Parking the car by the roadside, lawyer George Norman unbuckled his seatbelt and glanced again at his niece in the passenger seat, who looked a little uneasy. Smiling, he said, "Jenny, what's going on? Did you know Simon Westeros before this?"
Jennifer Rebould, wearing her usual ponytail, shook her head. "No, really, Uncle. I just… I just think he's kind of special."
George Norman studied his niece again, then smiled without pressing further. "Maybe next year, I can formally introduce you to him. If it weren't for Janet Johnston's connections, a newcomer would have been more than enough to handle this young man's affairs."
Saying that, George and his niece got out of the car, walked to the front of a villa, and rang the doorbell.
Moments later, a short-haired girl opened the door, looking slightly puzzled at the two visitors outside.
George smiled and glanced at his niece before introducing himself. "Hello, is this Simon Westeros' residence? I'm George Norman, Simon's lawyer. We had an appointment."
"Oh, hello, Mr. Norman, please come in," the short-haired girl said, stepping aside. "We just ran out of copy paper, so Simon went out to buy some. Sorry about that. I'm Sandra Bullock, Simon's friend."
"No problem, we're a few minutes early anyway," George said, shaking hands with Sandra before introducing his niece. "This is Jennifer, my assistant."
Jennifer reached out to shake hands as well, but her eyes were already roaming around the nearly empty living room.
George Norman also looked around, his expression equally curious.
"Well," Sandra said, glancing around awkwardly, "Simon said he got set up by someone, so he had to rent this place."
Jennifer smiled and noticed a strange painting hanging on the nearby wall. Curious, she walked toward it.
George and Sandra followed her.
Sandra explained, "Simon said he donated some money to UNICEF, and they gave him this in return. It's quite meaningful."
George glanced at Sandra, then at his niece. From her tone, it was clear Sandra had no idea Simon had actually donated a full $500,000.
As for Jennifer, he wondered what she might be thinking after hearing that.
The thought made George even more curious about what exactly had happened between his niece and Simon Westeros. But such matters between young people weren't something he could pry into too much.
After chatting a bit, a sound came from behind them. The three turned to see Simon walking in with a bag of copy paper.
Seeing that George had arrived early, Simon apologized again. After exchanging greetings, he said, "Mr. Norman, Miss Jennifer, let's go to the back."
They walked through the living room and hallway to the backyard.
Unlike the empty villa, the backyard was full of life—a vibrant garden. There was no swimming pool like in most mansions, but instead a beautiful pergola. The afternoon sunlight of Los Angeles filtered through the vines, creating a poetic atmosphere. Beneath the pergola stood a long natural-wood table and several simple chairs.
Sandra naturally stepped forward to tidy up the large pile of sketches spread across the table. Jennifer joined in to help, but couldn't help being captivated by the drawings.
He drew all these?Amazing.
She studied one sketch for a moment before realizing the short-haired girl across from her was watching. Embarrassed, she handed the drawing back—yet couldn't help wondering, was the girl in the drawing her?
So lucky.
Simon invited George and Jennifer to sit down. Sandra went to make coffee.
Once seated, George took a thick folder from his briefcase and handed it to Simon. "Simon, these are the documents for the two companies you asked us to register. Take a look first, and then I'll explain a few details."
Simon nodded, opened the folder, and took out all the paperwork. Inside were also two boxes, each containing several company seals, along with two similar sets of registration certificates and other documents.
Since he had decided to independently produce Run Lola Run, it was necessary to establish a dedicated company. In North America's mature business environment, this was an easy process.
After consulting George Norman, Simon had commissioned his law firm to register two companies for him.
Now, the two certificates in his hands bore their names:
Westeros Company.Daenerys Pictures.
Since he was already using the name Westeros, Simon didn't mind borrowing the Mother of Dragons' name as well.
In fact, Run Lola Run would be produced under Daenerys Pictures.
As for the Westeros Company, it was more of a preemptive move.
After all, the lawsuit between Apple Records and Apple Computers had dragged on for decades; better to secure the name "Westeros" early and avoid trouble later.
People who like to squat on names exist everywhere.
On George's advice, both companies were registered in Delaware on the East Coast.
As the lawyer explained, Delaware's tax and corporate laws made it a global hub for company registration—half of the Fortune 500 were based there. It was said that every street in Wilmington, the state capital, had thousands of registered companies.
While Simon flipped through the documents, Sandra returned with a tray, poured coffee for everyone, and sat down next to him, curiously glancing over the company papers.
Westeros Company—that one made sense.
But Daenerys Pictures?After a few glances, Sandra asked straightforwardly, "Simon, who is Daenerys?"