Chapter 9

In front of the Skyline Bridge Modeling Agency, a group of tall young women walked out chatting and laughing. Eliza quickly stepped forward and stopped one of them, whispering, "I'm sorry, Quinn, where else could Lila might be?" "Eliza, are you deaf? Sorry, it's correct that you are deaf, but let me clarify for you…" Quinn frowned, raised her voice, and reiterated, "I don't know where Lila went, she still owes a lot of us money! If I catch her, she'll pay for it!" "Hurry up, Quinn, we're going to be late." The girls ahead called out loudly for her. Quinn brushed past Eliza impatiently and rushed after them. Eliza turned around disappointingly and carried her painting tools back. Her typical job involved painting decorative paintings for stores with Jake. With them gone, she won't be able to deliver the stock as promised, and customers who have paid were demanding their money or wanting their orders. "Hey, Eliza, you're quite unfortunate. I shouldn't have lost my temper at you. Here's a job, you can take it." Quinn rushed back, panting, pulled her over, and quickly wrote on a piece of paper: "This is the address, there is a new product launch tomorrow. It was originally Lila who was supposed to go, but she ran away. We're short of one person, and you often helped her out. You should go." After reading, Eliza smiled bitterly, shook her long hair, and said with a touch of bitterness, "I don't have a hearing aid. I can't hear. How can I do the job?" Quinn frowned, thought for a moment, and wrote again: "It's okay, you follow me, I'll signal you. It's a well-paid job, two thousand for just two hours, and it could help you out." Eliza took a deep breath and whispered, "Thank you, Quinn." "Let's go, how tragic, really tragic." Quinn shook her head, and took off at a brisk pace. Eliza looked at the piece of paper in her hand. It was an address, an invitation for a Vuiton fashion show. Such shows usually showcased some of the latest and most fashionable brands internationally, including bags, clothing, and shoes. In Boston, there is a transnational fashion brand company, the head office is in Europe, and the CEO in Boston is said to be the grandson of the head of the European parent company. Lila was always collecting such news, and she always rambled a few words about it to her. Thanks to Lila, she wouldn't be completely out of touch with these events. However, two thousand Dollars could allow her to rent a small room. Presently, she was living in a cheap inn, which was quite inconvenient. This was perhaps the only slightly happy piece of news that Eliza had heard in the past few days. Upon arriving at the clothing store, Eliza found the store owner had been waiting impatiently. The painting job was meant for two people, but now she had to finish it all by herself. She had only painted one of the four walls, but the store owner was planning to open his store the day after tomorrow. With his temper flaring, the store owner gave her a piece of his mind, handed her the key and left in a huff. Shrugging her shoulders, Eliza found one thing comforting at that moment, sometimes not hearing anything at all was also a blessing. She quickly mixed the paint, climbed the ladder, and began to work. Suddenly, her ladder started to wobble. Looking down, she noticed a few young men, clad in dark floral shirts, signalling her to come down. With a puzzled look, she asked, "The boss isn't around. What's up?" "Who needs the boss? We're here to see you, Eliza, right?" responded one of the young men, showing clear signs of impatience as he kicked her ladder.