Hollywood Zenith

" Is that so? Well, you came at the perfect time. We were just discussing Sami."

" Eh? Anything in particular."

" Nothing serious. About the number of his 'girlfriends', do you know anything about it?"

" Me? I d-don't know anything!" Iblis exclaimed. Then she noticed that other girls were keeping quiet while trying to make themselves as small as possible. Something was definitely up!

" You don't? They also told me the same thing. That's surprising." Laura acted like she was pondering.

" Aunt, We are very tired. Why don't we continue the conversation some other time?" Maia asked.

" That's right! I feel a little sick too!" Liliana stood up. She was ready to leave at a moment's notice.

" Alright, If you are willing to talk some other time, I don't want to keep you here," Laura said.

" No! W-we can talk about something else, right?" Paige involuntarily said. She never wanted to be put into such an awkward situation again. It's better to deny it now than in the future.

" Hahaha, I am only joking. I will have Arthur show you to your rooms. He will also arrange your meals." It was fun to tease them but she didn't want to press them too hard. There was plenty of time to enjoy it slowly!

...

...

...

It's been two years since Adele signed the contract with the label ZY Recordings.

ZY Recordings was a British independent record label founded in 1989; thus, it had relatively less history than big labels. But the strength of the label lies in the form of relation. It was part of a bigger conglomerate, Glory Media.

The label releases albums worldwide, operates across various genres, and has multiple famous artists under its belt. It was interesting how they met.

While at the Singing School, Adele made a three-track demo for a class project, and a friend posted it on social media. It was very popular on the platform, amassing over 10,000 plays and quickly caught the attention of executives at ZY Recordings.

They contacted her, but she thought they were interested in giving her a job in A&R, and only knowing big record labels like Virgin, she attended the meeting to help other people sell records.

She didn't think her career would start this early; thus, she only wanted to garner some experience and increase her area of expertise. Samuel tried to help, but she wanted to achieve some success without relying on him.

Samuel also respected her and left her on her own. It was a shock when she learned that the label wanted to sign her as an artist and was not scouting her for a job. In November 2006, just four months after Adele had graduated school, ZY Recordings signed her to a record deal.

She was not very worried about it, but Samuel did advise her to look carefully at the contract and consult Alastair if she wanted help. In later years, when her talents bloom, others could take advantage of her.

Not to mention, she was naive about these things; a pretty girl jumping into this business should always be careful. But Adele's impression was just the opposite: the Record label boss, Russel, went to see the young Adele personally and was heavily impressed with her confidence as a performer.

Everyone was surprised by her decision, but when they asked her, she told them it was the perfect place to work for any new artist. There was not much pressure from Russell; it was basically a free-for-all studio.

Artists could come in and rehearse demos or write there while they had the full support of the studio. Her songs were also very well received by the upper management, who had already decided to launch her album this year.

Alas, when something was too good to be true, it was the right direction. Adele learned this lesson after spending a year with the label. She was working non-stop, but they shortened the deadline for her album.

She had talked with Russell, but it didn't work. She knew Russell was not such a person, but the people controlling the company were forcing him to take such action upon seeing a positive result with her recent demo songs.

She appealed for months, but nothing was going her way, and as a last chance, she was going to have a meeting with one of the largest shareholders today along with Russell. She hoped to convince them for more time.

" I am sorry I am late." Adele was out of breath.

" It's alright. Catch your breath first; they will be here soon." Russell looked at her. He could see that her condition was deteriorating day by day, evident by the fact that there were clear dark circles under her eyes.

Adele was hardly sleeping these days; she found out Samuel was in town. She didn't know how she would be able to face him, one part because of their strange relationship dynamic, and another was the fact he had asked her to be careful with the deal.

She was worried he would be disappointed with her for being so hard-headed about the deal. She still remembered how much he had warned her about such insidious contracts. It was her fault; that's why she was here, not to fix it.

" I am fine. I will head to the restroom for a bit." She asked someone and headed toward it to fix her appearance. The person she was meeting was Roderick Arthur, son of the businessman who holds the title of nobility of England.

Roderick Arthur was the eldest son of the fifth Earl of Delteor. His family mainly dealt in business, but they were quite influential due to their strong connection to the upper British aristocracy. It was nowhere near the top families but somewhere in the upper section regarding hierarchy.

" It's going to be fine. It's not like you have met such people before." Adele thought as she walked back to Russell. She could hear some shouting coming from the direction she was headed.

" How often do I have to tell you to do your job properly? You dare to arrange the meeting without my knowledge?"