After taking a shower and having breakfast with the two girls, it was already 8 a.m. The day was sunny and bright.
After receiving a report from Alison on some important matters within the Westeros system and instructing her to communicate with Los Angeles about the "Sleepy Hollow" project he had thought of the night before, Simon left the lakeside mansion at 8:30 a.m. and headed to a post-production center in downtown Toronto owned by Danerys Entertainment.
The two girls, after some playful cajoling, accompanied him.
Today, Simon was going to review the completed footage of "The Man from Earth" with Brett Ratner and discuss post-production details. He also planned to personally share his cinematic philosophy with Ratner, as he had invested considerable effort in grooming him as a key creative force for the spy movie universe.
As for the conversation with Eve after the morning workout, it wasn't entirely a joke, but Simon didn't take it too seriously either. Work was still the priority.
Back at the villa, after Simon left, it was finally time for the Vichy maids to have their breakfast.
Noticing that Eve was absent from the dining table and remembering she hadn't left with the boss, Emily Joplin asked about her.
"She's upstairs," Alison replied. When Emily moved to get up, Alison stopped her. "I'll handle it later."
Emily, somewhat aware of what was happening, didn't press further, though she was curious about when their boss had managed to hook another one—so much so that she couldn't even get out of bed.
But then she remembered that night a few months ago and couldn't help but reminisce with a hint of anticipation. Looking around, she realized the villa was practically a mini harem—except for that one guy, everyone else here was a woman, all of whom were at his beck and call. She really didn't have much competition.
After breakfast, everyone went about their own tasks.
Alison first returned to her temporary office in the villa, then quickly grabbed some documents and headed to the second floor. She found the bedroom where Eve was staying, knocked twice, and then entered to find the girl wrapped in a blanket on the bed. With a tone laced with obvious mockery, she remarked, "You really are obedient."
The girl, lying on her side with her back to the door, flinched slightly but didn't respond.
Alison dragged a chair from the dressing table over to the other side of the bed to face Eve, then thought better of it and went to open the curtains, letting the weak but still bright winter sunlight flood the room.
As the warm light poured over her, Alison sat down in the chair, opened a file, and began reading aloud: "Eve Bessonoskova, 21 years old, born in Kyiv, Ukraine. Father: Alexander Bessonoskov, 51, former engineer at the Kyiv Arsenal Factory, currently unemployed; Mother: Maria Bessonoskova, 52, nurse at Kyiv's Third Hospital; Brother: Vladimir Bessonoskov, 25, former Soviet Army serviceman, unemployed since his discharge two years ago; Sister: Lyudmila Bessonoskova, 16, dropped out of school, unemployed. Began playing basketball at age 8, participated in multiple youth basketball tournaments with excellent results, joined the Soviet national team at 18."
Alison paused before continuing, "That same year, the Soviet Union dissolved. At 19, she represented the CIS at the Barcelona Olympics. Retired at 20. Joined the Westeros Family's female guard team in April this year. Completed training in July, ranking 6th out of 60 trainees. Assigned to Rivne South Villa as a bodyguard."
After reading Eve's brief resume, Alison looked up to see the girl still lying there with her eyes closed, though a tear had silently slipped from the corner of her eye, dampening the pillow.
Sighing softly, Alison's tone softened as she said, "As long as you remain loyal to the Westeros family, your salary alone will be enough to provide a good life for your family. Eve, this is your last chance. You can still leave now."
Eve finally opened her eyes and looked at Alison, asking in halting English, "Why do you want me to leave?"
Alison didn't hide her motives. "Because I'm also the boss's woman. Naturally, I prefer there to be as few other women around him as possible."
"Won't he be angry that you're making decisions on your own?"
"He might be, or he might not. The boss has already gone to work, so you see, he doesn't care that much about you."
"What if I don't leave?"
"I will respect your decision."
Eve held Alison's gaze for a moment longer before firmly repeating what she had said in the gym that morning: "I'm not leaving."
