Zoe stood where she was, feeling as if her breath had stopped.
She knew Landon's official girlfriend was Rachel, and she had vaguely sensed a rapport between Tracy and Landon that exceeded the usual bond between an agent and an artist, but witnessing this scene so openly still shocked her perception.
Landon's girlfriend was Rachel. Was Tracy one too?
The thought made her head buzz.
But then, thinking of Landon's almost public closeness with Jennifer Connelly on set, and his various past behaviors, she felt relieved again.
Her boss was simply someone who fell for every person he saw.
The key was that they didn't even bother to hide it from her, his assistant.
However, on second thought, Zoe understood: an assistant is the witness who knows the boss's most secrets, restricted by non-disclosure agreements and bound by practical needs.
Nevertheless, a subtle sense of indignation sprouted in her heart.
Why was she being so completely ignored?
Was she not pretty enough?
Her gaze moved away from the lingering couple and fell on her own blurry reflection in the polished wall of the recording studio: highlighted short hair, a black leather jacket, ripped jeans, and studded boots—a distinct but slightly rebellious punk outfit.
In an instant, she seemed to understand something.
Maybe it was time for a change of look?
However, Zoe herself didn't understand why she wanted Landon to notice her.
She just felt ignored. As for the deeper reasons, she hadn't realized them yet.
They shared a moment of tenderness for a while until Tracy's gaze went over Landon's shoulder and landed on Zoe by the door.
As if only just remembering the young girl's presence, she let go of Landon and turned to walk toward Zoe.
"Zoe." Tracy smiled and opened her arms, giving her an intimate hug.
When they pulled apart, Tracy's eyes carefully scanned Zoe's punk girl outfit, and Tracy was very satisfied.
This girl had the unique, lively energy of youth, yet she was very reliable when it came to doing her job.
Tracy remembered that Zoe had initially applied for the position of Makeup Artist; her makeup skills were indeed good, but at some point, the focus of her duties had quietly shifted to being a full-time assistant.
Strangely, Zoe seemed to enjoy this role transition.
Tracy glanced at Landon beside her. That face that was impossible not to like, those blue eyes that were always gentle and smiling.
She suddenly understood a bit. But Tracy said nothing.
If there was such a careful and responsible person by Landon's side who could slightly restrain his overly casual way of doing things, she would actually feel more at ease.
The key was that Zoe's lips were sealed, which was especially rare in this industry.
Landon hadn't been stingy with his praise for this assistant in private, either.
Because of this, Tracy's attitude toward Zoe included a bit more deliberate closeness and trust.
The three of them waited in this subtle and slightly strange atmosphere.
When the door was pushed open again, the sound wasn't loud, but the three people who walked in instantly changed the atmosphere of the entire space.
The man walking in front, Lil Jon, sported a meticulously groomed hairstyle: the hair on the sides and the back of his neck was shaved nearly clean, revealing his scalp, while the top was left with very short stubble.
He wore a half-open black leather jacket, with a thick gold chain around his neck glinting under the lights, and loose jeans tucked into his boots.
He strode in, his gaze locking directly onto Landon, an infectious smile breaking out on his face.
"Hey, Bro! You're a fucking genius!" Jon's voice was loud, carrying a heavy Southern accent and the specific rhythm of the streets.
Without waiting for an answer, he opened his arms and gave Landon a solid hug.
"This song of yours, it's having a party in my head! From the moment I got your demo until now, it hasn't stopped!"
Landon was caught a bit off guard by this sudden, enthusiastic hug, but he quickly adjusted and smiled, patting Jon on the back.
Then, he shook hands and bumped shoulders with Big Sam and Lil Bo behind Jon, completing a set of greeting rituals he had only recently become familiar with.
To be honest, Landon hadn't completely adapted to this way of communication filled with body language and emotional outbursts.
The rhythm of conversation he was used to was more subtle and formal.
Whereas Jon's trio spoke as if they were keeping a beat, their words interspersed with loud high-fives and continuous "Hey, bro!", "That's right, man!", and "You know what I mean?". At first, Landon just smiled politely and nodded, responding with short words.
However, when the topic truly shifted to the core of the music, a wonderful change occurred.
The barrier formed by cultural differences quickly dissolved before their common language—music.
Landon discovered that behind the direct frankness of Jon's team was an unreserved passion and focus on music.
They didn't like beating around the bush: "This drum beat is too soft!" "The bridge needs a transition, like a sharp turn!"
This straightforward communication actually made the creative process extremely efficient.
Lil Jon was particularly surprised by the depth of Landon's understanding of Crunk.
What he didn't know was that Landon was actually feeling nervous inside.
For this meeting, Landon had crammed knowledge about Crunk, learning that this musical genre was currently rooted mainly in Atlanta and was still considered quite trendy in North America.
He hadn't expected that the enthusiastic Lil Jon before him was actually one of the core promoters of this genre.
Moreover, it was precisely the song "Yeah!" currently in production that would be regarded in the future as one of the key works pushing Crunk into the mainstream.
In other words, if this song succeeded, would he, in a sense, become a very important part of Crunk history? The Father of Crunk?
The thought gave Landon a surge of strange dizziness and excitement.
But this gap in perception also forced Landon to truly integrate the essence of hip-hop into his creation.
He needed to become familiar with the thinking and expression of Black hip-hop, to understand how they communicated and how they felt the rhythm.
This was initially quite difficult for Landon.
Although he had worked with Black actors, such as Dennis Haysbert on the set of 24 hours, when spending time with Dennis, the man's gentle and refined scholarly aura.
But these musicians who had fought their way up from the street music scene had completely different energy, expression, and survival philosophies.
Suddenly, Landon remembered a scene from Charlie's Angels: in the movie, Luke Wilson, who played the character who liked Cameron Diaz, was initially nervously babbling when hanging out with several black men at a party, while his black friends remained serious and didn't communicate at all.
It wasn't until the end, when those black men finally burst into a laugh of understanding, that Luke Wilson was truly accepted by them.
It was strange that in this intense creative moment, such a movie scene would flash through his mind, along with the memory of Cameron Diaz's bright smile.