At this cocktail party, aside from friends and partners, there were also a few uninvited guests.
Following Little Kunas came Peter Peltz, David Zakman, Luther Detsky, Josie Epstein, as well as Usher brought by Scott, and 50 Cent who came along with Eminem to join in the fun.
Little Kunas was the Vice President of Distribution for Atlantic Records, and he had collaborations with Link Music. He represented Atlantic Records, while the other four came uninvited.
"Hey, Link, congratulations on your album’s big sales, you’re doing pretty well with singing,"
Little Kunas said with a bland smile.
While speaking, he didn’t even look at him; his grey-green eyes stared straight at the beautiful Miss Ivanka, his covetous intentions not at all concealed.
"Thank you for the compliment, Mr. Kunas!"
Link responded with a light smile, standing shoulder to shoulder with Ivanka, fingers intertwined, like a perfect match.
In comparison with the two of them, Little Kunas and the others were a motley crew—short, tall, fat, thin, small-eyed, big-mouthed, druggie faces, weak kidneys faces, greasy faces, and so on.
"Humph, it’s nothing but leveraging marketing hype to sell records; nothing impressive there. Without those tactics, you wouldn’t have been able to sell a million copies."
Druggie face Peter Peltz looked at Link with a haughty stare, as if he didn’t take him seriously at all.
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Upon hearing this sharp voice, Link immediately guessed he was dealing with the same person who had mercilessly ridiculed him at the Broadway Theatre.
An ugly-looking guy with an unpleasant voice, but his sarcasm barely scratched Link, it even made him feel like laughing.
"Haha, Eva Link, Peter is just kidding. Don’t take it to heart,"
Little Kunas said.
"It’s okay; I’ve seen too much of this kind of comment online, quite amusing."
Link, holding back Ivanka from speaking, smiled nonchalantly.
"Amusing? How so?"
Peter Peltz was very annoyed to see that his mockery could still make him laugh.
"Mr. Peltz, celebrities sell goods based on fame and publicity, your comment is like assuming Van Gogh wasn’t famous and his paintings would be priced similarly to yours—a fun assumption, but meaningless."
Link chuckled lightly.
Peter Peltz still didn’t quite grasp what was amusing about it.
"I’ve long said that this kind of talk is useless against Link, he’s used to it. Let’s get to the point,"
said another person, David Zakman. A slightly overweight young man with small eyes, he held a champagne glass and listlessly eyed the beauties at the party.
"Do you need something?"
Ivanka asked, her delicate brows knitting together.
"Ivanka, we’re all friends here and we’d like to be part of the music scene too. Link Music is doing well, and we are considering investing in it. What do you think?"
David Zakman said.
"Oh? How much money do you have?"
"Forty million. Based on the current market value of Link Music, how about giving us a 10% share?"
David Zakman said.
"The current market value of Link Music is 480 million!"
Ivanka said.
"Eva, we know how much Link Music is worth, but besides having money, we can provide media, advertising, and other resources for Link Music—resources that are priceless. I think it’s a good deal,"
said someone else, Luther Detsky.
His father was the president of EMS Advertising, a tycoon in the advertising industry, Donnie Detsch.
Ivanka, with a slight smirk on her lips, told Link that these four guys, despite their good backgrounds, did not cherish the resources they once had and had done some foolish things. They were people their families disdained, so they did not hold the resources we want. She might consider if it was their brothers and sisters.
When Ivanka spoke, she kept her expression calm and her voice normal, not caring if the others overheard.
Upon hearing her words, the faces of Peter Peltz and the others fell immediately. While most talk behind one’s back, Ivanka outright exposed their shortcomings to their faces, giving them no face at all; it was infuriating.
"Ahem, Eva, we’re all friends here, and Peter’s group is having some difficulties."
"One hundred million US dollars!"
Ivanka raised a finger before Little Kunas could finish speaking, "One hundred million US dollars, and I’ll sell you 10% of the shares."
"One hundred million?!"
"Link Music isn’t even worth five hundred million, and for a 10% stake you want one hundred million? Eva, are you extorting us?"
"Eva, we’re not fools; don’t take us as suckers."
Exclaimed Peter Peltz and the others in shock.
Only Little Epstein stood with his arms crossed, his long, narrow face sporting a smile that wasn’t quite a smile.
"I’m very busy and don’t have time for jokes. One hundred million isn’t a random figure but what Link Music is worth.
Firstly, Link Music was founded two years ago, in early ’09 it was only worth 10 million, by the end of ’09 its value was 280 million, and now it’s close to 500 million US dollars, doubling every year.
With the current speed, we are confident we can grow the company to 1 billion within three years, 2 billion in five years. Invest one hundred million US dollars now, and in five years, the returns will more than double. This is absolutely a most cost-effective investment,"
Ivanka said with a composed tone.
Peter and the others wanted to refute but, upon serious reflection, found that what Ivanka said was not an exaggeration.
At the beginning of ’09, in New York’s wealthy circles, there was a joke about Eva of the Thompson family founding a music company, intending to leap into the music industry.
