The Boeing 767 landed at San Jose Airport in the Bay Area in just over half an hour.
Simon and Natasha Henstridge walked out of the front cabin, chatting and laughing. They were greeted by Girl A and Raul Bradley, and everyone disembarked together.
Raul Bradley discreetly observed Natasha Henstridge. The 19-year-old girl looked at the man beside her with joy, admiration, flattery, and a hint of not-so-hidden awe.
Clearly, the half-hour they spent together was very pleasant, without any sense of strangeness despite it being their first meeting.
Bradley was not surprised at all by this.
A man like Simon Westeros didn't need to do anything to attract a bunch of women. If he was a bit more gentlemanly, considerate, and humorous, women would fall for him even more effortlessly.
After leaving the airport, Simon drove to Woodside. Girl A stayed behind, sent Raul Bradley away, and took Natasha Henstridge to another property owned by Simon in the affluent area of Atherton in Palo Alto.
Despite some resentment about her boss keeping a trophy girlfriend, Alison diligently handled all matters. To avoid unnecessary trouble in the future, she explained everything clearly to the trophy girlfriend, which was actually beneficial for everyone.
After settling in briefly, Girl A took Natasha Henstridge to a high-end restaurant near Atherton and began instructing her on the various self-discipline a trophy girlfriend should have.
The female assistant disliked the maid always appearing at Simon's Woodside villa, so Girl A spent most of her weekend training Simon's new trophy girlfriend.
While accompanying his assistant, Simon also took time over the weekend to attend several company meetings.
The uproar caused by the fraud case following the launch of 58list in August recently came to an end.
After some entanglement, the six victims of the fraud case voluntarily withdrew their lawsuit.
There was no private settlement agreement between the two parties.
This was an inevitable result.
If Egret Company had conceded in this incident, once they lost the lawsuit and it set a precedent, they would inevitably be entangled in endless troubles in the future.
Even private settlements and compensations were not acceptable.
Because they would also become a reference for others.
Therefore, Egret Company acted swiftly when apprehending the fraud gang and maintained a tough stance against the collective lawsuit seeking additional compensation from the six victims.
If you want to sue, go ahead, even if it drags on to the Supreme Court, it doesn't matter.
Egret Company had fulfilled all its obligations, but additional compensation was out of the question.
Moreover, compared to the financially strong Egret Company, the six victims obviously couldn't afford the long and expensive legal fees and eventually had to give up.
On Monday morning, after sending Natasha Henstridge off, Girl A brought a signed confidentiality agreement to her boss and didn't return to Los Angeles but instead temporarily set off for New York.
There was a problem with the construction of the Westeros Tower.
Over the past weekend, a local newspaper in New York suddenly exposed that the construction team of the Westeros Tower was using a large number of illegal workers and questioned the safety of the construction site, stating that there had been at least six safety incidents since the project started two years ago. Although there were no fatalities, two workers ended up with severe lifelong disabilities.
The article also pointed the finger at New York Mayor David Dinkins, who is running for re-election, criticizing him for irresponsibly approving the Westeros Tower project in exchange for campaign funding from the Westeros system.
This year is another election year for the mayor of New York.
The incumbent mayor, David Dinkins, is again facing former New York prosecutor Rudy Giuliani.
In the election four years ago, Rudy Giuliani lost to David Dinkins, partly due to the campaign funds and media support provided by the Westeros system.
This time, Rudy Giuliani has targeted the Westeros system, the 'big money' behind David Dinkins, from the start of the election.
The Westeros system has been gaining more and more attention in recent years. As the media and the public marvel at Simon's rapid wealth accumulation, criticisms of this newly rising financial power are inevitably increasing.
David Dinkins is a very experienced politician and probably confident enough in his re-election, so he decisively chose to distance himself from the Westeros system and even returned some of the campaign funds related to the Westeros system.
Simon had long expected the fickleness of politicians but didn't expect Dinkins to be so decisive.
The other party even disrupted the Westeros system's political layout in New York.
It's important to know that the Westeros system originally planned to continue supporting Dinkins. With the opponent's sudden betrayal, the Westeros system couldn't quickly turn to another candidate, especially not the Republican Party, which was even less feasible.
