Chapter 174: Chapter 174: Web Architects and Developers
[Chapter 175: Web Architects and Developers]
On Ocean Park Avenue, at the Twitter office building, Paris, accompanied by a recently bailed-out Kardashian, took the elevator to the fourth floor.
As she turned from the elevator into the hallway, the office of the operations manager opened, and Caroline stepped out.
The two women stood a few meters apart, sizing each other up.
Paris quickly scanned the other woman's appearance.
The woman across from her was as tall as she was, her bobbed hair framing an ordinary face accentuated with light makeup. Overall, she seemed pretty yet unremarkable.
Given Paris's knowledge of fashion and haute couture, she instantly saw through Caroline's facade.
Caroline wore a beige Chanel mini skirt, the newest model of the season, but it was not a limited edition; anyone could buy it.
The Cartier watch and hairpin were both mainstream items.
Her red high heels were from the previous season's Hermes collection.
Caroline seemed like an ordinary girl trying to pose as a glamorous socialite.
Paris chose to ignore her and strode past Caroline.
Caroline stood frozen for a moment, blinking her long eyelashes as if struck down.
Although Caroline's outfit and shoes weren't high-end, they were custom-made and unattainable for typical wealthy individuals.
The Hermes bag that Kardashian carried was one of only twenty produced worldwide, if she wasn't mistaken.
Caroline felt a mix of envy, jealousy, and disdain.
...
In the meeting room, after thanking Hawke, Paris received the Hermes bag from Kardashian, placing it on the table after opening it.
She smiled and said, "These are the candies I made myself, specially for you as a thank you."
"Thanks," Hawke accepted it.
Peering into the open zipper, he noticed it was filled with candies, each wrapped in gold foil, a not-so-ordinary gesture.
Paris added, "The first three episodes are wrapped up. Eric and his team are off, but Fox is excited to sign me for a new contract and wants to launch a second season. Any advice?"
Hawke thought for a moment and replied, "The viewership and feedback have been positive; seize this opportunity! Inviting Britney for the third episode is a good move. From season two onwards, you can try inviting different guests."
Paris thought of Lindsay Lohan, a recent acquaintance.
Hawke continued, "The cakes with gemstones in the first episode received great responses. You might want to push for a candy brand launch -- maybe do gemstone giveaways and have gems wrapped inside the candy."
Paris eagerly nodded, taking notes.
"I spoke to my parents, and they're supportive of me starting a candy brand," she noted, showing growth. "Once the first batch is ready, I'll bring some by for you to taste."
Hawke nodded politely, saying, "Sounds good."
Their conversation was brief, and Paris bid farewell, concluding her business strategy planning contract with Hawke.
...
The door to the meeting room was knocked on, and Caroline walked in. She spotted the limited-edition Hermes bag in front of Hawke.
Hawke picked it up and handed it over, saying, "You can take this."
Caroline wanted to refuse but felt overwhelmingly drawn to the limited-edition Hermes, especially since it was a global rarity.
Approaching the bag, she saw a glimpse of the shiny contents inside.
Hawke said, "These are candies made by Paris Hilton herself, all wrapped in gold foil. Take it."
He knew this little sheep too well and smoothly added, "As long as we work together harmoniously and the company flourishes, you won't just get bags like this; there will be times when you can have the Hermes designer come and create a custom sheepskin bag for you."
Caroline was sold on this notion. "Yes! Let's use top-quality sheepskin!"
Hawke expanded her horizons, "If you nail this job and the company grows, you can buy as much as you want."
"Uh huh!" Caroline was aware she was being worked, but she willingly accepted it.
Having witnessed the development of Twitter right from its inception, she had faith in its growth trajectory.
Miss Baaa was dying to bleat out a complaint about her regrets. As one of the early founders, she could have been a stakeholder like Edward.
Hawke had offered her an investment opportunity.
Back then, Miss Baaa was caught up in the glamorous fashion scene; she could barely manage five-figure cash amounts, and her credit cards were practically maxed out.
However, she knew she still had a chance.
...
Hawke exited the meeting room, looking for the next opportunity.
During this time, Erica called him, inviting him to practice shooting in the afternoon.
Hawke agreed, sat at his desk, and logged into the website's backend to check various data.
If Will Smith was the catalyst that ignited Twitter's rapid development, then Paris Hilton and her infamous tape, along with its ensuing media frenzy, had equipped Twitter with a makeshift liquid nitrogen booster.
Just last night, at 8:35 PM, the global registration number for Twitter surpassed 20 million.
Outside North America, Britain emerged as the second-largest market.
Caroline prepared to take her operations team on a business trip to the UK, New Zealand, and Australia to secure partnerships with local download sites, further promoting Twitter.