Upon hearing the news, everyone laughed at Ivanka, saying she knew nothing of music and record operations, investing money in an unfamiliar field, which would surely add to the already strained financial situation of the Thompson family.
Some also felt that Ivanka, having worked for several years in the family conglomerate and founded a few brands, had decent capabilities and might accomplish something.
But the music industry is fiercely competitive, and for a novice to build a new record company would take at least five years.
Yet no one expected that Link Music, this small scrappy company, would strike it big with its first album.
The first album sold six to seven million copies worldwide.
The second album sold directly over ten million copies worldwide.
The third album was even more impressive, conservatively twenty million.
And every singer under Link Music was talented, their songs pleasing to the ears, casually releasing an album would go platinum, as if they were at the forefront of the music market.
The market value of Link Music changed every six months, in early 2009 it was ten million, by the end of 2009 it was 280 million, and by June 2010 it had ballooned to 480 million.
It was too exaggerated.
Based on this trend, Ivanka’s statement that the market value would reach one billion within three years seemed entirely possible.
Under these circumstances, investing one hundred million seemed really worthwhile.
"Eva, your view is overly idealistic, like living in an unobstructed vacuum. First of all, the rapid development of Link Music will inevitably lead to competition with the five major record groups, and they won’t just sit by and watch Link Music grow.
Secondly, Mr. Baker recently said that he will retire from the music scene after two more albums. Without him, how much value can Link Music really have?"
Josie Epstein said lazily.
"The first issue can be completely avoided through commercial operations, such as deep cooperation with the five major labels and introducing shares of the five major labels.
As for the second point, with Link no longer releasing albums, he will have more time to focus on the singers under Link Music, creating more best-selling albums for them, as well as more time to pick and train new singers. On the contrary, I believe that with Link retiring from the music scene, Link Music will develop even faster,"
Ivanka said unhurriedly.
Listening to her, it seemed to make a lot of sense.
Link was considered a Midas touch in the music world, with an excellent eye for talent. If he dedicated himself to picking and training singers, Link Music would continuously produce best-selling artists in the future, and its market value would keep rising.
"One hundred million is too much; we don’t have that kind of money."
"Then we’ll talk when you have sufficient funds."
Ivanka greeted and walked into the crowd, arm in arm with Link.
Watching the two leave hand in hand, the expressions of those left behind varied.
Little Kunas watched Ivanka’s sensual grace, her fingers interlocked with Link’s in a very intimate manner, and his heart ached as if it were being twisted by a knife.
"How could Ivanka do this? Link is the major shareholder of Link Music, not her. If she agreed to let us invest, we could have full control of the company when we join forces in the future. I think she should be on our side, not Link’s, an outsider,"
Luther Detsky with the greasy face said.
"Hmph, she probably already sees herself as Link’s wife. Too bad Link is a player; she’s bet on the wrong horse,"
Peter Peltz said.
"What do we do now? Are we still going to invest in Link Music? We simply don’t have that kind of money,"
David Zakman asked.
"We came with goodwill to talk about cooperation with Link, but unfortunately they didn’t accept. So, let’s stick to the original plan and arrange some affairs for him. As long as we catch him in the act, he’ll hand over his shares in Link Music obediently,"
Josie Epstein said with a sneer.
"Good, let’s do that!"
They exchanged glances and burst into laughter.
——
"Sorry for making you waste a few minutes with me over there,"
Ivanka said softly, pulling on his arm at the party.
"Not at all, every second by your side is meaningful. I’ve never felt bored or that it was a waste,"
Ivanka glanced at him and smiled with curved lips.
"Although Peter and the others are not valued much in their family, we’re still in the same New York business circles. My family’s company and Link Music also have cooperative ties with some of their subsidiary companies, so despite disliking them, I can’t just ignore them,"
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"I understand. Seeing you stand against five of them, dominating with your presence and intellect, as your boyfriend, I feel quite elated,"
"Thank you. When you see the likes of little Kunas wanting to carve up Link Music, do you think the upper class is very sinister and shameless?"
Eva asked softly.
Link shook his head. No matter the era or country, there was never a lack of second-generation individuals who were lazy but adept at plotting to snatch the fruits of victory from others. He had seen and heard too much of these tricks to be surprised.
"On the contrary, seeing their behavior makes me appreciate you even more. You are an amazing woman,"
Link said earnestly, holding her hand.
"You’ve earned yourself another five points,"
Ivanka said with a quirk of her lip.
"How many points do I have now?"
"Five points!"
"Huh? I thought I was given ten points before."
"You started with negative ten points,"
Ivanka said with a smile, twirling a strand of hair around her finger.
Link helplessly accepted his reality.
"Hey, Ivanka, Link!"
Paris Hilton and a few socialites approached, smiling at the two, "Ivanka, aren’t you and Link already sick of being together all day? Can you lend him to us for a bit? We all want to know how strong Link is?"
"Yes, I heard that Link can do push-ups for three hours straight. I really want to see if it’s true."
"I want to see Link do push-ups too,"
The other socialites also started laughing.
"No problem! Look all you want, use him however you like,"
Ivanka said with a laugh, pushing Link forward.
Link shrugged his shoulders. Considering the help he had received from some of them, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and oblige.