The Wolf of Los Angeles.

Chapter 29 The First Employee

The first order from the business was a good start, and there was no conflict between making money and attracting people.

Robert Downey Jr.'s career has suffered a setback, but it is far from being ruined.

Hawke didn't gain anything in Brentwood as there were many competitors blocking his way there and he couldn't get an exclusive deal.

He developed several news informants in the Wing Chun Gym, but Tracy's Gym remained blank.

Not only Downey is there, it is also the preferred place for some Hollywood stars and sports stars to exercise.

Hawke had only been in Los Angeles for a short time and had no connections.

He thought about it for a while and thought of director Eric Eason, whom he met at the Sundance Film Festival. At that time, the director said he would come to Los Angeles to develop his career.

Hawke found Eric's phone number and called him.

Eric was very surprised: "You came to Los Angeles?"

"There are more opportunities here." Hawke said the truth: "So I came to Los Angeles to develop."

Eric said, "Do you have time? Let's meet and talk."

Hawke said directly: "It just so happens that I want to ask you for a small favor."

The two agreed to meet in Century City.

Twenty minutes later, Hawke arrived at Starbucks and waited for a while. Eric arrived on time.

Compared to the Sundance Film Festival, the young director is full of energy.

Hawke ordered coffee first and asked Eric, "It seems like you are developing very well."

Eric laughed heartily: "It's OK." He looked Hawke up and down: "But you, your appearance has changed a lot. If you hadn't taken the initiative to greet me, I would have suspected that you had a different body."

Hawke smiled and said, "I want to change too. It would be best if I could become a handsome guy with a handsome celebrity face, so that I can make a living with my face."

Eric joked: "They rely not only on their faces, but also their butts and mouths."

His face straightened: "If you want to hug someone's thigh, you have to kneel down and move your mouth."

Hawke discovered that Eric, an artist, was also a philosopher.

Park City's cooperation gave Eric extra confidence in Hawke, and he asked, "Have you found a job? Come and help me?"

"I have a job." Hawke declined and asked, "Is your side progressing well?"

Eric said: "In the middle of next month, D.C. Heights will be fully released on the DVD and videotape market. This project is profitable, and Catherine has agreed to help me raise one million dollars for the next project to make a real theatrical feature film. I am currently writing the script."

Hawke, who knew nothing about screenwriting or filmmaking, simply asked, "Is the script finished?"

Eric waved his hand: "Not so fast, at least half a year." He looked sad: "So, I have to eat for a long time..."

Hawke noticed that he was in an unstable state of mind and comforted him, "Compared to George and the others, you are lucky. At least Catherine is a woman."

This worked. Eric thought about it for a moment, and his mood instantly brightened, especially when he compared himself with his arch-enemy George Hansen.

Hawke added: "I just came to Los Angeles and don't know many people here. I ran into some trouble and had to ask you for help."

Eric took charge: "Just tell me."

"I've been doing high-intensity fitness since the Sundance Film Festival ended, and you've seen the results." Hawke said half-truthfully, "There's a Tracy Fitness Club in Westwood. I heard the facilities are quite complete and the coaches are very professional. I tend to gain weight easily, so I want to go there to work out. It's a membership system, and you need a referral from an old member to apply for membership."

Eric recalled: "I've heard of this gym. It's very famous in the industry. Catherine seems to have mentioned it. I'll ask her later."

Hawke said, "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Eric suddenly thought of George and the Crystal Cinema that suddenly lost power, and asked, "You're not going to cause trouble in the gym, are you?"

Hawke showed off his muscles and said, "Of course not, I just do it for fitness."

Eric was relieved: "Wait for my good news."

The two chatted for a while about Eric's new work. Hawke knew his own limitations and only listened but didn't say anything about the content creation.

At noon, Hawke invited Eric to dinner and received a call from the owner of the convenience store in North Hollywood, saying that Robert Downey Jr. had gone to the Wing Chun gym.

He drove over immediately.

In front of the convenience store, the white proprietress Brie was looking leisurely at the Oulang Boxing Gym across the street.

Inside the store, Edward, a mixed-race black man, was busy moving goods.

Seeing Hawke getting out of the car, Bree waved and waited for Hawke to come over, then pointed across the road: "He's been in there for a while, and his wife just caught up with him. I know his wife Deborah, she was in the newspaper today."

Hawke had also read the news in the newspaper that Deborah had moved out of Brentwood with her children and separated from Donny. Hawke nodded slightly, followed the custom of his peers, took out $20 and gave it to Bree, saying, "Thank you."

After making a phone call and earning $20 for free, Bree returned to the store happily.

