Chapter 211: Audition Surprises

Meanwhile, Wayne was diligently conducting the interviews. After all, many of these girls had flown in from all over the world, specifically for him.

While he wasn't going to compromise his standards, he also wanted to respect their efforts.

"Hello, interviewers. I'm Fernanda Tavares from Brazil, and I'm 21 years old."

Soon, someone passed the interview. The familiar name and face belonged to Fernanda Tavares, the Brazilian supermodel who was originally supposed to sign with Victoria's Secret this year.

Of course, Fernanda Tavares was still a newcomer with only two years of experience at this point. She rose to fame after signing with Victoria's Secret.

However, now, she had clearly chosen to forgo Victoria's Secret and prioritize this audition.

And this wasn't an isolated case. Soon, Wayne spotted another familiar face among the interviewees: French supermodel Morgane Dubled, who was supposed to sign with Elite Model Management this year.

In addition, Brazilian supermodel Isabeli Fontana and Russian supermodel Natasha Poly, who were supposed to debut years later, also appeared in this audition.

Unfortunately, although these women were all excellent, they were still slightly inferior compared to Adriana Lima and Alessandra Ambrosio.

The only one who could rival them was Miranda Kerr, who had been modeling in Australia for a few years and was originally supposed to come to America a few years later.

Compared to the other supermodels, 18-year-old Miranda Kerr had a completely different style, appearing youthful and vibrant.

Therefore, although these former supermodels all successfully passed the interview, only Miranda Kerr received an additional option.

Miranda Kerr was naturally ecstatic to accept this option. After all, wasn't this extra option the reason she came to the audition?

Of course, there were more than just models among the 300+ interviewees.

In fact, models only made up about a third of the interviewees. The rest were newcomers and aspiring actresses hoping to catch Wayne's eye and break into Hollywood.

For example, Estella Warren, who used to be a model and later found her way into Hollywood. Although she had appeared in more than a dozen films, she remained an unknown actress.

At this time, she had just entered Hollywood and only played a minor role in a small-budget production, which didn't make any waves after its release.

So she wanted to use this audition to get noticed by Wayne.

There was also Swedish supermodel Mini Anden, who had been working in the modeling industry for several years and was currently looking to switch to Hollywood, but originally didn't get her break until 2004.

Compared to the previous supermodels, these women's faces were not necessarily more beautiful, but they were definitely more distinctive.

Among them, Wayne was most optimistic about two: Miriam Leone, who later won the title of "Miss Italy" in a beauty pageant, and Alexandra Daddario, who conquered countless fans with her amazing figure.

Honestly, if he hadn't known from his past life memories that this girl really loved acting, and was willing to go to great lengths for it, even appearing in large-scale scenes and playing cards with black people, and eventually marrying a producer 18 years her senior, he would have thought she was sent to sabotage him.

Both her parents were lawyers, and her father was a federal prosecutor in New York City. In 2010, he would be appointed as the head of the New York City Police Department's counterterrorism unit.

Although not a political powerhouse, they were not an ordinary family either.

Children from such families often become lawyers or pursue other respectable professions.

However, both Alexandra Daddario and her brother became actors. Neither of them followed in their father's footsteps. He wondered if their parents would be angered to the point of spitting blood.

But since she had already presented herself, Wayne couldn't bear to miss the opportunity.

After all, this was Daddario!

However, unlike Miranda Kerr and Miriam Leone, who chose to drop out of school, Alexandra Daddario, although delighted to accept the extra option of living in the "supermodel dormitory," still had to go back and transfer schools because she was still studying.

In fact, even if she hadn't passed the audition, she would have transferred to another specialized school in New York to facilitate her acting career while attending school.

It could only be said that her parents were truly open-minded.

It was worth mentioning that, in addition to these supermodels and actresses, he also saw Jennifer Hawkins, the Australian beauty who was supposed to win the Miss Universe crown in 2004, and Czech beauty Tatana Kucharova, who was supposed to win the Miss World title in 2006.

However, these two Miss World and Miss Universe contestants were average in quality, not as good as supermodels like Isabeli Fontana and Morgane Dubled. So although they passed the interview, they did not receive the extra option.

In the end, 14 newcomers successfully passed the audition.

However, because some of the models were eliminated in the previous screening, and an elimination mechanism was introduced, even with these additions, there were only about forty models under Wayne's banner.

"The business is finally done. Miss Ivanka, if you're not in a hurry to go back to New York, would you like to have lunch together?"

"Sure!"

Ivanka, who was increasingly interested in Wayne, readily accepted his invitation.

Amanda and Lydia had left to continue their tutoring when the interview was only a third of the way through.

He didn't know if it was Anne Hearst's lecture that had worked, or if women were more susceptible to vulnerability and comparison, or if they were stimulated by seeing Ivanka, who was not much older than most of them, already representing her father in negotiating such a big business deal with their rival.

In any case, Amanda and Lydia had become increasingly motivated recently.

In addition, Hannah had to take Miranda Kerr and Miriam Leone to the mansion at 12 Roxbury Street.

So now, apart from Wayne's bodyguards, it was just him and Ivanka.

After a satisfying lunch at an upscale restaurant, Ivanka and Wayne, finding their conversation quite engaging, naturally transitioned to Wayne's villa for coffee.

