It was a sunny mid-morning in California, at the offices of Royale Vices & Virtues INC a couple of executives were going through some documents ahead of a meeting with independent artist Rico Love. They scanned over paperwork covering his past achievements in a group as well as dissecting his recent independently released single.

The receptionist was sat at her desk at the entrance to the building anticipating various appointments throughout the day.

The young fresh-faced receptionist smiled politely as Rico made his way into the building, "Of course, no problem Sir. Our executive, Ms. Woods is expecting you upstairs." she says, as she steps out from the desk and leads Rico towards the elevator. Much like the entire building décor, the receptionist was stylishly dressed, professional and sleek. "If you go to the fifth floor, I'll let Imani know to expect you."

As the elevator arrived on the fifth floor, Rico was met with a large open plan executive suite, with a number of private offices with different name plates and important job titles attached to them. He's met by Chief Executive Imani Woods, Chief Scout Vincent Cooper Jr., A+R Rep Aurelia Villa Lobos who he was already acquainted with and public relations and A+R assistant Haley Dean. They all introduced themselves individually, before Imani showed Rico to her office for their meeting.

"I do apologise for the group introductions, I'm sure it's a little nerve wracking as it is without being met with so many faces." She says as she leads Rico to her office, "But the UMA's certainly proved that you have confidence." she says with a slight smirk, making reference to their very brief introduction at the recent UMA's in an attempt to remove any nerves.

As they arrive in the office and take their seats, Imani begins the casual meeting in an attempt to understand Rico's aims. "So, it's definitely a bonus that you've been in a popular group previously. It's always difficult for us to take a leap of faith on somebody that isn't aware of what's require in this industry." she says with a friendly smile, "You've obviously got your own personal ambitions which hopefully align with our own." she says, offering him an opportunity to elaborate on his ambition.

Imani listened, happy at what she was hearing. "I think taking your time out after the breakup of the group shows a level of courage. It could have been incredibly easy for you to launch a solo career immediately to capitalise on the groups name and fanbase." she says with a smile, "I like that you took your time, figured out what sort of artist you saw yourself as."

She let out a smirk and little chuckle as he mentioned his sexually charged single, "One thing we certainly won't be doing is asking you to tone anything down. Some of the artists we have at our label have a very vivid Songwriting style that we encourage, so we certainly would want you to follow that muse. The way the music industry is going is very liberal, those sort of topics in songs are what is hot right now. So we're certainly not put off by that. We've heard "Mr. Loverman" and understand it's appeal." She says with a friendly smile, hoping to put Rico at ease.

Imani nods as Rico talks about his reasons for taking time out, "I can see that you're eager to make up for lost time."

She smiles politely as he talks about not wanting to be censored with his music, "There's a market and demographic for every type of artist and certainly right now there's a big market for that excessive party lifestyle and being a little liberal with lyrical content. There'll be a freedom for you to follow your own muse. We're merely the machine behind you, you'll be the one that's steering."

Imani nods as Rico lets her know that he's got material ready to release, "I'm looking forward to hearing it, we'll be happy to help you get that album out into the world."

She stands to her feet as Rico offers out his hand, she was more than used to complimentary words, "Of course, this meeting was just a formality. A chance to speak in person before confirming everything. I'm happy with what I've seen and heard today. I'm sure you'll be an asset to the label."

Imani lets out a small chuckle, she was already well aware of their situation. "I'll be sure to let her know. I'm sure she'll be happy to hear that." Before exiting her office and leading Rico to the lobby of the building.

As they made their way to the lobby, Aurelia gave Rico a friendly smile as she walked past them. Imani led Rico to the reception desk area, "We'll need to sign off on the record before releasing it of course." she turns to the receptionist and asks for a piece of paper and pen, scribbling a number down. "This is my office number. I can come out to whichever studio you recorded it and check it out. If you just let me know the time and location." She says, handing him the note. She laughs slightly, "I won't need to bring a lawyer, will I? There's no tracks on there that name drop anybody or anything?"

Imani nods, "Well I can make some time in my schedule to come by and take a listen later today? Just give me a call with the address and I will drop in." She laughs a little at his statement, she had no issues dealing with confident characters like Rico and confidence is definitely something he had a lot of. "Wow, well you're certainly hyping the project up. Let's hope it can live up to those expectations." She says, remaining professionally and keeping her poker face well and truly on as Rico ramps up the charm.