Chapter 88: Leonardo

"My audition was successful, thank you."

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

In the car, Link received a text message from Gal Gadot. Not long ago in Los Angeles, he helped Gadot choose a script and selected a supporting role in the action movie "The A-Team." He hadn't seen the movie, but it was said that the male lead had already been decided, Liam Neeson, the protagonist of "Schindler's List."

This guy's acting is good, so the movie he starred in should be good too.

Gadot went to audition and successfully passed the first and second rounds.

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

Link called Franco and asked if there was anything he could do.

Franco checked and found that this movie was a new project from 20th Century Fox. The parent company behind Fox was News Corporation, whose chairman was Murdoch. The Duva family and the Murdoch family were both emerging wealthy families in New York and had some friendship.

Franco said it was possible, then made two phone calls and helped Gadot get the role.

"Congratulations, I'm in training recently and don't have time to go to Los Angeles for the time being."

Link replied after calculating the time.

"Then can I come to New York to find you after filming?"

"Yes!"

Link replied to a few messages, put away his phone, and heard Simon next to him say, "Link, do you still want to act in movies? The company has received more than ten scripts recently, all looking for you to act. Do you want to take a look?"

"Are there any scripts from famous directors, or big productions over 50 million?"

"Not yet, they are all small-budget commercial films, and there are two more explicit films."

Simon laughed while driving.

"Haha, how much are they paying me?"

If the pay was high, he wouldn't mind taking on a few roles to cash out some funds and buy more stocks.

"Five thousand for small roles, thirty thousand for larger roles, about the level of third or fourth-tier actors."

"That's too little. Wait until those film companies are willing to give me over 1 million in pay, then give me the scripts."

Link shook his head.

Although filming was interesting, it was also quite time-consuming, often requiring him to be on set from morning till night, which could easily delay training.

In addition, many movie roles had requirements for the actor's physique, requiring them to gain or lose weight.

And as a boxer, he had even higher requirements for weight. In this situation, it was difficult to find suitable roles. So for now, he would still focus on boxing, first win a gold belt, and then take on a role or two when he had free time.

---

Driving to the Spanish restaurant on 41st Street in Queens, Link met with Morales and New York native Andrzej Fonfara as planned. They had a meal at the restaurant and talked about things after the qualifying matches. Link's experiences after the competition were quite exciting and public, so there was no need to elaborate.

Morales was his sparring partner, and everyone knew about it.

Andrzej continued to participate in amateur competitions, preparing for the World Boxing Championships. Andre Berto and Jones Flores were also preparing to continue participating in amateur competitions.

Andrzej said that after the news of Link turning professional spread, all the super middleweight and light heavyweight boxers breathed a sigh of relief. Without him as the number one, everyone could happily compete for the championship again.

Link laughed heartily and said he would be waiting for them in the professional boxing world. Andrzej's smile instantly disappeared.

At around six in the afternoon, Link returned to his Yorkville apartment. Taylor had already left for the recording studio at The Metropolitan. There were many scattered sheets of paper on the sofa with lyrics and a few lines of messy music. A guitar leaned against the table, brought in at some unknown time.

Link plucked the strings a few times and heard the doorbell ring. He looked through the monitor and saw a chubby face with bright eyes blinking at the monitor.

"Link, open the door, it's us, we're here to see you."

It was Selena Gomez and Catherine.

After coming to New York, Catherine and Selena had invited him to their home as a guest, but he declined due to his busy training schedule. However, he left his address and invited them to visit him.

"Good afternoon, Catherine! Selena!"

Link opened the door and greeted the two. Selena had a ponytail, wearing a blue sweater and jeans, holding a box of pastries in her hand. She was still lively and pretty, with a petite figure, looking like a middle school student.

Ms. Catherine was still dressed as a professional woman, with a capable temperament and a slight resemblance to Link in appearance.

However, when she was with Selena, they looked more like mother and daughter.

"Link, why did it take so long to open the door? Is there a girl inside? If it's not convenient, we can come another day."

Selena looked up at him, blinking playfully.

"No, I just came back from training and I'm home alone."

Link smiled and invited them in.

"Link, is training tiring?"

Catherine asked, looking around the furnishings in the room.

"It's okay, I'm used to it, I don't find it too tiring."

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

"Yes, for now, I live alone."

"Don't you have a girlfriend? If not, I can introduce you to one. You know, I'm at Disney's agency, and there are many pretty girls like me there. I guarantee they are all beautiful, how about it?"

Selena followed him as he went to get drinks.

"No need, I have a girlfriend, and more than one."

Link chuckled.

"Ah?"

Selena opened her mouth, stunned, and looked back at Catherine on the sofa, blinking to indicate that Link was actually two-timing, no, maybe even more. How could he be like this?

