Old driver

The yellow taxi stopped by a four-story building on Hollywood Boulevard. Matthew paid the fare, opened the door, and got out of the car. He checked his phone and found that he still had plenty of time. He walked leisurely towards the building. The most eye-catching thing outside the building's main gate was a red-painted penguin sculpture. Above the penguin hung a small bronze plaque, clearly engraved with bold letters — Red Penguin Service Company!

Recalling some related information, Matthew strode into the building. A pretty female receptionist immediately approached him. Just as she was about to greet him, she recognized his face and stopped abruptly.

"Hi..." Matthew casually greeted her, "I have an appointment with Mr. List."

The receptionist nodded without any intention of stopping him. "He should be in his office."

Matthew climbed the stairs and quickly arrived in front of an office on the third floor. He lightly knocked on the door, and after hearing a "come in" from inside, he pushed the door open and walked in.

"Oh, our big star is here!"

A voice with obvious mockery immediately sounded, "Big star, have you earned enough money to throw a wild party?"

The office had three people. The one speaking was a bald black man, and the other two were a chubby man and a tall, skinny middle-aged man.

"Made a fortune, huh?" The chubby man also teased, "When will your films be released? Remember to let us know, we'll definitely be there to support you!"

"No need to thank us!" The black man had particularly small eyes that squinted when he looked at people, "Just give us free movie tickets!"

At this point, he seemed unable to contain himself and burst into laughter. The chubby man was also laughing, lightly tapping the table as if he had discovered the funniest thing in the world.

The tall, skinny man didn't speak but was also laughing.

Ignoring the chubby man and the black man, Matthew went straight to the desk of the tall, skinny man and respectfully said, "Mr. List, I'm here."

"Hmm." List nodded.

"I deeply regret not listening to your advice." Matthew knew he needed to stroke List's ego since he was the person in charge of the company's drivers, "I suffered a loss and regret it terribly. I hope you can give me another chance."

"Young man..." List said in a casual tone, "you should learn from your experiences."

Matthew nodded vigorously, "Yes."

List continued, "And stay grounded."

Matthew kept nodding, "Yes."

Seeing Matthew's good attitude, List said, "You worked fairly hard before, and with the stock market booming, those idiots quit to trade stocks. The company is short-staffed, so I'll give you another chance."

"Thank you!" Matthew knew the latter was the main reason, "I will definitely work hard."

List took out two forms from the drawer, made a few marks with a pen, then made a call and handed the forms to Matthew. "Go handle the paperwork."

Matthew took the forms and, according to the information in his memory, went to the second floor to handle the employment procedures.

With List's introduction and Matthew's previous experience at the company, it took less than half an hour for Matthew to complete the employment procedures and return to the third floor. He was about to inform List so he could find a place to stay and come back to work the next day.

"No need to wait until tomorrow." Instead of letting Matthew leave, List threw him a bunch of keys, "You start working tonight. Any problem?"

Matthew needed help now, so he wouldn't refuse. He immediately said, "No problem!"

List handed a stack of documents to Shawn, "The company is short-staffed these days..."

"I'm ready at any time!" Matthew seemed very enthusiastic.

"Good!" List nodded in satisfaction, "Johnny Lee Miller is one of the company's heavyweight clients. You'll be serving him tonight."

Then, List gave Matthew a few more instructions.

Leaving the third floor, Matthew first bought some cheap food to fill his stomach, then went to the driver's lounge on the first floor to check the specific work details. Unlike his memory, there was no one in the driver's lounge, as if the company was facing a labor shortage.

Sitting in a chair, Matthew opened the documents and carefully read them. This job wasn't complicated; it was relatively simple. One of the company's heavyweight clients, Johnny Lee Miller, was planning to host a solo extravagant party at his Malibu beach villa, attended by one man and numerous women.

His job was to pick up various female models connected to the company from different parts of Los Angeles in the afternoon, transport them to Malibu, and then pick them up the next morning...

After closing the documents and combining them with his memories, Matthew understood the job at hand, which related to tonight's work.

In fact, the job wasn't complicated; relatively speaking, it was quite simple. The Red Penguin Company provided high-end party services, and on the side, they also did some pimping-like work.

The company was facing a shortage of drivers, probably not just because of the stock market boom and people quitting to trade stocks, but also because of the nature of this job. But anyone with a bit of a way out and ability wouldn't want to do this kind of work.

But now, he didn't have the luxury of being picky.

After spending some time in the driver's lounge and organizing the documents, Matthew went to the underground parking lot and drove a Ford minivan, heading out onto the road.

