The night's details don't need much explaining.
Natalie went all out to please him. She was too shy to keep the lights on, but with Scarlett pitching in, flirting and fawning, Dunn was left weak in the knees—better than any paradise a god could dream up.
The next morning, Dunn slipped into his robe and looked at the two of them sprawled on the bed, half-covered, sleeping beauties in all their glory. The smugness in his chest was off the charts.
Back in the day, the three of them had shared a bed plenty of times.
But it was always in pajamas, proper and stiff—no funny business allowed.
Now, though?
Forget last night's wild ride; just the eye candy this morning was enough to put a huge grin on Dunn's face.
He wasn't one for sleeping in. Truth be told, the girls at the hillside estate—unless they'd been up late keeping him company—were usually up early too, hitting the gym to stay in shape.
Dunn's morning routine was work in the study.
With a clear head and sharp memory first thing, he'd settle in to write movie scripts, outline TV shows, or brainstorm the next big reality hit.
But this morning, he had something else on the agenda!
At this year's Oscars, Dunn had snagged two major wins—Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Picture!
And with that, he'd unlocked a reward from the "Sunglasses System."
He put on the shades, and sure enough, there they were in his inventory: two fresh "Contract Snatch" skills. He punched a movie title into the search bar—Bad Boys II!
Last year, when Natalie wanted to star in Spielberg's Minority Report but got blocked by Tom Cruise, Dunn had flipped out. Using a "Contract Snatch" skill, he swapped Cruise out for Nicolas Cage, making headlines.
Now, he was at it again!
Dunn had beef with Jerry Bruckheimer and Michael Bay, and most of the industry knew to give him some respect on that front.
But Sony Pictures was in a slump. With the Sony Group leaning on its entertainment division to offset losses, the studio had to churn out bigger, splashier hits.
Under pressure from headquarters, Dunn's clout took a backseat. Sony Pictures had to make Bad Boys II!
The first Bad Boys cost $19 million and pulled in $140 million—a no-brainer for a sequel.
Dunn even made calls to execs at Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures, asking them to rethink their approach.
Shoot Bad Boys II if they wanted, but please, not with Jerry Bruckheimer and Michael Bay!
Honestly, Dunn was doing Sony a favor.
In his past life, Bad Boys II cost $130 million and only made $270 million—worse than Pearl Harbor. It barely broke even with ancillary sales.
But Sony Pictures doubled down hard. They insisted Bad Boys II had to be a Bruckheimer-Bay joint!
Talk about taking kindness for donkey lungs—they didn't give a damn about Dunn.
With his personality, was he just going to let that slide?
When Sony announced they were teaming up with Bruckheimer and Bay for Bad Boys II, Dunn decided it was time to teach them a lesson they'd never forget!
He had two "Contract Snatch" skills now. Would he use them back-to-back to boot Bruckheimer and Bay?
Nah.
That'd be overkill. Those two weren't worth it!
Plus, if he just swapped them out, wouldn't that just hand Sony an easy win?
They'd disrespected him, so he wasn't about to let them off the hook!
Dunn was going to hit Bad Boys II where it hurt most—pull the rug out from under them!
Who was the real linchpin of Bad Boys II?
Jerry Bruckheimer?
Michael Bay?
Nope!
The key was the star—the red-hot Black action icon, Will Smith!
Snatch Will Smith with a "Contract Snatch," and Bad Boys II? Done for!
Dunn smirked, a ruthless glint in his eye. This time, he was aiming for a one-stone-four-birds play!
Bird one: tank Bad Boys II's box office.
Bird two: trash Bruckheimer and Bay's careers.
Bird three: give Sony Pictures a harsh wake-up call—ignore Dunn at their peril.
And bird four?
Oh, that was the fun part.
Through the system, Dunn pulled up the Bad Boys II contract details, skimmed through, and zeroed in on Will Smith's actor agreement.
This wasn't some draft—it was a locked-in, official contract.
Will Smith was so essential to Bad Boys II that replacing him wasn't even an option, so Columbia Pictures had signed him straight-up.
The penalty for breaking it? A cool $8 million—not too steep.
Dunn sneered, erased Will Smith's name from the slot, and typed in… Bruce Willis.
"Confirm use of 'Contract Snatch' skill?"
"Confirm!"
