The next morning, waking up painfully groggy, Nina grabbed her phone and squinted at its bright screen. It was already eleven o'clock, and she had several missed messages and calls from Noah.

She groaned remembering everything that happened the previous night. Although she had enjoyed her time with Bo, the way things ended with Noah left a bad taste in her mouth. She gratefully recollected the time her aunt Luana had dragged her to a self-defense class, which in turn helped her stay somewhat calm the previous night, despite Noah having caught her slightly off guard.

Pretending to consider his demand for retribution, she had taken a sip of his beer. This had made him give her little room, enough for her to turn the bottle opening towards his pants. Not a lot of liquid had managed to escape before he shoved her away, swearing angrily, but when she turned to make a last look back at him while leaving the terrace, she noticed it was just enough to make it look like he had wet himself.

Nina had no intention of contacting him, but beneath his messages, she noticed one from Trevor:

Hey Nina. A potential client contacted me but he only speaks Thai. If you find a way to communicate with him, the job is yours. I'm forwarding you his contact information.

Nina frowned. She had considered learning Thai, but after watching a few tutorials on YouTube, she quickly gave up. How was she supposed to communicate with this potential client? For the first time, she regretted not hiring a tutor to learn at least the basics of the language of the country she lived in. She desperately needed a new job; and now a good opportunity seemed to be slipping through her fingers. If only she had a translator, maybe it could work? She got up and headed to the kitchen to make coffee when an idea struck her. She turned on the stove and went back to her room to get her phone.

"Chompoo. How about that coffee?"

"Sure!" Chompoo didn't need much persuasion. "Will you bring your laptop? Just wait until you see all the amazing banners I've done," Nina couldn't help but smile at her enthusiastic tone. "I can be there in forty five minutes," and after a brief pause, "- half an hour!"

"No rush, don't get into trouble on your way here. I just got up, I need some time to get ready." They agreed to meet in an hour. Nina experienced a wave of positive anticipation. She looked forward to potentially collaborating with Chompoo, who was energetic and eager to learn. Thinking about how they could divide the work, she considered tasks she could assign to Chompoo to guide her learning.

She had just stepped out of the shower when a message from Bo arrived:

Morning Nina, I hope you hade a good night's rest ;). I'll pick you up at 7. Don't forget comfortable clothes!

She read the message standing naked and wet in her bathroom, and putting down her phone, looked at herself in the mirror.

Suddenly, she felt nervous at the thought of spending the entire evening alone with him. Did she even have any comfortable clothes that fit well? How could he ask her not to dress up for their first date? She replied with a short "looking forward to it", added a celebratory emoji and decided to think about it later.

Chompoo was literally on the edge of her seat waiting for her. She had only a glass of water in front of her, and when Nina arrived, she didn't want to order anything else. Practically pulling the laptop out of Nina's bag, she almost made Nina fall down while she was grabbing a seat.

"Okay, okay, I'm glad to see you're eager. But calm down for a minute, let me tell you what this is about first," she said as Chompoo opened the laptop. Chompoo paused and finally focused on Nina's face.

"What do you mean? I was going to show you what I've been working on."

"We'll get to that, but first I need your help with something else. I have a potential new client who doesn't speak English. This is where you come in. If you help me secure the job, you can work on it with me."

Chompoo leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest. "Alright," she said, thinking.

"The first thing would be to establish contact with the client," Nina said. "I only have a phone number. I don't even know what the man does, so the situation is a bit delicate." She wondered if she should reveal to Chompoo how much she depended on successfully landing this job and felt a bit deflated realizing how much hope she was weighing on this thin thread. She smiled, not wanting to put too much pressure on Chompoo.

"You'll call, introduce yourself. You work at Good Gamut. We got his contact from Trevor. Try to arrange an in-person meeting." Nina hoped the client wouldn't ask too many technical questions that Chompoo wouldn't be able to answer. "If he asks about the pricing, say we'll discuss that in person. We don't have enough information about his business to offer a price yet, but tell him the initial meeting is non-binding." She considered if there were any more crucial details she needed to explain to Chompoo.

"Okay. Good Gamut. In-person meeting," Chompoo repeated, visibly nervous. It seemed she hadn't missed how important this job was to Nina. Or maybe she was already invested in the deal herself.

"Alright, no point in delaying. It will either work out or it won't," Nina said, smiling gently. "Are you ready?"

Chompoo bit her nails, her chin down, looking at Nina from under her bushy eyebrows. "No?" she said, then slapped her leg and held out her hand to Nina. "Give me that phone."

"Okay," Nina said, finding the contact number of the potential new client. "Remember, if you're unsure about anything and it seems important, ask them to hold and ask me. I'm here."

Those words seemed to have a calming effect on Chompoo, who took a deep breath as she took the phone from Nina. She pressed the call button and put the phone to her ear. Nina realized she was holding her breath.

An older male voice answered, and although Nina could only understand the initial "Sawatdee Khrap," she listened carefully to the conversation. Judging by Chompoo's expressions, the person on the other end seemed kind and good-natured. Soon, Chompoo was laughing and Nina allowed herself to relax a bit. Then she suddenly became serious, and Nina's heart sank. The conversation ended, and Chompoo placed the phone on the table, her expression unreadable. Nina waited. Chompoo reached for her glass of water and, in the slowest possible sips, drank it all. Then she made a satisfied sound that people usually make when quenching a strong thirst and cracked her knuckles.

"We have a meeting tomorrow morning!" she said and jumped into Nina's arms. Nina screamed with joy.

"Okay, okay, did you find out what he does?" she asked Chompoo once they had calmed down a bit.

"He does what half the people in Bangkok do," Chompoo replied. "Manages massage salons."

Nina was a bit disappointed. "Ah," she said, wondering if a massage salon really needed a website.

"But there's a twist," Chompoo said importantly. "It seems this guy has a chain across Thailand. If I understood correctly, he has over 20 salons just in Bangkok." Nina felt her spirit rising.

"Well done, Chompoo. Let's celebrate. What can I get you?" Nina asked, getting up from the table and looking forward to an ice coconut coffee.