After leaving JFK, the group did not head back to Manhattan. Instead, they drove to Greenwich, Connecticut, just next to New York.
Greenwich, about thirty kilometers northeast of Manhattan, had nothing to do with Greenwich Village in Midtown Manhattan. If anyone insisted on finding a connection, the only explanation was Westerners' chronic lack of naming creativity.
Compared to the artist-packed Greenwich Village, Greenwich was a wealthy enclave on par with the Upper East Side, East Hampton on Long Island, and similar areas. Many rich families owned properties in both the Upper East Side and nearby Greenwich or East Hampton. They typically lived in the city on weekdays, then returned to their suburban estates on weekends.
Janet had been buying properties for Simon nonstop behind the scenes. During their recent stay in New York, she'd purchased another manor in Greenwich.
Not only that, she was still scouting real estate in cities on both coasts, places like Las Vegas, Chicago, Boston, Washington, Miami, and more. With Simon's current net worth, his old dream of owning property all over the world was now entirely achievable.
Before coming to the United States, Sophia Fessy had also bought a home in Greenwich, planning to have the children attend school there. As a famous wealthy district, Greenwich undoubtedly had some of the best educational resources on the East Coast.
By coincidence, the party Simon would be attending tonight was also being held at a Hearst family estate near Greenwich.
In less than an hour, several luxury cars threaded through the well-developed East Coast highway network and entered the Greenwich area. Sophia's property was in downtown Greenwich. Simon's manor was in the northern suburbs. With lunch already arranged at the executive's home tomorrow at noon, they split up and went their separate ways.
Simon's convoy drove about five kilometers north along an asphalt road through the woods before arriving at an estate on the outskirts of Greenwich.
A symbolic low stone wall encircled the outer perimeter, but the ground sat noticeably higher than the road beside it, making it difficult for pedestrians or passing cars to peer inside.
Within the wall, dense shrubs and tall trees concealed the estate even further. None of the vegetation had been landscaped. It was completely different from what Simon had seen at Steve Ross's party in East Hampton.
In East Hampton, the mansions all had neatly trimmed hedges and manicured lawns. Here in Greenwich, the greenery along the way was left in its natural state.
Deep down, Simon leaned toward order, but he had no intention of reshaping this estate's layout.
Leaving it wild and natural was also a kind of order.
The estate covered more than thirty acres, about twelve hectares, an irregular quadrilateral overall. It stretched nearly five hundred meters north to south. The east and west boundaries varied in length. The northern edge narrowed to less than a hundred meters at its tightest point, bordering a lake. The southern edge ran along an east-west asphalt road for more than four hundred meters.
The cars entered through the western gate. Most of the estate was layered with vegetation of varying heights. After following the winding asphalt driveway inward for about two hundred meters, a European-style villa with a blue roof and white walls came into view. About seven or eight meters to the east of the main villa stood an annex, clearly intended as servants' quarters.
Three sedans stopped in front of the main villa, and a team of women in matching black suit jackets came forward to greet them.
Janet stepped out right behind Simon, looped her arm through his, and smiled as she gestured at the seven women approaching. "This is the housekeeper team for our North American properties going forward. I picked them myself. Pretty, right? Sophia will still personally handle things over in Europe."
Simon nodded, looking at the seven tall, fair-skinned women, and said instinctively, "They seem a bit young."
Janet pinched his arm in annoyance. "This is what you're getting. If you're not satisfied, you can pick your own. I'm not dealing with it."
They spoke in low voices as they walked. The woman at the front, with delicate features, short hair, and a slightly cool, aloof aura, reached out her hand to Simon. "Hello, Mr. Westeros. I'm Alice Ferguson."
Simon shook her hand. "Nice to meet you, Alice."
After the greeting, Alice Ferguson shifted slightly and proactively introduced the six striking women behind her, whose expressions were clearly eager and competitive. "Mr. Westeros, they are Mira, Emilia, Naomi, Doris, Isabel, and Zoe."
