Chapter 374: The Forceful Encounter

After leaving the café, he bought a bouquet of flowers and drove to the Link Music Company.

About ten minutes later, he saw Ivanka coming out of the company. She was wearing a light blue dress and high heels, her figure graceful.

He honked the horn and pulled over.

When Ivanka saw him, the corners of her sexy lips lifted into a slight smile. She opened the car door, noticing a bouquet of tulips on the passenger seat, which made her laugh. She covered her mouth with her hand, causing her alluring chest to subtly rise and fall.

"Why are you laughing?"

"Nothing, I just didn't expect you to know how to be romantic. It's quite interesting."

Ivanka said as she held the bouquet.

"I’ve always understood romance; it's just that I’m usually too busy with work to show it. You can't think of me as someone who doesn't know anything."

Link shrugged and started the car.

Ivanka glanced at his profile, a faint smile appearing on her lips.

"You picked me up after work and brought flowers. Are you plotting something?"

"Of course not, don’t overthink it."

Link shook his head, changing the topic by discussing the asset management company, saying that he’s been overwhelmed with work lately.

He planned to transfer Ms. Mandy out of Link Music to fully manage Palm Bay Brokerage and to have Katherine take over Palm Beach Films.

Ms. Anna had performed well over the past two years and could take over from Ms. Mandy as his executive agent.

Ivanka didn’t have any objections, but she mentioned she had just called Wendy Deng.

Wendy praised him on the phone for over half an hour, saying she had followed his advice in August to buy some Tesla stock, and after Tesla went public, she made over four million dollars. She called Link a man favored by the goddess of fortune.

"At the beginning of the year, Tesla was in a bad spot, rumored to be at risk of bankruptcy. Everyone else was afraid to invest. Why did you dare to buy so much Tesla stock?"

Ivanka asked.

"Because the goddess of fortune favors me, of course."

Link kissed the back of Ivanka’s pale hand, which was softer than flowers and sweeter than marshmallows.

Ivanka flirtatiously rolled her eyes at him, telling him to pay attention to driving, and added, "My dad is a bit upset with you. He said if you knew Tesla had such potential, why didn’t you bring him in? He’s already considered you family and wants me to tell you that the next time you find a good investment, you must let him know."

Link smiled lightly, finding Mr. Trump’s sense of entitlement a bit much.

A few days ago, when the media reported Taylor’s pregnancy, Link and Ivanka’s relationship hit a rough patch. A reporter asked Mr. Trump for his opinion, and Trump, pouting, claimed that Ivanka had already broken up with Link and was currently dating someone else. He said he preferred the new guy over the playboy Link.

But when Ivanka suddenly showed up in Los Angeles and stayed at the bay villa, she proved Trump was talking nonsense, which left him embarrassed.

"Are you still mad at my dad?"

Ivanka asked, staring at him.

"Of course not. I understand him, and I still respect Mr. Trump as always. He’s a charming and unique person."

Link smiled.

Ivanka was pleased with his answer and leaned over to kiss him on the cheek.

They arrived on 43rd Street, parked the car, and went to Walmart to buy lots of vegetables, fruits, and seafood. Back at the Woolworth Building apartment, Link personally cooked Ivanka a lavish candlelight dinner.

Ivanka enjoyed the meal but didn’t give it high marks.

She said that he’s an artist, entrepreneur, and athlete, who already has a lot on his plate. When at home, he should relax instead of spending time in the kitchen.

She didn’t encourage this behavior and wouldn’t give him extra points for a delicious dinner, nor would she praise him for being "domestic," because her man doesn’t need such qualities.

Link looked at her beautiful face and sighed, thinking this woman is hard to please. He had just wanted to cook her a nice meal to show appreciation for her hard work, but she didn’t seem to care.

"Isn’t it great to eat and chat under the stars?"

Link looked up at the sky outside the balcony. Above were countless bright stars, and below, the neon-lit streets of Manhattan. Whether looking up or down, he found Ivanka more beautiful than both the stars and the city.

"It is great, and romantic too, but this romance is built on you having to work an extra hour. That’s not what I want, so I don’t encourage you to do it."

Ivanka said.

Link fell silent at her words. This woman’s words and actions might be hard to understand, but they often cut to the heart of the matter. If not for her willingness, winning her over would be extremely difficult.

After dinner, they left the plates on the table, as Ivanka requested.

Ivanka said that in a capitalist society, it’s important for everyone to stick to their roles. As a singer, an excellent investor, and an athlete, he should focus on his work, like writing more songs, researching company management, and training his body.

Cooking and housework should be left to the professionals.

If he did everything himself, the chefs and service staff would lose income, their quality of life would decline, they’d need to take on more part-time jobs to make ends meet, and they wouldn’t have time to refine their skills.

This would be bad for everyone, so as someone with more capital, he should learn to give others opportunities and be a responsible capitalist.

Link couldn’t help but laugh. He just wanted to wash a few dishes, but Ivanka turned it into a lecture.

What made him even more resigned was that Ivanka’s words made sense. With a net worth in the billions, competing with chefs and service staff for work did seem a bit much.

Before bed, the two sat on the couch watching season nine of American Idol, where a singer performed his song "Girls Like You" with a guitar.

He noticed that the atmosphere tonight was quite good and took the opportunity to put his arm around Ivanka's shoulder, trying to kiss her and deepen their relationship.

Unfortunately, he didn't succeed.

Ivanka coldly rejected him, saying that his score wasn't high enough. She also told him that if he dared to force himself on her, she would consider ending their relationship and casually pulled out a pepper spray from the sofa.

Link mentioned that he knew she had been in several relationships before and didn't mind if she had any tattoos or anything like that.

Ivanka smiled indifferently and said there was nothing strange about her body. Every part of her was as fair and clean as her arm, and there was nothing on her body that she was ashamed of. His attempt to provoke her wouldn't work.

Ivanka told him that what he lacked wasn't women but a partner, a comrade who would fully support him, and that she preferred to play that role.

"If you need women, I can arrange for two models," Ivanka said as she turned to pick up the phone.

Link shook his head. "Why look for other women? I'm curious, as someone who is called the sexiest man in the world, do I really have no appeal to you at all? Or, as Paris and others say, are you just frigid?"

"Of course not. We're in a contractual relationship. Until you earn enough points, we can only maintain this relationship. That's the rule of the game. If you don't follow the rules, neither will I, so what's the point of the rules we set before?" Ivanka said, crossing her arms.

"Alright then, how many points do I have now? How many do I need to become a real couple?"

"Last month, you were at -20. This week, you're at +20, so your current score is 5 points. To become a real couple, you need at least 80 points. You still have a long way to go."

"The scoring power is in your hands; you can add points anytime. Why don't you just give me 80 points now?" Link threatened, wrapping his arm around her waist.

"No, forcing it will only make you lose points," Ivanka warned him, pointing at his nose.

Link noticed the smug smile on her lips and couldn't resist pulling her into a firm kiss. By the time Ivanka picked up the pepper spray to aim at him, he had already gotten up and gone to the gym.

Ivanka crossed her long legs on the sofa, her eyes sparkling like spring water, and her red lips curled up slightly. In that instant, her cheeks bloomed like peach blossoms.

(End of chapter)