The Wolf of Los Angeles.

Chapter 103 I'm Willing to Pay Any Price
Century City, Beverly Business Club.

Hawke, dressed in formal attire, walked into the door with his bag-carrying boy Edward. He asked the front desk clerk a question, and the pretty receptionist led the two to a private room.

Caroline was sitting outside the private room, carrying her Hermès.

Hawke saw her strange expression and asked, "What's wrong? Did you accidentally eat a sheep dung ball?"

"Hey, you country bastard!" Caroline was angry: "I'm helping you introduce business, can you please respect me a little bit?"

Hawke acted like he respected me very much: "What is the business? Who is the client? I asked you on the phone, but you didn't tell me."

Of course Caroline did it on purpose, and led the way: "You'll know once you go in."

Hawke followed her into the private room and saw the tall man sitting inside. Although his face was calm, he was a little surprised in his heart.

It was Josh Hartnett!
This circle is really small.

Caroline held back her laughter and introduced both sides, but her upturned mouth corners and raised eyebrows still revealed a hint of pride.

The two sides shook hands and sat opposite each other.

Will got straight to the point: "Hawke, have you followed Josh's news? Josh is in big trouble right now, and has been terminated from auditions by three film crews in a row."

He gave a detailed account of Josh Hartnett's experiences this morning and of his recent experiences.

There were some things Hawke understood, and some he didn't, like what happened this morning and the matter with the black girlfriend.

After Johnson signed the contract to play the leading actor with the crew, Hawke ended this business and threw it aside.

Who could have thought that the losing party would come to him, not to cause trouble, but to ask him to do crisis public relations.

What a mess!
Hawke quickly adjusted himself and said, "Finding a black girlfriend is a good idea, but it requires long-term persistence. In the short term, you may even face a backlash from public opinion, criticizing you for finding one just for the sake of finding one."

Josh said, "That's true." He sighed, "The other party has publicly announced that he and I are just friends."

Hawke said directly: "In fact, the method adopted by your public relations manager is correct. If you persist in it for a long time, if it doesn't work, the property fair fake marriage will always make people forget about this incident, and you can slowly return."

"It took too long." Josh couldn't wait that long: "Hollywood is too competitive. There are hundreds or even thousands of people competing for one position. Many of them have better acting skills than me. I was able to struggle out because of a bit of luck. It would be hard for me to become popular again if I try again."

He has seen many stars who were popular for a while but then fell into decline: "It's so hard to become popular again."

Hawke understood: "You want to get rid of the negative influence in the short term, create a certain amount of heat, and then return to the audience and media's attention, so that the Hollywood crew will no longer reject you, right?"

"That's right." After meeting Steve, Josh wanted more: "It would be even better if I could become a special symbol like Steve Nutt, so that people would immediately think of me when they talk about something."

Will looked at Josh and felt that this request was not very reliable.

Even though Josh was at his most popular, he was just average when "Pearl Harbor" was released. When the media mentioned him, most of the comments were negative, such as saying he had no acting skills and had dull eyes.

Hawke was thinking carefully.

If it takes a long time, this would not be difficult at all, but in the short term, the closer Josh gets to Old Black, the more criticism he will face.

Hawke thought for a moment and couldn't help cursing in his heart. What a mess!
Do you have to solve the problems you created yourself?

The main focus is self-production and self-sales?

Hawke said: "It's not easy to become a special symbol like Steve Nutt."

After Josh's dream of becoming a star was awakened by Will again, it was further sublimated: "I'm willing to pay any price!"

Hawke shook his finger: "It's not that serious."

Will then added: "Fans and audiences are forgetful. If we take things slowly, once they forget the troubles Josh is facing, they will forget about Josh as well. After all, Josh is just a rising star, not a first-tier star, and he doesn't have the confidence."

Hawke pondered for a moment and said, "How about this? You provide me with a profile of Josh, including his personal situation, the movies he has starred in, his connections in the industry, his emotional history, etc. The more detailed the better."

