Emma nodded immediately.
“I do.”
Walter looked back at her.
“Show me the third-row access.”
Emma walked to the SUV.
For the next thirty minutes, she gave Walter a complete presentation.
She did not rush.
She did not assume.
When she didn’t know the answer to a question about long-term towing under mountain conditions, she said, “I’m not certain, but I can get the exact specification.”
Walter nodded approvingly.
“Good.”
“Good?”
“Never invent an answer to avoid looking uninformed.”
Emma returned with the correct data from the manufacturer’s technical guide.
Walter asked questions about maintenance intervals, suspension settings, visibility, insurance categories, and rear-seat comfort.
Then he drove the SUV.
Claire joined them.
Walter drove gently through city streets, then onto a highway, listening more than speaking.
The Imperial was quiet.
Almost too quiet.
He remembered the trucks he had driven as a young man: doors that rattled, heaters that blew cold air in January, manual transmissions that punished tired knees.
When they returned, he parked beside the showroom.
Emma waited.
Walter looked at her.
“What’s next?”
She hesitated.
“Normally, I’d ask whether you liked how it drove.”
“I did.”
“And whether there was anything you didn’t like.”
“The touch screen is too complicated.”
Emma laughed before she could stop herself.
“Sorry.”
“No, it is.”
“I can show you how to simplify the home screen.”
“You can remove half that nonsense?”
“Most of it.”
“Excellent. Now we’re negotiating.”
Back inside, Claire watched from a distance as Emma led Walter to a desk.
For the first time that morning, the room felt normal again.
Emma sat across from him.
“So, Mr. Mercer…”
“Walter.”
“Walter. Would you like me to prepare numbers for this exact vehicle?”
“Yes.”
“And you mentioned a second one.”
Walter leaned back.
“White exterior. Dark interior. Same options.”
Emma’s eyes widened slightly but she kept her composure.
“I’ll check inventory.”
“Good.”
“Will you be financing or purchasing outright?”
Walter smiled.
“That is an actual qualifying question.”
Emma turned red.
“Sorry.”
“Don’t be. Ask it.”
“Financing or cash?”
“Cash.”
“Trade-in?”
“My truck?”
“If you want.”
“No chance.”
“Understood.”
She pulled up the second vehicle.
“There’s a pearl-white Imperial at our Fort Collins location with the same package.”
Walter nodded.
“Have them hold it.”
Emma looked toward Claire.
Claire pretended not to watch.
Emma made the call herself.
Twenty minutes later, the paperwork began.
The total for both vehicles, taxes and fees included, came to just under $290,000.
Walter read every page.
He asked questions.
He corrected one address line.
He rejected a paint-protection package.