The car stopped in front of the Shell Villa at Cape Dume Manor, and Simon showed no intention of getting out immediately. He turned to Sarah and said, "I'll have someone take you home."
Sarah Michelle Gellar was taken aback, looking at Simon with a mix of confusion and disappointment.
Simon instructed the driver, and seeing the girl quickly adopting a pitiful expression, he reached out, pinched her chin, and smiled, "Tonight isn't convenient. If I have time, I'll take you to Europe."
Sarah still didn't quite understand but held onto Simon's hand, looking up at him, "Then, Simon, it's a promise."
Simon nodded, smiling, "Of course."
The driver opened the door, and as Simon was about to get out, the girl leaned in closer, "But, Simon, how can I contact you?"
"I'll contact you."
After getting out of the car, Simon instructed the driver again and walked towards the villa.
Sarah Michelle Gellar wanted to muster the courage to follow him, but the driver closed the door before she could move. She sat back, watching Simon walk towards the villa frequently seen in magazines and newspapers through the car window.
The driver's polite inquiry interrupted Sarah's daze.
The girl responded quickly, and as the car started and she could no longer see Simon, she began to admire the manor, which could only be glimpsed in the night.
Simon knew there were always countless eyes watching him. This was California, and Sarah Michelle Gellar was only 15 years old. Even if the girl was willing, it could still cause future troubles.
With plenty of women around him, there was no need to take such a risk.
Actually, if he wasn't so busy recently, he could have taken the girl to another state. In the US, the laws vary, and in places like Utah or Washington, girls as young as 12 can get married.
AB and D were on the East Coast with Janet, while Zoe Parks and Isabelle Dunn were responsible for Simon's daily needs at Cape Dume.
When Simon entered the villa, Isabelle came to greet him.
After taking Simon's suit and folding it over her chest, Isabelle said, "Boss, Alice is back."
Alice Ferguson, although still serving as the housekeeper for the Westeros family, spent most of her spare time in San Francisco due to Amazon Online Mall matters.
Zoe and Isabelle had recently been arranged to take care of Simon at Cape Dume Manor, a move subtly approved by the housekeeper to train her successors.
The Westeros family had over thirty maids in North America alone.
However, after several adjustments, many girls were stationed in cities where Simon had properties, with only the original batch remaining close to the Westeros couple.
Seeing Isabelle possibly intentionally pressing his suit against her chest, Simon smiled and asked, "Where is she?"
Isabelle, slightly arching her back under Simon's gaze but acting nonchalant, pointed, "In the living room."
The Shell Villa had specific activity areas for the maids. Their bedrooms were usually on the second floor, with their own kitchen, cloakroom, gym, and living room on the first floor.
This treatment was only for AB and D, the housekeeper, and a few who stayed close to the Westeros couple. Most others, even in Los Angeles, had to live outside the manor.
It was already April 9th, and the preliminary operating data for Eaglet's first quarter of 1992 should have been released.
Thinking about this, Simon walked directly to the living room on the east side of the villa.
Isabelle, slightly stunned by Simon's action, quickly followed.
Simon rarely took the initiative to visit their rooms.
As he approached the living room door, Simon heard a soft giggle.
Standing at the doorway, he saw Alice Ferguson holding a laptop on the sofa, with Zoe Parks snuggled against her, arm around her waist, chin resting on her shoulder, whispering with a smile.
A doll-faced girl nestled beside a cool short-haired beauty.
It was a lovely scene.
However.
Simon couldn't help but feel like his 'vase' was being stolen.
Isabelle Dunn, following behind Simon, also heard Zoe's giggle. Peeking into the living room and seeing Simon's reaction, she felt a slight schadenfreude.
Serves you right for always being indifferent to us!
Hmph.
But to avoid awkwardness, Isabelle cleared her throat, a reminder.
The living room was brightly lit, while the hallway only had yellow wall lights, so Alice and Zoe hadn't noticed Simon's arrival.
Hearing the sound, both looked over.
Seeing Simon, Zoe Parks, still clinging to the housekeeper, jumped up like a startled kitten, standing up and glancing around nervously before greeting, "Good evening, Boss."
The housekeeper remained calm, greeted Simon, and then sent the flustered Zoe to prepare coffee for Simon.
Watching the doll-faced girl run out, Simon entered the living room, sat on the single sofa next to the housekeeper, crossed his legs, and studied the cold beauty in front of him, not speaking, with a 'you explain yourself' look.
Isabelle wanted to join in the fun but seeing Simon's expression, she quietly retreated.
The housekeeper resumed her seat, calmly picked up the laptop again, tapped a few keys, and handed it to Simon, "Boss, the basic revenue data for the online mall's first quarter is ready. Would you like to see it?"
Simon took the laptop, glancing at the screen, "Not going to explain?"
