Leaving JFK International Airport, the group did not return to Manhattan, but instead headed to Greenwich, Connecticut, a city bordering New York.
Greenwich, located thirty kilometres northeast of Manhattan, has no relation to Greenwich Village in Midtown Manhattan. If one had to find a reason, it could only be attributed to the lack of naming talent among settlers.
Compared to Greenwich Village, which is frequented by artists, Greenwich is a wealthy area on par with Manhattan's Upper East Side, East Hampton on Long Island, and other similar regions. Many wealthy individuals often own properties in both the Upper East Side and the surrounding areas of Greenwich and East Hampton, typically residing in the Upper East Side on weekdays and returning to their suburban mansions on weekends.
Janette had been continuously helping Simon acquire properties in private. A few days ago, during her stay in New York, she purchased another estate in Greenwich.
Not only that, Janette was also continuing to scout for properties in cities across the East and West Coasts of the United States, such as Las Vegas, Chicago, Boston, Washington, and Miami. Simon's current net worth was already sufficient to support his initial vision of owning properties all over the world.
Before Sophia Fessey came to the United States, she had also purchased a property in Greenwich, intending for her children to attend school there. As a renowned wealthy area, Greenwich undoubtedly boasted the best educational resources on the East Coast.
Coincidentally, the party Simon was attending tonight was also at the Hearst family's mansion near Greenwich.
Several luxury cars sped through the developed highway network of the East Coast, and in less than an hour, they entered the Greenwich area of Connecticut. The property Sophia had purchased for her children was in downtown Greenwich, while Simon's estate was in the northern suburbs. After agreeing to a lunch invitation from the female housekeeper for tomorrow noon, everyone went their separate ways.
Simon and his entourage drove north along a tree-lined asphalt road for about five kilometres before arriving at an estate in the outskirts of Greenwich.
The perimeter of the estate was marked by a symbolic low stone wall, but the terrain was noticeably higher than the adjacent asphalt road, making it difficult for pedestrians and vehicles to look directly inside.
Inside the low wall, dense bushes and tall trees further completely obscured the interior of the estate. These plants had not been manicured, which was completely different from what Simon had seen when he attended Steve Ross's party in East Hampton last time.
The mansions in the East Hampton area all had neatly trimmed hedges and lawns, whereas here in Greenwich, all the vegetation along the way remained in its natural state.
Simon, deep down, always preferred a sense of order, but he had no intention of changing the layout of this estate.
Maintaining a natural state was, in fact, also a form of order.
The estate covered over 30 acres, equivalent to 12 hectares, and was an irregular quadrilateral shape. Its north-south length was close to 500 meters, while its east-west boundaries varied in length. The narrowest part of the northern boundary was less than 100 meters, bordering a lake, and the southern boundary was adjacent to an east-west asphalt road, with a length exceeding 400 meters.
Simon's entourage entered the estate from the west entrance. Most of the interior of the estate consisted of vegetation of varying heights. After driving about two hundred meters along a winding asphalt driveway, a European-style villa with a blue roof and white walls appeared. About seven or eight meters to the east of the main villa was an annex, clearly for servants and staff.
Three cars stopped in front of the main villa, and a team of women dressed in matching black suits came forward to greet them.
Janette followed Simon out of the car, linked her arm through his, and smiled as she gestured to the seven women who had approached, saying, "This is our housekeeper team for the North American properties from now on. I picked them myself, aren't they pretty? Sophia is still personally in charge of the European properties".
Simon nodded, looking at the seven tall, fair-skinned women who stood before him, and instinctively said, "They seem a bit too young".
Janette pinched Simon's arm in dissatisfaction: "That's how it is. If you're not happy, you can pick them yourself. I'm not getting involved".
As the two spoke in low voices, the exquisite-faced, somewhat cool-tempered short-haired woman leading the group had already extended her hand to Simon, saying, "Hello, Mr. Westeros, I'm Alice Ferguson".
Simon shook the woman's hand and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Alice".
After exchanging greetings, Alice Ferguson turned slightly and proactively introduced the other six beautiful women behind her, who clearly looked eager, saying, "Mr. Westeros, these are Mila, Emilia, Naomi, Doris, Isabelle, and Zoe".
After a quick introduction of each, the new female housekeeper turned back to face Simon and said, "Mr. Westeros, let me give you a tour of this villa".
