The Tyrant Billionaire

"By the way, I remember a few days ago \'The Wild Bunch\' film crew came to New York to promote, and they invited Judy Garland as a guest performer. Judy Garland should have met the owner of HD Pictures, you have a frid who knows Judy Garland, right? You can ask her to verify if Mr. Hardy is as you described."

Mrs. Lauder thought her husband\'s words made sse and immediately picked up the phone to call her best frid.

After a lgthy phone conversation, Mrs. Lauder finally explained her situation clearly, and her frid agreed to ask Judy Garland for help.

Judy Garland was at home in New York wh she received a phone call from her frid.

"Judy, what are you doing?" her frid asked.

"I\'m reading a script."

"Is there a new movie to shoot? What is it about?" the frid asked excitedly.

"It\'s a musical. I just got the script, and after reading it once, I really like it. I can\'t tell you the story," Judy Garland said happily.

She hadn\'t made a film for years, and now, with this script in hand, she liked it immediately after reading it once.

A story about Cinderella meeting a big star seemed tailored just for her.

After filming "The Wizard of Oz," she became one of the hottest stars in Hollywood and won an Oscar.

But in the following years, she couldn\'t find suitable roles. As she grew older, her appearance became more ordinary, and the studio had her play more down to earth roles, wearing glasses, braces, a nose pad, and gaining weight. Evtually, she started to lose her fame in these mediocre roles.

Playing such roles was a severe blow to Judy Garland. Historically, during that period, she suffered from severe depression and evtually couldn\'t act anymore, choosing to d her life at 47.

But in this timeline, Judy Garland was lucky because she met Hardy.

"Congratulations, Judy. You\'ve finally got a film you like. Judy, I want to ask you about someone," the frid said.

"Who? Tell me."

"Have you met Jon Hardy, the boss of HD Films? I want to know more about him."

Judy Garland was tak aback.

"Of course I\'ve met the boss of HD Films. You\'ve se the movie \'The Wild Bunch\' right? That was produced by HD Films. Last time they came to New York for promotion, they invited me to sing, and I met Mr. Hardy there." she said.

"By the way, I can also tell you that the movie I got was jointly invested by MGM and HD Films. It is said that my role was personally assigned by Mr. Hardy. I think it must have something to do with my singing."

Judy Garland became very excited wh she mtioned Hardy. Wh someone from the MGM performing arts departmt found her, she was also surprised why such a great thing would fall on her.

She found it hard to believe.

The MGM executive told her that her role was personally assigned by Mr. Hardy, and the male lead was Johnny Fontaine.

Judy Garland remembered that wh she sang at the evt, she asked Hardy to help her find a role, ev a supporting one. She did it on a whim, but she didn\'t expect him to give her such a big surprise so quickly.

She felt very grateful to Hardy.

"Why are you suddly asking about Mr. Hardy?" Judy Garland curiously asked her frid.

The frid didn\'t hide anything and explained that Hardy was shopping at Fifth Avue Mall, noticed Estée Lauder, and was willing to invest.

"Judy, Mrs. Lauder said that Mr. Hardy is a handsome young man in his twties. She couldn\'t believe the boss of HD Films was so young, so she wanted to confirm," the frid said.

"A handsome young man, yes, Mr. Hardy is indeed very young and very handsome. He\'s only about 6 years old," Judy Garland said, suddly pausing.

"Ah~~ what did you say? Mr. Hardy is in New York," Judy Garland exclaimed.

"If we\'re talking about the same Mr. Hardy, th yes. What\'s the matter, Judy?" the frid asked.

"If Mr. Hardy is in New York, I must visit him. He gave me the role in my new movie. Do you know where he\'s staying?" Judy Garland asked urgtly.

"I\'ll ask Mrs. Lauder. She seemed to mtion that Mr. Hardy left her his address."

"Please ask quickly," Judy urged.

The frid hung up and called Mrs. Lauder, explaining the conversation with Judy Garland and confirming that Mr. Hardy was a handsome young man in his twties.