The housekeeper's tone remained calm, "Boss, you never said office romances were forbidden."
Simon frowned as if trying to recall, then said, "Alright, I suppose I didn't."
Seeing Simon focused on the laptop screen, Alice quickly assessed his expression, feeling relieved.
Her boss clearly didn't mind these things.
Having worked for Simon for so long, Alice could tell when the seemingly indifferent young man was genuinely angry.
But she realized he rarely got truly angry. It seemed like nothing in the world really mattered to him.
Indeed, at 24, he had achieved what most people couldn't in ten lifetimes. Having everything come so easily, it was hard to care.
She couldn't help but wonder if she would feel the same.
Suddenly, she realized she might be wrong.
It wasn't that he had too much to care. It was his nature.
Geniuses are often lonely and cold.
And this man was beyond a simple genius. He was a miracle.
A miracle that invoked a strong desire to understand him: who he really was, how he achieved everything, and where his limits lay.
"Alice, do you know that when a woman becomes intensely curious about a man, she often falls in love with him?"
Startled by Simon's voice, Alice realized she had been staring at him for who knows how long.
Two cups of hot coffee were on the table.
Zoe had obviously brought the coffee in and left quietly.
Alice, flustered, looked away, instinctively replying, "I would never fall in love with you."
She immediately regretted it.
The response sounded like the classic denial from a soap opera heroine.
Simon chuckled and continued reviewing the quarterly report on the laptop.
Amazon Online Mall opened on January 23rd, giving it roughly 70 days of operation in the first quarter.
After the initial burst of orders from curious users and widespread marketing, the sales quickly stabilized.
Compared to the astounding 1.32 million book orders on the first day, the daily orders averaged between 50,000 and 100,000 thereafter.
This sharp drop in sales was expected.
Simon remembered shopping festivals like Double Eleven, where single-day orders could be more than ten times the daily average.
Amazon's launch day, heavily marketed by the Westeros system, was akin to a small shopping festival.
The subsequent significant drop in orders was normal for early e-commerce development.
Even so, Amazon Online Mall received 5.03 million orders in the first quarter, selling 6.19 million books with a total revenue of $135.71 million.
Simon remembered Amazon, founded in 1995, achieving annual sales of $600 million by 1998.
The new Amazon achieved $135 million in just the first quarter, making $600 million for the year easily attainable.
In the early 90s, the US book market's annual sales were about 500 million copies.
Based on first-quarter data, Amazon could capture over 5% of the book market in a year, causing concern among physical book retailers.
Amazon's success seemed inevitable.
Unlike Bezos' original Amazon starting from scratch, this new Amazon, backed by Eaglet, launched with millions of users from the World Wide Web, a high-income, well-educated group who read and bought books regularly.
In addition to the large user base, the new Amazon had the increasingly sophisticated Ypay online payment system, which the old Amazon couldn't match.
Even in terms of platform capacity, the old Amazon gradually expanded from tens of thousands to millions of users.
The new Amazon Online Mall could support 5 million simultaneous visits at launch.
Moreover, with cloud computing technology, Amazon could elastically scale server resources, significantly saving costs.
This technology amazed tech companies that noticed its potential.
Computing resources were essential and expensive for high-tech companies.
Without cloud computing, Amazon's server costs would be a significant burden, with extensive expansions for peak traffic and wasted resources during off-peak times.
On the logistics front, Simon leveraged his knowledge and information, securing a close partnership with USPS to ensure a seamless online shopping experience.
Overall, Amazon's success was a result of years of significant investment and preparation by Eaglet.
In 1991, Eaglet's total revenue from YWS services, online advertising, Ystore, and IE browser sales reached $491 million, a notable achievement in the industry.
However, Eaglet also had a net loss of $387 million.
Few
ventures in US business history would invest billions in an uncertain industry. The entry threshold for the 1991 Forbes 400 was just over $300 million.
The $387 million loss didn't mean Eaglet only burned through that amount. The nearly $500 million in revenue was reinvested in talent, technology, marketing, and data centers.
Many familiar tech companies like Intel, Microsoft, Apple, and Oracle started with millions in funding and gradually grew.
Eaglet, with Simon's heavy investment, experienced rapid, high-growth development.
Unlike the early diverse internet industry of the original timeline, Simon's relentless investment made the World Wide Web an Eaglet-dominated platform.
The Westeros Company, through partnerships with Intel, Microsoft, Cisco, AOL, and others, created a new high-tech industry with significant investment.
After reviewing the data, Simon glanced at the time: nearly 11 PM.
Looking at the housekeeper still sitting upright, Simon smiled, set down the laptop, and approached her.
Seeing his move, Alice's eyes showed a mix of panic and something else.
"I suddenly want you to fulfill your original promise."
Simon lifted the stiff woman like a robber and carried her out of the living room.
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