The manager began trembling even harder. She thought, “God, I’m done! I’m done! How could I not have known that this bitch is Mr. Sandler’s little girlfriend? Mr. Sandler! Shit, I might as well be dead. I’m done.”
Mr. Sandler scowled and hesitated to push this odd drunk girl away. The expression on his face remained blank, and his dark eyes, shining like pearls, revealed his deep feeling of annoyance and discontent.
But it was a life or death type of situation for Scarlett. She was in trouble. She clenched his arms more tightly, and tears began streaming from her eyes.
From this vantage point, Mr. Sandler finally saw the girl’s face clearly. Her ruined makeup and faded, cracking lipstick couldn’t conceal her yet unripe and tender beauty. Her eyes were watery with tears. They were filled with panic and despair– she was like an injured fawn in the forest.
Mr. Sandler had heard of these types of places. They dealt in the business of desire and sex– they offered wealthy male patrons, young girls, for sex. The men could do anything they desired to the girls, who were often virgins, too.
The girl in his arms kept muttering to him, “Please… please help me…” He felt sympathetic towards her. He wasn’t thinking rationally anymore. So he held her more tightly in arms and turned to the manager, “Who gave you the courage and stupidity to dare touch my woman?”
Hearing these words, Scarlett knew she was saved. She breathed a deep sigh of relief, and in a moment, she fainted. She had lost consciousness.
The manager suddenly realized that she was in great trouble; her career, indeed, was jeopardized.
She was so stunned that her hands trembled violently, and all of a sudden, her knees gave way, and she found herself kneeling down on the ground. Her lips trembled so hard that she couldn’t even say a word.
She tried to calm herself down and begged for Mr. Sandler’s forgiveness, “Mr. Sandler, I am so sorry. My apologies, I made a mistake. Your lady… Scarlett, she has been here for a long time, but she never told anyone that she was your woman. You see, I wouldn’t have laid a finger on her if I had known that she is yours. Mr. Sandler, please forgive me. She hasn’t been hurt, I didn’t hurt her. Please, just forgive me. Please let me go. Don’t punish me…”
Mr. Sandler didn't say a word but stared at the creeping figure on the ground. The manager was so panicky that she began to overheat, sweat rolling down her back.
After so many years working at Mystic Night Garden, she knew very well who Mr. Sandler was and what he could do. If he wanted to, he could ruin her business entirely and screw her over in every way, even her family. She crept towards Mr. Sandler and begged, “Please… please!” as he regarded her icily.
While all this was happening, her two bodyguards just stood in the corner with their heads down. It was as if they were wishing they could become invisible, disappearing into the wall. They felt like shrinking themselves too small to be seen by Mr. Sandler.
Mr. Sandler stopped her and finally said, “She’s too drunk right now. I can't take her home while she’s in this state. Go, prepare a room for her. I want her to rest, and I want you to take good care of her. Don’t be troublesome again, or I’ll get rid of you. Get out of my face now.”
“Sir, I can’t thank you enough. Thank you for being so merciful. I’m so grateful. Thank you!” The manager stood up and wiped away the beads of cold sweat that had formed on her forehead.
She took out a key with her trembling hands and showed it to Mr. Sandler. “This is the VIP room on the 25th floor. Have a good time, Mr. Sandler.” Her words were indecent. Mr. Sandler could not have cared less.
“Take her to the room.” He said, he threw the room key to his bodyguard, who stood quietly behind him and walked away alone.
***
As Scarlett stepped out of the library with some books in her arms, she got a phone call from Sophie– her friend Sophie Rich was a Russian language and literature major at the nearby university. She was already in her senior year.
“Hey, Sophie!” Scarlett picked up the phone and greeted the girl on the other side with a cheerful voice. Usually, when Scarlett received a call from Sophie, it meant that there was a lucrative job waiting for her.
Scarlett felt proud of her outfit of the day: a pearl-white blouse and denim shorts. The shirt looked neat and still trendy, tucked it into her little shorts.
She held her phone in one hand and walked all the way to the school gate. As she walked, numerous pairs of eyes followed her every move, looking her up and down as they regarded her figure with admiration.
Scarlett had been ignored and excluded by most of the other girls ever since she had entered the School of Foreign Languages three years ago. In a patriarchal society, girls often feel in competition with one another, with each vying to be thought of as more beautiful than the others to gain the attention and approval of men. Scarlett knew how female competition worked and wished all the other girls would regard her as a sister or close friend rather than a rival.
Still, most of the other girls didn’t like her because they compared themselves to her and felt inferior. With Scarlett around, they didn’t receive the attention that they wanted. Instead, the spotlight would be cast entirely on Scarlett. She looked like a movie star. She had glistening, light brown skin and a perfectly lean body that was full and voluptuous in all the right places.