Edward saw all of this and complained to Bree, "It was obviously me who discovered it."

Bree was furious and yelled, "Move this pile of cotton products into the warehouse quickly, and I will order you a fried chicken and watermelon juice meal for lunch!"

"You treat me like a slave? I work every day without getting paid!" Edward was really angry. He took off his apron and threw it away: "I want to break up with you!"

Hawke vaguely heard a quarrel coming from the convenience store. When he wanted to look back, he saw Donny and his wife Deborah arguing out of the boxing gym opposite.

The two had a big argument, and Deborah cursed Donny as a scumbag and said he was not worthy of being the father of her child.

Donny seemed to know he was in the wrong, so he got in his car and ran away.

Deborah then got in the car.

Hawke put down his camera, the convenience store door behind him opened, and Edward walked out.

In the back, Bree's voice could be heard from the convenience store: "If you leave me, you'll end up homeless!"

Edward yelled, "I'd rather be homeless than let you exploit me anymore. You've almost sucked me dry!"

Hawke looked at the convenience store curiously.

"Hey, man, we meet again." Edward smiled with his thick lips, showing a row of white teeth, pointed at the camera and asked, "What have you gained?"

Without waiting for Hawke to answer, he said, "See, every time you meet me, you have good luck. I saw the front-page headline you shot last time. Are you going to make another one this time?"

Hawke put away his camera and casually said, "Earn some hard-earned money."

Edward thought of that night and the newspaper headlines he saw afterwards, and blinked his eyes: "Dude, are you hiring me? I'm very capable, and we work very well together. I was the one who took the last headline with you! I can drive, use a camera, and never complain about my work. All the bosses who have employed me have praised me..."

Hawke smiled and pointed to the convenience store.

"No, no, this is different." Edward explained quickly, "I felt sorry for her because she was divorced and had a child, so I chased her to be his girlfriend. I didn't expect that when I treated her as my girlfriend, she treated me as free labor, no, as a slave! Here, I am more pitiful than our ancestors who picked cotton."

Hawke got to the point: "Why are you chasing her? Tell me the truth."

Edward put his hands in his work clothes pockets and said, "Divorced with children, there must be child support. I was thinking I could get some."

Hawke asked, "Isn't this the first time you've done something like this?"

Edward scratched his head and said, "I came out of Compton. I didn't wander the streets. I was taken in by divorced single women with children. When they divorced, they got at least half of the property, and a lot of child support. Most of them have houses, but they are lonely and empty, lacking a man to do the hard work..."

Hawke found Lao Hei's skills interesting. This could be considered a unique survival skill. He then asked, "Who taught you this?"

Edward said, "I observed it myself." He looked back at the convenience store, "But I didn't get any advantage this time. I was squeezed by her to work during the day and squeezed by her to squeeze juice at night. I can't stand it anymore."

Hawke really needed someone to help him and walk ahead to clear the mines. Edward's skin color was an obvious advantage in the dark, so he said, "Get in the car first."

He gave the keys to Edward, asked Blackie to drive, took out his cell phone and called Jack from the Inquirer. The two parties agreed to meet at the place of the last transaction.

Edward is a native of Los Angeles and is very familiar with the city. After Hawk told him the location, he quickly arrived at his destination.

After waiting for a while, Bearded Jack came over.

Hawke sent Edward away and started negotiating the deal, which was settled at $200.

The Downeys' quarrel was hardly big news, and wouldn't have been worth $200 if it hadn't been a continuation of previous headlines.

Edward came back after seeing the bearded man leave: "Did you make the deal?"

Hawke nodded slightly and said seriously, "Talk about your work for me. Show me your driver's license or other ID, and your social security number."

"No way, are you taking this so seriously? It's just work." Edward had no choice but to take out his driver's license and report his social security number.

Hawke took a picture of his driver's license, wrote down his social security number, and said, "One-month internship, California minimum hourly wage, irregular working hours, meals provided during work, and you have to keep your phone accessible 24 hours a day so you can be on call at any time."

Edward was going crazy: "Man, my ancestors were treated better than this when they were on the plantation!"

Hawke said, "It's up to you. If you don't want to do it, you can leave." He made a big promise: "My studio has just started, and I'm starting a business. Once it succeeds, you will be my business partner."

Edward wanted to refuse, but suddenly remembered the fireworks that night, and replied, "If it's not suitable, I can leave at any time."

Hawke said, "Dude, it's too early for you to speak. If you want to get this job, you have to pass my test."

Hawke disdains to pay money to go to work or ask employees to lend money to the company, but if you want to become an employee of West Coast Entertainment Studios, you must pass the test.

To incur sunk costs.

(End of this chapter)