Rachel Weisz had woken up early but pretended to sleep, feeling the emptiness of the bed beside her. After a while, she drifted back to sleep, exhausted from last night's events.
She wasn't sure how long had passed when the bright spring sunlight broke through the gap in the curtains, landing directly on her face. She opened her eyes, now fully awake, with her fatigue from earlier seemingly gone.
A particular thought crossed her mind: women do have an advantage in this aspect. But as she sat up, she felt a bit lost, unsure of what to do next.
Glancing around, she noticed a beautiful crystal ball on the bedside table. Curious, she picked it up to examine it. As she touched it, the ball lit up briefly with colorful, lightning-like streaks inside, as if a web of cracks had formed in the glass. Intrigued, she realized it was likely activated by static electricity—there was no switch, and merely touching it caused the colorful light to appear inside.
She vaguely remembered seeing something like this during a childhood visit to a science museum, although the principles behind it eluded her now. It was a fun little object, and she made a mental note to visit a boutique in Los Angeles to find one for her apartment when she returned.
While she was engrossed in playing with the crystal ball, the bedroom door opened.
Rachel looked up and saw Isabel, the family maid she had met the day before, enter. As their eyes met, Rachel's right hand instinctively touched the crystal ball again.
Beep, beep, beep. A sharp electronic sound, like an alarm, came from Isabel's wrist as soon as Rachel touched the ball. Embarrassed, Rachel glanced at Isabel's wrist, realizing she had likely triggered something by accident. Despite her panic, her hand acted on its own, touching the ball again.
Beep, beep, beep.
Oh God… Rachel wished she were Alice so she could disappear into a rabbit hole and never come out.
Isabel, trying to suppress a smile at Rachel's flushed face and her quick attempt to put the crystal ball back on the table, asked politely, "Miss Weisz, is there anything I can help you with?"
Rachel shook her head hastily and pointed awkwardly at the crystal ball. "I'm so sorry, I thought it was just a decorative piece."
"It's no problem," Isabel replied with a smile, adding, "Would you like to get up now?"
Though Rachel was tempted to crawl back into bed and escape the embarrassment, she found herself nodding.
Isabel walked to the window and opened the curtains with a switch, flooding the room with bright sunlight. "You can freshen up first. There are new toiletries in the bathroom, and I'll prepare some clothes for you. What would you like for breakfast?"
Rachel glanced around. After last night, there was no sign of her clothes anywhere. She faintly recalled the dress she wore—Versace, if she remembered correctly—being torn. Obviously, it was beyond repair.
Isabel seemed to read her thoughts. She gestured for Rachel to wait and returned shortly from the bathroom with a robe.
After freshening up, Rachel went downstairs. It was already past 10 a.m.
Seattle was having one of its rare sunny days in the rainy season, with perfect temperatures for early March. The villa was quiet. Rachel didn't want to ask about a certain someone's whereabouts, so she inquired about Kate Beckinsale instead. She still felt awkward about last night, especially since they weren't on good terms.
Isabel seemed to understand her discomfort and left after bringing her a new outfit. Another maid led Rachel to a living room on the east side of the villa, connected to a lakeside terrace. Kate was lounging comfortably on the sofa, flipping through a fashion magazine, occasionally glancing out the floor-to-ceiling windows.
The maid placed Rachel's breakfast on a round table near the window. After a brief greeting, Rachel sat down, following Kate's gaze. It wasn't hard to spot two men sitting on the terrace outside.
One was, of course, Simon Westeros. The other, with his signature glasses, was none other than Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft. Simon had come to Seattle this time to attend the launch of Microsoft's latest operating system.
It was said to be an impressive company.
From where Rachel sat, she couldn't hear the conversation between the two men, but as she ate, she noticed Gates becoming more and more agitated, gesturing angrily as he spoke. Simon, on the other hand, remained calm, legs crossed, seemingly unbothered.
Watching the scene, Rachel couldn't help but find it amusing—like a monkey showing off its bravado in front of a resting tiger at the zoo.
The release of the more powerful and user-friendly Windows 95 was indeed a milestone for the information industry. But that wasn't why Simon had attended the launch. He had come to Seattle to resolve mounting tensions between Microsoft and several of his companies, particularly Igreat.
