Jerry Speyer left the Westeros Company headquarters almost in a state of disarray.
James Rebold escorted Speyer out and returned to the meeting room, where Simon was sitting and reading a copy of the evening paper that Girl A had just brought in. "You didn't have to be so harsh," James remarked.
Simon spread the newspaper on the desk, looked at James, and said, "Jim, in many people's eyes, I'm just a fat sheep, right?"
James didn't know how to respond for a moment.
Simon didn't wait for an answer and continued, "That's the reality. I don't mind if they see me as a fat sheep. Working with Simon Westeros does indeed make it easier to earn a lot of money. However, if someone thinks I'm just a sheep to be slaughtered, taking my money without giving sufficient returns, or even turning against me, I'll make them cough up everything they've taken from me and destroy everything they have."
When the Westeros Tower project was bid on, Simon had chosen Tishman Speyer because of their influence in New York. To ensure the quality of the construction, he was very generous with the quote, not penny-pinching at all.
In this incident, the Speyer family, with their deep roots in New York, could have stopped it from the beginning.
They didn't do so, nor did they inform Westeros Company. Instead, they took a bystander attitude, which Simon found intolerable.
Ultimately, they saw him as just a fat sheep, a nouveau riche without deep roots. They thought they could take benefits and remain uninvolved, assuming Simon could do nothing about it, and might even have to offer more benefits for their help.
Realizing this on the way to New York, Simon had been so ungracious and confrontational with Jerry Speyer.
As for David Dinkins, Simon had no intention of letting it go easily either.
When the Westeros system supported Dinkins' campaign for New York mayor, it had no significant demands, mainly aiming to expand its political influence.
Simon didn't expect much in return but wouldn't tolerate a politician turning against him so easily.
Otherwise, if all the politicians supported by the Westeros system followed suit, Simon would become a laughingstock.
James Rebold was also frustrated by the recent events. He understood what Simon could see and habitually wanted to resolve the matter more gently.
Given the Westeros system's strategy of lying low and biding time, this was usually the approach.
However, this time, Simon didn't plan to let it go.
That night, staying at the Greenwich estate, some observant individuals noticed that the villa's lights stayed on all night, with people coming and going even past 1 AM.
Those with keen senses sensed a brewing storm.
Early the next morning, Simon received a message from the White House. Hillary Clinton personally called James Rebold, asking him to tell Simon not to act rashly during the critical time of the New York mayoral election.
New York was a Democratic stronghold.
For the past thirty years, the Democratic Party had held the mayor's office in New York, making it a crucial territory not to be lost.
After the initial uproar, Simon indeed didn't take immediate action.
So, one day, two days, three days passed, and just when many thought Westeros was going to back down, the Westeros Tower project quietly resumed work before Simon's final ultimatum.
As the trigger for the entire incident, the resumption of the Westeros Tower immediately drew unanimous condemnation from the media.
With over a third of the construction completed, the city government, facing media scrutiny, found itself in an awkward position. They could only explain that they had never intended to halt the Westeros Tower because it was a major investment project with over 3,000 workers relying on their wages.
However, the investigation into the safety issues at the Westeros Tower construction site wouldn't stop.
The city government justified their stance by highlighting the livelihoods of the construction workers, silencing many critics.
But then, the New York Post published a report revealing that nearly half of the 3,000 workers on the Westeros Tower site were illegal immigrants from Eastern Europe. The paper provided extensive evidence, including attendance records and testimonies from these illegal workers in Jersey City.
Tishman Speyer, the project's contractor, immediately denied the New York Post's report.
Using illegal labor had long been an open secret in the American construction industry.
Official workers were simply too expensive, especially union members. Illegal workers' wages were often only a fifth or even less of what union members earned, and they worked harder. For contractors, using illegal labor meant more profit.
The powerful construction workers' unions in the U.S. tacitly accepted this situation.
It was a result of long-term bargaining with capital and a reflection of the frequent labor shortages among domestic construction workers in the U.S.
Construction work was dangerous and grueling, and affluent Americans were unwilling to do it. In big cities like New York, where people sought more dignified jobs, construction workers were even scarcer, forcing construction companies to use illegal labor.
To resume work before Simon's ultimatum, Tishman Speyer had to temporarily replace all workers with union members, but the original quote from Westeros Company remained unchanged, meaning a significant drop in profit.
However, the traces of extensive use of illegal labor could not be erased.
With the New York Post raising the issue, other media outlets began to follow suit, even though they knew the industry's unwritten rules.
Some sensed something more.
The New York Post was part of News Corp., Rupert Murdoch's media conglomerate, which had always maintained friendly relations with the Westeros system, cooperating in many areas.
Moreover, the New York Post was mostly a tabloid focusing on gossip. Since when did they start paying attention to serious social issues like illegal labor?
Clear-headed people were always in the minority.
The minority rarely swayed the majority's perception.
As the issue unfolded, the Manhattan Metropolitan News, which initiated the incident, pointed out that the city government was aware of the illegal labor problem at the Westeros Tower but chose to avoid it, focusing only on the safety issues. This suggested a form of condoning.
