After breakfast, Simon headed to Manhattan again. Today's agenda primarily revolved around the Westeros system's various investments and collaborative projects in China, with the main focus being a morning meeting about China Telecom's IPO.
Teams from Credit Suisse First Boston and Cersei Capital's Apollo Management participated, along with representatives from China via a video conference. The meeting aimed to expedite the overseas listing of China Telecom.
Based on his past-life knowledge, Simon had initially planned for China Telecom's IPO to take place by the first half of the following year, avoiding the Southeast Asian financial crisis set to erupt in the latter half. If the crisis struck, even with the Westeros system backing the IPO, the amount raised would likely shrink significantly, impacting the stock's subsequent performance.
The original plan was to list around May of the following year. However, Simon now decided to bring the timeline forward by five months, pushing for the IPO to be completed by the end of the year.
For a major state-owned telecom enterprise, prior examples such as Japan Telecom and Deutsche Telekom had shown that IPO processes could take years. For China Telecom, the initial timeline was already ambitious: a year from the agreement signed during Simon's visit to China in April to the planned listing in May of the next year.
The sudden compression of the timeline to just seven months left many scrambling.
Simon, however, had no choice.
Given the current tech boom's overwhelming momentum, Simon predicted that the NASDAQ index could hold out until the end of the year at most. The IPO strategy designed for China Telecom heavily leaned on the allure of the tech wave to attract investors. If the IPO were delayed until after the tech bubble burst, the results would be disastrous.
Although Simon didn't explicitly state his reasoning during the meeting, everyone involved understood the urgency.
After the meeting, Simon personally called the Chinese representatives at noon and reached an agreement. Compared to the West's often drawn-out processes, Simon had great confidence in China's execution efficiency. In the past months, with Apollo Management's support, the restructuring of China Telecom's assets had progressed much faster than initially anticipated.
This was a unique feature of the Chinese system: decision-making could be slow, sometimes dragging on for years, but once a decision was made, execution tended to be highly efficient.
Following the meeting, Simon personally sent the First Boston and Apollo Management teams straight to the airport to board a flight to China. Chen Qing and another team member accompanied them, as Simon wanted them to pause their current tasks to be actively involved in the entire IPO process over the coming months. This would not only allow them to gain valuable experience but also help them expand their networks.
Moreover, they would act as Simon's "eyes."
China Telecom's overseas IPO was a historic first for a major Chinese state-owned enterprise. It was a test case for many similar state-owned enterprises seeking foreign funding in the future. For China, it was critically important, and for the Westeros system—hoping to secure future projects of this scale—it was equally crucial.
Failure was not an option.
After a day of work, Simon attended a Verizon investor cocktail party in the evening but only stayed briefly. Arriving at 8 p.m., he exchanged pleasantries with key guests and left by 8:30.
His next stop was a Greenwich apartment owned by Jerry Hall.
After a few knocks on the door, it swung open to reveal Jerry Hall's eldest daughter, Elizabeth, who threw herself into Simon's arms with a sweet, "Daddy!"
Carrying Elizabeth into the apartment, Simon realized that a casual family gathering was underway—a relaxed affair with children and families present.
Taking a quick glance around, Simon identified many familiar faces from his past life. The gathering included figures from the fashion industry like Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, Fashion TV president Anna Coleman, and stars like Kathy Hilton and Kris Jenner; from the music world, Rolling Stone editor Jann Wenner; and more.
Thanks to his past-life memories, Simon recognized most of them. However, in his previous life, even with multiple personas, he could only look up to these elites at the pinnacle of their fields. Now, Simon stood firmly as the one they all looked up to.
It turned out that Elizabeth, likely prompted by her mother, had called Simon at noon to invite him over. Simon hadn't expected a gathering, but he didn't mind. He didn't need to put in much effort at these kinds of high-level social events.
After setting the playful Elizabeth down on a sofa, Simon turned to greet Jerry Hall, who approached with a slightly apprehensive expression. Confirming that Simon wasn't annoyed, Jerry relaxed, hugged him, and looped her arm through his to lead him into the party.
Sharp-eyed guests quickly gathered around.
Jerry Hall's apartment, which Simon had originally purchased, spanned over 7,000 square feet and occupied an entire floor of the building. Capable of fitting six or seven standard apartments, the space was so vast it could feel disorienting. Even with over a hundred guests scattered throughout, the space didn't feel crowded.
Near the living room, Anna Wintour brought up a recent hot topic in the fashion world. "The decision to halt the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show is such a loss for the industry, Simon. Are you sure you won't reconsider?"
With an arm around Jerry Hall's slender waist, Simon smiled and shook his head. "It's a decision that's already been made, but it's not a permanent cancellation. Unlike the Super Bowl or the Oscars, the format of the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show makes it difficult to surprise audiences year after year. I want to pause it while it's still fondly remembered and bring it back at the right time."
The guests nodded understandingly.
Jann Wenner of Rolling Stone magazine interjected, "Simon, I'm more interested in the music. Since it's the final show for now, we're all hoping you'll contribute a few more iconic tracks for the BGM."
"That depends on inspiration," Simon replied, his thoughts drifting to a recent project, Love Transfer.
After mingling for a while, Simon excused himself to use the restroom. Upon returning, he spotted Kris Jenner in a black deep-V gown approaching. She seemed "coincidentally" surprised to run into him.
"Simon, I was just on my way to…"
Without waiting for her excuse, Simon opened a nearby door and gestured inside. "Come."
Kris hesitated briefly, glanced behind her to ensure no one was watching, and quickly stepped into the room.
Meanwhile, Elizabeth was upstairs showing off a kimono she'd brought back from Japan to friends like the Hilton sisters and the Kardashian sisters. Laughing and chatting, the girls decided to retrieve a set of geisha dolls from her bookshelf.
Elizabeth and Kim Kardashian entered the study Simon had just vacated. While Elizabeth reached for the dolls, Kim sniffed the air and frowned.
"Lizzy, do you smell something?"
Elizabeth paused, sniffed, then followed Kim to investigate a suspicious stain on the Persian rug. Kim wrinkled her nose. "Do you have a dog?"
Elizabeth's expression shifted through confusion, realization, and then anger. "No! This is disgusting! That rug is from Iran!" She huffed. "If I find out who did this, they'll never set foot in this house again!"
Kim, secretly enjoying Elizabeth's frustration, casually suggested, "How are you going to figure out who it was?"
Elizabeth hesitated, then bolted to tell her mother. Kim, trailing behind, deliberately left the study door open, letting anyone passing by notice the scene.
Back at the party, Elizabeth found Simon chatting with Cindy Crawford, her fiancé Rande Gerber, Stephanie Seymour, and her billionaire husband, Peter Brant. Simon, noticing the direction of her gaze, suppressed a wry smile.
Elizabeth tugged at Simon's sleeve. "Daddy, come to my room. I want to show you my kimono!"
With a nod, Simon let Elizabeth lead him upstairs, catching Kim's sly smile as she followed close behind.
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