America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz

Los Angeles, Ritz-Carlton Hotel.

Filippo from Rome glanced at the clock, still early for the scheduled time, sat in front of the computer, taking pleasure in the various celebrity news on American websites.

"Hollywood award season has begun, it's particularly lively," Simone said.

Filippo asked, "Can Pitt win the Oscar for Best Actor?"

"It's tough," as the person in charge of the Brioni brand in Los Angeles, Simone was more familiar with the local scene and stated a fact, "With or without an Oscar, he's one of Hollywood's limited number of superstars."

Brioni is a top men's luxury fashion brand from Italy, famous for its high-end custom clothing, with a large following among celebrities, politicians, and business elites.

In addition, the brand has been a sponsor of the Bond series, and for the past several years, all of James Bond's costumes have been provided by Brioni.

The previous spokesman, Brosnan's contract had expired, and Brioni felt that the new Bond lacked qualities like elegance and intelligence that matched the brand's positioning.

Filippo had come from Rome to sign a contract with Brad Pitt, aiming to make him the new global spokesperson for the brand.

Simone reminded him, "The last incident at Avalon Bar had a significant impact on Pitt, but he managed to weather it thanks to his years of accumulated status."

Filippo wasn't overly concerned: "Jealousies among stars are just trivial matters. Those who like the American sweetheart type like Aniston are usually the most ordinary Americans, and they are not potential clients of Brioni."

Simone didn't say anything more and also started browsing news on his laptop.

Suddenly, someone knocked on the study door from outside, and his assistant rushed in.

"What happened?" Simone asked.

The assistant lowered his voice, "Check TMZ, there's news about Pitt."

At the mention of TMZ, Simone's heart tightened; last year's bar incident involving Brad Pitt and Martin Davis was first exposed by this website.

Since then, TMZ had become notorious, with a stream of explosive revelations, their authenticity nearly one hundred percent.

Simone logged onto the TMZ website, and the first thing that struck him was a bold headline — Multiple nannies accuse Brad Pitt of indecent assault, battery, and rape...

Below was a video, just released a few minutes ago.

The first to appear was a Latina woman, of average looks, not ugly to be exact.

"I worked for the Pitts back in 2002; it was normal at first, but as time went on, I felt something was wrong. When the mistress of the house was away, Brad Pitt always stared at me. About a month after I started working there, Pitt cornered me in the house while the mistress was out shooting."

"He took out a thousand US dollars, tempted me to have relations with him, to kneel down and serve him; I refused. But Pitt threatened me that if I didn't comply, he would fire me and call my agency to make sure they spread the word throughout Los Angeles... Sob..."

"I had three children to feed, I had always been doing housekeeping and had no other skills, I couldn't afford to lose my job, so I had to agree to Pitt. The relationship didn't last long before I noticed Pitt had a violent and manic side, he hurt me several times. I secretly hinted to the mistress who was really kind, she gave me some money and let me leave."

Next was a white nanny, also quite plain in appearance, clearly chosen with care, but it could not stop Pitt's enthusiasm for housekeepers.

"Brad Pitt is trash, he lured me with money, pressured me with work, to be with him behind the mistress's back... I had no choice, really no choice, I wouldn't agree and he would hit me! The mistress was very kind to me, I felt I let her down, so I took the initiative to resign..."

There were two other videos with similar accusations, all featuring real nannies making their accusations in person.

Beside these four side-by-side videos, there was an even larger window playing a video.

It was a video secretly recorded by a nanny with Pitt, and although it had no sound, the footage showed Pitt slapping the nanny before she knelt down.

Experience tales at empire

Violence and Coercion!

Simone, who was a fixture in Los Angeles, knew Pitt was facing a huge storm; even if it blew over later, his reputation would still be damaged.

He picked up his laptop and brought it to Filippo, saying, "Take a look at these videos, TMZ just broke the story today."

After Filippo perused it once, he immediately realized the gravity of the situation and made a swift decision, "The risk regarding Brad Pitt has surged, we need to make changes, postpone the meeting and negotiation regarding his endorsement..."

"I agree, let's wait and see how things develop," Simone said.

At that moment, the assistant came back in, saying, "Brad Pitt and his agent have arrived."

Simone looked at Filippo who thought for a moment and said, "As things haven't been settled yet, let's meet them first."

They both went downstairs to the business lounge on the fourth floor.

In the lounge, Pitt and his agent, Maggie Dukeshire, were already waiting.

The latter was confident about the collaboration: "Among the relatively popular men's brands, Brioni is at the very top, which can help expand your influence."

Pitt nodded his head; a 7 million US dollars a year endorsement fee basically satisfied him.

