The Wolf of Los Angeles

[Chapter 280: The Service Industry is in High Demand]

Beverly Hills, Hilton Hotel -- a party involving the entertainment and fashion industries was taking place.

Tom Cruise introduced several people to Victoria.

At that moment, an assistant approached with a phone, saying, "Hawke Osment just called."

"Give me the phone," Tom Cruise set the rest aside and promptly dialed Hawke back.

He stepped onto the terrace, returning the call, stating, "I'm at a party tonight, but my assistant has my phone. Hawke, why did you need me?"

On the other end, Hawke got straight to the point, "My operations director spent a million bucks to acquire a video of Beckham's affair. It'll go public in ten minutes."

Tom Cruise wanted to ask if they could avoid publishing it, but stopped himself short.

In the UK media, there was typically a courtesy call before releasing a scandal.

But here in America, there wasn't the same understanding; it entirely depended on the media's connection with the individual involved.

Hawke's earlier statement had already hinted at the news -- a million-dollar report regarding Beckham's cheating...

If he weren't concerned about his friendship with Beckham, Hawke wouldn't have bothered giving him a heads-up.

"Okay, got it," Tom Cruise didn't make any demands and hung up.

...

Tom quickly returned to the banquet hall and waved at Victoria off in the distance.

Victoria hurried over.

Tom said, "I just found out that in ten minutes, Twitter is going to publish a video news story about David cheating. You'd better be prepared."

Victoria wasn't shocked by infidelity but by the fact it had been caught and recorded.

She heard a keyword, "Twitter? Hawke Osment's Twitter?"

In choosing between the Beckhams and Hawke, Tom Cruise didn't hesitate, stating, "Hawke, because of the good relationship with you both, gave me a quick call. You should leave now to prepare."

Victoria understood; Tom Cruise didn't want to be involved in this matter.

She was aware that Beckham's relationship with the other party wasn't as good as the media painted it, so pleading for support felt entirely unnecessary.

"Thanks," Victoria exited the banquet hall to meet her assistant, saying, "Get in the car, we're going back to the hotel."

As the driver brought the car around, they all climbed in.

...

Victoria pulled out her phone, dialed Beckham's number, but it went unanswered; he was possibly in training.

She quickly called her agent in the United States, and the agent immediately contacted Twitter. But they couldn't reach Hawkins or even the operations director Caroline Jones.

By the time they reached the hotel, Victoria hurriedly logged onto her computer and opened Twitter, seeing the bold, highlighted headline, "Soccer Superstar David Beckham Caught Cheating with His Wife Victoria's Assistant!"

Victoria opened the article and found scant text, with the most eye-catching element being a still frame video showing Beckham and Rebecca Loos in a heated kiss.

"Damn it! Why did you have to pick my assistant?!"

Victoria's anger flared as she smashed a fine china cup to the floor, sending shards flying.

This was too humiliating; she contemplated filing for divorce, deciding she would stand strong like Jennifer Aniston and just go for it.

Victoria dialed Beckham again, but there was still no answer.

She contemplated messaging him to propose a divorce but found herself frozen over the send button, unable to press it.

After a moment, reason overtook impulse.

How would her career advance without Beckham?

Victoria's mind returned to clarity; when the Spice Girls were at the height of their fame, she barely stood out until becoming Beckham's partner.

Now, with the Spice Girls disbanded and internal conflicts brewing, there was no path back to music.

Victoria sought to break into fashion and develop her personal brand; Beckham was essential for that.

Without Beckham, who would care about a faded popstar still known as part of a group?

Victoria deleted her drafted message and opened her contacts to call her agent: "Find me a public manager as soon as possible -- someone powerful."

Looking back at the video again, scrolling down the comment section, she found an avalanche of reactions.

...

[The British 'golden boy' really lives up to his name.]

[It's just became normal for a Hollywood star to cheat with the nanny, a basketball star to cheat with the waitress, and a soccer star to cheat with his wife's assistant. Why is the service industry so in demand? I also want to get into these professions.]

[Waiting for Victoria and Beckham's divorce.]

[I've long heard that Beckham's side hustle is to cheat, while Victoria's job is forgiveness, forgiveness, and more forgiveness.]

Seeing that last comment, Victoria couldn't bear to look further, fearing a breakdown might happen if she read more, prompting a hasty divorce.

For the sake of her future, she couldn't leave him.

