After finishing the conversation and dismissing the somewhat uneasy agent—uneasy due to the prolonged presence of the CEO—Grace approached the reception area, refilled John Casablancas's coffee, and sat down on a nearby sofa. She took the initiative to bring up the recent matter, saying, "John, I really can't help with Karen's situation."
Sensing the respect Grace showed through the small act of pouring coffee, John Casablancas's wariness toward the rapidly rising female executive eased slightly. In a more conciliatory tone, he said, "Grace, everyone in the industry knows about the collaboration between the New Media Operations Department and the Westeros system. If you could let Karen work under your name, some misunderstandings would naturally be cleared up. It's not easy to nurture a supermodel, and if there's a chance to save her, we should try."
Grace hesitated for a moment before finally nodding, "John, if you insist, I can agree. However, I don't have the time to manage her career right now, so I can't guarantee the outcome."
John Casablancas was visibly pleased when Grace agreed, saying, "You know what Karen needs now, Grace. You just need to take her to a few public events and make a few clarifying calls. If possible, it would be best if you could introduce her to Mr. Westeros."
There was a hint of probing and some not-so-subtle teasing in his words.
Grace acted as if she hadn't noticed and agreed again.
She then patiently answered some of John Casablancas's questions about the New Media Operations Department. After seeing off the Elite head, Grace checked the time. It was a quarter past ten, already 15 minutes late for the department's regular meeting scheduled at 10 o'clock.
At her age, Grace was fully aware of office politics.
Since she had taken control of the New Media Operations Department, she could imagine John Casablancas's dissatisfaction.
However, John Casablancas's deliberate lingering to eavesdrop earlier made Grace realize that the Elite founder was more concerned about her rise than she had anticipated.
Despite Simon's support and his plans for her to eventually take over Elite, now was certainly not the time to confront John Casablancas.
Grace's rise had been too rapid.
If they fell out in the short term, Grace's current strength— even with Simon's backing—would still leave her with less than a 50% chance of taking control of Elite.
In that case, while Grace could undoubtedly take a large number of clients from Elite, allowing her to either go solo or join another company, the New Media Operations Department she had invested so much effort in building might collapse. Without Elite's twenty years of foundation, starting over would be far from easy, and Simon's plans would be thoroughly disrupted.
Thus, Grace had intentionally reacted the way she did earlier.
She deliberately showed through small actions that she still respected his authority and agreed to take on Karen Mudd to give John Casablancas the impression that he was still firmly in control of Elite.
So far, it seemed to be working.
Grace decided she would also invite John Casablancas to get more involved in the New Media Operations Department's affairs, giving her the two to three years she needed to build up her strength, after which everything would fall into place.
Outside, Michelle, seeing her boss deep in thought after sending off Casablancas, waited a moment before reminding her, "Ms. Spur, everyone is already in the conference room."
Grace temporarily put her thoughts aside and walked towards the conference room, instructing Michelle as she walked, "When Karen comes, have her wait in my office."
When Grace saw Karen Mudd again, the model had already been waiting in her office for over three hours.
It was two in the afternoon.
Entering the room while still on the phone, Grace gestured for Karen Mudd to stay seated. She continued her conversation while walking over to Karen, who was sitting on the sofa in the reception area. Grace reached out, gently lifted the model's chin, and examined her closely.
Karen Mudd cooperated, raising her face as she listened to Grace take and make several calls in quick succession. One call was to cancel a collaboration between Triss Golf and Revlon, another was to discuss arranging a model cameo on NBC's hit show *Friends,* and the last one— which made Karen perk up—was about the upcoming third Victoria's Secret Fashion Show rehearsals next month.
After Grace ended the last call, Karen immediately said, "Grace, thank you."
Grace, still standing in front of Karen, merely nodded slightly. She refocused on examining the model's face and asked, "Do you still have your old photos, preferably from your high school days?"
Karen, puzzled, replied, "Yes, I have them in my apartment."
