Chapter 142: Depth

Jonathan Friedman and others were waiting for Simon at the WMA headquarters to discuss the lead actress for "Basic Instinct." After a brief conversation with Amy, Simon left the company office building, and Jennifer followed, clutching a stack of files, into the car.

As the SUV weaved through the streets of Los Angeles, Jennifer handed Simon a meeting memo, "Dad had a conference call with the executives of SUN this morning and confirmed his joining the board. So far, we've secured board seats in 16 companies. Dad mentioned that companies like Apple are also very promising. Are you sure you don't want to join?"

Simon browsed through the memo.

SUN, fully known as Sun Microsystems, Inc., was a tech company primarily producing servers and workstations, famous for developing the powerful Java programming language.

In Simon's memory, SUN's market capitalization once soared beyond $200 billion during the peak of the internet bubble. Following the burst, the company rapidly declined for various reasons and was eventually acquired by Oracle.

During the stock market crash last year, Westeros Corporation began buying shares in SUN when its market value was around $850 million. Including recent minor additional purchases, Simon had spent less than $45 million for a 5% stake in SUN.

If history remained unchanged, the value of these shares could reach $10 billion at SUN's market cap peak.

However, the potential return on investment from SUN paled in comparison to Microsoft.

Last year, Simon purchased a 4.9% stake in Microsoft for $56 million. Recently, he unknowingly increased his holdings to 3 million shares, which, relative to Microsoft's total of 50 million shares, equaled about 6%.

Calculated against Microsoft's peak market value of $600 billion in 2000, just this 6% stake would add $36 billion to Simon's personal wealth.

Thus, both SUN and Microsoft were Simon's key targets for increased investment over the next few years, planning to raise his stake in these companies to at least 10%.

By contrast, Simon was less interested in Apple at the moment.

Last year, when Apple's market cap dipped to around $3 billion, Simon invested approximately $150 million for a 4.9% stake, more than he spent on Microsoft and SUN combined, and only less than his investments in Motorola and Intel.

However, based on his memories, after Apple's market value exceeded $7 billion in the coming years, it would start to decline, making Simon reluctant to hold long-term.

As he read the meeting memo, Simon responded to Jennifer's query, "Last time I promised not to sell any shares for three years after joining the board. Westeros Corporation definitely can't support that for three years. So, we must voluntarily give up some board seats."

Jennifer nodded and brought up another matter, "Also, before the market closed today, our New York office bought 1.23 million shares of New World Entertainment at an average price of $7.5 per share, totaling about $9 million. New World Entertainment has a total of 25 million shares, and we're just under the 4.9% that requires reporting. After we file with the SEC on Monday, and as the news becomes public, the stock price is sure to surge. Dad plans to continue buying below $10 and then extend a buyout offer to New World Entertainment."

Due to financial issues, New World Entertainment's stock was trading far below its actual value. Simon and James had previously discussed a buyout plan, capping the final price at a 50% premium.

"That can be left to your father to execute as planned; there's no need to inform me about all the details."

Jennifer acknowledged and handed over another thick folder, "Also, here's some information on airplanes you asked me to gather. The prices listed are only the public quotes from the airlines; buyers usually get a significant discount."

Needing a business jet for work travel for himself, Amy, James, and others, Simon had asked Jennifer to collect some information.

Glancing out the window, still some distance from the WMA headquarters, Simon opened the folder and asked Jennifer, "Do you have a preference? We'll all be using the jet."

Though he wasn't looking at her, Jennifer felt slightly bashful and replied, "That's really up to you to decide."

Simon chuckled and looked at the specs for the latest Gulfstream IV, "Speaking of which, I never formally thanked you for that videotape. If you have a preference, let's go with your choice this time."

Hearing Simon's light tone, Jennifer, a bit miffed, retorted, "It'll still be yours in the end. Not very sincere."

Simon glanced at Jennifer, noting her hair tied up again, revealing her slender neck, "What if I put the plane's title under your name? Would your dad think there's something between us and beat me up?"

Jennifer, feeling Simon's gaze, shrank

 slightly, shaking her head, "My dad won't, but Miss Johnston might, and I might get beaten up too."

Simon feigned hesitation, then shook his head, "Then forget it. It's not worth getting beaten up for nothing."

Jennifer's cheeks flushed, and as Simon turned his attention back to the documents, she secretly removed the ribbon tying her hair and relaxed as it cascaded down. She thought he hadn't noticed until she heard him comment, "It doesn't look good like that."

Oh, dear.

Suppressing the urge to flee, Jennifer gripped her purse and defiantly glared at Simon, "You're not supposed to look."

Sensing the slight tremor in her voice, Simon didn't tease further and focused on the aircraft information.

Due to the relaxed aviation regulatory framework, the private aircraft industry in the West was very developed, and prices were relatively low.

The latest Gulfstream IV luxury business jet in Simon's hands had a seating capacity for about 20 passengers, a cruising range of nearly 8,000 kilometers, and an official price tag of only $16 million, which Jennifer mentioned could be discounted.

Of course, "cheap" is relative.

Based on the latest media statistics, Simon's net worth of around $1.6 billion placed him within the top 50 of this year's Forbes global billionaires list. Moreover, most of Simon's assets were in stocks that could be quickly liquidated, enhancing the actual value of his wealth.

