America 1919

To be able to garner such care from Nucky and his willingness to let her be a judge for Miss America, her identity was quite telling.

The future mistress of the President of the United States, Harding!

"It seems that Miss Breton has quite the ambition!"
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Donnie said teasingly.

Nucky spoke dismissively, "Women, they sometimes can't see their own situation clearly."

Whether it was Donnie or Nucky, they had both realized that Breton simply wanted to establish her image in front of the American public with the increasingly popular Miss America.

Maybe in doing so, she could have the opportunity to appear in public with Harding in the future.

Clearly, neither Donnie nor Nucky were optimistic about this.

The reason why Harding could rise from a country boy, a small-time journalist, to the President of the United States was entirely because he chose a powerful wife, Florence!

Florence's family was one of the top ten consortiums in the United States, the Cleveland Consortium.

It was precisely because of her status that the handsome Harding, who looked like a Hollywood actor, was willing to marry Florence—who was five years his senior, divorced, and with a child... and what's more, she was plain-looking!

After becoming President, Harding had wanted to rid himself of his wife's control, but while the thought was pleasant, reality was harsh.

Harding never managed to free himself from his wife's control throughout his life; even many tabloids blamed Florence for Harding's death.

Nucky was unaware of this history, but he could tell from Florence's situation that Breton's desire to replace her was impossible!

"Regardless, she is someone Harding took notice of, we still have to give Harding some respect," Nucky said to Donnie.

Donnie nodded. The original purpose of hosting Miss America was to connect with America's upper echelons, and now that they had Breton as a connection, Donnie certainly wouldn't let it go.

"Of course, after all, she is one of the President's future women..."

After discussing Breton, Nucky and Donnie moved on to talk about the Miss America preliminaries. "The old timers in the city are getting impatient, it seems like we don't have to worry about the Atlantic City preliminaries!"

Donnie nodded, "I've never been worried about the situation in Atlantic City, but rather the situation in the other cities."

Nucky reassured him with a smile, "You can rest assured about that too, I've already spoken with the other cities, and they are very satisfied with the current situation. The tickets have already sold out eighty percent."

The rules set by Donnie were the same for the preliminaries in all the cities.

The events were to be held in the most famous tavern in each local city, and rich businessmen in the city would be invited. Of course, an invitation was just an invitation—the necessary fees would still need to be paid.

An entrance ticket costing a thousand US Dollars was definitely a huge sum for the average person, but to those wealthy individuals, a thousand dollars might just be a wager for a round of cards.

Both Donnie and Nucky took a thirty percent cut from this revenue!

Even so, the taverns in those cities were eager to host the event.

Moreover, for the day of the Miss America preliminaries, Donnie and Nucky also took a thirty percent cut from the profits of the flower sales in the tavern.

With each flower priced at twenty US Dollars, they aimed to let these American tycoons show off their wealth.

After discussing the situation in several cities, Donnie and Nucky left the office and came to the main hall.

Lucy and Breton were dancing gracefully on the dance floor. While others might approach and join in the dance, no undue incidents occurred. Everyone might not have recognized Breton, but they knew Lucy.

Aside from someone as audacious as Donnie, no one dared to provoke Lucy.

Upon seeing the two descend the staircase, Lucy, with Breton in tow, approached them. Although Breton didn't speak, her eyes were fixed intently on Donnie, clearly eager to know his decision.

"Welcome, Miss Breton, to become one of the judges for the Miss America finals. I hope Miss Breton can strive for greater rights for the vast majority of American women. After all, women can hold up half the sky!"

Because of the phrase "women can hold up half the sky," a light twinkled in Breton's eyes, and she reached out to shake hands with Donnie again. "Do you really believe that, Mr. Block?"

Donnie, along with Nucky, Lucy, and Breton, approached an empty table and sat down. Then, Donnie smiled and said, "Of course, otherwise, why would I think of organizing Miss America? It's really about showing more people the independent American women of the new era.

The women in the United States during this era are no longer appendages of men, they have the right to vote, can work, and, in fact, many women have already taken on the responsibility of supporting their families.

But they have not received the corresponding respect, and this is something I cannot accept!"

