When Simon left Daenerys Studios to return to the Dume Point estate, it was also lunchtime for many others.
In Beverly Hills.
Near the WMA headquarters in Century City, Lena Kane walked into a restaurant with Amy and the others.
It was a farewell meal of sorts.
In Hollywood, secrets were hard to keep. By now, everyone who needed to know was aware that Amy, Jessica, and Lena had spent the weekend in Mexico with Simon Westeros.
Thus, the morning's confrontation had gone smoothly.
Jason Baster, who had prepared to lose both clients, was even somewhat grateful that Lena only took Jessica Chastain with her. It was an amicable parting.
WMA's head, Jonathan Friedman, had also taken the time to meet with Lena that morning. The 23-year-old officially became a WMA agent.
Through the connections WMA provided, Lena had directly contacted Paul Greengrass in the UK. After a long phone call, Greengrass confirmed it wasn't a scam and promised to fly to Los Angeles immediately.
Moreover, news of her rise spread quickly, and many within and outside WMA reached out to her—some inviting her to parties to build relationships, others hoping to become her clients, and some trying to pitch film projects through her. Lena handled it all with ease.
Now, as they entered the restaurant frequented by many WMA employees for lunch, they were greeted several times before even sitting down.
The reason was simple.
Lena had brought two of Simon's attendants with her, flaunting her new status as Simon Westeros's protégé. She had spent the morning parading around WMA, making it clear that she was now someone to be reckoned with.
It was deliberate.
Even if people thought she was a bitch, so what?
Amy Adams and Jessica Chastain couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy. They had also spent the weekend with Simon in Mexico but only received some gifts. It was clear Simon had no intention of making them long-term lovers. As for Lena, the man's favoritism toward her was obvious.
The two girls could only console themselves with the thought that Lena's newfound status came at the cost of her freedom.
Of course, Lena wouldn't tell them that Simon hadn't initially planned to take her in. The two attendants were something she had actively asked for, and she had struck a deal with him—two years. She would be his lover for two years, and in return, she could use his name to advance her career.
She had expected him to refuse, so she even offered to forgo the houses, cars, and other perks his other women received, asking only for a female attendant to signify her status as his lover.
To her surprise, he agreed without hesitation.
When she asked why it was so easy, his answer was simple: the most valuable thing a person has is time, though most people don't realize it. She was willing to give him two years of her life, and in his eyes, that was a fair trade. Money, to him, was the least valuable thing.
Lena found his reasoning sound and even felt a slight pang of regret, thinking she might have gotten the short end of the stick. But she quickly dismissed the thought.
The world was full of different people, but there was only one Simon Westeros.
With work to do in the afternoon, they didn't order alcohol. After placing their orders and the waitress left, Lena raised her coffee cup, brimming with ambition, and said to Amy and Jessica, "Here's to the day we all become queens of Hollywood."
Jessica smiled and raised her coffee in agreement.
Amy, however, couldn't help but think to herself: Would Simon really allow a group of queens to rise and challenge his empire? Still, she raised her coffee with a smile.
In Brentwood Heights.
At the hillside mansion where the Johnson family lived, Vanessa Johnson, who had been dropped off that morning, went back to sleep and didn't wake up until noon. Her mother, Melanie Sloan, checked on her several times, worried that Simon might have been too rough with her daughter.
Fortunately, Vanessa woke up refreshed and showed no signs of distress, putting Melanie's concerns to rest.
Melanie even prepared a lavish lunch, which only made Scarlett Johansson, who had been sulking for two days after not receiving an invitation from Simon, even more jealous.
The young girl firmly believed that Simon liked her first. After all, she had met him before her sister did.
It was obvious!
Her sister had stolen her man.
Feeling resentful, Scarlett was in a foul mood. At lunch, she deliberately picked a fight with her sister over seating. Vanessa, who was a docile kitten around Simon, was the princess of the household and firmly believed that their family's current lifestyle was due to Simon's affection for her.
She wasn't about to back down from her sister.
The two sisters argued and even came to blows. Scarlett, being much smaller, was no match for her sister, who stood over 5'9". Vanessa grabbed her by the collar and pinned her to the table, spanking her while scolding her for daring to take what was hers.
When Melanie came to intervene, she only lightly reprimanded Vanessa, which made Scarlett burst into tears. She cried out that she had met Simon first and that he should like her instead.
Unfortunately, neither Vanessa, who rolled her eyes, nor her two brothers, who also believed their sister's relationship with Simon was the reason for their family's good fortune, nor even their mother, Melanie, believed her.
This only made Scarlett more heartbroken.
Life was so unfair!
When Vanessa taunted her, saying she looked ugly when she cried, Scarlett snapped. She tried to smash the dining room, but after breaking a single plate, she was restrained by her mother and brothers and dragged upstairs to her room, where she was ordered to reflect on her behavior. Her mother even canceled her afternoon acting class, saying she would call in sick for her.
This was unacceptable!
The acting class had been arranged by Simon.
