“For yourself?”
“My truck is fifteen years old.”
“You love that truck.”
“I do.”
“So?”
Walter sighed.
“My knees love it less every year.”
Claire laughed.
“And the second one?”
“For Rebecca.”
“Your daughter?”
“Her old SUV has two hundred thousand miles on it.”
Claire crossed her arms.
“She’ll never let you buy her a one-hundred-thirty-thousand-dollar car.”
“That’s why I wasn’t planning to ask.”
Claire shook her head.
“You haven’t changed.”
“People keep telling me that.”
Emma approached carefully.
“Mr. Mercer?”
“Yes?”
“I wanted to say… I’m sorry I didn’t step in sooner.”
“You did step in.”
“Not soon enough.”
Walter studied her.
“How long have you worked here?”
“Four months.”
“Reception?”
“Yes.”
“Do you want to stay in reception?”
She hesitated.
“I’d like to move into sales eventually.”
Claire looked at her.
Walter noticed.
“Why haven’t you?”
Emma glanced between them.
“I was told I needed more experience.”
“Do you?”
“Probably.”
Walter smiled slightly.
“Best answer I’ve heard all morning.”
Emma smiled nervously.
Walter looked at Claire.
“Put her in the next sales training group.”
Claire nodded.
“I can do that.”
Emma’s eyes widened.
“Thank you.”
Walter raised a hand.
“Don’t thank me yet. Training isn’t a promotion.”
“I know.”
“Good.”
He pointed toward the black SUV.
“Now tell me what you know about that vehicle.”
Emma looked startled.
“The Imperial?”
“Yes.”
She looked at Claire.
Claire said nothing.
Emma took a breath.
“It has the twin-turbo V8, standard all-wheel drive, adaptive suspension, and the executive interior package.”
Walter nodded.
“Towing?”
“Seven thousand seven hundred pounds with the factory towing package.”
Walter’s eyebrows rose.
“Not ‘seven thousand, give or take.’”
Emma smiled.
“No, sir.”
“Cargo capacity?”
“Forty-one cubic feet behind the second row. More with the seats folded.”
“Warranty?”
“Four years or fifty thousand miles basic. Six years or seventy thousand on the powertrain.”
Walter looked at Claire.
“She needs experience?”
Claire gave him a thin smile.
“She also needs product-confidence training and closing practice.”