On the northern edge of the Egret campus, a row of luxury villas had been constructed along the bay, reserved mostly for the senior executives of the various Westeros-affiliated companies in the Bay Area. Naturally, Simon wasn't lacking one.
After attending Tinkobell's summary meeting in the morning and spending an hour in their labs checking the progress of various new products, Simon and C-girl headed to one of these nearby villas for lunch.
A-girl had prepared in advance.
When Simon and Claire arrived, a group of women, including D-girl, little Jenny, Alice, the "Waist Goddess," the "Leg Goddess," Chen Qing, and Lin Su, were already gathered, along with the female attendants responsible for Simon's daily life.
Another "women's kingdom."
Emanuelle Brant, who had come along with Chen Qing and Lin Su to join them for lunch, felt somewhat disoriented by the scene inside the villa.
The French woman had been born into a wealthy family and had seen her share of opulent households with dozens of servants. But the atmosphere here was entirely different. It took her a moment to realize that, unlike the typical wealthy households she'd encountered, this villa was filled entirely with women—gorgeous women, at that—all of whom were outstanding in both appearance and intelligence. Whether it was the alphabet girls or the uniformed maids, all of them were easily above an 8 in terms of looks and figure.
This was something that ordinary rich families could never hope to achieve.
For the wealthy, beautiful women weren't exactly a rare resource, but gathering a group like Simon had, where none of the women were mere decorative vases, was a different matter. After all, beautiful women were often proud, and those who were both beautiful and intelligent were even less likely to submit easily to a single man—let alone several at once.
It seemed only Simon Westeros could manage such a feat.
This man, who stood at the very pinnacle of human society's wealth pyramid, possessed not only vast personal wealth but also looks and talents that made him irresistibly attractive to women.
Realizing this, and reflecting on Simon's many achievements over the years, Emanuelle, who was known for both her stunning appearance and her strong-willed personality, suddenly felt a sense of nervous restraint as she was introduced to Simon by Chen Qing.
Simon had long noticed the Frenchwoman.
Emanuelle had been instrumental in the successful acquisition of Skopel, working closely with Chen Qing's team to execute the deal within just three weeks. Simon had been quite impressed with her abilities.
Reaching out to shake her hand, Simon smiled and said, "Miss Brant, it's a pleasure to meet you. Your work on the Skopel project was outstanding."
Emanuelle instinctively extended her hand, feeling the warmth and strength of Simon's slightly rough palm as he looked her over. A strange warmth spread through her body from his touch. Though she wanted to come up with some flattering words, she found it impossible to encapsulate his accomplishments in just a few phrases. In the end, she could only stammer, "Thank you, Mr. Westeros. It's… a pleasure to meet you, too."
After the brief handshake, Simon simply nodded to Chen Qing and Lin Su and walked further into the villa.
Emanuelle then greeted C-girl, who had arrived with Simon. Since Skopel had moved its headquarters into the Egret campus, Emanuelle had become quite familiar with Claire and the others. As the women continued chatting, a burst of playful laughter caught Emanuelle's attention. She turned to see little Jennifer Bristow, whom she had met earlier, being playfully slung over Simon's shoulder like a child.
For a moment, Emanuelle stood frozen.
The awe she had felt moments ago for the man seemed to crack.
Claire noticed the change in Emanuelle's expression and suggested, "Let's go over there."
She took the lead, and Chen Qing and Lin Su followed, with Emanuelle bringing up the rear.
As they walked through the hall and entered a living room on the east side of the villa, where large windows offered a view of the bay, Emanuelle saw Simon toss little Jenny onto a sofa. He then walked over to Alice Ferguson, who was engrossed in reading some documents at a round table by the window. Without a word, Simon plucked the papers from Alice's hands, ignoring her protests, and pulled her into his arms as he sat on the sofa. As he started skimming through the papers, Jenny curled up like a kitten on his other side.
Emanuelle, sitting on the sofa as Chen Qing gestured, couldn't help but glance over at Simon, then back at the three women.
Lin Su, sitting beside her, appeared focused on a magazine she had found, while Chen Qing was busy preparing coffee in the corner. When Emanuelle's gaze met Claire's, the latter gave her a mysterious smile before quickly hiding it as if nothing had happened.
Unable to resist, Emanuelle glanced back at Simon.
She noticed that despite Alice's earlier complaints, she didn't seem truly upset. She quietly leaned into Simon's embrace, engaging in a low conversation with him. From the bits Emanuelle overheard, it seemed they were discussing something related to combating labor unions.
The situation struck Emanuelle as increasingly strange.
After all, this was Alice Ferguson.
While Egret had not yet publicly disclosed its detailed stock distribution, the media had been abuzz with speculation. Of the four key figures at Egret, Alice Ferguson had reportedly received 70 million shares in the recent employee stock ownership plan.
Based on the widely anticipated IPO price of $30 per share, Alice Ferguson's net worth would soon soar past $2 billion. Two billion dollars—that's a fortune many old-money families hadn't managed to accumulate over generations, and yet, here was a 32-year-old woman achieving it seemingly effortlessly.
