A yellow taxi pulled up beside a four-story building on Hollywood Boulevard. Matthew paid the fare, pushed open the door, and got out. He checked his phone; he still had plenty of time. He unhurriedly walked to the front of the small building. The most striking feature outside the building's main entrance was a red penguin sculpture. Above the penguin hung a small brass plaque with a clear inscription in bold letters: Red Penguin Services!
Matthew recalled the relevant information and strode into the building. A pretty female employee at the front desk immediately came over, ready to greet him, but stopped when she recognized his face.
"Hi..." Matthew casually greeted her. "I have an appointment with Mr. Lister."
The female employee didn't try to stop him. She nodded and said, "He should be in his office."
Matthew went up the stairs and soon arrived at an office on the third floor. He gently knocked on the door, and after hearing a 'Come in' from inside, he pushed the door open and entered.
"Oh, our big star is here!"
A distinctly mocking voice immediately chimed in, "Big shot, have you made enough money to throw a wild party?"
There were three people in the office: the speaker was a bald black man, and the other two were a Fat Man and a tall, thin middle-aged man.
"Made a fortune, huh?" The Fat Man also scoffed. "When will your film be released? Remember to let us know; we'll definitely be there to support you!"
"No need to say thank you!" The black man had unusually small eyes that always narrowed into slits when he looked at people. "Just give us free movie tickets!"
At this, he seemed unable to hold back any longer and burst into laughter. The Fat Man also laughed, gently tapping the table with one hand, as if he had discovered the funniest thing in the world.
The tall, thin man didn't speak but was also laughing.
Matthew ignored the Fat Man and the black man and walked directly to the tall, thin man's desk. He respectfully said, "Mr. Lister, I'm here."
"Mm-hmm," Lister nodded.
"I deeply regret not listening to you now," Matthew said, knowing he needed to satisfy Lister's vanity, as Lister was in charge of all the company's drivers. "I've suffered a loss and regret it terribly. I hope you can give me another chance."
"Young man..." Lister said casually, "You need to learn from your experiences."
Matthew nodded profusely. "Yes."
Lister continued, "You need to know how to be down-to-earth."
Matthew continued to nod. "Yes."
Lister saw Matthew's excellent attitude and said, "You were quite diligent in your previous work. Now that the stock market is booming, those scoundrels have all resigned to play the stock market, and 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."
Lister took out two forms from a drawer, scribbled on them with a pen, and then made a phone call. He handed the forms to Matthew. "Go take care of the paperwork."
Matthew took the forms and, according to the information in his memory, went to the second floor to complete the onboarding process.
With Lister's word and Matthew having worked there before, it took less than half an hour for Matthew to complete the onboarding. He returned to the third floor, intending to inform Lister so he could go find a place to stay and come back to work tomorrow.
"No need to wait until tomorrow." Lister didn't let Matthew leave. Instead, he tossed him a set of car keys. "You start working tonight. Any problems?"
Matthew, currently in need of a favor, naturally wouldn't refuse. He immediately said, "No problem!"
Lister handed a stack of documents to Matthew. "The company is short-staffed right now, so these next few days..."
"I'm on standby!" Matthew seemed very eager.
"Mm, good!" Lister nodded in satisfaction. "Johnny Lee Miller is a major client of the company."
"You'll be serving him tonight."
Lister then gave Matthew a few more instructions.
Matthew left the third floor, first buying some cheap food outside to fill his stomach. Then he went to the drivers' lounge on the first floor, intending to review the specific job details in the documents. Unlike his memory, there was no one in the driver's room; it seemed the company was experiencing a staffing shortage.
Sitting on a chair, Matthew opened the documents and read them carefully, as they pertained to his work tonight.
Actually, the job wasn't complicated; relatively speaking, it was quite simple. A major client of the company named Johnny Lee Miller was planning to throw a party at his beach villa in Malibu—a solo super party, the kind with one man and N women.
His job was to pick up the female models who had business connections with the company from various locations in Los Angeles in the afternoon, take them to Malibu, and then bring them back the next morning. Closing the documents and combining them with his memories, Matthew understood. In some ways, these female models were high-class escorts. Red Penguin Services provided high-end party services and also did some pimping-like work on the side.
The company's driver shortage was probably not just due to the so-called resignations to play the booming stock market; it was also inextricably linked to the nature of this job. Who with any prospects or ability would be willing to do this kind of work?
But at the moment, he didn't have the luxury of being picky.
