"Good morning, Simon."
"Good morning, Uncle Simon."
"Morning, Gemma, and Danny."
early morning.
The two little guys, who got up early and did some homework under Sofia's supervision, walked into the restaurant. Simon was already sitting at the table reading the newspaper.
After saying good morning and seating the two little ones at the dining table, Sophia took the initiative to go to the kitchen to help serve the food.
After a while, everyone sat down.
In addition to Simon and Sophia's family of three, there are also housekeeper Alice Ferguson and two girls, C and D, at the dining table. Other maids who were also busy at the birthday party last night did not receive this kind of treatment, but were arranged in other apartments outside the manor.
Alice and the other three are responsible for breakfast.
The girls selected to be with Simon, including the housekeeper, have all received cooking training in their free time, so the food on the table can be considered rich and delicious.
Little Gemma picked up the red beans in the porridge bowl in front of her with a spoon. She noticed her mother looking over and stuck out her little tongue. However, her bright eyes looked at the other people on the table and suddenly said: "Mom, Are you going back to Europe today?"
Sofia originally wanted to teach her daughter not to be picky eaters as a routine, but she was stunned when she heard this and nodded: "Yes, mom still has work to do."
As he said this, he looked at the men and children on both sides of him, feeling somewhat reluctant for some reason.
However, Sophia knew very well that this feeling of being close to home could not completely belong to her after all.
When I left that dilapidated fishing village, I wanted to make a lot of money, live a prosperous life, and marry a very powerful man. Most of the dreams I had had have come true. Suddenly, in this small restaurant, I realized that if I could have such a home, it would actually be better than anything else.
Although she had these thoughts, Sophia had no regrets or extravagant hopes.
No one's life is perfect.
The man from before, Gemma and Daniel's father, she actually didn't have high demands on him. He was socializing and romantic outside, as long as he remembered to go home, that was enough.
However, the man dumped her anyway.
After so many years and everything that has happened in the world, Sophia no longer has expectations for certain things.
At this moment, in the restaurant, sitting on one side was the man she loved, and on the other side were the two children she regarded as treasures, and she could still enjoy the feeling of home. If you want too much, even God may not agree.
Although Sofia loves her two children, she does not condone them. She comes to North America every one or two weeks and often checks the homework of the two little ones as soon as possible. Coupled with the careful care of her grandfather and grandmother, little Gemma actually He is not that dependent on his mother.
Moreover, I have probably asked similar questions before and got the same answer.
After Sofia gave her answer, the little girl changed the topic, poked her head forward again and looked at Simon on the other side of her mother, and said: "Simon, last night Lydia said that she can star in your movie, but I don't Can I get a role too?”
Simon thought of what happened last night, and it seemed that this was not the way he agreed to a certain little witch.
However, Simon did not correct him and said softly: "What do you want to play?"
Under Sophia's careful care, little Gemma obviously does not have the rich 'movie experience' of the little witch, and all she has access to is content that she can see.
The little girl turned her head and thought for a moment, then said, "Can I play the role of a penguin?"
Simon smiled and said: "This is a bit difficult. The penguins you saw last night are all real."
"Of course I know," little Gemma leaned slightly towards the dining table, showing a little contempt in her eyes, looking at Simon and said seriously: "I don't want to become a real penguin. The school rehearsed the play, There is someone else playing the role of piggy, so of course I can play the role of penguin."
Simon was stunned, but found that according to the little girl's logic, he had no way to refute.
Fortunately, Sophia spoke quickly and led her daughter's thoughts elsewhere. Little Gemma just had a whim, but she didn't have the persistence like a certain little witch last night.
After breakfast, Sofia personally drove the two little guys to school.
The private school where the two children attend is located on the northeast side of Greenwich City, not far from Simon's estate, and can be reached within a few minutes.
Stopping the car in the school parking lot, little Gemma said goodbye to Sophia. She happened to see Lydia Hester on the other side getting out of her car. She immediately ran over happily and left with the little witch. .
Lydia Hearst was also driven here by her mother. When she noticed Sophia, Patty Hearst stepped forward to chat for a few words.
After Patty Hearst drove away, Sofia looked at her son who had been standing by her side.
