“What if the cup holder is too small?”
“Engineering in another country,” Diane said. “Outside my jurisdiction.”
Emily smiled and tucked the card into her wallet.
Diane looked toward Frank.
“I spoke to the sales team.”
He sighed. “Diane.”
“No names. No public confession. No speech about a secret investor walking among them.”
“Good.”
“I told them what we’re changing and why. Customer rotation. Lost-opportunity review. Price adjustments need manager authorization. New salespeople keep primary credit unless a documented transfer happens.”
Frank nodded.
“And I told them something else,” she said.
He waited.
“I told them the standard is not ‘treat every customer like they might secretly be important.’ The standard is ‘stop deciding which customers are important.’”
Frank smiled.
“That is better than anything I would have said.”
“I’m writing that down because you rarely admit such things.”
Emily looked between them.
“You two really have known each other a long time.”
“Twelve years,” Diane said.
“Thirteen,” Frank corrected.
“Twelve and a half.”
“Thirteen fiscal years.”
Diane rolled her eyes. “This is why people hide when investors visit.”
Emily laughed.
Diane looked at her. “Your grandfather helped us through a bad expansion decision years ago. He was one of the few people in the room who told us to close two underperforming locations instead of throwing more money at them because we were embarrassed to admit the strategy was wrong.”
Frank frowned. “That is an unnecessarily flattering version.”
“It is accurate.”
Diane continued. “He also insisted we place every displaced employee we could before management received retention bonuses.”
Emily glanced at him.
Frank looked away.
“He doesn’t tell stories where he comes out looking good,” Diane said.
“He tells plenty where other people do.”
“That is true.”
Emily smiled.
Frank cleared his throat. “Is the car ready?”
“It has been ready for twenty minutes.”
“Then why are we all still standing here?”
“Because you people keep talking.”
Emily laughed again.
Diane stepped away to answer a phone call, leaving Marcus with them.
Frank checked the time. They had been at the dealership for nearly six hours. It was longer than he expected, but he did not regret the day. Emily had learned more about buying a car than any efficient, prearranged transaction could have taught her.
She checked the rear seat one last time to make sure her tote was secure.
“Emergency kit in the trunk?” Frank asked.
“Yes.”
“Insurance active?”
“Yes.”
“Registration?”
“Yes.”
“Phone connected?”
“Yes.”
“Seat adjusted?”