As the Boeing 767 glided to a landing on the runway of Los Angeles International Airport, Simon was still contemplating how to establish Igrit's portal news channel. In the short term, Igrit would need to collaborate with traditional media outlets.
Simon was well aware of the profound impact the Internet would have on traditional print and television media industries. If he owned a traditional media platform, he would likely do everything possible to curb the growth of digital media, making content sharing an unlikely prospect.
However, the current internet user base was too small, and those who could see the future potential were few and far between.
Among Simon's recent contacts, even Rupert Murdoch from News Corporation had expressed willingness to provide some content for Igrit's portal, albeit at a cost.
As the Boeing 767 came to a halt, the clicking sound of high heels echoed, pulling Simon's attention. He looked up to catch Jennifer's focused gaze. Smiling, he suggested, "How about joining me for dinner in Malibu?"
The assistant, struggling not to look away, shook her head and said, "It's been a week, chasing after you again would make Jenny explode."
Jennifer had traveled with Simon out of Los Angeles to New York on Monday as Simon headed north to San Francisco. While Jennifer had returned to the West Coast by Thursday, Simon did not return until Sunday, marking a week apart.
Having married just in early March, their recent week-long separation had already sparked some media speculation. At breakfast the day before, the assistant showed Simon a newspaper article speculating about a 'suspected separation' between the Westeros couple. Simon was unconcerned, knowing Jennifer felt the same. Given their status and wealth, a conventional nine-to-five life was implausible.
Moreover, relationships that can withstand storms but not monotony might benefit from some time apart.
After leaving Los Angeles International Airport and arranging for the assistant's ride home, Simon returned to Malibu with his entourage.
Arriving at his Dumont Point mansion as dusk fell, Jennifer, dressed in a casual long dress, greeted him. After a warm embrace, she held up two marble samples and asked, "Turkish goose feather gold or Indian rainforest brown— which do you think is better?"
They had discussed the marble for the mansion's grand hall the day before over the phone.
Inspecting the irregular patterns on the marble samples— any of which would be intolerable for someone with tendencies toward perfectionism like Simon—he feigned scrutiny and then wrapped his arms around Jennifer again, saying, "Let's discuss it in the bath; join me for a shower first."
Without waiting for her response, he carried her upstairs.
Jennifer tapped him lightly with the marble samples, joking, "Dinner is being prepared; I need to oversee it."
Simon kissed her and playfully replied, "Let's eat you first, then dinner."
What began as a 'shower' at seven in the evening extended past nine.
The dinner had cooled and had to be reheated, leading them to finally sit down to eat only at ten o'clock.
Sitting close to Simon, Jennifer's cheeks still flushed with color, chatted about her recent activities—new dresses she had bought, how Patrick almost got sent to South Africa by his father, the new hires at Cersei Capital, and teasingly, whether the assistant was too unresponsive in bed, leaving Simon as if he hadn't eaten in a week. They caught up on all the small, detailed aspects of their lives.
Monday was to be a rest day for both. Simon planned to catch up on Cersei Capital's operations, particularly since oil prices had fallen sharply following increased production announcements from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait in early March. From a high of $19 per barrel, prices had plunged to $16, a drop of 15.7%.
Cersei Fund Management, a part of Cersei Capital, had built up substantial short positions in anticipation of this decline, continuing to increase their stakes even after the production increase was announced. With over $21 billion of its $35 billion hedge funds committed, the high leverage had yielded book profits of $2.27 billion as of the last trading day of the previous week.
Meanwhile, the drastic drop in oil prices had exacerbated Iraq's economic woes, dependent on oil exports, with Saddam Hussein increasingly pressuring Kuwait and even threatening war.
Simon kept a close watch on Middle Eastern developments. Planning based on his knowledge of history, he intended to start building long positions in oil a month before Iraq's expected invasion of Kuwait on August 2. Establishing long positions while oil prices were still falling was risky; any deviation from his historical knowledge could result in significant losses of Cersei Capital's gains.
However, high risks come with high returns, and Simon's foresight gave Cersei a substantial edge.
In the study of their mansion, as Jennifer discussed hedge fund strategies and reviewed resumes for potential hires, Simon leisurely perused resumes of tech executives, considering candidates for I
grit.
After ending a call with a contact in New York, Jennifer glanced at the clock nearing noon, stretched seductively, and asked Simon, "Found anyone suitable yet?"
