"Move it," Derek said. "Take the bus somewhere else, then come back if you still feel like playing businesswoman." Gloria met his eyes. "I won't move a properly parked vehicle merely because you dislike it. I'll wait for Anna."
Kelsey stepped out from behind the desk, her phone in her hand. "Derek, she's still standing there," she said. "You told her what would happen. Just call the tow company."
Derek nodded, his irritation sharpened by the presence of witnesses. "Fine. You have a choice, ma'am. Move that bus right now or I will call a tow truck and have it removed."
The threat carried a private irony Gloria did not mention. She owned a yard full of commercial vehicles, employed trained drivers, and had spent three decades negotiating towing and recovery arrangements. She knew exactly what a lawful vehicle removal required and how quickly an improper tow could turn a minor dispute into a serious one. But she had not come to show Derek how much she knew. She had come to review a fleet proposal, and the fact that he continued to stand between her and that ordinary task told her almost everything she needed to know.
"I have a confirmed appointment," she repeated. "And I am not leaving merely because you say I should." Derek took a step toward her. The movement was not a strike, but it was close enough that Gloria shifted her weight without thinking. She was no longer frightened of being embarrassed in public; she was thinking about the way his anger had escalated from contempt to physical contact on the first visit, and she did not intend to give him a reason to repeat it.
"Derek, stop." Anna's voice came from behind the row of passenger vans, where she had been collecting the final vehicle records. She crossed the showroom with the proposal folder held against her chest.
"Mrs. Hayes is my client. I'm the one who confirmed this appointment, and she's here at the time we agreed." Derek turned toward her with disbelief that quickly became anger.
"Then you should never have booked it," he snapped. "I told you to stop wasting the floor's time." Anna stopped beside Gloria, not in front of her as though she needed to be rescued, but close enough to make clear she would no longer leave the customer alone with him. "I visited her company. I reviewed the routes, and the fleet team has prepared a written proposal. We have a real purchasing request, and we're ready to discuss it."
"A request isn't a sale," Derek said. "And I told you to get her out of here." Anna drew a steady breath. "If there is a concern with the appointment, you can review the file with me.
But you cannot threaten to tow a customer's vehicle because you don't like how she arrived." Kelsey folded her arms. "You think because she took you to look at some buses, she owns the showroom now?"