David Dinkins actively distanced himself, and the Westeros system did not persist in getting close.
However, for a world-class political, economic, and cultural hub like New York, where many of the Westeros system's subsidiaries are headquartered, it's impossible to give up infiltrating the city's political arena. Simon finally decided to channel the resources initially intended for Dinkins into the competition for New York City council seats.
The final vote for the mayoral election will be held in early November.
The sudden move by the local New York media was a double blow, causing trouble for the Westeros Tower project that Simon highly valued and hitting David Dinkins' approval rating.
Thus, when the small newspaper named "Manhattan Metropolitan News" raised the issue, "The New York Times," "Daily News," and other newspapers followed suit.
What Simon didn't expect came next.
This morning, without any communication with the Westeros system, David Dinkins, during his weekly press conference, clarified that he had no interest with the Westeros system and announced that the New York City Department of Labor would investigate the safety issues at the Westeros Tower construction site in conjunction with the construction workers' union.
There is a three-hour time difference between the East and West Coasts.
When Simon set off for New York from the West Coast, all the workers at the Westeros Tower construction site had already been evacuated at the request of the New York City government and local workers' union.
The Westeros Tower was forced to shut down.
For other real estate companies, a sudden halt in a billion-dollar project could be enough to bring down the company.
As the voting date approaches, David Dinkins is showing a clear disadvantage against Rudy Giuliani.
In Simon's view, the sudden attack on the Westeros Tower project seemed almost like a desperate move.
From the current mayor's press conference statement, which only targeted the safety issues of the Westeros Tower construction site and did not mention illegal workers, it was clear that the other party was not acting on a whim.
New immigrants have always been a fundamental group that the Democratic Party tries to attract.
During his re-election campaign, David Dinkins has been promoting the diversity of New York's population under his tenure.
The "diversity" here is self-explanatory.
Therefore, although illegal workers currently do not have federal voting rights, investigating this issue would inevitably offend the immigrant community in New York City.
The cunning calculation of an old politician was masterful.
As Simon gained a more detailed understanding of the situation on the plane to New York, he could only sneer.
In his memory, this was how Hillary lost her presidential bid.
In the 2008 election, Wall Street initially supported Hillary, but when this political powerhouse saw the media and public's hostility towards Wall Street due to the economic crisis, she turned around and targeted Wall Street after taking political donations from Goldman Sachs, Morgan, and other investment banks, advocating for stricter regulatory laws against Wall Street.
The result was that Wall Street overwhelmingly shifted support to Obama, and Hillary didn't even secure the party's nomination.
David Dinkins' behavior was eerily similar to Hillary in Simon's memory.
Or rather, politicians' thinking and behavior patterns have always been like this.
Of course, there are probably many other influencing factors within these two events. Hillary may not have lost her chance at the presidency solely due to losing Wall Street's support, and David Dinkins likely didn't turn against the Westeros system solely for his re-election.
The rapid expansion of the Westeros system, Simon becoming the world's first hundred-billionaire, the ever-growing production scale of the Internet industry, and Egret Company's conflict with traditional media...
If the halt of the Westeros Tower was really just due to safety issues and illegal workers, Simon might have left the matter to James Rebold to handle.
Realizing that other issues might be involved, he felt it necessary to come to the East Coast himself.
Simon has always been a strong believer in preventing problems before they arise, understanding that a small leak can sink a great ship.
The shutdown of the Westeros Tower wouldn't topple the Westeros system, but he wouldn't let the matter continue to develop or escalate. If there were other issues involved, they needed to be clarified quickly.
After arriving in New York and heading to the Westeros Company headquarters in Midtown Manhattan, it was already past 5 PM on the East Coast. James Rebold and Tishman Speyer CEO Jerry Speyer were waiting for him.
The shutdown of the Westeros Tower affected Tishman Speyer the most, as they were responsible for the project, and issues like illegal workers and construction safety were within their domain. In this aspect, Westeros Company could even be considered a victim.
James and Speyer had already spent the whole day negotiating with representatives of the New York City government.
Sitting in a small conference room, the round-faced, fifty-something Jerry Speyer spoke with a wry smile, "This is really troublesome, Simon. We didn't expect it to come to this."
