Flash Marriage To The Dangerous Billionaire - Chapter 55: Chapter 55

Upon closer reflection, Hallie suddenly felt something was off.
'How did Nelson know I wanted to save that little girl?' Hallie wondered.
"The charity fund only has 650,000 dollars a year. Even if you add a third of your salary, it's still just a drop in the bucket," Nelson remarked leisurely.
Hallie said, "Mr. Blair, is there anything else you'd like to say that I already know?"
Hallie wondered, 'Is Nelson digging up all this dirt on me just to get more ammunition to mock me?'
Hallie looked at him and said with a sly smile, "If you're truly that bored, why not donate 150 thousand dollars to the hospital's charity fund? Consider it good karma for your upcoming bid."
Nelson parted his thin lips, his tone indifferent. "I've told you, I'm not interested in charity. But—" His magnetic voice lingered on the last note.
"If you can bring me real benefits, I might consider your proposal. In fact, I could raise the amount to ten times that 150 thousand dollars."
Hallie's pupils contracted slightly. A glimmer of hope slowly welled up in her heart.
"Are you serious?" Hallie asked, her voice trembling.
Nelson fixed her with an inscrutable gaze, his silence speaking volumes in response to Hallie's question.
But soon, Hallie snapped back to the harsh reality she had to face.
She said, "To you, the most valuable asset I have right now should be Levine Group, shouldn't it?
"I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you. Although my grandfather left me 50% of the shares, Levine Group is now mostly under Tucker's control.
"My original plan was to use Berry Bay to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies and break through the barriers, but since you've already acquired Berry Bay, that plan is now dead in the water."
Nelson sneered, "Do you really think that little company of yours is worth anything? Partnering with Levine Group would only be a liability for me."
Hallie thought to herself, 'Little company?
'Fine, for a top-tier conglomerate like Blair Group, even a company making 650 million dollars a year still counts as a small company.
'Over the past few years, due to Tucker's self-righteous misjudgments, the company's profits have been declining year after year.
'Most importantly, if Tucker ever found out that the man I married is Nelson, he'd do everything he could to curry favor with Nelson, make a big deal out of it, and use it to pull in investors.
'Given that Nelson is unwilling to go public with our relationship, he wouldn't choose to cooperate directly with Levine Group either.'
"Then I'm afraid, Mr. Blair, all I have left to offer is my medical expertise. There's nothing else of value I can provide you," Hallie spoke bluntly.
She'd never expected much from Nelson anyway, so there was nothing to be disappointed about.
"What about Berry Bay, then?" Nelson spoke slowly, his voice low and husky.
"Didn't you already... take over Berry Bay?" Hallie froze in shock.
She asked, "Are you... giving it back to me?"
"Nope." Nelson took a few steps closer to Hallie, looking down at her with an imperious gaze.
"I'm granting you the rights to operate it, but I'll remain the majority shareholder. You know the pharmaceutical industry inside out—just use that knowledge to maximize profits."
"OK." Hallie didn't even have to think about it but agreed.
She thought, 'As long as I can get Berry Bay back, I'd agree to anything Nelson asks.
'Besides, saving the little girl too—now that's killing two birds with one stone.'
"Don't agree so readily. I have my terms," Nelson interjected.
She said, "Name your terms."
Nelson gazed into Hallie's eyes, his lips parting slightly. "I chose you as the lead for the Berry Bay project because you're familiar with this field.
"But as I said before, I have my doubts about your capabilities. You have one week to submit a project proposal. If it doesn't meet my expectations, I'll replace you on the spot."
"Deal." Hallie agreed immediately.
One week—that would also be the most time the little girl's body could hold out.
Hallie asked, "Mr. Blair, would you agree to one request of mine?"
Nelson looked down, unhurriedly straightening his cuffs. Then, in a calm, commanding tone, he said just one word, "Speak."
"Once you approve my project proposal, I want you to wire me 150 thousand dollars up front."
"Deal." Nelson agreed just as readily. A weight lifted from Hallie's shoulders—though half her anxiety still hung on that project proposal.
Hallie said, "Mr. Blair, I have surgery scheduled now. If you'll excuse me."
Hallie glanced at the wall clock and hurried off after delivering this remark.
Nelson narrowed his eyes, watching as Hallie's slim silhouette gradually shrank, turned the corner, and vanished at the end of the corridor.
This wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision.
Nelson was in the hospital room attending to Peterson, who was suffering from an allergic reaction, when he suddenly overheard people outside gossiping about how stingy and heartless Hallie was for refusing to donate to a critically ill girl.
Nelson thought to himself, 'I may not know Hallie well, but one thing's for sure—when it comes to saving someone, that woman always plays the fool.'
So, he made a call and casually had someone look into the hospital's situation.
Sure enough, his investigation revealed that years ago, Hallie's mother had set up a charity fund at the hospital, and Hallie had been contributing a third of her monthly salary to it.
Still, this alone wasn't enough to make Nelson hand over the Berry Bay project to Hallie.
Reviewing these details, Nelson suddenly recalled Levine Group's partnership at Berry Bay—a deal brokered by Hallie's mother a decade ago.
'Would a woman who's dedicated her life to public charity really stoop to buying medicine cheap and selling it at exploitative markups?' Nelson wondered.
So Nelson instructed his assistant to investigate the pharmaceutical industry's development over the years and report back to him.
His assistant worked with remarkable efficiency, delivering the full investigation report to Nelson's phone within just half an hour.
It turned out that after Levine Group purchased ingredients at low prices from Kerriston, they sold them to pharmaceutical manufacturers at nearly identical prices. With price controls in place between both parties, Levine Group barely broke even.
This was precisely why, ever since the prominent pharmaceutical families of Kerriston partnered with Levine Group, Callopston had seen an across-the-board reduction in medicine prices.
Ten years ago, when an epidemic was raging, Levine Group, as a pharmaceutical distributor, went out of its way to keep medicine prices under control.
Instead of exploiting this "golden opportunity" to make the huge profits they easily could have, they ensured that ordinary people could access the medication they needed—resulting in the lowest mortality rate nationwide.
After reading the documents, three words surfaced in Nelson's mind—Let it be.
Now that the pharmaceutical market had stabilized, he couldn't be bothered to meddle anymore. He might as well just hand Berry Bay back to Hallie and let her do as she pleased.
Of course, he wouldn't openly return Berry Bay to Levine Group. With Tucker still lurking like a hungry tiger, if he ever realized its true value, Nelson doubted Hallie had what it took to hold onto it.
'Consider this... my way of making amends for misjudging her that day,' Nelson thought to himself.
It had been a hectic day, keeping Hallie at work until 11 PM Yet she was in remarkably high spirits, her energy seemingly undiminished by the long hours.