Chapter 69_ Change

Arya had a couple of hours before the test, so she decided to go for a drive and clear her head. She drove towards the nearest cafeteria close to the office and got down from her car when she spotted Piston.

'The last time I saw him, he was in Evelyn's car. There's a good chance he's working with Nicholas' group of companies. Maybe I can learn something about their concept car before the test.' Arya mused silently, and walked towards him. "Morning, Piston. Enjoying the nice weather?" She greeted, and Piston turned to her with a smile on his face.

"Hey, Arya. It's a pleasure to see you here. How are you?" Piston greeted back.

"I have some time to kill right now. What about a friendly chat over a cup of coffee? For old time's sake." Arya suggested, and Piston nodded.

"Only if the check is on me." He said, and Arya grinned with a nod as they made their way to the cafeteria. Inside, there was a great smell of freshly made coffee, and the delicious smell of pastries wafted through the air. Arya sat down, and Piston sat opposite her. She ordered a cappuccino, while Piston went for a croissant.

Their orders came moments later, and the waitress walked away from their table. Arya was sipping on her cappuccino when she heard Piston speak, "After Kane taught me a lesson, I decided to turn my life around. I was tired of being a lonely thug. And thanks to Evelyn, I was able to score a job as a test driver for Nicholas' group of companies."

"I'm very happy for you, Piston. They're good at what they do. I heard their new concept car is amazing." Arya said, a sweet smile gracing her features.

"Yeah, it's nice, but they're fixing this innovative suspension system that's supposed to drive like silk. And it does on the track, but it feels like shit when the asphalt isn't perfectly smooth. I will never understand engineers." Piston answered, and Arya grinned, inwardly excited about the new information she had just got from Piston as she mused silently, 'That's what you get when you steal someone else's creation.'

"Engineers like to think that the car should do all the work, don't they?" She remarked.

"Yes, they—" All of a sudden, Piston froze as if he had just realized something, "Shit. Actually, I don't think I can share problems like this. We are friends, but you work for our competitor. Can you just forget about what I have just said? I love this job, and I don't want trouble." Piston pleaded, and Arya shook her head and thought, 'I'm sorry, Piston. But I'll be using this piece of information against Nicholas' group of companies.'

"Of course, I'm sorry about that. Why don't you tell me about Italy? Do you like living here? That must have been quite a change for you." Arya said, changing the topic, and Piston gave her a smile of relief.

"That was definitely a huge change. And I miss my streets, you know. But being away from my old 'buddies' is a big step towards becoming a better person." Piston said, and Arya blinked at him.

"You do sound like a completely different person." Arya said, making Piston grin at her.

"I thought over Kane's words after the race—that there are a lot of thugs on the streets, but only a few good drivers—so I wanted to see if I could be one of the few. But I don't know…. Sometimes it's hard to leave the old ways." Piston confessed, and Arya's eyes dimmed slightly at his words.

'He seems really determined to change. It won't hurt to be nice to him, at least, he gave me a very good piece of information.' Arya mused, and reached out to put her hand on his arm. "I know you, Piston. And I know you're a fighter. If you were able to earn your respect on the streets using your strength, you can do the same thing in the 'normal world' using the strength of your passion."

At her kind words, Piston almost teared up, and he said, "Thank you, Arya. That really means a lot to me."

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A few hours later, Arya arrived at the racetrack with Al-Hakim on time, and Evelyn walked towards them with a smile to welcome them. "Mr. Al-Hakim, Arya, what a pleasure to have both of you here." She greeted nicely, and Arya couldn't help but muse inwardly, 'She looks so sweet and happy. I hope her head won't explode trying to hold in all her hatred.'

"The pleasure is all mine, Miss Evelyn." Al-Hakim said,

"Thanks for having us, Evelyn." Arya replied, flashing Evelyn her best smile.

"I'm glad to show what our car can do." Evelyn said, looking at Al-Hakim.

Al-Hakim nodded, "Let's drive then." His tone sounded excited, to feel the asphalt under the tires of Nicholas' car as he took the wheel. On the smooth asphalt, the performance was amazing, and Arya mused worriedly, 'My God, it's like driving on glass, but with perfect traction.'

Arya looked at Al-Hakim and saw him smiling, as if he was enjoying the ride, and she turned to look at the rearview mirror, where she saw Evelyn's grin getting wider and wider. She clenched her fists and thought, 'I can't let this one fly, or we might lose the contract. I need to buy some more time for our technical team.'

"This car feels fantastic. Would you mind if I gave it a try?" Arya said with a smile, as she looked at Al-Hakim, and Evelyn frowned at her request.

"Well, actually —-"

"Not at all. I would love to hear an expert's opinion," Al-Hakim cut Evelyn off, and stopped the car as he switched seats with Arya. Arya got behind the wheel and started driving, and as Piston had told her, it really drove like silk on the smooth asphalt of the track. 'I need to find some rough terrain, like that service lane, for example.' Arya's eyes lit up evilly when she saw a service lane on the right that wasn't as well maintained as the actual racing circuit.

"So, what do you think?" Al-Hakim asked Arya.

"This car is incredible; it's like silk. Evelyn, I love your testing track. It's really well made," Arya said.

"Thank you, we are really proud of —- Hey, where are you going?" Evelyn yelled, when Arya accidentally drove into the service lane instead of keeping the car on the track.

"Oh, sorry, did I take the wrong lane? I thought —-" Arya trailed off, as the concept car touched the irregular asphalt, the suspension became rigid, like it was made of concrete, and the whole car vibrated so much that Arya was afraid the windshield might pop off, and she gently hit the brakes.