Simon maintained a smile of understanding, though Jerry Speyer's complaints didn't move him.
Tishman Speyer,
a century-old company, had deep roots in New York. In this sudden incident, while David Dinkins didn't give Westeros Company a heads-up, Simon was sure that the Speyer family had been forewarned.
Girl A personally brought in the coffee.
Simon took the cup and gently rubbed it in his hand, saying, "Jerry, I trusted Tishman Speyer when I handed the Westeros Tower project to you. The problems exposed by the media these days seem to all be your responsibility."
Jerry Speyer noticed that while Simon had a slight smile, there was no humor in his eyes, causing his previously relaxed expression to tense up. He said, "Simon, do you know how many people died during the construction of the Empire State Building?"
Simon shook his head.
Jerry Speyer continued, "Due to the tight construction schedule, the publicly reported number of deaths during the Empire State Building's 410-day construction was five, but in reality, it was more than ten times that. Large construction projects can never be entirely free of accidents. The fact that only some people were injured without any fatalities during the two-year construction of the Westeros Tower shows that our construction environment is actually very safe."
Simon nodded, "I understand."
"So," Jerry Speyer resumed with a bit of a smile and spread his hands, "you should understand that this incident has nothing to do with Tishman Speyer."
Simon continued to rub the coffee cup, "Then, Jerry, when will the tower be able to resume construction?"
Jerry Speyer looked at the young man opposite him, his tone becoming more playful, "That will require you to communicate with the New York City government, and maybe also deal with the media."
Simon asked again, "What about Tishman Speyer?"
Sensing a change in Simon's tone, Jerry Speyer paused briefly before replying, "Simon, we're actually collateral damage here. You should understand that."
"I understand," Simon nodded again, "In that case, according to our original agreement, whether it's using illegal workers or causing safety accidents during construction, Tishman Speyer is responsible. Mr. Speyer, you can leave now. Westeros Company's legal team will contact Tishman Speyer to terminate the contract, file a lawsuit, and seek compensation."
Jerry Speyer was stunned for a moment before he realized what Simon had just said. He quickly regained his composure and stared at the young man across the table, "Simon, making a big deal out of this won't do you any good."
"Or," Simon said, looking very agreeable but with increasingly sharp eyes, "I don't care how Tishman Speyer does it, but the project must resume within three days. Otherwise, I'll replace the contractor, and I'll spare no effort to double the money Tishman Speyer earned from Westeros Company."
Jerry Speyer threatened, "If you do that, I can guarantee that the Westeros Tower will never be built."
Simon was unfazed by the threat and countered, "If you can ensure that the Westeros Tower will never be built, you can probably also ensure that the project resumes within three days. And I can guarantee that as long as Westeros Company exists, I'll target Tishman Speyer until one of us goes bankrupt."
Jerry Speyer didn't immediately respond, his expression shifting unpredictably.
A construction and real estate company like Tishman Speyer can't thrive without deep-rooted support. In their New York stronghold, Tishman Speyer undoubtedly had a far deeper network than the Westeros system.
Tishman Speyer did get advanced notice of the recent events.
Jerry Speyer initially approached it with a bystander's mindset, perhaps hoping to gain more from the wealthy Westeros. Otherwise, if Tishman Speyer had intervened early, the negative media coverage about the Westeros Tower wouldn't have surfaced.
Considering this, Tishman Speyer indeed bore significant responsibility and had an obligation to clean up the mess afterward. But Jerry Speyer initially thought that this wasn't a conflict Tishman Speyer should be involved in.
He hadn't expected Simon Westeros to arrive in New York and directly target them.
A real fallout?
Losing this project would undoubtedly severely damage Tishman Speyer's reputation in the industry.
If they also became enemies with the Westeros system, thinking of the young man's threat, which company would go bankrupt first, Tishman Speyer or Westeros Company?
He dared not gamble.
He also recalled the young man's past deeds.
This was a ruthless guy who once broke five legs of his enemies in unison.
This was someone who halted the release of a multimillion-dollar record because a partner concealed their earnings.
Even more so.
This was a madman with a history of mental illness.
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