The Wolf of Los Angeles

[Chapter 293: Stirring the Pot]

Beverly Hills, Hilton Hotel.

Hawke stepped out of his bulletproof Mercedes, quickly striding through the hotel entrance while adjusting his suit buttons. The sound of heels clicking on the marble floor echoed as Caroline, her bobbed hair dyed honey gold, approached in a pair of black and red high heels.

Dressed in a red Chanel party dress and clutching a trendy new Hermes handbag, her diamond Cartier bracelet sparkled under the hotel lights. Caroline had not only chosen her accessories days in advance for this party, but had also spent most of the day in the styling suite.

Hawke took a quick glance and complimented, "Nice choice, very stylish."

Caroline beamed back, "I specially found a studio to design it for me."

As they headed towards the banquet hall, Caroline looped her arm through Hawke's, hesitating for a moment before doing so. Keeping pace with him, she remarked, "These pieces are all rented."

Hawke replied, "It's up to you."

Approaching the banquet hall, they waited a moment until Edward arrived. They then presented their invitations and entered together.

The banquet hall was huge, the annual Golden Globe Awards is held here every year. At the entrance, they spotted the hosts of the party, Steven Hilton and Richard Hilton of the Hilton family.

Hawke and Caroline walked over, shook hands, exchanged pleasantries, and discussed an upcoming collaboration, the atmosphere between them quite cordial.

Richard turned to Hawke and said, "Paris mentioned that the candy and fashion brand idea originated from your planning."

Hawke acknowledged with a nod, "I just suggested a few things; Paris really took it from there."

Richard replied, "You helped her get on the right track. Paris's mother asked me to extend her thanks while I'm here from New York."

"You're welcome," Hawke replied.

...

With the introductions behind them, Caroline accompanied Hawke further into the banquet hall. As they walked, she shared, "The theme promotion plan for Discover Hilton has been approved by the Hilton group -- we'll likely sign the contract next week."

Hawke said, "This is your first promotional campaign; make sure you oversee it yourself."

"I will," she said, slipping her arm back through his.

...

From across the hall, Paris Hilton approached with a slightly taller girl beside her. "Hawke, this is my sister Nicky," Paris introduced without hesitation.

Nicky Hilton, perhaps a former model, had a supermodel-like figure and was more conventionally attractive than Paris. Without any pretense, she reached out and shook Hawke's hand, bluntly saying, "Can you help me launch my career?"

Hawke replied earnestly, "I don't know you very well. If I give you random advice, it would only lead to failure and waste your money."

Nicky stepped forward slightly, undeterred, "That's okay; we can get to know each other better."

Paris noticed her sister's boldness and stiffened slightly. Nicky had just come from New York, completely unaware of who she was dealing with.

While Nicky had emerged from the Upper East Side debutante scene, she was no match for Hawke's caliber in this industry.

Paris quickly pulled Nicky away, saying, "We won't interrupt you further."

Hawke smiled politely, "Please do as you please."

...

Once they were a safe distance away, Caroline asked, "You seem to have an idea for launching something?"

"I do, but it's only feasible for direct members of the Hilton family," Hawke said casually. "Nicky Hilton could start a tissue company solely supplying to Hilton hotels..."

Caroline blinked, realizing such ventures were indeed only achievable for immediate family members of the Hiltons.

...

Meanwhile, Paris dragged Nicky to a quieter area, asking in a hushed tone, "What were you doing? You can't just flirt!"

Nicky replied with a weird expression, "Since I've been in LA, I've been hearing you rave about Hawke. Meeting him in person, he looks pretty unremarkable; I wanted to see if he had any special talents."

Paris warned her seriously, "Stay away! He's trouble, and his girlfriend is even more intimidating -- she's taken out at least thirty people!"

Nicky raised her eyebrows, surprised, just spotting Britney Spears. "I can at least go see Britney, right?"

Paris shook her head, exasperated. That sister of hers never made things easy.

...

On Hawke's side, he ran into Dwayne Johnson's agent wife, Dany Garcia, who was conversing with a tall, noticeably fat blonde woman.

Upon seeing Hawke, Dany introduced her client, Charlize Theron. Enthusiastically, Charlize approached, "I'm also a Twitter user. For Oscar PR, my team suggested I ramp up my presence on Twitter since so many Academy members use it."

