It should have been a very pleasant Christmas, but bad news came one after another.
The day after reading the script for 'Rain Man', Simon asked Amy to acquire the entire project if possible, explaining his reasons, and they even discussed some negotiation strategies in advance.
However, plans always change.
Simon didn't expect United Artists Chairman Tony Thomopoulos to call him on a whim, so he could only improvise.
Tony Thomopoulos, having risen to a high position in Hollywood, was naturally not a fool. After their meeting, Amy called the next day, but Thomopoulos postponed negotiations until after Christmas, citing the holiday, and insisted that Simon must attend in person.
The matter was thus put on hold.
Then.
Before the release of Robin Williams' breakout film 'Good Morning, Vietnam', Amy had already negotiated a contract for 'Dead Poets Society' with him for a salary of $2 million.
Robin Williams' previous three films had an average box office of less than $15 million, so Daenerys Entertainment's offer of $2 million was already very generous. This male lead salary would also keep the production cost of 'Dead Poets Society' within $10 million.
However, this matter also underwent a change.
The two parties had agreed to sign the contract on the morning of December 24th, but at the last minute, CAA suddenly changed its mind, stating that Robin Williams needed more time to consider and would give Daenerys Entertainment a reply after the New Year.
It's not hard to imagine that once 'Good Morning, Vietnam' became a box office hit, Robin Williams would immediately become an A-list actor.
By then, it would be impossible to sign him for less than five or six million dollars. If Daenerys Entertainment insisted on casting Robin Williams, the overall production budget for 'Dead Poets Society' would also rise, possibly even exceeding $15 million.
Immediately after.
James Raybould went to Chicago a few days before Christmas, hoping to discuss joining the board of directors of Motorola with its chairman, Robert Galvin.
Among the 26 companies in which Westeros Company held shares, Motorola had the highest market value.
When Simon bottom-fished during the stock market crash, Motorola's stock price had plummeted by 40% from its peak, but its market value still exceeded $5 billion. Therefore, the 4.9% of Motorola shares acquired by Westeros Company consumed approximately $250 million of Simon's funds.
At the close of trading the day before Christmas, Motorola's stock price had risen from its post-crash low of $53 to $75.5. Although it hadn't yet reached its pre-crash high of $87, for an established telecommunications and electronics giant with a large market capitalization, this was already quite remarkable.
As the company with the largest investment from Westeros Company, the ability of Motorola's stock price to recover to its current high level clearly indicates the significant role played by the 'Westeros Portfolio'.
Moreover, after more than half a century of development, Motorola had become a widely held public company with very dispersed equity. With its 4.9% stake, Westeros Company had become the fifth largest shareholder in the company, fully qualifying it to request a seat on Motorola's board of directors.
During this period, the 26 companies in which Westeros Company held shares were mostly in a wait-and-see state after receiving invitations for board seats. Now, if Motorola, this established telecommunications and electronics giant, could accept a representative from Westeros Company to join its board, the resistance of other companies would certainly decrease significantly.
However, James Raybould went to Chicago and waited for three full days in Schaumburg, the town where Motorola's headquarters are located, in the Chicago suburbs.
He was ultimately given the cold shoulder.
A meeting had been scheduled, but after being left waiting for three days, a Motorola employee suddenly informed James that Chairman Robert Galvin had already gone to Florida with his family for a holiday, and James could only return empty-handed.
And that wasn't all.
On Christmas Day, Motorola publicly gave Simon a 'Christmas present'.
Motorola Chairman Robert Galvin, who was also the son of the company's founder Paul Galvin, issued a statement through The New York Times, declaring with a strong attitude that "Motorola is an industrial company with a sense of social responsibility that insists on making excellent products, and the company's board of directors will never welcome a speculator to join".
After two months of waiting, federal investigative agencies had still not initiated any investigations or charges regarding the enormous profits Westeros Company earned during the stock market crash, and the media had originally begun to quiet down.
With this capital, Westeros Company then began to seek corresponding power by requesting to join the boards of various companies. Although the matter did not cause much uproar on the surface, many people were secretly following its progress.
