Domination in America, Starting from being a Boxing Champion

Chapter 364: The Beautiful Cook

The Woolworth Building on 47th Street in Midtown Manhattan is a classic Gothic structure.

Originally the headquarters of the Woolworth trading company, it was converted into a five-star hotel in the 1990s, the Park Hyatt International Hotel, operating hotel services below the 45th floor while the 46th to 70th floors were transformed into high-rise apartments, totaling 23 suites.

In the early ’90s, each suite sold for 8 million US dollars; now, each is priced at over 15 million.

Ivanka’s apartment is located 212 meters above New York City, occupying the 64th to 66th floors of the building, with a total area of 860 square meters, spanning two floors, with ceilings over 4 meters high, and comprising 8 bedrooms, a fitness center, library, large and small dining kitchens, a collection room, a small home theater, walk-in closets, and so on.

It also includes four open-air viewing decks, each over twenty square meters, 46 windows facing the surrounding streets, 32 doors, and more.

Paintings and sculptures can be seen everywhere in the home.

Every time Link came to Ivanka’s apartment, he would be struck and baptized by the life of the wealthy, feeling that despite being worth hundreds of millions of US dollars, he was still a poor man in lifestyle, taste, and ways of living, with significant room for improvement.

"Take a seat anywhere, I’m going to change into something else," Ivanka greeted him before clicking away in her high heels into the walk-in closet.

Link wandered into the small living room, noticed a vinyl record player on the bookshelf, piled with many vinyl records, and picked out Led Zeppelin’s 1971 song "Stairway to Heaven."

And she’s buying a stairway to heaven.

When she gets there she knows, if the stores are all closed,

"Do you like Led Zeppelin?" Ivanka asked after a moment, emerging in a cotton dress, her golden hair tied up, revealing her fair swan neck, and wearing a custom apron. Even with an apron on, it couldn’t hide her ample bosom or her heavy hips.

When she was in professional attire, she was noble and coldly glamorous; but when she wore the apron, she had a bit of the charm and warmth of a homemaker.

"I learned that song when I was practicing guitar."

"Then continue enjoying the music here, I’ll go make some seafood."

"Need any help?"

"Oh, no need. I’ve hired some help."

Just as she said this, the helpers Ivanka hired arrived, including a seafood chef, a pastry chef, a cold dish chef, three assistants, and four waiters—a grand procession of ten walked into the apartment.

They were all chefs from the star-rated hotel in the building, bringing various culinary tools with them.

The ingredients were also prepared in advance, including ten Alaskan king crabs, ten Canadian geoducks, ten Australian blue lobsters, twenty French Belon oysters, twenty red abalones from Southern California, all lively and fresh when unpackaged.

While cooking, Ivanka held a recipe book, stood in the center of the kitchen, and issued orders to the chefs, instructing them on what dishes to cook first and the flavors to prepare, just as if she was issuing commands to her subordinates at the company.

Link didn’t know what to say as he watched her direct. He had thought she’d be chopping and cooking herself when she said she’d cook, but in reality, she had summoned a team of professional chefs to assist, while she coordinated and directed the show.

Strictly speaking, she did cook and did what she was good at; for a daughter of wealth, doing even this much was not too shabby, you couldn’t ask for too much.

The building’s chefs were very skilled, and they were also fast, completing eight seafood dishes, four pastries, and four cold dishes in less than two hours, filling the table.

One of the lobster sashimi dishes was personally prepared by Ivanka, well, she merely sliced a lemon.

"Try this, I made it myself," Ivanka said excitedly, pointing at the plate of lobster sashimi at the dining table.

Link smiled, took a crystal-clear piece of blue lobster meat, dipped it into the lemon-based sauce, and tasted it.

The lobster was very fresh, and the chefs had cleaned the meat well, making it slick, tender, and bouncy on the tongue, almost live, paired with the seasoning it tasted refreshing and sweet.

"How is it?" Ivanka asked, her fingers crossed, full of anticipation.

"It’s fantastic!"

"It’s my first time making seafood. If you like it, how about I make it more often for you?" Ivanka smiled lightly.

Link nodded repeatedly, not caring whether she was doing it for the sake of work or affection; as long as it didn’t harm him, he accepted it all.

During the meal, they talked about company matters.

Ivanka told him, after the success of his new album and those of the three artists under their label, five major record companies and several Wall Street financial institutions once again proposed financing plans to Link Music. Wall Street also valued Link Music between 400 and 420 million US dollars, nearly double the value at the end of last year.

As she spoke these numbers, Ivanka lifted her glass, her cheeks flushed with elegance and her voice trembling slightly with excitement.

Link was excited too; he and Ivanka owned 85% of Link Music’s shares and 95% of the controlling interest. With Link Music valued at 400 million US dollars, their shareholdings alone made them billionaires.

In ’08, they had invested only ten million dollars in Link Music, a fortyfold increase in two years, with the potential for even higher returns in the future.

This was indeed an exhilarating achievement.

Link asked if she planned to accept the financing.

