The Tyrant Billionaire

Hardy and Ava drove away. Ava, sitting in the passenger seat, looked at Hardy and said, "I saw you talking with Mr. Mayer all night. What were you discussing?"

"About the new movies." Hardy replied.

"Are you planning to shoot a new movie again?" Ava asked eagerly.

"Yes."

"Then~~" Ava hesitated.

Hardy smiled "There is a movie called 'Once a Thief,' and it has a female lead who is a modern day thief—charming and agile, with more screen time than in 'The Wild Bunch.' She is the absolute female lead. Are you interested in playing the role?" Hardy asked.

"Yes, yes~~!" Ava answered excitedly.

"Thank you, Hardy." She hugged Hardy and kissed him.

Hardy was driving. Fortunately, he was driving slowly, and it was late at night with few cars on the road; otherwise, they might have had an accident.

Hardy steered the car to the side of the road and stopped.

Ava, excited, continued kissing Hardy passionately.

...

HD Film Company submitted applications for the Venice Film Festival, Golden Globe Awards, and Academy Awards, while the new film collaboration with MGM was handled by his subordinates.

Hardy calculated.

These two films would require an investment of about $2 million.

Previously, when Wash Mining's stock price increased, Hardy had Andy borrow $1 million from the bank, which now seemed insufficient.

He has many industries now.

But most of them were in the investment phase, with very few generating returns.

The mineral water plant was still under construction.

The auction house only spent money without earning any.

Wash Mining Company had no profits and only used stocks to borrow $1 million from the bank.

The television factory still owed the bank $6 million.

HD Agency and HD Film Company were doing well with "The Wild Bunch" box office, but the earliest they could receive money would be next year.

HD Security Company was truly on track now, having signed contracts with five banks, including Bank of America. HD Security now has over 900 employees, all veterans.

The security company was making money but also had many expenses. Hardy didn't plan to use their funds. He had promised Lancer that all profits would be reinvested in the security company's development. HD Security was preparing to expand into San Francisco and other West Coast cities next.

Hardy sighed, "I need more money!"

He called Andy, "Andy, talk to the banks and see if we can use 'The Wild Bunch' future box office earnings to borrow $2 million."

"Okay, I'll ask the banks." Andy agreed and left.

Having such an economic advisor saved Hardy a lot of trouble, allowing him to avoid dealing with everything personally, and Andy did it far better than Hardy could.

At that moment, the phone in Hardy's office rang. He picked it up and heard Sigel's voice.

"Hardy, it's me."

"Mr. Sigel, how's the situation in Las Vegas?" Hardy asked with concern.

Sigel's voice was somewhat low, "The casino, parking lot, restaurant, and hotel are almost done, but the entertainment facilities are far from what I envisioned for a vacation paradise."

Hardy knew Sigel was mainly under pressure from other gang leaders, forcing him to rush the construction. Originally, it was supposed to be completed by mid next year, but the gang leaders couldn't wait.

"Hardy, I'm back in Los Angeles and at home now. Come over, I have something to discuss with you." Sigel said.

"Alright, I'll come over right now." Hardy agreed.

He drove to Beverly Hills, arriving at Sigel's large estate. Sigel's estate was just as impressive as MGM boss Mayer's, covering several acres and qualifying as a mansion even in Beverly Hills.

Hardy entered the living room.

The enormous living room had only Sigel sitting there, making it look empty.

Sigel saw Hardy and immediately said, "Hardy, I want to borrow some money!"

Sigel poured a glass of red wine for Hardy, and walked slowly in the hall with a glass of wine.

"I have a complete plan and my own ideas. I believe I can succeed. The only mistake I made was to cooperate with those bastards."

Sigel became more and more agitated, shouting angrily:"They suspected me of embezzling. Shit, I have no interest in embezzling. I'm trying to build a palace, a city, and a future. They can't wait to make money."

"The Flamingo is set to officially open next month. You know a casino needs a lot of startup capital. When I asked them for money, they all refused, not a single cent. They said I've spent enough and need to figure out the rest on my own."

"I must fulfill my ideal. How can they stump me? Haha, I still have assets. Do they really think I'm broke?"

Sigel suddenly changed the topic and asked. "Hardy I heard that the movie of your film company has received a very good response."

"Yes, both the reputation and box office are good. Mayer expects it to reach around 7 million, and the company can earn 2 million," Hardy said.

Sigel nodded.

"You're better than me in this regard. I started a film company that not only doesn't make money but also requires me to pour money into it every year. Hardy, are you interested in taking over Noah's Ark Film Company?" Sigel asked.

Hardy was a bit surprised.

He didn't expect Sigel to want to sell the film company to him.

Sigel seemed ready to sell everything to make the casino happen.

After speaking, Sigel looked around the house. He had lived here for seven or eight years and liked the house very much. It had also witnessed his love with Virginia.

"I'll sell this house to you too. How about 1 million for both?" Siegel looked at Hardy.

Selling even the house! It seemed Sigel was determined to go all in.

Hardy thought for a moment and said, "Mr. Sigel, I can borrow some money from the bank and lend it to you first."

Hardy felt grateful to Sigel, who had supported him. Lending him $1 million was nothing.

Sigel chuckled.

"Thank you, Hardy. You're the first person to offer me money in a long time. And the $1.5 million you used to buy 18% shares initially was indeed expensive. I could feel your loyalty I'll live in Las Vegas and this house would be wasted sitting here."

"Alright, as you say," Hardy agreed.

Sigel smiled.

"Hardy, I told you before that once the Las Vegas casino was built, I'd take you there to develop and become the gang boss. But you developed so quickly that you went behind the scenes."