Simon and Janet left their home early, driving from Malibu to meet with Catherine in Santa Monica.
After breakfast together, Simon dropped the two women off at Los Angeles International Airport.
It was August 27th, a Monday.
Janet was flying to New York to attend to the affairs of Cersei Capital.
Catherine had just finished filming "Shock Point" and was staying on the West Coast for post-production. She caught a ride to attend the New York Film Festival in September, where she had been invited to serve as a juror.
After saying their goodbyes, a Boeing 767 roared into the sky from the runway.
Once the plane was stable, Catherine unbuckled her seatbelt and instinctively looked down through the window at the ground below, though the Los Angeles International Airport was no longer in sight, much less the figure beside the runway.
He must have left already.
Busy as always.
Janet also unbuckled her seatbelt, noticing Catherine's gaze. She smiled and glanced out the window, teasing, "Missing him already?"
Catherine glared at Janet, "Don't joke about that, you two are married."
Janet grinned, pushing the call button to summon flight attendant Claire Gains, asking for a glass of water and inquiring what Catherine would like.
Catherine also asked for water and watched Janet sit down on the other side of the spacious sofa, casually turning on the TV, without getting up herself.
This was the living room in the upper cabin of the Boeing 767.
Although Simon often complained it was a bit small, Catherine found it sufficiently luxurious. She still occasionally saw in the newspapers how some criticized Simon for his extravagance with such a plane.
However, considering the recent articles about his net worth due to the sudden outbreak of the Kuwait War, where Cersei Capital made billions from the crude oil futures market, Forbes had even delayed this year's release of the Forbes 400 list of the richest Americans to get a more accurate count of Simon's assets.
Claire brought over two glasses of water. Catherine softly thanked her and once the flight attendant had left, she turned to Janet, "Do you really not mind flying back and forth between New York and Los Angeles every week?"
Janet, lying ungracefully on the sofa flipping through a document, understood the subtext in Catherine's question and shook her head, "No, not at all."
Catherine thought Janet might not have understood her point and clarified, "You and Simon have been married for less than half a year, right?"
Propping herself up, Janet raised and lowered her bare feet behind her, and after a moment responded, "Kate, the kid is only 22."
"Hmm?"
"If I were 22, I would definitely wait for him to really want to get married. But... you know, I can't wait any longer. Better to tie him down first. Although, he's not really ready yet."
Catherine understood.
Cersei Capital was planning to set up a branch, even a headquarters, in Los Angeles, which would make Janet's frequent trips unnecessary. But Janet's actions were merely to give Simon, who wasn't yet ready for married life, some personal space.
It reminded Catherine of herself.
And her initial days.
Though she knew a relationship with that younger man was unlikely, the fact that Janet stepped in and took him away—if she said she was completely unaffected, it would be a lie.
But Janet truly loved him more.
At least, if she were to marry him, she wouldn't tolerate him having ambiguous relationships with other women.
Well.
Maybe not so sure after all.
Recalling what Janet once said—that a man as outstanding as him wouldn't just have one woman—they casually chatted and Catherine pulled out the materials for the nominated films of this year's New York Film Festival from her bag to pass the time.
Moments later, Janet called Claire back, handed over the document she had been reviewing, and said, "Tell that client from Beverly Hills to go to hell, we're switching companies. Also, get our deposit back, not a penny less."
Claire hesitated before asking cautiously, "Ms. Westeros, may I ask why?"
Janet waved her off, "Let them figure it out themselves."
After Claire left with the documents, Catherine inquired, "What happened?"
Janet picked up a water glass from the coffee table and sat opposite Catherine, taking a few sips before replying, "Simon and I are planning to build two private hangars at LAX for our private planes. Beverly Hills proposed a $35 million budget—twice what I expected. They think they can fleece us, so I'm making sure they don't make a dime off us."
Catherine chuckled, understanding what kind of company Beverly Hills was.
Curious, she asked, "Can private hangars even be built at Los Angeles International Airport?"
Janet nodded, her tone dripping with nouveau r
iche pride, "Of course, if the money's right."
Catherine couldn't help but roll her eyes.
Speaking of which, Simon had actually wanted to build his own private airport.
However, that would be too conspicuous in the short term, so they opted to collaborate with Los Angeles International Airport.
Including Simon's Boeing 767, a Gulfstream IV originally purchased for Westeros Corporation's use, and the private planes leased by Daenerys Entertainment and Gucci, they already owned four private planes.
Considering future acquisitions, constructing private hangars in Los Angeles and forming a dedicated service team was essential.
Though collaborating with Los Angeles International Airport was tricky, as Janet said, anything could be handled with enough money.
After seeing the women off, Simon headed to Daenerys Studios.
A high-level meeting was scheduled that morning to discuss the company's development plans for the second half of the year.
Upon reaching the administrative area's building one, Daenerys Entertainment's executives—Amy Pascal, Robert Iger, Nancy Brill, Ella Doitchman, Danny Morris, Robert Lamm, and Mark Belford, among others—were already gathered. Even Stan Lee, responsible for Marvel, was present.
When Simon entered, everyone was warmly chatting.
Greeting him, Simon mingled and casually asked Amy, "What are you discussing?"
Amy handed him the latest issue of Forbes, quickly adding, "I must clarify, Simon, I didn't leak any information."
Forbes was a weekly magazine.
Though renowned, it wasn't on Simon's reading list. Typically, his assistant curated articles for his review.
Recently, Forbes had contacted Simon, hoping for his cooperation with the new annual billionaires list, which Simon had routinely declined.
Taking the magazine from Amy, Simon signaled everyone to take their seats, settling down himself.
The headline read: 'Billionaire Executives Club'.
Skimming the article, Forbes had clearly done its homework, accurately assessing Daenerys Entertainment's mid-year financials and Cersei Capital's recent earnings from the oil futures market.
