In the morning, when Isabella arrived at the villa, Lin BaoCheng and Mouri Seiko were having breakfast together.
Qin Lan had woken earlier and already eaten with the butler Dorchy and the maids.
"You're here, Bella," Lin nodded at Isabella as she came in.
"Good morning, Boss!" Isabella greeted Lin first, then looked at Seiko: "You're here too, Seiko." Her eyes involuntarily fell on the necklace around Seiko's neck — the very one Lin had asked her to buy last month as a gift. She hadn't expected to see it worn by Seiko.
"Good morning, Isabella," Seiko smiled faintly. It seemed Isabella and Lin had no special relationship, which surprised her, but it was good news. Fewer rivals was always better.
"Bella, later I'll trouble you to take us to tour Hollywood," Lin said. He wasn't familiar with Los Angeles, so he needed someone who knew the sights. Originally, he had asked Isabella to find a guide, but since she said she knew the city's attractions well, there was no need.
Of all Los Angeles' sights, Lin was most interested in Hollywood, so he decided they would go there first.
Isabella smiled: "That's my duty, Boss."
After breakfast, they didn't leave immediately, since Seiko needed time to put on makeup.
When Lin and Seiko went upstairs, Isabella asked Qin Lan: "Secretary Qin, does the Boss have an unusual relationship with Seiko?"
"What? Manager Isabella, you don't know?" Qin was surprised. She had assumed Isabella, who had become an assistant around the same time as Seiko, knew about Seiko's relationship with their boss.
"I haven't seen Seiko often. The last time was before New Year, in Hong Kong," Isabella explained. She and Seiko hadn't known each other. If she hadn't just seen Lin's gift necklace on Seiko's neck, she wouldn't have asked.
After a pause, Qin said: "Yesterday Lin was very intimate with Assistant Mouri. But when he introduced her, he only said she was his assistant in Japan."
"That necklace on Seiko's neck was the one Lin asked me to buy last month. And last month happened to be her birthday," Isabella added. She now felt certain Lin and Seiko had a romantic relationship, though not yet formal boyfriend and girlfriend.
"This woman really knows what she's doing," Isabella thought to herself. She was sure Seiko had seduced Lin. The reason was simple: Isabella was confident in her own beauty — she was also a great beauty. Yet in the months Lin had been in Los Angeles, he had never harassed her, nor taken things further. So it had to be Seiko who initiated.
Though she looked down on Seiko inwardly, Isabella had no choice. She was only Lin's subordinate, not his friend. She couldn't show her true attitude, or she might suffer for it.
This wasn't like last year. Now Isabella knew Lin's wealth, and she understood that staying here was her chance. Her career could grow much further. If she left, the positions she could get elsewhere wouldn't be high, and workplace sexism would make advancement even harder.
Isabella was happy working for Lin. She oversaw his American ventures and managed New Century Software. Though the company was small and newly founded, Lin valued it highly, personally developing software. That alone showed its importance to him.
When Lin and Seiko came downstairs, Isabella saw Seiko intimately holding Lin's arm. That confirmed everything.
"Let's go, Bella, Qin Lan," Lin called. With Isabella as guide, he didn't mind bringing his secretary along too.
The group headed to Hollywood.
Hollywood had many attractions, the most famous being the Kodak Theatre, Grauman's Chinese Theatre, Universal Studios, the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and Sunset Boulevard.
They first went to Universal Studios, where they could see behind‑the‑scenes movie production, special filming techniques, revisit classic film clips, and tour sets like Western towns, London, Berlin, and ancient Rome.
But most of these so‑called classics were unfamiliar to Lin — after all, it was still 1978. Films like E.T., The Terminator, and Jurassic Park hadn't even been made yet, so of course they weren't there.
Isabella, being American, was very familiar with the exhibits and enthusiastically explained them.
Just at Universal Studios, they spent over an hour. Then they went to Grauman's Chinese Theatre. Despite its name, it was a blend of East and West. To Lin's eyes, the architecture looked odd and unattractive — not to his taste.
Next was the Hollywood Walk of Fame, a sidewalk embedded with star‑shaped plaques bearing the names of celebrities, commemorating their contributions to the entertainment industry.
At its founding, over a thousand stars were embedded. By now, they were increasing at about two per month, so fewer than two thousand had been placed.
The first Chinese star on the Walk was Anna May Wong, a Chinese‑American actress. She wasn't fully Chinese, but so far she was the only one.
As for Bruce Lee, though famous in America, his star had not yet been placed on the Walk.
After leaving the Walk of Fame, Lin and the others visited more attractions.
During this Hollywood tour, what Lin thought about most was whether he could one day control one of Hollywood's "Big Eight" film companies. At present, Hollywood still had eight majors, since United Artists had not yet been acquired by MGM and still held its title.
Lin was confident that in a few years he would have the money to buy one of them. The problem was that film companies had media attributes, especially at the level of the Big Eight. He wasn't sure if, as a foreigner, he could buy one.
He would never change nationality like Rupert Murdoch. So even with money, Lin wasn't certain he could control one of the Big Eight. Political factors made it uncertain — the greatest obstacle.