After a night of passion with Robbie, Leon rushed back to New York without delay. He had too many things hanging over his head right now.
The expansion of the Apocalypse label, the production of the backing track for Faded, the recording of his debut album, and scheduling Cardi B's activities for the upcoming period...
Picking any one of these was headache-inducing enough.
As soon as he returned to the Apocalypse Music office, Bonnie walked over holding a stack of documents.
"These are the resumes of all the applicants after we posted the recruitment ad."
Leon took a casual look, completely ignoring the possibly fake work histories and looking straight at the expected salary.
For those holding AICPA certification with over three years of experience, basically no one asked for less than $100,000 annually.
Just thinking about that number made his wallet ache.
"Damn... this is robbery!"
Although Leon said this, he understood that such a salary wasn't high for a place like Brooklyn Heights.
In Queens or the Bronx, maybe this salary would make you solidly middle class, but in Brooklyn Heights, adjacent to Manhattan, you couldn't live a high-quality life on it.
Among the dozen resumes, a young woman caught his attention.
Aisha Garcia. A typical Hispanic name, and her photo exuded Latin flair.
In the photo, Aisha was wearing a low-cut camisole under her black blazer, making it impossible for the boss to take his eyes off her cleavage.
Attaching such a photo to a resume was certainly eye-catching.
But big boobs don't put food on the table. What really caught Leon's eye was that this girl's expected salary was only $80,000, the lowest among all applicants.
"As expected of a Mexican..."
Old New Yorkers often joked about thanking the Chinese immigrants ("Runners") for driving down the prices in the service industry.
Now, the object of gratitude probably had to switch to Mexicans.
In terms of crime, they out-hustled Eastern Europeans and Blacks; in terms of labor export, they somehow out-hustled the Chinese.
It's no exaggeration to say that as long as you pay enough to keep them from starving, there's no job a Mexican won't do.
"She's the one!"
Leon decided on the spot to interview Aisha.
An annual salary of $80,000 was not only cost-effective but also came with a bonus of two "big headlights." It was hard not to be tempted.
"Okay, Boss Leon. I'll call her right now."
Leon checked the time. In the afternoon, he had to go to Roc Nation to discuss the new album's backing track with producers and was also forced to attend a vocal lesson.
"I'm going to be very busy these days. If I'm not here during the interview, just handle it yourself. The key is to verify the authenticity of her certificates."
"In New York, there's nothing those damn Indians can't forge. You know that."
Hearing this, Bonnie was surprised, unable to believe Leon entrusted such an important task entirely to her.
"But... I'm worried I can't handle it."
"I trust your ability. You've proven your work capability brilliantly recently."
These weren't just Leon's gaslighting tactics on Bonnie.
This woman had proven that not only was she proficient in the magical sorcery of making men submit in bed, but her work ability was also impeccable.
Whether arranging Leon's schedule or operating Apocalypse Music's official channel, she did everything flawlessly.
Moreover, she was the most trustworthy person around Leon. Phil might have the risk of backstabbing him anytime, but the possibility of Bonnie playing dirty was almost zero.
This woman only played dirty in bed.
Just as Bonnie walked out of the office, Phil barged in with Cardi B.
The Black girl was wearing denim hot pants that exposed half her butt cheeks. It was hard to imagine the expressions of people seeing her on the street.
Leon was somewhat surprised to see Cardi at this time.
This woman's gig schedule was packed full, probably more than double his own.
It included opening performances for brothels, promotional events for adult product manufacturers...
The insatiable Phil accepted any gig that made money, squeezing Cardi's value to the max.
Something seemed to have gone wrong between the two. As soon as they entered, they were spraying "F-words" at each other non-stop.
"Enough! Stop it immediately." Leon knocked on the table and said in a deep voice, "Tell me what happened?"
The scene was instantly brought under control.
Cardi B grew up in a gang den and no one had ever been able to control her temper, except for Leon.
Since successfully releasing her debut EP with Leon's help, her attitude toward him had done a 180-degree turn.
Aside from the unshakeable profanity on her lips, she behaved as tamely as a pet in other aspects.
Phil first glared viciously at Cardi B, then walked up to Leon and said, "This girl is crazy. Despite my objections, she insists on going to Austin for a show."
"What do you mean? I don't understand."
"I mean she's very likely to lose her life if she goes to Austin right now!"
Hearing this, Leon was even more confused.
Austin is the capital of Texas in the South. Since ancient times, it has been a place where tough "rednecks" gather. Even counting women and children, gun ownership exceeds three per person on average.
But the proliferation of guns doesn't mean public safety is bad. At least compared to New York, Austin's murder rate is much lower.
"Why can't she go to Austin? elaborate." Leon crossed his legs and lit a cigarette.
"Fk... something happened there a few days ago. A police officer strangled an unarmed Black man with his arm during an enforcement action."
"Although it was just an accident... but that's Texas, you know!"
Unknown which phrase triggered Cardi, she immediately started cursing, "Shut your stink mouth, asshole! That was no accident! That was completely a terrible murder!"
"Those damn hillbillies want to exterminate Black people!"
Seeing their argument about to escalate again, Leon shouted sharply, "Both of you shut up!!"
"I want to know, what is the necessary connection between this incident and whether Cardi can perform in Austin?"
In Leon's view, although Texans were extremely conservative and the Black population there was low, it wasn't a slaughterhouse targeting Black people.
Beyoncé was a proper Texas girl, born in Houston, and received a hero's welcome whenever she returned to perform.
No matter how xenophobic rednecks were, they weren't the KKK. They wouldn't gun down a singer for no reason.
But after Phil's subsequent explanation, Leon understood everything.
Due to the police killing of the Black man, the Black community in Texas had taken to the streets in protest.
They held memorial services for the deceased and launched charity drives.
Cardi B's trip was to be a performing guest for the charity event.
Because of her dirty lyrics and provocative styling, she had already caused an uproar on the internet.
If a child asked their parents to go see Cardi B perform, they would likely get a "loving beating" in return.
This was especially true in socially conservative Texas.
Local Austin gangs had already released harsh words: as long as this Black girl dared to set foot on Austin soil to poison their children, they would bring shotguns to the scene to "liven up" the performance.
Finally, Phil said through gritted teeth, "The key point is that this is a charity performance. There is zero pay."
"This is a deal only an idiot would accept."
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