The morning's meeting, however, was clearly not going well.
Simon had insisted that the overseas versions of Windows 95 must come pre-installed with Igreat's IE browser. Unlike in North America, where regulations were tighter, other countries had different rules, making it easier for local tech companies to create their own browsers. If governments turned a blind eye, Igreat's browser monopoly could be at risk. The simplest way to solve this issue was to bundle IE with Windows.
After all, Microsoft had once used this same tactic—pre-installing Internet Explorer—to defeat Netscape, despite the latter being a superior browser.
With the explosion of new technology industries worldwide, countless OEM manufacturers would emerge, and Igreat's control over this aspect would weaken. Pre-installing IE was a way to maintain its dominance.
Unfortunately, Gates seemed to think he had Igreat in a tight spot and demanded core browser patents in exchange for pre-installing IE. Additionally, he insisted that Igreat halt its secret development of a Linux-based operating system.
While this operating system project was still under wraps, it was hard to keep such things entirely secret in this industry.
Simon rejected both demands. He wasn't naive enough to believe Gates' promise that he wouldn't develop his own browser. And the Linux project was a key part of Simon's future plans, not just for PCs but for mobile communications as well.
Faced with Gates' stubbornness, Simon knew he had plenty of ways to counter.
First, Simon still held 18.7% of Microsoft's shares, making him the second-largest shareholder after Gates. With Paul Allen continuing to sell off his shares, Simon had solidified his influence. While he couldn't wrest control from Gates, his shareholding gave him significant sway in the company's decisions.
Moreover, as a major shareholder, Simon could always sell his stock. If he began selling, other shareholders would likely pressure Gates to make concessions. Without absolute control, Gates could even find himself ousted.
Secondly, Simon's vast empire in the internet industry allowed him to completely block Microsoft from that sector. Microsoft's future $600 billion valuation depended not only on its PC dominance but also on its internet ventures, including pre-installed browsers, which gave it an unbeatable edge. If Simon blocked Microsoft from the internet, its growth would be severely crippled.
Microsoft's previous successes in fields like data centers, portals, and network access had been bolstered by technology and patents from Simon's companies. If Simon revoked these, Gates would face severe setbacks.
On the terrace, as Simon outlined these consequences, Gates' composure faltered. His temper flared as he accused Simon of extortion, revealing the notorious temper that insiders knew well. Despite his public image, Gates was known to be as volatile as Steve Jobs, and his temperament had only worsened with Microsoft's growing success.
Watching Gates fume, Simon resisted the urge to sip his coffee, calmly responding, "Bill, we're both adults. There's no need for these childish tantrums."
Gates, enraged, retorted, "Childish? Between the two of us, who's the child here? Westeros, you really think you're some kind of god? You're just a crazy, reckless maniac. I'll tell you this—I will never give in to your threats. I can even make sure IE won't run on Windows at all."
Simon smirked coldly. "Go ahead, try it. I'd love to see what happens."
Gates' voice grew louder. "You think I won't?"
Simon shrugged. "I've already told you, go ahead. Let's see if IE gets banned or if you get kicked out by your board first."
"I own 37.3% of the shares. I have Allen's support."
"Of course. But unfortunately, that's not enough for absolute control. And I doubt Paul will support you in doing something stupid. Do you think Igreat is the only one relying on IE? If you try this, you'll become the enemy of the entire tech industry. Meanwhile, if I block Microsoft from the internet, people will cheer."
Gates stared at Simon for a moment, furious. "No matter what, you can forget about Windows pre-installing IE. Not in this lifetime."
"I'll give you until Monday to reconsider. This isn't a negotiation, Bill. It's an ultimatum. If you don't agree, I'll start selling Microsoft shares, I'll release the free Linux desktop system ahead of schedule, and I'll block Microsoft from the internet. Forget about your plans for portals, data centers, or network access. Stick to your operating system. Oh, and as for Office—you used that to force Apple to let you develop your operating system, didn't you? Well, Igreat has been quietly developing an online office system for some time now. Soon, we'll be competing in that area too
. Want to bet on whether the future of office software will remain on desktops or shift increasingly to the internet?"
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