"Mission: Impossible won't start shooting until next year at the earliest. Nick, since you have no issues on your end, Daenerys happens to have a script that suits you perfectly. It's called A Time to Kill. This is a racial-themed crime thriller similar to To Kill a Mockingbird. Samuel Jackson and Sandra Bullock have already agreed to star. Your role is a white lawyer."
As Sandra's agent, Jonathan Friedman immediately recalled the details of A Time to Kill when Simon mentioned it.
The novel had been published two years ago by an author named John Grisham. Jonathan had specifically looked it up. Not only had Daenerys Entertainment bought the rights to A Time to Kill, but they had also secured priority adaptation rights for two other unpublished novels by Grisham.
The fact that Simon was handing the script to Sandra showed just how much faith he had in the project.
Jonathan had originally hoped that his client Matt Dillon could land the role of the white lawyer. He hadn't expected Simon to offer it to Nicolas Cage at this moment.
In that instant, Jonathan understood. Simon planned to follow the same strategy he had used with Famke Janssen, boosting Nicolas Cage's popularity before Mission: Impossible.
Although he came from the Coppola family, Cage had been struggling in Hollywood for many years and had only barely reached second-tier status.
Nicolas Cage obviously couldn't figure out Simon's intentions right away. He said, "Simon, can I take a look at the script first?"
Simon smiled and nodded. "Of course. Also, after you sign the Mission: Impossible contract, I want you to start proper physical training from this year onward. Daenerys action films are very demanding. If you don't want to suffer, it's not too late to back out now."
Nobody likes to suffer, but Cage knew even better that nobody would turn down an opportunity like this.
Even if his last name was Coppola.
Hollywood kids from famous families never lacked opportunities, but whether they actually became stars still depended on luck.
With memories of over a dozen people in his head, Simon knew plenty of similar stories.
Gwyneth Paltrow had Steven Spielberg as her godfather and deep family connections in Hollywood. Even after being harassed by Weinstein, she still had to continue working with him because Weinstein could get her an Oscar.
Robert Downey Jr. had been appearing in his father's films since age five. Before becoming famous with Iron Man, although he received an Oscar nomination for Chaplin, his career had remained lukewarm. During one shoot he even broke down and cried to the producer, asking why he couldn't be like Johnny Depp and why he couldn't land something like Pirates of the Caribbean.
Gwyneth Paltrow, Robert Downey Jr., and Nicolas Cage were actually among the luckier Hollywood nepo babies. Others like the Baldwin brothers, Bridget Fonda from the Fonda family, and Kate Hudson, Goldie Hawn's daughter, had been in the film industry since childhood yet never tasted true superstardom after decades.
To most people in Hollywood right now, besides his own wealth and power, Simon Westeros possessed a Midas touch that could turn unknown newcomers into stars overnight.
Very few people had the confidence to turn down an opportunity offered by Simon Westeros.
Once business was settled, Jonathan and the other two stood up and left on their own.
Having shown his face to the media and done all the necessary mingling, Simon glanced at his watch and asked Cindy beside him, "I'm heading back. What about you?"
Cindy Crawford blinked.
It was probably no later than seven thirty.
But she quickly understood. For small fries like them who came to parties looking for opportunities, they would stay until the end. For the man beside her, however, he was the opportunity others sought.
Now?
It seemed she had no second choice.
Although she had never considered any other option, it was obvious that if she didn't leave with him, her earlier act of borrowing his influence would be exposed.
She glanced at the man beside her again and caught the faint smile on his lips. Cindy suddenly realized she might be in for a rough night.
Simon Westeros was not someone you could casually use for clout.
Fortunately, before she could answer, someone else approached Simon again.
It was Meg Ryan.
Cindy knew about how the man beside her had blacklisted Meg Ryan.
Meg Ryan looked visibly tense and didn't dare sit directly across from Simon. She greeted him respectfully. "Hi, Simon. I saw you here and wanted to say hello."
Simon saw Meg Ryan but showed neither distance nor special warmth. Like greeting any acquaintance, he gestured to the seat opposite him. "What have you been up to lately?"
With Simon's invitation, Meg Ryan sat down and replied, "I'm currently shooting a fantasy romance film for Fox called Love from Beyond. It's about soul swapping."
After taking a gamble during the MCA acquisition and being lifted from blacklist by Daenerys Entertainment, Meg Ryan had quickly re-signed with WMA. Since there wasn't a suitable film yet for the one-picture deal she signed with Daenerys, she had joined Fox's project first.
Fox president Joe Roth had even called Simon specifically to confirm there were no issues before accepting Meg Ryan.
