After lunch, Simon rushed to Santa Monica to start his afternoon work.
After seeing the man off, Kathryn and Janette went together to a living room on the second floor of the villa.
The Girl named Claire brought up some juice. Kathryn softly thanked her, and after the other person left, she asked Janette, who was leaning on the sofa with a thick folder, "Why do you have a Girl like that in the house?"
Janette hummed and stretched out her hand. After Kathryn helplessly handed her the juice, she bit the straw and retorted, "What's wrong?"
Knowing that Girl was asking knowingly, Kathryn still said directly, "Aren't you afraid Simon will mess around?"
"I actually really hope something like that happens", Janette said, glancing at the documents spread on her lap, her downcast eyes flickering. She seemed a bit frustrated as she added, "Allison and the others are young, beautiful, and obedient, which is great. It's a pity that in his eyes, they're just ABCDs".
Kathryn felt she might have misheard: "Hmm?"
Janette composed herself, looked up, made a face at Kathryn, and shrugged with a smile, "Nothing".
"You two…" Kathryn paused, then tentatively asked, "Is there a problem?"
"Of course not", Janette immediately shook her head and said, "You see, he comes back to have lunch with me, and we spend more time together than before. This is the kind of marriage I want. Plus, I'm the second Westeros in the world now, Janette Westeros, jealous?"
Kathryn didn't answer, just kept looking at Janette.
During lunch, Kathryn could clearly feel the natural intimacy between Simon and Janette, which had clearly integrated into their married life.
Although she hadn't experienced marriage, Kathryn understood that this was a very healthy marital state, much better than many couples who were passionately in love for a while only to quickly grow distant or even go their separate ways.
However, Kathryn still detected some inexplicable strangeness in it.
This strangeness came from both Simon and Janette.
Moreover, the two kinds of strangeness seemed to be different, but Kathryn couldn't quite explain what was going on.
After a brief standoff, Janette's shoulders slumped slightly. She put down the juice and the documents on her lap, sat cross-legged on the sofa, and said, troubled, "Oh, Kate, do you think he, um, likes older women? Is there a problem with that?"
Kathryn was stunned, then thought of herself, and blushed slightly, "You're older than him too".
"I wasn't talking about you", Janette raised her hand and waved an index finger vaguely in front of her, saying, "It's just, well, what do you think, um, how can I make Simon like young and pretty Girls?"
Kathryn stared at Janette for a moment, then suddenly leaned back against the sofa, took a sip of juice, and said, "I suddenly feel that you should solve these problems yourself, don't ask me".
Janette puffed out her cheeks in dissatisfaction, saying, "You asked first".
Just as she was speaking, Allison, who had just left, came in again and softly said to Janette, "Ms. Westeros, the people from Holland & Holland have arrived".
Janette nodded, pulling Kathryn to her feet and saying, "Kate, you also come and help me with the decoration of the villa next door".
Daenerys Entertainment Headquarters in Santa Monica.
Starting at 2 PM, Simon spent three hours personally presiding over the final round of auditions for several important supporting roles in 'The Dark Knight'.
Most of the main characters for the Batman series had already been confirmed. Before this, the core supporting role for the second sequel, the actor for Two-Face, had already been finalized, leaving only a group of supporting roles with generally fewer scenes.
However, due to the success of the first film, even some roles with only two or three minutes of screen time in the sequel were highly contested.
Simon did not intend to turn the batman sequels of the 1990s into a star-studded hodgepodge like Warner did in the original timeline, relying more and more on stars towards the end, even bringing in Schwarzenegger and various obviously out-of-place characters.
The result, as expected, was that each film was worse than the last.
For casting, Simon's core philosophy was to choose what was right.
While he didn't refuse some personal connections, if someone chose an unsuitable role because of them, or even tried to create a role out of thin air, it would absolutely not pass Simon's approval.
At 5 PM, the auditions ended. Simon and his team held a brief meeting, then he returned to his office.
