Like Gold // Nate Maloley

[ one ]

I felt like hell as soon as I walked into my small apartment. This was my official resignation as a dog-walker. Too many dogs, high-maintenanced ones at that. But what do you expect to find in L.A. other than high maintenance?

For the past month I had been applying to odd jobs left and right. From an In-N-Out server to a club promoter, they were all trash.

"Well Loki," I spoke to my pet hedgehog as he sipped on his water. "There goes another job. It's not that I can't do anything right, it's...I can't find anything right. But we'll be okay. If worse comes to worse, we'll just have to head back East...move back in with the family."

I took a shower and washed all the shame and regret off of me and after getting dressed I discovered I had about 3 missed calls from Elijah. Elijah is my closest friend out here. He'd always say my hair intrigued him when he first saw me at a certain bookstore, back then it was dyed purple.

"Ugh finally," he said after answering the phone. "I was beginning to think one of those dogs ate you. What are you doing?"

"Just got out the shower," I answered.

"Good. Meet me at the Froyo spot on Wilcox in 15 minutes. I have news!"

+

"So," Elijah smiled as he played in his froyo with a spoon. "I got you an interview."

"What," I gasped. "Where?"

"Ever heard of a little place called Triton Records?"

My jaw dropped. "Triton Re-- of course! Oh my goodness! What? How? When?"

"Okay okay," he took another spoonful and pulled himself together. "So remember that guy I told you I met at Dive Bar last week?"

"The one that looked like Zayn?"

"No the other one."

"The one that looked like Justin Timberlake?"

"No no, umm--"

"Oh!" I shouted a little too loudly. "The hippie guy! Johnny Depp's dopplegänger!"

"Yes," Elijah clapped. "Him! His name is Travis. Anyway, we spent the most magical weekend together and he told me that his best friend works for Triton Records and they were looking for someone to be a personal assistant to someone they're about to sign. It's a salaried job, about $80,000 a year which is, you know, $79,000 more than what you're making now."

"Oh gee thanks," I rolled my eyes at the sad truth. "Who is this new artist? Do you know?"

"Not at all. Apparently some rapper but you know I don't really listen to rap."

"Because you're weird," I joked. "But this is amazing! I can't thank you enough."

"You can thank me with endless bottles of wine & champagne once you get that first paycheck," he grinned.

+

The interviewing process was a hassle. I had to meet with 3 different people, 2 of whom asked me the same questions. But I kept my composure. Triton Records had to be the most laid back establishment I've ever dealt with and they still had all of their affairs in order, being a top dog in the music industry. So whoever they just signed must be on their A-game.

The dealmaker was having the au pair job on my resume. The name of the family I worked for resonated well and they were impressed I even lasted that long working for them. Sure, their two kids were complete tyrants but it was nothing I couldn't handle.