Chasing Stars in Hollywood

As one of the few female agents at Elite Model Management, Grace Spruill found the task assigned to her over a month ago to be incredibly vexing. 

In mid-April, Elite's president, John Casablancas, called her into his office and handed her the responsibility of managing a newly signed trio of mother and daughters.

Gossip travels fast in Manhattan, especially among well-informed agents like them.

Upon hearing her boss introduce the identities of the three women, Grace immediately wanted to refuse. She had no desire to get involved with such bad luck. Not only had the family's men met tragic fates, but it was rumored that a Wall Street fund manager's career was nearly ruined just by associating with them.

John Casablancas, however, gave her no room to refuse. He laid out instructions and revealed a particular name, indicating that she had been personally selected by someone. Grace instantly understood that she could neither refuse nor fail in this task if she wanted to continue in this industry.

The name behind the arrangement was Simon Westeros.

While Elite had no formal ties with the Westeros system, it was clear that Simon Westeros wielded considerable influence.

Much like Hollywood's deference to Daenerys Entertainment, in the fashion world, this young man had unknowingly become a king without a crown.

For the fashion industry, whether it's television and magazine media that control the narrative or modeling agencies that attract aspiring young girls, neither sits at the top of the pyramid.

At the pinnacle of this industry pyramid are the luxury giants and various fashion product companies. These businesses are the primary advertisers that all types of fashion media rely on and the main employers of models under various agencies.

Top fashion magazine editors, like Anna Wintour, seem powerful, but if they offend a fashion giant, they're out of a job.

Modeling agencies are at the bottom of this food chain, needing to curry favor with fashion media for exposure opportunities while also desperately trying to please fashion giants to secure more endorsements and runway contracts.

The Westeros system now not only owns the comprehensive luxury giant Melisandre but also has significant stakes in various fashion-related industries, from clothing and home furnishings to footwear. Additionally, its influence in Hollywood and control over media resources like Fashion TV make the Westeros system a force to be reckoned with for modeling agencies.

Without mentioning anything else, just the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, which has risen rapidly in the past two years as the 'Super Bowl of Fashion,' has agencies vying fiercely for every Victoria's Secret Angel spot.

If a modeling agency can't get their models onto the Victoria's Secret runway, they can't hope for their models to achieve the 'Supermodel' title or even to become well-known. Although high fashion circles often criticize the Victoria's Secret show, the fact remains that models who walk its runway are far more competitive in high fashion than ordinary models.

Whether it's the fashion companies like Melisandre or fashion platforms like Fashion TV and the Victoria's Secret show, the ultimate power lies with the young man behind the Westeros system.

In this context, Simon Westeros requesting any modeling agency to do something would not be met with refusal but rather with agencies competing to comply.

Grace Spruill understood why this task fell to her: because she was a woman.

A simple man's thought.

Initially, she thought this would be an easy job because her instructions were to not be too kind to the mother and daughters, even to treat them poorly, with the only implicit but clear requirement being to ensure they weren't touched by other men.

Grace Spruill started as an assistant and has been in the industry for over a decade. She has seen all kinds of messes, and she didn't feel too uncomfortable with this young mogul's intentions.

However, this trio was not easy to handle.

At their first meeting, attended symbolically by John Casablancas, Laura Grail warmly invited him to her home for dinner.

Grace was sure her boss, who also liked women, was very tempted but didn't dare, even graciously avoiding Laura's advances, which amused Grace.

However, her amusement quickly faded.

Following the directive to temporarily sideline the trio, Grace arranged one or two symbolic but fruitless auditions per week and enrolled Laura's daughters in various training programs to occupy their time, citing their lack of basics as the reason.

Within two weeks, Laura Grail approached John Casablancas, asking for a new agent and straightforwardly suggesting that John himself take the role.

Laura was desperate, trying every means, including using John's soundproof office, thinking no one would know. At that moment, a call to John's private phone brought the fashion mogul back to his senses, causing him to righteously eject Laura from his office.

Grace, learning of this, guessed what had happened.

The woman must have been bugged, with someone watching her 24/7.

This suspicion was soon confirmed.

During another audition for an MV role, Laura again tried her charms, leading to a call on Grace's phone, forcing her to intervene. The audition, of course, yielded no result, straining the relationship between Grace and her client.

And that was just the work aspect.

The mother and daughters, who had suddenly fallen from their affluent Upper East Side life to a shabby Midtown apartment, constantly encountered troubles. Grace couldn't ignore incidents like a kitchen fire nearly burning down the building or a flooded apartment due to a forgotten running tap.

She eventually helped move them to an apartment in Greenwich Village near her own home.

