"I'm aware," Daniel replied. "I noticed her job before I noticed yours, because she was actually doing it."
Maria turned pink and looked down at her hands. Victor gave a strained nod.
"Fine. Maria can coordinate the paperwork. Let's just get the car sold."
Maria approached with a folder and tried to hide her shaking fingers.
"Sir, I'm sorry. I never asked your full name for the contract." Daniel took the pen she offered and wrote it on the first form.
"Daniel Frank Brooks." As soon as he said the middle name, Walt's eyes lowered briefly, and Daniel understood that the older man was remembering his father again.
Brent, who had been searching on another device without stopping the recording, looked up suddenly. "Brooks," he said.
"Wait. Brooks Holdings? Are you Daniel Brooks from Brooks Holdings?"
Daniel nodded.
"That's me, Mr. Whitaker. Though I don't think we've ever met."
Brent stared at the search result on his screen. The photograph showed a man in a dark suit, not the worn jacket standing before him, but the face was unmistakable.
"Victor," Brent said, his voice losing all trace of humor, "he's the chief executive of Brooks Holdings. He's on the national list of billionaires."
Victor snatched the phone, read the article, then read it again. "That can't be right. He's wearing a jacket with a hole in it."
Daniel looked down at the patch near his elbow. "My father wore this jacket. I wore it today because I wanted to see how many doors would open for it."
Vanessa took a small step backward. Tyler stopped attempting to smile. Maria looked from Daniel to the article and back again, but her expression held more confusion than awe. She was remembering every word she had said, searching to see whether she had behaved differently from how she would toward anyone else. She had not, and for a moment relief made her knees weak.
"Mr. Brooks," Victor began, clearing his throat, "if I'd known who you were, I would never have allowed—" Daniel raised a hand. "That's exactly the problem, Mr. Sterling. You would have treated me well only if you knew. You had no difficulty treating me badly when you believed I was unimportant."
Officer Lawson closed her notebook. She understood that the complaint was no longer what dispatch had described.
"There's no basis for me to detain this customer," she said. "I'll document the call and leave you to resolve the business transaction. And for the record, I would encourage everybody to remember that being rude isn't a reason to ask police to solve a sales disagreement."
She looked once toward Daniel. "Are you safe to remain here, sir?"
"Yes, Officer," he answered. "Thank you for asking."
The officer left as quietly as she had entered. Daniel watched the doors close, relieved that no one had been hurt and grateful that a stranger had insisted on hearing the facts. He had not staged the call to police, and he had not wanted an officer involved. He had come to purchase a car and to learn whether the attitude that had shamed his father was still alive, and the dealership was answering the question more thoroughly than he had expected.