America's Top Player

Chapter 111 Carrot and stick

After Phil left, the company was still busy.

Employees in the three major departments have almost no chance to rest. For a small company with more than ten people like this, it is already a great achievement to have a singer at the top 10 of Billboard.

Apocalypse Music has three of them, and sometimes they have to provide additional services to Li Ang, the black-hearted boss.

This results in the unlucky people who join this company having to work overtime like cattle and horses.

Li Ang locked the door of his office and played Adele's new album "21" on the record player to seek new inspiration.

When he thought about having to use his brain to find inspiration even though he had a cheat, he wanted to slap himself twice.

The inspiration refresh mechanism is very unstable.

Rap, rock, jazz and electronic music are all likely to be refreshed.

Sometimes what comes out is not music, but movies.

Li Ang had witnessed even more outrageous operations on February 2th, when he was inspired to create a song even more exotic than "Senorita".

He couldn't understand the lyrics at all. After seeking help from everyone in the company, he learned from Elsa, who was of Mexican descent, that it was a Spanish song.

This inspiration refresh is so useless that it cannot be saved. The best way out is to have the opportunity to sell the song to a Latin singer like Shakira in the future and collect the copyright income.

Li Angang thought about it for a long time. Since the shameless entry was refreshed, the most useful entry is "traitor".

His first album was almost entirely inspired by exploiting Big Dan.

"Is there any way to refresh the entries automatically?" He stared at the ceiling and pondered for a long time, but still got nothing.

It stands to reason that he has never done a good thing. He exploits employees, cheats, and engages in street violence all the time.

His loyalty to the ROC Kingdom could not withstand any test, and he was on the road to betraying the kingdom.

Even so, there is still no sign of any new entries being updated.

"Damn it. Do I have to rob a bank or become a terrorist to refresh this damn entry?" Leon rubbed his head and couldn't find a moment of peace.

There are only about six months left before his contract with ROC Kingdom expires in August, and he must take advantage of this window of opportunity to accumulate strength as quickly as possible.

Prepare for the coming storm.

dong dong——

"Who? Fxxk, don't you know it's break time now?" The knock on the door brought Leon away from his thoughts. He rubbed his eyes and cursed.

In fact, no one in the company has a lunch break except him.

"Fuck! Leon! You bastard!"

Leon immediately recognized Robbie's voice.

pop-

She kicked and banged on the wooden door while cursing, "Why is the door locked in broad daylight? Which bitch are you hanging out with again?"

Li Ang didn't dare to delay and rushed over to open the door.

Robbie's eyes were faintly bloodshot, and against his blond hair he looked like a lion with its fur standing on end.

She pushed Li Ang's chest hard and searched around the office.

Like a police dog, leaving no corner untouched.

"Bitch where are you!"

"Get out here now, I'll step on you and beat you until you crawl on the ground like a bitch!"

Looking at Robbie's aggressive look, Leon could only curl his lips helplessly.

He had no doubt about Robbie's athletic ability; she had participated in more than a dozen hockey rink brawls.

"Hey, there's no need to look through the drawer. Your butt won't fit in there."

"Shut up!" Robbie turned around and glared at her fiercely, "Is that bitch going to jump out of the window?"

"You'd better stop!" Li Ang rubbed his brow, not knowing what else to say. "Stand by the window and look down. Is there any madman who dares to jump from there?"

The headquarters of Apocalypse Music is only two stories high, and Li Ang's office is located on the second floor.

Although the floors are not high, the building has a ceiling height of nearly four meters, and the height including the windows is over five meters.

If you jump from here, you will at least lose an arm and a leg.

After a fruitless search, Robbie finally calmed down.

She crossed her arms, and Dalei rose and fell rhythmically. "You really didn't do anything bad behind my back? Then why did you lock the door?"

"I'm the manager of this label. When I don't want to be disturbed, I can choose not to be disturbed by anyone." Li Ang was no longer sleepy. He walked to the coffee machine and poured a cup of coffee. "I'm talking about anyone!"

Robbie was startled by Leon's sudden shout, and stopped talking in fear.

Li Ang took a sip of coffee and lowered his voice. "I need some space. My career is facing a series of challenges."

Not long after the words fell, Robbie's expression immediately switched seamlessly.

She blinked her big, watery eyes and threw herself into Li Ang's arms like a Barbie doll.

The contrast was so strong that Li Ang couldn't help but sigh: Shxt is a natural actor.

"I'm so sorry, Honey. I'm too sensitive. You know there are a lot of bitches who are after you." Robbie buried his face in Leon's arms, his voice as soft as a female cat.