"Judy wants Mr. Hardy\'s address. You mtioned he left it with you, right?" the frid asked.

"Mr. Hardy said he\'s staying at the St. Regis Hotel."

The frid hung up and quickly called Judy Garland back, telling her the name of Hardy\'s hotel.

Judy Garland hung up and thought for a momt before calling Johnny Fontaine. "Johnny, I heard that Mr. Hardy is in New York."

"Ah~~ really!" Johnny Fontaine, who was lying in bed, jumped up.

"Do you know where he\'s staying?"

"At the St. Regis Hotel, Johnny, I think we should visit Mr. Hardy," Judy Garland said.

"Of course," Johnny immediately agreed.

But th he felt that just visiting wasn\'t ough and said, "Judy, I think we should host a party to welcome Mr. Hardy to New York. It\'s too short notice, so let\'s keep it small, at my villa."

"I think that\'s a good idea."

Two big stars were thinking about how to flatter Hardy.

Now Hardy had become someone people revered.

Johnny hung up and th called the godfather.

He knew that getting the male lead role in "Singing in the Rain" was tirely because of Hardy.

Following the godfather\'s advice, he supported Hardy, and Hardy immediately arranged a male lead role for him.

And this musical fit him perfectly, as if it were tailored for him.

He knew. The main reason was that Hardy respected the Godfather and his relationship with Michael, so wh he learned that Hardy was in New York, he immediately informed the Godfather.

Hardy brought Taylor back to the hotel. As soon as they tered the lobby, the manager stopped them. "Mr. Hardy, someone left a message for you."

"Oh, who is it?"

Hardy was somewhat surprised that someone was looking for him. Could it be Mrs. Lauder?

"It\'s Mr. Johnny Fontaine," the manager said respectfully.

Johnny Fontaine? How did he know Hardy was in New York?

No one would have thought things would coincide so perfectly. He met Mrs. Lauder, who inquired about his situation, which th reached Judy Garland\'s ears, and she, in turn, told Johnny Fontaine.

Hardy had originally planned to stay in New York for two days, spd time with Taylor, and th leave, without alerting anyone. But by chance, people in New York knew of his whereabouts.

Hardy called the number left for him. On the other d, Fontaine\'s voice came through, filled with excitemt and respect. "Mr. Hardy, I didn\'t expect you to be in New York. I just wt to the hotel, but they said you were out, so I left a message."

"Judy Garland and I are going to hold a small party in my small villa. I invite you to attd. Please come."

Hardy laughed and said "Sure, can I bring someone along?"

"Of course, no problem. I\'ll come pick you up in a bit," Johnny Fontaine said happily.

...

Meanwhile, at the Lauder household,.

The couple was discussing Hardy\'s acquisition proposal.

"Joseph, do you think we should accept Mr. Hardy\'s acquisition? Would we lose Estée Lauder that way?" Mrs. Lauder asked worriedly.

"From your tone, it sounds like you\'re tempted?" her husband inquired.

Mrs. Lauder rubbed her forehead in distress. "Mr. Hardy is a millionaire. If he invests in our business, I believe the company will make great strides in a short time. If we rely on our gradual accumulation, it might take many years to see progress."

"What perctage do you think is appropriate? If the other party wants to invest, they are probably aiming for a major stake," Joseph said.

Mrs. Lauder hesitated again.

She wanted Estée Lauder to rise quickly but feared losing it once it did. She was torn.

"What do you think about 30%?" Mrs. Lauder ttatively asked.

Her husband shook his head.

Mrs. Lauder knew she was offering too little. Considering the size of Hardy\'s wealth, he wouldn\'t be interested in such a small share.

"Sixty perct, that\'s my bottom line, but I want the right to make business decisions," Mrs. Lauder said through gritted teeth.

Joseph thought for a momt. "Why don\'t we meet Mr. Hardy and discuss it? We\'ll gauge his thoughts before deciding."

Mrs. Lauder immediately decided to see Hardy.