She looked cold when she didn’t smile because her chiseled face appeared sharp and unforgiving, making her proud temperament surface. But when she smiled, with her dimples, and pearly white, neatly arranged teeth, no one could resist that adorable and pleasant face.
Most of the year, Scarlett was not seen at school. A rumor spread that she was the mistress of a wealthy old man who lived in Irving City. The original tweet that exposed Scarlett had been retweeted more than 2,000 times! The girls at school would update the post every day to reflect so-called “new evidence” concerning the scandal.The latest tweets read:“Girls, S. is holding a LOUIS VUITTON LIMITED today. Do you guys believe that a college girl could afford that? I don’t. [picture]”“NE: Damn. Scarlett’s new sneaker is my FAVORITE. I tried to reserve one, but I failed because you know what, only FIFTY PERSONS IN THIS PLANET got it! God, that man must be wealthy. #ScarlettMorrisIsABitch”But these offensive tweets didn&rsq
She knew she wanted to study further, and now she was well-prepared to do so both academically and financially. She decided she didn’t want to just let go of this opportunity.Twenty minutes later, she got off the bus and walked towards the hotel. She tried to relax her face. She took a deep breath and muttered to herself, “Oof… I’d better get going now and earn some money for myself. I must seize the day.”Scarlett saw, from a distance, that Sophie was waiting for her at the front door of the hotel. “We gotta be quick. Let’s go change our clothes first.” Sophie said and took her to a locked room.Scarlett wasn’t shy in front of Sophie– they had been friends for so long, and they had both seen each other naked anyway. They were more like sisters at this po
Back from the BanquetAs Scarlett arrived at her dorm room, she jumped right into her bed. Five hours standing in high heels numbed her legs and exhausted her body all over.“You’ve finally come back. Hey, don’t go to sleep just yet. I’ve got something to ask you.” Bell, Scarlett’s roommate and best friend at school, came to her and patted her face softly. Bell Harper had been by her side through the years.“Shoot!” Scarlett felt like she had no strength left, not even to talk.“Did Mr. Howard talk to you?”“The thing about the letter of recommendation?”Bell nodded and then lowered her voice. “He said t
“What? An online friend?” Scarlett couldn’t help herself. How silly of Bell to trust a stranger on the Internet, she thought.“Shhhh, shut up.” Bell covered Scarlett’s mouth, “It’s not like that, okay? I’ve known him for a long time, and it’s not like I just agreed to meet a total stranger. I’m not that absurd, okay? We’ve even video chatted a few times. He seems chill to me. Totally legit.”Bell dragged Scarlett out of bed. Scarlett didn’t want to get up and go out on this date with Bell’s online friend, but Bell had left her with no options. Scarlett pulled out a casual graphic T-shirt and a pair of denim shorts from a pile of clothes on the floor and put them on in a rush.She sat on the bed for a while and looked at Bell ru
Scarlett laughed out loud. Dan continued, “Can you believe it? It’s my fifth Tinder date this month alone. I wouldn't say I like it, but I still can’t stop. I feel like I gotta keep trying my luck.”Scarlett took a closer look. “Well, you never know, maybe you’ll have fun! Maybe she’ll turn out to be a good match for you. You gotta stay hopeful, right?”Dan shook his head and sighed. “I’m not as optimistic as you.”“Well, by the time you find the one, you’ll be so experienced. Things will go smoothly and fall into place.’ Scarlett laughed again.Dan gazed at her lovely face, and a sudden sadness rose from the bottom of his heart. Would he ever be able to confess his love to Scarlett? Woul
Sophie put the cigarette back unwillingly and said, “Oh, did I tell you about the casting next week? It’s for an art class, and they’re looking for a model for figure drawing. I recommended you for it, so I gave them your number.”Scarlett muttered with some sausage still in her mouth, “Can I? I am not a professional model, though.”Sophie gazed into her eyes and said, “Don’t you want to make money? Just go!”Scarlett finished her sausage and nodded. “Yeah, yeah, you’re right. As always. You’re right, I guess I’ll go and see what happens.”Sophie took out her cell phone and made several calls, “Hmm, okay. Yeah, tell me everything. What? Where are they? Alright, alright, calm down. O
“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
Chunk touched his chin and asked curiously, “Then what do you want?”“This one.” She pointed to the reflector, and she was estimating its worth. “So, what do you think? What’s this worth, like 15k?” She grew excited at the thought of the fortune awaiting her.Chuck was surprised at her choice, “Ya know, you’re pretty bad at business. I gotta hand it to you.”“Deal? Or no deal?” Scarlett had her own set of principles.“Of course!” Chuck Sandler couldn’t wait to watch the show.The final race was just about to start. The cheering crowds were full of excitement; people screamed and shouted to no end.