Chapter 32: That Little Bitch Is Trying to Steal My Man
From Catherine's expression alone, William couldn't spot anything suspicious.
But if she claimed that she merely wanted to invite him to dinner out of pure gratitude, he wouldn't believe it for a second.
In Hollywood—the grand marketplace of fame and desire—nothing was ever that innocent.
Which meant one thing was certain:
Catherine wanted something from him.
The real question was—what?
The answer wasn't complicated.
Fame.
Opportunity.
Status.
When William factored in his current position, her intentions became crystal clear.
He had to admit—Catherine and Nicole were cut from the same cloth.
Ambitious. Hungry. Willing to gamble.
And truth be told, William had always had a soft spot for that type of woman.
"Sure," he said with a faint smile.
"Let's set a time later."
Catherine's eyes brightened instantly.
She smiled and gave him a small bow.
"Thank you, Director Black."
Once the arrangement was made, Catherine and Jennifer left the set together.
After they'd walked far enough away, the two of them suddenly started hopping in place like excited kids.
"That's amazing, Catherine!" Jennifer said, barely containing herself.
"You're going to make it big!"
Her congratulations were sincere.
"Trust me," Catherine replied confidently.
"Your turn is coming soon too. I'll make sure you get your chance."
The two had been struggling through Hollywood together for years, and their bond was genuine.
But Catherine also knew one thing very clearly:
Taking William on alone would be risky.
She had absolute confidence in her looks and figure—but her rival was Nicole Kidman.
And Catherine wasn't arrogant enough to believe she could outplay her single-handedly.
So bringing in backup?
A smart move.
And if that backup happened to be her best friend…
Well—
Good things were meant to be shared, weren't they?
Jennifer, however, wasn't nearly as scheming as Catherine.
Compared to Catherine, she was the slightly airheaded, naturally sweet type.
Otherwise, in her later years, she wouldn't have ended up with only Friends as her truly representative work—and little else worth mentioning.
"Huh? Why?" Jennifer asked, blinking at Catherine in confusion.
"For no reason!" Catherine said with a bright smile.
"Just trust me, okay? I won't hurt you. We're good sisters, aren't we?"
Jennifer nodded absentmindedly, still completely unclear about what Catherine was plotting.
---
On the other side, after Catherine and Jennifer left the set, Nicole walked up beside William.
"What were you talking about with them?" she asked.
"Why do they look so happy?"
The two of them stood there, watching the girls in the distance, jumping around in excitement.
"Jones wants to invite me to dinner," William replied, deliberately stressing the words alone.
Nicole had been smiling—
but the moment she heard that, her expression froze.
Her eyes narrowed as she stared at Catherine from afar.
"And you agreed?" she asked, glancing sideways at William.
"Mmhmm. I agreed," William shrugged, already turning toward his car.
Nicole stayed where she was, staring at Catherine's retreating figure for a few seconds longer.
"Tsk… she's got some nerve—trying to steal a man right in front of me."
After muttering that to herself, Nicole finally turned and followed William.
---
After this little incident, the remaining exterior scenes went smoothly.
Aside from the psychiatrist, the rest of the actors only had a handful of lines, so filming progressed quickly.
As for the psychiatrist, William deliberately cast an older actor—someone unknown but solid.
In this era of Hollywood, unlike later decades, pure acting skill wasn't especially valued.
And just like that, after two more days, all exterior scenes were wrapped.
---
That day, inside the studio lot.
William watched as the crew constructed the interior sets.
This was a brand-new soundstage—he had rented another one next to the original.
The new studio was dedicated to Before I Go to Sleep; the old one continued producing Valley films.
Sergei stood behind William when Alexei suddenly approached and whispered something into his ear.
A moment later, Sergei stepped forward.
"Boss, Ramirez didn't show up today."
William raised an eyebrow.
"Did he leave a message?"
Sergei shook his head.
William rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
Something felt… interesting.
---
At the same time, in a warehouse south of the Valley—
Jose stood there, rubbing his hands together as he stared at a set that was finally starting to look professional.
It was as if he could already see piles of cash flying toward him.
Back when Nancy was at her peak, club revenue had jumped by thirty percent.
Even his superiors had praised him, telling him that if he kept it up, they'd recommend him for a position in the next internal election.
That news had thrilled Jose for days.
But unfortunately, Nancy didn't understand her place—she wanted to go solo.
So Jose had been forced to deal with her.
Now, with no new headliner in place, the club's business had fallen back to its old levels.
Jose had been furious—and that was exactly why he'd been pushing Ramirez so hard lately.
He needed a new star.
More importantly, he needed to master the method of creating stars—so William would no longer be a threat.
If the next "Nancy" went to William and he agreed to help her go independent…
All the losses would fall on Jose alone.
And that was absolutely unacceptable.
"Well?" Jose asked excitedly, turning to Ramirez.
"Can we start shooting?"
Unlike Jose, Ramirez wasn't excited at all.
He was panicking.
He wasn't even sure whether this equipment still worked.
"It… should be fine," Ramirez said stiffly.
"Don't worry, cousin."
Jose's smile slowly faded.
He reached out and gripped Ramirez's shoulder.
"Cousin," he said quietly,
"I trust you won't disappoint me, right?"
"Of course…" Ramirez replied, forcing the words out, silently praying to the Virgin Mary.
"Come on," Jose said, pointing behind the camera.
"They've finished setting up. Let your cousin see what you've learned."
Ramirez was drenched in cold sweat.
But he had no choice.
He nodded, walked to the director's chair, and sat down.
In front of the camera stood a large bed.
Two actors were already in position.
"Ahem…" Ramirez coughed nervously.
"E-everyone ready… Action!"
Imitating William's mannerisms, he issued the command—
—and pressed the record button at the same time.