“What are these for?” Scarlett stared at a whole row of luxurious sports cars in wide-eyed excitement.
“Racing cars. They’ve got a racing game here every Saturday night.” Sophie turned to her and explained.
“Ah. Got it!”
Even as Scarlett dealt with socializing with Jeff and Sophie’s friends, she couldn’t move her eyes away from the rows of high-configuration sports cars only 10 meters away. They were all modified supercars, some even outfitted with nitrogen tanks to speed them up. This was a visual feast– she felt her mouth grow wet with desire.
Scarlett narrowed her eyes. The silver car that stood parked on the far left captured her imagination. She breathed in deep and saw thick wads of dollar bills float down from the sky in front of her eyes. The sight of such ridiculous wealth completely took her.
After a while, a tall figure walked to them with his right hand inside his pocket. As he approached them, Scarlett noticed that he is wearing a fancy, dark purple colored suit and a clean-cut white shirt with collars wide open. He was not wearing a tie. His hair was slicked back, which made his chiseled face look even more attractive. His deep and dark blue eyes seemed always to be roving; they let everyone know that he is a notorious playboy. Even in the dark and from a distance, Scarlett could sense that this man had a very unusual temperament.
“It’s the last game tonight, you gonna play or what?” The man asked Jeff. His voice was magnetic but not as mature as the voice of a middle-aged man. You could still recognize in his voice a sense of disdain about the arrogance of youngsters.
“Haven’t you heard? Larry Stone’s gonna play the last game. You can’t even imagine how crazy he is when he’s racing his car. He’s a fucking maniac. I don’t want to sacrifice my life for this shit.”
“Oh! So our super racer Jeff Richards is afraid now?” The man smirked and lit a cigarette. At that moment, he finally noticed the unfamiliar figure standing beside Jeff and his girlfriend, Sophie.
“It seems you forgot to introduce me to this beauty here, Jeff.” The man glanced at Scarlett with lust in his eyes.
Jeff asked Scarlett to come over and said, “This is Scarlett Morris, Sophie’s friend in UI. Smart. And sexy too, as you can see.”
The man raised his eyebrows at the statement. Jeff then pointed to him and introduced him to Scarlett, “This is my best friend from childhood, Chuck Sandler. I thought every girl in this town knew him.” He laughed.
Chuck Sandler? The eldest grandson of the Sandler family? Scarlett had heard of this big name from Sophie. She had said that the Sandler family is an old and well-known business family in Irving. Scarlett still remembered how her jaw had dropped when she heard that the most popular local supermarket, T.B.S Empire, is run by the second son of the current Sandler family, Francis Sandler.
Sophie further explained that it was because the first son, George Sandler, took full charge of the family business and was in the power of the family, while Francis Sandler had been assigned a portion of the properties from the family and started his own business since the 1990s. He built a legendary empire with his talent in the business and his extraordinary networking skills– he handled with absolute perfection both gangs and the government. With the retailing giant T.B.S Empire, Francis Sandler’s fortune had surpassed that of the original family business. Now, when it comes to the Sandler family, people generally first think of Francis Sandler and the T.B.S Empire- a department store chain.
Scarlett turned to face the racing track again, and she even forgot to say hi to Chuck Sandler. “Oh, how I wish I could have one!” Scarlett stared at the glistening, silver sports car. Sophie heard her mutter and pointed to Chuck Sandler nearby. “That’s Chuck’s car, you wanna give it a go?”
“What? Is that possible? Could I really?” Scarlett raised her voice, and her heart was pounding with excitement.
“Are you serious? I’m just joking.” Sophie lit another cigarette, sucked hard, and whispered a warning to Scarlett, “Nobody dares to touch Chuck Sandler’s car!”
But Sophie knew what type of person Scarlett was– mama didn’t raise any quitter. Scarlett would never give up without even trying; whatever it was, she would give it a shot. Scarlett couldn’t suppress her deep desire. “Mr. Sandler, May I take your car out for a little spin?” She asked.
Still, Sophie was taken aback by her bold request. Hot ash fell on her left hand, and the pain and anger made her cry out, “Scarlett! Are you crazy? Girl, do you even have a driver’s license?” Sophie grabbed Scarlett's hands with full strength and tried to stop her from doing something wild.
But it looked like Scarlett’s words had successfully aroused the two men’s interest. Jeff was surprised and tried to confirm her words: “So… you can drive a car, eh?”
“I can race a car,” Scarlett wrestled her hand free from Sophie’s grip and pointed to the racers preparing for the race alongside the track, “Even better than those guys.” She looked surprisingly confident and proud.
Chuck Sandler stubbed out his cigarette; he looked at Scarlett and said, “I’ll give you a car. Do you dare to play the game?”
“Why not?” Scarlett had never been short of courage. She was a risk-taker through and through. She was not afraid; even if she didn’t believe in herself, she believed in that high-configuration sports car.
“Good!” Chuck Sandler clapped his hands, took a step forward, and led Scarlett to his car.
“So if you win, it is yours. If you don’t win, you don’t lose anything. But I’m not responsible for your life. What do you think?” Chuck Sandler said, with some admiration for the girl in front of him.
Scarlett touched the reflector of the car and looked up with a smile, “This car is worth more than my life, I dare not want it!”