On the way here, Will asked Caroline carefully, Hawke was the one who pushed Steve Nutter to his current position.

Without any hesitation, he said, "Give me some time. I'll go back and prepare."

Josh suddenly had a fantasy: "Can you do it?"

Hawke explained in advance: "I will look at your information and try to find a solution. If I can think of a solution, I will contact you to sign the contract. If there is no solution, I will return the information as is without charging any fees."

Josh thought it was reliable: “Okay.”

Hawke exchanged contact information with the two men and left the Beverly Club.

Josh and Will drove away first.

After everyone left, Hawke glanced at Caroline and said unhappily, "Miss Baa, come with me."

Caroline lifted Hermes and held it in front of her bulging chest: "What do you want to do?"

Hawke took out a $5 bill and stuffed it into her hand: "Let's talk about $5."

Caroline collected the money, followed him to the shade, and said, "Don't get me wrong, I just want to help you introduce business."

Dollar signs flashed in her eyes: "If you get this deal, don't forget to give me a commission."

"I will." Hawke glanced at her red high heels and said, "I will chop off your red sheep's hoof and cook a pot of soup for you."

Caroline was unhappy: "I'm trying to help you get business out of kindness..."

Hawke interrupted her: "Really? You are just here to watch the fun with good intentions."

Caroline laughed happily: "I just want to see how you can solve the trouble you created yourself."

Hawke wasn't kidding: "What do you think?"

Edward, who had been silent, suddenly interrupted: "Take him to Compton to stand on the street, pick up black customers, and then take pictures..."

"You can shut up now," Caroline said. "Time is the best way, but he is too anxious."

Hawke said: "He is a star, and now he is a fallen star. It is normal for him to be envious and jealous of Steve's style and become unbalanced."

Speaking of Steve, Caroline has something to say: "Since becoming an equal rights fighter, Steve's performance on the court has deteriorated."

Hawke spread his hands: "I can't control these. My contract with Steve has ended."

Caroline returned to the topic of Josh: "Have you thought of a solution?"

Hawke shook his head: "Not yet. Don't worry, I won't give you a commission even if I think of it. This is business introduced by Steve."

Money is Miss Mee's lifeblood. She said, "I only want 5 percent."

Hawke's PUA was successful: "What if I use you?"

Caroline immediately said, "Anytime."

Hawke sent the man away, got into the Mondeo, asked Edward to drive back, and sat in the passenger seat thinking.

Regardless of the difficulty, as long as the customer comes to us on his own initiative, we will make a big order whenever possible.

The two returned to the studio, and Edward received a call from a news informant, asking him to go out for a photo shoot.

Hawke searched for information about Josh Hartnett on the Internet.

This Irish actor made his debut in 97 and became really famous for his role in Sofia Coppola's "The Virgin Suicides".

Later he starred in Michael Bay's war blockbuster Pearl Harbor.

He is also one of the protagonists in that bloody love triangle.

Hawke has the impression that among the three protagonists of the film, Ben Affleck developed the best, after all, he had a very powerful figure.

Josh Hartnett and Kate Beckinsale both have average performances.

The Nokia phone rang, and it was Johnson calling.

Hawke answered the call and jokingly asked, "Big hero, what do you want to talk to me about?"

Johnson was busy rehearsing and said, "It's not me who's looking for you, it's Joanna Faith."

Hawke remembers her: "Alison's mother."

"Yes, didn't she talk to you on the boat?" Johnson said quickly, "You promised her to look at Alison's information first."

Hawke said, "Tell her to come directly to me on Fountain Street."

Johnson said, "I asked her to go directly over there, but she was afraid that you wouldn't take it seriously, so she insisted that I call you first. Okay, I'll ask her to go over there right now."

After hanging up the phone, Hawke waited for less than half an hour before someone knocked on the door.

He went over and opened the door, and Joanna was standing outside with a briefcase.

Hawke invited people in and brought bottles of water.

