Simon and Janet left the Hearst family mansion just after 9 p.m.
Returning to their own estate, the villa was brightly lit. The new housekeeper, Alice Ferguson, was still busy leading the maids in cleaning the villa, while the bodyguards scattered around were upgrading the security system of the estate.
Simon paid no mind to these domestic affairs. After a day that had taken him from San Francisco to Los Angeles and then to the East Coast in New York, all he wanted was a hot bath and some sleep.
Janet called Neil Bennett to discuss the security system, and Simon asked Alice Ferguson to take him to the master bedroom of the villa.
The new housekeeper led Simon to a room on the east side of the villa's second floor and personally opened the door for him.
Simon glanced at the bedroom's furnishings and nodded, asking, "And the study?"
"Next door," Alice pointed to a door on the right side, starting to walk over, but Simon stopped her: "Please prepare a bath for me, not too hot. Call me when it's ready."
After giving his instructions, Simon headed to the neighboring study.
Alice, holding a black leather folder that looked very businesslike, watched her employer walk away, hesitated a moment, then went into the master bathroom to prepare Simon's bath.
The villa was naturally equipped with internet.
Simon entered the study, turned on the computer, browsed the Egret portal website, and logged into his email. He frequently typed out some notes in an email draft based on the content he was reviewing. This had become a routine over the past few months, where he would send several advisory emails each week to the heads of Egret and discuss other affairs of the company via email.
Email had become a vital communication tool for Simon and the higher-ups within the Westeros system.
To ensure security, Simon had the technical team at Egret set up a dedicated server and established specific guidelines on what could be communicated via email and what could not, including regular deletions and cleanups of emails.
Unfortunately, the main content on the World Wide Web was still provided by the Egret portal.
In addition to this, the gradual integration of North American universities into the World Wide Web platform was an outcome that Simon was particularly pleased with. By donating web technology to universities across North America, the practical technology quickly spread throughout academia, with more and more universities utilizing HTML technology to redesign their campus websites.
Moreover, the Egret company and the Simon & Janet Westeros Foundation had donated professional web technology courses to universities like Stanford, Harvard, and MIT.
Outside of academia, Egret continued to promote web technology through books and online tutorials, having published three books on the subject and set up a special section on the Egret portal for users to learn about and discuss web technology.
Thanks to these initiatives, the adoption of web technology had accelerated faster than Simon had anticipated.
Today was September 29th, and although the month wasn't over yet, data from America Online indicated that user numbers had increased by 27% compared to August. From May, when Egret began aggressively promoting the web, user numbers had grown monthly by 38,000; 46,000; 61,000; 73,000; and 97,000.
Including the initial user base, America Online's internet subscribers had reached 386,000.
Outside of America Online, two other internet service providers licensed by Egret in the Great Lakes and the Southern States had collectively reached over 100,000 users in recent months.
Simon's initial goal for 1990 was to reach 500,000 users utilizing web technology to access the internet in the remaining months of the year.
This goal had now been essentially achieved three months ahead of schedule.
It was conceivable that reaching a user base of ten million across North America within three years wouldn't be too difficult, provided telecommunications infrastructure and internet content resources kept pace.
After browsing a few websites, a knock on the door brought Simon's attention to Alice, who appeared at the study's doorway.
Her black suit was slightly wet, but her demeanor remained composed: "The bath is ready, sir."
Simon acknowledged her, saved the half-written email, shut down the computer, and left the study, stripping off his suit and handing it to the housekeeper standing by the door.
Alice Ferguson, holding Simon's jacket, saw her employer enter the adjacent bedroom and hesitated before following. She hesitated at the entrance to the master bedroom, seeing Simon enter the bathroom and close the door, then let out a sigh of relief.
She then debated whether to hang the clothes on the bedroom rack or take them down for dry cleaning. Born into a fairly well-off middle-class family and always treated as someone special, Alice had accepted the job despite lacking experience in personal service.
Recalling that other maids had received training in household management, Alice wondered why Janet Westeros had chosen to hire her, especially since she hadn't actively sought out the job
. But upon receiving the offer, she had quickly decided to accept it.
