Bab 312: Chapter 312: Gates' Invitation
At a church at the foot of Beverly Hills, the baptism ceremony for Dakota Johnson took place on the afternoon of December 9th. What was supposed to be a private affair became highly publicized due to the celebrity status of Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith, as well as the attendance of Simon and others. As an established Hollywood family, the Griffiths invited fifty friends and family members to the little one's baptism ceremony, attracting as many media reporters as guests.
With the promotional rush for "Batman" entering its final stretch, large posters of the film appeared in many famous spots across major North American cities, and the main cast was tirelessly touring.
Compared to others' busyness, Simon had not made any public appearances during this time.
Thus, as soon as Simon and Janet alighted from their car outside the church, the surrounding flashlights started flickering madly. Although it was a baptism ceremony, reporters couldn't help but ask Simon various other questions while snapping photos.
Simon had no intention of stealing the limelight, only offering polite smiles and quickly entering the church with Janet.
After briefly greeting the other guests and Janet presenting a carefully chosen gift, everyone entered the church hall.
Simon had an inherent resistance to religion and merely sat patiently on a bench watching the baptism process, while Janet appeared very solemn, occasionally leaning against Simon and stealing glances at his expressions.
A baptism party followed the ceremony.
The venue was at the Beverly Hills home of Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith, not far from the church.
The couple re-entered their car and followed other guests to the Johnsons' residence.
As the car started, Simon noticed Janet spacing out against him and joked, "Thinking about having kids?"
Janet wrapped her arm around him, nuzzling against Simon, and said, "The little guy was really cute."
"Then, let's get married after the New Year, before your birthday."
Janet playfully bumped her head against Simon's shoulder, feigning slight displeasure, "So casual, you didn't even kneel to propose."
Simon gently pushed her away a bit, fumbled in his suit pocket, and quickly pulled out a sparkling diamond ring. Kneeling on one knee in the back seat of the car, he lifted the ring, "Miss Johnston, will you marry me?"
The two bodyguards in the front seat were stunned. The driver, Neil Bennett, instinctively hit the brakes before quickly releasing them and raising the partition between the front and back seats.
The car jolted, snapping Janet out of her daze.
With her eyes wide, Janet quickly nodded like a pecking chicken, "Mhm, mhm, mhm."
Simon smiled, taking her hand intending to cover her mouth, and slid the ring onto her finger, "Now, you're my fiancée."
Janet admired the ring on her hand, then looked at Simon, and after a moment, pouted, "I... haven't even reacted yet."
Simon took her hand again, pressing it against his chest, "I was nervous too, feel this."
Feeling his rapid heartbeat, Janet eventually leaned against Simon's shoulder, "When did you buy the ring?"
"You guessed Sofia hinted at it, right?"
"I had to pretend I knew nothing."
"Well, I asked Sofia to start looking during the fashion week in September. It took a long time to choose this one," Simon gently squeezed her hand, smiling, "Is it big enough? 99 carats. It was originally larger, but I had them cut it down to 99 carats."
Janet examined the heart-shaped ring, larger than her finger, "Why 99 carats?"
"In Chinese, the number '99' represents 'forever.'"
"Hmm..."
Janet hummed softly, nestling against Simon.
As the most notable guests, Simon and Janet's arrival at the Johnsons' home, with Janet's newly acquired conspicuous ring, quickly drew attention, and the news spread rapidly.
Even before the baptism party ended, many family friends and acquaintances were already calling.
After attending the party, Simon and Janet returned to Malibu for dinner at a restaurant, where Janet didn't remove her sparkling ring, attracting a flock of reporters.
"Mom, he just proposed, how could we arrange a wedding so quickly... Hmph, it must be dad pushing, right... I know, I know... He's busy, you know, always swamped with work, even proposed in the car... Yes, right in the car, I almost refused him, the little rascal, not formal at all... Christmas? We might go back, but it's not certain, his movie premieres on the 22nd, he's very busy lately... Mhm, mhm, mhm, bye, love you."
Inside the villa on the west side of Point Dume.
Janet, lying on Simon's lap after hanging up, found a comfortable position and said, "My aunt says hi to you."
