America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz

Entering December, Martin returned to North America and arrived in Tennessee, the sacred land of country music, Nashville.

A commercial van was already waiting at the airport, and as soon as Martin and Bruce came out, it picked them up and headed straight for Forest Hill.

At the beginning of this year, Taylor Swift purchased a Greek Revival-style mansion located in Forest Hill, covering nearly 25,000 square meters.

The place was a bit off the beaten path, and it took almost an hour to drive into the estate.

The car stopped in front of the mansion's main entrance, Martin got out, and the middle-aged woman waiting at the door opened it and said, "Mr. Davis, please come inside, Miss Swift is waiting for you."

Martin nodded at her and went straight into the mansion.

Accompanied by the creak of the door closing, the curtains of the mansion automatically fell, and in the darkness, several beams of light lit up the second-floor landing.

Martin stopped in his tracks, hands in pockets, looking up.

Dressed in a high-slit performance outfit, Taylor Swift stood in the center with hands on hips, her tiptoes revealing a long leg.

A few meters away, standing like a model and towering over Taylor, was Carly Kloss.
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On the other side, Blake Lively in a red dress, stood with a relaxed posture, highlighting an almost perfect S-curve.

Compared to professional model Carly Kloss, her figure was even more outstanding.

All three of them blew a kiss to Martin at the same time and walked down the stairs.

Taylor spoke as she walked down, "Today, Blake Lively wants to join the squad, and as the only examiner, Martin Davis, would you like to test her?"

Martin said, "That's my purpose for coming here."

Taylor continued, "Blake, if you want to sing, you must let your throat be clear."

In perfect sync with her, Carly added, "And keep your vocal cords moist."

Blake Lively descended the stairs, hands cradling her belly, her lively eyes fixated on Martin, "I have a belly full of talent, but it's blocked in my chest, unable to showcase my vocals. Please open the pathway for me, so my singing can be loud and clear."

Martin stood still, waiting for them to come over.

These three people, every movement, every word, was all an act.

Taylor and Carly together pushed a wooden table and placed it in front of Martin.

Blake sat on it, slid forward with her back flat, and her head bumped onto Martin's leg.

It wasn't long before singing filled the air.

"He's showing you incredible things, magic, madness, heaven, sin, I can't wait to see you lying down!" Taylor's voice was especially loud, and the lyrics were quite special: "Oh my God, look at that face, it swells up on one side, this wonderful game, do you want to play..."

Martin, like a conductor, controlled the rhythm of the performance.

Initially, Taylor was singing while Blake played the accompaniment. After a while, the accompanist changed to Carly Kloss.

Eventually, the solo turned into a trio.

The concert went from the afternoon until the evening fell.

Blake Lively officially joined Taylor Swift's squad.

At dinner time, the four sat in the dining room, enjoying a Tennessee-style country dinner.

Martin asked Taylor, "Was the song you sang this afternoon the new one you wrote last time? Is it finished?"

Taylor laughed like a golden fox, "I plan to use it as the lead single for the new album to aim for the Billboard's number one hit."

Carly commented, "This new Martin song is pretty good."

Although Blake felt a bit jealous as the exclusive meal had turned into a group one, she easily pressed down the unhappiness since spending another pleasing night with her idol, and said, "The lyrics might give people some naughty thoughts."

"That's exactly the effect you're going for, isn't it?" Martin, who knew her well, saw through her intentions, "Getting the media and the audience around the world to guess and drive up the song's popularity."

Taylor said, "You really know me best."

Carly chimed in, "Didn't you say Martin is your best teacher?"

Blake looked at Martin, "I remember you have another student."

"Who?" Taylor's fur bristled, "Who wants to steal my teacher from me."

Blake mentioned, "An actress, I forget what her name was."

Martin casually said, "Silsa Ronan, an actress from Ireland, very talented in acting, and she can sing too."

Because Martin had taught her so much and helped her undergo a transformation, Taylor inexplicably felt a sense of crisis, as if knowledge that should have belonged to her was taken by someone else.

Understanding her best friend, Carly leaned in and whispered, "Do you want me to introduce a few people to join the squad? Call tonight, and they can come over tomorrow! I've met some new models in New York, one named Kendall Jenner, one named Gigi Hadid, and another named Bella Hadid, but they're a bit young, not meeting your standard of being over eighteen."

Taylor corrected, "Over eighteen is not my standard, it's Martin's standard."

Carly remarked, "He really has principles."

Martin remembered something important and said, "Taylor, I have a movie project, a musical with lots of songs."

Taylor, excited, asked, "Are you looking for me to be the lead actress?"

"Your acting isn't good enough," Martin rejected directly, "Currently, the songs for the film are mainly being composed by a male musician. He's not very good at the ones the female lead is supposed to sing."

