wavenovel Chapter 57 The Delay Plan
Chapter 57 The Delay Plan
Zeke glanced at Judy in the back seat through the rearview mirror. Judy met his gaze and nodded slightly.
He then spoke up: "Because I kidnapped Judy, her mother will definitely call the police, and the cliff cabin is the easiest place to be found."
"What? Why would you do that?" Larry's eyes widened instantly.
"I couldn't just stand by and do nothing. Her mother hired an Italian photographer to take those topless art photos of her, saying it would help her get better opportunities. Shit, Judy is only 16, just like me, and I just couldn't stand it."
"FUCK THAT SHIT!" Before Zeke could finish speaking, Holly in the back seat instantly exploded, grabbing Judy beside her, her eyes blazing with anger. "What is this! Child pornography? Are these Hollywood perverts in such a hurry to ruin a 16-year-old? Zeke, what's that photographer's name? I'm going to smash his camera right now, even if it means going to jail!"
"God, this is...shit! This is even more disgusting than that bottle of expired milk I drank last time!" Larry cursed angrily, his face flushed red. "These bastards in Hollywood...they don't even spare underage children!"
Zeke breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn't surprised by Holly's reaction. The key was that he hadn't misjudged Larry Harris. He had principles and wouldn't turn a blind eye to such absurd and evil things.
"Holly, I'm planning to have Judy stay with you for a few days. Give me some time, and I'm sure I can handle this and make sure Judy doesn't get hurt."
"No problem!" Holly agreed without hesitation. She held Judy's hand. "Judy, with us here, no one can hurt you, and your mother can't find us!"
"Larry, you have to do me a favor too." Zeke then looked at Larry in the passenger seat. "Don't worry about the stock at the cliff cabin. I've already had Marco move it. It'll be fine."
"FUCK, were you messing with me?" Larry breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing that his stash was safe and sound and there was no risk of a police search. He slapped Zeke on the shoulder. "You were just trying to scare me, weren't you?"
"If I hadn't said that, would you have woken up so quickly?"
Larry rolled his eyes in exasperation, then frowned, his tone hesitant: "But Zeke, this is ultimately someone else's family matter. Judy isn't an artist under our Casablanca agency. How can we interfere?"
"Judy's at Neil's party today. Her mom's definitely coming to the company to make a scene since she can't find her. You just need to handle the pressure and deal with Evelyn. You don't need to do anything else, just buy me a few days." Zeke pleaded. "I'm begging you, Larry."
Larry was silent for a moment, looking at Judy, who looked helpless in the back seat, and then at Zeke's determined eyes, before finally sighing helplessly.
"You're a fucking lunatic... This might be the most damn A&R job I've ever heard in my life."
Zeke was overjoyed. Since he hadn't refused, he figured it was an agreement. He quickly said, "Larry, I'll let you hear what might be the best disco song you've ever heard in your life. I just came up with it in my head, but I haven't written it down yet."
Larry's eyes lit up instantly, and he asked eagerly, "You finally wrote a new song?"
"Yeah~ it was all this mess tonight, and Judy, that gave me the inspiration." Zeke chuckled. "I'm planning to give this song to the Spiders. You know, I had an agreement with them before, and this new song is perfect for them."
"You can even write a song like that?" Larry didn't think too much about it at first. He couldn't help but tease, "Others would have lost their composure if they encountered this kind of trouble, but you can still write a new song. You really are a person blessed by God."
Zeke didn't refute, but his gaze inadvertently swept across the rearview mirror, where he found Judy looking at him with sparkling eyes, full of admiration and love, and a sense of pride welled up inside him.
He genuinely felt that the original female singer's voice and singing style were somewhat similar to Amanda's; if they did some styling, they'd even look alike...
Moreover, Spiders and he were both under Tino's label, making them natural allies. They desperately needed a signature song to prove themselves, and he could get a higher percentage of the profits.
Using this song to make them famous is not only fulfilling a promise, but also a great thing for their own situation.
He had figured it out: this song absolutely could not be given to Donna Summer, the Disco Queen. That would be tantamount to giving the enemy more power, making Joyce more assertive in her power struggle with Neil, and leaving him even more powerless to resist the current situation.