Condoning the presence of illegal labor in New York?
Then the question arose, why would the New York City government condone illegal labor?
Out of the 3,000 construction workers at the Westeros Tower, nearly half were illegal laborers. Another fact was that since David Dinkins took office, the unemployment rate among local residents in New York had risen from 6.7% to 11.6%, nearly doubling.
At this point, if the Republicans didn't seize the opportunity, they would be fools.
Rudy Giuliani was no fool.
Republican media soon launched a massive attack on Dinkins, claiming his so-called promotion of New York's "diversity" actually meant allowing illegal immigrants to take jobs from local residents.
Moreover, according to Dinkins' campaign platform, he planned to further promote New York's "diversity" after re-election.
Now, the question was:
Do you want diversity or jobs?
While America is a nation of immigrants, it doesn't mean Americans welcome immigrants.
People's attitudes often change with their positions.
Before obtaining a green card, immigrants naturally prefer more lenient policies. Once they have it and become Americans, they no longer want more people entering the country to compete for opportunities and resources.
The Democratic Party has always counted new immigrants among its base because these immigrants often bring their families and hope for more relatives to join them in America. However, this group is still a minority, and most Americans no longer have similar desires, caring more about their job and living environment.
As the public buzzed about the impact of Dinkins' "diversity" policy on the unemployment rate, another incident occurred in Queens on October 13.
Near a dock by the East River, a shootout erupted between two gangs during a drug deal, causing a fire that spread to nearby buildings. Although there were no other casualties besides the six gang members killed, the entire dock was burned down. If not for the timely arrival of firefighters, the blaze could have spread to nearby residential areas.
Local TV stations interviewed residents who were terrified by the fire, capturing faces of shock and children crying helplessly on camera.
The next day's New York Post featured a photo of a single mother holding her crying five- or six-year-old child on the street, with a backdrop of the towering flames. The headline read, "Deteriorating New York Safety: Are We Living in a War Zone?"
Rudy Giuliani had long attacked Dinkins for his failure to curb crime, resulting in a soaring crime rate in New York and rampant gang activity threatening residents' safety.
With less than three weeks until the November 2 mayoral election, the recent gang shootout was a fatal blow to Dinkins' campaign.
At the Greenwich estate.
On October 15, Simon quietly arrived in New York again.
Joseph Schrap was brought into the villa's study by Girl A, where Simon was clumsily writing something on a large piece of paper with a brush.
What caught Schrap's eye more were the two tall women standing on either side of Simon, holding down the edges of the paper.
He knew a lot about his boss's private life.
The identities of the women were easy to discern.
They were Yasmeen Ghauri and Nadja Auermann, the 'Waist Genie' and 'Leg Genie,' created by Simon.
The second Victoria's Secret Fashion Show was set to be held next month, and the forty angels of the Victoria's Secret Army had been the focus of media attention. The 'Waist Genie' and 'Leg Genie' were two of the most eye-catching supermodels.
Now, these supermodels were merely docile human paperweights beside Simon.
Though he dared not entertain other thoughts, seeing this scene, Joseph Schrap couldn't help but think there were many things
on the desk that could hold down paper.
Simon's writing movements were awkward and clumsy. Schrap and Girl A stood quietly, not interrupting. Simon wrote only one line before putting down the brush, shaking his head, "Too ugly. A, find someone to write this poem neatly, frame it, and bring it over."
Schrap and Girl A glanced at the rice paper on the desk, which had seven indeed unattractive Chinese characters.
If they understood Chinese, they might easily recite the entire poem: "The country and rivers enter the battle map, how can the common people enjoy leisure. Don't talk about the matter of sealing marquises, one general's success results in thousands of bones."
After giving his instructions, Simon said to Joseph Schrap, "Come with me."
The two moved to a reception room. After they sat down, Joseph Schrap, pulling some documents from his briefcase, said, "The mayor called me personally last night, saying he would thoroughly investigate the Bowery Bay incident."
Taking the documents, Simon casually crossed his legs and leaned back on the sofa, flipping through them. "What does that have to do with us, Joseph? Don't mention it again."
Schrap nodded, decisively dropping the topic. Glancing at the expense report Simon was reviewing, he said, "Recently, our six political action committees have spent $2.8 million. If you approve the follow-up plan, we will need to spend about $3 million more in the next half month."
Political action committees (PACs) are groups formed to raise funds to support political parties or candidates.
The main function of PACs is to circumvent the strict limits on individual donations to parties or candidates set by the Federal Election Campaign Act. Individual donations, known as 'hard money,' are limited to a few thousand dollars, while PACs can provide 'soft money' amounting to tens of millions of dollars to support political campaigns. Many influential lobbying groups in the U.S., like the National Rifle Association, use PACs to exert influence on federal elections at various levels.
In recent years, through subsidiaries, the Westeros system has established eleven PACs, capable of mobilizing millions of dollars for political activities at any time.
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