*Chapter 371: Ivanka Meets Taylor*

When Ivanka was coming, Link couldn’t focus on his book anymore. He took out his phone to call Ivanka, but it wouldn’t connect—she was probably on a flight.

He asked Ms. Mandy if she knew why Ivanka was coming. Ms. Mandy said she didn’t know, but it wasn’t likely to be as Serena suggested—that Ivanka was coming to break up with him. Ivanka wasn’t the impulsive type.

Link nodded. He wasn’t worried about being dumped by Ivanka. Their relationship was more of a partnership, where they’d either succeed together or fail together. As long as Ivanka was still involved with Link Music, getting dumped by her wouldn’t affect him.

He was just curious why Ivanka was flying to Los Angeles at this time. To figure out her purpose, Link drove to Los Angeles International Airport to pick her up. At the VIP terminal, he saw Ivanka, whom he hadn’t seen in a while.

She was as impeccably dressed as ever, wearing a custom-made dress that accentuated her sexy curves while also making her look dignified and serious. With sunglasses on and a small handbag in hand, she was tall, stylish, and stunning.

As she walked, her legs crossed like scissors, exuding a powerful aura. The moment she appeared in the plaza, she became the center of attention, with everyone looking at her, and people around her instinctively made way for her.

Two female assistants in formal wear followed her, adding to her strong presence.

“Ivanka is so cool. How can I be as cool as her?” Serena said, looking through the car window.

“You can ask her,” Link replied.

Seeing Anna leading Ivanka over, Link opened the car door to let her in, while the two assistants got into another car.

“Ivanka, you’re so beautiful. I’m a big fan of yours,” Serena said with a sweet smile.

Ivanka smiled slightly, complimenting Serena on her looks, asking if she had a boyfriend, and saying that many boys must be pursuing her, making Serena giggle happily.

“Ivanka, you’re so amazing. How did you end up with Link? Besides looking good and singing well, he doesn’t have any other redeeming qualities,” Serena asked in a clear voice.

Ivanka smirked, then looked ahead at Link, who was driving, her expression calm and neutral. Link felt a bit uncomfortable under her gaze. “Ivanka, do you have business in Los Angeles?” he asked.

“I’m planning to talk to Taylor,” Ivanka replied.

“What?” Serena exclaimed, blinking her big eyes. “Ivanka, you’re going to talk to Taylor?”

“Yes, I’ve been wanting to talk to her for a while but hadn’t found the right opportunity. Now seems like a good time,” Ivanka said coolly.

Link gripped the steering wheel, feeling a chill down his spine.

Both Taylor and Ivanka were strong-willed, powerful women. They were like two queens who couldn’t coexist. Now that Ivanka said she was going to talk to Taylor, it made Link, stuck in the middle, feel uneasy.

“Ivanka, this is my business. I can handle it. You don’t need to get involved,” Link said.

“This isn’t just your business—it’s mine too. We’re business partners. Your public image is facing a crisis, and it’s my duty to help resolve it and get through this. Secondly, you’re my boyfriend, and possibly my future husband. Taylor is pregnant with your illegitimate child, so I think it’s necessary for me to talk to her. Don’t worry, Taylor isn’t an ordinary person; I wouldn’t and couldn’t do anything to her. Lastly, on a personal note, I admire Taylor and hope to be friends with her,” Ivanka explained slowly.

Serena was dumbfounded, her brain struggling to process Ivanka’s words.

“Ivanka, Taylor is resting. She probably won’t want to see you,” Link said after thinking for a moment.

“I’ve already contacted Taylor, and she agreed to meet with me,” Ivanka replied.

Link was stunned. Taylor agreed? How did this woman manage that?

The car reached the city, and Ivanka’s assistant took over the wheel, driving Ivanka and Serena to Taylor’s villa.

As they left, Serena whispered in Link’s ear, teasing him about how he had such a powerful girlfriend like Ivanka and still dared to fool around. She said he was doomed this time.