Joyce certainly has a significant advantage, but she is not without a chance: just as the KISS band worried that Joyce's status as the president's wife would affect her manager's position, such a dual identity is also a limitation for Joyce, and her interests are not entirely aligned with Neil's.
The record industry is highly competitive, and singers need to focus on their music, and bands even more so. All the touring and administrative matters required by a hard-working band must be handled by professionals.
Both of these jobs can be full-time if done well. Agents sometimes haggle with labels for more money, which can be quite annoying at times, but if the agent is handpicked by the record company, they are often more willing to work with them.
This kind of cooperation certainly cannot be unlimited. Joyce must at least superficially protect Donna's interests, and it is difficult for her to completely obey Neil's demands.
Neil, on the other hand, clearly valued Casablanca's overall interests and the company's absolute dominance in the disco field. As long as the songs were good enough, it didn't matter who sang them. If the Spiders could become popular because of this, he might even try to win over Tino and appease Joyce to prioritize the bigger picture.
"Zeke, drive faster." Holly's voice came from the back seat, interrupting Zeke's thoughts.
"What's wrong?"
"I can't wait to hear your new work, and I'm afraid that if I delay, you'll give the song to someone else again. I don't want to go through that kind of mess again," Holly complained with a laugh.
These words made everyone in the car laugh, and Judy's face also showed a long-lost smile, making the heavy and oppressive atmosphere much more relaxed.
They sped along and soon arrived at the large villa that Amanda and the others had rented in Beverly Hills.
As soon as Larry walked in, he rubbed his temples and yelled, "Someone get me an ice pack, my head is killing me, I just threw up so badly I feel like I'm going to die!"
Keith, Anton, Jimmy, and Amanda all came out of the living room.
They lived together after arriving in Los Angeles, just to make rehearsals easier, as the place had all the necessary instruments and recording equipment.
Qi Ke walked to the sofa in the living room, sat down, picked up the paper and pen on the table, and began to write quickly. First the lyrics, then the sheet music. The pen tip glided rapidly across the paper, and the melody of "Sweet Dreams" in his mind gradually transformed into musical notes on the paper.
Judy nestled beside him, watching quietly, her breathing becoming soft, as if afraid of disturbing him.
After Zeke put down his pen and stretched, Judy immediately picked up the lyrics and started reading, her eyes shining brighter as she read:
"These lyrics are so beautiful, they're like a poem... Oh my god, Zeke, and they're about tonight's events! You're a musical genius. I used to think the radio DJs were exaggerating, but now I know they were right!"
Zik smiled confidently and pointed to the chorus on the sheet music: "Hold your head up, movin' on, keep your head up..."
"A large part of the inspiration I received came from you, right here."
"Oh, do you think this counts as our song?" Judy looked up, her eyes full of anticipation.
"Uh, of course it counts." Zeke felt something was off. Judy was completely different from before, and seemed to be developing a tendency to be love-struck.
"Darling, you're so sweet." Judy couldn't help but lean in and kiss Zeke on the cheek, then kissed his lips, her eyes full of love.
Holly rolled her eyes silently and muttered under her breath, "That little pervert, he can't wait to write a new song."
Her voice wasn't loud, but Keith, Anton, and Jimmy all heard it. All three of them blushed and their shoulders trembled slightly.
Amanda coughed softly, breaking the ambiguous atmosphere.
Zeke still had a smile on his face, but he didn't have a good impression of Amanda. He still remembered how Amanda had spilled the beans about his gang background to Neil.
"No need to call a lawyer this time, just sign a confidentiality agreement first?" Amanda teased, looking at the sheet music in Zeke's hand.
Zik retorted half-jokingly, "Amanda, if you dare to plagiarize my song in front of Larry, then I'll consider you a real man and won't hold you accountable."
"Hahaha..." Holly couldn't help but burst into laughter as soon as Zeke finished speaking. Keith, Anton, and Jimmy, who had been holding back their laughter, also started to laugh out loud.
"Zek, you're so childish." Amanda rolled her eyes, feigning disgust, but the corners of her mouth couldn't help but turn up slightly.