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The DC-3 slowly landed at Los Angeles Airport.
Los Angeles Airport was actually the future Los Angeles International Airport, which had already opened in the 1930s.
However, at this time there were no international flights, so naturally the word "international" didn't exist. Of course, the airport's scale was nowhere near what it would be in the future. After all, flying was still quite a luxurious mode of transportation at the time, and most DC-3 passenger planes weren't equipped with seats, but with beds.
For instance, the DC-3 that Josh had purchased was outfitted with twelve beds.
This time, exactly twelve people came to Los Angeles together with Josh.
Josh, Margot, Lyndon Schneider and his little lover Angela, Sabrina, and Francesca.
The remaining six were bodyguards, including Vito and Brooke.
Francesca's presence was easy to explain—being a maid, she naturally served Josh and Margot. But honestly, it wasn't hard work at all.
Because Josh and Margot were never the type to be fussy, traveling with them was definitely considered a cushy job.
If it hadn't been for her connection to Vito, she might not even have gotten the opportunity.
As for Sabrina, she had been coaxed into coming by Josh.
Though she appeared to be the Leibler family's maid when Josh first met her, in fact there was no direct employment relationship. She was only there because her father was John Leibler's chauffeur, so she helped out at the Leibler home to earn some pocket money.
Also, the girl was only 15 years old.
Josh merely painted a small picture of the potential for upward social mobility that fame could bring, and with John Leibler's encouragement, he easily acquired the girl's "contract."
Of course, Josh didn't hide this from Margot. He told her directly that the girl had star potential, and he planned to make her a celebrity.
Margot was very understanding and did nothing to object… because she knew that if Josh really had any improper thoughts about the girl, he could just act secretly—there was no need to tell her.
So she chose to trust Josh without reservation, and along the way, took great care of the young girl who was leaving home alone for the first time. By the time they got off the plane, the girl was practically hugging Margot and calling her "sister"
…Well, one had to admit this was Margot's cleverness at work too—by getting close to the girl, she ensured that if anything happened in the future, it wouldn't be clear whose side she'd take, Josh's or hers.
Compared to Sabrina, Angela seemed a bit out of place with Margot and the others.
There was very limited interaction between them. While nothing inappropriate was said, there was an obvious feeling of cold rejection.
This wasn't because Margot saw her as a threat, but simply because she thought Angela was low-class and not worth her attention.
Clearly, this difference in treatment didn't come from a difference in status—otherwise Margot wouldn't have treated Sabrina and Francesca so gently.
Angela clearly understood this, so she clung to Lyndon Schneider the whole time like a frightened little quail…Margot's powerful aura gave her immense pressure.
Faced with this silent war between women, Josh and Lyndon Schneider chose to stay silent throughout.
No joke—both men were seasoned pros. Josh would have to be crazy to care about a woman who had nothing to do with him. Angela's position in his mind was very clear: a subordinate's lover and a tool to make money.
Lyndon Schneider, for his part, wouldn't offend the boss' wife over a mere plaything either.
As they got off the plane, Vito and Brooke led the way. Josh and Margot came down first, followed by Francesca and Sabrina, with Lyndon Schneider sensibly bringing up the rear with Angela.
"Welcome to Los Angeles, Mr. Kane!" As Josh stepped off the plane, two sharp-suited men who had been waiting near the runway stepped forward in unison to greet him. Behind them was a row of cars.
These two were the general managers of the two film companies.
One company was called Siegel Pictures, with a manager named Pete; the other was Rose Pictures, with a manager named Brad.
By the 1940s, the framework of the eight major Hollywood film studios had already formed.
But just like in the future, beyond those eight giants, Hollywood was still full of countless small companies.
These two were the latter.
Despite calling themselves film companies, both had previously just been tools for gangs to network with local elites—their nature was more like those later companies that specialized in training wannabe models.
They would use extremely low costs to trick young girls dreaming of Hollywood fame into signing a series of unequal contracts.
Then use those contracts to force the girls to comply.
Don't be surprised—even in the 21st century, many entertainment or film companies still do this, though they're more discreet about it now. In this era, it was almost semi-public.
However, of the two companies, Siegel Pictures had a slightly better situation because it had once belonged to the Jewish mob boss Benjamin Siegel.
Siegel was also a show-off himself and had even acted in a few films but he didn't make much money from it—he mostly lost money.
Still, because of that, Siegel Pictures had fairly complete equipment and facilities, making it look like a proper film company.
By contrast, Rose Pictures was basically an empty shell.
Of course, now that Josh had arrived, those shady operations would definitely stop—there was no need for them anymore.
In fact, he was even planning to merge the two companies into one… keeping both would just waste money and resources for no reason.
That said, Josh had no intention of firing the two managers.
Because before coming to Los Angeles, he'd looked through the records and found that these two actually had some talent.
Given the nature of the companies under the gangs, they weren't really expected to make money from films.
But surprisingly, these two had managed to make a few movies with extremely limited resources—and even turned a profit…though the ones starring Siegel himself were exceptions.
In particular, the manager of Rose Pictures had managed to shoot profitable films using minimal funds by renting equipment and studio space, it was quite impressive.
Even if the profits weren't huge, it still showed their capability so Josh planned to give them a chance.
Of course, the details would have to wait until he inspected the two companies in person.
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