These were minor issues.

Once, the youngest daughter, Victoria Grail, ate at a restaurant without paying, and the destitute family couldn't gather $280 for the bill, bringing the police into the matter. Grace had to step in.

The elder daughter, Cathy Grail, once ran away after a fight with her mother.

Laura didn't realize until the next day that Cathy had been gone for 24 hours, causing a frantic police report and another call to Grace. Avoided like the plague, the family had no one else to rely on.

Cathy was found in a shelter in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

Of course, this information came from another mysterious call to Grace.

After a day and a night of only one meal, the girl reluctantly returned to Manhattan, only to be arrested again that night for illegally entering a nightclub, almost becoming a victim.

Grace doubted Cathy's chances of becoming a victim, but she still had to clean up the mess.

After over a month of such turmoil, Grace was exhausted. Fortunately, tonight might bring relief.

If not compensated afterward, she would rather quit than continue. At 41, she couldn't endure such exhausting clients anymore.

The Grand Hotel was in SoHo, adjacent to Greenwich Village.

Grace had arranged for Laura to participate in a new season audition for "New York Housewives," introducing two new characters who would guest star for a season to gauge audience reaction.

Tonight's party seemed to be a networking opportunity for this.

Grace hinted that a significant figure from Daenerys Entertainment might be interested in Laura. They arrived at the Grand Hotel at 7 PM.

Some fuss was unavoidable.

Laura, ostracized for over a month, saw this as a rare social opportunity and shamelessly asked to borrow money for a dress rental.

Grace, knowing it was just for tonight, didn't refuse and borrowed a Gucci dress through her contacts. Laura, unsatisfied, demanded Dior or Chanel couture until Grace explained the situation, and she reluctantly agreed.

Grace also valued the opportunity to attend a Daenerys Entertainment-hosted party.

But to avoid any misbehavior that could ruin her month-long effort, she stayed close to Laura. Laura quickly adapted, resuming her Upper East Side socialite demeanor and treating Grace like an assistant.

Partygoers quickly recognized Laura, limiting her social success. Laura didn't seem to mind, appearing satisfied just to attend.

"Hi, Ms. Hall, it's great to meet you. I love your show 'Fashion Workshop,' especially the Chanel button episode. Those buttons are art pieces, truly beautiful."

In the party hall, spotting Jerry Hall, host of Fashion TV's "Fashion Workshop," Laura approached enthusiastically.

Jerry Hall, chatting with Fashion TV President Anna Coleman, politely acknowledged Laura. "Thank you. And you are?"

"I'm Laura Grail, working in the fashion industry."

Grace noticed a hint of amusement in Anna Coleman's eyes. Watching Laura perform, she almost wanted to escape.

Unexpectedly, Jerry Hall, unfamiliar with Laura, recognized Grace, shaking hands with her client and then warmly greeting her. "Good evening, Grace. I didn't expect to see you here."

As a former supermodel, Grace had met Jerry Hall at some gatherings, but they never had much contact. Now, with Jerry reportedly involved with Simon Westeros and transitioning to TV, they had even less connection.

Feeling she was missing social opportunities, Grace was moved when someone greeted her.

"Hi, Jerry," Grace smiled politely, hinting at her client beside her. "I came with a client."

Jerry glanced at Laura Grail again, instinctively wary of the attractive woman, and turned back to Grace. "Grace, this is Anna, Anna Coleman, President of Fashion TV."

"Nice to meet you, Ms. Coleman. I'm Grace Spruill from Elite," Grace said, shaking hands with Anna. "Fashion TV's growth over the past year has been impressive."

"Thank you."

Anna Coleman smiled, subtly glancing at Laura before turning back to Grace, showing little interest in extended conversation.

As the first global professional fashion TV station, Fashion TV had considerable cooperation with Elite, though matters like these were beyond Grace's purview.

Grace also realized that her client's ill-fated reputation was hampering her own social interactions at this party.

After some polite conversation, Grace prepared to withdraw with her client. Suddenly, a commotion at the entrance drew their attention. They saw the figure of a young man.

Laura, the most restless, brightened immediately and blurted, "That's

 Simon Westeros."

Noticing Laura's excitement, Jerry Hall, wary of the attractive woman, whispered to Anna and then moved towards Simon.

Laura, eyeing Simon amid the crowd, quickly checked her makeup with a borrowed Gucci compact before Grace could say anything, and then made her way toward him.

No need for reservations.

Rumor had it that this young mogul liked women like her.

Thinking of the recent gossip, Simon Westeros was generous to his lovers, making her eager to escape her current dire situation if she could catch such a man.

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