Simon teased her nose, "Go take a shower, I'll be up after reviewing these documents."
The next day was Sunday, and the hottest topic in mainstream North American media was undoubtedly the 99-carat heart-shaped diamond ring on Jenny Johnston's hand, Simon's girlfriend.
Simon didn't want this to become a hot topic, so he instructed his PR team to decline all related interview requests. He spent the weekend taking Janet to San Francisco, where they also picked out a mansion in the Woodside area of Palo Alto, anticipating frequent future visits to San Francisco.
With his current wealth still insufficient to support the construction of the Westeros Tower in Manhattan, Simon could afford to acquire properties in more cities.
Due to work commitments, they had to return to Los Angeles on Monday, December 11th.
Last Friday, December 8th, Daenerys Entertainment's last self-distributed film of the year, "Driving Miss Daisy," premiered. With a conservative release of only 32 screens, this film was set to follow a word-of-mouth and award-chasing path, much like "My Left Foot."
In the week from December 1st to December 7th, among several films related to Daenerys Entertainment, "Scream 2," released during the Halloween season, entered its sixth week, grossing an additional $6.47 million for a cumulative total of $93.06 million. This teen horror film's box office momentum had significantly slowed but was steadily approaching the $100 million mark.
After two weeks of the Thanksgiving slot, "Hook" entered its third week with a 33% drop in revenue, grossing an additional $21.71 million.
In just three weeks, "Hook" quickly reached a total North American gross of $84.32 million.
Judging from the weekend's box office performance, this unexpectedly popular alternative family comedy could potentially exceed $100 million this week.
Reaching $100 million in four weeks and facing the popular Christmas slot, "Hook" was conservatively estimated to gross over $150 million in North America, possibly even surpassing $170 million. Daenerys Entertainment and Warner Brothers were both surprised by the excellent box office performance of this alternative warm family comedy.
Due to not expanding the screen count, "Gucci Mark's" second-week revenue inevitably dropped by 17%, grossing an additional $7.92 million for a two-week total of $17.47 million.
Compared to the box office, due to relentless promotional efforts, Gucci's North
American sales exceeded the $10 million mark in the first week of December, marking the first time the brand's weekly sales surpassed $10 million since entering the North American market.
To maximize the impact of "Gucci Mark," Gaomon Pictures was urgently discussing the European distribution of this documentary with Gucci's headquarters.
At Daenerys Entertainment headquarters.
In his office, Simon was reviewing box office reports from the past two weeks when his assistant entered.
Although Jennifer acted as if nothing had happened, Simon could still sense her evident disappointment and unease. Without waiting for her to speak, Simon handed her a small box, "Here, a gift for you."
Despite warning her about his proposal to Janet, seeing the news still inevitably caused disappointment.
Curious, Jennifer hesitantly opened the small box to find a diamond ring.
A ring nearly identical to the one on Janet's hand.
"Same as Janet's, 99 carats, for you. Also, keep this a secret, or I might end up sleeping on the floor if Janet finds out."
Stunned, Jennifer initially wanted to return it but, lost in thought, kept the box in her hand, "It's too expensive; I can't accept it."
Most articles in yesterday's newspapers valued Janet's ring at over $10 million.
This ring was undoubtedly the same.
Too expensive to accept!
"Keep it, don't let outsiders see," Simon simply smiled and changed the subject, "What's up?"
Seeing him so relaxed, she quickly made up her mind.
Having given everything to him, she couldn't leave with nothing. After all, money was no issue for him.
If he ever wanted it back, she would return it.
With that thought, holding the box, she said, "Bill Gates' assistant called. Gates will be in San Francisco tomorrow and wants to invite you to lunch."
Simon wondered, "Do you know why?"
Jennifer guessed, "I think it's about the Westeros Company's recent increase in Microsoft stock."
After a moment, Simon flashed a mischievous smile, "Tell him I'm too busy, ask him to come to Los Angeles. Also, send my Boeing 767 to San Francisco to pick him up tomorrow."
Knowing he rarely lends his private jet to others, Jennifer was initially puzzled but, understanding his smile, nodded and left the office.
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