Simon understood why Meg Ryan had come over. She clearly wanted to publicly show that she had been unbanned.
Since he had already let her go, Simon didn't mind playing along.
They chatted for a few minutes, publicly signaling their stance. Only then did Simon stand up to leave.
Cindy Crawford followed without needing to be told.
After saying goodbye to Amy, Semel, and the others, Simon headed toward the hall entrance with Cindy. Just as they were about to walk out, another tall figure approached.
"Simon, you're leaving already?"
It was Nicole Kidman this time.
"Yeah," Simon replied. Seeing Nicole step closer, the corners of his mouth curved into an amused smile. "I'm planning to take Cindy to Seattle to see the Space Needle. Want to come along?"
Nicole hadn't expected Simon to be so direct. Seeing the man continue walking out, she unconsciously followed and answered almost instinctively, "Sure."
As the three of them disappeared, the guests in the party hall who noticed this detail couldn't help but feel a twinge of envy. Probably only Westeros could walk out of a party with two top-tier beauties at once like this.
And he made it look effortless.
Quite a few female guests regretted not receiving an invitation from Westeros and wished they had been as bold as Nicole Kidman in following him.
It wasn't until they were seated on either side of Simon in his car that both women's heads were still spinning.
Cindy Crawford was especially confused.
Seattle? The Space Needle?
What did that mean? Had something happened earlier that she didn't know about?
It wasn't until the car arrived at Los Angeles International Airport, they boarded Simon's Boeing 767 private jet, that Cindy finally understood.
And then.
Until the plane took off.
Until they arrived at a luxurious mansion on a lake island in Seattle.
Until she was tossed around until she was utterly exhausted and fell into a deep sleep.
One thought kept circling in Cindy Crawford's mind the entire time.
This. That's really expensive!
By the time Simon reached his current status, almost no media dared to dig into his private affairs. Major outlets weren't stupid enough to offend a super-rich man who controlled huge advertising budgets, and small gossip rags didn't have the resources to track him anyway.
Still, Simon remained very cautious about such matters.
Mainly because he didn't want the hassle.
Just like how many U.S. presidents had their countless affairs exposed without much personal damage, for Simon now, if some scandals really came out, many people would simply see it as perfectly normal.
Just as Los Angeles enjoyed sunshine year-round, it seemed especially easy to encounter a rainy day in Seattle.
When the sky was just beginning to brighten, the sound of pattering rain could already be heard outside.
The four ABCD girls had to stay at the Dume Point estate. Last night, the housekeeper Alice Ferguson and another woman had served as flight attendants and accompanied Simon here.
The two women got up first in the morning and began preparing breakfast and newspapers according to their boss's habits.
A little after seven, the housekeeper carrying two sets of new clothes had just entered when she saw her boss coming down the stairs.
"Good morning, sir."
"Morning."
Simon nodded. Noticing that the housekeeper couldn't help glancing upstairs, he smiled. "Take the clothes up."
"Ah?"
Simon didn't repeat himself and headed toward the sitting room beside them, adding, "Bring me today's newspapers."
Alice finally confirmed she hadn't misheard. After a moment's hesitation, she first went to the kitchen to ask Zoe Parks, who had come with her last night, to deliver the newspapers, then carried the clothes upstairs to the bedroom.
Reaching the master bedroom, she gently pushed open the door. Because it was summer, only a thin blanket had been casually draped over the bed.
Very casually.
She was about to set down the clothes and leave quietly when Cindy Crawford on the bed woke up.
Seeing Alice, Cindy instinctively pulled up the sheet.
Remembering this was one of the flight attendants from last night's plane, she relaxed her guard slightly.
Seeing the woman on the bed still studying her, Alice couldn't just leave. She explained, "The boss asked me to bring clothes up, Miss Crawford. Do you need anything else?"
Both women had been wearing evening gowns from the party last night. Wearing them again now would obviously be inappropriate.
Hearing this, Cindy felt a bit more fondness for that guy's thoughtfulness.
Then she looked at the woman standing by the bed again.
Cindy realized that aside from height, the housekeeper's appearance and temperament were in no way inferior to hers. In fact, that faint cool and distant aura might even be more likely to arouse a man's desire to conquer.
She wondered if Westeros had slept with this woman yet.
From the look of things...
It seemed he hadn't.
How strange.
Thinking this, Cindy felt a spark of competitiveness. No longer covering herself, she boldly got out of bed and began putting on the clothes the housekeeper had prepared.
Their movements naturally woke Nicole Kidman as well.
Both women were clever and scheming in their own ways. The housekeeper had no intention of backing down either. But after persisting for two or three minutes, she still fled in defeat.