5 PM was still far from quitting time for Simon.
Jennifer walked into the office carrying a thick stack of documents. Simon was looking down, reviewing the next development plan for Ygritte Company sent from San Francisco.
Currently, Ygritte Company has completed all necessary preparations for building the world wide web: a graphical interface browser tested multiple times, a complete Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) solution, HTTP server software, and website and webpage design software, etc.
In terms of hardware, with the combined efforts of Sun, Cisco, and America Online, server workstations, dedicated modems, routers, and other equipment from the server side to the client side have all been developed.
Meanwhile, recently, the predecessor of the internet, ARPANET, which had been operating for more than two decades and consisted of networks from major research institutions and universities worldwide, officially separated from the internet (intercom). The new internet root servers
and domain name registration system have also been established, and the US Government has completely lifted commercial restrictions on the internet.
It can be said that all prerequisites for the large-scale promotion of the international internet are in place.
All that was needed was a push.
Based on the information gathered and Simon's memories, he vaguely recalled that in the original timeline, from 1990 to 1993, commercial internet service providers gradually developed, with America Online being one of the most outstanding.
At the same time, during this period, several paid networks similar to the world wide web were operating, but due to fees and a shortage of content, they directly limited the further expansion of the internet.
It wasn't until 1993, when all aspects of the world wide web technology were fully perfected and announced to be freely available, that the internet finally began to take off.
Here, it's necessary to re-clarify the concepts of the internet (intercom) and the world wide web (www).
The concept of the internet emerged in the 1960s and 1970s, referring to a general term for all types of networks connected using relevant network protocols.
The world wide web is more of a technical application, a network connection model built using technologies like L.
Therefore, the world wide web is only a part of the internet. In the entire internet world, besides the world wide web, there are also various application modes such as instant messaging, email, VoIP, online gaming, file sharing, and so on. Because most other applications later integrated world wide web technology into the internet, it's easy for people to confuse the two concepts.
But in reality, many other technologies actually appeared earlier than the world wide web.
For example, instant messaging. The Bloomberg Terminal, which has become popular on Wall Street, uses instant messaging technology, which appeared many years before the world wide web.
Another example is online gaming.
The predecessor of America Online was an 'online gaming' operator. As early as 1983, several partners of America Online's predecessor collaborated with Time Warner to port some Atari video games to network servers, then used customized routers to connect to client terminals and operate on a paid basis.
However, that online gaming company named CVC only operated for less than a year before it went bankrupt due to the chain reaction of the Atari crash.
Simon once chatted with Steve Case, who is now the CEO of America Online, and discovered that the original idea of the CVC partners was not online gaming, but a more advanced online music sharing.
The idea at the time was to cooperate with Warner Music Group to port Warner Music's music to the network in a specific format, and users would pay to download music from the network according to their needs.
Unfortunately, this overly advanced business concept was directly rejected by Time Warner, and the group then 'settled for second best'.
Until Westeros Company invested in America Online, America Online's predecessor, Quantum-Link, primarily operated very crude online games, which, of course, also included basic network access services.
Because online content resources were extremely scarce in the early days of the internet, this was why America Online had no choice but to operate this way.
Otherwise, if users connected to the network but had no idea what to do, America Online would simply not be able to operate.
Simon hopes that America Online will focus on basic ISP (Internet Service Provider) business in the next few years, with Ygritte Company playing the role of an internet content provider, and Sun, Cisco, and other Westeros System companies providing internet infrastructure.
However, for the reasons mentioned above, this pure concept of each company performing its own duties is actually difficult to implement.
In the early stages of internet development, internet service providers had to offer sufficient content to users to retain them.
Considering these points, Simon also decided to arrange for the teams of several companies to re-discuss the next development plan. The Westeros System has already gained a significant head start in the internet field, and Simon does not want this advantage to be wasted due to unclear business strategies.
Having made up his mind, Simon looked up. Across the desk, the Female Assistant placed several folders nearby and was quietly organizing his desk.
A faint fragrance wafted over. Simon couldn't help but smile and patted the Female Assistant's hand, saying, "Come here".
