Warm dinners and casual conversations, listening to him talk about the mysteries, the true and false, the sky high and the sea vast, boundless.
Don't be greedy.
Grace's movements were very gentle, but Simon still woke up. Asked softly: "Do you want to get up?"
She turned her face to the man and kissed him, feeling his faint stubble, and said reluctantly: "It's still early."
Simon glanced at the skylight outside the gap in the curtains: "Okay, then sleep a little longer."
"Can't sleep..." She couldn't help but feel a little coquettish in her tone, and then she felt her cheeks heat up slightly. She was no longer suitable for being coquettish, so she pressed his big hand that was about to cause trouble again: "Chat with me."
"How about I tell you another ghost story like last night?"
"According to your theory, I am not afraid now. I even expect ghosts to exist in this world. This can prove that death is not the end, and there may be an afterlife."
"If there is an afterlife, what do you want to do?"
"As long as I don't meet you again."
"Oh, I understand, that's irony."
"No, you are my doom. My own fate and that of my family have all changed because of you."
"Don't you want this to change?"
"My daughter entered Dalton Middle School in the fall and met a very good boy..." At this point, Grace paused before adding, "My daughter is very beautiful."
Simon's big hand under the quilt covered the woman's small hand, and said without hesitation: "For sure, you will know just by looking at mom."
Grace was reluctant to change her posture at this time, turned her face again and put a sticker on the man's chin, and continued: "Then, during Halloween, we received a party invitation from the boy's family. After everyone got in touch, we found out that they probably wanted to Connect with you through us.”
"How did you handle it?"
"To be honest, I'm not familiar with Simon Westeros. I just have some cooperation with you."
"Then what?"
Grace hesitated and said: "Rita likes that boy very much, but I think that boy is just completing the tasks assigned by his parents. We have chatted several times. Although he is the captain of the school's rugby team, he is actually a pretty cool guy at heart. A child with no opinion. After I told you that I was not familiar with you, the boy there became a lot more indifferent to us. Maybe the boy also had some feelings for Rita and did not break up. He would occasionally continue to come to my house as a guest. He was well-educated. "
Simon smiled: "Then are you satisfied or dissatisfied?"
Grace shook her head slightly: "I don't like that boy's family, they are too snobbish."
"Then just ignore them and treat it as a matter of two children. You don't think our girl will stay with that boy forever, or even get married and have children, do you?"
Grace tilted her head and rolled her eyes at Simon: "What does 'our girl' mean?"
Simon said shamelessly: "As a responsible man, of course your daughter is my daughter."
Grace asked narrowly: "What about my husband?"
"Um, let's change the topic."
Grace took out the man's big hand from under the quilt, pretended to be angry and bit it gently until teeth marks appeared, then she whispered softly: "Actually, the main reason is that the family is very rich and powerful, I'm worried Rita is going to be hurt.”
"How does it compare to Simon Westeros?"
"Little shrimp."
"Then what are you worried about?"
"You are you and I am me."
"As I said just now, I am a very responsible man, the kind who protects his own shortcomings," Simon said, thought for a while, and said: "In this way, next time I go to New York to invite you to my place as a guest, you can bring it with you. That family."
"I don't want to get too close to you."
"Aren't we close?"
Grace turned her head and glanced at him slightly.
Simon didn't take it seriously and asked, "By the way, what do you think the boy's family does? I'll have someone check it out first."
"Florida, Levison Group, mainly engaged in real estate."
"It seems to have made an impression."
"It's a very famous wealthy family in Florida. It's not surprising that you've heard of it."
Simon recalled it again and said: "I mean, I think I have seen it before. I have a property in North Palm Beach, Miami. I went on vacation with Jenny two years ago. I met the head of the Levison Group at a local party. , seems to be called, um, Francis Leveson."
Grace nodded and said: "That's him, he's that boy... Mike's father, I didn't expect you have such a good memory."
Simon said: "Actually, the main thing is that I happened to remember that his wife was quite beautiful."
Grace immediately took Simon's right hand to her mouth and bit it unceremoniously.
Simon allowed the woman to grind her teeth and said with a smile: "Two years ago, the real estate industry in Florida was at its lowest point. I bought the property in Miami at a low price. It was very cheap. Now the real estate industry in the Commonwealth is at its lowest point before dawn. It’s a dark stage, but many real estate companies just can’t survive this hurdle, and the Levison Group should also be in trouble.”
The real estate industry in the United States experienced a prosperous period in the 1980s. After the 1987 stock market crash, the bubble began to burst. In 1991, it reached its lowest point. After the Gulf War ended and Clinton came to power, it began to slowly improve. It is expected that next year with the recovery of various economic indicators in the United States, The rise will eventually surge all the way into the new millennium, until the subprime mortgage crisis breaks out.
It can be said that now is the best time to enter the real estate industry by bargain hunting.
Of course, when many people see this opportunity, whether they have the strength and courage to enter the market is another matter.
The Westeros system is the one that really comes into play.
Simon's acquisition of a golden retriever real estate developer's company was not only to set a false alarm, but also because he was optimistic about the future prospects of the U.S. real estate industry. Apollo Management and Blackrock Asset Management, both owned by Cersei Capital, have also purchased a large number of real estate industry-related assets through various types of investment portfolios in recent years.
Not only that, Simon’s properties around the world are fundamentally investments.
The global economy will show a rapid upward trend in the next decade or so, and the rise of new technological fields will create a large number of new wealthy people. As demand increases, the price growth of luxury homes around the world will inevitably be ahead of the real estate industry itself. Moreover, even if the bubble bursts in the future, the value of the top luxury homes will not depreciate much.
