Okay, so for a month or so now, I've been working for this guy named Charles. He seems like a good guy, he pays regularly (low, but regularly), and has work going. Well, last Friday, he was short, so he wasn't able to make payroll. He paid each employee a hundred dollars, and told us that he would pay us the rest on Monday. Monday comes and goes... no money. On Tuesday, I started doing his porch rebuild job for a homeowner named Chris. Tuesday morning, in front of Chris, Charles and the laborers (both of them) got into a argument about Charles not paying them, and Charles fired them. For the next few hours, the laborers sat with Chris complaining about Charles. Now, bear in mind, Chris is already upset. His porch rebuild (a one day project) was supposed to have been done over two weeks prior. Because of this, Chris is upset, complaining, and explaining that Charles won't get any more work from Chris. I try to defend Charles, but his position is pretty indefensible. He kept blowing Chris off. Needless to say, Chris remained firm in his decision not to employ Charles anymore. It was at this point that I decided to help my friend Tom out, so I had Chris talk to Tom about his roof. Tom bid on the roof, got it, and I felt good. Then Tom asked if I could help lay shingles, for double what I was making then. I said yes, since I was broke and needed the money. I told Charles I couldn't work for him for two days, I had a roof job to do with Tom, and I'd be back Friday. Today (still no pay), he figured out which roof, got very upset, and pitched a minor fit. As a result, Chris threw us a bunch of work. I love how things just work out.