Salute To The General

Chapter 296 He Is Indeed The Greatest Philanthropist In...

At 7 p.m. in the evening, when night fell and the city was all lit up, Nathan and Penny arrived at the

Grand Hyatt Hotel to attend the charitable auction. The couple had brought along with them a third

wheel, Kylie Tonkins.

Penny looked elegant and graceful, and was absolutely stunning. On the other hand, Kylie was sweet

and adorable.

Flanked by two beauties, each with their own merits, Nathan Cross was the focus of many other guests

as they turned their attentions to the three of them the minute they walked in.

Jude Hay came forward to welcome them accompanied by two assistants. His eyes sparkled with

desire as he sized Penny up in a gorgeous evening gown. With a broad grin, the man said, "Welcome,

Mr. Cross, Ms. Smith! You guys really made it here."

Penny replied with a chuckle, "We're raising funds for our alma mater tonight. How can I miss it!"

There was a good turnout at the charity auction, with the majority being entrepreneurs and business

men who were alumni of Channing University.

The guests were all allocated to different tables, and each table had a unique number card for them to

raise in order to indicate their interests in the items at auction.

Naturally, Nathan, Penny and Kylie were seated at the same table, while Jude Hay and his two

subordinates sat at the table beside.

The emcee for tonight's charity auction was Yale Xenakis, who was one of the most well-known and

experienced auctioneers in the city.

He was able to accurately appraise any item just by taking one look at it, be it ancient relics or modern

luxury goods.

As such, apart from being the emcee, Yale Xenakis was also appointed the main auctioneer of the

event.

After announcing the start of the auction,

Yale Xenakis invited Jude Hay, the auction organizer and the President of Channing Charity

Foundation, up on stage to say a few words. The second opening speaker was the Principal of

Channing University.

The charity auction officially began after the speeches by the two men.

The entrepreneurs and businessmen started contributing items for the auction. However, those were

mainly invaluable or ordinary items such as personal calligraphy works, cheap antiques, old watches,

or even unwanted branded handbags which belonged to the wives of those alumni.

Some were auctioned off for a few thousand, while some, which were worth a bit more, fetched tens of

thousands.

Nathan finally understood that these people who attended such charity events were not sincere about

doing their parts for charity. Instead, their main purpose for attending such an event was to extend their

network and widen their business social circles.

The majority of the attendees had shared the same objective, which was to establish some useful

business contacts and hopefully have some fun in the meantime.

No one was serious about donating big sums of money for charity.

After all, they had all worked hard to accumulate their wealth, and did not intend to spend it in such a

manner.

As Yale Xenakis noticed the lackluster response and he said humorously, "Dear esteemed guests and

alumni, since everyone seems to be lacking enthusiasm, why don't I make a suggestion? The person

who donates the item with the most proceeds at the charity auction tonight will get to enjoy a dance

with a beautiful lady. What does everyone think of this idea?"

After Yale Xenakis made the proposition, the guests and Jude Hay started cheering.

While standing on stage, Yale Xenakis scanned across the hall and his gaze landed on Penny Smith,

who was seated next to Nathan Cross. Pointing at the woman, the emcee said, "According to my

careful observation, Ms. Penny Smith is the most gorgeous lady present at our auction tonight. The

dance floor will be opened after we tabulate the proceeds from the auction, and the top donor will be

the one to have the first dance with Ms.

Smith.”

Penny was shocked at the emcee's idea and fell into a fluster.

She was about to reject, but Yale Xenakis was one step ahead of her. "Ms. Smith, look at how excited

everyone is after knowing that they stand a chance to dance with you. I'm sure everyone will start

participating more actively in the auction from now onward and we'll be able to raise more funds for

Channing University. I really hope you won't say 'no' for the benefit of your alma mater." said the man.

Penny Smith was at a loss for words. She did not want to dance with other men, especially ballroom

dancing, which required bodily contact.

However, dancing was quite a common social activity in elite circles.

Besides, the emcee's proposition seemed to exert a positive influence on the guests, and they

appeared to be more enthusiastic. This means her participation would enable more funds to be raised

for their alma mater.

As such, even though Penny was not keen to take part, she felt rather bad to reject it.

At her wits' end, she looked at her husband for his advice.

Nathan said softly to her, "Don't worry, I'll be the one dancing with you anyway."

Penny Smith felt at ease after Nathan's reassurance. At most, she would just ask Nathan to donate

more money later.

After all, the person whom Penny Smith would be dancing with, was the top donor of this charity

auction.

Jude Hay started the ball rolling by donating a Bentley, which was auctioned off for five million. The

proceeds would go to Channing University.

The man had instantly become the top donor of the event.

There were silent cheers and whispers among the crowd, applauding Jude Hay for being the greatest

philanthropist in Channing with his generous donation. Everyone had presumed that the first dance

with Penny Smith would go to Jude Hay.

In fact, Jude Hay had done that with the intention to impress Penny Smith, hoping to smitten the

woman with his charm.

He had not forgotten to deride Nathan Cross while trying to win Penny over.

"Nathan, you have been watching the auction for quite a while now. Aren't you donating something too?

Are you so down and out that you don't have anything presentable to contribute?" Jude Hay asked.

Nathan Cross became the center of

attention at once. Everyone was waiting to see what he would do next.

Penny got nervous too. It was the first time she and Nathan attended a charity auction, and the couple

had not brought along with them anything as their contribution. As a result, this had landed them in

their current predicament.