Domination in America, Starting from being a Boxing Champion

"My audition was a success, thank you."

"When are you coming to Los Angeles, I miss you."

In the car, Link received a text from Gadot. Not long ago in Los Angeles, he had helped Gadot select a script, choosing the role of the female lead in the action movie 'The A-Team'. He hadn't seen the film, but he heard that the male lead had been cast and it was Liam Neeson from 'Schindler's List'.

This guy is a good actor, his films should be pretty good too.

Gadot went on to the audition and smoothly passed the first and second rounds.

During the third round of auditions, there were four actresses left, including Jessica Biel, Amber Heard, and Olga Kurylenko, all more famous than newcomer Gadot.

Link called Franco to see if there was a way to help.

Franco checked and found out the movie was a new project by 20th Century Fox, and Fox Corporation's parent company was News Corporation, chaired by Murdoch. The Duva Family and Murdoch were both rising wealthy families in New York and had some connections.

Franco said it was possible and after making a couple of phone calls, he secured that role for Gadot.

"Congratulations. I've been training recently, so I don't have time to go to Los Angeles,"

Link replied after calculating the time.

"Can I come to New York to see you after I finish filming?"

"Sure!"

Link responded to a few messages, put away his phone, and then heard Simon beside him say, "Link, do you still want to act in movies? We've received over a dozen scripts recently, all wanting you to star in them—do you want to take a look?"

"Are there any from famous directors, or with a budget over 50 million?"

"Not at the moment, they're all low-budget commercial films, and there are two that are rather explicit,"

Simon said with a laugh while driving.

"Haha, how much are they offering me?"

If the pay was high, he wouldn't mind taking them on; cashing in would allow him to buy more stocks.

"For roles with less screen time, fifty thousand. For bigger roles, up to three hundred thousand, about the range for third or fourth-tier actors."

"Too little. When those film companies are willing to offer me over a million, then pass me the scripts."

Link shook his head.

Although making movies was fun, it also tended to be a time drain, often requiring him to stay on set from morning to night and potentially interfering with his training.

Also, many movie roles had specific physical requirements, needing the actor to gain or lose weight.

As a boxer, his weight requirements were even stricter. In these circumstances, it was difficult to find suitable roles, so he was still focusing on boxing for the time being, aiming to get a Golden Belt first, then maybe taking on one or two roles for fun when he had some free time.

----

Driving to a Spanish restaurant on 41st Street in Queens, Link met up with Morales and Andzeje, the local New Yorker he had arranged to see. They had a meal and talked about things that happened after the qualification matches. Link's post-match experiences had been quite exciting and public, so there was no need to reiterate what everyone already knew.

Morales had been helping him train, which was also common knowledge.

Andzeje continued to compete in amateur matches, preparing for the World Boxing Championships, and Andrea and Jones Fulda planned to continue competing in amateur tournaments as well.

Andzeje remarked that once news of Link turning professional spread, all Super Middleweight and Light Heavyweight boxers breathed a sigh of relief; without him as the top contender, they could fight for the championship more happily again.

Link laughed heartily at this and said he would wait for them in the professional circuit, causing Andzeje's smile to fade momentarily.

Around six in the afternoon, Link returned to his Jacksonville apartment. Taylor had already left for recording at the Metropolitan studio. There were scraps of paper scattered across the couch with many lyrics written on them, messy lines of music, and a guitar leaning on the table, brought over at some unknown time.

Link strummed the string of the guitar and then heard the sound of the doorbell from the entrance. He opened the monitor and saw a chubby face with sparkling big eyes winking at the camera.

"Link, open up, it's us, we've come to see you."

It was Selena Gomez and Catherine.

After coming to New York, Catherine and Selena had invited him to their home, an invitation he had refused due to his busy training schedule. However, he had left his address, inviting them to visit at his place.

"Good afternoon, Catherine! Selena!"

Link greeted the two as he opened the door, with Selena, wearing a blue knit top and jeans, her hair in a ponytail, holding a box of sweets, as lively and pretty as ever, her petite figure resembling that of a middle school girl.

Catherine, still dressed in her professional attire, appeared efficient and had a slight resemblance to Link.

However, she looked more like Selena's mother when they were together.

"Link, why did you take so long to open the door? Is there a girl with you? We can come another time if it's not convenient,"

Selena looked up at him with her quirky eyes sparking with mischief.

"No, it's just me. I just got back from training and am alone at home."

Link said with a smile, inviting them into the house.

"Link, does training tire you out?"

Catherine inquired, looking around the room.

"No, I'm used to it and don't really feel that tired."

"Wow, Link, your place is so nice, even bigger than mine. Do you live here alone?"

"Yes, for now, by myself."

"Don't you have a girlfriend? If not, I can introduce one to you. You know, I'm with Disney Talent Agency, and there are lots of beautiful girls like myself there, I guarantee they're all gorgeous. How about it?"

Selena followed him as he went to get drinks and chatted behind him.

"No need, I have a girlfriend, actually more than one."n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Link replied with a light laugh.