However, the article's focus was on the salaries of several partners at Cersei Fund Management and Amy Pascal at Daenerys Entertainment for 1990.
According to Forbes, excluding Simon and his wife, seven other individuals within the Westeros system would earn incomes exceeding one hundred million dollars this year. These included six partners at Cersei Fund Management, each holding 5% of the company, and Amy Pascal, who would receive 5% of Daenerys Entertainment's annual profits plus an equal amount in stock options.
When Forbes previously announced a delay in publishing the annual richest Americans and global billionaires lists due to Simon's personal circumstances, many media outlets began digging into the financials of the entire Westeros system.
The more they dug, the more astonishing the numbers appeared.
The estimates in this Forbes article were nearly spot-on, although they didn't stand out much compared to other recent sensational reports.
Of course.
For the group of executives in the room, roughly at Amy's level, this was a different story.
Earning over a hundred million a year was miraculous for a corporate executive at this time.
Anyone with even a slight ambition would hardly be indifferent.
Setting the magazine down, Simon looked around the room, "You all know the content of this report is true. You might not be familiar with Cersei Fund Management, but you all know Amy well."
Having confirmed this himself, even after Amy's confirmation, the room buzzed.
Raising his hand to quiet them, Simon continued, "All I can say is, an annual salary of a hundred million dollars is just the beginning. The Westeros system is vast, very vast, enough for you to showcase your talents, and there won't just be a few positions earning over a hundred million a year. The industry thinks I'm tough on celebrities, unwilling to offer them the same high salaries as other studios. It's not that I'm unwilling to pay, I just offer what I think is fair. The same goes for you. As long as you contribute enough to this company, I'm more than happy to provide any of you with a salary over a hundred million dollars."
Such promises, if made by someone else, might be dismissed as empty. But sitting in that room, no one doubted Simon's sincerity.
Thus, even after the meeting ended at noon, many were still buoyed by ambitious sentiments.
After lunch, Simon and Stan Lee, who hadn't left, went to the second-floor office LOFT area, where Marvel's West Coast team had recently relocated.
Following the success of "Batman: The Initiation" and the unfolding DC movie universe, the Marvel team had proposed several times to develop Marvel superhero movies, though Simon had yet to agree.
Given the current conditions, developing one or two individual Marvel superhero movies might be feasible, but creating a Marvel Cinematic Universe was unattainable with the existing special effects technology.
However, after several discussions, Simon agreed to a compromise.
Over the next few years, Marvel would invest in
a series of 2D animated movies about Marvel superheroes, similar to the DC superhero animated movies of the original timeline, rated PG-13, each lasting between 70 to 90 minutes. These would not be released in theaters but would go directly to video and television channels.
Marvel's original West Coast division in San Fernando Valley was an animation team, previously producing children's TV cartoons.
Having made a decision, Simon approved a $15 million budget for the first animated movie, with $12 million for production and $3 million for marketing and distribution.
Since it was aimed directly at video and television channels, the technical requirements were not as complex as those for big-screen animated films, and it could be completed within a year.
Still, Simon patiently gave the Marvel animation team a year and a half to produce it.
But a $15 million budget was equivalent to Marvel Entertainment's net profits over three years. Simon made it clear: if they botched it, Marvel should stick to comics and forget about other ventures.
Grateful for Simon's concession, the Marvel team cherished this opportunity. They chose their most popular character, Spider-Man, for their debut film. Stan Lee, normally based in New York, had even come to Los Angeles to personally oversee the project's preparations.
The first Spider-Man animated movie would typically recount the origin story. After hearing Stan Lee's pitch, Simon reiterated his directive not to turn it into a simplistic children's movie. He also emphasized consistency in the animation's character designs, avoiding the varied appearances that had irked him in DC's animated films.
Simon knew such discrepancies arose from different teams handling different projects, but these were not his concern; he simply stated his requirements.
The LOFTs on the second floor provided a creative and relaxed environment, spacious and open, conducive to communication, unlike the fast-paced administrative area. Whether it was the graffiti on the walls or the movie memorabilia scattered around, everything here seemed designed for the birth of art.
The LOFT buildings in New York's SoHo, originally repurposed from abandoned factories, had indeed become a hub for artists.
No wonder Nancy Brill had moved the entire Consumer Products Division and her responsibilities, including Daenerys Analytics, the Los Angeles division of Blockbuster, and Blizzard Studios, here, giving her an air of autonomy within the Daenerys system.
Marvel's team occupied just a small corner of LOFT 3, the rest dominated by a certain petite woman.
Leaving Marvel's office area, Simon planned to check on Pixar's progress with "Toy Story" but ran into Nancy emerging from the Blockbuster office area. They found a spot nearby in the lounge area to sit and discuss Blockbuster's affairs.
Recently, Blockbuster had completed its acquisition of the Erol's chain, and its own store count was continuously rising, expected to exceed 2,000 by year's end, making it North America's largest video rental chain by far.
After poaching a top executive from Walmart to serve as Blockbuster's CEO, thus splitting the roles previously held by Blockbuster's founder, Wayne Huizenga, Nancy effectively took complete control of the company.
Essentially, Daenerys Entertainment now fully controlled Blockbuster.
Per the numerous discussions between Simon and Nancy, her current focus was on continually enhancing Blockbuster's operational efficiency to avoid issues like diminished execution and staff redundancy due to overexpansion.
This was why Nancy had recruited James Frey from Walmart, a company exemplary in addressing these issues. Only through continual efficiency improvements and cost reductions could a retail chain maintain its competitive edge and customer appeal through various discount policies against competitors.
If a company's scale meant higher prices instead of reflecting its scale advantages, its decline was likely not far off.
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