madnovel Chapter 34 Larry
Chapter 34 Larry
Following the direction Neil pointed, Zeke looked into the trophy cabinet in the corner, which was filled with gleaming records and various honorary trophies, a dazzling array.
He thought to himself: Neil seems to hold a grudge. He hasn't forgotten his feud with Warner, the old record company, and is always thinking about crushing them.
He was thinking of taking advantage of Neil's good mood to try and ask how to control the Billboard charts, which sounded rather mysterious.
Just then, the phone on his desk rang. Neil quickly walked to the desk, answered the phone, said a few words, and then put the phone down and walked to the side door of the office.
Pushing open the door, you'll find another spacious office inside, where a man in a suit is busy at work.
Neil led Zikla to the door and called out to the man inside, "Larry, please greet him for me."
He then turned to Zik and introduced him: "Zik, this is Larry Harris, the executive vice president of Casablanca. Larry manages all the day-to-day operations of the company. He's more meticulous and reliable than I am."
If you need anything in the future, whether it's work-related or personal, feel free to contact Larry, or just reach out to me directly. I'll let you know as soon as things at school are settled.
Qi Ke thought to himself that it was a pity, but there was nothing he could do but look for another opportunity later.
Larry Harris quickly put down his work, stood up, and led Zeke into his office.
He looked considerably older than Neil, with a receding hairline revealing a smooth forehead. A pair of thin-rimmed glasses sat on his nose, and his meticulously trimmed, thick mustache added to his refined and mature air, making him appear indeed steady and reliable.
Larry was very enthusiastic towards Zeke, extending his hand with a warm smile: "Hello, Zeke, I'm Larry Harris. I love the song 'YMCA' so much. The melody is catchy and full of energy. It's definitely going to be a hit single that will go global. You're a truly talented songwriter."
Zik smiled and shook hands with him, secretly thinking that Larry looked gentle and humble, more like a teacher than an executive vice president of a large company.
A thought struck him: this was a perfect opportunity to help Marco get a job. Larry seemed easy to talk to and was a core executive in the company. If he agreed, this little thing would definitely be no problem.
He got straight to the point: "Larry, thank you for the compliment. I have a small request. I'd like to introduce a job to my childhood friend Marco. He's a loyal and capable person, so we don't need to arrange a high-ranking position for him; he can start from the bottom. This is my first time in Los Angeles, and I don't have anyone I can trust around me. Having him by my side will make me feel more at ease."
Larry's smile remained gentle as he readily agreed, "No problem, it's a piece of cake. Marco is from Brownsville, just like you, right? We're all on the same side, no need to be so polite."
Casablanca is expanding rapidly and needs manpower everywhere; there will definitely be a suitable position for him. You can have him come over anytime. Just contact me, and I'll arrange it."
Zeke was overjoyed and quickly thanked him, "Thank you so much, Larry, you've really gone to a lot of trouble."
"You're welcome." Larry waved his hand, leaned closer to Zeke, lowered his voice, and said mysteriously, "Let me tell you a little secret: Casablanca likes to practice nepotism. Neil often says, 'Everything is connected,' and you can trust your own people more. Actually, I'm Neil's distant cousin."
"What? Cousin?" Zeke thought Larry looked more like Neil's uncle.
Larry seemed to read his mind and rolled his eyes helplessly: "Neil is four years older than me! I just look older; I just turned thirty this year!"
Tino, standing nearby, couldn't help but laugh, adding a timely jab: "Thirty-one, Larry. It's 1978 now."
"Shit!" Larry cursed under his breath, his face instantly falling.
He took a small mirror from his desk drawer and carefully examined his worrying hairline, muttering in annoyance, "Is it really that obvious? I've been taking such good care of myself, how come I still look so old..."
He tidied his hair, picked up the phone on his desk, and gave a few instructions: "...Come over here and process Qi Ke's onboarding. He's the company's newly signed exclusive songwriter, so process him according to the standards of a top-tier creator."
Within minutes, employees from the human resources and legal departments rushed over, carrying onboarding forms, copies of contracts, and various other relevant materials, demonstrating remarkable efficiency.
The legal staff carefully explained the rights and obligations of an exclusive songwriter to him. After confirming that everything was correct, Zik signed his name, officially becoming a member of Casablanca Records and Film Company.
The female manager of the human resources department said with a smile, "Zike, please register your birthday. The company will hold a birthday party for every employee, whether it is a senior executive or the lowest-level mailroom employee, everyone will get a share."
Furthermore, if you want to see a performance by one of the company's artists, you don't need to bother finding tickets yourself. Just tell the people in the artist department, and they will do their best to arrange it for you.
"How thoughtful..."
Zike cheerfully wrote down his birthday, April 7th. Although Erf said it wasn't a formal job, Casablanca clearly didn't treat him like an outsider, and all his previous bad impressions of the company vanished.
The HR manager then took out a brand-new set of Mercedes car keys, a black Casablanca-made satin jacket, and an exquisite brown leather briefcase, and handed them all to Zeke.
"This is a company perk for you. The Mercedes is parked in the parking space, the second to last one from the right. The jacket and briefcase are custom-made with the company logo on them. Wearing this out shows everyone that you're one of us."
Zik accepted the keys and benefits, feeling a surge of warmth in his heart. Meanwhile, Tino, listening to the list of perks and looking at the Mercedes keys, stared wide-eyed, his face filled with envy.
He'd been in the music industry for so many years and had seen many record companies, but he'd never seen one offer such good benefits to its employees.
The HR manager seemed to notice Tino's envy and explained with a smile, "This is all Mr. Neil's idea. He always says that he wants every employee to feel like they are part of this big family. Over the years, almost no employee has told me they don't like working here; everyone enjoys the atmosphere."
After completing their onboarding procedures, Zik and Tino returned to Larry's office. As soon as they entered, they heard the phone on his desk ringing incessantly, almost constantly. Larry was holding a phone in his left hand and quickly jotting something down with his right, a smile on his face.
"1951 tickets sold in Chicago today—this one's going to be a hit!"
"Detroit sold 4081 tickets—it's a firecracker, Larry! We're running out of stock!"
"Okay, okay, I understand. I'll arrange to restock immediately!"
Larry hung up the phone, and before he could even take a sip of water, the third call came in: "Another 2949 copies added to Philadelphia—this album has amazing staying power, even more popular than we predicted!"
Tino leaned closer to Zik and whispered, explaining, "It's probably the distributor reporting on the sales of Donna Summer's new album, 'Once Upon a Time...'."
The album achieved gold certification in the US in less than a month after its release. It was firmly at the top of the disco charts when the New Year's Eve bells rang.
Zeke nodded, although Casablanca had a rather unconventional feel to it, quite unlike the large corporation he had imagined.
Or to put it more bluntly, it's somewhat like a makeshift troupe.
But it must be admitted that this company is truly remarkable, as it simultaneously holds the top disco artists and the top rock bands in the music industry.
The two waited patiently for over half an hour before Larry finally finished. He hung up the last call, let out a long sigh of relief, turned around, and looked at Zeke with a smile.
"Sorry for the long wait, distributors all over the country are reporting good news."
Before Zeke could speak, Larry continued, "By the way, Zeke, are you interested in writing a song for the disco queen Donna Summer? Her next album is already in the works. If you could write a hit single for her album, it would not only boost your fame but also make you a fortune. Her album sales never disappoint, as you just heard."