The Wolf of Los Angeles-Chapter 447: The Matchmaker

[Chapter 447: The Matchmaker]

"Mayor, this way, please."

As Gavin Newsom entered the Luma Club, he was greeted by a female attendant wearing a Feminist Majority Foundation sash, who offered to guide him.

An unexpected situation arose near the end of his shift, forcing Gavin to work overtime for a while.

But he still came because the women's rights organization could mobilize a large portion of the female population, which translated into a massive number of votes.

Even though the time had passed, Fiona was still waiting for Gavin Newsom at the entrance of the banquet hall. When she saw him, she stepped forward to greet him.

Gavin was handsome and poised, a genuinely striking figure.

He smiled and shook Fiona's hand, saying, "Something came up last minute, sorry for being late."

"It's an honor for the Feminist Majority Foundation to have the mayor here," Fiona said, leading Gavin inside the banquet hall.

She first looked for Jennifer Siebel's location, discovering that she was with Melanie and other key members of the FMF. Fiona immediately said, "Shall I introduce the FMF members?"

Gavin came here to court these women, so he agreed with a smile, "Sure."

...

Fiona led the way and introduced, "This is Melanie, the head of the Feminist Majority Foundation in San Francisco; this is Frieda, my assistant; and this is..."

Gavin shook hands with each of them, exchanging a few words.

With his good looks, charm, and witty speech, Melanie and the others found the mayor quite captivating.

When Fiona introduced the next person, Gavin's gaze was caught by a tall, stunning woman with exceptional poise, standing out amongst the group.

"This is Jennifer Siebel, an important member of the Feminist Majority Foundation. She's from San Francisco and has been promoting the women's movement in Hollywood," Fiona said.

Love at first sight between men and women was often just physical attraction.

Gavin had seen many beautiful women given his background.

So Fiona deliberately placed Jennifer in the core management of the FMF.

Most fighters around looked rough, and it wasn't uncommon for unattractive people to cause trouble.

Against this backdrop, Jennifer stood out like a beautiful rose.

Gavin gently shook Jennifer's hand, saying, "I had no idea such a beautiful woman had appeared in San Francisco."

Jennifer, an actress, smiled brightly and freely.

Gavin didn't say much and soon moved on to shake another hand.

Fiona displayed remarkable restraint, giving no special signals and continued introducing people to Gavin.

The main purpose of tonight's banquet was to win the support of San Francisco celebrities in preparation for the post-New Year women's rights rally.

The atmosphere was electrifying.

Fiona occasionally kept an eye on Gavin and Jennifer, but apart from the initial introduction, Gavin was busy socializing and had no further interaction with Jennifer.

Such things had to be handled delicately by the planners; if they pushed too hard, the nature of things would change.

It would even raise suspicion from someone like Gavin.

And Jennifer was no pushover.

Fiona was a little anxious but restrained herself and fulfilled her duties as vice president of the Feminist Majority Foundation throughout the evening.

...

As mayor, Gavin didn't stay too long and soon excused himself.

"I'll attend your New Year's rally," Gavin said straightforwardly, then told Fiona, "I have a lot on my plate, so I'll take off now."

Fiona was about to see him off.

"Wait a moment," Gavin stopped, then headed toward the other side.

Jennifer was over there talking with Kamala.

Gavin approached with a smile, asking, "Can I have your contact information?"

Jennifer was surprised but opened her purse and took out a card: "My pleasure."

Gavin left his business card with Jennifer: "If I have questions about women's rights, may I consult you?"

Jennifer enthusiastically replied, "Anytime, as long as I'm in San Francisco."

After exchanging cards, Gavin quickly left the banquet hall.

Fiona didn't ask anything further and escorted Gavin to the Luma Club's entrance.

Gavin got into his car, took out his phone, and saved Jennifer's contact number.

Among everyone in the banquet hall tonight, Jennifer was clearly the most beautiful and charismatic.

After the banquet, Fiona returned home and, using a backup phone, called Los Angeles: "The two targets had their first contact tonight and exchanged contact information."

---

Beverly Hills, North Sunset Boulevard.

In the mansion on the hill, Hawke sat by the indoor pool and hung up his phone.

Thanks to Fiona's introduction, Gavin Newsom and Jennifer Siebel not only met but exchanged contacts.

