used office furniture

At work we buy some of our furniture from used office furniture warehouses. You know, whiteboards, room dividers... nothing you really have to sit on. The first time I went to the warehouse a few months ago, I was checking out some whiteboards and a filing cabinet. I read on the website that they opened at 8, so about 8:15 I pulled up to the abandoned lot surrounded by a chain link fence in the middle of nowhere. I wandered for a minute, not finding any open doors. I called the number on their website, only to be greeted by a customer service rep in Phoenix. I explained my situation to him, he called Rick (the guy who runs the warehouse in Orange County) and Rick runs out of the warehouse apologizing that he forgot to unlock the doors.

Rick is a middle aged man, wearing a Hawaiian shirt halfway unbuttoned and a gold chain. He proceeds to take me around the enormous warehouse trying to sell me conference tables and office chairs. There is a stray dog wandering the premises, which is the only other sign of life.

A few days ago I had to go to the warehouse for the second time. I knew what to expect, so I called ahead and made sure Rick was there and ready for visitors. When I arrived, the same stray dog saw me pull up and decided to run at me full speed. I screamed and a guy unloading a truck in the distance laughed and continued about his business. I walked into the warehouse where there was a lady cleaning conference tables, but no sign of Rick. I asked the guy unloading the truck if he knew where Rick was. "Come, come, I show you," he told me, and we walked back inside to find a still empty office. He yelled for Rick, and a voice came out of the men's restroom, where the door was open, revealing 3 stalls inside. "Be right there!" Rick responded. I sat awkwardly on a nearby couch which faced the door Rick was about to emerge from. Toilet flush...wait...wait...no more sound. No running water. Rick walks out, takes the check I had come to drop off and sticks out his hand. What was I to do? I cringed slightly, shook his unwashed hand, and ran out to my car laughing to myself and avoiding the dog. I reminded myself that in India, I touched a lot of left hands.