Chapter 12: Catherine Zeta-Jones
On the other hand, that also meant his company wouldn't be under the protection of the Russian mafia.
Because the person they truly protected was Katya, not his studio.
Thinking this through, William let out a quiet sigh.
He wasn't sure whether cooperating with this somewhat naïve mafia heiress was a good idea or not.
"Hey! Are you agreeing or not?"
Katya finally snapped, having watched him stay silent for far too long.
But William was thinking about something else entirely.
The Russian mafia's business portfolio almost certainly included loan-sharking.
The problem was—
borrowing money from them sounded dangerous.
"Katya, let me ask you something," William said suddenly.
"Do you think your father would be willing to lend me money at a normal interest rate?"
Instead of answering her question, he threw one back at her.
"Lend money?" Katya stared at him.
"You mean loan sharks? My God—your production company hasn't even existed for a month and it's already on the brink of bankruptcy?"
She shook her head in exasperation.
"You really need a professional accountant, Brit."
William's forehead twitched.
Before his memories awakened, he had been reckless.
And this was the worst kind of frustration—
being criticized for mistakes you technically didn't even make.
"Don't change the subject," William said calmly.
"Just tell me whether it's possible. This directly affects whether you can prove your ability to your father."
That hit its mark.
Katya immediately became serious.
"If I'm the one who asks," she said after a moment,
"it shouldn't be a problem."
Hearing that, William weighed the pros and cons.
If he could secure funding through Katya's connection to the mafia, his next phase would go much more smoothly.
And as long as Katya was firmly tied to his side, he wouldn't have to worry about the mafia turning on him.
Unless her father was the sort of man who valued profit over family.
But based on William's understanding of Russian culture, family mattered deeply to them.
Which meant this plan was—
probably workable.
"Arrange a meeting between me and your father," William said decisively.
"If I can secure that loan, then the position of Chief Financial Officer of Umbrella Entertainment LLC is yours."
After all—
If someone wanted something from you,
why not take the opportunity to extract something you wanted in return?
William was never a rigid man. On the contrary, he valued flexibility above all else.
Sure enough, upon hearing William's proposal, Katya fell silent for a moment, clearly thinking it through.
After a while, she nodded.
"Alright. It's a deal."
She then extended her right hand toward William.
---
A night passed.
Early the next morning, William left the apartment and headed straight to his studio.
After parking the car, he stepped out—and immediately noticed a long line forming nearby.
"Morning, Brooke," William said as he walked toward his building, casually asking the Black security guard at the entrance.
"What's going on today? Why so many people?"
"Good morning, Mr. Blake," Brooke replied with a grin. Against his dark skin, his teeth looked strikingly white.
"I heard the Days of Thunder crew started auditioning for supporting roles today."
"So that's it."
With the mystery solved, William nodded and entered his studio.
At the moment, his top priority was simple—
finish editing the film and sell it.
That would be his startup capital.
---
Meanwhile, in the line outside—
One girl had been staring at William's car ever since he arrived.
"Interesting… what a coincidence," Katherine murmured, stroking her chin as she memorized William's face.
"What coincidence?" Jennifer asked, tapping her shoulder from behind.
"Look over there," Katherine said, pointing toward William's car.
"Huh? What's special about it?" Jennifer looked confused.
Seeing Jennifer's innocent expression, Katherine smiled mysteriously.
"Never mind. Even if I explained it, you wouldn't get it."
"Hey! That's not fair—tell me!"
Jennifer protested, tugging at Katherine's shoulder.
As the two joked around, William was already deep in work inside the editing room.
The entire morning passed quickly.
---
At lunchtime, outside the studio complex, at a hot-dog stand—
William stood at the back of the line, thinking about which company he should sell the finished cut to once editing was done.
Just as he was lost in thought, someone tapped his shoulder.
William turned around and saw two unfamiliar young women.
Though only for a second.
Because after another look, he recognized them.
Catherine Zeta-Jones—or rather, Catherine Jones.
She would only add "Zeta" to her name after becoming famous.
By all rights, she shouldn't debut until next year—
and in the UK, not Hollywood.
Yet here she was.
The other was Jennifer Aniston, the future Rachel from Friends.
She, too, wasn't supposed to break out until the following year.
A California native, though—so her presence in Hollywood wasn't surprising.
William didn't remember every detail clearly; he simply recognized who they were.
"Hi~"
Catherine greeted him with a smile.
Although William recognized them, his expression remained neutral.
"Hello. Can I help you?"
At this moment, the only thing on his mind was making money.
"Uh—nothing special," Catherine replied, her smile turning a little awkward.
"I just wanted to get to know you."
She hadn't expected such a cold reaction.
But thinking it over, a man who could casually drive Nicole Kidman home had probably seen plenty of beautiful women.
It was normal that he wasn't impressed.
"Get to know me?"
William pointed at himself.
He considered himself decently handsome—but not enough to make every woman fall over him.
"Let's not play games," he said calmly.
"We're all adults, time is limited. If you need something, just say it."
His tone remained cool.
That made Catherine even more uncomfortable.
"She just wanted to meet you—there's no other meaning," Jennifer stepped in to help.
William scanned the two young women quietly and took a breath.
He was being a little too cold.
They weren't famous yet—probably just trying to meet people in the industry and build connections.
"William Blake," he said at last.
"I run a small production company."
"I'm Catherine Jones," she said quickly, relieved.
"And this is Jennifer Aniston. We're just ordinary actresses. Nice to meet you, Mr. Blake."
With William's attitude softening, Catherine happily extended her hand.
William looked at her hand for a moment—
then finally reached out and shook it.