Noticing Daniel's hesitant expression, Sofia knelt down, straightened the child's collar, and said with a smile: "Baby, do you have something to tell mom?"
Daniel nodded, hesitated for a moment, and then said: "Mom, do you, um, do you like Uncle Simon?"
Sophia was stunned for a moment, then nodded slightly and said, "I like it."
"So, does he like you?"
Sofia did not hesitate this time and said again: "Of course I like it too."
Daniel looked into Sophia's eyes, listened to what she said, and stopped asking any questions. He stepped forward and hugged his mother, saying: "Mom, grandma said, it has been very difficult for you these years. I, um, I just hope that my mother can also happiness."
Daniel is already three years older than Gemma, and Sofia knows that her son is actually smarter than her daughter. Although he is usually a bit taciturn, Daniel is actually more precocious than his peers and knows many things well.
At this time, hearing her son confide in her, Sophia suddenly felt that she had no regrets for her years of struggle and sacrifice.
Holding her son tightly in her arms, Sophia leaned against the child's face and whispered softly: "Baby, of course mom is happy, very happy."
Daniel patted his mother's back gently like a grown-up, and let her hug him for a moment. Then he couldn't help but say, "Mom, I can hardly breathe."
Sofia quickly let go of her son and pushed the boy towards the teaching building: "Go, mom may not have time to come next week, you take good care of your sister, grandfather and grandmother."
Daniel solemnly agreed, finally waved to Sophia, turned around and walked towards the school.
Looking at her son until he entered the teaching building, Sophia gently wiped the corners of her eyes, opened the car door and got in the car.
I had already said goodbye to Simon when I left, and this time I went directly back to my apartment in the city center, planning to say goodbye to my parents before returning to Europe.
I originally planned to take the Concorde back. This supersonic aircraft only takes three hours from the east coast to Europe. Compared with ordinary subsonic aircraft, the journey time is shortened by more than half.
The distance from North America to Europe is about 6,000 kilometers, and the three-hour journey is almost the same as the commuting time of some young people who have just entered the workplace in central metropolitan areas and have to rent houses in remote areas.
However, after the little man heard about this incident, he stopped letting her fly on this kind of plane. The reason was that it was unsafe and the noise was too loud. He also lent her his Boeing 767 this time. The man would directly take the Gulfstream IV back to the West Coast. .
Probably I can use it more often in the future.
It was clear that it was very rare for a young man to have such a territorial sense that he didn't like others getting involved in his personal belongings, so that he could lend him his car. That's why Sophia answered her son's second question so simply.
Compared with supersonic aircraft, it takes seven or eight hours to fly back to Europe on a Boeing 767, but Sofia did not refuse.
Not to mention medium-sized passenger planes like the Boeing 767, even the Gulfstream IV owned by Westeros Corporation, there is not much difference between sitting on it and being on the ground.
The seven or eight hours of flight time can be used for work and rest, so it is basically not wasted.
Moreover, the private plane can land directly in Florence, the city where Gucci is headquartered, instead of having to travel to Paris or Rome, which actually saves a lot of time.
In a manor outside Greenwich.
After Sofia left with her children, Simon did not leave immediately, but soon welcomed a guest.
Joseph Schlapp.
Head of Schlapp Consulting, a Westeros company that helps Simon with political investment matters.
Schlapp Consulting is also headquartered in Greenwich, making it easy to meet.
Joseph Schlapp is a thin, middle-aged white man in his fifties or sixties. He is not tall, has some baldness, and has some trimmed gray beard on his chin. He wears a dark gray suit and has a A temperament that is easy to convince and get close to.
This is not surprising. If you are not good at dealing with people, you will definitely not be able to do this job.
During the two years of cooperation, Joseph Schlapp was responsible for helping New York Mayor David Dinkins win the election and helping Westeros Corporation to open up political joints in two previous large-scale mergers and acquisitions. Two things Simon was very satisfied with the results.
Simon also completely recognized the other party's identity as the spokesman for political donation and lobbying work in the Westeros system from the bottom of his heart.
The meeting between the two in the morning was not an ordinary daily visit, but something very important.
In the living room of the villa.