"You're exaggerating. I'm not a wealthy and glamorous superstar like Leonardo."

"No! You're much better than that guy!" Robbie raised his head, his eyes determined. "Miranda, Taylor...they always ask me about you!"

"My woman's intuition tells me that their intentions are not pure!"

Leon felt both angry and amused about this. These two goddesses were not bitches like Kardashian who would sacrifice themselves at any time as long as there was profit.

One is a popular supermodel, and the other is the hottest young queen in the music world.

It is possible to say that you admire someone, but as for loving someone or even paying for him/her, that is completely a delusion.

"Okay, it's almost one o'clock. Let's go out for something to eat. I know a pretty good Chinese restaurant."

"Ok!"

Twenty minutes later, two people, tightly armed with scarves and sunglasses, appeared in a high-end Chinese restaurant in Brooklyn Heights.

The chefs of this restaurant have all been trained at the University of Tokyo, and their food is quite authentic.

Ever since Li Ang discovered this place, he has made it his designated place for improved meals.

"Spicy! Spicy! Spicy!" Robbie used the chopsticks clumsily. As soon as he put a piece of meat into his mouth, a cloud of fire rose on his face. He kept flapping his palms to try to cool down his mouth.

Looking at Robbie's cute and innocent appearance, Leon found it difficult to suppress the smile on his face.

Robbie, who was used to eating American Chinese food, saw for the first time a menu as thick as a book and with hundreds of dishes.

Without hesitation, I ordered some dishes that are not commonly seen in the United States.

Although she kept drinking water, the burning sensation in her mouth could not be relieved. In desperation, she turned her eyes to the glass pot filled with milky liquid on the table.

“Give me milk!”

"That's not milk!" Leon had just spoken when Robbie picked up the glass pot and started drinking it.

The glass pot contained a mysterious drink that even he himself found difficult to accept.
As expected, Robbie came to her senses three seconds later, and a strange taste spread in her mouth.

"WTF!! What a terrible smell!!"

"This is a soy-based drink." Looking at the other party's embarrassed look, Li Ang spread his hands and smiled evilly.

“It’s hard to describe the taste”

At 2:30 p.m., Leon had just finished lunch with Robbie when he received a call from Lenny. The caller's tone was firm, claiming that the situation was urgent and asking him to rush to ROC immediately.

Li Ang originally wanted to choose to refuse. The Grammy incident had only been a few days ago, and even if he wanted to use language skills to ease the relationship with JAY-Z, it was obviously not the time.

People cannot listen to reason when they are angry. ROC is now full of crises.

"Listen, if you don't show up within the hour, your earlier plan to release new music with Robbie might have to be shelved."

A surge of anger suddenly surged up, which was a disguised threat.

As long as ROC Kingdom still holds Leon's contract, JAY-Z has the final say on whether to release a record and with whom to release the record.

Although his and Ariana's single "Senorita" was produced and released entirely through Apocalypse Music, ROC Kingdom still took 15% of the sales share.

After the Grammy Awards, his relationship with JAY-Z became extremely tense, and it was no longer something that could be reconciled by giving up a few points in sales.

Without thinking too long, Li Ang replied, "I'll be there soon."

"how long?"

"twenty minutes."

"You better hurry up, JAY-Z doesn't want to wait for you too long."

Beep beep——

After hanging up the phone, Li Ang picked up his windbreaker, stood up and said, "Something urgent, I have to go."

"Are you in any danger?" Robbie already roughly understood what had happened through the content of the conversation just now.

"How could it be dangerous? I'm just going back to the company."

Although Li Ang's answer was understated, Robbie still felt very uneasy.

She frowned, her tone tinged with anger: "It's all your fault for behaving so frivolously with Beyoncé at the Grammy Awards!"

Li Ang smiled and said nothing. It was obvious that the other party didn't know the inside story.

"Okay, I have to go now." Li Ang put on his windbreaker and left Robbie with his back. "Don't forget to attend the vocal training this afternoon~"

Robbie stared at the figure in the distance with a gleam in his eyes.

Until I was brought back to reality by the waiter's broken English: "Excuse me, is this lady paying the bill?"

Near the ROC Records headquarters, Leon ordered his bodyguard Jorge to wait downstairs.

In the meeting room, as soon as Li Ang entered, he felt the serious atmosphere that was inconsistent with an entertainment company.

Not only were senior executives such as Vice President Lenny and PR Manager Pena present, but even the company's seldom-seen president, Michael Yormark, made a rare appearance.

He is JAY-Z's partner on the road to entrepreneurship, and their history can be traced back to the 1980s when JAY-Z was still a drug dealer.