Link watched the car drive away, then got into the second car to return to the Bay Villa.

Not long after he got back, about an hour later, Ivanka and Serena also returned to the villa.

Link found Ivanka and asked what she talked about with Taylor.

Ivanka said it was women’s business, and as a man, he didn’t need to know.

Link then asked Serena, who rolled her eyes and said that Ivanka and Taylor had a private conversation in the study. She had eavesdropped at the door for a long time but couldn’t hear a thing, which frustrated her.

While Link was still curious, he received a message on WhatsApp from Taylor, but when he opened it, all that was left was a notice that the message had been withdrawn.

He waited for a while, but Taylor didn’t send another message. When he sent a message asking what it was about, it showed that he was no longer on her friend list.

Link was so angry that he almost crushed his phone. These two women were impossible to deal with. If he had known, he would have gone for a simple, sweet girl instead.

Not long after Ivanka arrived in Los Angeles, news and pictures started spreading online, with shots of Link personally picking her up at the airport, sparking a flurry of speculation about why Ivanka was there.

Later, a paparazzo reported that after getting off the plane, Ivanka went straight to Taylor’s villa, accompanied by Serena, and stayed there for about an hour.

Since both Taylor and Ivanka were big names and the leading ladies in the current media storm, their meeting quickly became a hot topic on several news websites, with countless netizens speculating about what they discussed. Some believed Taylor’s song "Devil" was a jab at Ivanka, so people wondered if the two would end up fighting.

Unfortunately, when interviewed afterward, both women refused to talk about the meeting, leaving Link, the male lead in this drama, unable to get any gossip from the internet.

After the two met, the mainstream online discourse shifted, moving away from personal attacks on him and focusing on the competition between their albums on the charts.

Many netizens rallied to take down the "scumbag" Link, supporting Taylor's new album to win the Album of the Year award. Some even vowed to save money to buy Taylor's album and help her raise the child.

Insiders revealed that Link and Taylor made a bet before they broke up to see whose new album would sell the most in the U.S. As for the stakes, only they know.

That same day, Link’s studio announced a piece of exciting news: Link’s third album, The Woman I Love, had sold over 4.5 million copies in the U.S. and 19.33 million worldwide, making it the top-selling album of 2010 both in the U.S. and globally.

Meanwhile, Taylor’s third album, Last Kiss, had sold 3.225 million copies in the U.S., still far behind Link’s 4.5 million.

Some fans believed that Link’s studio released this news to mock those supporting Taylor, claiming they were overestimating themselves. They saw this as Link bullying Taylor, taking advantage of her pregnancy.

Outraged, netizens condemned Link as the worst man of the 21st century, vowing to support Taylor in defeating him.

In support of Taylor, Selena publicly auctioned off her collection of deluxe editions of Link’s albums, including The Woman I Love, Fearless, and The Fighter. She bought 20 copies of Taylor’s new album, Last Kiss, to show her support for her friend and take down her cousin Link.

Other celebrities like Kristen Stewart, Emma Roberts, Blake Lively, Carrie Underwood, Katy Perry, supermodel Doutzen Kroes, Taylor’s friend Jaime King, and Jessica Alba also publicly expressed their support for Taylor to defeat the “scumbag” Link.

Even Beyoncé mentioned in a public event that she liked Taylor’s music and was planning to support her.

Following Beyoncé, Kanye West, 50 Cent, Lil Wayne, Drake, and others were reported to have privately encouraged fans to buy Taylor’s new album.

Additionally, a group of people who admired Taylor or disliked Link, including the Jonas Brothers, John Mayer, Jamie Foxx, Will Smith, and others, expressed their support for Taylor in various situations.

The Hollywood Reporter commented that in this album battle, Link had become isolated, a "lonely figure" in the music industry.

With the support of these celebrities, Taylor’s new album sales surged, selling 210,000 copies in the new week and reclaiming the top spot on the charts.