"Thank you." Joanna opened her briefcase, took out a large pile of information, and said, "After getting off the ship, I have been collecting all kinds of information about Alison. There are too many things and they are too messy. It's only today that I have been able to sort them out."

Hawke asked, "I remember you said last time that Alison's new album would be sexy?"

Joanna said: "Yes, the style of the song is explosive, and the MV design is a bit larger, but the song...how should I put it, the best song resources will not fall into the hands of singers of Alison's level." Hawke was not surprised to hear this. If Alison could easily become popular again, Joanna would not have come to him.

Remembering Alison's flirtatiousness on the boat, Hawke reminded her to avoid a hellish start: "Joe, the new album is about to be released, you'd better restrain Alison."

"Her rebellious period came a little later, and I don't know why she is so keen on promiscuity." Joanna was quite troubled: "I tried my best to restrain her."

Hawke glanced at her dark skin and said, "I have another question. Are you in a similar situation to Dawn, with black blood?"

Joanna openly admitted: "Alison and I are both mixed-race black people."

"I understand." Hawke took the information Joanna handed over: "I'll study it carefully first, and I'll contact you when I have an idea."

Joanna stood up and said, "I won't bother you anymore. Alison's first single music video is about to be filmed. I need to go back and keep an eye on her so that she can be more stable these days."

Hawke sent the man out, came back, picked up the pile of information, and began to read it carefully.

Joanna got in the car and a call came in. After she answered it, she asked, "What's the matter?"

It was a bank person: "Ms. Faith, the 30-day extension for your mortgage and commercial loan applications is about to expire. Please make sure to repay them on time."

"I remember." Joanna hung up the phone and slammed the steering wheel hard. The huge pressure made her crazy.

It took her a long time to calm down and she called an acquaintance at the bank to apply for a second extension.

Let her try it over there.

Joanna started the car, drove to Beverly Hills, and returned home.

This is a large villa with a courtyard. In addition to the Porsche she drives, there are two other luxury cars parked in the garage.

It is not easy to maintain a luxurious lifestyle as the mortgage payments are frighteningly high.

Joanna didn't want to downgrade her lifestyle, so she made several phone calls, hoping to borrow more money.

She knew very well that as long as Alison could become popular again, her daughter would become a money-printing machine, and the current problems would be nothing at all.

Before the divorce proceedings with her ex-husband, Joanna invested a large sum of money to buy luxury houses and cars, and created a top-tier life in order to get her daughter.

Of course, because she is a mother, she believes that daughters can bring greater rewards, which is also the key.

The person Joanna envied most was Jamie Spears because he had a daughter named Britney.

Suddenly, there was a noise coming from upstairs.

Joanna hurried upstairs and found her daughter's door open and two older boys dancing crazily.

"Get out! Get out!" Joanna felt dizzy and picked up something and threw it over.

The two bastard boys who were high on drugs, not yet completely blacked out, were so scared that they picked up their clothes and ran away.

Joanna entered the room and saw her daughter's appearance, and she was almost mad with anger.

Alison squatted on the ground with soy milk all over her face.

Joanna took a towel and threw it on her head: "Can you love yourself a little?"

"You used to be like this, didn't you?" Alison wiped her face casually, "I learned it from you."

Joanna was speechless. It turned out that everything she did was seen by Alison when she was a child.

Alison said something that could make people angry: "Mom, you always told me that I should learn from you and never from Dad. I have always been learning from you."

Everything went dark before her eyes, and Joanna quickly held onto the door frame and said, “Don’t mess around before the record is released. I’m begging you as a mom.”

"But what should I do if I feel depressed when I don't come for two days?" Alison seemed to be addicted.

Joanna gritted her teeth, went back to her room, took a machine over, and threw it to her daughter: "Use this machine."

Alison pointed at the thing and laughed.

Joanna went downstairs and sat on the sofa sulking, wishing Alison could be as obedient as Britney.

The two older boys put on their clothes in a hurry, ran out of Joanna's house, and got into a car on the side of the road.