Simon, picking up a resume, said, "A woman, but I think she'd only be right for Igrit's web software operations. The portal and other online products would need someone else."
Jennifer, curious, moved to sit in Simon's lap and took the resume to look for herself.
Carol Bartz, 42, currently the Global Operations VP at SUN Microsystems, had two decades of experience in the computer industry.
After a brief review and confirming that Bartz was not Simon's type romantically, Jennifer professionally remarked, "I think she's excellent. Her experience and qualifications are more than sufficient to manage Igrit."
Beyond the resume, Simon knew Bartz would soon lead Autodesk and transform it into a leading software company and that her tenure as CEO of Yahoo from 2009 to 2011, despite her vigorous reforms, ended with her dismissal due to the company's decline.
Contemplating this, Simon added, "Carol's experience is enough, which is why I hope she'd handle the web software sales operations. But the portal and other online businesses are different—they are uncharted territories that require innovation and risk-taking. Carol's lengthy experience might make her too set in her ways, potentially a limitation."
Jennifer, nestling comfortably, listened and suggested, "Finding the right person might be hard then."
"We'll find someone eventually," Simon admitted somewhat helplessly. "I need an efficient executor unfamiliar with fixed patterns, someone who understands new technologies but won't impose traditional business models from companies like IBM or Intel on Igrit."
As Jennifer looked up at him, an idea seemed to strike her. "I think I saw someone you need."
Simon, intrigued, prompted, "Oh?"
"You need an outsider," Jennifer proposed, fetching a resume from the desk and handing it to him. "Here."
Simon, reading the resume, felt an almost fantastical sense of fate—it was Jeff Bezos.
Nestled in Simon's arms, Jennifer didn't catch his bemused expression. She highlighted, "He's perfect. A Princeton grad in computer science, just like you were at Stanford. He interned briefly at Intel and Bell Labs and now works in the investment department at Citibank. Though only 26, he was the youngest VP there last year, very capable. I thought about bringing him into Fink's team, but now, he's yours."
As she chattered away, Simon marveled at how small and strange the world could be. Placing Bezos' resume aside, he appreciated the woman in his arms with several kisses, then asked, "What do you want for lunch, darling?"
Caught mid-sentence, Jennifer playfully suggested, "How about me?"
Such wishes were always to be fulfilled.
Simon carried her toward the bedroom, and as he opened the door, Jennifer exclaimed in mock surprise, "Really, now? It's lunchtime!"
Simon, undressing, made a fierce face and declared, "I'll devour you completely."
With Jeff Bezos now in the picture, Simon wouldn't pass up the opportunity. Igrit's portal operation was a blank slate—not needing a paintbrush because he was the paintbrush. He needed another blank slate on which to create, then transfer that creation to Igrit's canvas. Jeff Bezos was undoubtedly the right blank slate for this task.
Despite Bezos's young age of 26, this was not an issue—Simon was only 22 himself.
Moreover, Simon believed the years before turning 30 were golden for entrepreneurial creation, making Bezos's age just right.
Meanwhile, Jeff Bezos felt his recent experiences were somewhat surreal.
Rising quickly in his career since graduating from Princeton four years ago, he had also heard whispers of interest from Cersei Capital.
Compared to the nearly century-old Citibank, the miraculously ascendant Cersei Capital was very appealing.
When Westeros Corporation's president, James Lebrecht, invited him to lunch, Bezos thought it was a job interview for Cersei.
After all, everyone knew Westeros was the parent company of the four 'women': Daenerys, Igrit, Melisandre, and Cersei.
Then, to his surprise, he discovered the invitation was not for a role with Cersei but with Igrit.
What was going on?
After lunch with James, who left him a thick briefing document, Bezos, completely puzzled, read through Simon Westeros's extensive plans for Igrit and the broader internet industry. After gathering some emergent internet industry data himself, he quickly decided to join the company.
Meanwhile, Simon wouldn't hand over Igrit entirely to Bezos, who would initially be just an executor, while Simon remained the 'paintbrush'. Thus, Simon also invited Carol Bartz to handle Igrit's web software operations, having secured
an understanding from SUN Microsystems, Bartz soon opted to join Igrit.
After some adjustments, Simon took the helm as chairman of Igrit to oversee the big picture, Tim Berners-Lee continued as CEO focusing on technical development, and both Carol Bartz and Jeff Bezos served as presidents of Igrit, responsible for the web software and portal operations, respectively.
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