Even though he had mentally prepared himself, Leon found Phil's office even shabbier than he expected.
Aside from a pile of music award trophies cluttering the desk, the office was rougher than Leon's rental house.
A young Black woman hurriedly brought coffee for Phil and Leon.
From her clumsy movements, it was obvious she wasn't exactly skilled in the art of serving refreshments.
Sure enough, she tripped, and the coffee spilled, nearly splashing all over Leon.
Phil immediately barked, "Cardi! How many times do I have to tell you to be careful!"
The girl's expression darkened instantly. Her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but she swallowed it back.
Phil laughed awkwardly. "New secretary. Doesn't know the ropes yet. Can't expect a Black girl to handle this kind of work properly."
What Phil didn't notice was that Cardi hadn't gone far. Even though he spoke quietly, she heard every word clearly.
She rushed up behind Phil and smacked him hard on the back of the head. "What kind of bullsht are you spouting?! I have had enough of you, you old bastard!"
"Listen, I'm done playing these cosplay games with you!"
"If you don't keep your promise soon, I'm gonna sit on your face and suffocate you like I'm maxing out a credit card!"
As soon as she opened her mouth, Leon was stunned.
Even living in Brownsville, where he was used to the vulgar language thrown around in rap battles, he was instantly intimidated by Cardi's lethal delivery.
When she cursed, she didn't just spit out creative profanity; her flow was rhythmic, almost like she was rapping on beat.
Leon immediately pegged her as a rap genius.
"Calm down, miss. Mr. Phil was just joking." Leon lit a cigarette and tried to play peacemaker.
"Joking? Was he joking when he said he'd release a record for me? Was he joking when he asked me to perform 'mouth magic' for him every day for free?" Cardi got more agitated the more she yelled, eventually pointing her finger at Leon's nose. "Fk, you look like a damn fool too! This old con artist is gonna scam you out of everything—you won't even be able to save your own asshole!"
Saying this, Cardi ripped off her secretary outfit right there.
Underneath, she seemed to be wearing a sheer layer of mesh... or maybe nothing at all.
"Fk all you motherfkers! If you don't make good on that promise to release my record within a month, I swear I'm coming back with a Glock and painting the walls red!"
"I mean what I say!"
After her explosive rant, Cardi stormed out, leaving Phil and Leon standing in the chaotic aftermath.
Phil broke the silence first. "Sorry you had to see that... She came to Brooklyn alone when she was 16 to make it. She's rough around the edges, but she's actually a good girl..."
Good girl?
If you told me she eats people, I'd believe you.
With that fierce personality, she'd be a top-tier gangster even in Brownsville.
"Let's get down to business... The reason I called you here is actually to ask you a question." Phil knocked on the desk, his expression turning serious.
"What question?"
Leon leaned back casually. After Cardi's outburst, he felt a lot less uptight.
He was now certain that Phil's current situation wasn't as shiny as his resume suggested. The guy was just a hollowed-out old scumbag putting on a front.
"You've got one foot in this industry now. What is it that you want to achieve?"
"Do you want to become a great artist whose name goes down in Grammy history? Or do you just want to make a quick buck and run?"
Faced with such a grand and serious question, Leon answered without hesitation. "Make money."
"Just for the money?"
"What else is there?"
Phil was speechless for a moment. He lowered his head in silence before continuing. "I know you don't trust me right now, but everything I told you was true."
"In the early 2000s, I was at the top of the world. Avril Lavigne was red-hot back then, her popularity rivaling even Lady Gaga today."
"And Avril's success wouldn't have happened without me. Our names were tied together."
Leon nodded nonchalantly. Avril Lavigne's achievements didn't need explaining.
As a leading figure of the new generation of female singers in the new millennium, she was nominated for Best New Artist at the 45th Grammy Awards right out of the gate in 2003.
Later, her single Girlfriend topped the Billboard Hot 100, cementing her place in history.
In fact, after their first meeting, Leon had already looked up Phil's background online.
The guy really had been a big shot. Otherwise, Leon wouldn't be sitting here wasting his time.
"Your ability is unquestionable, Mr. Phil. I saw that for myself in T-Ray's studio."
"Good. You're a direct person, and so am I. So I'll get straight to the point."
Phil's habit of speaking a sentence and then pausing for dramatic effect annoyed Leon. It smelled like a setup.
"T-Ray is going to ruin you. He might be good at gangsta rap, but he has absolutely no grasp on current pop trends!"
"We live in a diversified era now. Trends change faster than people can imagine..."
"Just like I never imagined that the son awarded to my ex-wife would turn into a daughter in just a few years..."
Phil's mouth twisted into a bitter smile.
Leon had zero interest in Phil's family drama or his "poisonous chicken soup" attempts at manipulation.
In America, only two things are truth: Money and Guns.
Nobody can gaslight Leon Smith!
"Please get to the point, Mr. Phil. I'm not sure what you're getting at."
" simply put... I think you need a professional manager. And I happen to have a wealth of experience and resources in that area! If we work together, you'll make a fortune!"
Leon frowned. Although he had rejected T-Ray's management contract, it didn't mean he didn't need a manager.
He was just worried that T-Ray's gang background would come back to bite him.
It wasn't uncommon in this circle for a rapper with a gang background to get extorted at gunpoint by his manager "homie" who was also from the gang.
The complex feud between West Coast legend Tupac and his boss, Death Row Records founder Suge Knight, was a classic example.
However, an excellent manager could secure the best gigs, negotiate the highest fees, and use their connections to solve a lot of problems for their client.
Even though a manager typically takes ten percent of commercial earnings, a great one can bring in returns worth many times that amount!
Leon sized Phil up for a full two minutes. The guy might be down on his luck now, but his experience and contacts didn't depreciate just because he went broke.
After hesitating, Leon took a deep drag of his cigarette and asked, "Aren't you afraid T-Ray will find out? As far as I know, you two have been good friends for over a decade..."
Phil laughed contemptuously. "Friendship?"
"That is the stupidest word in the Oxford Dictionary. Come on, we're standing on New York soil. Nobody believes in that sht here."
"A man only grows through constant betrayal and being betrayed."
"I think T-Ray will understand that..."