One of them took out the latest camera phone, opened the photo album, and said to the other person: "Look, my photos are pretty good, aren't they?"

The man came over to take a look and saw that the photo was of Alison and soy milk.

The person holding the phone pressed the page and pictures appeared one after another, mostly close-ups of Alison's face.

Some of them also included their brothers.

The person in front put away his phone and started the car: "Let's go back and enjoy it slowly."

"Well, let's go back and take a good look. This outdated little singer is really awesome."

…………

Fountain Street, West Coast Studios.

Hawke felt dizzy from reading the documents, so he stood up and walked to the window, looking at the ranch park opposite.

The second-hand commercial vehicle drove back at this time, and Edward got out with his work bag and returned to the studio.

"Did you get an exclusive shot?" Hawke asked.

Edward was helpless: "I rushed over, but everyone was gone."

Hawke thought for a moment and said, "In the future, unless there is major news, don't go to see other celebrities shopping or quarreling."

He thought long-term: "In the remaining time, you can learn more, such as video editing, image processing and text editing, etc."

Edward was so frightened: "Boss, I'd better run outside. This is what I'm best at."

Hawke shook his head and said, "He's good at running away with buckets."

Edward smiled and scratched his head: "I will always be the first to rush to the heavy, tiring and dangerous work."

Speaking of danger, Hawke remembered something: "Did you pass the test at the shooting range?"

"Uh..." Edward said quickly, "I'll go when I have time."

Hawke said: "Like the yacht incident last time, we may encounter it again in the future. Will I rush ahead of you, or will you rush ahead of me?"

Edward said, "Boss, I promise, it will be done this month."

The cell phone rang at this time. Edward took out his phone and answered it, talking to the person on the other end for a while.

He hung up the phone and said to Hawke, "It was Da Chou who called. He said that the Mexican Campos he had been following was not doing well. He had a long-lasting high fever."

Hawke remembered the homeless man at the back door of Ackerman's charity shelter who warned him to be careful of the mule gang.

Edward looked at Hawke: "Should we care?"

Hawke remembered that the man had marks of gun use on his hands and said, "Go to the Ackerman Rescue Station and take a look at the specific situation. If he has legal status, send him to the hospital. If not, send him to Koreatown. I'll wait for you at the intersection of Beverly Boulevard and Koreatown. There is a clinic in Koreatown. As long as you are willing to pay, they will treat the patient."

"I'll leave right away." Edward immediately packed up and went out.

Hawke grabbed some necessities and cash, then went out, got in his car and headed straight for Koreatown.

Soon, he arrived at Beverly Boulevard and found a parking space and parked his car.

Not long after waiting, Edward called: "Campos has no legal status."

Hawke didn’t waste any time: “Come over here in Koreatown.”

On the other side, Edward hung up the phone and asked Dachou, Erchou, and a few Mexican homeless people to carry Campos to the car. He asked Dachou and Erchou to get in the car and drove straight to Koreatown.

The journey was smooth and he met Hawke on the Beverly Boulevard.

"Follow me." Hawke waved to the business car, drove into Koreatown, turned into a community, and parked the car at the back door of a clinic.

He got out of the car and knocked on the door, and a mixed-race Asian man appeared behind the door.

Hawke didn't say anything more. He took out two dollars and stuffed them in: "There's a patient, a homeless person."

The Asian-American man opened the door, looked over to the car, touched Campos' forehead, opened his eyelids and looked again, then waved his hand toward the door: "There's a wheelchair behind the door, push the person in."

Hawke pushed the wheelchair next to the business car.

Dachou, Erchou and Edward carried the person onto the wheelchair.

The Asian pointed at the first two and said, "They look scary. Wait outside."

Hawke asked the two to get in the car and wait, and accompanied Edward into the clinic.

Campos had a wound on his leg that had not been effectively treated for a long time. The recent hot weather caused an infection and a fever.

Fortunately, the situation is not particularly serious.

(End of this chapter)