Hawke asked, "Are you aiming for Best Actress?"

"Absolutely." The PR campaigns for awards had to be high-profile. Charlize wanted Hawke to circulate some positive buzz about her, adding, "Earlier this year, I worked on a movie called Monster, and to get into character, I gained nearly fifty pounds -- an enormous commitment, and I'm still working on getting back to my original weight."

Dany seemed to want to poach the CAA client, saying, "I can see that it's very different from your original image."

Stirring the pot, she said, "But the resources CAA has invested in you don't match your contributions -- they're focused on Sean Penn's Best Actor campaign instead."

Hawke and Caroline preferred not to comment on that topic.

Charlize picked up on Dany's intentions and tactfully declined, "My team has formulated a targeted PR strategy for me."

Hawke recalled vaguely some past memories. He remembered during Charlize Theron's crucial PR moments, Roger Ebert publicly urged that if Monster didn't win, it would be one of the biggest embarrassments in Oscar history.

In Hollywood's climate, it was hard to tell if anything beyond money would convince the renowned critic.

Hawke recalled a time when Stephen Hawking had jokingly claimed that even in infinite parallel universes, landing a date with Charlize Theron was impossible.

Everyone knew how she was perceived.

After realizing she couldn't make a move with Charlize, Dany withdrew for the moment.

She hugged Caroline, saying, "It's been ages! You look exactly the same -- so young and beautiful."

Those words resonated with Caroline, who returned the compliment, "You too."

Hawke asked, "Where's Dwayne?"

Dany replied, "He's in New York preparing for a role and might be there for a couple of weeks."

...

After a brief chat, Edward approached quietly, signaling to Hawke.

Hawke gestured to Caroline to continue their discussion, then took a drink and veered away.

Edward surveyed their surroundings, noticing they were unnoticed before whispering, "Boss, the target is over there."

Hawke discreetly settled at a nearby table, finally looking in the direction Edward indicated.

Less than twenty meters away, Manninger Jenkins was deep in conversation with another middle-aged man.

Edward identified the man, saying he had previously photographed him as a freelance journalist: "That's Jamie Spears, Britney's father and also her manager."

He pointed out Manninger's nearby, bearded companion, "That's Britney's agent, Larry Rudolph; he was instrumental in her rise to fame."

Hawke nodded slightly, keeping his observations to himself.

Manninger and Jamie seemed engaged in a lively discussion, apparently reaching some consensus.

But following Hawke's recollections, he remembered Jamie Spears as an extremely controlling father who had nearly derailed Britney's entire career.

A couple of years ago, the media touted Britney as a potential successor to Madonna as the next pop diva, but those mentions had since disappeared.

Hawke had read a news report in his previous life that in the 2020s, Britney was bullied in public by NBA draft players, and she couldn't even get back at them.

In this era, it was hard to imagine.

Taking a sip of his drink, Hawke noticed Jamie calling Britney over, engaging her in casual conversation while Manninger snapped pictures.

He realized Manninger was acting like a devoted fan.

Once the photo op concluded, Britney attempted to depart, but Manninger countered her efforts for more conversation.

Hawke mused, "Is Britney single now?"

Edward thought for a moment, replying, "Earlier this year, she broke up with Justin Timberlake and has mostly been hanging out with Paris since. I haven't heard anything about a new boyfriend. But there's a crazy admirer named Jason Alexander; he's an old acquaintance of hers. The tabloids reported that he's infatuated with her."

Hawke filed that information away, uncertain of how it might come into play.

...

A little while later, Britney made a call, and soon after, Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan arrived, pulling her away from Manninger's not-so-subtle attentions.

Manninger resumed his discussion with Jamie Spears.

Edward feigned passing by, overhearing snippets, returning to tell Hawke, "That guy wants to invite Britney's dad to a party he's hosting."

Hawke instructed, "Later, notify Campos to dig into Jamie Spears and Manninger. Let's keep tabs on them."

Edward made a note.

Hawke continued to survey the situation for a while, saw no further developments, and left the lounge, joining Caroline to engage in necessary business networking.

After the party, Caroline left the hotel and watched Hawke get into the Mercedes and leave. She wanted to take off her high heels and smash the rear window of the departing Mercedes.

*****

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