She rattled off the names quickly, then turned back to face Simon. "Mr. Westeros, let me show you around the villa."
Simon watched with amused interest as the other girls, who had not even gotten their names properly introduced, were blocked behind Alice Ferguson. They looked visibly indignant but did not dare to speak. He smiled and nodded. "Sure."
Janet kept smiling. At Alice Ferguson's words, she released Simon's arm. "You go in first. I'll have them take care of the luggage."
Simon didn't refuse, and headed for the villa.
Alice Ferguson followed close at his side.
They entered the villa. Simon glanced around. The scale was comparable to the villa on the hillside in Pacific Palisades. The double-height structure made it taller than some ordinary three-story buildings. The lobby was a single open space, and a lavish crystal chandelier hung directly from the domed ceiling.
The interior was done in an all-white style. The furnishings and decor had clearly been replaced, all in the minimalist style Simon liked.
After a quick look left and right, Simon walked up the spiral staircase on the west side toward the second floor.
Alice Ferguson remained behind him, still showing no intention of introducing anything.
On the second floor, Simon paused with a smile in front of a painting Janet had done herself, hanging on the corridor wall. He spoke first. "How old are you this year?"
"Twenty-seven."
"Which university did you graduate from?"
"Princeton."
Simon withdrew his gaze and continued down the corridor, his tone sharpening with faint displeasure. "And?"
Alice Ferguson finally offered more. "I studied economics. I got my doctorate two years ago."
"An economics PhD at twenty-seven. Impressive."
Alice Ferguson paused, then corrected him. "Twenty-five."
"From now on, if anyone asks, you're twenty-seven."
"Why?"
"Because I said you're twenty-seven, so you're twenty-seven."
"...Alright."
Simon pushed open a door. It was a bedroom. Seeing the floor-to-ceiling window leading to a terrace, he walked in.
On the terrace, Simon stood by the railing, looking down at the people still busy in front of the villa, and asked, "What was the title of your dissertation?"
Alice Ferguson said, "The U.S. foreign trade imbalance caused by Reagan's economic reforms."
"Interested in politics?"
"I considered it. Then gave it up."
"Why?"
"It's hard for women to achieve anything in politics."
"Not necessarily. Maybe within ten years, the country will even have a female president."
"The probability is close to zero."
"Fine. Then why did you want to come work for me?"
"The pay is high enough. And in the future, I can get better opportunities."
"Hm?"
"All four people in charge of Westeros Corporation's core companies are women."
Simon laughed. "Which four? I've invested in so many companies I can barely remember them all."
"Daenerys, Melisandre, Ygritte, Cersei."
"Alright. Then tell me this. Out of those four, which one has the greatest growth potential?"
Alice Ferguson hesitated, then said, "Daenerys, or Ygritte."
"I told you to name one."
"Ygritte."
A flicker of surprise passed through Simon's eyes. He turned, leaning back against the railing, and studied the woman in front of him again. "In that case, be my housekeeper for five years, and you can go to Ygritte. Of course, that's only if you prove your ability. If I decide you're better suited to be Ygritte's cleaner, then you'll be sweeping floors."
Alice Ferguson pressed her thin lips together. "I need access. Access to understand Ygritte."
"No problem. Also, since you're so smart that you can get a PhD at twenty-seven, spend the next few years learning computer technology as well."
Alice Ferguson said, "I also have a master's degree in computer science from Princeton."
Simon's gaze slid over her pale throat. "Any other degrees? Tell me all at once."
"No."
"Then keep studying. Get another doctorate too. You're just managing my properties, you'll have plenty of free time." Simon did not wait for her response before asking, "By the way, do you have a boyfriend?"
"No."
"Really?"
"I've had a few girlfriends."
"..."
Simon was speechless. No wonder something had felt off.
Seeing the way Simon had been choked into silence, Alice Ferguson paused, then added, "But I'm not opposed to men."
Simon nodded, deliberately letting his gaze turn more aggressive as he appraised the captured lesbian in front of him. "I understand. That's a hint."
