The Wolf of Los Angeles

Chapter 417 - 417: There's No Such Thing as a Free Lunch

[Chapter 417: There's No Such Thing as a Free Lunch]

At a newly constructed yacht club by the Malibu beach, Leonardo met up with his longtime client Hillary Clinton. Harvey Weinstein was there by her side. Hillary sat on the sofa, sizing Leonardo up, her gaze lingering on his mouth. "Long time no see, Leo. You look like you've gained some weight."

Leonardo purposely puffed out his belly and sucked in his cheeks, saying, "It's easy to gain weight when you get older."

Harvey thought this bastard was sarcastically mocking him and glared.

Without any small talk, Hillary directly asked Leonardo, "I remember you can sail yachts? There's one docked at the marina. Once the others arrive, you'll take us out for a ride."

"No problem," Leonardo replied, reluctantly agreeing inside but grumbling to himself, 'I am this big already and you still don't give me a break? Am I really going to swell up like a balloon?'

Hillary's eyes kept circling around Leonardo's mouth, but since she had invited Hawke Osment for a business discussion, she put her thoughts aside for the moment.

Chelsea, who came along with her mother, was unaware of the history between her mother and Leonardo, but her eager gaze was fixed on Leonardo. Not being complately fat, Leonardo still had the charm of a Hollywood heartthrob adored by women everywhere.

Leonardo, wanting to escape the scene, said, "I'll go get familiar with the boat first."

Harvey took the lead and escorted Leonardo to the dock.

...

Chelsea got up and tried to follow, "Mom, I want to join Leonardo and check out the yacht with him."

Hillary, not wanting to share a lover with her daughter, said firmly, "Today's matters are important. Stay with me and don't wander off."

...

Shortly after, Harvey brought in a group.

It was Hillary's first time meeting Hawke, the Twitter founder, who looked pretty average compared to the striking Erica Ferguson beside him.

After introductions by Harvey, the two sides shook hands, exchanged a few pleasantries, and boarded Leonardo's yacht, setting off from the shore.

...

Leonardo immediately sensed Hawke and Erica's presence. As a superstar who often championed the Democrats, Leonardo had sharp political instincts and knew that Hawke played a crucial role in the current Los Angeles political scene.

As for Erica Ferguson, the locals of Los Angeles at a certain level all knew one thing: this woman was ruthlessly skilled. Not great at solving mysteries, but firing off volleys was her specialty.

Add a scheming Hillary into the mix, and together, they could make the entire Pacific coast tremble.

Leonardo locked himself in the yacht's helm to avoid overhearing things he shouldn't or seeing things he wasn't meant to.

But knowing he'd have to put on a show for Hillary later that evening made him quietly fuming.

...

Inside the yacht's upper deck cabin, Erica sat next to Hawke like a female bodyguard, carefully watching everyone in the room.

If anything went wrong, she was ready to take control of Hillary immediately.

Erica didn't pay much attention to the conversation between Hawke and Hillary.

...

"I came to Los Angeles at your invitation," Hillary said calmly. "Let's get straight to the point."

Hawke, taking the woman seriously, said, "The guests have bought their tickets, taken their seats at the table, and are ready to enjoy BlackRock's feast. The ingredients are prepared and laid out on the plates in front of us."

He asked earnestly, "May I ask, ma'am, if you intend to let these ingredients destined to become food, sit by our side and eat with us?"

Hillary knew this feast was delicious but not free.

There's no such thing as a free lunch in this world, she asked, "How much have Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch paid for sitting at the table?"

Hawke calmly answered, "Simple. BlackRock compensates Twitter for its losses. The management team, led by Larry Fink and Robert Kapito, steps down to take responsibility for the Russian espionage affair."

To enjoy this feast, these were necessary, and after a brief consideration, Hillary said, "They broke the law and must take responsibility."

Hawke had not finished yet, "BlackRock's management's actions severely damaged Twitter's Manhattan AI Project -- not just financially but also politically and in terms of time lost. As a member of the budget committee, we hope you will fully support Twitter's Manhattan AI Project."

It was no exaggeration to say Hillary represented the largest Democratic faction within the budget committee.

After some calculation, Hillary thought the deal was feasible and promptly agreed, "Okay."

They reached a consensus, and the remaining minor details became easier to discuss.

The case had not yet reached litigation and involved various powers secretly tugging at strings.

