Moving to LA was hard. I had a small nest egg to get my foot in the door, but after a while I found myself taking odd jobs and working at temp services.
It was getting to the point of desperation, so I literally started stopping my every store that I saw. Just down the street from my little flat there was a furniture store and I decided to stop in and see if they needed some help.
A middle aged Asian man met me at the counter.
"I was wondering if you needed any help?" I said intrepidly.
"The owner will be here on Thursday!" he said in perfect English.
"Great, I'll come back then."
Two more days of fruitless searches and I stopped back into the furniture store, and waited as two guys moved an ornate couch out the door while a middle aged woman directed them.
"I'll be with you in a moment" The long haired women spoke to me, and then continued to speak in another language as she directed the move.
I waited patiently as I looked around at the very expensive pieces. Most of them custom and hand carved.
"Hello, may I help you!" Her voice called with a thick accent, but clear and firm.
"I'm actually looking for employment!" I replied quickly and she looked me up and down.
"I'm completely full here at the store, but perhaps...." Her finger traced her lips.
"I'm kind of in a bad spot, I can do whatever you need." I said and she held her finger up to signal me to wait one moment and she walked into the back. The Asian man behind the counter gave me an unusual look which I wasn't sure how to read.
She strutted back to the front "I am Lady Nin"
"Nice to meet you my name is Ren." I politely offered and she smiled.
"Come back here around 6:30 tonight and we can discuss things more." Her voice offered and I agreed.
The rest of the day was a little slow. I looked at my pile of bills and hoped that the meeting later would be promising.
I walked in a little early at 6:20 and called for her.
"Lady Nin!" I called as I stood at the counter.
I heard several pairs of boots coming in from the back, and Lady Nin walked out with another woman.
"Hello!" her voice was polite.
"This is Ming, she is a friend of mine." She introduced me to a girl a few years younger than her.
"Hi, I'm Ren!" I spoke to Ming and she looked at Lady Nin who nodded before she politely and quietly smiled.
"Hello, Ben" She smiled and there was an awkward silence before Lady Nin spoke in Chinese and Ming walked and locked the front door.
"Ming is very distressed." The middle aged woman looked me up and down.
