Chapter 276: Duke's First Love

"Have a seat, Martin."

Taking off his sunglasses, Duke sat down with him at the round table.

"I didn't expect you to come to Fiji too," he said.

The two had met on prior occasions. Martin Miller was not yet William Morris's top agent, and Duke only remembered him because the man of Jewish descent used to be Natalie Portman's agent.

"I came to see Miss Portman," Martin Miller said, accepting the can of beer Duke handed him.

He thanked him, glanced back the way he had come, and added, "I also wanted to ask a big director like yourself—do you have any suitable roles for her in the future?"

"Nat told me she wants to focus on her studies." Duke smiled faintly. "I need actors who are highly focused."

Duke raised a hand to cut off whatever Martin Miller was about to say next, clearly not wanting to pursue the topic.

Martin Miller opened his beer, took a sip, and pivoted the conversation himself. "Duke, have you ever thought about changing talent agencies?"

"Change talent agencies?"

Looking up, Duke met his gaze and asked tentatively, "Martin, is this your own idea?"

"No, no, no..."

Wagging a finger, Martin Miller said in absolute earnestness, "I'm here representing the entire William Morris Company! We are very sincere..."

Duke didn't find Martin Miller's words surprising. It was perfectly normal for Hollywood's major talent agencies to poach from one another. Given his current status, he had encountered this many times before and would surely face it again in the future.

Of course, it was just as normal for directors and actors to change agents. Take the legendary CAA, for instance; in the mouths of the gossip media, they sounded like the true masters of the stars. But in reality, Hollywood stars fired CAA all the time. Just last month, for example, Duke had heard that William Morris had poached Whoopi Goldberg and Sylvester Stallone right out of CAA's hands.

Duke looked at Martin Miller, remaining silent.

Martin Miller was well aware that talking about future plans and the like was just meaningless fluff. He cut straight to the most practical topic.

"I heard that in the last representation contract you signed with Nancy Josephson, her commission rate was seven percent of your earnings as a director, screenwriter, and producer?"

There were few secrets in Hollywood, and the contracts of top directors and actors were always the focus of those paying attention. Duke slowly nodded.

"William Morris can narrow the commission scope to just your earnings as a director," Martin Miller said without beating around the bush. "And we can lower the commission rate to five percent!"

Five percent was already the lowest standard in the industry. William Morris truly was showing sincerity.

However, this alone wasn't enough to sway Duke. It was true that he didn't trust his agent, Nancy Josephson, quite as deeply as he trusted his two consecutive assistants, Sofia Coppola and Tina Fey. But Nancy and her team had done an outstanding job over the past few years, and they had never done anything to harm his interests. Setting aside the financial complexities of switching agencies, trust alone was not something that could be built in the short term.

In Hollywood, if someone jumped out and made a bunch of promises, who would just blindly believe them?

William Morris's offer to lower the commission rate actually fell entirely outside Duke's considerations. A two-percent difference meant nothing to him, especially since it only applied to his film-related business.

Seeing that Duke remained silent, Martin Miller understood that swaying such a heavyweight figure would require a long-term effort. He spoke slowly.

"Duke, the entire William Morris Company is looking forward to you joining us. We will prove our sincerity."

"I'll think about it."

Duke smiled and nodded. In reality, this was already a polite refusal.

Martin Miller was a smart man and knew that saying anything more now would be superfluous. He chatted with Duke for a few more minutes before taking his leave. Rather than heading back toward Natalie Portman, he walked toward several actors starring in The Matrix, clearly intending to continue his poaching campaign.

"Nat, why did you accept the invitation?"

Under a parasol on the other side of the beach, Natalie rolled her eyes at her mother's question.

"Mom, you're overthinking it!" she said. "I'm only sixteen. I don't have the time or the energy to date anyone right now, and besides..."

She glanced over in Duke's direction. "He's a well-known playboy anyway."

"You've been getting a bit close to him lately!"

"He is of Jewish descent, and we are of Jewish descent too. He is a source of power I can leverage in Hollywood in the future." Natalie's words were completely at odds with her age and innocent appearance. "Mom, even if Dad objects, I won't give up acting."

Since there was no one else around, Natalie spoke without any reservations.

"I need to make friends with people who can help me!"

Mrs. Shelley nodded gently and said no more. She would always serve as her daughter's manager, so there was no need to worry too much about certain things. Besides, her daughter was exceptionally smart and precocious, very adept at turning situations to her advantage. Otherwise, she wouldn't have so easily won over George Lucas when he visited the set of Heat to see Michael Mann.