Grace walked over to her desk and said, "Bring them over later. I'll help you find a new plastic surgeon. By the way, do you have enough savings to cover a high-end surgery?"
Karen got up and followed Grace to her desk. After being signaled, she pulled a chair and sat across from her, saying, "I have some savings left. If it's not enough, I can mortgage my apartment in Chelsea."
In the modeling industry, once someone becomes successful, making money is relatively easy compared to ordinary people.
For someone like Karen Mudd, who could almost be called a supermodel, earning over a million dollars a year at her peak was no problem at all. However, many big names in the fashion world, despite their earnings, tend to spend money even faster, similar to retired NBA stars who go bankrupt soon after. They rarely think about the future.
Of course, some do plan ahead.
But most of them invest in real estate or buy stocks. Those who try to start a business or invest in high-risk ventures often don't fare well due to their lack of personal expertise.
For most models, the best outcome is finding a wealthy man to marry.
Grace couldn't help but think of the two women who, thanks to their connections, had the luck to invest in Instagram. She told Karen, "No matter how beautiful or ugly a person is, their natural appearance is always the most balanced and harmonious. Your previously plumped lips are no longer in line with industry trends, and the thin lips you've had done now are equally hard to accept. You need to undergo surgery to restore your lips as closely as possible to their natural state. This is your last chance, and I'll find you the best surgeon. It will be expensive, though."
Karen nodded repeatedly, "I understand."
As they were talking, the phone on Grace's desk rang with Michelle's voice on the other end, informing her of an incoming call. Grace signaled Karen to wait and said, "That's all for now. You can go back. Just give Michelle the photos when you bring them."
Karen, however, didn't immediately get up. After a pause, she said, "Grace, about the Revlon makeup endorsement, maybe I could give it a shot."
Grace, with her hand on the phone receiver, didn't pick it up right away. She shook her head, saying, "You shouldn't think about that. Your style is too similar to Claudia Schiffer's, who already represents the entire Revlon line. Plus, in your current state, even if I recommended you, do you think Revlon would be interested?"
Karen thought about her recent reputation, feeling disheartened. Although she hadn't even spoken a word to a certain man, her name had still been dragged through the mud.
Bitches, a bunch of bitches!
Understanding why things were the way they were, Karen cursed silently but still wanted to say something. However, Grace's phone rang again.
Seeing the caller ID, Grace didn't hesitate to dismiss her, "Karen, if you want to follow me, you need to listen. Go back for now, or you can return to John."
Karen quickly sensed that Grace wasn't joking and, not daring to linger, said goodbye and walked out.
As she was leaving, she pretended to glance back at Grace, who had already answered the call. The softness in Grace's voice, though low, still allowed Karen to catch a name.
Simon.
Simon Westeros.
And in that brief moment, Karen clearly noticed the shift in Grace's demeanor from a professional businesswoman to something more like a girl in love, confirming her suspicion.
So, it was true.
Someone had just said this morning that they weren't familiar with Simon Westeros.
As she closed the door, Karen was about to curse again when she noticed Michelle looking at her. She quickly put on a smile and exchanged a few polite words with the assistant before leaving.
After receiving a certain phone call, Grace was in a good mood for the rest of the afternoon. By four o'clock, she had stopped working. After carefully selecting a conservative yet figure-flattering black dress from Ralph Lauren, she called the store to have it delivered to her office. She also summoned an in-house top stylist to do her makeup.
At six o'clock, a luxurious Bentley arrived downstairs at the Elite headquarters to pick her up.
Grace got into the car, and it headed toward Rockefeller Center.
When Grace arrived at the top-floor restaurant of a Rockefeller Center building, Simon was already there. The restaurant was quite full, but the booth seating provided plenty of privacy, which was likely why Simon had chosen this spot.
She approached and embraced him, taking in his scent as she said, "Am I late?"
