove to Universal Studios, entered the filming area off-limits to tourists, parked the car, asked around a bit, and quickly found the soundstage where the "Taking Lives" crew was located. Although it was still early, the studio was already bustling with people.

After entering the studio and finding out where the casting director's office was, Dennis Cooper asked, "Do you want to go say hi to Miss Julie Smith?"

"No need." Matthew Carter guessed that Angelina Jolie probably didn't want to see him. "She told us to go straight to the casting director."

A trace of disappointment flashed in Dennis Cooper's eyes, but he didn't say anything else. He moved his large body to lead the way and found the door to the casting director's office.

He knocked on the door, and a crisp voice from inside said, "Come in." The two of them entered. A man in his thirties or forties was sitting behind the desk, seemingly looking through some documents.

"Are you Mr. Robin Harris?" Matthew Carter saw the man nod and quickly said, "Miss Julie Smith's assistant Vanessa Parker told me to come for an audition today."

"Oh..." The man named Robin Harris remembered. "That's right."

Dennis Cooper had been listening intently from the side. At this moment, he quickly stepped forward, handed over his business card with both hands, and said respectfully, "Hello, Director Robin Harris. I'm Matthew Carter's agent, Dennis Cooper."

Robin Harris took the card and casually put it on the desk, then looked Matthew Carter up and down. "Alright."

He picked up the phone and pressed a button. "John Baker, there's a temp actor here. Come take them to sign an agreement."

Matthew Carter looked at Robin Harris, then at Dennis Cooper. Was that the audition? Was it over already?

A young man came in and gestured for them to follow. "Let's go to the legal department."

Beside him, Dennis Cooper put on a fawning smile, said a few flattering words to Robin Harris, and successfully got his business card.

Led by the young man, Matthew Carter and Dennis Cooper left the office and headed to the crew's legal department, which handled contracts.

As they walked, Matthew Carter asked in a low voice, "That was the audition?"