Scarlett banged on the door, arguing her case, but to no avail. She threw herself on the bed and cried, vowing to win Simon Westeros back from her sister.
In Santa Monica.
At a nice seafood restaurant on Venice Beach, Christina Aguilera was celebrating with her mother, Sherry Kearns.
After her parents' early divorce, Christina had grown up relying on her mother.
Now, having confirmed with Simon that she could officially debut with a music album and even star in a movie, the single-parent household felt like they had finally seen the light at the end of the tunnel.
Moreover, at Christina's suggestion, her mother had taken one of the Hermès bags she had brought back to a pawnshop and exchanged it for $10,000. Though it was almost half the original price, the mother and daughter were more than satisfied.
Christina didn't mind selling the other gift she had received—a ruby necklace.
After returning home, Christina had looked it up on her computer and found that the Bulgari ruby necklace was worth $150,000. Selling it would have been enough for a down payment on a nice house, allowing them to stop renting.
But Sherry Kearns vetoed the idea, saying her daughter needed some decent jewelry for public appearances. Besides, selling it would raise questions about its origin, which could be troublesome.
Regardless, today was a day worth celebrating.
There was, of course, some regret.
For some reason, Simon Westeros hadn't established a long-term relationship with Christina, as rumors suggested he might. If he had, their lives would have improved significantly.
Christina even speculated to her mother over lunch that it might be because she wouldn't turn 18 until next year.
That was a problem.
Sherry agreed, feeling a bit regretful, but neither of them considered the bigger picture. Sherry, though not particularly worldly, knew that Simon Westeros wasn't someone they could manipulate. Besides, what happened in Mexico was beyond the reach of U.S. law.
In Burbank.
The Spears family, who had moved to Los Angeles a couple of years ago to support their daughter Britney's career, was also having lunch. However, with her husband Jamie Spears running late after going out that morning, the family was waiting for him.
It wasn't until after noon that Jamie finally returned.
He ignored his wife Lynne's call to join them for lunch, muttering that they should start without him as he headed straight to their bedroom, clutching a thick stack of documents.
Curious, Lynne followed him into the room.
She found Jamie sitting at her dressing table, engrossed in reading. This was unusual for her husband, a construction worker with no habit of reading.
Peering over his shoulder, Lynne's eyes widened in shock.
The documents in front of Jamie were printouts of information about the case against Michael Jackson from a few years ago.
Lynne wasn't stupid. That morning, Britney had excitedly recounted her weekend adventures to her family—yachts, diving, golf, a huge swimming pool, and even a gun so big she couldn't lift it.
Jamie had then disappeared for the entire morning.
Standing behind her husband for a moment, Lynne finally asked in a trembling voice, "Jamie, what… what are you planning to do?"
Jamie looked up at his wife, his expression oddly excited, as if he were on drugs.
After hearing Britney's stories that morning, he had gone to a nearby internet café and spent hours gathering the information now spread out before him. Seeing his wife's concern, Jamie pulled out a recorder. "Lynne, we need to talk to Britney first and record her statement as evidence."
Lynne didn't share his excitement. Instead, she felt a chill run down her spine. "Jamie, that's Simon Westeros we're talking about."
"I know," Jamie said, his eyes wide as if trying to convince himself. "The Chandlers got $20 million from Jackson. Don't you think we could get at least $200 million from Simon Westeros?"
At the mention of $200 million, Lynne instinctively swallowed, feeling her body tremble. But she hadn't lost her senses. "Jamie, but… what happened was in Mexico. Los Angeles has no jurisdiction there."
"That's not a problem," Jamie said, waving the recorder. "Britney is our daughter. She'll say whatever I tell her to. For example, before Mexico, Simon Westeros had been dating her for two years—no, three years. That's it."
Lynne knew full well that her daughter had no connection to Simon three years ago. Her voice shook. "Jamie, that's fabricating evidence."
Jamie, clearly under immense pressure from what he was about to do, suddenly stood up and glared at his wife. "If Simon Westeros doesn't pay us, we'll make a scene, just like they did with Michael Jackson. By then, who'll care if it's true or not? He'll have to pay us—$200 million, at least $200 million!"
Lynne took a step back, frightened by her husband's sudden outburst. After a moment's hesitation, she said, "I… I think it might not be easy to get Britney to lie."
"I've got that covered," Jamie said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small transparent bag containing a few pills. "I looked it up online. This is how Chandler did it."
Lynne's eyes widened at the sight of the pills. "What are those? You can't just give Britney something like that!"
She tried to grab the bag, but Jamie pushed her away and quickly popped a pill into his mouth, swallowing it. He glared at her. "See? It's fine. Lynne, stay out of this. Just wait for us to become billionaires. Billionaires! Haha, I'll buy a mansion in Beverly Hills, and one in New York's Upper East Side. No, wait—I won't even need to buy it. Simon Westeros will give it to us as part of the settlement!"
______
(≧◡≦) ♡ Support me and read 20 chapters ahead – patreon.com/INNIT
For every 50 Power Stones, one extra chapter will be released on Saturday.