Catherine shook her head and smiled, "This is Link's private matter, don't interfere."

Selena snorted and jumped onto the sofa, looking at him with the eyes of someone judging a player. "I originally wanted to introduce my best friend to you, but you're a playboy. Hmph, so disappointing."

Link smiled indifferently. If he had answered 'no' to the previous question, he would definitely be dragged on dates by Selena in the future. If he said 'yes', Selena would definitely ask endlessly. By directly admitting he was a player, there would be no trouble at all.

He poured a cup of black tea for Catherine and talked about his recent experiences in New York, training, and preparing for the competition. It was simple and nothing new.

Selena, on the other hand, talked a lot about singing, filming, and promoting her new movie. The Disney movie "Another Cinderella Story" starring her was released on Friday, a youth musical. She invited Link to attend the premiere in New York and asked if he had time.

Link agreed.

"Link, after you earn money, you need to learn how to manage your finances. You can go to Wall Street and find an asset management company, find a professional manager to help you manage it. But if you want to invest, you must be cautious, the economic situation this year is not good."

As it was getting dark and they were about to leave, Catherine hesitated and said.

"I understand."

Link understood that the other party said this out of goodwill and didn't mind. He walked them downstairs.

"Link, Friday at 2 pm, don't forget."

Selena shouted, leaning out of the car window.

"I won't forget. By the way, you just said you wanted to introduce me to a girlfriend, don't forget that either."

Link joked.

Selena rolled her eyes and mouthed the word 'player'.

Link smiled softly and waved at the car, only to realize that the light rain that had been falling for half a day had stopped at some point. The sky was still hazy, and there was no sunset in the western sky, indicating that tomorrow would not be a sunny day.

He didn't know when he would see the sun again, and Link started to miss the beaches of Miami.

He turned around to go upstairs when a handsome young man, arm in arm with a tall woman, walked over, laughing and talking. They stopped together at the elevator.

The man was in his thirties, very handsome, with slicked-back hair and a Ralph Lauren gray casual jacket, looking very stylish.

The woman had a great figure, over 5'9", with curves in all the right places. She walked with her legs tense, like a model on a runway.

Link glanced at the man and found him very familiar, as if he was the famous Leonardo DiCaprio. He had gained some weight recently, his face almost twice as big as during the "Titanic" era, and his figure was also losing shape. But even though he was fatter and oilier, and had a fondness for water guns, this guy was still a handsome man with good looks.

DiCaprio also glanced at him and subconsciously held the woman in his arms tighter.

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

Link greeted him proactively.

"Yes, are you a new resident?"

Leonardo asked perfunctorily.

"Moved in last week."

After a few pleasantries, the elevator arrived, and the three of them entered together. Leonardo stood in the middle, still holding the woman tightly.

The woman next to him was also sizing up Link. Seeing that he was taller and younger than Leonardo, and no less handsome, she asked, "Sir, you look familiar. I think I've seen you in an advertisement. Are you also an actor?"

Link touched his chin, a little surprised. Even the homeless on the street knew his name, so why didn't they? It seemed his fame wasn't big enough yet.

"I'm a boxer!"

"A boxer?"

Leonardo was a bit puzzled. Could a boxer also live in the Yorkville apartment?

"Do you have a championship belt?"

"Not yet, but I will soon."

Link chuckled.

The corner of Leonardo's mouth twitched, seemingly disdainful. He understood the boxing industry. Boxers without championship belts were almost all broke and not worth getting to know.

"Wow, I remember now. You're Link, the Olympic champion Link Baker, right? You were on the cover of People magazine yesterday, the representative of the American Dream. Is that you, Mr. Baker?"

The woman covered her mouth and looked at him in surprise.

"Yes, it's me!"

"Wow, Leon, we actually live in the same building as a world champion. What a coincidence."

The woman exclaimed.

Leonardo looked at him in surprise and extended his hand. "Mr. Baker, nice to meet you."

"Likewise!"

Link shook his hand.

The guy's palm was a bit damp, a sign of kidney deficiency from the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine.

The elevator reached the seventh floor, and Leonardo pulled the woman out. The woman looked back at him, swaying her perky hips even more vigorously, almost bursting out from under her thin silk dress.

Link lived on the eighth floor. When he got out of the elevator, he found a perfume-scented business card in his pocket with a phone number on it. He didn't know when the woman had slipped it in.

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

It was past eight in the evening, and Link lay in bed, unable to sleep. His mind was filled with images of swaying hips. He tried to sleep but couldn't, so he got up and went to the gym to do a thousand push-ups and five hundred sit-ups. Only when his body was exhausted did he finally fall into a peaceful sleep.

(End of Chapter)