At the beginning, he drove cautiously, but as time passed, he gradually became more confident. The memories of the previous person seemed to have completely become his own. As long as he wanted, the relevant memories would immediately appear.

Matthew drove westward, having already planned the route. He would first go to Westwood to pick up one person, then go to North Hollywood to pick up the remaining five, and finally drive directly to the wealthy area of Malibu's beach.

Entering Westwood, the Ford minivan made various turns and soon stopped outside a beautiful two-story building. Matthew looked at the spacious building and let out a long sigh. When would he be able to live in such a house?

It's time to work hard!

He honked the horn, and after a few seconds, the door of the building was pushed open from the inside. A blonde girl in shorts and a T-shirt walked out and waved to them through the iron railing of the courtyard.

"Wait for me for ten minutes!" the girl shouted loudly.

Matthew lowered the car window and made an OK gesture.

This girl was very punctual. Just as ten minutes passed, she walked out of the building with a large bag and got into the car. After getting in, she sat directly beside Matthew.

"Hi," she looked sunny and cheerful, "I'm Rachel."

"I'm Matthew."

Matthew glanced at her. Rachel had brownish-gold long hair and was now dressed differently, with a slim waist and long legs. From any perspective, she was more beautiful and lively than the blonde woman he had seen in the morning.

Starting the car, they headed towards North Hollywood. Rachel seemed to be outgoing and had been talking to him all along.

"Are you new here?" Rachel asked curiously, "How come I haven't seen you before?"

Matthew slowly increased the speed of the car, "I used to handle other aspects."

The previous Matthew used to handle low-end business.

Rachel kept staring at Matthew, "Cutie, being a driver is a waste!"

"Is it?" Matthew boasted shamelessly, "I think so too."

After saying that, he laughed.

Rachel also chuckled. After a while, she said again, "Are you interested in becoming a model? I can introduce you to a specialized company."

Matthew had no interest in that kind of modeling. He shook his head, "Being a driver suits me better. I'm an old driver."

"Tsk..." Rachel couldn't hide the disappointment on her face, "How much can a driver earn? Is it enough to support you?"

Matthew remained silent, not wanting to continue this discussion. Rachel's personality seemed nice, and she probably felt that what she just said was a bit too much, so she took the initiative to change the subject.

The two of them chatted for a while, and Matthew inadvertently asked more about the girls. They were somewhat similar to him; they had come to Hollywood to pursue their dreams of becoming stars, but not everyone had Julia Roberts' luck, so they ended up accidentally becoming models.

As the car gradually entered the area of North Hollywood, which was similar to Westwood and belonged to one of the better residential areas in Los Angeles, Matthew picked up the other five girls one by one, and then drove towards Malibu.

Unlike Rachel, who was different, the other five female models were taller, sexier, with heavy makeup and voluptuous figures. Moreover, they came in a variety of races from black, white, Latino, to Asian, seemingly catering to the tastes of Johnny Lee Miller, the company's client.

For some reason, Matthew always felt that these five female models were somewhat similar to the blonde woman he had met in the morning, especially in terms of temperament.

As the sun began to set in the west, the Ford minivan arrived at the Malibu beach villa area. Here, one luxurious mansion after another stood, even the smallest one was beyond Matthew's reach with his current income level, even if he struggled for a lifetime.

The car entered a small estate, and the girls got out one after another. Before getting out, they asked for Matthew's phone number and asked where the car would wait. Afterwards, Matthew followed the instructions of the estate guards, started the car, and drove towards the gate of the estate.

As they drove past, Matthew's eyes kept wandering to both sides. Fountains, private swimming pools, tennis courts, front gardens, tall walls with electric fences, and heavily guarded gates; the luxurious furnishings made him can't help but marvel.

"When will I be able to have such a house?"

As he drove out of the gate of the estate, Matthew's mind was filled with such thoughts.

He didn't leave but turned around, parking the car in a small parking area diagonally opposite to the estate.

According to the regulations of the Red Penguin Company, he had to wait with the car here, just in case.

The sun quickly set, and the sky gradually darkened. Intense music faintly emanated from the estate, and as Matthew looked over, laser beams lit up the night sky, signaling the beginning of a wild party.

Thinking of the six young and beautiful girls, Matthew couldn't help but feel envious.

Dong — Dong —

The car door was suddenly knocked from the outside. Matthew turned to look, and at some point, a person wearing a baseball cap and carrying a handbag had come to the side of the car.

"Can we talk?" 

It was a woman's voice!