Surveying the numerous shares indicated at the bottom of the page -- over ten thousand -- it was apparent the public's outrage was on the verge of explosion.

Eventually, Beckham's call came through. Upon answering, Victoria erupted, needing him to know how she felt about this.

The screaming match persisted for over half an hour, concluding with Beckham's relentless apologies.

...

On Ocean Park Boulevard, at Twitter,

Hawke switched the backend to the Spanish version. In Spain, Twitter's activity surged, gaining 40,000 new users within just two hours, with the pace only picking up.

While the Spanish were enjoying the juicy gossip, they weren't overly concerned about it.

[In the case of a star like Beckham, an extramarital affair is pretty standard.]

[What with David's allure and athleticism, one Victoria isn't enough.]

[Have you noticed that assistant looks better than Victoria?]

Hawke decided to stay at the office for the night rather than going home.

...

Four hours after the news video went live, Hawke logged back onto the backend to check the analytics.

In Latin America, user growth was obvious, with nearly 70,000 new registrations flooding in from all southern markets.

Asia had a massive population, and while Twitter couldn't penetrate the largest markets, soccer's impact in Asia rivaled that of Latin America and Europe.

Beckham's influence had long transcended soccer circles.

Asian users spiked more than 100,000.

At that moment, Edward knocked, entered, and asked, "Boss, I just spoke with Jada Smith; she's flying in from out of town tomorrow morning and will come straight to Twitter after landing."

Hawke nodded slightly: "I'll meet with her."

Getting Victoria to come to Twitter and participate in a second episode of Red Table Talk alongside Rebecca Loos could spell excitement for the platform.

...

Just then, Hawke's phone rang, displaying a name he rarely contacted -- Justin Blatt!

The president of Private Media, having collaborated with him during the Allison Faith and Josh Hartnett scandal last year.

Picking up, Hawke said, "Good evening, Justin."

"Evening. I was just chatting with Brian over tea the other day. He mentioned you and suggested all our signing stars establish official Twitter accounts."

These big studios' actresses harbored plenty of fans across America; Hawke couldn't refuse, saying, "Twitter welcomes that wholeheartedly."

Justin chuckled, "Alright, it's a deal."

After some small talk, Justin pivoted to business, "I just saw the trending news on Twitter; David Beckham has been caught cheating?"

Hawke already anticipated his angle: "That's correct; I spent over a million on that news."

Justin was unfazed, countering, "Five million -- sell the full video to Private Media?"

Hawke knew he couldn't fake it on such matters. "What we released is the complete video, and that's the extent of what was available to me."

Justin replied, "That's unfortunate; a private video of David Beckham would garner high value, even in a country like America with limited soccer appeal."

He sighed, "Beckham is genuinely a soccer star with widespread influence here."

Hawke understood him well, replying, "I'm powerless to change anything."

Justin responded, "Alright, well, let's keep in touch for any suitable opportunities. We'll work together again."

With that, Hawke hung up.

Last year's success on the selfie tape and DVD had made Private Media particularly attentive to illicit videos, seeking out celebrities' private footage and selfies.

Suddenly, Hawke remembered he had a tape in the underground vault of his Silver Lake home featuring him and Erica.

Such material might not concern the male half of the relationship, but it could cause immense harm to the woman involved.

After they finished shooting practice at a range in Altera Mountain, they'd already watched it once, with Erica completing the 'softening the hard' exercise.

...

Calling Erica, he asked, "Are you over by Silver Lake?"

Erica responded, "Of course."

Hawke said, "We've already seen the tape in the vault. Let's destroy it."

Erica hesitated reluctantly, then responded, "I'll get it done."

Not long later, she called back, "It's been shredded and burned to ashes."

Hawke sighed in relief.

...

The following morning, just after nine, Jada Smith exited Los Angeles International Airport, instructing her driver to head directly to Twitter.

Hawke personally greeted her.

The Smiths' marriage was essentially a business arrangement now; with substantial mutual interests, they wouldn't split any time soon.

In the meeting room, Hawke directly stated, "The upcoming episode of Red Table Talk focuses on the woman at the center of the Beckham affair."

On her way over, Jada had seen some of the breaking news, stating, "I need to meet her."

Hawke replied, "No problem, she'll be here soon."

Both Jada and Twitter needed some buzz, and this second collaboration seemed certain to generate some sizzling heat.

*****

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