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.