Now, the traditional capital forces suddenly challenged Simon Westeros, this young newcomer, and public opinion immediately flared up again.
Although Westeros Company quickly issued a rebuttal statement, the media, having waited for so long, naturally wouldn't give up easily. All sorts of inflammatory remarks poured in, turning what should have been a pleasant Christmas into chaos.
Manhattan.
In a top-floor duplex apartment in a building in the Midtown section of Lexington Avenue, this was the second property Janette had bought during this period. The apartment on Fifth Avenue in the Upper East Side would take half a year to renovate, and Simon was now completely unwilling to stay in any hotel, so Janette bought the current top-floor apartment.
This 69-story building
was a 1950s construction, but the interior decoration was quite in line with Simon's personal preference for modern minimalist style.
The duplex apartment's two-story interior space, totalling 600 square meters, was less than a third of the Fifth Avenue apartment, but still spacious enough. The entire apartment had a layout of 2 living rooms, 1 kitchen, 5 bedrooms, and 6 bathrooms, and also included a study and a private screening room. The oversized master bedroom on the upper floor, covering over 100 square meters, offered views of most of New York City.
This apartment was priced at $5 million before the stock market crash. After the crash, due to a full cash payment, Janette successfully purchased it for only $3.5 million. According to Simon's memory, such a duplex apartment would have at least 10 times its appreciation potential in the next thirty years.
The time was already December 26th, the day after Christmas, a Saturday.
That evening, invited to the Raybould family's party, Janette, already changed into a burgundy evening gown, was carefully helping her boyfriend choose a tie in the walk-in closet, while asking, "What are you going to do about the Motorola situation?"
Simon buttoned his suit jacket in front of the mirror and said, "Rationally, I'll sell the shares little by little to maximize profit. Irrationally, I'll just crash the market and drive Motorola's stock price back to its lowest point during the crash".
Motorola's current total share capital is approximately 95 million shares, and Westeros Company holds 4.7 million of them.
At Thursday's stock price of $75.5, the total value of these shares held by Westeros Company already exceeded $350 million. If capital gains tax is not considered, Simon had gained $100 million from the appreciation of these shares in just over two months.
Janette chose a light blue striped tie, walked over, and personally tied it around Simon's neck, smiling, "You definitely want to be irrational this time, don't you?"
"Yes, this Christmas has been ruined, and if I don't retaliate, more people will jump out" Simon nodded, reaching out to embrace Janette's slender waist, caressing her smooth silk dress, and said, "If I have to constantly endure, weigh, compromise, and haggle just to make more money, what's the point of life? I plan to enjoy wealth, not become a slave to money".
Janette's eyes sparkled. She leaned in and pecked his lips, continuing to tie his tie, and asked, "What do you plan to do after cashing out this money?"
"There's a lot to do. Increase stock holdings, find a way to buy two comic book companies. In Hollywood, I plan to invest in some technology companies that can advance 3D animation and CGI effects, and establish my own effects studio," Simon said, then smiled at the woman in front of him, "Of course, there's also our stuff, that island in Australia, the skyscraper in Manhattan. Oh, and you can buy more apartments in Manhattan; I like the feeling of owning many houses, and they don't necessarily have to be penthouses. In short, the money will definitely be spent".
Janette listened to Simon casually mentioning some plans he would never easily share with others, her lips curving into a smile, and said, "If you want, buying a hundred houses is no problem, but you definitely don't like renting them out, do you? Houses left unoccupied for a long time will rot, even with regular cleaning. I remember when I was little, my family bought an estate outside London, and the castle inside was beautiful. But England is too far from Australia, and my family rarely went there, so the castle eventually became like a haunted house, completely abandoned."
"Of course I don't want to rent them out, but I can certainly find people to live in them".
"Hmm?"
"Pick some pretty vases. You know, I'm not averse to the opposite sex".
Janette immediately rolled her eyes at him, teasing, "Like your ponytail assistant?"
"Jenny is not a vase".
"Mm... hmm..." Janette drawled softly, stepping back to examine the tied tie, nodding with satisfaction. She then walked to the shoe cabinet to pick out shoes, saying, "I'm warning you, you little rascal, my dad is very concerned about his reputation and likes to hunt. You'd better be careful when you're messing around outside, don't always get caught by the paparazzi".