Jennifer glared at the man opposite her: "No".
"Serious business, come over, let's talk".
The Female Assistant eyed Simon suspiciously, hesitated for a moment, then walked around the desk, only to be embraced by Simon around her waist.
Standing stiffly against the man, the Female Assistant's voice was soft with a hint of coquetry, as she whispered, "You lied".
Simon buried his face in the Female Assistant's chest, inhaling her scent, and only when the woman in his arms gradually softened and carefully sat on his lap, did he ask, "How have things been recently?"
"What do you mean, how have things been?"
"I mean, during the time Janette and I weren't here?"
Jennifer's small hand rested on the man's chest, propping herself up, looking nonchalant, and said, "Very good. My uncle even plans to introduce me to a boyfriend".
Simon said fiercely, "It seems I need to consider getting a new private lawyer".
"You're really overbearing".
Simon immediately compromised, saying, "Alright, then I won't change him".
The Female Assistant curved her lips, raised her hand to gently caress the man's cheek, her eyelashes trembling as she leaned in, kissed Simon's lips, then propped herself up and said,
"I still have work to do".
Simon released the Female Assistant, letting her turn back to the other side of the desk, and said, "I plan to go to San Francisco soon to have a good talk with Ygritte Company and other enterprise teams about the world wide web. Please arrange it".
"Okay".
"Also", Simon looked at the Female Assistant opposite him, and said, "You'll come with me then. We can have a few days alone".
This time, the Female Assistant did not respond immediately.
Jennifer handed the newly arrived documents to Simon, then raised her eyes and softly said, "You know, I really miss how we felt in that small cabin in Park City back then".
"Park City?"
"Yes, the first year we met, and the second year, we both went to Park City for the Sundance Film Festival. You, me, and Janette, the three of us huddled on the sofa by the fireplace, with a sky full of snow outside the window, and it felt like the whole world was just the three of us".
Simon recalled that this should have been the second time the three of them went to Park City.
The first year, when they had just met, the Female Assistant even brought her best friend, Lisa Collins.
Recalling these things, Simon thought for a moment and said, "Finland is still very cold now. After acquiring Nokia, I bought a plot of land near Espoo to build a manor, which should be completed by now. Perhaps we can take some time to go together, just the two of us?"
"No", the Female Assistant shook her head, lowering her eyes, and said, "You, you and Janette just recently…"
"Well then, wait a few more months, perhaps until July or August. While it's midsummer in the Northern Hemisphere, it's deep winter in the Southern Hemisphere. We'll go to Tasmania. You know, I'm a big landowner there now. Tasmania also gets heavy snow in winter".
This time, the Female Assistant did not object again, nodding slightly, though her exposed neck was already tinged with a faint pink.
After a short hesitation, she then spoke again: "Okay, we can bring Janette along".
Simon said, "Not her, just the two of us. There are also small cabins there, we'll choose a snowy day to go".
Jennifer subtly hummed when Simon said this. Her small hand unconsciously rearranged a few items on Simon's desk, then she realized something and said, "I, you should get back to work. I'll be outside. Um, these are last week's box office data and some resumes for 'The Flash' backup actors".
"It's fine, you can leave work early. I'll be back soon too".
"Okay".
Softly answering, the Female Assistant turned and left the meeting room.
Simon knew the Female Assistant wouldn't leave early, so he didn't say anything more. Watching her walk out of his office, he then opened the documents in front of him.
The Easter holiday season will begin this Friday.
In March, Daenerys Entertainment had only released one film, Peter Jackson's 'Meet The Feebles'. However, this film only had a small-scale theatrical release in New Zealand and Australia because its content was too extreme, and it was directly rated NC-17 during the North America rating stage.
Considering the potential impact of this film on Jackson, Simon simply instructed the New World Pictures team responsible for distribution to abandon theatrical release and directly distribute videotapes.
Aside from this film, Daenerys Entertainment's 'Pretty Woman', released late last year and during the Valentine's Day season, remained a recent box office focus.