Alice was not one to settle for mediocrity. She didn't want to end up like her mother, forever subordinate to her father and family. She wanted to do something significant, achieve something memorable, and be remembered by the world.
Being noticed by the Westeroses was undoubtedly the fastest way to fulfill her ambitions. To achieve this, she was willing to pay any price, including her own body if necessary. After all, Simon Westeros was a man few women could refuse, and many of her friends, both male and female, fantasized about him.
However.
She squeezed the suit in her hands.
She certainly didn't aspire to be a mere maid.
After standing indecisively at the bedroom door for a moment, Alice remembered her role; she had staff to manage and didn't need to handle everything herself.
Realizing this, she took the clothes downstairs.
Downstairs, Janet happened to walk into the villa hall and saw the housekeeper's appearance, asking, "What are you doing with Simon's clothes?"
Alice stopped and replied, "The boss is bathing; these are the clothes he just changed out of."
Janet examined her again and nodded, "I'm going to bathe as well; prepare some clothes for Simon and me."
With that, Janet headed towards the staircase.
Reaching the second-floor master bedroom, Janet quickly stripped off her clothes and pushed open the bathroom door, plunging into the bathtub and splashing water around, soon held in Simon's arms.
Looking at Janet quieting down in his embrace, her eyes narrowed and resting against his chest, Simon knew she would drown if he let go. He tightened his arm around her waist, enjoying the touch of skin on skin, and said, "Why did you choose such a housekeeper?"
"You don't like ornaments, so I found someone smart," Janet lifted her chin from Simon's chest, her beautiful eyes looking up, "Are you satisfied?"
Simon nodded, "She's too ambitious, needs to be tempered."
Janet rubbed her face against Simon's chest, her voice tinged with mischief, "Hmm, 'temper' her as you wish, and if she doesn't shape up, send her away."
Simon chuckled but did not continue the conversation.
The two embraced quietly for a while before Janet suddenly said, "Did you hear about it the other day? Ronald Perelman wanted to join the River Club, you know, the one founded by the Rockefeller family. Not only was he rejected, but they also mocked him, calling him just a speculator."
Ronald Perelman, a Wall Street corporate raider renowned along with Carl Icahn, had taken over the billion-dollar cosmetics giant Revlon in the 1980s with a leveraged buyout starting with only $100 million. If not for Simon's emergence, Perelman would have also bought Marvel last year.
On this year's Forbes list of the 400 richest Americans, Ronald Perelman ranked fourth with a net worth of $2.87 billion, only behind Simon, Krug, and Buffett.
Simon knew why Janet was bringing this up, still annoyed about their experience at the Hearst home.
Although America had no nobility, often the old, established families of the federation, having accumulated wealth and influence over centuries, displayed an arrogance that could surpass even European nobility.
"You know me," Simon caressed the smooth skin of the woman in his arms, "I don't need others' approval, nor do I seek to enter any particular circles. If they feel standing before me is a symbol of their status, then let them stand."
"It's just that I felt uncomfortable, why should they look down on you," Janet curled her arms around her chin and looked up, "What if we just take that stock away from them?"
"Then wait for every film Daenerys Entertainment releases to be trashed by dozens of the federation's mainstream newspapers and even more magazines?"
"Um…"
Janet gnawed on her wrist, unsatisfied, then began nibbling on Simon's shoulder.
Simon, soothingly stroking her waist, laughed, "If we can't be friends, then let's at least keep the peace. Besides, the Hearst family probably thinks their print media empire will continue to thrive for another hundred years, so they can afford to remain proud, but who can say for sure what the future holds?"
Traditional print media had controlled Western public opinion for over a century. Janet, not being Simon, could not imagine the scene of its decline. However, she didn't doubt her man's judgment at all, nodded in agreement, and dropped the subject, closing her eyes against his chest.
Downstairs, Alice, holding Simon's jacket, soon found the ABCD quartet huddled on a sofa watching television in a small living room. Unlike several new maids arranged to live in city apartments, ABCD all resided in the main villa.
Having followed their employers around all day and
worked throughout the evening, the ABCD quartet had just settled down. Seeing Alice, none of them stood up or even greeted her.
The housekeeper frowned, lifted Simon's clothes, and said, "The boss is bathing; can one of you prepare some fresh clothes?"