Indeed.
Compared to such a massive return, Alice Ferguson's effort appeared remarkably light.
As Emanuelle thought about this, a strong sense of jealousy began to well up inside her. In fact, it was an intense jealousy.
Having been thrust into the real world by family misfortune, Emanuelle had fought her way up to her current position, driven by a relentless obsession with reclaiming what she had lost. She had believed that her own capabilities could restore her standing, but now, she was suddenly overwhelmed by a sense of helplessness.
No matter how hard she worked, it seemed like relying on a powerful man was a faster route to success.
Alice Ferguson was proof of this, as were Claire Gaines, the founder of Tinkobell, and Chen Qing and Lin Su. The other women in the villa, clearly, were no different.
As Emanuelle continued down this increasingly bitter line of thought, the click-clack of high heels echoed through the room, signaling the arrival of another group of women—D-girl, Yasmeen Ghauri (the Waist Goddess), and Nadja Auermann (the Leg Goddess). The three women walked directly toward Simon. Emanuelle, watching them closely, felt a flicker of insecurity.
One couldn't help but acknowledge that confidence, like beauty, had to be cultivated.
While Emanuelle was proud of her noble upbringing and refined temperament, she couldn't help but feel overshadowed by the two supermodels who had dominated the fashion industry in recent years. There was a radiant energy about them, a natural magnetism, likely honed by years in front of the camera.
In truth, Emanuelle had met all these women before through Chen Qing's introductions, but everything had seemed different before Simon arrived.
His mere presence had shattered the balance she had felt.
This imbalance reached its peak during lunch.
The women had clearly engaged in a subtle competition for seats around the long dining table, and as a guest, Emanuelle had been seated at the very edge, farthest from Simon. She had no chance to converse with him freely, nor to exchange even a glance, and throughout the meal, she could only sit quietly, listening to the lively banter between Simon and the other women.
At one point, she couldn't help but maliciously think, *Are all these bitches really going to squeeze into Simon Westeros' bed tonight?*
*I hope they suffocate each other.*
After lunch, D-girl took Jenny and the two supermodels to leave for a 1 PM meeting with Instagram.
Since the platform had launched, the Waist Goddess and Leg Goddess had become more involved in managing the company, not to seize power from D-girl, but to gain experience. As Instagram's valuation continued to rise, both supermodels, with their small stakes, had become the wealthiest individuals in the fashion industry.
Competition in the fashion world was becoming more fierce, and neither woman had the time or energy to compete with the newcomers. Instead, they focused on building their experience for future ventures.
Simon had promised them that they could leave after spending a year by his side, but neither had done so. Whether due to Simon's subtle influence or not, the two women had grown increasingly close, forming an unmistakable bond.
Despite their continuing affection for Simon, he had become something of a third wheel between them.
In the fashion world, women quickly grew jaded, having seen everything. Relationships often became pragmatic, and with Simon's playful influence over the years, Yasmeen and Nadja had realized they were best suited for each other. Now, they were practically inseparable, and even some media outlets had picked up on the relationship. However, since both were publicly known as Simon's lovers, the press didn't sensationalize it too much.
Simon found the whole situation amusing.
Rather than losing his women to other men, they had become an attractive pair of lesbians—a sight he found quite pleasing.
Back at the bayfront villa.
After D-girl and the others left, Chen Qing and the rest quickly followed suit. Simon insisted on dragging the workaholic Alice to take a nap, though C-girl mentioned there was something she wanted to discuss. Once Alice was asleep, the two moved to the second-floor sun deck. After Zoe brought them coffee and left, Simon finally asked, "So, what's on your mind?"
C-girl, hiding beneath the shade of an umbrella and wrapped up tightly, said, "Boss, I'm thinking about acquiring Broadcast. What do you think?"
Simon quickly understood.
He had already anticipated this.
With iPlayer's rapid growth since its launch just a month ago, it made perfect sense for Tinkobell to secure its advantage by acquiring Broadcast, the platform that provided content for iPlayer.
Given Tinkobell's explosive growth, the company would easily surpass a $10 billion market cap if it went public.
As for Broadcast, its recent success in transitioning from an online radio site to an online audio sales platform had driven its valuation up once again. Though limited by its size, its current valuation was estimated to be around $2 billion, roughly on par with Instagram. And since the Westeros system already held a significant stake in Broadcast, the acquisition wouldn't be an issue as long as Simon approved.
Simon was neither entirely for nor against the idea.
Both options had their merits.
Given iPlayer's success, other electronics manufacturers were sure to follow suit with similar products. If Broadcast remained independent, it had the potential to become the world's largest legitimate audio resource platform, providing content for all types of digital music players.
After all, the digital music player market was far too large for Tinkobell to dominate on its own.
On the other hand, if Broadcast became part of Tinkobell, it would ensure the company maintained a commanding share of the digital music player market.
There were pros and cons to both sides.
Leaning back in the sun lounger, Simon thought for a moment before addressing the most pressing issue: "In that case, the first thing Tinkobell needs to do is go public."
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