A Graduation Gift novel Chapter 144

"Amanda Ke…"

It sounded familiar to Horace as he repeated the name, but he found himself at a loss in pinpointing it to an actual face.

"Ah, you might know her? She is a world-famous female pianist. She had a performance in a concert in G City not long ago,"

The man smiled and reminded Horace after sensing his confusion.

The name clicked into place at the man's remark. Horace remembered a concert in G City recently. The performers and singers were all from abroad; and major real estate developers in G City, including the Tang Group, sponsored the event.

Amanda Ke's piano performance was the grand finale. The next day, her name poured out from almost all the headlines of newspapers and social media posts. There was an overwhelmingly unanimous verdict— her performance was praised in words as an 'unprecedented success.'

With the turn of time, living conditions had been steadily improving in the city; and more and more people were gaining new appreciation for the arts. The government of G City was planning to build a new theatre in the newly-constructed tourism industrial area in order to host more performances from different artists in the future.

As for the TY Group, they took advantage of this opportunity by holding a concert for Amanda, and was well-received by the public. The tickets almost sold out only hours after the performance had been announced.

Horace didn't pay a lot of attention to this in the beginning, so it took him some time to recall the name, and all he knew was that she was an excellent pianist.

"I barely know her. How can I let Rufus and her be together?" he hesitated.

It would be strange to set Rufus up with a woman whom he didn't know at all. The very idea was ridiculous.

The man chuckled at his response and said, "I will connect you with Amanda. You can rest assured that she would be agreeable to a marriage with Rufus."

He sounded confident, his laugh was loud and had an odd ring to it.

"Are they old friends? Then… what about our business agreement?"

Horace asked, his mind on the negotiations for the investment.

"When Amanda and Rufus decide to marry, I will put the money into the Tang Group's account. Money isn't a problem. Name your price, and we'll be sure to match it," the man answered nonchalantly.

He didn't seem to care about the money. From the way he spoke, it was as if the marriage between Rufus and Amanda was the only thing he had in mind.

Horace weighed the situation. After some deliberation, he had arrived at a decision.

"Alright. I agree to your terms. I look forward to the success of this cooperation," he declared.

The man hung up. Horace found himself still listening to the busy tone from the other end. The reality of the conversation had not yet completely sunk in, and he was caught off guard from the abruptness of what had just happened.

This investor came from a famous venture capital firm. A colleague had once mentioned to Horace that the company was known for its risk-taking strategies. The riskier an investment was, the more willing they were to invest. It seemed that they had a lot of confidence.

As a family business, the Tang Group had gone through a long line of ups and downs. Since the establishment of the company, they had had to make a lot of changes and sacrifices, climbing their way to be one of the greatest companies in G City today. They had a steady foundation with their long history in the business; but if they wanted to grow, they needed something else, especially funds.

Now this seemed to be their best option as the Tang group needed their backing and investment.

The company held a large amount of free cash flow in their hands, and was willing to invest in the Tang Group on the condition of the marriage between Rufus and Amanda. Horace found himself unable to see a logical explanation for this.

Four years ago, he had done the same thing. He arranged for Lionel to marry Cassandra, but that decision ended tragically. And his grandchild…wasn't even able to make it to this world. Now, he was asked once again to marry a son to a stranger. There was a heavy reluctance tugging at him with this decision.

But the man's words implied that they should let nature take its course between Rufus and Amanda. And so, technically speaking, if things went well, Horace would not be the one who arranged the marriage.

He knew what kind of person Rufus was. He wasn't Lionel. In fact, he seemed to be an opposite of his half-brother. Rufus wouldn't be as submissive as Lionel, if he set him up with Amanda.

With the gears in his head turning, Horace decided to check up on Amanda's background first. As the saying goes, know the enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles you will never be in peril. He pored his eyes over the computer as he searched her name.

Meanwhile, in a presidential suite at a five-star hotel in G City, Amanda threw a file on the desk. She was seething with disdain.

"A divorced woman!" she spat.

Amanda honestly thought that Cassandra might come from some family with a big name. She had to be someone with an esteemed background, from the way Rufus behaved around her. It turned out that she was just an ordinary woman with a failed marriage. To top everything off, she was the ex-wife of Rufus's brother!

Amanda looked at Cassandra's resume carefully. In all fairness, she did win many competitions since her university days. However, her achievements were a speck of dust compared to Amanda's tower of successes.

He could still see Cassandra in the Tang Group for now, but she would be resigning and leaving the company as soon as she finished the project with the amusement park. What did she plan to do after that?

Horace had decided to let go of Vernon's company. Lionel didn't have any say on the matter even if he owned some shares in the Qin Group. In a short while, those shares would inevitably be sold; and after that, the last of his connection to Cassandra would also disappear. She was no longer his wife, and not even a business partner. It would be as if she never existed in his life.

Lionel felt annoyed at the thought that Cassandra had to support the Qin Group on her own in the future and there was nothing he could do to help her.

This mood lasted for the whole morning, until a woman came to visit him.

"Mr. Tang, the pianist Amanda Ke has called for you. She said that she has an invitation to deliver in person."

Lionel was taken aback by his secretary's words. 'Amanda Ke? The pianist? Why would she want to see me?' he wondered to himself.

Despite his surprise, he asked the secretary to bring her to his office.

Amanda greeted him, invitation in her hand.

"Hello, Mr. Tang. I apologize for the unannounced visit, but I would like to invite you to my concert on Lantern Festival. I look forward to seeing you there."

She held out the invitation to him and smiled sweetly.

Amanda was a beautiful woman. Lionel felt calmer at the sight of her. He had always liked attractive women, and there was one standing in front of him now.

He returned her smile with one of his own and reached for the card. "Thank you, Miss Ke. It would be my pleasure to go and see your performance. The Tang Group had just been thinking about sponsoring the concert, but the TY Group was faster. What a pity!" he said, seeming regretful.

Lying came easily to Lionel. The Tang Group had never talked about any sponsorship for concerts, but what he said just now was the perfect response. Not only did his words compliment Amanda, but his words gave an air of sincerity to his answer.

Still, Amanda was no fool. She knew that Lionel was lying.

'Such a foolish man. No wonder Cassandra chose Rufus.' Amanda mocked him in her head, but her sweet smile never faltered.