“I think this one is about seven hundred dollars high,” she said.
Marcus looked toward Diane.
Diane shook her head. “Don’t look at me. Work the deal.”
Marcus laughed nervously.
He entered the comparison into the pricing tool. The system showed a range. Emily’s proposed number fell near the bottom but within what the dealership could justify.
Marcus disappeared briefly to get authorization.
When he returned, he offered a reduction of five hundred dollars.
Emily countered with seven hundred.
Marcus said six.
Emily looked at Frank.
He deliberately looked away.
She stared at the page for several seconds.
“Six-fifty and you include the first scheduled service.”
Marcus blinked.
Frank hid a smile behind his coffee cup.
Marcus checked again.
Diane approved it.
Emily sat back with visible satisfaction.
“Deal,” she said.
Frank extended his hand across the desk toward his granddaughter.
“Congratulations. You just bought your first car.”
Emily’s face changed instantly.
The careful negotiator disappeared, replaced by the eighteen-year-old girl who had fallen in love with a blue sedan two hours earlier.
“Wait,” she said. “Bought bought?”
“If you still want it.”
“I do.”
“Then yes.”
She looked at the numbers again. “But the down payment—”
“We’ll discuss that part.”
Emily narrowed her eyes.
Frank recognized the expression.
It was exactly the expression Helen had worn whenever she suspected he was arranging something without telling her.
“What did you do?” Emily asked.
“Nothing yet.”
“Grandpa.”
“Finish the paperwork.”
She stared at him.
Marcus wisely pretended to become very interested in his computer screen.
The finance process took them into a smaller office with a round table, a computer monitor, and a wall covered with certificates Emily did not understand. The finance manager introduced herself as Priya Shah and, unlike several people they had encountered earlier, did not react to Frank’s name beyond a brief professional greeting.
“I understand Emily is the buyer,” she said.
“She is,” Frank replied.
Priya turned to Emily. “Then I’ll explain everything to you, and your grandfather can interrupt whenever he feels morally obligated.”
Frank looked offended. “I never interrupt.”
Emily and Priya both stared at him.
“All right,” he said. “Rarely.”
Priya began with financing options. Emily had limited credit history, as expected, but her part-time income and savings gave her more flexibility than Trent had assumed. Frank had already decided he would not co-sign a long loan simply to make a monthly payment appear smaller. He wanted Emily to understand the actual cost of borrowing.
Priya showed her several structures on the screen.
Thirty-six months. Forty-eight. Sixty.
The monthly payment dropped as the term lengthened. The total interest increased.
Emily followed the numbers carefully.
“So the cheaper payment is more expensive,” she said.