I watched Tami battle Devin for three laps before he made a mistake and she got by him. Once she was ahead, he had no chance. Her kart was simply faster. Sandy’s lead evaporated when she started to catch the slower karts. Tami had already navigated through the field so she had a decided advantage. At the finish of the ten-lap race, she was the winner.
Devin wasn’t happy when both Cora and Caryn also beat him. It didn’t help he was outnumbered. The women all let him know they were better drivers. Lou and I were smart enough to stay out of it.
NOLA MOTORSPORTS PARK also had tracks for real cars. Devin was excited about something when he brought Lou and me over to take a look. The track had two classes of cars. They had Ford Mustangs, which had been modified to race, for you to pick from. They also had exotics. You could drive any of the following cars: Lamborghini Huracan LP610, Ferrari 458 Italia, Lamborghini Gallardo LP560, Audi R8 V10, McLaren MP4-12C, or Nissan GT-R.
Lou and I debated as to which car would be the most fun to drive. He knew all the stats. The Mustang was a 325-horsepower monster muscle car. The Lamborghini Huracan LP610 was super-quick and could go from 0 to 60 in just under 3.2 seconds. It also had all-wheel-drive. Ferrari 458 Italia had the engine in the back and Lou said it would do 0 to 60 in 3.4 seconds. Lamborghini Gallardo LP560 was a sharp-looking car, but in my limited opinion did a disappointing 0 to 60 in 3.7 seconds. Audi R8 V10 fell out of consideration when I found out the 525-horsepower engine took 4.7 seconds to get it to 60 miles an hour. I fell in love with the McLaren MP4-12C. Not only did it look cool, it blew the others away: its 0-to-60 time was 2.8 seconds. The final car was the Nissan GT-R. Lou popped the hood and there was a little tag on the engine that said it had been hand-built and then gave the name of the mechanic who put it together.
I was drooling over driving the McLaren until I heard a soft rumble and looked up to see Devin driving a Dodge Charger. What caught my eye was it was bright orange with a blue hood stripe. On the hood was the number 11. When I looked closer, I could see it had ‘Range Sports’ stenciled near the gas cap.
“That, my friend, is the Dodge Charger Hellcat, which makes an amazing 707 horsepower from its supercharged 6.2-liter V-8, making it the most powerful production sedan on earth. This beast will do 0 to 60 in 3.4 seconds and tops out at about 200 miles per hour,” Lou told me as Devin parked it in front of us.
Devin walked around and tossed me the keys. I looked at him, confused.
“It’s yours. Range Sports has partnered with Dodge to make a Dodge Charger that kicks butt,” Devin said.
I suddenly realized what Sandy meant by ‘grand gesture.’ Devin had just given me this car. I raced around and jumped into the driver’s seat. As I was adjusting the driver’s seat and steering wheel, Devin was pointing out the features they’d added to the car. Devin and Lou quickly got in.
“Instead of the standard navigation and radio, we installed a tablet. There are two more installed in the backs of the seats for your passengers. It has its own Wi-Fi hotspot setup to link you to the web. The tablets have built-in webcams so you can video chat while driving. Everything is voice-activated as well, allowing you to operate everything without having to touch the screen,” Devin said, and then demonstrated by calling out a station number and telling it to raise the volume.
I put my seatbelt on, as did Devin and Lou. I fired it up and felt the rumble of the motor as it came to life. I was a little scared of how powerful this car was. One of the track staff motioned me out, and when I put the slightest pressure on the accelerator the car responded instantly. As we came out of the first corner, I looked down and we were doing 80 mph. I punched it and felt the tires break loose for a second and then grab. When I came to the end of the straightaway, we were doing close to 130 mph. I could see me losing my license quickly if I drove this too much.
I slowed down, not being confident about driving so fast. As I rounded the track, I constantly had to back off because this monster wanted to run. When we pulled into the pits, Tami and Cora were waiting for us. I tossed the keys to Tami and let her take Cora for a ride. Tami, on the other hand, wasn’t the least bit nervous about opening it up. I grinned as I watched her put it through its paces.
“So, what do you think?” Devin asked.
“Devin, this is too much. I’m not sure I can accept this.”
“Nonsense. I wanted to share this with you; and plus, it’ll give us all kinds of advertising with you driving it.”
Devin seemed pleased with himself. I decided to take the high road and graciously accept his gift. When Tami came back in, I noticed she didn’t give me back the keys.
Chapter 4 – New Orleans
Tuesday June 2
I met Caryn, Cora, Sandy and Tami for breakfast. I needed to talk to them about my conversation with Devin.
“Devin agreed to trade personal assistants yesterday. Candy, that means you work for me now.”
All four of them looked at me like I’d lost my mind. I think the news shocked them so much none of them caught that I’d called Caryn ‘Candy.’ I knew if I cracked a smile, they’d be all over me.
“I think you better explain this to me,” Caryn said.
“I personally think this is a good trade. Devin gets Cora, who I think secretly hates me, and I get Caryn, who has her MBA from Cal Berkeley. Plus, according to her, she has ‘mad stripper skills.’”
This was some of my best stuff, and they ignored me.
“Dear Lord, my brother is brain-damaged. There’s no way Range Sports is allowing Caryn to leave. We don’t allow our employees to be traded,” Sandy said, being way too serious about this. Then she turned to Caryn. “I’m sorry; that is, unless you want to.”
“As of this moment, I might consider it,” Caryn grumbled.
“Before we do anything drastic, like you moving in with me, I need to explain. Devin hit on Nancy last Christmas. I was testing a theory to see if it was a one-time occurrence or if he’d try it again. I asked Cora to pose as my girlfriend to see how he’d react. Sandy, what was the verdict?”
“I advised David to never bring another girl anywhere near my brother. He has a real blind spot with women. Cora, don’t worry, I’ll have a talk with him,” Sandy said.
“What if I’m okay with it?” Cora asked tentatively.
I snorted and then smiled. Cora needed to know what she was getting herself into.
“Cora, you’re a big girl. If you want to date Devin, talk to me later and I’ll help you,” I offered, and then turned to Sandy. “So, does this mean I get to keep the car?”
“If you can get the keys back from Tami,” she teased me.
AFTER BREAKFAST, I invited Cora and Tami back to my room. When the door was closed, I sat Cora down to make sure she was okay with Devin hitting on her.
“Yes, David, I can handle Devin,” she assured me.
“I know you can, but this is all mixed up in a work environment. I want it made clear I’m not trying to get you to do anything.”
“No, I don’t think that at all. I think you really are worried about me, and you’re sweet for being like that. I’m curious about your advice.”
“Let me clarify something. Your sister and I are close. We talk about a wide range of topics. Sometimes we share things that might not normally be shared with casual friends,” I stumbled through.
“It’s okay. I think I know what you’re getting at,” she said, letting me off the hook.
Tami gave me a look that told me we would talk about it later.
“Now let me tell you about Devin. He grew up on a ranch that’s twenty miles from the nearest town. He lives in a valley which is beautiful, but isolated. He was never very active with the ladies, so he doesn’t have a lot of experience,” I explained.