This was a good start.

Hawke thought he could consider changing careers to become a matchmaker.

But then he reconsidered -- matchmakers were mostly semi-retired these days. Most were working double-duty as financial advisors.

The splash of water sounded as Erica swam silently, emerged from the water, grabbed the edge of the pool with her arms, extended one long leg sideways, kicked up a spray of water that splashed onto Hawke.

She wiped the water off her face and said, "Done with your call? Come swim a lap."

Hawke tossed his phone onto the lounge chair, jumped high, and dove into the pool.

The water splash would have scored zero in any diving competition.

Erica screamed, dived underwater, and held Hawke down.

The pool surface was turbulent like boiling water.

After a while, they both surfaced, gasping for air.

Erica swam to the pool edge, saying, "I can't hold my breath anymore."

Hawke followed behind.

They rested on the edge while talking.

Erica asked, "Any news from San Francisco?"

"They met," Hawke answered with progress, "and exchanged contact info. A good start."

Erica said, "Does this really work?"

Hawke thought and said, "The Democrats have had a presence in San Francisco for years. Compared to Los Angeles, their influence there is far more entrenched. The news-making Newsom family in San Francisco took decades to get where they are now."

Erica nodded, "The Brown and Newsom families are long-established in San Francisco. The former's current figurehead is Jerry Brown, who is preparing to run for governor again."

Hawke's research showed that the Getty family and Pacific Gas and Electric Company played important roles in the rise of the Newsom family, while support from the Brown family was also key.

Jerry Brown and his son both served as California governors four times decades ago.

Brown's daughter is a Democratic member and currently serves as Schwarzenegger's state finance secretary.

Some members of both parties shifted positions according to interests.

Or you could say they hedge bets.

Politically, that was nothing new.

California barely flipped from red to blue recently, but the last red tide swept to a great victory. To prevent California from flipping back to red, the Democrats brought back retired Jerry Brown and prepared to cultivate Gavin Newsom as a rising star in politics.

Hawke said, "From the current situation, California's future layout will be a rivalry between two major forces represented by Brian and Gavin Newsom."

Erica said, "Hawke Osment and the Ferguson family against Jerry Brown and the Newsom families."

She always thought Hawke was key to the Ferguson family's resurgence and added, "If I were the opponent, I'd target you first."

Hawke asked, "Annihilation?"

Erica shook her head, "After BlackRock was taken down, I believe they won't be foolish enough to do that unless absolutely necessary, as they would face equally fierce retaliation."

She was puzzled, "We've been preparing offense while staying on guard; why haven't they attacked us?"

This reminded Hawke, who considered, "What if they already did and we haven't noticed?"

Erica thought carefully and said, "I can't imagine."

She excelled in execution and said, "These things should be your concern."

Hawke indeed pondered this area and hypothesized: "There is a man who looks like a Russian spy but speaks with a West Coast accent. The Butterfly Consulting security company has been searching for him, and Twitter has used photo modeling to track him online."

Erica immediately remembered the CD of Satanic cult videos.

Hawke continued, "Previously, I thought the mastermind behind this was most likely Russian or Hillary. Now it seems there's a possibility in San Francisco too."

Erica jumped up and sat by the pool, somewhat surprised, saying, "You want me to investigate the Satanic cult and thus trigger a case?"

Hawke said, "The Satanic cult is closely linked to Hillary and may be her important tool for contacting or controlling people. If we touch their secrets, it's like hitting her core, possibly causing us to become enemies to the death."

Erica followed Hawke's reasoning, "The Clinton couple have run things carefully for decades. They are the Democrats' most crucial faction, allied with many East Coast moguls, including in New York, forming a huge political and business force. If we clash with the Hillary group, we'll need to go all out. The San Francisco group will simply watch and clean up afterward."

Hawke increasingly felt this hypothesis might be true, "Like the East-West Coast rivalry -- party factions aren't really united. Regions form their own factions too."

Erica understood, "If Hillary targets us, she'll definitely unite California's forces, starting with the San Francisco group. To win them over, she'll pay dearly, and we'll be caught in a pincer movement."

Hawke climbed out of the pool, wrapped a towel around himself, and headed to the shower.

Erica followed.

After showering, drying off, and changing clothes, they entered the study together.

*****

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