Simon slipped his hand down her waist and gave her a light tap, smiling, "All right, punishment's over."
Grace had long given up resisting when it came to this man. Her body softened, and after a moment, she let go of him.
The two sat down in the booth, with Simon glancing at the black dress she was wearing. He complimented her, saying, "Also, you look beautiful tonight."
Grace, who had
once been a model and had maintained her figure through the years, showed no signs of the physical changes typical of women her age. Even stepping back onto the runway would feel natural for her. Since meeting Simon, she had become increasingly attentive to her appearance, and coupled with her changing mindset, she had recently been glowing more than ever.
Feeling both shy and pleased, Grace nodded modestly, "Thank you."
After the waiter brought the menu and they placed their orders, Simon said, "Time Warner recently completed the acquisition of a batch of magazine assets from Hearst, most of which are fashion magazines. You probably heard about it. There's an internal Time Warner event tonight, and I'll be taking you to meet some people. It'll be beneficial for you."
Grace acknowledged this without asking why Simon had chosen to bring her along. Instead, she asked, "How have you been lately?"
Simon replied, "How have I been?"
Grace gave him a look, "You know, with $300 billion, have you been thinking about how to spend it?"
Simon responded with mock seriousness, "Yes, and I already have a project in mind. My daughter has been fascinated by the moon lately, so I'm planning to build a spaceship to bring it down to her."
Grace remembered that Simon's daughter was the child of his assistant. The natural affection in his voice stirred some feelings in her, but she merely commented, "To bring down the moon, your $300 billion might not be enough."
Simon agreed, "Exactly, so I'll have to keep working hard to make more money."
Grace couldn't help but roll her eyes again.
$300 billion—unless you really go crazy and try to drag down the moon—would be impossible to spend in a lifetime.
After the joke, Simon inquired about Grace's recent activities.
Almost instinctively, Grace mentioned what had been happening with Karen Mudd, including John Casablancas's reaction that morning.
Simon knew of the model.
He vaguely remembered that in the original timeline, Karen Mudd, along with several other supermodels, had released a Barbie doll bearing her name. She had been a prominent figure in the fashion world during the 1990s, just below the top five.
However, there seemed to have been some other incidents later on.
Due to her status, Karen Mudd's name had appeared in several Victoria's Secret Angel selections, but she hadn't caught Simon's eye because she didn't align with his preferences.
Whether in Hollywood or the fashion world, Simon rarely acted on personal dislike to suppress someone.
The higher his status, the more detached he became.
But in some matters, Simon did exert his influence, consciously or unconsciously. For instance, he didn't mind plastic surgery—whether it was facial or body modifications, breast augmentation, or buttock enhancements. He was fine with it, even if the women around him secretly underwent minor cosmetic procedures; he would pretend not to notice.
The only thing he couldn't stand, even loathed, was the trend of overly plumped lips that had taken over the fashion industry.
Originally beautiful women would insist on inflating their lips to the point where they looked like sausages, which Simon found utterly repulsive.
Though he never intended to suppress Karen Mudd, he couldn't bring himself to pay her any attention and simply moved on from the topic. Instead, he said, "You don't need to worry about Casablancas. If he gets restless, just give me a call. You just need to focus on doing your job well. And don't rush things. Within three years, even if Casablancas tries to make things difficult for you, he probably won't have the strength to do so."
This had been Grace's plan all along. She nodded, "That's what I think too. By the way, my team recently collaborated with Estée Lauder on a project, and the results were excellent. It seems online promotion is definitely a trend."
Simon smiled, "I read the report. Coincidentally, Amazon will soon launch a beauty product sales section, and Estée Lauder will be one of the first brands to join. You'll have more opportunities to work together in the future. I believe that within ten years, the focus of the cosmetics industry's marketing will shift entirely online because the synergy between web portals, social networks, and future video platforms with this industry is very strong. Whether it's in terms of claimed results or marketing costs, online platforms offer significant advantages."
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