America: From a Fallen Child Star to the Head of the University of the West

Chapter 87 Friendship and Interests

Robert Green.

Sean quickly searched his memory for the name, but found no information about the person.

Strangely, Kelly said the person who invited him to the party wasn't named that. If he remembered correctly, it was some second-rate producer, a seasoned veteran who had been in Hollywood for years but had never achieved great fame.

"Mr. Green?" Sean frowned. "I remember the invitation said—"

"Chris Howard?" Green smiled slightly. "That's my alias. In this industry, sometimes you need to hide your true identity. You should understand."

Is this an alias?

"Alright." He nodded. "You said you wanted to talk alone. What's it about?"

Green cautiously glanced around. "There are too many people here; it's not convenient to talk. Shall we go somewhere else?"

Sean hesitated for a moment, then turned to look at Rachel.

"Rachel, wait for me here," he said. "I'll be right back."

"Don't take too long."

Green led Sean through the crowd and into a small study on one side of the manor.

The study is small, but it is furnished quite exquisitely. Oak bookshelves are filled with hardcover books, several oil paintings that look quite valuable hang on the walls, and there is a leather sofa and a coffee table in the corner.

Green closed the door, walked to the sofa and sat down, gesturing for Sean to sit as well.

"Mr. Pan," Green began, "before we get to the main topic, please allow me to introduce myself."

"OK."

"I used to be the vice president of marketing and public relations at Columbia Pictures," Green said. "I left about ten years ago and now run my own public relations consulting firm. My main clients are high-net-worth individuals who require special services."

"Special services?" Sean frowned.

"Crisis management, image repair, handling negative news—" Green listed, "You know, in Hollywood, everyone has secrets they don't want outsiders to know. My job is to help them keep those secrets."

"It sounds like a very lucrative industry," Sean commented.

"That's true." Green nodded. "But I'm not here to sell you my business."

"Why is that?"

Green paused for a moment, seemingly choosing his words.

"Mr. Green, time is precious," Sean said directly. "Please speak your mind."

However, this caused the number above his head to drop from [52] to [48].

"Alright." His tone became formal. "Mr. Pan, I'm here today not for politics. It's about that list."

"Oh?" Sean's eyes narrowed slightly.

That list, of course, refers to the list of insiders/beneficiaries of the Avalon Foundation.

"What do you want to say?" he then asked.

“Mr. Pan,” Green sighed, “I have a few friends whose names are on that list.”

"For various reasons, they are unable to meet you in person. Therefore, they can only do so through me, the middleman."

"So, you're here to plead for them?" Sean asked bluntly. "You want me to keep their names from being released?"

Green was silent for a few seconds, then nodded.

"Yes."

"And in return?"

"We can provide some—useful intelligence."

Sean couldn't help but laugh. "Mr. Green, we're not filming a movie. What do you mean by 'advantageous intelligence'?"

"Mr. Pan, do you know what Senator Harris Crane is doing right now?" the other person asked.

"I don't know," Sean said, feigning ignorance. "Ever since I exposed him, he's been quiet."

"That's because he's been keeping things under wraps," Green said. "He's been investigating your past, trying to find dirt on you."

“That’s not surprising.” Sean shrugged. “I offended him, and he wants revenge. It’s normal political maneuvering.”

"But the direction of his investigation could cause you serious harm," Green said in a low voice. "He's targeting two young women. They posted photos on social media of themselves with you at nightclubs—at that time, they were minors." Green added.

It seems that Richard Brennan was right after all.

"Do you know who they are?" Sean asked.

"I know." Green nodded. "Our people have confirmed their identities. One of them is now a yoga instructor in Los Angeles, and the other is a social media influencer in San Francisco."

"You don't want to—physically destroy them, do you?" Sean asked warily.

"Of course not," Green shook his head. "That would be too stupid. It would make things completely unmanageable."

Listen to his lament: "These young people are foolish. They posted those photos back then just to show off that they were hanging out with a celebrity. They had no idea that these things would become weapons used against them."

"We have a way to solve this problem," Green continued. "I have a professional PR team behind me that can handle things before they escalate. We can delete the photos, contact the parties involved, and, if necessary, prepare countermeasures—"

"And all we need to do is agree not to reveal the names of my friends."