"Huh?"

Selena opened her mouth in shock, turning to glance back at Catherine on the sofa and blinking to signal her disbelief. Link was not just two-timing—he might be involved with several women. How could he do that?

Catherine shook her head, smiling, "That's Link's private affair, don't meddle too much."

Sniffing disdainfully, Selena hopped onto the sofa, giving Link a look reserved for playboys, "I was going to introduce my best friend to you, but it turns out you're just a playboy. Humph, it's so disappointing."

Link just laughed it off. If he had answered 'no' to that earlier question, Selena would certainly drag him on dates later, and if he said yes, she would have nagged him incessantly. But by admitting he was a playboy, there was no trouble at all.

He poured Catherine a cup of tea and started talking about his recent days in New York, the training and preparations for the match—nothing complex or novel.

Selena, however, blurted out a whole bunch of things about singing, filming movies, and recently promoting a new movie. She starred in Disney's "Cinderella's Dance Miracle," premiering on Friday—a youth musical—and invited Link to the premiere in New York, asking if he was free.

Link agreed to come.

"Link, after you make money, you need to learn how to manage it. You could go to Wall Street and find an asset management company, get a professional manager to help you manage it, but if you decide to invest, you should be careful, especially since the economic situation is not good this year."

As evening approached and it was time to leave, Catherine hesitated before speaking up.

"I got it."

Link knew she was saying this out of kindness and didn't take offense, escorting the two women downstairs.

"Link, Friday at two o'clock in the afternoon, don't forget."

Selena hollered from the car window.

"Won't forget, and hey, you said you were going to introduce a girlfriend to me, don't forget that either,"

Link joked.

Selena rolled her eyes dramatically, silently mouthing 'playboy'.

Link chuckled lightly and waved at the car, only then realizing that the light rain which had been falling most of the day had stopped at some point. The sky remained misty, with no sunset to the west, indicating that tomorrow wouldn't be clear skies either.

Longing to see the sun, Link found himself missing the beaches of Miami.

Just as he was about to head back upstairs, a handsome young man, arm in arm with a tall woman, came laughing and chatting toward him, stopping by the elevator.

The man, in his thirties and quite handsome, sported a slick back hairstyle and wore a grey Ralph Lauren casual jacket, oozing style.

The woman had a great figure, over 175 cm tall, with curves in all the right places, walking with taut legs and a catwalk stride, probably a model.

Link gave the man a once-over and thought he looked extremely familiar, much like the big star Leonardo DiCaprio who had recently bulked up, his face almost double the size from his "Titanic" days as Jack, and his figure beginning to spread. But even though he'd gained weight and seemed greasy, he was still a good-looking guy fond of water gun fights.

Leo also gave Link a casual glance, instinctively pulling the woman closer to him.

"Hello, Mr. DiCaprio, do you live here too?"

Link initiated the conversation.

"Yes, are you a new resident?"

Leonardo asked half-heartedly.

"Moved in last week."

After exchanging a few pleasantries, the elevator arrived, and the three got in. Leonardo stood in the middle, still holding the woman close.

The woman next to him also eyed Link, noticing he was taller and younger than Leonardo, and just as good-looking, "Sir, you look familiar. I think I've seen your ads. Are you an actor too?"

Link touched his chin, a bit surprised. Even the homeless on the street knew his name; how come they didn't? It seemed his fame was not widespread enough yet.

"I'm a boxer!"

"A boxer?"

Leonardo appeared puzzled. A boxer living in Yorkville apartments?

"Got a Golden Belt?"

"Not yet, but I'll have one soon,"

Link responded with a light laugh.

A flicker of disdain crossed Leonardo's face. He was familiar with the boxing industry; boxers without Golden Belts were almost always broke and not worth getting to know.

"Wow, I remember now, you're Link, Olympic champion Link Baker, right? You were the cover person of 'People' magazine released yesterday, a symbol of the American dream, aren't you, Mr. Baker?"

The woman covered her mouth in surprise.

"That's me!"

"Wow, Leo, we're actually living in the same building as a world champion; what a coincidence."

The woman said with admiration.

Leonardo gave Link a surprised look, reaching out his hand, "Mr. Baker, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise!"

Link shook his hand.

The guy's palm was somewhat clammy, which, from a Chinese medicine perspective, indicated a sign of kidney deficiency.

The elevator reached the seventh floor and Leonardo left with the woman, who looked back at Link. She swayed her prominent rear even more fiercely, threatening to burst through the thin silk dress.

Link lived on the eighth floor and, as he left, found a perfume-scented business card with a phone number in his pocket, slipped in by the woman at some unknown moment.

He glanced at it and threw it into the trash can by the elevator.

Around eight in the evening, Link lay in bed, unable to sleep, his mind filled with swaying buttocks. After a struggle, he couldn't fall asleep, so he got up to hit the gym. He did a thousand push-ups, five hundred sit-ups, and once his body felt exhausted, he finally settled down to sleep peacefully.