After the housekeeper left after delivering two glasses of water, Joseph Schlapp, who was sitting on the single sofa next to Simon, took out a stack of documents from his briefcase and introduced: "According to what we have collected in recent months, According to the information, AT-T, Southwestern Bell, Pacific Bell, Sprint and Bell Atlantic are actually more or less pushing the federal government to reopen the telecommunications industry. However, Simon, please take a look at this document first. I got a lobbying plan from Motorola. Motorola not only hopes that the regulatory restrictions on operators not being involved in the field of telecommunications equipment manufacturing will continue, but also hopes that the federal government will include the nascent Internet field. The target is obvious, and it should be directed at Cisco. of."
Simon took the file and opened it.
Joseph Schlapp took a sip from the water glass on the table, waited for a moment, and continued: "But, Simon, we don't need to worry. Motorola is not involved in the field of network equipment manufacturing for the time being. Moreover, this is an emerging industry after all. Industry, the federal government cannot formulate relevant restrictive regulations too early, which will not be beneficial to the development of emerging industries. I took out this document just to let you know about this matter."
Simon nodded slightly and gave Joseph Schlapp another point in his heart.
If they are professional lobbyists who are bent on squeezing more money from their employers, they will definitely spare no effort to promote the threat of Motorola's bill to the Westeros system in order to obtain more lobbying funds.
You know, once the network equipment manufacturing field is also included in the telecommunications control system of that year, Simon may be able to maintain his shareholding in Cisco, but he will have to give up control of the company. This will have a negative impact on the Westeros system in the Internet industry. The layout is very unfavorable.
Simon's investment in politics is very generous, but he will not allow anyone to take advantage of him.
In addition to Schlapp Consulting, Westeros has always hired other political consultants to evaluate the results of Schlapp Consulting's work. If Joseph Schlapp wanted to make a fool of himself, the result would be more than just losing Simon, his big employer.
Joseph Schlapp waited patiently for Simon to read the document, then handed over a few more documents and said: "Simon, you can read these again when you have time. I will briefly explain the idea of this lobbying plan."
Simon nodded again, but casually picked up a piece of information introducing various restrictive bills in the current telecommunications field.
Joseph Schlapp knew that Simon was doing two things. He had been in this field for so many years and knew that many people had this ability, so he continued: "Since our first stage lobbying goal is to hope that the federal government will reopen Open up controls on operators not to get involved in the field of telecommunications equipment manufacturing. Then, there are many manufacturers we can join forces with, especially AT-T. AT-T has been hoping to return to the field of telecommunications equipment manufacturing in recent years, and regional telecommunications companies such as Bell Atlantic Operators are also our partners, and these manufacturers can provide sufficient data support for lobbying for the bill. In addition, our biggest opponents are telecommunications equipment manufacturers such as Motorola."
The AT-T split in 1984 not only split the giant that had monopolized the entire U.S. telecommunications industry into eight companies, but also announced many telecommunications regulatory bills, including that long-distance and short-distance telecommunications operators were not allowed to get involved in each other's business. Telecom operators are not allowed to get involved in the field of cable TV operators, telecom operators are not allowed to get involved in telecom equipment manufacturing, etc.
There is no doubt that these bills have indeed promoted the "flowering of a hundred flowers" in the US telecommunications industry. To a large extent, Internet service providers such as AOL have benefited from this.
However, the role of the split case and the corresponding restrictions and regulations in improving competition and promoting the development of the telecommunications industry is not entirely positive.
Because each service is split, the operator's scale effect is limited.
In order to maintain profit margins, major operators often choose to raise prices, thus significantly increasing consumer usage costs.
The federal government's reopening of the integration of various telecommunications sectors is the ultimate lobbying goal of Simon or the entire telecommunications sector.
However, this matter cannot be solved overnight. In the short term, Westeros Corporation will work hard to lobby the federal government to open restrictions on operators not being involved in the manufacturing of telecommunications equipment.
Because the digital era of mobile communications is coming soon.
In order to obtain federal approval as soon as possible for Westeros' acquisition of Bell Atlantic, Simon proactively promised that Nokia, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Westeros, would not conduct business in North America.
This is naturally a temporary expedient.
As the world's largest economy, Simon will never let Nokia completely give up exploring the US market.