All these locations were part of the English-speaking Five Eyes alliance, which would advantage Twitter's market development.
Hawke also instructed the tech department to recruit new developers proficient in either French, Spanish, or Portuguese.
This was not just for the European market but also for the broader Latin market.
From Mexico southwards, besides a few countries or regions like Brazil, most were Spanish-speaking.
...
After lunch, Hawke bundled his shooting gear and drove to the Artel Mountain Shooting Range.
This time, following Erica's suggestion, the two swapped roles.
Hawke assisted from afar while Erica took the lead.
This was also to prepare for different emergency scenarios.
After practicing for over an hour, they took a break, and Hawke picked up an assault rifle again, requesting Erica practice dual offensive maneuvers with him.
They spent the entire afternoon at the shooting range.
Each of them shot over 300 rounds.
As Hawke noticed Erica trying to load more bullets into her empty magazine, he stopped her, asking, "What's happening? Venting through firearms?"
Erica responded, "Did you notice?"
"I figured it out after the first magazine. I thought shooting might help you decompress," Hawke replied.
Erica set the bullets down and said slowly, "In recent days, I handled a child abuse case involving several minors who were brought from Mexico to LA and suffered some sick Hollywood abuses."
She forced a smile, "Even I found it hard to watch."
Hawke remarked, "Some people don't deserve to be human. Even demons are kinder than they are."
He probed further, "Were there any Hollywood stars involved in the abuse?"
"It wasn't stars," Erica replied succinctly. "Two screenwriters with decent incomes. They joined a dark web subscription where they not only could buy videos over time but also could purchase services, but they had to bring the people from Mexico themselves."
Hawke looked around and asked, "During the bust, you didn't execute them on the spot?"
Erica lowered her voice, "I wanted to, but they were too cowardly. The moment we broke in, they fell to the ground, raised their hands, and gave me no chance."
Hawke mused, "It must be your reputation; they saw you and were scared."
Erica added, "Now the case is with the FBI. I no longer have the chance to act."
As Hawke cleaned the guns, he shifted topics. "We need to strengthen that tactical training, preferably hire a professional coach."
He redirected Erica's attention, saying, "I have this feeling that bastard Brian is cursing us again. He has a crow's beak; his well-wishing never works, but as soon as he says something bad, trouble comes knockin'. "
Upon hearing her cousin's name, Erica fumed, "Brian called us disaster stars; he's the real disaster!"
The more she thought about it, the more it rang true. "Do you remember when we returned from Wyoming? He said we would encounter dozens of armed robbers, and what happened?"
Hawke automatically chimed in, "We were attacked by over twenty armed criminals."
This couple had no doubt that the disaster star was Brian Ferguson.
...
After dinner, the two returned to Hawke's villa on 20th Street.
After the long practice, they were exhausted. Hawke grabbed a bottle of wine and led Erica up to the rooftop terrace to enjoy the night view of Santa Monica Beach.
As Erica opened the wine bottle and poured some for Hawke, they overheard shouting from next door.
Hawke looked over to see his neighbor, Jet Brown, and his girlfriend, Diana, enjoying the night on their second-floor terrace.
Both were in detached villas, not too close to each other. Jet waved and shouted a few words over before pulling out his phone and dialing Hawke.
Being savvy, he asked, "Can Diana and I come over for a drink?"
Given that Jet was a senior talent consultant at Glimmer, who might be a useful resource for Twitter, Hawke replied, "You're welcome."
Jet waved goodbye to Diana and descended the stairs quickly to Hawke's place.
...
Hawke went downstairs to accept the welcome gift Jet brought over, exchanged a few pleasantries, and led the two to the rooftop terrace.
They introduced themselves.
Jet marveled at the fact that Erica towered over him by quite a margin: "You're LAPD's Erica Ferguson?"
Erica grabbed two new cups and poured drinks for everyone. "That's me."
"I've seen your videos," Diana chimed in, starstruck. "You're incredible! You're a total gun goddess!"
Erica politely responded, "I'm just fulfilling my duties as an LAPD officer."
Hawke chatted a few minutes with Jet before they naturally transitioned to their work.
Jet got straight to the point, "I've been keeping an eye on Twitter; its growth is astonishing."
Hawke saw no reason to deny it. "We seized a few great opportunities."
Jet inquired, "With such rapid growth, are you in need of talent?" Being quite direct, he said, "I've been a talent consultant in Los Angeles for ten years, working at Glimmer for eight, and I've got a talent pool in my head."
Hawke did indeed have demands in that area, replying, "I need web architects and developers for the site who are fluent in either Spanish or French."
"Got it. How about tomorrow you swing by Glimmer?"
Hawke replied, "Sounds good."
*****
https://www.patreon.com/Sayonara816.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone