As expected, Catherine admitted that she was still in high school, but she hardly went to school anymore.
She had started trying to create her own music and had begun to harbor thoughts of dropping out to pursue her musical dreams with all her might.
In fact, Katie's parents were devout Christian pastors, and the family atmosphere was conservative, only allowing her to be exposed to gospel music.
When she decided to drop out and turn to secular pop music, her parents viewed this choice as a betrayal of their faith and family values.
Although they did not take forced measures to stop her, and even "prayed" for their daughter's transition into becoming a pop singer, the state of their family relationship was obvious.
Catherine had already made up her mind to officially drop out after finishing her freshman year of high school.
Now she basically didn't attend classes and was completely focused on music.
She had a clear career plan for herself, but if she could first have a stable income, it would undoubtedly give her more confidence on the path to pursuing her dreams.
Landon pondered, thinking that this arrangement... seemed okay?
But he immediately realized another problem: Catherine was only 15 years old, wouldn't this count as child labor? And where would the lessons be held?
"Boss," Zoe seemed to see through his concerns and immediately offered a plan, "Why don't you rent a place for me! That way, Catherine can come to where I live to give you lessons, and she can even stay with me at night. As for her parents, we'll just say she's staying with a good friend to study music; that will be much easier for them to accept."
Zoe and Catherine immediately stared intently at Landon with expectant, shining eyes.
Landon rubbed his temples and finally sighed in compromise: "Fine. But I'm going to the film crew in New Jersey next week, so I only have a lot of time this week. After that, I might only be free on weekends. The pay is tentatively set at $100 per lesson, how's that?"
"Wow! $100 per lesson? That's amazing! No problem!" Catherine immediately cheered, a bright smile blossoming on her face.
"Zoe, I'll leave finding the place to you, and I'll pay the rent."
"Yay!" Zoe and Catherine excitedly high-fived, then hugged each other, rejoicing over this sudden "perfect plan."
Landon looked at the two energetic young girls in front of him and shook his head helplessly.
"Wait, Boss! Don't be in such a hurry to leave!"
Seeing that Landon intended to leave after confirming Catherine as his teacher, Zoe stepped forward in a flash, grabbed his arm, and put on a flattering smile.
"Look, the teacher is sorted out, why not just finalize the place for lessons this afternoon and start classes tomorrow? Katie is eager to give you lessons!" As she said this, she winked at Katie beside her.
Katie immediately received the signal and leaned in too, her large eyes, lined with exaggerated black eyeliner, sparkling with eager excitement.
"That's right, Landon! I'm in great shape! Look, my basic music theory book and vocal exercise scores are all in my bag!" She patted the canvas bag she was carrying.
Two pairs of equally young eyes, both shimmering with the light of "please say yes, I beg you," looked at Landon again.
That eager gaze made Landon feel like he had returned to a few minutes ago, the moment he was "forced" by their same look to nod and agree to hire Katie.
He sadly realized that he was completely unable to be immune to this kind of "young girl's expectation" look.
"...Fine." Landon sighed and was defeated again, "What about the location? Do you have a place you want to live?" He looked at Zoe, who clearly had a premeditated plan.
"Leave it to me! I'll get it done right away!" Zoe immediately took out her phone, turned around, and made a few calls in a low voice, speaking at a rapid pace.
Not long after, she turned around, made an "OK" gesture, and was all smiles.
"Done! Burbank, not far from here, the environment is nice, we can go take a look now!"
Landon drove his ford explorer, under Zoe's direction, to a tree-lined, relatively quiet neighborhood in Burbank.
In front of a well-maintained two-story apartment building with a small front yard, a well-dressed lady was already waiting there.
The agent greeted them warmly and used a key to open one of the apartments on the first floor.
As soon as the door opened, Zoe and Katie squeezed in first, immediately letting out low cheers.
Landon followed them in and looked around at the environment.
The apartment was a standard room; the living room was spacious and bright, the wooden floors were well-maintained, and through the floor-to-ceiling glass doors, one could see a small garden with some drought-resistant plants, enough for two people to sit and relax.
The kitchen was fully equipped, and the two bedrooms were of moderate size.
Overall, for two girls to live in temporarily and use as a teaching venue, it was indeed very suitable.
However, Landon's gaze immediately fell on Zoe, his eyes filled with understanding and a trace of speechlessness.
This girl was definitely taking the opportunity to secure benefits for herself!
The conditions of this apartment were clearly far beyond the requirements of a normal temporary classroom.
But didn't Zoe know that she would be going to Princeton University with him to film in a few days?
Zoe felt her boss's gaze and shifted her eyes away with some guilt, not daring to meet his eyes.
Instead, she pulled Katie along, excitedly following the agent to tour every room, commenting incessantly:
"Wow, this bedroom has such great natural light!"
"This closet is big enough!"
"Look, the bathroom even has a bathtub!"
After the tour, the two girls had already started arguing on their own about who would live in the master bedroom with the balcony and who would live in the second bedroom near the bathroom, completely leaving the boss who was paying for it on the side.
The female agent introduced at the right moment:
"This community has very good security, and the neighbors are mostly employees of nearby film companies or retirees. Transportation is also very convenient, and it's not far to major Hollywood studios. The monthly rent is $2,700, but if you can sign today, I can apply for a discounted price of $2,500 for you."
"$2,500..."
Zoe and Katie's cheers died down, and the two looked at each other; this number was obviously not a small amount for them.
Although they were extremely satisfied with this apartment, they still subconsciously and simultaneously cast their eyes toward the only "financial backer" present—Landon.
Once again, those two pairs of familiar, innocent, expectant, and slightly pleading eyes were back in the Spotlight on Landon's face.
Landon felt a familiar tingling sensation on his scalp.
He lamented in his heart, if this trend continued, whenever these two girls teamed up and looked at him with this kind of expression, would he have to surrender every single time?
Forget it... Landon rubbed his temples.
Considering he was "investing" in a future diva in advance, and also considering that Zoe had indeed been busy running around and working efficiently during this time, he would just treat it as employee benefits.
"Fine." Landon nodded, his tone filled with resigned helplessness.
"Yay! That's great!"
"Long live the boss!"
The two girls jumped up instantly, high-fiving and cheering excitedly, and the slight anxiety from just a moment ago vanished into thin air.