Dume Cape Manor.
In front of the glass curtain wall facing the sea in the Shell Villa, Simon and Amy Pascal were discussing business matters while sitting on a sofa against the wall. The two were paying little attention to the lively 'first birthday' game in the center of the hall, where every child had a chance to receive a gift.
"The Japanese stock market has been declining for the past week, so I guess this means you won't be able to attend the opening ceremony of Universal Studios Osaka during Easter next year?" Amy asked.
Simon, holding a glass of red wine, leaned back leisurely on a single sofa, smiling. "Yes, I definitely can't go. This downward cycle in the Japanese stock market might last a long time. Even if things improve by then, if I go, the Japanese will really lose their temper."
Amy chuckled. "There's something else. As you know, regarding the name issue, do we still need to continue using the 'Universal Studios' name, or is now the right time to rename it to 'Daenerys Studios'?"
"I've thought about this many times, but I still don't think it's necessary. The Daenerys Entertainment Group will continue to grow larger, and we don't need to prefix every subsidiary with 'Daenerys.' Doing so could create a homogenization problem. Since we're building a global theme park system, the 'Universal Studios' sub-brand is actually quite good, don't you think?"
Amy thought for a moment and nodded in agreement. She added, "By the way, Peck told me on Friday that Turkey has recently contacted him, saying they would offer significant incentives if we locate the European Universal Studios project in Istanbul."
Amy was referring to Bruce Peck, the president of the theme park division.
In July, to push Disney towards accepting Vivendi Group's acquisition offer, Daenerys Entertainment publicly announced plans to build European Universal Studios.
The Disneyland Paris opening had plunged into financial loss, becoming a significant burden for Disney. If the thriving Daenerys Entertainment built European Universal Studios, it would inevitably draw visitors away from Disneyland Paris, exacerbating the difficulties of the already struggling theme park, and further impacting the entire Disney company.
The announcement of this plan had directly caused Disney Chairman and CEO Michael Eisner, a staunch opponent of selling Disney, to have a heart attack.
Without Eisner, the talks between Vivendi Group and Disney progressed smoothly, currently awaiting final approval from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Many feared that European Universal Studios would follow in Disneyland Paris's footsteps, but Simon had no intention of bluffing.
For the past few months, the site selection for European Universal Studios had been quietly underway.
Simon just hadn't expected Turkey to join the fray.
But it wasn't surprising.
Although Disneyland Paris had become a burden for Disney, it still brought millions of tourists to France each year. A large commercial circle had formed around Disneyland Paris, greatly boosting employment, real estate, and other aspects.
Overall, the benefits far outweighed the drawbacks.
Thus, when Daenerys Entertainment proposed building European Universal Studios, many countries stepped forward, hoping to secure the project.
To avoid repeating Disneyland Paris's mistakes regarding climate, European Universal Studios would only be located in Mediterranean countries with mild weather.
Excluding France, the only options left were Italy, Spain, and Greece—more specifically, the areas near Rome, Barcelona, and Athens, with Rome and Barcelona being the top choices and Athens as a backup. Now, it was just a matter of which country, Italy or Spain, could offer better incentives and which location would pass the theme park team's evaluation.
To prevent these three from playing hard to get, this consideration wasn't made public.
In the media, it was stated that any country in Europe, even high-latitude ones like the UK and the Nordic countries, had a chance to win the project.
Thinking this over, Simon said, "Turkey is definitely out of the question. Although our theme parks are PG-rated, the cultural differences are too great. However, Bruce can still engage with them. There's no harm in a site visit, and be sure to let the media know."
Amy understood Simon's deeper intent behind this arrangement and nodded with a smile before turning the conversation to the opening weekend box office of "The Haunting in Connecticut" and the subsequent development plans for the 'Conjuring Universe.'
From October 28 to November 3, during the Halloween weekend, "The Haunting in Connecticut" unsurprisingly topped the box office, grossing $45.71 million in its first seven days, with a per-theater average of $19,000, both figures surpassing this summer's "The Conjuring."