Maggie continued, "This sponsorship contract is timed right at the key point of the award season, which will attract a lot of attention and may even help you land an Oscar nomination."

"Just a nomination?" Pitt wanted more: "I want to take home that little gold man."

Maggie was more clear-headed, "Winning the award will be tough, we should take it one step at a time; after all, there will be plenty of opportunities for you in the future."

Pitt recalled those old men of the Academy, saying, "I guess I'm not old enough yet, no problem, if not this year, we'll continue next year."

The parlor door was opened from outside, and Filippo and Simone entered one after another.

After exchanging greetings, Maggie quickly got to the point, "For this endorsement, Brioni has chosen Pitt..."

But Filippo cut her off, "Ms. Dukeshire, Mr. Pitt, some issues have arisen within the company. I need to return to Rome urgently, and the discussions about the endorsement contract will have to be delayed. I am very sorry for this situation."

Upon hearing this, Pitt and Maggie's first reaction was that something was off.

Maggie probed, "May we know what has happened?"

Simone responded vaguely, "Please give us some time to deal with our internal matters."

Pitt wanted to speak but was stopped by a look from Maggie; this negotiation was taking a turn she did not understand.

First, clarify the situation, then talk about everything else.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Filippo and Simone left, and Pitt and Maggie said their goodbyes and departed.

Having gone downstairs, Pitt was quite angry, "What is Brioni doing? Are they playing us?"

Maggie said, "Everything was normal when we contacted them this morning; such a change couldn't have happened without reason. I'll find out what's going on."

Pitt paced in place, hands on his hips, "They are lacking the respect I deserve!"

Maggie and Pitt's phones rang almost simultaneously.

After picking up the call and hearing just one line, they both hurried to a secluded spot.

After listening to their respective assistants, they hung up the phone nearly at the same time.

Maggie asked, "TMZ?"

Pitt's face turned extremely serious, "Yes."

Maggie pressed on, "What exactly is going on?"

Pitt certainly wasn't going to tell the truth, offering a limited response, "Those housekeepers always like to seduce me, and sometimes, I just can't resist. Inevitably, I make some mistakes that men are prone to."

Maggie instructed him, "Call your publicist and have them meet at the company."

TMZ was becoming well-known in the industry for its reliable scoops. Knowing her client well, she realized this was a big problem, "And call your lawyer too."

While making calls, Pitt followed Maggie out of the hotel's main entrance.

They hadn't reached the parking area when a group of people came towards them, the leader faintly familiar.

While Maggie was recalling, the person stopped a few meters ahead, presented their credentials and paperwork, and said to Pitt, "Mr. Brad Pitt, we have received multiple complaints from women... We are summoning you to assist in the investigation..."

As the person spoke in a routine manner, they gestured to the patrol car parked nearby, "Mr. Pitt, please cooperate."

"This is defamation!" Pitt exploded, "You should be arresting them for libel!"

The person repeated, "Please cooperate."

Having checked the paperwork and knowing she couldn't refuse, Maggie told Pitt, "Go with them for now and don't say anything until your lawyer arrives."

Pitt, expressionless, followed the officers into the car and was taken to the police station.

Nearby, five TMZ photographers, each with cameras and video cameras, captured Pitt being escorted into the police car from different angles.

As the patrol car drove away with sirens blaring, three on motorcycles continued to chase for more footage, while the other two got into a car parked nearby.

At the driver's seat, Jody had already opened her laptop, connected the data cable, and said, "Hurry up, upload the pictures and the article. Stick to the facts, no exaggeration needed."

The male subordinate took the laptop and got to work without a word.

From the floor-to-ceiling windows of the fourth-floor business lounge, Simone and Filippo witnessed Brad Pitt being taken away by the LAPD.

Simone said, "This must be true; the LAPD wouldn't casually summon someone of Pitt's wealth and star caliber without substantial evidence."

Filippo nodded slightly, "The invitation for Pitt to be a spokesperson is void. Let's choose another suitable candidate. I need to return to Rome first, and you can make some recommendations at your discretion."

Simone frowned, "There are only a few Hollywood megastars. Leonardo already has a clothing endorsement, Johnny Depp doesn't fit our style at all, Will Smith is African-American, George Clooney is signed with Armani, and Keanu Reeves is too disheveled in his daily life..."

Filippo said, "Take your time, there will be a suitable one."

It was an ordinary day in December, yet another day that blew the minds of onlookers.

Before other media could react, and while those who had were still verifying the authenticity of "nannygate", Brad Pitt was already topping TMZ's headlines.

This time, it was the onsite photos and video of him being taken away by the LAPD.

Los Angeles was abuzz!