Indeed, their Jewish identity provided them with many conveniences, but cleverly leveraging that advantage required a brilliant mind.

As night slowly fell, roaring bonfires were lit on the beach. A steady stream of vegetables, fresh meat, and beer was brought over. Men and women who had been hiding away somewhere enjoying themselves all afternoon stepped out onto the sand, kicking off a massive barbecue party.

Holding a handful of meat skewers and a few cans of beer, Duke took a stroll around and quickly spotted where Natalie Portman was sitting. He walked straight over.

"Hi, Nat," Duke greeted her. "Mind if I sit here?"

"Of course." Natalie cleared a spot beside her and took a beer from his hand. "Sit wherever you like."

Duke sat cross-legged on the sand. This spot was away from the crowd and somewhat quieter.

"Why are you sitting here all alone? Where's your mom?" he asked.

"Mom thought it was too noisy and went back to her room to rest," she said, pointing to the bustling crowd on the left. "That barbecue party over there is almost entirely meat, and I'm a vegetarian."

"I was going to share my barbecue with you," Duke said, gesturing to the skewers in his left hand. "Looks like you'll just have to settle for the smell."

Natalie shrugged. She picked up a can of beer, popped the tab, and took a sip. "This is enough for me."

"Wait a minute!"

Duke stood up and walked briskly back into the crowd. He specifically had someone prepare grilled fruit and vegetables without any animal fat, then found a small plastic table. He returned carrying a tray of food in one hand and the table in the other.

After setting up the table and placing the tray on it, Duke sat cross-legged across from Natalie.

"This is entirely vegetarian," he said.

"Thank you," Natalie said. She picked up an unopened can of beer and handed it to him. "Here is your reward."

Duke opened the beer and took a large swig, then picked up a skewer of grilled breadfruit. "Try it. I might not have cooked it myself, but I gave plenty of input."

Natalie took a skewer and bit off a large chunk. She chewed slowly, swallowed, and finally said, "It really is good."

Her eyes flashed as she suddenly asked, without any warning, "Duke, why are you trying to curry favor with me? Don't deny it. You know I'm not stupid."

Sitting across from him, the girl was a full head shorter than he was, but her brown eyes sparkled in the light of the nearby bonfires, giving her an imposing presence.

But at the end of the day, she was still just a sixteen-year-old girl. Duke curled his lips into a smile, looking down at her.

"What if I want to court you, Nat?"

His burning gaze was fixed on Natalie, as if he were truly smitten with her.

Natalie turned her head slightly, avoiding his eyes. "Please, I'm still just a high school student."

Duke just watched her with a smile, saying nothing.

Natalie seemed a bit annoyed. She grabbed her beer can and took two consecutive sips.

"Don't think I don't know you're a playboy! If I believed you, you'd definitely find a way tonight to make us end up just like you and those female stars. And then, in a few days, you'd toss me aside just like you toss away all the other actresses..."

She turned back to meet Duke's gaze without an ounce of fear.

"I'm right, aren't I? When a man tries to please a woman, his ultimate goal is to get her into bed!"

"That's merely a way to express intimacy and a means to exchange feelings," Duke deflected playfully.

Natalie scoffed. "Have you ever officially dated anyone? And don't tell me it was Catherine Zeta-Jones. I'm an actor too; I can see right through some things."

"Why should I tell you?" Duke tapped his beer against hers.

The two of them downed the rest of their beers. Natalie wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

"Fine then," she said. "In exchange, I'll talk about myself first."

She tossed him another can of beer. "In eighth grade, I had a crazy crush on a boy. He had beautiful curly chestnut hair, was tall and skinny, and looked especially sexy."

"Did you confess your feelings to him?"

In Duke's impression, she was a very bold girl who would show absolutely no mercy when snatching up a boyfriend or a role.

"Did he say yes?" Duke asked.

"No!" Natalie put on a depressed expression. "I wasn't popular at school. I was always ostracized, and he never even spoke to me."

"So..." She took another sip of beer. "My first love ended before it even began."

Natalie's eyes shifted slyly. "I told you mine. To be fair, isn't it your turn now?"

"What do you want to hear?" Duke looked up at the night sky and said frankly, "I haven't officially dated anyone since I entered Hollywood."

"That's not fair!"

Perhaps due to the effects of the alcohol, Natalie was a bit more excited than before. She raised her voice.

"I said all that, you can't just give me one sentence! How about this—you talk about your first love, or the first girl you ever dated."