While Ivanka did harbor the intention of befriending Wayne, she was more attracted to his tall and handsome physique. She didn't expect to change his mind over a cup of coffee. After all, in the business world, Wayne, as the helm of billions in assets, wouldn't easily alter his decisions.

So, she wholeheartedly focused on enjoying the coffee, and finally understood why Wayne had so many women, yet maintained such harmony among them. It wasn't just his power, wealth, and influence; more importantly, it was his undeniable prowess. Emotionally, it was still unknown territory for her, but besides emotions, having Wayne as a boyfriend could fulfill any girl's ultimate dream.

However, what surprised her even more was what came next.

"It's not impossible for me to endorse and sponsor Miss Universe, but the cooperation method needs to change."

"Oh? How should it change?"

Perhaps it was the after-effects of the coffee, she felt exhausted, and even her brain seemed to slow down. At this moment, Ivanka appeared not only languid but also somewhat dazed. Normally, she would have quickly grasped the situation.

"50 million dollars, plus my endorsement, and I want 85% of Miss Universe's shares," Wayne stated with a smile, leaving Ivanka stunned for a good seven or eight seconds.

Wasn't this better than simply having coffee with Ivanka and making her his woman?

"That's impossible!" Ivanka instinctively wanted to refuse.

But then she recalled the interview and Wayne's relationship with Anne Hearst. Anne had given both her only daughter and her most valued niece to Wayne, showing how much she valued and supported him.

With Wayne's current fame and influence, coupled with the backing of the Hearst Group, which dominated half of the global fashion industry, he could easily create a beauty pageant brand surpassing Miss Universe, Miss World, and Victoria's Secret, instantly siphoning away most of the industry's attention and traffic.

Moreover, as a Hollywood mogul, Wayne could provide film and television resources to the girls who rose to fame through the pageants, leading them into the more lucrative and glamorous entertainment industry. The future development opportunities after gaining fame were far beyond what Miss Universe or Miss World could offer.

Thus, Wayne's beauty pageant brand would undoubtedly crush Miss Universe and Miss World, becoming a dominant force in the industry. By then, Miss Universe might even struggle to survive.

After all, the primary goal of organizing the Miss Universe pageant, besides fulfilling certain desires, was to make money. If it required significant effort and investment yet yielded no profit and failed to attract high-quality contestants, it would naturally cease to exist.

Realizing this consequence, Ivanka had to retract her initial rejection and furrowed her brows in contemplation.

With Wayne's current fame, endorsing any luxury brand would cost no less than 40 million dollars per year. Considering this, his offer of leaving them 15% of the shares was already quite generous.

However...

"I can't make this decision alone. I need to go back and discuss it with my father."

"No problem, but I believe the clever Miss Ivanka will help persuade your father, right?" Wayne said with a smile, then, without giving her a chance to speak, he resumed playing cards with her.

By the time Ivanka left on the plane the next day, both her analysis of the pros and cons and her personal inclinations had swayed towards Wayne's side. The only thing that slightly bothered her was that Wayne had gone to the film set early in the morning for shooting and didn't see her off at the airport.

But this wouldn't affect her efficiency. Perhaps due to her own father's philandering and unreliability, constantly driving himself to bankruptcy, Ivanka's career ambition and abilities were far stronger than those of Amanda, another heiress.

The poor man had no idea that his attempt to gain an advantage would backfire. He sent his daughter to negotiate with Wayne, but she ended up being won over by him. Wayne even wanted to acquire his precious Miss Universe.

However, after Ivanka objectively described her observations and analyzed the pros and cons with a straight face, he had to admit that once Wayne entered the beauty pageant industry, Miss Universe and Miss World would be on the verge of closing down.

As a newly rising Hollywood giant and national star, becoming "Miss Wayne" was far more valuable than any Miss Universe or Miss World title. Moreover, Wayne's offer was not bad.

His own valuation of the Miss Universe brand was even lower than Wayne's, around 60 million. Wayne offered 50 million in cash and his personal endorsement in exchange for 85% of the shares, which he considered quite generous.

If it were him, he would definitely try to acquire all the shares and offer a maximum of 30 million.

"Does he have any other requests? Like, what position will I hold?" he asked after a moment of thought.

His words clearly indicated that he had agreed to Wayne's acquisition.

"You'll still be the chairman—"

He was taken aback. Acquiring 85% of the shares and still letting him be the chairman? Were there such good things in the world? Did Wayne highly recognize his abilities?

Thinking of this, a smug look appeared on his face.

However, Ivanka's next sentence stunned him.

"—But you'll only be responsible for external public relations. The specific operation of the pageant will be handled by me, the CEO."

"What?!"

He slammed the sofa and stood up in excitement.

His expression was exactly the same as when he tweeted about China.

Opposite him, Ivanka remained calm and composed, maintaining a smile as she looked at him.

"I think I've made it very clear. Do you need me to repeat it?"

"..."

Flushed and speechless, he could only manage to utter, "Did you play cards with him?"

"Yes," Ivanka admitted frankly, even with a hint of reminiscence on her face.

It had to be said that this could only happen in America. If it were in China, such a situation would never occur.

"He's really amazing! In every aspect!" Ivanka couldn't help but praise Wayne again, making him somewhat envious.

After all, Ivanka had never praised him, her own father, like that.

"So, what's your plan? Be his woman?"

(End of chapter)