Blake eagerly asked, "What kind of role is the female lead?"

Martin didn't give her any false hope, "You're not suitable, you lack that authentic experience of starting from rock bottom."

Blake Lively was born into a great family, landing a role as a film's leading actress right from the start.

Martin briefly described the character, "Basically, she's a low-level actress who wrote a script, starred in the project, and then became a big star. After her rise to fame, she split up with her boyfriend from before she was famous and married a producer. Once she became someone important, she encountered her ex-boyfriend and felt nostalgic. We need a very theme-specific song here."

"A song a female star writes for her ex-boyfriend? That's my specialty," said Taylor, stating a fact, "Next time I go to Los Angeles, show me the script."

Martin nodded, "No problem."

Blake's foot sneaked under the table, aiming for an attack on Martin's vulnerable spot but instead met a silk-stockinged foot.

Taylor looked up abruptly and made eye contact with Blake.

Sparks flew between their eyes.

With his left hand, Martin passed the fork to Taylor and with his right, the knife to Blake. He leaned back in his chair and said, "Okay, let the duel to the death begin."

The impudent Martin left Taylor and Blake with their noses out of joint.

A phone ringtone suddenly went off. Taylor put down her fork, found her phone, and stepped aside to answer. She soon returned.

"My target has finally arrived," she announced.

Martin was surprised, "Your target isn't me?"

With peachy eyes, Taylor teased, "It's you, but there's another one."

Some fifteen minutes later, a car stopped in front of the villa, and the front door opened from the outside once again.

The big bad woman with brownish-black hair, dressed in a jacket printed with fruit patterns, strode into the villa.

Martin found her somewhat familiar.

Taylor introduced her, "This is Katy Perry, another singer."

She then introduced Martin, "Katy, this is Martin, my friend and mentor."

Katy Perry stepped forward to shake hands with Martin, "There's a rumor in the circle that Taylor has a mastermind behind her, so it's true."

Of course, Martin sided with Taylor, "Taylor is a very intelligent girl."

Taylor grabbed Martin's arm, "We're going to talk with Katy in the study." She waved at Carly and Blake, "You guys play by yourselves."

The three of them walked through the corridor into a study.

Katy found a seat and spoke directly to Taylor, "I've discussed it with my management team and we agree with the strategy you proposed."

Taylor sat next to Martin, "Your manager isn't stupid, just a bit stubborn. It benefits both of us."

Katy pouted, "No wonder you rose to fame so quickly, coming up with this kind of publicity stunt."

"It wasn't my idea," Taylor leaned her head on Martin's arm, "These are all Martin's suggestions to me."

Martin understood and asked, "So you and Katy are going to be sworn enemies?"

Taylor displayed an assertiveness reminiscent of Martin, "Exactly. It's not just the award season in Hollywood, but also in the music industry. We plan to pick a good time to start our feud."

Katy quickly said, "I want to fire the first shot!"

This perfectly suited Taylor's persona of the innocent victim, "No problem, the first shot is yours to take!"

Martin asked, "You two are going straight to war?"

Seeing the unusual relationship between Taylor and Martin, Katy teased, "Why don't we two get it on right here and you can cheer us on from the sidelines, Martin? I wouldn't mind."

Taylor's expression darkened; she hadn't considered bringing Katy Perry into her circle of close friends.

Martin ignored the crazy talk of the two women, saying, "Becoming enemies so suddenly is too abrupt."

He looked at Taylor, "It's better if you two first present yourselves as besties to the public, create a deep sisterly bond in front of the media, and then break up openly. Best friends turning into foes will draw more attention."

After thinking for a moment, Katy nodded, "Martin makes sense."

From Martin's words, Taylor conceived a fitting narrative for their fallout, "The way we turn against each other should ideally stem from music."

Martin looked admiringly at Taylor, "You can imply things about each other in your songs. You taunt me, I ridicule you back. The media will absolutely eat it up."

Katy stared intently at Martin, "I just want to..."

Taylor hugged one of Martin's arms as a warning to Katy, "You and I are just pretend friends, not real ones."

Martin stood up ready to leave, "If there's nothing else, I'll go find Carly and Blake."

Pushing Martin toward the door, Taylor said, "You go ahead."

After Martin left the study, he headed to the living room.

The two women, seizing the absence of Taylor, dragged Martin upstairs, insisting on singing for him.

Martin, always happy to lend an ear, personally helped them adjust their voices.

Taylor and Katy Perry discussed the matter for nearly an hour more.

The latter then left.

Taylor also found a quiet room and made calls to her agent and parents.

This affair involved more than just the two of them; it also concerned both of their teams.

The sworn enemy saga of Taylor Swift and Katy Perry was about to begin.