After staying in the driver's room for a while and organizing the documents, Matthew went to the underground parking lot, got into a Ford minivan, and drove onto the road.
At first, he drove cautiously, but after a while, he grew bolder. The memories of his predecessor seemed to have completely become his own; whenever he wanted, the relevant memories would immediately appear.
Matthew drove west. He had already planned his route: first to Westwood to pick up one person, then to North Hollywood to pick up the remaining five, and then directly to the wealthy beach area of Malibu.
After entering Westwood, the Ford minivan turned left and right, quickly stopping outside the yard of a beautiful two-story house. Matthew looked at the spacious house and let out a long sigh. When would he be able to live in a house like this?
It was time to work hard!
He honked the horn, and a few seconds later, the door of the small building was pushed open from the inside. A blonde girl in shorts and a T-shirt walked out and waved at him through the iron fence of the yard.
"Wait for me ten minutes!" the girl shouted.
Matthew rolled down the car window and made an OK gesture.
The girl was very punctual. Just after ten minutes, she walked out of the building with a large bag and, after getting into the car, sat directly next to Matthew.
"Hi," she said, looking sunny and cheerful. "I'm Rachel."
"I'm Matthew."
Matthew turned to look at her. The girl had long, brownish-blonde hair and had changed into formal attire. She had a slender waist and long legs. In every way, she was prettier and more vibrant than the blonde woman he had seen that morning.
He started the car and drove onto the road leading to North Hollywood. Matthew focused on driving, while the girl next to him, who seemed to be a natural conversationalist, kept talking to him.
"Are you new?" Rachel asked him curiously. "How come I haven't seen you before?"
Matthew slowly increased the car's speed. "I used to be in charge of other areas."
The previous Matthew was responsible for low-end businesses.
Rachel kept staring at Matthew. "Handsome, you're wasting your talent being a driver!"
"Am I?" Matthew said shamelessly. "I think so too."
After saying that, he laughed first.
Rachel also chuckled. After a while, she said, "Interested in modeling? I can introduce you to a specialized agency."
Matthew had no interest in that kind of modeling. He shook his head and said, "Driving suits me better. I'm an old hand at it."
"Tsk..." The girl didn't hide the disappointment on her face. "How much can a driver earn? is it enough to support you?"
Matthew fell silent, not wanting to continue the discussion. Rachel seemed to have a good personality and probably felt her previous words were a bit harsh, so she proactively changed the subject.
The two chatted for a while, and Matthew, intentionally or unintentionally, learned more about the girl. She was somewhat similar to him, having originally come to Hollywood to pursue her dream of becoming a star, but not everyone had Julia Roberts' luck, so she ended up becoming a model by chance.
The car gradually entered North Hollywood. Like Westwood, this area was one of the nicer residential areas of Los Angeles. Matthew picked up the other five girls one after another, then drove rapidly towards Malibu.
The five girls who got in later, unlike Rachel, were taller and more sensual. Each was heavily made up, had a hot figure, and ranged from black, white, and Latina to Asian. It seemed the Red Penguin Company was very considerate of its clients' tastes.
For some reason, Matthew always felt that these five models, in certain aspects, especially their temperament, were somewhat similar to the blonde woman from the morning.
As the sun leaned westward, the Ford minivan arrived at the Malibu beach villa area, where one mansion after another stood. Even the smallest one, at Matthew's current income level, would be unattainable even after a lifetime of effort.
The car drove into a small estate. The girls got out one by one. Before getting out, they asked for Matthew's phone number and where the car would be waiting. Matthew then, according to the estate guard's instructions, started the car and drove towards the estate gate.
As he drove, his eyes constantly drifted to both sides: fountains, private pools, tennis courts, front gardens, tall walls with electric fences, heavily guarded gates. The luxurious setup made him gasp in awe.
"When will I ever have a house like this?"
As he drove out of the estate gate, Matthew's mind was filled with such thoughts.
He didn't leave but turned around and parked the car in a small parking area diagonally opposite the estate.
According to Red Penguin Company regulations, he had to wait there with the car, just in case.
The sun quickly set, and the sky gradually darkened. Loud music faintly drifted from the estate. Matthew looked up, and beams of laser light illuminated the night sky. A party had begun.
Thinking of the six young and beautiful girls, Matthew couldn't help but feel envious.
Thump—thump—
The car door was suddenly knocked from outside. Matthew turned to look. Unbeknownst to him, someone wearing a baseball cap and carrying a handbag had come to the car.
"Can we talk?"
It was a woman's voice!