Alison wasn't surprised. She pulled out another document from the folder. "This is an agreement you need to sign. It's lengthy, but it boils down to two words: loyalty and confidentiality. The boss won't keep you forever, so at least for a year, after which, if you want to leave this lifestyle, just let me know, and you'll be free."
Eve extended a smooth arm from under the blanket, took the thick document, and, looking at Alison, asked, "Why a year?"
Alison explained, "Because the boss has many women. You're just one of them. A year is enough time for someone to be completely forgotten."
"And you? Is it the same for you?"
"Yes."
"You're lying."
"I'm not lying. I can gain my freedom anytime."
"But you haven't."
"…"
"Why don't you leave him?"
"That's my own business. I don't need to explain it to you."
Eve looked away, sitting up. She ignored the blanket sliding off her as her height caused her to tower over Alison. Glancing at the agreement in her hands, she said, "This is in English. I can't read it well."
"You just need to sign it."
"Aren't there supposed to be two copies of an agreement?"
"There's only this one."
Eve nodded, requested a pen from Alison, and patiently signed her name on every page as instructed.
After signing all the dozens of pages, she handed the document and pen back to Alison, then, with a flash of uncertainty in her eyes, asked, "What should I do now?"
"The boss doesn't like idle vases, so continue your duties as usual. And if you slack off, thinking your status has changed, you might be discarded before the year is up. Also, as I mentioned, loyalty and confidentiality."
Eve nodded, biting her lip before finally asking, "What will I get?"
Alison, carefully reviewing the signed document to ensure nothing was missed, replied, "Your annual salary will increase to $200,000, with additional benefits such as medical care, clothing, maintenance, and transportation. You can ask Zoe and Isabel for the details. Additionally, you can choose a house."
$200,000?
Eve felt a faint sense of suffocation upon hearing the figure.
Just a few words from the man this morning had her stripping down and waiting for him in bed because she didn't want to lose her current job as a bodyguard, which paid $1,000 a month plus various benefits. In Ukraine, where the average monthly salary was less than $30, this job was enough to support her struggling family, including some relatives who needed help.
Now, with an annual salary of $200,000, she couldn't quite wrap her mind around it.
She didn't even know how she would spend such an amount.
All she knew was that, for such a sum, selling herself completely seemed entirely worth it.
After a moment of silence, Alison said, "If you have no other questions, I'll be leaving now."
Eve snapped back to reality and called after Alison, though her voice wavered slightly, "What about the house?"
Alison replied, "You may have heard that sometimes the boss is very generous, gifting properties worth millions of dollars to women in his life, but that depends on your luck. The house I mentioned is merely a perk, located in Rivne, where you will be working long-term. You won't own the property, but as long as you adhere to the agreement you just signed, you can live there indefinitely."
Eve was slightly disappointed but quickly nodded.
Seeing this, Alison added, "You need to understand, Miss Bessonoskova, that all gains come with a corresponding price. The more you gain, the more you need to give, and the greater the cost of betrayal."
Eve, now fully aware, looked at Alison and solemnly said, "I understand."
"That's it for now." Alison stood up, giving the tall girl on the bed one last look before saying, "Your skin is decent, but it could be better. Make sure to take care of it. Also, you may have had one before, but I'll arrange another comprehensive physical examination for you tomorrow."
With that, Alison left the room.
Eve Bessonoskova remained on the bed, lost in thought as the morning sun shone brightly through the window. Finally, she dressed and headed downstairs.
As Simon's first assistant, Alison had a lot of work to do.
Just sorting through the accumulated work emails from the previous day took her all morning. In the afternoon, after organizing the documents that needed Simon's attention, she began handling the tasks he had assigned.
Before she knew it, the day had passed.
At 5 p.m., after finishing a call with MGM's Sherry Lansing about the recent casting process for the latest 007 film, Alison finally wrapped up her work.
The
office on the villa's first floor also had a great view. Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, she could see the sunset over Lake Ontario, brilliant and majestic.
