[Chapter 490: Beautiful Angels]
Korn Ferry International moved quickly. After receiving Winnie's request, they mobilized all available resources and, within just a few days, presented three candidates for the boutique store manager position.
After lunch at Aunt Kelly's house, Linton, Winnie, and Goodman met that afternoon at a business club in Beverly Hills to interview the three candidates. Each of them had impressive resumes as managers of major brand boutiques. While not outrageously beautiful, all three possessed a warm, approachable charm.
In the end, they selected a beautiful young woman named Alexis Carlson-- a 27-year-old white woman currently managing the Bulgari boutique in Santa Monica.
They agreed on a salary of $150,000 per year plus two Bottles of Beauty Pills, which raised her effective earnings to about $350,000 annually -- a ceiling salary for a store manager. As for the far more expensive Vitality Pills, those were absolutely off the table.
After Linton used his Soul Induction ability to confirm that she had no ulterior motives or connections to any espionage groups, they signed the contract right there.
From then on, she would be in charge of overseeing the store's renovation. Of course, she and Goodman would jointly handle hiring and training the sales staff to ensure the boutique would open smoothly on May 6.
...
Yet the boutique had one crucial team beyond sales -- the security detail.
The Vitality Pills were just too valuable. A single vial sold for $8 million, so without tight security, theft was inevitable.
After careful consideration, Linton handpicked six bodyguards from his estate, led by Guli Goethe -- the current head of security and one of the original four guards hired on his second round. They were tasked with complete involvement from the renovation stage, especially on surveillance and pill safekeeping.
Linton told them not to worry about budget; their mission was flawless protection.
...
On another positive note, the first shipment of 10,000 of the regular quartz bottles and 2,000 black quartz bottles had arrived via air freight. Linton inspected them thoroughly and found they met all his standards -- even each bottle's base was marked with a serial number.
Both types of quartz bottles were stunning, emitting a soft glow that felt mysteriously noble. Packaging the pills in these would elevate their prestige immensely.
More importantly, he carefully infused the pills into the quartz bottles and tested them with his spiritual senses. The quartz effectively prevented the medicinal potency from dissipating.
He estimated that if they used ordinary glass bottles -- even if sealed perfectly -- the pills' effects would degrade by about 10% after a year, without even opening the package.
Once the customer opened it, the loss would accelerate, perhaps reaching 20% by the final pill in the bottle.
But with the quartz packaging, unopened and sealed, the pill's potency could stay intact for at least five years.
Even once opened, as long as the cap was promptly secured after each use, potency loss was negligible -- less than 2%.
---
That night, back at the estate, all his women were gathered. They had been staying in Los Angeles for some time and were raking in business, with nonstop commercial shoots and endorsements.
Even Winnie had landed high-paying endorsements, each worth at least $3 million annually. Of course, given her current status, she couldn't attend business events herself.
This wave of prosperity was generous to all of them. Take fashion endorsements asking for the highest beauty standards -- they skyrocketed once Linton's official girlfriends were confirmed publicly.
The media humorously dubbed them "Linton Certified True Beauties," and major fashion brands coveted them.
Previously, Madonna endorsed Chanel, Sophie Marceau was the face of Hermes, Cristiana backed Dior, Monica Bellucci fronted Gucci, Naomi represented Louis Vuitton, Nicole Kidman was Prada's star, Winona championed Bulgari, and Jennifer Connelly for Burberry...
All the leading Western female stars endorsed globally influential luxury brands. Now, with Linton's girlfriends identified, their endorsement fees increased by over 30%.
For those with previously lower rates -- Jennifer, Kate Winslet, and Heidi Klum -- their fees even doubled.
Even Asian stars like Michelle Reis, Vivian Chow, Izumi Sakai, Noriko Sakai, and Akina Nakamori, who had never before secured fashion endorsements in the U.S., were now approached by top fashion houses offering $3 million per year -- a sum unimaginable for Asian celebrities before.
Similarly, jewelry companies with high standards for beauty sought them eagerly. Each of the twenty women endorsed at least one jewelry brand, with hefty paychecks attached.
Interestingly, they all focused on necklace lines.
The reason was simple: these women publicly confirmed they never removed their quartz pendants, which were genuinely beautiful. This sparked a craze among the public for quartz jewelry, prompting many jewelry companies to begin designing quartz pieces.
That night naturally turned into another joyful and lively party.
Organized by Madonna, the event brimmed with excitement, featuring theatrical performances that captivated everyone.
---
Meanwhile, the health products company had already received the first massive payment of $18 billion. With money in the bank, it was only natural to fulfill the endorsements' payments to his girlfriends.
The next morning, Linton notified Meena to pay each of the 20 women $10 million for their endorsements based on their contracts. There was no need for installments since money was available and it was all "family."
Though Linton was practically immune to money's allure now, he couldn't resist the infectious excitement of his girlfriends.
After receiving their $10 million endorsement payments, someone suggested they all take the morning off, and somehow, they pushed through a firm refusal to work.
They forced Linton to stay at the estate as well.
Under Madonna's direction, the swimming pool, dance studio, gym, screening room, and rooftop garden all became stages of their enthusiastic play and intimacy...
---
Naturally, preparations began for shooting the stunning advertisements featuring the Vitality Pills and Beauty Pills.
Linton had high standards for this campaign. He assigned Jonathan Glazer -- the famed music video and commercial director under his wing -- to shoot the ads personally.
Jonathan had earned a legendary reputation for his ability to capture women beautifully, and Linton humbly admitted he could not match his artistry.
His mission was to create flawless, breathtaking poster images for each of the women.
At the perfect moment, the quartz bottles had just arrived.
Each woman would pose for two posters: one holding a single teal quartz bottle with one hand -- that's the Beauty Pill ad, destined for the boutique's first floor.
The second poster showed them holding the black quartz bottle with both hands -- that was the Vitality Pill ad, displayed on the boutique's second floor.
All posters would be signed uniformly in the lower right corner with "Beautiful Angel" and the model's name.
Since the boutique was still under renovation, there was no rush. The scheduling details would be worked out by those involved.
*****
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