Chapter 337: We Are the Same Kind of People

"I need to know the progress of all the preparations. We're only seven days away from flying to Wellington!"

In the reception room of the Waldorf Grand Hotel's presidential suite, Duke sat at the head of the table, looking at the heavyweights gathered before him. "This is a win-win promotional show. I don't want to see a single mistake from either the angel models or The Lord of the Rings Studio."

Through his steady, long-term accumulation of shares, Duke was now Victoria's Secret's largest individual shareholder and a member of its board of directors. Naturally, his words carried weight.

Warner Brothers, meanwhile, afforded him plenty of respect. When even a small ten-million-dollar production could ultimately gross over two hundred million dollars worldwide, Warner Brothers had no reason not to support him.

Upon returning to New York this time, Duke had fully entered work mode. He had kept an incredibly high profile from start to finish, drawing the pursuit of numerous entertainment reporters. To prevent the overzealous journalists from disturbing his mother, he hadn't stayed at her home, checking directly into the Waldorf Grand Hotel instead.

"Let me start with Warner's preparations," Jamie Jensen spoke up first, looking at Duke and then at Rebecca Fein, the representative from Victoria's Secret.

"The New York Times entertainment section will cover the entire event. TV stations will run breaking news updates the moment the angels step out of the hotel; Warner Television will broadcast it live. Next month's cover of Time Magazine is reserved for this collaboration between the angel models and The Lord of the Rings Studio, and Time Warner's newly established TMZ Website is confirmed to provide live text and photo coverage..."

Jamie Jensen spoke for a full three minutes. The Lord of the Rings trilogy's massive 350-million-dollar budget was more than enough to capture the attention of the entire Time Warner Group, and they had mobilized almost every media outlet under their umbrella, along with their affiliates.

From a media perspective alone, this was going to be a massive show—a joint super show between the modeling world and the film industry, the likes of which had never been seen before!

Duke had no complaints about Warner's investment and attitude. He gave Jamie Jensen a solemn nod and turned to look at Victoria's Secret's representative, Rebecca Fein.

This was a win-win partnership. Naturally, Victoria's Secret couldn't just reap the rewards without committing resources of their own.

"All of the Victoria's Secret angels will participate in this event."

Victoria's Secret had long been prepared for this. Rebecca Fein said, "Models who have a working relationship with Victoria's Secret and are confirmed to appear in next year's annual show will also participate. Victoria's Secret has mobilized a total of forty well-known models, and we have retrofitted our private jet into the Victoria's Secret & The Lord of the Rings Jet. The salaries for all the models on the crew, including the actress Duke mentioned to play Arwen, will be entirely covered by Victoria's Secret..."

She paused briefly to take a sip of coffee before continuing, "If The Lord of the Rings Crew wants to promote the film by creating celebrity scandals, Victoria's Secret will fully cooperate."

Knowing this wasn't quite enough compared to Warner's investment, Rebecca Fein added, "Before the premiere of the first Lord of the Rings film, Victoria's Secret will organize a large-scale lingerie show themed around The Lord of the Rings or elves. Our designers are currently studying your script and concept art, and we will definitely have enough design samples ready before 2001."

With an agreement reached on the major points, the remaining details were ironed out much faster. Over lunch together, Penny Kalis representing Duke, Jamie Jensen representing Warner, and Rebecca Fein representing Victoria's Secret completely finalized the rest of the show's logistics.

This super show between The Lord of the Rings and the angels would make its grand debut over the weekend.

After lunch, Penny Kalis followed Jamie Jensen back to Time Warner. Tina Fey had gone to Marvel Comics first thing in the morning to represent Duke at a meeting, leaving only Duke and his temporary assistant, Ivanka Trump, in the suite.

Sitting on the living room sofa, Duke flipped through the itinerary for the super show. Ivanka Trump walked past him and sat down in the armchair nearby, looking as though she had something she wanted to say to him.

"Work is over." Duke remembered she was a New Yorker. "You can head home. Just report back to Tina before the weekend."

"I already called my dad yesterday."

Having worked together for over a month and a half, Ivanka could see that Duke treated the people around him quite well. After a brief hesitation, she added, "My dad wants to invite you to dinner tonight."

"At my house," she quickly added.

"Mr. Trump?" Duke was a little surprised. What did he want with him?

It was true that his mother's Santa Fe Advertising Company was handling Donald Trump's packaging and promotion, but that had nothing to do with him.

Seeing Duke's doubt, Ivanka Trump quickly explained, "He wants to collaborate with you."

"Collaborate on what?"

If it was to borrow his fame to promote that exorbitant Trump Building, Duke didn't have the slightest bit of interest.