Simon watched with interest as the other girls, whose names hadn't even been fully introduced, were blocked behind Alice Ferguson, clearly looking angry but daring not to speak. He smiled and nodded, saying, "Alright".
Janette, who had been smiling all along, released Simon's arm when she heard Alice Ferguson speak, saying, "You two go ahead. I'll arrange for them to unpack the luggage".
Simon didn't refuse and walked towards the villa first.
Alice Ferguson followed Simon's every step.
As the two walked into the villa, Simon looked around. The scale of this villa was comparable to the one he owned on the hillside of Palisades in Los Angeles. The high-ceilinged two-story villa was even taller than some ordinary three-story buildings. The villa's main hall only occupied one floor, with a magnificent crystal chandelier hanging directly from the dome.
The interior of the villa was decorated in an overall pure white style, and the furnishings had clearly been replaced, all in the minimalist style that Simon preferred.
After a quick glance around, Simon walked up to the second floor via the spiral staircase on the west side.
Alice Ferguson still followed behind Simon, showing no intention of speaking or introducing anything.
Arriving on the second floor, Simon smiled as he stood in front of a corridor wall, admiring a painting personally drawn by Janette, and was the first to speak, "How old are you this year?"
"27 years old".
"Which university did you graduate from?"
"Princeton".
Simon withdrew his gaze and continued walking along one side of the corridor, his tone tinged with a hint of dissatisfaction: "And then what?"
Alice Ferguson finally spoke a bit more, saying, "I studied economics and received my doctorate two years ago".
"Getting a Ph.D. in economics at 27, that's impressive".
Alice Ferguson paused, then corrected him: "25".
"From now on, when people ask, say 27".
"Why?"
"If I say 27, then it's 27".
..."Okay".
Simon pushed open a door, revealing a bedroom. Seeing the French windows leading to the terrace, he walked inside.
On the terrace, Simon stood by the railing, observing the busy crowd in front of the villa, and then asked, "What was the topic of your doctoral dissertation?"
Alice Ferguson replied, "The U.S. foreign trade imbalance caused by Reagan's economic reforms".
"Are you interested in politics?"
"I considered it, but gave up".
"Why?"
"It's difficult for women to achieve much in politics".
"Not necessarily. Perhaps in less than ten years, the nation will have a female president".
"That possibility is close to zero".
"Alright, then why did you want to come work for me?"
"The salary is high enough, and I can get better opportunities in the future".
"Hmm?"
"The helmsmen of the four core companies under Westeros Corporation are all women".
Simon asked with a smile, "Which four? I've invested in so many companies I can barely keep track".
"Daenerys, Melisandre, Ygritte, Cersei".
"Alright, then tell me, which of these four companies has the greatest development potential?"
Alice Ferguson hesitated for a moment, then said, "Daenerys, or Ygritte".
"I only asked you to name one".
"Ygritte".
A hint of surprise flashed in Simon's eyes. He turned and leaned against the railing, re-examining the woman before him, and said, "In that case, serve as my housekeeper for five good years, and then you can go to Ygritte. Of course, the premise is that you must still prove your ability. If I think you're more suited to be a cleaner at Ygritte, then you'll only be sweeping floors".
Alice Ferguson's thin lips pressed together, and she said, "I need authorization, authorization to understand Ygritte".
"No problem. Also, since you're so smart, capable of earning a doctorate at 27, then spend these next few years studying computer technology as well".
Alice Ferguson said, "I also hold a master's degree in computer science from Princeton University".
Simon's gaze swept across the woman's pale neck, and he asked, "Do you have any other degrees? Tell me all of them".
"No more".
"Then keep studying. Get another doctorate. Anyway, you're just helping me manage properties, so you have plenty of free time," Simon said. Without waiting for the woman's response, he asked again, "By the way, do you have a boyfriend?"
"No".
"Really?"
"I've had several girlfriends".
"..."
Simon was speechless; no wonder he always felt something was off.
Seeing Simon choked, Alice Ferguson paused before adding, "However, I am not averse to the opposite sex".
Simon nodded, deliberately adding a hint of aggressiveness to his gaze as he scrutinized the captured lesbian before him, saying, "I understand, that's a hint".
Alice Ferguson shook her head: "No, that's a direct statement".
Simon, emboldened by his wickedness, raised his hand and gestured, "Go lock the bedroom door. I want you right now".
Alice Ferguson shook her head: "Not now. Today is my fertile period, and there are no contraceptives in this bedroom. If I were to accidentally become pregnant, I would demand all the rights due to that child from you".