He comes from a serious street background and is considered a tough guy who doesn't talk much.

Recently, he was appointed by JAY-Z to develop the sports agent market, and has already had some contact with many big-name NBA stars and famous boxers.

At the end of the six-meter-long white conference table, JAY-Z sat on a luxurious swivel chair with his back to everyone.

Above his head hangs a massive golden mural of a lion's head with a crown dangling from it.

This is his unique personal symbol.

As soon as Li Ang walked in, he was stared at by more than ten pairs of eyes. He shrugged his shoulders, pulled out a chair and sat down next to Lenny.

"What kind of meeting needs to be so serious?"

The tense atmosphere did not ease, and no one took the initiative to speak until JAY-Z lit a cigar with his back turned.

Seeing the cigar smoke wafting out, Lenny broke the silence first, as if receiving a signal. "There have been some rumors about you recently. I think you'd better explain it in front of everyone."

"There's nothing much to explain. There are some people doing bad things behind my back, and I'm always surrounded by negative news." Li Ang spread his hands, his face full of innocence.

As for who "certain people" referred to, everyone present understood.

P. Diddy is JAY-Z's close friend, and Kanye is JAY-Z's younger brother.

Lenny twirled his pen in his hand, apprehensive. "It's not about those scandals. It's about Leonard from Warner Records. We warned you to stay away from that greedy vampire."

"And you don't seem to be doing that. Your agent, Phil, has been in contact with Warner Records and Sony."

Hearing this, Li Ang felt relieved.

Things developed just as he thought. Although both Warner and ROC had a bad relationship with him now, in essence, the two companies were competitors!
I am stuck in the middle, and as long as the contract has not expired, no one will overturn the table no matter how I act.

The newcomers that JAY-Z is most optimistic about are Li Ang and rapper J.Cole, who is a music producer. Both of them are regarded as the company's future cash cows.

However, the latter has not yet officially released its first album.

ROC has only been established for two years, and they will never give up Leon, who has been blessed with a Grammy Award.

Snapped--

Li Ang slammed the table so hard that even JAY-Z, who had his back turned, was visibly stunned for a few seconds.

"Are all the people in this company idiots?!" Li Ang raised his voice and said, "Don't you know that Leonard and I don't get along at all?"

"As for who Phil contacts, I have no control over it. He's his own boss!"

"Fuck! If these rumors are everywhere now, isn't that the PR team's responsibility?"

As soon as she finished speaking, PR manager Pena bit her lip and looked restless.

Li Ang cleared himself of all charges. In short, JAY-Z can find anyone to be responsible for this matter, it has nothing to do with him anyway.

Lenny remained silent because he couldn't find any loopholes in the other party's words.

According to information from various sources, the relationship between Leon and Leonard is indeed not friendly.

Just then JAY-Z finally moved the swivel chair and showed his face for the first time today.

He was holding a cigar, crossing his legs, wearing a high-end suit worth tens of thousands of dollars, and a huge golden lion on his head, exuding the aura of a big boss.

But Leon's heart was not moved at all. Now that JAY-Z has turned around, it means that the main conflict between the two has been resolved.

JAY-Z blew cigar smoke from his nose and said in a deliberately low voice: "I have complete faith in your loyalty. Betrayer usually doesn't end well."

“In this circle, some people can remain popular forever, but some newcomers, even if they are talented, gradually disappear from the news.”

"Maybe it wouldn't be surprising to see them begging around Times Square someday."

Li Ang let these words go in one ear and out the other.

He was already accustomed to but very disgusted with JAY-Z's gangster-style threats and attacks.

JAY-Z leaned forward, knocked on the table and said, "But those loyal soldiers will definitely be rewarded. You won't get more from Warner than ROC."

"Although this company is just starting out, it will become an empire in the future! An empire spanning entertainment, sports, and media."

Li Ang remained silent when he heard this, and nodded perfunctorily no matter what the other party said.

Ultimately, JAY-Z is still using the same carrot-and-stick strategy that American politicians have used to death. It's nothing new.

This "trial"-like meeting lasted for an hour, and most of the time JAY-Z was making all kinds of promises.

Just when Leon thought it was almost over, JAY- changed the subject and mentioned P. Diddy.

"Listen, kid. No one has dared to provoke Didi like this in the past ten years. If it weren't for me, you would probably have been shot dead at the door of the apartment."

"From what I know about Diddy, you'll take at least 17 bullets until the magazine is empty."

"Then if you don't renew your contract with the ROC, that protection may no longer continue."

(End of this chapter)