Hawke and his allies kept dragging it out, time was on their side.

---

Three days later, the CEOs of Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch came to Los Angeles, joined by Mary Ferguson's Pacific Investment. The five boarded the same yacht.

The group quickly reached agreement.

The skipper today was still Leonardo.

When Hawke disembarked, Leonardo looked at him pleadingly, hoping someone would take him away.

But the Hollywood superstar was ignored by everyone.

Leonardo had no choice but to follow Hillary into her car.

He knew he would still have to charm her that night.

...

That evening, Hawke hosted the CEOs of Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch. After Twitter's financing and stock expansion, the former expected to leave Goldman Sachs in October to serve as Treasury Secretary in George Walker Bush's cabinet.

The latter seemed to be encountering some trouble: completing the buyout of BlackRock and handling loan funds.

---

At the mansion, after showering, Hawke sat on the sofa.

Erica, holding a hairdryer, stood behind him, drying his hair. "Leonardo looks kind of sorry for himself. Coming off the yacht, he looked like a hostage who'd been kidnapped by terrorists when he glanced over here."

Hawke, having heard all kinds of rumors about Leonardo, said, "He picked this path himself."

Though Erica also attended the yacht meeting, her focus wasn't on their discussions. "Hillary's daughter, Chelsea, looked at Leonardo strangely."

Women loved gossip. "They're not sharing Leonardo, are they?"

Not just women, Hawke found the topic interesting too. "The Clinton family's love life is complicated, and there are rumors Chelsea isn't even Bill's daughter."

He shifted the topic back. "A sprinter like Leonardo would have a hard time handling just Hillary alone, and with Chelsea, he'd lose half his life."

Erica couldn't help laughing. "I heard Chelsea telling someone on the phone they were going to Diddy's party."

Hawke recalled the media's report from his past life: Leonardo's name was on every party list on Rory Island and Diddy.

"Maybe Leonardo really likes that kind of bottom role play?" Hawke guessed, though unreliably.

Erica frowned slightly. "Is it because of his psychological issues, Leonardo keeps on publicly chasing new girlfriends then breaking up repeatedly?"

Hawke thought about it. "Did you notice before Titanic was released, Leonardo dated older women like Naomi Campbell, but after the film, his girlfriends were all in their early twenties? Any older and he'd break up."

Erica recalled, "He broke up with Gisele Bundchen last year, seemingly helping the California Democrats attract public attention, but in reality, Gisele was about to turn 25?"

Hawke had followed that last year. "Gisele was born in 1980."

---

In North Hollywood, the headquarters of the Feminist Majority Foundation.

Michelle carefully reviewed the Northern Expansion Plan submitted by Fiona. She called Fiona over and said, "We have branches in San Francisco and Sacramento, each with its own women's rights groups. Still, our growth there isn't fast enough."

Fiona replied, "The slow pace is due to limited funding. Now that we have sufficient funds and are California's largest women's rights organization, besides our Southern California base, we should actively work other cities."

She raised a key point, "Mattachine Society in Los Angeles has always opposed us. Why don't we look beyond L.A. and accelerate growth in other cities? Once our members reach a sufficient number and our influence is large enough, the political and business circles will speak for us. Then our sheer size advantage will crush those gay groups!"

These words hit Michelle's sore spot. In the recent clashes in L.A., the FMF hadn't gained any advantage over the Mattachine Society.

Michelle agreed, "In the end, it's our size that's not big enough."

Fiona pointed to the plan document. "If we can influence millions of California women, they will come seeking our help on their own without us having to do much."

"Go for it," Michelle approved Fiona's plan and trusted her ability.

Michelle had enough respect for Fiona, who used the Jamie Foxx assault case and the Tiger Woods scandal to amplify the Feminist Majority Foundation's momentum, bringing it back to its stature before the L.A. fires.

Most importantly, Fiona could secure funding.

Without money, sisters helping sisters would remain empty words, and even cause infighting over petty gains.

After the L.A. fires, Michelle learned some lessons, realizing she had overestimated their own capabilities and those of their members.

Everyone could shout slogans and demand special rights, but when it came to real work, most fell short.

Only a few could get things done and bring in money.

At the meeting, the Feminist Majority Foundation board approved the Northern Expansion Plan, and at Michelle's suggestion, Fiona was put in charge.

Citing the plan, Fiona began calling members originally from San Francisco, speaking to them one by one.

*****

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