Last Kiss had now sold 3.44 million copies in the U.S. within less than two months, which was comparable to the initial two-month sales of The Woman I Love.

The Chicago Tribune commented that if Taylor were not pregnant and could promote more, surpassing Link’s The Woman I Love would only be a matter of time.

The Los Angeles Times remarked that Link had competed with many artists on the charts, including Kanye, Jay-Z, Justin Bieber, Usher, and Drake. These people could be considered his "enemies." But just as he was about to dominate the music industry, his former lover Taylor stood against him, becoming his opponent. Link seemed to be on a lonely path to greatness. Whether he would emerge victorious this time was still unknown.

Surprisingly, amidst the pessimistic public opinion, The Woman I Love saw a sales spike last week, reaching 45,000 copies, almost eight times more than the previous week.

This increase enraged many netizens. At this point, why were people still supporting Link? Did those buying his album have no morals?

"Could this all be a publicity stunt?"

In New York, at a black metal bar, Chris Brown pointed to Billboard magazine. "I mean, Link and Taylor’s breakup in April, followed by the pregnancy rumors—could this all be a complete PR stunt? We know that based on the quality of Link and Taylor’s albums, even if they sold well, they wouldn't reach three or four million copies. That’s just too much."

“Damn, always with the publicity stunts and media hype. Even a garbage album can sell over four million copies. People like Link should be kicked out of the music industry,” T.I. complained.

Last week, he released his new album, No Mercy, and it had only held the top spot for one week before Taylor’s album knocked it off, which made him very unhappy.

“Maybe it’s not just a stunt. Who would have a child just for publicity?” 50 Cent responded.

“Whether it is or not, I think we should all learn from Link. At the victory party last time, Link said it’s the internet era now. Life moves fast, and fans’ perceptions and tastes are constantly changing. As music creators, we have to keep up with this change, or we’ll be left behind.

“He also said the internet is a double-edged sword. People’s attention is easily distracted by the vast amount of information online, but if used well, the internet is a powerful tool to focus public attention. So using online platforms for publicity stunts has become extremely important. I thought about it afterward and realized he was right,” Usher said.

Lil Wayne and the others frowned as they listened. Despite their dislike for Link, they couldn’t deny that he had a point.

---

“Mr. Baker is indeed impressive. When it comes to media hype, I’m not as good as him.”

In his office at Link Music, Scooter Braun sighed as he read the newspaper.

“Boss, I don’t think it’s your fault. You and Mr. Baker are in different positions and see things from different angles. Mr. Baker and Miss Swift were former lovers, so he doesn’t mind helping promote Miss Swift’s album during the publicity. But you didn’t know about their relationship or Mr. Baker’s attitude toward Miss Swift, so it’s understandable that you didn’t consider this,” his assistant Alex said.

Scooter shook his head. While Alex’s words made sense, strictly speaking, when it came to using the internet for hype and generating news topics, he felt he was much worse than Link.

“Alex, inform the PR department to hold a meeting. Once this storm passes, we need to think about how to reshape Mr. Baker’s public image. These tasks must be done well, or President Ivanka will think I’m not doing my job as the marketing director.”

Scooter rubbed his temples as he spoke.

During the morning meeting, President Ivanka asked him what he thought of the situation.

He responded that he believed Link’s strategy was better than a cold approach and expressed his intention to learn from Link.

Afterward, President Ivanka told him that Link was busy with work and didn’t have time to handle publicity matters, so in the future, the marketing department would need to take responsibility and not always bother Link.

President Ivanka’s words put a lot of pressure on him, and he had no choice but to find ways to make up for it.

The battle between Link and Taylor on the album charts and the “Taylor pregnancy” news dominated the U.S. media for about a week. After that, under the guidance of Link Music’s PR department, the media and public’s attention shifted to the Harvey Weinstein sexual harassment case.

The pressure on Link also eased significantly.

But before he could fully relax, another event pushed him back into the spotlight—Tesla went public.

(End of Chapter)