Ivanka thought they didn’t need it for now; first, Link Music was not short of funds as album sales from him and Lana had brought in ample operating capital, so there was no need for outside investment.

Second, the company was not lacking in talent; at the start of the year, they had recruited more than ten managers and top musicians through competitive selection, and after embarking on a deep partnership with SB Entertainment, the company had plenty of talent and its development was going smoothly.

Accepting outside investment could actually hinder the company’s development.

Link nodded, also recalling the Dynasty promotion financing plan Franco had mentioned.

Unlike Link Music, Dynasty Promotion only had one money-making boxer, was very short on funds in all respects, not as good as Ivanka in management skills, had fewer talented people, and was less stable in its development.

This was one of the reasons why Dynasty Promotion needed financing, while Link Music did not.

Ivanka also told him something else: yesterday "The Woman I Love" officially broke through 4 million in total US sales, reaching 4 million in just eleven weeks of release. It was the fastest record to break 4 million sales in the United States in the past eight years.

It was an extraordinary achievement.

The company was preparing to hold a celebratory cocktail party.

They planned to invite the company’s partners, distributors from various places, and celebrities like Paris Hilton, Amanda Hearst, Georgia Bloomberg, and Kim Kardashian, who had participated in the ’falling-to-show-wealth’ stunt, and had contributed to the album sales.

Ivanka asked him whom he wanted to invite, to draft a list that the company would then send out invitations for.

Link mentioned he was going to Paris for filming and wouldn’t have time for the cocktail party this week.

Ivanka suggested they could hold it next week.

Link agreed and then discussed the ’falling-to-show-wealth’ event with her.

Originally, he had planned on having a few models pose to create controversy more cheaply.

But Ivanka convinced her sister Tiffany, Paris Hilton, Kim Kardashian, and other socialite celebrities to join, amplifying the visibility of the wealth-flaunting event a hundredfold. And getting those top socialites to actively participate in the publicity was no easy feat.

Link expressed his admiration for Ivanka’s organizational and coordination skills. Your journey continues on

Ivanka told him that initially, she only intended to ask Paris Hilton and the Kardashian sisters for help.

Her sister Tiffany found it amusing and was the first to post a picture, followed by Paris, the Kardashian sisters, Amanda Hearst, and Georgia Bloomberg.

Those who posted pictures later were imitating them on their own, not people she had recruited.

"In fact, Paris, Amanda, and others agreed to help partly because of you," Ivanka said as she took a sip from her glass.

"Me?"

"Yes, they were quite interested in you. When they heard they were helping promote your album, they didn’t need much persuading to join in."

"So I should thank them too?"

Link enjoyed the Belon oysters, savoring them one after another, their fresh aroma filling his mouth.

These oysters, living in the deep waters off France, were plump and crisp in texture, with a unique metallic taste upon first bite followed by a tingling sensation, then after the metallic flavor, a rich hazelnut taste emerged – very complex in flavor.

"There’s no need. The ’falling-to-show-wealth’ event not only helped us sell more records but also got them plenty of public attention in the news recently, making them trendsetters. This way of gaining fame is much classier than relying on leaked nudes or private tapes. It’s a win-win," Ivanka replied with a light smile.

"That’s not bad. Debts of gratitude are the hardest to repay."

He kept eating as he spoke, alternating between oysters and sea cucumbers, relishing the feeling immensely.

In the past, to save money, he would cook delicious food himself, but no matter how well he cooked, it couldn’t compare to the skills of chefs in star-rated hotels, and the ingredients he bought couldn’t compare to the high-quality ones Ivanka purchased.

Suddenly, he thought living here might not be so bad.

Having a chef to prepare meals, maids to do the laundry, shop, clean, walk dogs, entertain cats, etc., would also free up more of his time for training.

Plus, living every day in a high-rise hundreds of meters tall, overlooking the masses below scurrying about like ants.

Over time, it might even cultivate an air of grandeur.

"Are there any vacant apartments for sale in the building? I’m thinking of buying one," Link said as he ate a crab leg.

"Isn’t it nice living here with me?" Ivanka asked as she set down her fork and gracefully dabbed her lips with a napkin.

Link smiled gently, tossed the crab shell on his plate, and took a sip of water before saying, "We’re a contract couple. If others find out I live here, they’ll think I’m being kept by you."

"Male pride? I see, if living here for free wounds your pride, then you could pay rent. How about 100,000 US dollars a month?" Ivanka said with a twinkle in her eye.

"100,000 US dollars? Are you trying to rob me? Five thousand!"

"No way. With five thousand US dollars, you can only stay three days in the Park Hyatt Hotel downstairs. The least I can go is 80,000 US dollars, and you can use everything in the apartment."

"Ten thousand US dollars. That’s my bottom line," Link said seriously.

"Fifty thousand US dollars; that’s my bottom line," Ivanka said with a laugh, swirling her glass.

After several rounds of bargaining, they reached an agreement at 25,000 US dollars. Link would pay 25,000 US dollars in rent per month for the right to live there.

That’s equivalent to eight hundred US dollars a day, truly steep.