By comparison, many billionaires with similar wealth to Simon could not easily spend $16 million in cash on a private jet.

Flipping past some smaller business jet brands, Simon soon found some models he was more interested in.

Boeing 747-300, priced at $120 million.

That was Simon's ultimate goal.

The Boeing 747-400 was still in development, and the 747-300 was the latest in the Boeing large aircraft series. If converted into a private jet, seating and range weren't issues; fully fueled, it could connect any two points on the globe. The six-story high fuselage and seventy meters in length meant ample internal space, even enough for a swimming pool.

However.

Simon could only look for now; a $120 million cost, although nearly half the price of similar large aircraft ten years later, and affordable for him, was not something he could buy right now.

It would be too conspicuous.

If Simon purchased it now, he would be inundated by North American media criticism.

Even if Simon didn't care about that, owning such a behemoth would bring a slew of parking and maintenance issues. Ultimately, it was a matter of pedigree. If the Rockefeller family bought such a plane, despite criticism, many would see it as fitting.

As for Simon Westeros.

Well.

A nouveau riche.

The car stopped outside WMA headquarters on Camino Street. Simon had made a wise decision: to first purchase a Gulfstream IV. Compared to large Boeings, this smaller jet had a shorter delivery period; after placing the order, it would be delivered in three months.

Entering WMA headquarters with Jennifer, Jonathan Friedman, Brian De Palma, and others were waiting for Simon.

In the year and a half since, Simon had risen significantly, but the upheaval within WMA had never ceased.

At the start of the new year, one of WMA's vice-presidents, Ed Limato, took a host of stars including Mel Gibson, Steve Martin, Denzel Washington, Michelle Pfeiffer, and others to ICM, severely weakening WMA.

In Simon's view, this was almost inevitable.

WMA's control was still tightly held by Norman Brokaw and other elders, making it difficult for Ed Limato to advance. Yet, this top agent moved to ICM and immediately obtained the positions of partner and co-president.

After Ed Limato's departure, supported by WMA chairman Lou Wasserman and because he represented top filmmakers like Brian De Palma, Robert De Niro, Robert Duvall, Matt Dillon, Sandra Bullock, and Simon, Jonathan, who wasn't very prominent among the vice-presidents, had quietly become a hot candidate for WMA's next president.

Simon was genuinely interested in the talent agency industry.

However, due to California's Talent Agencies Act, agents couldn't venture into production, and likewise, film companies couldn't meddle in talent agencies. Simon could only minimally disrupt the talent agency industry's landscape changes with his limited influence, unable to affect the overall situation.

Inside a large conference room at WMA headquarters.

After greeting everyone, Simon quickly approached a tall, dark-haired actress, Linda Fiorentino, his choice for the lead in "Basic Instinct."

In the original timeline, Linda Fiorentino was best known for her role as the female medical examiner in "Men in Black."

However, Simon had chosen her because of her role in another movie, "The Last Seduction," a clear follower of "Basic Instinct's" thriller-erotic genre from

 1995. In that film, Linda Fiorentino expertly manipulated the men around her as a femme fatale.

Following the release of "The Last Seduction," Linda Fiorentino's performance was nearly universally praised. Only because the film premiered on HBO, which didn't meet the Oscars' eligibility criteria, did she miss out on an Academy Award nomination that year.

After shaking hands with Linda Fiorentino, everyone sat around the conference table.

A few days ago, after sorting through several actresses' profiles, Simon had arranged a screen test for her with Michael Douglas.

The results were very satisfactory.

Today, Michael Douglas hadn't come again. After playing the screen test video and getting Brian De Palma's approval, they began discussing the film's details and contractual matters with Linda Fiorentino's agent, George Lipton.

As the men were busily discussing, a somewhat raspy female voice with evident displeasure suddenly interjected, "Doesn't anyone care to ask for my opinion?"

Everyone looked over, and George Lipton quickly said, "Linda, why don't you go ahead and leave for now? I'll call you after work."

Linda Fiorentino gave her agent a sidelong glance, didn't speak, but reached into her jeans pocket, pulled out a cigarette pack, completely ignoring George Lipton's almost pleading look. She continued to take out a lighter, lit a cigarette, and took a deep drag. She then exhaled slowly and turned directly to Simon, "Mr. Westeros, George submitted my resume, but I never said I wanted the role."

Simon, intrigued by the woman's demeanor and recalling rumors of her being difficult, simply smiled, "Then why didn't you refuse and even participated in the screen test?"

Linda Fiorentino replied, "I just wanted to see what it's like to act alongside a big star like Douglas."

Simon amiably said, "And now?"

Linda skillfully tapped off some ash, "Your script is quite good, but there are too many nude scenes. If some of those could be cut, I might agree to take the role."

Simon made a gesture of dismissal, "Ms. Fiorentino, if that's your request, you may leave now."

Yet, Linda Fiorentino didn't move, nor did she show any sign of guilt. Instead, she took another slow drag of her cigarette and said, "Mr. Westeros, as far as I know, 'Basic Instinct' is scheduled to start shooting next month. You won't find a second actress more suitable than me in such a short time."

Simon shook his head, "Actually, I already have a very suitable person in mind before you, but I dislike her, so I didn't plan to use her. So, are you trying to make yourself even more disagreeable than her?"

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