Simon sat on a nearby chair, waiting for Janette to help him pick shoes, and chuckled, defending himself, "I'm just picking some vases, I don't plan on doing anything".
"I don't believe you" Janette said, choosing a pair of leather shoes and walking over, "Try them on, it's getting late. We'll make a detour to Madison Avenue first to look at those buildings. There's no suitable plot next to Fifth Avenue, so that place is the most feasible. As long as we can buy all six low-rise, old apartment buildings between 59th and 60th Streets, east of Madison Avenue, we'll have the site to build the Westeros Tower. I had someone do an assessment; acquiring all six buildings, including the land, and factoring in property exchanges, we might still need to invest $100 to $200 million. I've already had Iceberg register a shell company for us in Australia to acquire these land and properties, you just need to provide the money".
Simon nodded, putting on his leather shoes, and then asked curiously, "You seem to mention Iceberg quite often. Is it a man?"
Janette rolled her eyes: "It's a woman".
"Oh, but Iceberg is a really uncommon surname".
Janette picked a pair of high heels for herself, sat on the chair, and said, "What surname? Iceberg is just Iceberg, because she's always cold, so she's called Iceberg".
Simon immediately became interested and said, "A 'cold beauty,' I like that type the most. Is she pretty?"
Janette glanced at Simon, "Prettier than me".
Although she felt Janette's expression was a little strange, Simon casually said, "Introduce me sometime".
Janette nodded, "Okay, but if you dare to have any bad ideas, I'll have to learn how to hunt from Dad".
Simon made a startled expression, "That harsh? Who is it, really?"
Janette said, "Veronica Johnston, you little rascal, who do you think it is?"
When Simon heard the surname 'Johnston,' he immediately realized she was Janette's relative, and realizing his joke was inappropriate, he quickly said, "I'm so sorry, darling".
Janette put on her shoes and, linking arms with Simon, left the walk-in closet, explaining, "Veronica is my little aunt, only 10 years older than me. Our family isn't as huge as the Kidman family. After my great-grandfather, my grandfather was an only son, and my father was also my grandfather's only son. Later, my grandfather had my little aunt when he was 53, and my eldest brother Anthony was already 3 years old then. After my little aunt was born, my mother successively gave birth to the four of us children. My grandfather was very happy; he felt that my little aunt was the lucky star that made our family begin to prosper".
The two arrived at the apartment's entrance. Simon handed Janette the trench coat from the hanger, put on his own coat, and listening to her, he chuckled, "With an opening like that, there must be a 'then what'? So, then what?"
Janette put the trench coat over her dress, rolled her eyes at Simon, and said, "Then, many, many years later, Janette Johnston met a little rascal, and the tragedy began. So sad. Hmm, help me fix my hair".
Simon pulled out Janette's blonde hair that was tucked inside her clothes, and seeing the woman change the subject, he didn't press further, pretending to be displeased, "How is it a tragedy? It's clearly a fairy tale. The prince and princess lived happily ever after".
Janette, catching onto some joke, suddenly laughed and said, "I've always thought there was something wrong with that saying".
The two left the apartment. Simon locked the door and asked, puzzled, "Hmm?"
Janette took the key from his hand and put it in her purse, still smiling, and said, "Look, Prince and Princess, that's already problematic".
"Princess, explain?"
Janette waved her hand vaguely, saying, "Look, Prince, Princess, their parents should be the King and Queen, right?"
Simon immediately understood Janette's forced theory, and with a righteous expression, said, "I've decided not to speak to a woman with such a dirty mind for the next minute".
Janette leaned in, took Simon's arm, and cooed, "Darling, don't ignore little Janette".
Simon steadfastly remained silent, even tapping his wrist on his watch.
Janette and Simon walked towards the elevator together, her eyes twinkling mischievously, and her tone suddenly softened a few degrees, speaking sweetly, "Prince".
Simon immediately surrendered: "No, darling, I'll just be the stable boy. Stable boys can occasionally run off with a princess or two, that feels more fulfilling".
"Haha".