Of the four other major new releases, the second place in the weekly box office, "Frankenstein," only grossed $14.2 million in its opening weekend, less than one-third of "The Haunting in Connecticut."
The other two new releases fared even worse.
Warner Bros.' $30 million production "Silent Trap" grossed only $2.04 million in its opening weekend, barely reaching fifth place in the weekly box office. Disney's $20 million "The Ultimate Warrior" managed only $1.51 million in its first seven days, landing it in ninth place.
In total, the Halloween weekend's North American box office grossed $73.16 million, with "The Haunting in Connecticut" alone accounting for 62% of the total.
Daenerys Entertainment continued to dominate.
Although the second weekend's box office drop for "The Haunting in Connecticut" was expected to reach 50%, higher than "The Conjuring's" 43% drop, the film's strong opening meant it had no regrets. The 'Conjuring Universe' brand had become deeply ingrained in people's minds after these two films.
As for future plans, horror films, unlike blockbusters, have low budgets and short production cycles. If Simon wanted, he could release two or three installments each year. However, Simon knew better than to exhaust the franchise too quickly. An overly aggressive release schedule would only make audiences lose interest in the series.
Simon's plan was to release no more than one related film each year, even more cautiously than the DC Universe series, with occasional breaks to 'rest the field.' Moreover, sequels to individual films would be at least a year apart. All of this was to maximize the longevity of the 'Conjuring Universe.'
After the birthday party for the two little ones, the new week began.
November 7th.
Monday.
The day before the 1994 midterm election voting day.
In three days, Lin Su and Chen Qing had basically adjusted to their new surroundings and gotten over their jet lag. They had expected to stay in Los Angeles for a long time, but unexpectedly, they received notice on Sunday afternoon that they would be flying to New York with Simon Westeros on Monday.
Having packed their luggage in advance, they arrived at Los Angeles International Airport at 9:00 a.m. sharp.
The memorable Boeing 767 was already on the runway, and seeing A-girl waiting at the cabin door, Chen Qing knew Simon Westeros had already arrived. This made the six women a bit embarrassed, but fortunately, no one seemed to mind.
Chen Qing also keenly sensed that the four staff members assigned to her and Lin Su were even more excited than they were.
Probably because they were about to meet Simon Westeros.
She had gotten along well with the four women recently and even considered them as her first layer of support for her future development in the USA. However, some things still made Chen Qing instinctively wary, and she secretly hoped that A-girl would arrange for the four women to sit in the rear cabin with the other staff.
After all, these four were probably carefully selected by the Westeros family, and none of them were lacking in looks or figure.
But Allison did not make such arrangements and instead led the six of them into the mid-cabin lounge. To avoid making things worse, Chen Qing did not bring it up.
Once everyone was on board, the plane took off.
They didn't dare to wander around.
Just as Chen Qing was about to subtly probe an air hostess, a tall, young man entered the lounge, followed by A-girl.
The six women quickly stood up.
Simon gestured for them to sit down, then took a seat himself. He only nodded to Lin Su and Chen Qing before turning to the two female bodyguards. "Kate, Pamela, how have you been?"
Catherine Elgar and Pamela Windsor were among the first batch of female bodyguards trained at the MCSS base in Oklahoma.
Simon had not only read the detailed profiles of these women but had also met them in person several times.
The two women were pleasantly surprised that Simon remembered their names and greeted them first. Catherine Elgar replied, "We've been doing well, Mr. Westeros. Just a bit disappointed not to be working directly for you."
This batch of female bodyguards was originally trained to serve the women around Simon, so he said, "It makes no difference. Although you're working for Chen and Lin, you're still employees of the Westeros family."
This was absolutely true.
Lin Su and Chen Qing certainly couldn't afford to pay the salaries of the four women; their wages were covered by the Westeros family.
Simon didn't forget to greet the other two women, Lily Favell and Christina Latham, who he was meeting for the first time. Noticing that the six women were lightly dressed, he asked, "New York might be a bit cold. Did you bring warm clothes?"