Alice Ferguson shook her head. "No. That's a direct statement."
Simon clenched his fist. His knuckles popped softly. "I'll make you accept it."
Alice Ferguson held his gaze and said seriously, "I'll bite you."
Alright. That was vicious.
Simon noticed the flash of her very pretty white teeth whenever she spoke. He only felt a chill creep up his spine and retreated. "You have ten seconds. Disappear from in front of me."
Alice Ferguson turned her head toward the door, as if calculating whether ten seconds was enough to exit the bedroom. Then she nodded at Simon, turned around, and walked out on black heels, click, click, click. Leaving the bedroom, she gently pulled the door shut behind her. Standing outside, the new housekeeper exhaled slowly. The corners of her mouth lifted slightly, and a faint smile surfaced on her otherwise cool face.
Noise came from the stairway. Alice Ferguson quickly collected herself and headed over.
Two women came upstairs, each carrying a suitcase. When they saw Alice, they stopped, their eyes clearly guarded.
Alice walked up to them, gave them a cool once-over, and said, "Allison Norris, Becky Hope. A and B. From now on, you're under me too."
Allison shot back, "We only stay with the boss. We won't listen to you."
Alice said, "That's the madam's decision. If you're unhappy, go talk to the madam."
Allison looked like she wanted to argue, but Becky tugged her. Then Becky said, "Madam told us to bring these two suitcases into the master bedroom."
Alice nodded and headed down the other side of the corridor. "Follow me."
The Hearst party started at seven in the evening. By the time Simon's group reached Greenwich, it was already past five. After getting settled in the villa, Simon and Janet soon set out for the Hearst family estate.
"You know about the Spanish American War, right? Even though it was a century ago, after nearly a hundred years of accumulation, the Hearsts' latent influence is actually even stronger now," Janet said as they rode to the Hearst estate. "Speaking of which, the Murdoch family's influence in Australia is similar to the Hearsts' in North America. In the sixties, when Murdoch wanted to push into Britain, Australia still had very strict capital controls and didn't allow large sums of money to flow overseas. Do you know what he did?"
"Hm?"
"It was 1968, I think. An election year. Murdoch mobilized all of News Corporation's power to help a candidate he supported win the prime ministership. For that, he even smeared another one, I can't remember the name, but one of the rivals, calling him a Japanese spy. After his candidate won, he quickly signed a special order approving News Corporation's investment into Britain."
Simon hadn't expected the Murdochs to be that powerful in Australia back in the sixties. But he quickly asked, "If that's the case, why couldn't Murdoch stop the media ownership restriction act? Why did he have to sell the Seven Network?"
Johnston Holdings was currently taking over Australia's Seven Network from Qintex, and the network had originally belonged to the Murdoch family.
To prevent media platforms from controlling public opinion, Australia had enacted a media restriction law in the seventies, not allowing newspaper groups to own public television networks. It was similar in the United States. A print giant like the Hearsts could only get involved with a cable network like ESPN, and that was only because regulations had been loosened in the eighties.
Janet said, "Murdoch is too profit-driven. He supports whoever benefits him, and he drops anyone who loses their usefulness without hesitation. So he's always lacked firm allies. In the seventies, a prime minister who had been squeezed by News Corporation for years came to power, and then Murdoch got unlucky. My grandfather once said Murdoch is a businessman with no stance. You can cooperate with him, but that's all."
Simon's mind flashed to the phone-hacking scandal he remembered. That incident, in the end, had also been the result of a collective backlash after British politics had been suppressed by News Corporation for so long.
Thinking that, Simon asked again, "The abolition of inheritance tax in Australia, Murdoch must have been involved too, right?"
"My grandfather handled the liaison and coordination back then. The Murdochs, the Fairfax family, the Packer family, and many other forces all participated," Janet said, clearly unwilling to dwell on it, and quickly changed the topic. "Also, it's a lucky coincidence. The Hearst family has always supported the Democratic Party. That makes it easier for us to build more cooperative ties."