Hearing Alice's words, the quartet exchanged looks.
Having heard in the afternoon that they were to be under the management of this newcomer, they were all somewhat dissatisfied. Alison, one of the A maids, said, "Are you sure the boss didn't ask you to do it?"
Alice stared back at Alison sharply, without hesitation, "I'm quite sure."
After a few seconds of eye contact, Alison eventually looked away but remained seated.
As the standoff continued, Claire, one of the C maids, stood up and said, "I'll take care of it."
Claire walked over, took Simon's clothes, and without another word to Alice, headed out.
The housekeeper paused for a moment, then followed her upstairs.
Together, they entered the wardrobe room where Claire, ignoring the housekeeper still watching her, took out Simon's wallet from the suit, hung the clothes on a hanger, and expertly picked out several pieces of intimate apparel for both owners, taking them along with the wallet to the master bedroom.
Placing the wallet on the bedside table, Claire, holding the intimate apparel, approached the bathroom door, about to knock but then turned to look at Alice at the doorway, "Do you want to bring these in, or shall I?"
Alice, unable to detect any slip in Claire's demeanor, hesitated but remembering Janet's recent instruction, stepped forward to take the clothes.
Claire handed the clothes to the housekeeper and, without any further sign of trouble, turned and left the master bedroom.
Watching Claire disappear, Alice took a deep breath and then knocked on the door.
Upon hearing a response, she pushed the door open.
The bathroom was filled with a faint mist and the distinctive fragrance of bath products.
However, noticing the puzzled looks from the couple intertwined in the bathtub, the housekeeper realized she had been deceived and stood awkwardly, holding the clothes.
Janet blinked a few times, saw Alice's flushed face, and quickly realized what had happened, bursting into giggles and collapsing into Simon's embrace.
Simon, understanding the situation, was about to dismiss the housekeeper when Janet sat up and said, "Who tricked you into coming here? Call them; I want to see."
Embarrassed, the housekeeper turned to leave but then hesitated and slightly lifted her hand.
Simon said, "Just leave them on the bed outside."
Nodding, the housekeeper finally turned and mechanically walked out of the bathroom.
Moments later, Claire appeared at the bathroom door, looking nervous, accompanied by a frosty-faced housekeeper.
Initially just intending to play a prank on the newcomer, Claire realized she might have made a serious mistake when Janet called her over.
The ABCD quartet weren't particularly afraid of Simon; the boss always appeared calm and gentle, and they had never seen him lose his temper.
However, they were somewhat intimidated by their female employer.
The ABCD quartet, being Australians, knew of the Johnston family's influence in Australia. Moreover, securing their jobs after being selected from hundreds of candidates by Janet was not easy. Unlike Simon, Janet truly would scold and punish them harshly, even firing them on the spot.
Claire, who had been closely observed by Janet, had once witnessed her fire six employees from Lannister Capital in one go—a team of Wall Street elites dismissed instantly for making the same trading mistake twice, which wasn't even considered severe.
Seeing the two women reappear, Janet, still nestled against Simon, waved them over.
The housekeeper didn't move, but Claire reflexively walked forward.
Approaching, Janet pressed down with her hand, and Claire knelt down beside the bathtub without hesitation.
Janet touched Claire's delicate chin with a wet fingertip, "You're very clever, aren't you? The PhD I just summoned was fooled by you."
Claire stiffened under Janet's moist touch, not daring to argue, and bowed her head, "I'm sorry, ma'am."
"I was complimenting you," Janet withdrew her hand, smiling brightly, "But don't trick her again. If you turn her into a fool, you'll be responsible."
Having been around the Westeros couple for so long, Claire had somewhat figured out Janet's temperament and knew the mistress wasn't speaking ironically. She relaxed a little and nodded slightly, "I understand, ma'am."
Janet idly played with the foam in the bathtub and added, "Since you've been complimented, you should be rewarded. What would you like?"
Claire hesitated before saying, "Alice said we should report to her from now on, but I don't think that's necessary."
Janet glanced at the housekeeper standing at the bathroom door and nodded
in agreement, "Indeed, she's too dull. You no longer need to listen to her. Now, off you go."
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