Yup, swapping Will Smith for Bruce Willis—that was bird four!
Why not use Bad Boys II to drag Bruce Willis down with the ship?
Since Will Smith had a formal deal with Columbia, Dunn's tweak meant Columbia was breaching it.
They'd owe $8 million in damages, sure, but more than that, they'd piss off Will Smith.
A Hollywood heavyweight like him, getting canned by a studio—would he take that lying down?
Best case, Will Smith cuts ties with Columbia for good, killing off the Men in Black series.
Then Marvel could swoop in and reclaim the Men in Black comic adaptation rights.
Wait—was that bird five?
Dunn wrapped up his sneaky little scheme, took off the shades, and sat back, feeling pretty damn pleased with himself.
This was going to be good!
…
This year's Oscars were dripping with controversy.
The biggest? Denzel Washington winning Best Actor.
He hadn't picked up a single award all season—Russell Crowe from A Beautiful Mind and Sean Penn from I Am Sam had swept the festivals.
What did this Black guy do to win?
Second controversy: Natalie Portman taking Best Actress.
Her performance in Juno was stellar, no question, but was she really Best Actress material? Among the nominees, only Halle Berry's acting was shaky—the other three outshone Natalie, hands down.
Dunn just rolled his eyes. Sure, Natalie's win might've had some fluff, but it was still miles better than Halle Berry, right?
Then there was the third shocker—James Cameron.
Cameron snagging Best Director for a commercial flick like The Unsinkable? Total jaw-dropper.
Dunn was all for it, though.
He'd produced The Unsinkable, so Cameron's win was his win too.
More importantly, it scratched an itch he'd had for a while.
In his past life, Cameron won Best Director for Titanic.
In this life, Dunn directed Titanic, leaving Cameron out in the cold.
Now, with The Unsinkable—a film that didn't exist in his old timeline—Dunn had helped Cameron nab that Oscar. His joy was right up there with Cameron's.
Controversy?
Let the media squawk about it!
Dunn couldn't care less.
He shoved the newspapers off his desk and stretched with a yawn.
No matter what, this Oscars was a grand slam for him—a total haul!
He stepped out of the study and spotted Natalie, fresh from washing up, heading toward the music room. When she saw him, her face flushed red in a heartbeat.
Dunn sidled up with a shameless grin, scooped her into a hug, and chuckled, "Awake, huh?"
"Hmph!"
Natalie tilted her nose up and shot him a glare.
Dunn flashed a row of pearly whites, happier than ever, and softened his tone. "Come on, we're family now—what's the big deal? It's not like it's the first time, right?"
"You've got some nerve saying that! It's all your fault!"
"My fault? What'd I do?"
"You carried me to bed, pinned me down—I couldn't even move!"
Natalie huffed, all indignant.
Dunn snickered, lowering his voice. "Nat, don't play coy with me. You know, and I know, whether you went along willingly or just half-heartedly. If you really didn't want it, why didn't you dodge when Scarlett kissed you?"
"You—!" Natalie's face burned with embarrassment and anger. She stomped her foot hard. "Dunn, I'm done with you!"
"Whoa, hold up! I'm just teasing!" Dunn pulled her close again, coaxing her gently. "Alright, alright—how about I write you another song?"
"Hm?" Natalie calmed down, eyeing him curiously. "For real?"
"Of course!"
Dunn was brimming with confidence.
His "Mirror Possession" ability with Prince was still active—he could whip up any song from his past life he'd ever heard.
"Deal! Let's go to the music room!"
Natalie adored talent, and that was one of the things she loved most about Dunn.
He didn't hesitate. They hit the music room, and he plopped right down at the piano.
"You play piano too?"
"First time. Should be fine."
"Bragging again?"
"Just listen!"
Dunn cleared his throat, gave Natalie a deep, proud look, and said, "I'm gonna play and sing an original song I wrote. It's called 'I Kissed a Girl'… uh, from a woman's perspective, since it's for you." (Note)
Natalie's cheeks went red again, her eyes shimmering with a mix of shyness and playful annoyance.
But she didn't interrupt. She just stood quietly to the side.
The piano's soft, flowing notes filled the room.
Natalie's eyes widened. She genuinely hadn't expected Dunn—her boyfriend—to actually play the piano, let alone this well!