Simon stubbornly insisted, like a tyrant: "Don't worry, I know many ways to be intimate that won't get a woman pregnant".
"I do not accept alternative forms of sexual behaviour".
Simon clenched his fist, his knuckles making a faint cracking sound, and said, "I'll make you accept it".
Alice Ferguson's gaze remained locked with Simon's, and she said seriously, "I will bite you".
Well, that was too brutal.
Simon noticed Alice Ferguson's occasional display of very beautiful white teeth when she spoke, but he only felt a chill down his spine and retreated, saying, "I'll give you 10 seconds to disappear from my sight".
Alice Ferguson turned her head to look at the bedroom door, seemingly calculating if she could exit the room within 10 seconds. Then she nodded at Simon, turned, and walked out with a click-clack of her black high heels. After leaving the bedroom, she gently closed the door. The new female housekeeper stood at the entrance, slowly exhaling, a faint smile gracing her lips, replacing the usual coolness on her face.
A sound came from the direction of the staircase. Alice Ferguson quickly composed herself and walked over.
Two women, each carrying a suitcase, came upstairs. Seeing Alice, they stopped, their eyes clearly showing a hint of wariness.
Alice walked up to the two women, her gaze calmly assessing them, and said, "Allison Norris, Becky Hope, A and B, you two are under my command from now on".
Allison retorted, "We only follow the boss; we won't listen to you".
Alice said, "This is Madam's instruction. If you're not satisfied, you can go talk to Madam".
Allison was about to say something else when Becky pulled her, then said, "Madam asked us to move these two suitcases into the master bedroom".
Alice nodded, walked to the other side of the corridor, and said, "Follow me".
The Hearst family's party was scheduled for 7 PM, and by the time Simon's group arrived in Greenwich, it was already past 5 PM. After a busy period of settling into the villa, Simon and Janette quickly set off for the Hearst family's mansion.
"You must know about the Spanish-American War, right? Although that was a century ago, after nearly a hundred years of accumulation, the Hearst family's potential influence has actually grown stronger". On the way to the Hearst mansion, Janette chatted with Simon about this: "Speaking of which, the Murdoch family's influence in Australia is similar to the Hearst family's in North America. In the 1960s, Murdoch wanted to expand into the UK. At that time, Australia still had very strict capital controls, not allowing large sums of money to be freely transferred overseas. Do you know how he did it?"
"Hmm?"
"That was in 1968, I believe, which happened to be an election year. Murdoch mobilized the full power of his entire News Corporation to help a candidate he supported ascend to the Prime Minister's seat. To do this, he even slandered another, well, I don't remember the name, but another rival candidate, as a Japanese spy. Later, his supported candidate won the election and quickly signed a special order approving News Corporation's investment in the UK".
Simon hadn't realized that the Murdoch family was already so powerful in Australia in the 1960s. However, he quickly asked, "If that's the case, why couldn't Murdoch prevent the media restriction act from being introduced and was forced to sell Channel Seven?"
Australia's Channel Seven, which Johnston Holdings was acquiring from Qintex Group, originally belonged to the Murdoch family.
To prevent media platforms from controlling public opinion, Australia introduced a media restriction act in the 1970s, prohibiting print media groups from owning public television networks. The situation was similar in the US; print media giants like the Hearst family could now only venture into cable television networks like ESPN, which was a result of the Reagan administration's deregulation in the 1980s.
Janette said, "Murdoch is too profit-driven. He supports whoever benefits him and doesn't hesitate to abandon those who have lost their usefulness, which is why he has always lacked firm allies. In the 1970s, a prime minister who had long been squeezed by News Corporation came to power, and then he ran into trouble. My grandfather used to say that Murdoch is a businessman without a stance; you can cooperate with him, but that's all".
The phone hacking scandal from his memories flashed through Simon's mind. That incident, in essence, was also a collective backlash from the British political sphere after being suppressed by News Corporation for a long time.
Thinking this, Simon asked again, "Murdoch must have been involved in the abolition of the inheritance tax in Australia, right?"
"My grandfather was responsible for liaising and coordinating at the time. The Murdoch family, the Fairfax family, the Packer family, and many other forces were all involved". Janette seemed unwilling to dwell on the matter and quickly changed the subject, saying, "Also, coincidentally, the Hearst family has always been a supporter of the Democratic Party, which also benefits us in establishing more cooperative relationships".