The resurgent box office of X Men 2 once again proved that the era of superhero movies might really be coming, and all the major companies holding superhero film rights began to stir restlessly.
Sony Columbia Pictures had already launched Spider-Man 2; the popular web-slinger would meet audiences in next year's summer season.
However, on June 20, Ang Lee's Hulk did exactly what Gilbert expected: after opening with $62.3 million in its first weekend, it plunged the second weekend and crashed at the box office.
The film would be lucky to clear $100 million in North America; the overseas market was extremely weak and only barely crossed $100 million.
It was just that, compared with the film's huge investment, that box office seemed insufficient.
And the originally hoped-for merchandise didn't sell well either; compared with the dashing Spider-Man and the X-Men, the big, burly Hulk was clearly unpopular.
Audience word of mouth was even worse; it seemed Ang Lee was still better suited to making art films.
In addition, Bruce Almighty, starring Jim Carrey and Jennifer Connelly, also performed well; this comedy had already taken in $172 million in North America and $392 million worldwide.
American comedies tend to struggle once they leave North America, so Jim Carrey's films usually do only average overseas.
Relative to that, Bruce Almighty's box office was quite decent; at the very least, overseas audiences found the beautiful Jennifer Connelly quite a sight.
After finishing his vacation in Japan, Gilbert finally returned to Los Angeles on the first weekend of July.
No sooner had he arrived than his assistant Anna delivered a large stack of work waiting for Gilbert to handle.
At the same time Anna told him, "Donald's daughter came to apply for a job…"
"Oh?" Gilbert was quite surprised; he had only tossed the idea out casually and hadn't expected Ivanka to actually come.
"Where is she? Let me see her," Gilbert said.
"I'll bring her over…" Anna nodded, then brought in a somewhat nervous Ivanka.
Seeing Gilbert again, the billionaire's daughter still felt a bit flustered; after all, it was her first time looking for a job on her own, and she'd applied for something as basic as an assistant.
After Anna served tea to both of them, she stepped out, leaving the space to the two.
Gilbert sipped his tea and sized up the heiress before him.
Fairly speaking, Ivanka had a rather strong, broad-framed, hard-lined beauty—somewhat like Charlize Theron—not the kind of beauty traditionally recognized in the East.
However, Ivanka's height and figure nicely offset the hardness of her features; she was a natural clothes hanger—anything she wore looked great.
No wonder she could model; those conditions were indeed excellent.
But Gilbert bringing her in as an assistant wasn't because he coveted her looks; it was mainly because of her old man—that legendary goofball of a figure.
After looking her over, Gilbert saw Ivanka was a bit tense, so he smiled and said, "Don't be nervous. Relax, have some tea."
Ivanka nervously lifted the cup and took a sip; she nearly spat it out.
Ivanka felt this was far worse than coffee.
Gilbert was unfazed; this tea had been a gift from Old Tian. He'd heard it used a special process called roasted tea, and when brewed it was very bitter.
Never mind Ivanka—Gilbert himself hadn't quite adapted to it the first time he drank it.
"Should I switch you to coffee?" Gilbert asked.
"No, no need—no need to switch." Ivanka insisted on drinking this.
From that alone it was clear Ivanka wasn't like other rich kids; at the very least she didn't moan and groan, nor was she that pampered.
After a round of tea-time small talk, Gilbert finally said, "I know you're a top student from the Wharton School; having you be my assistant is something of a waste of talent.
But rest assured, by my side you'll have a chance to spread your wings.
For now, team up with Anna and get in touch with a South African named Musk. I'm very interested in his Tesla company, and he's willing to accept my investment.
Handle this task first—consider it practice to familiarize yourself with the business!"
Ivanka blinked. "That's it?"
"Did you want something more?" Gilbert countered.
"Uh," Ivanka shook her head. "No, no—that's plenty."
She'd thought she would have to undergo some kind of trial, but unexpectedly she'd been hired this simply. So easy!
It really was easy; Gilbert did trust Ivanka's ability—after all, she'd gotten into Wharton on her own merits.
When Donald bragged among New York's wealthy, his daughter was his biggest bragging point.
As a capable New York socialite, Ivanka was clearly not the same as Paris Hilton's crowd—beauty and ability combined; a small assistant job wouldn't stump her.
But Gilbert wasn't really focused on her ability—again, Donald, though conceited and loudmouthed, was someone Gilbert felt was worth betting on.
And so, news that Ivanka, daughter of a New York real-estate tycoon, had become the assistant to Hollywood's star director Gilbert spread quickly.
Donald even shot his mouth off on his talk show: "My daughter Ivanka is now Gilbert's assistant, in charge of his business affairs."
