The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood! Chapter 60

After watching Tom open the side door and slip inside, Matthew quietly approached the wooden door himself. He studied it for a moment, then pressed his ear against the cool surface, listening. Hearing no movement from within, he couldn't resist. His hand closed around the doorknob, and he slowly pulled the door toward him.

It was a storage area, filled with various costumes and props, a section of the set not yet needed for filming.

For the past two days, he'd caught Kate and Tom whispering to each other while glancing his way. It had set him on edge, sparking the suspicion that they were plotting something.

He felt it was more than likely.

Those two—Tom, the instructor in charge of training, and Kate, the assistant producer—were only one rung above him on the production ladder.

Matthew had a strong feeling they were going to try and trip him up.

That's why he had followed them into the warehouse, determined to find out exactly what Kate and Tom were up to.

Beyond the side door was a long corridor flanked by a partitioned warehouse. Each section had two opposing doors, all unlocked and secured only by large metal pins. With the old equipment and the fact that the main warehouse doors were locked, it was deemed secure enough.

Once inside, Matthew crouched by the nearest door, keeping his body hidden behind the corridor wall. He strained his ears, but the only sound he could make out was the faint hum of a dehumidifier.

He looked around but still couldn't find Kate or Tom. The warehouse was just too big.

A little farther down, the corridor split into a T-junction. Matthew scratched his head, unsure whether to continue straight or take the turn.

Just as he stood before the intersection, a sharp, familiar female voice echoed from down one of the branching paths.

"Tom!" she seemed to be calling. "I'm over here!"

That voice. How could Matthew forget it? It was Kate.

"I'm coming," a man's voice replied, clearly belonging to Tom. He sounded desperate. "I've been thinking about you for the past few days."

Kate's voice came again. "I know. That's why I picked a special place."

"No one will find us here, right?"

"They only check the warehouse once every three days. No one will come and disturb us."

Then came the sound of a closing door, and the conversation died down.

Matthew leaned against the corridor wall and peeked around the corner. The branching hallway was empty. He turned into it, softening his steps again as he moved slowly forward.

Soon, he could hear Kate and Tom's voices once more.

"How does it feel to do something like this in a weapons locker?"

"Amazing~"

A series of indescribable sounds drifted from behind the door, and Matthew naturally guessed what the two of them were doing.

He scratched his head. "So, they're lovers."

Having little interest in eavesdropping on something like that, Matthew started to leave, but a comment from inside the room stopped him in his tracks.

"Tom," Kate's voice purred. "When are you going to help me deal with that Matthew Horner?"

A fire ignited in Matthew's eyes, but he quickly suppressed it. It was just as he had suspected. Kate, like him, clearly wasn't one to let things go.

"There are too many people on the training ground. I can't just target him for no reason. I've been waiting for him to make a mistake, but for the last few days, he hasn't given me any leverage at all."

"Can you hurry it up? Every time I see that bastard, I want to punch him!"

In fact, Matthew felt the same nameless rage whenever he saw Kate.

"Calm down. You can't rush these things," Tom advised, sounding more level-headed. "Matthew Horner was handpicked by Tom Hanks himself. If we target him without a good reason, we could bring a lot of trouble down on ourselves."

Despite her arrogance, Kate fell silent at the mention of Tom Hanks's name. It wasn't just her; even her father wouldn't dare to offend a man of Tom Hanks's caliber.

"So we're not going to do anything?" Matthew heard Kate ask again.

"There's always a chance..."

Tom's voice trailed off. Matthew listened for another moment, but hearing nothing else of value, he quickly left the warehouse.

He slipped out through the side door, returning it to how it was before he'd entered, and made his way back to the canteen.

"Back so soon?" Michael asked curiously when he saw Matthew return. "That was fifteen minutes shorter than usual."

Matthew shrugged. "My girl's busy with work."

Although he wasn't just making a call, he had spoken to Britney several times over the past few days. But she was preparing for her world tour next year and was incredibly busy. In the last few days, their conversations had totaled maybe ten minutes.

Michael was especially curious. "What does she do for a living?"

"She sings," Matthew replied nonchalantly. "She performs at a lot of events."

Michael assumed Matthew was talking about a bar singer. "I've always believed that two people should earn money, not just the man. Of course, it's a different story if the man himself wants his woman to stay at home."

Matthew didn't bother to explain, just nodding. "Well, her income is pretty good. More than mine."

He pulled out his phone and checked the time. "We've got the cross-country run this afternoon."

Michael fell into a gloomy silence. Matthew leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes as if resting, but in reality, he was replaying what Kate had said to Tom.

There was no doubt the two of them were out to get him, which was bad news for him.

With Tom alone, as the military training instructor, and with a month of training still ahead, Matthew couldn't guarantee he wouldn't make a mistake or give Tom some kind of leverage.

And it was exhausting to be constantly on guard, especially against someone who held a position of power on the crew.

This wasn't a solution. Sooner or later, he might fall into their trap. And from what Kate had said, Tom was already prepared to have him removed from the "Band of Brothers" cast.

Ronald Speirs was a role he had worked hard for, and he had no intention of giving it up.

What should I do?

Matthew pondered.

He had stumbled upon a little secret about Kate and Tom's clandestine affair in the set's warehouse.

But this was Hollywood, a relatively open industry. As far as he knew, if actors or crew members were caught having sex in a makeup trailer or some other secluded spot, it would lead to gossip at worst, not serious consequences.

The afternoon training session soon began. The three-mile weighted run was grueling. The thirty pounds of extra weight strapped to their bodies made it a completely different challenge than a simple jog. Even someone as fit as Matthew was gasping for air by the end of it.

For some reason, Tom was particularly strict that afternoon. Since most of the men were struggling, he ordered everyone to do an additional thirty push-ups after a five-minute rest.

In the following days, the training gradually intensified. Tom even had the actors practicing crawling on the cold, muddy ground, not stopping even when it rained.

In a way, the British instructor was the epitome of diligence and responsibility, but the actors weren't soldiers. Many of them came from fairly comfortable backgrounds, and after several days of harsh training, it was inevitable that many would start to complain about Tom.

"I'm sick of him. He acts like he's God's gift to military instruction. I bet he was some petty sergeant in the army, and now that he's here, he's playing the part of the 'cold' and 'strict' warrior," someone in the dressing room began to mock Tom, his voice dripping with contempt. "The bastard seems to have forgotten that we're actors, not soldiers."

After so many days together, the twenty-five actors had gotten to know each other, and someone else immediately jumped in. "We ran three miles with weights, and he still made us do thirty push-ups. Isn't he just torturing us for the fun of it?"

At this point, Michael joined the conversation. "He thinks he's our commanding officer. I swear to God, if we weren't on set, I'd make that little prick kiss my hairy ass with genuine love and affection."

His declaration was met with cheerful laughter from all the men.

Matthew also shook his head and sighed, deliberately saying, "If only we had a gentler instructor."

"Oh, come on, you're not even breaking a sweat during training," Michael Fassbender said from beside him. "You're the best among us when it comes to the drills."

Matthew pulled off his sweat-soaked cotton shirt. "Still, I'd prefer an easier workout."

Several other guys nodded in agreement. This level of intensity seemed excessive for an actor.

The dressing room door was pushed open from the outside, and a British actor walked in. "Don't get your hopes up, guys. I just heard some bad news."

"What bad news?" Fassbender asked. "James, spit it out."

The British actor, James McAvoy, walked over to his locker, sat down, and said, "My training uniform ripped, so I went to the assistant producer to get a new one. On my way past Gary Goetzman's office, I overheard that bastard Tom making a proposal to Gary. We're... we're all dead!"