Picking up a copy of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" she had asked someone to buy earlier, she flipped through a few pages, then checked the time and decided to instruct Zoe to prepare dinner. Upon leaving the office, she found that both Zoe and Isabel were already gone, while the two mischievous little fairies from Ukraine had returned, looking rather glum.
Upon inquiry, she learned that he would be staying at the villa by Rouge Park tonight, where Zoe and Isabel had already gone to attend to him.
Though disappointed, she had long since grown accustomed to his unquestioned possession of everything.
He was, after all, her king.
At Rouge Park in Scarborough's eastern outskirts, the villa that had hosted last night's dinner party was much quieter tonight.
Aside from the Vichy maids in the main house and the bodyguards in the annex, only Simon and Grace Spolet, who had come from New York for a visit, were present.
As the manager of Quince Gough, Grace had a perfectly legitimate reason to be in Toronto over the weekend to check in on her client who was filming there.
But, of course, the real reason was that someone else happened to be here.
Grace had never imagined that she would genuinely fall in love with a man so much younger than herself, even to the point of feeling an overwhelming, almost intoxicating infatuation. Sometimes, when faced with her husband and two children, who still lived under the same roof, she couldn't help but feel a deep sense of guilt, yet she was helpless to resist it.
In private, she irrationally blamed the little man for it all, secretly wondering if he might be a devil.
A devil who had stolen her heart.
Who did all sorts of wicked things.
And who refused to take responsibility.
This afternoon, she had come over under the pretense of checking on her client, though she hadn't even spoken to them much. Instead, she sought him out, only to find two fresh young vases with him, and she couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy.
Fortunately, he didn't disappoint her.
He had invited her to dinner.
She had pretended to hesitate before agreeing, and when she saw his infuriating smile, she had wanted to strangle him.
Toronto was cold at night.
But the dinner atmosphere was warm, set in a living room with a fireplace, candles lit, and accompanied by fine wine and delicious food. The only flaw was that the maids were a bit too beautiful. However, considering that he liked everything around him to be beautiful and refined, if the maids weren't attractive, it might ruin the ambiance.
Sitting across from him, sipping her wine, Grace admired the handsome face of the little man across from her and searched for something to talk about. "I… went to see *Suicide Squad* last night."
She had gone with her whole family, though that wasn't something she wanted to admit.
"And what did you think?"
"It was great. People were lining up to buy tickets. It's definitely going to be a huge hit. Congratulations."
"Thank you," Simon smiled, looking at the increasingly radiant woman across from him. "You're looking even more beautiful lately."
"Do you like it?"
"Of course."
"At my age, maintaining this takes a lot of effort. But I've benefited from your generosity—those treatments at that Upper East Side spa are out of my price range if I had to pay for them."
"I've been thinking about investing in research on immortality or, at the very least, eternal youth."
"I've heard that many people in high places like to do that, but it doesn't seem like anyone's succeeded yet. Quite a few have met untimely ends."
"That was in the past. In ancient times, people knew so little about the deeper aspects of biology, so they had to take extreme measures to seek immortality, which naturally failed. Things are different now. We can now understand life at the genetic level, so we have a chance to make fundamental changes."
"I wonder if I'll live to see that day."
"If we start investing now, regardless of cost, I think we might see results in twenty or thirty years."
"Thirty years, huh," Grace touched her still-smooth face, a bit wistfully. "I think I might prefer to die by then."
Simon smiled. "Perhaps we could reverse aging."
"You're just trying to trick me. Everything rises and falls. You might be able to slow the process indefinitely, but you can't reverse it, just like time," she said, then asked, "Are you afraid of death?"
"No. I've lived for over five hundred years, much longer than most of you. If I died right now, it wouldn't be a loss."
"There you go again, spouting nonsense."
"Do you really think I'm just spouting nonsense?"
Grace scrutinized Simon's expression for a moment, then shook her head. "I can't tell."
"Some women have a natural instinct for this, or maybe it's a sixth sense. They can easily tell when someone is lying."
"Unfortunately, I don't have that ability, so you can lie to me all you want," Grace joked, adding, "Actually, I've always been curious about something. Can you really see ghosts?"
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