All six nodded.
Los Angeles was warm year-round, and women who loved to look good naturally tolerated the cold, so wearing light clothing on the West Coast was no problem.
But now the East Coast had already entered winter, with daily temperatures below 50°F. Continuing to dress as they did on the West Coast would be unbearable. Both Lin Su and Chen Qing, who had grown up in southern China, hadn't thought of
this, but Lily Favell, who was raised on the East Coast, had brought it up. After receiving the notice yesterday afternoon, the six women went shopping for new clothes together.
Seeing them nod, Simon changed the subject and chatted with them about other trivial matters before eventually getting up and saying to Chen Qing, "Chen, come with me."
Chen Qing, confirming that Simon had only called for her, concealed her delight and stood up to follow him out of the lounge.
As she watched Chen Qing leave, Lin Su, who had almost stood up herself, put on a nonchalant face but felt a vague sense of loss inside.
Was this intentional?
Over the next four hours, Chen Qing did not return, and it wasn't until the plane approached New York that A-girl reappeared to take some of Chen Qing's clothes. Seeing this, the other women, no matter how oblivious, had a good idea of what had happened. When they disembarked and saw the lingering blush on Chen Qing's face and her somewhat awkward gait, the situation became even clearer.
The boss was a playboy, something Catherine and the others knew very well, so they weren't particularly affected.
But Lin Su had mixed feelings.
Damn man.
This is too absurd.
Seeing Chen Qing getting off the plane, intimately holding Simon's arm, made her inexplicably more furious.
They arrived in New York, where it was already past 4:00 p.m. on the East Coast.
After driving to Manhattan, the group split up. Lin Su and Chen Qing's destination was a townhouse on West 95th Street. The reason for this arrangement was its proximity to Columbia University, where Chen Qing would be pursuing an MBA in her spare time over the next two years.
A-girl personally escorted the six women and made sure they were settled in. Before leaving, she reminded them that they had to attend a reception that evening.
After Allison Norris left, the lights in the four-story townhouse on West 95th Street, just a block away from Central Park, were all turned on. Chen Qing, despite her discomfort, took another tour of the house, finally settling down on a sofa in the living room, feeling satisfied. Looking at the indifferent Lin Su beside her, she suddenly spoke in Chinese, "I never imagined that my first time would be on a plane."
Lin Su's expression barely changed; she looked disdainful, flipping through a copy of *The Economist* they had bought together in Los Angeles a few days ago.
Seeing Lin Su ignore her, Chen Qing smiled even more and suddenly asked, "Lin Su, do you still have your first time?"
Lin Su turned slightly, pretending not to hear.
"I guess not."
"You don't either!"
"Oh, so you still have it," Chen Qing laughed and teased, "I'll have to tell Simon; he'll probably be very pleased."
Lin Su slammed *The Economist* onto the coffee table and was about to flee.
Chen Qing stopped her and said, "Simon told me that you'll be my assistant from now on. It's official."
Lin Su's eyes widened.
She had only reluctantly agreed to cooperate with Chen Qing.
How did it suddenly turn into this...
Moreover, just half a month ago, she was a government-appointed liaison tasked with receiving Simon Westeros, while Chen Qing was nothing more than a small-time translator, not even a deputy.
This reversal.
It's really frustrating.
But after thinking about it, she quickly understood.
Men.
As long as they're satisfied, they'll promise anything.
And from the beginning, Lin Su knew that Chen Qing was no pushover.
A certain feeling grew stronger inside her.
But she also knew that she had no room to refuse.
Chen Qing, enjoying Lin Su's ever-changing expressions, soon said, "Oh, and about studying for an MBA at Columbia. Would you like to join me?"
"Yes!"
"Then I'll talk to Simon about it and get you in."
Lin Su wanted to take it back, but noticing the teasing look on Chen Qing's face, she held back.
A strong sense of competition suddenly welled up inside her.
One day.
One day, I'll surpass you!
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