Someone asked him, "Donald, could it be that Ivanka has taken a liking to Gilbert?"
Everyone knew Donald's big mouth, and sure enough he startled with his words: "I know Gilbert is a playboy; if Ivanka really likes him, I won't object.
Truly a big mouth without a filter. Ivanka had just started work in Los Angeles when she saw the program and was instantly infuriated by her dad.
She rushed to apologize to Gilbert, and after he said he wouldn't hold it against her, Ivanka flew back to New York to confront Donald.
Donald was stubborn as a mule. "What I said makes perfect sense! What pretty girl goes to work at Gilbert's side and can resist?
Ivanka grew even angrier. "That's not it at all. I went to work for Director Gilbert because I want to train myself.
He chose me because he values my ability, not because I'm pretty.
I have no idea whether I'm pretty or not—I only know I can live very well without relying on you."
After rattling off that string of words, Ivanka stormed off in a huff.
"Hey, don't walk away so fast!" Donald had just wanted to say that Director Gilbert only took her in because of his own face, which was why he had suggested she rely on her beauty.
But Ivanka was already far gone, and Donald didn't even get the chance to say it.
Luckily, he didn't, or else Ivanka might have quit outright on the spot.
Back in Los Angeles, Ivanka threw herself into work again, but she always felt as if there were people pointing fingers behind her back.
Her office colleagues looked at her with rather strange expressions.
Gilbert's assistant wasn't just Anna. Anna's actual position was Operations Director of Melon Studio, as well as Executive Director of the Fruit Company.
Melon Studio also had another Administrative Director named Antoine, who handled the studio's daily operations. As for the Fruit Company's daily management, that was under David, who was also Gilbert's investment manager.
Behind Anna was a full team of twelve assistants who helped Gilbert deal with issues on all fronts. With Ivanka added, she became the thirteenth.
Looking at this rich girl who had suddenly entered the team, of course the other assistants worried about their own positions.
Although Anna had never explicitly said that the assistant team must remain at twelve, for so many years, every time a new assistant came in, one of the old ones would leave.
Some of the old ones were promoted, such as being sent off to Amazon, or Apple, or NVIDIA as representatives.
But others simply left the core decision-making circle, permanently excluded from the Fruit Group.
This Ivanka very likely had come to squeeze them out, which was why on certain tasks, these assistants were not at all cooperative—some even refused to teach Ivanka how things were done.
Anna, though aware Ivanka was someone the boss valued, was herself far too busy to constantly look after her. Ivanka had to rely on herself.
And so, on this day, Ivanka once again suffered exclusion from her colleagues, and when she went to report to Gilbert, she quietly wiped away tears.
After drying her tears, Ivanka knocked on Gilbert's office door. Only after hearing permission to enter did she walk in.
The moment she stepped inside, she saw the famous Hollywood actress Naomi Watts, holding a child in her arms, teasing him as he giggled.
Recalling her father's words, Ivanka suddenly felt a little upset.
Gilbert already had a son—how could it possibly be that he had chosen her for her beauty? It must definitely be because of her ability.
At that thought, Ivanka's confidence surged back. She reported the work matters to Gilbert, and for every question he asked, she was fully prepared.
She even presented her own proposed solutions for Gilbert to consider, demonstrating the abilities of a true Wharton School talent to the fullest.
Gilbert was very pleased. After they finished dealing with business, he smiled and said to Ivanka: "Just a few days ago Donald even called me, asking me to take care of you, worried you might not adapt.
Now it seems there's no need at all!"
Ivanka was delighted to hear this: "Of course there's no need. Work is work. I can handle it."
"Very good," Gilbert nodded with satisfaction. "With this kind of awareness, you're already much stronger than most rich kids.
Keep it up…"
Encouraged, Ivanka walked out with her confidence fully restored and her spirit brimming with drive.
Naomi Watts, looking at the closed door, found the girl rather interesting: "This girl's not bad at all. I can see she handles work in an orderly way, very practical."
"Mm." Gilbert agreed. "Ivanka does indeed have the ability. She just lacks training, and needs more experience."
"Isn't that exactly what she's getting here with you? You'd better make sure to 'train' her well."
On the word "train," Naomi Watts put extra emphasis.
Gilbert pretended not to hear: "What would I be training her for? That's Anna's job—she's the one who mentors assistants."
Naomi Watts rolled her eyes at Gilbert, the look saying as clearly as words: Do you really expect me to believe that?
Gilbert just shrugged, picked up his son, and took Naomi Watts by the hand: "Come on, work's done for today. Let's go shopping…"
"Okay, hehe!" Naomi Watts' face lit up with a radiant smile, and holding Gilbert's hand, she happily went off with him to shop.
.....
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