Old Joe was tempted, but having lived to such an old age, he still had some self-control and ultimately didn't succumb to the same weakness as Alex, boarding Daniel's boat on the spot.
However, Daniel didn't have to wait long.
On Sunday morning, Joe visited a well-known Hollywood public relations firm, but the quote they offered was far below his expectations, and they failed to reach an agreement.
In the afternoon, Pablo also arrived in Los Angeles, where he, along with Warner Music's negotiators, formally confronted Joe.
This move thoroughly enraged Old Joe.
Moreover, the negotiator was just a mid-level producer at Warner Music, and his attitude was quite arrogant. In contrast, Old Joe made up his mind that very night. He took the initiative to contact Daniel and agreed to cooperate with SBK Records.
Old Joe revised the promotional schedule for the fourth week, sending Lowry and others away while he stayed in Chicago to focus on negotiating with SBK Records. It would probably take another week to finalize the specific contract.
Pablo was furious upon learning that he had given SBK Records a "divine assist." Like a headless fly, he began trying to turn the tide with underhanded tactics, such as contacting the Hellcats boss again for a ruling, subtly warning SBK Records' negotiators in Chicago, and still clinging to hope with Warner Music. However, aside from giving SBK Records staff a bit of a fright, all his efforts ended in failure. The boss, focused on his gangster business, didn't have that much free time, and Warner Music, after learning of SBK's hijacking, remained restrained, since SBK belonged to EMI, and such competition was all too common in the record industry.
Fortunately, he was unaware of Alex role in this matter. At this moment, Alex was carrying a check for ten thousand dollars and a guaranteed income of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars from the betting agreement, returning from Los Angeles with a full load of money.
At school, he still has many things to do.
As Daniel had predicted, BMI expedited the process after receiving protests from equality organizations and intervention from Congressman Underwood. Alex membership was quickly approved.
But this is no longer a problem that can be solved simply by mailing a membership certificate.
Principal's Office.
A Black female assistant from Congressman Underwood's office visited; she needed to discuss the specific procedures for Friday night's 'ceremony' with Alex
"People with BMI will definitely come, right?"
The female assistant was very serious, confirming each item one by one, "Then first, Principal, you will speak, and then we will give Mr. Slade the BMI..."
"Just call me Alex, or Aplus."
"Okay, after APLUS accepts the membership granted by BMI, there's still..."
"There's another small award, which is for my agent..." Alex is now pushing everything onto Hayden. If BMI comes back to settle scores later, he'll push Hayden out too. It's all a misunderstanding, don't mess with me. "He's the one who got the award through PR, so he'll probably be presented after BMI. The person presenting the award, uh... actually, is my agent. Since nobody knows him, so..."
"So your agent will pretend to be the award presenter?" The female assistant grasped the key to Alex hesitant words.
"Yes, yes!"
"That shouldn't be a problem. Next, APLUS, it's your turn to give your remarks. Have you finished writing your speech?"
"Uh, not yet."
"Where's the outline?"
"Here, I brought it." Alex handed over the speech manuscript.
"Emmmm…" The female assistant focused intently on reviewing the manuscript, going through each line carefully. "Thank you BMI… thank you to the awarding magazine… thank you to the music teacher… thank you to the math teacher… thank you to the principal… thank you… thank you… these are all fine, but the part expressing gratitude to the congressman needs to be placed in the most emotionally charged part of the entire speech, like this…" He used a swap symbol to move the part thanking Congressman Underwood to a satisfactory position.
"You must let me review this text after you finish writing it, and you must also let me review the entire speech after it is completed."
Alex looked at the principal, who smiled and nodded. "No problem." He agreed. "Uh... how about you give me a sample thank-you note for the councilor, and I can just copy it?"
The female assistant pulled a piece of paper from her bag and handed it to her, saying, "The congressman's office will not admit to providing this."
"So there really is one..." Alex muttered to himself, "I understand, I understand." He took the item and put it away.
"The councilor will give the final speech, and then will stay at your school for thirty to forty-five minutes. The entire time will be filmed, and some media reporters will be following. Please cooperate accordingly," the female assistant said to the principal.
"I understand, I understand," the principal continued, nodding.
"Okay, let's confirm the specific schedule. After the congressman's speech, he will shake hands with you first. Your school's staff should line up in a row, and the camera will be positioned from the side like this..."
According to the principal's private remarks, Illinois State Representative Underwood is preparing to run for the U.S. House of Representatives. As a white man, the black vote is his weakness, and this 'BMI discrimination incident' that he created is a very good exposure opportunity for him.
Alex sensed that the principal and the councilor must have made some kind of deal in private, but that was beyond his knowledge.
The councilor's ambitions kept Alex very busy this week, so he had to temporarily leave Ellie aside.
However, Ellie wasn't idle either. Not only did she boast to her classmates about being taken to the recording studio by Song Ya to record a song but she also talked candidly with her best friend about the details of their affair...
Points deducted, more points deducted! The rumors reached Alex ears, and he was very dissatisfied, but he didn't have the energy to deal with them right now. After all, having a real girlfriend would save him a lot of trouble at school.
As preparations drew to a close, Friday was fast approaching.
At that moment, Eric found his way home.
"The boss wants to send you to talk to Pablo and make peace," Eric relayed Old Joe's message. "The cooperation with SBK has already been finalized, and if Pablo keeps causing trouble, it won't be good for anyone."
"Why me?!" Song Ya didn't want to cause any trouble.
"The boss said you're a very good talker, and Tony's with Lowry, isn't he?" Eric said. "Why don't we have him talk to you about it over the phone?"
"No, never mind. I'll go find Pablo, but I can't guarantee I'll succeed!"
Having no other option, Alex dialed Pablo's cell phone.
He had intended to call Tony first, but when he spoke with Tony last week, Tony had been keeping the whereabouts of Lowry and Pablo a secret, so he decided to respect Tony's loyalty and try not to put him in a difficult position.
Pablo answered the phone quickly.
"Mr. Pablo, I'd like to come over and talk to you. Is now a good time?" After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Alex asked tentatively.
"Old Joe sent you to find me?" Pablo asked back.
"Yes, the boss said he wants to make peace."
"Alright, let's make peace then."
"?" Alex was quite surprised. "Uh...you just agreed?"
"I lost, I lost completely."
Pablo remained calm: "At the precipice, the victor extends his hand of pity; accept it or fall into the abyss."