After Donnie finished speaking, a Playboy Bunny carrying drinks walked over.

Breton looked at the Playboy Bunny as she set down the drinks and left, and asked with a smile, "But Mr. Block, your tavern still uses the bodies of women to attract customers, is this what you advocate as independence for women?"

Donnie showed a look of dissatisfaction, Nucky and Lucy thought that Breton had hit a sore spot for Donnie, hence his discontent.

Breton, on the other hand, thought she had seen through Donnie's hypocrisy.

"Miss Breton, I thought you were someone who genuinely considered the well-being of women, but now it seems that is not the case, and this disappoints me greatly."

"Did I say something wrong?"

Breton was somewhat dissatisfied with Donnie's accusation and did not hide her displeasure at all.

Watching Breton's reaction, Nucky shook his head slightly, just such a state of mind that allowed Donnie's words to reveal her true inner thoughts – how could she aspire to compete with Florence under such circumstances?

"Of course!" Donnie said loudly, "Miss Breton, do you know the lady who just served us? Do you know her name? Her background? Her family? You criticized her job, suggesting she earns her pay by selling her body?"

Breton's face turned red, clearly enraged by Donnie's barrage of questions.

"No matter what her issues are, they shouldn't be the reason you make her do this job!"

How can a woman who has been the President's mistress and fantasizes about replacing his wife dare to self-righteously criticize a Playboy Bunny's job at this moment?

Fortunately, Donnie knew Breton well enough to not be infuriated by such a woman, not because of her status or actions, after all, Donnie was not a paragon of virtue. He felt this way simply because the woman was incredibly foolish.

"Susie Benning came to Atlantic City with her parents five years ago, living in the West District, which was second only to the North District at the time. To support her family, Susie's father had to work at the docks. Despite only this, Susie still received a good education and became a student at Columbia University this year.

However, the exorbitant tuition fees at Columbia University deterred Susie, and now she works two jobs every day. In the mornings, she works at a bakery, and in the afternoons and evenings, she works at Block Tavern, all to earn enough money to pay for her university education.

She has never looked down on her work, always arriving each day full of energy, and Susie also understands that only by having worked at the very bottom can she speak out for women in similar situations after she graduates from university.

Such a determined, idealistic, and ambitious woman – I really can't understand, Miss Breton, as a woman who purports to speak on behalf of women, why would you look down on her job?"

Donnie's words left Breton feeling quite ashamed, and she even stood up immediately, "Mr. Block, I apologize for my inappropriate remarks just now, and I hope you can forgive me!"

Donnie shook his head, "You shouldn't be apologizing to me, but to Susie, whom you've looked down upon. If she knew what you just said, she would be very heartbroken!"

"Indeed, that's what I should do!"

Having said that, Breton stood up and walked towards Breton's direction.

"Not bad, she isn't hopelessly stupid!"

Nucky said with a smile as he watched Breton's reaction.

Tang Fei said, "After all, she has spent some time around Harding."

"What do you two mean?" Lucy did not understand the implication behind Donnie and Nucky's words.

Donnie and Nucky exchanged a smile and did not answer Lucy's question but clinked their glasses together.

Seeing their actions, Lucy pursed her lips, then said to Donnie, "I didn't expect you to be so kind-hearted, Donnie. Are all the Playboy Bunnies here in Block Tavern in a similar situation?"

Donnie laughed heartily, "Only Susie is in that situation. In fact, Susie has already earned enough to cover her four years of university tuition!"

Lucy, although not as clever as Donnie and Nucky, was still smarter than Breton. She understood the meaning behind Nucky's words after hearing this.

"Poor Breton!"

Since Harding is behind Breton, then based on the characters of Donnie and Nucky, if they did not extract all the value from this woman, it wouldn't fit their character.

"Donnie, I am very grateful for everything you've done for Susie. You are truly a man who acts to fight for more rights for us women!"

By then, Breton had already returned to Susie's side, while the distant Susie stood there utterly confused. That woman must be sick, coming over to give a random cheer and then spouting some nonsensical things.

Why does the boss have such a dim-witted person around him?