"Dad found out from his new girlfriend..."

At this point, a flash of awkwardness crossed Ivanka's face, but she quickly recovered. After all, it was no secret that Donald Trump was an old-school playboy. She continued, "She's a signed Victoria's Secret model. He heard about the show you're putting on from her, and he wants to collaborate."

Donald Trump was arguably the most showboating, attention-seeking billionaire in the entire United States, naturally making him a constant focal point for the media and the public...

After thinking it over for a moment, Duke simply agreed. He would go as a guest to Donald Trump's Trump Building in Manhattan that evening.

"I've lost track of which number girlfriend this is."

In the car heading toward the Trump Building, Ivanka brought up her father. "But I'm sure this relationship won't last until Christmas."

"That's because your father is too exceptional," Duke said casually.

Men naturally defended other men when it came to topics like this.

"Maybe." Ivanka turned to look out the car window. Since it wasn't rush hour yet, traffic in Manhattan wasn't particularly jammed. "Regardless, he is a decent father. We have an agreement that he isn't allowed to date girls younger than me."

"You're not even eighteen yet, are you?" Duke asked.

Ivanka Trump nodded. "I just don't want him getting into trouble because of a moment of foolishness."

"What about your father?" she suddenly asked. "I've never heard you mention him."

"Frankly, I don't know where he went."

When it came to the Rosenberg Family, this was practically public knowledge, so Duke didn't shy away from the topic. "After he and my mom divorced, he left North America. He might be living it up in Northern Europe, or maybe he's continuing his life of debauchery somewhere in the Middle East."

The car soon arrived at the Trump Building. Led by Ivanka, Duke headed straight for the top floor. This was a luxurious penthouse apartment, as well as a heavyweight piece of real estate owned by Donald Trump in New York.

There was still some time before dinner, so after giving Duke a tour of his apartment, Donald Trump led him into a reception room. Trump was a quintessential American businessman. He didn't beat around the bush, cutting straight to the chase and bringing up the super show.

"Duke, I'm urgently requesting to participate in this event!"

After Ivanka brought in their coffee, Donald Trump spoke with extreme "sincerity." "I believe I can be of great help to this event! I heard there's going to be a television broadcast? And you haven't invited a heavyweight host?"

"That's right."

Duke accepted the coffee Ivanka handed him, gave her a nod of thanks, and replied, "Victoria's Secret's top angel, Heidi Klum, will be guest hosting."

"Haven't you noticed the glaring problem with this event?"

At this point, Donald Trump shifted his tone. "Sorry, after hearing about it, I simply had some people look into it."

"It's fine." Duke showed he didn't mind. "Warner and Victoria's Secret haven't kept it a secret anyway."

Donald Trump immediately pressed on, "All the main attractions are women—they're all Victoria's Secret models. Duke, don't you think that amidst all those beautiful flowers, you're missing a crisp green leaf to set them off?"

Duke simply looked at him without saying a word. Donald Trump definitely had more to say.

"I'm quite eloquent, I have a good image, and I'm very popular with the public." Without the slightest hint of a blush, Donald Trump continued in his self-absorbed manner, "I've also guest-starred on a few talk shows. I believe I am the most suitable host..."

Hearing this, Duke chuckled softly.

"Just think about it, Duke." As if giving a speech, Donald Trump stood up and proclaimed with a degree of grandiosity, "A flock of Victoria's Secret angels surrounding the billionaire Donald Trump as they embark on a magical Lord of the Rings journey together! Imagine how compelling that would be!"

Slowly tapping his finger against the armrest of the sofa, Duke instantly understood the man's intentions. Just like always, Donald Trump was merely using grandstanding and self-promotion as a way to advertise the various businesses under his name.

One could call him high-profile or even tacky, but Duke had to admit that it was a highly effective promotional tactic.

As Donald Trump continued to spout off endlessly, Ivanka Trump smartly slipped out of the reception room.

Listening to Donald Trump's highly persuasive sales pitch, Duke maintained complete calm. If there wasn't a substantial benefit for his own side, even if the man offered him Ivanka Trump on a silver platter, he might not necessarily...

Well, that would actually be worth considering.

Dispelling those idle thoughts, Duke looked seriously at Donald Trump. This businessman, who sometimes seemed more like a comedian, knew exactly how to leverage a situation to his advantage.

"Duke, I am very grateful for how you've taken care of Evie lately. Staying by your side provides her with excellent experience." His spiel never once paused. "But I don't mix these things with business. When it comes to our collaboration, you absolutely don't have to factor Evie into..."

Raising a hand, Duke interrupted Mr. Trump's speech. He asked a flat, straightforward question that fit his usual style, "Donald, what's in this for me and my film?"