Simon is now buying luxury properties all over the world, which not only satisfies the habit of living in his own house wherever he goes, but the value-added returns of these properties themselves are not much worse than many other investments.
The entire Westeros system's fixed assets, stocks, bonds and other investment portfolios in the real estate industry may account for a small proportion of Simon's business empire, but this is only a relative term. Combined, the tens of billions of investment portfolios will obviously attract many troubled real estate companies to move closer to the Westeros system in order to seek possible help.
On the other hand, the Levison family tried to establish a relationship with Simon by letting their son date Grace's daughter. This seemed to be a bit of a treacherous move, and it was probably a helpless move.
Simon has never been a sociable person at heart. Even those on stage and behind the scenes of "The Man from Earth" were able to attend the buffet the night before. This was just because the project was related to Simon. For irrelevant people, Simon has no interest or time to deal with anyone casually.
Judging from Grace's tone just now, the Levison Group is well-known in Florida, and the family assets may be able to enter the 400 rich list in the United States. They may still be an old money family with a century-old heritage, but in the current United States, if you want Comparing assets with Simon is just a joke. Even if comparing power, the comprehensive strength of the Westeros system in all political and business circles is enough to crush most established consortiums, let alone a single family.
The only superiority that an established family can show off is probably the so-called heritage accumulated by generations of people at the top of the pyramid. It's just that these things can be handled in front of upstarts of the same level, but in front of Simon, they are also a joke. The Hearst family, which quickly fell apart after being suppressed by the Westeros system, is the most typical example.
To use a more appropriate description, the rise of the Westeros system is actually equivalent to a 'change of dynasties' for traditional American capital. Because of its rapid rise, the traditional capital forces in the United States have not yet responded to the threat of the Westeros system. Suddenly, the capital structure of this country has been completely changed.
And it is a change that is difficult to reverse.
The history of the United States is too short. Taking China, which Simon is most familiar with, as a reference, no dynasty can be restored after being overthrown.
Now, the only way to destroy the influence of the Westeros system on the United States is to use unconventional and extreme means. Of course, Simon would not allow this to happen, so he has made several violent or radical warning actions in the past year, as well as various profit concessions, integration and wooing methods.
Grace heard Simon's serious tone, loosened her teeth, and asked, "Are you going to help them?"
"You think I'm an angel?"
Grace also learned about the change of ownership of a certain Golden Retriever real estate company in the media. She held Simon's big hand and said with a pun: "You are the devil."
Simon smiled and said: "You still see clearly."
Grace hesitated for a moment and said, "I think it's better to forget about being a guest at your place."
"It's really nothing," Simon said: "Just think that you introduced a business to me. I have recently been increasing my investment in Florida, and I am also optimistic about the real estate industry. It is just right to support a spokesperson there. "
"Otherwise, I will just introduce them to you and you can go meet them yourself."
"As we said, take our daughter with you, I want to meet her too."
"Asshole, I always feel like you're taking advantage of me."
Simon smiled and said: "Is there any advantage in you that I haven't taken advantage of?"
Grace suddenly thought of something, turned around, looked at Simon and said, "You really can only treat Rita as your daughter, and you are not allowed to have other bad thoughts."
Simon understood what the woman was worried about at a glance and said, "I promise. In fact, those three have other reasons, do you understand?"
Grace's eyes flashed: "Then, what about me."
"You are considered a lover."
Grace pretended to be dissatisfied: "So reluctant?"
"I have many women but very few lovers. I can count them all on one hand."
"Oh," Grace's eyes lit up, but her mouth was still reluctant: "How many women have you had?"
"This is really unreasonable."
"So," Grace hesitated slightly and asked a somewhat sensitive question: "How is your relationship with your wife?"
"Great."
Originally she was a little nervous when she asked this question. Seeing the man's calm tone, Grace felt a little relieved. She couldn't help but become more curious: "Wouldn't she like it if you act so randomly?"
Simon said: "Let's put it this way, actually, I am a feminist, and my wife is a male feminist."
Grace blinked and didn't react for a moment.
"Are you thinking that it's the other way around?" Simon smiled and added: "Okay, I may be a bit hypocritical as a feminist, but it's true that Jenny is a male feminist. She thinks it's important for a man to have many women. It’s only natural.”
Grace blinked again.
Simon smiled and stretched out his fingers to flick the woman's eyelashes, feeling a row of small brushes flicker on his fingertips after being frightened, and then said: "Of course, if there are other women, such as you, who want to take away her wife's position, then what will happen? It’s different, she might kill you, be careful, this is no joke, even my life will be in danger.”
"It feels so weird."
Simon said: "This is a pyramid-shaped world, because the base level is too crowded, so most people at the bottom can only actively or passively accept the constraints of various secular rules. Over time, they also think that this is It is a matter of course. Then, the higher you go up, the higher the degree of freedom, and it is easier for the elites at the top of the pyramid to realize the extravagant wishes that the people at the bottom are powerless to achieve, so it becomes common. For the people at the bottom, since they are unable to realize it, Looking from the bottom up, we often question certain things, but we can only question them, and even most of them take it for granted, and then try our best to climb up.”
Grace suddenly laughed when she listened to the seemingly reasonable nonsense of the little man in front of her, and said jokingly: "Do you think you are quibbling?"
Simon suddenly showed a exposed expression: "Well, actually, I am just a bad man who loves to play."
Grace chuckled, but she pressed her body against Simon, and said softly: "You don't need to feel inferior, I am also a bad woman."
"Sounds like a perfect match."
"uh-huh."
The two of them laughed and whispered. Seeing that the time was about the same, they got up.
Grace will return to New York in the morning, and Simon will fly back to Los Angeles in the afternoon after finishing his work here.