Sean leaned back on the sofa, lost in thought.

This is a very tempting deal.

Although his list wasn't as important as the list of people involved in the Epstein case, he still wanted more benefits.

"Sir, I have another question," Sean said.

"Please speak."

"Are your friends really innocent?"

Green remained silent for a long time. During his silence, the constant noise of the party outside only made the study seem even quieter, eerily quiet.

"Mr. Pan," Green finally spoke, "let me ask you a question in return."

"Are you yourself innocent?"

Sean paused for a moment, then laughed.

"Mr. Green," he said, "I like this straightforward style."

He is not innocent, and no one is innocent. In this Ponzi scheme, everyone has something on their hands, more or less.

"Alright," Sean decided, "I can accept your offer. But I have one condition."

"What are the conditions?"

"Friendship," Sean said, looking into Green's eyes, emphasizing each word, "I need your friendship."

Green was stunned.

"Friendship?" he repeated, seemingly unsure of what he had heard.

"That's right." Sean nodded. "I don't need your money. I have enough funds at this stage."

I don't need you to publicly endorse me; that would be too ostentatious.

"What I need is for you to stand by me in critical moments, whether it's providing intelligence or using your connections to help me solve problems."

Moreover, judging from Grant's attitude, being his friend is not a bad thing at all.

Although he knew that he or they would definitely not agree!

"This—" Green shook his head with a wry smile and said, "Mr. Pan, your request is even more difficult than asking me to give you a hundred million."

"I know," Sean smiled. "That's why I said it was an additional condition. You can think about it and discuss it with your friends."

Green pondered for a moment, then nodded.

"Okay, I will convey your message to them."

"That's settled then." Sean stood up to leave.

"Wait a moment, Mr. Pan," Green also stood up, "There's one more thing I need to explain."

"What is it?"

"Don't forget your campaign manager, George Kelly," Green said. "I've had private conversations with him before, and he thought we invited you here today to discuss some campaign-related collaborations."

"So, I'll have someone send him a draft of the GG proposal later. He can accept it or refuse it. In short, we need to do some pretense to keep him from becoming suspicious."

"You still need me to keep this from my own team?" Sean asked, somewhat surprised.

The number above Green's head rose from [48] to [55].

"Of course it is necessary," he said with a smile. "Excuse my frankness, but Mr. Kelly is far more upright than you. If he knew what we were discussing today, he would probably advise you not to accept it."

Sean laughed too. Indeed, Kelly was a man of faith, which was unlike him.

"You're right. Kelly is indeed a decent man. That's why I need him."

"Having an upright person by your side can make others believe that you are upright as well," Green agreed.

"Alright, Mr. Green." Sean walked towards the door. "Thank you for your honesty today. Regarding that list, I won't release any new names for now. But if your friends decide they don't accept my terms—"

"I understand." Green nodded. "I'll get back to you as soon as possible."

"Finally, could you tell me who your friends are?" Sean stopped at the door. "Since we're going to be friends, I need to know who my friends are."

Green was silent for a few seconds, seemingly weighing the pros and cons.

"Alright," he finally said, "Since you're being so frank, I won't hide anything from you either."

He took a business card out of his pocket and handed it to Sean.

"I wrote three names on the back of the business card."

Sean took the business card and flipped it over.

Three names were written on it in pen:

Marcus Webber: Member of the Golden Globe Awards jury, founder of Webber Pictures.

Lisa Chan: An Asian woman and a senior partner at CAA, a prominent Hollywood talent agency.

Philip Rosenthal: A former executive at CBS and now a director of a large hedge fund.

Looking at the three names, Sean secretly memorized them.

“These three,” Green said, “are all old friends of mine. They did have some shady dealings with the Avalon Foundation, but to be honest, they weren’t the masterminds; they were just ordinary investors who got dragged into it.”

"Harris Crane and those who fled overseas are the real parasites; these three just happened to be involved."

"I understand." Sean put the business card in his pocket. "I'll consider it."

"There's one more thing," Green added. "I'll have someone send information about those two girls to your designated email address tonight. You can take a look and then decide how to proceed."

"Okay." Sean opened the door. "Looking forward to your good news, Mr. Green."