"Then you should know they're not for everybody!"
The elderly couple turned completely toward them.
A technician near the SUV stopped wiping the windows.
Samuel remained still.
Tyler pointed toward the entrance.
"If you can't afford a car, get out!"
Silence fell.
Samuel looked around the showroom.
The immaculate floors.
The expensive vehicles.
The employees watching from a distance.
Then he reached into his pocket.
Tyler's expression became mocking.
"What now?"
Samuel removed his phone.
"There's someone I need to speak with."
Tyler rolled his eyes.
"Oh, perfect. Call whoever you want."
Samuel pressed Margaret's number.
She answered immediately.
"Dad?"
"I'm downstairs."
"How is everything?"
Samuel watched Tyler smirk.
"I think you should come."
Margaret heard something in her father's voice.
She had known him her entire life.
She could recognize sadness even when he tried to conceal it.
"What happened?"
"I'd prefer you see it yourself."
"Where are you?"
"Beside the black SUV."
Margaret rose from her desk.
She had been meeting with the regional operations director on the second floor.
Her office overlooked the showroom through a wall of glass.
From that height, she could see the central display area.
She stepped toward the window.
Then she saw her father.
Standing opposite him was Tyler Grant.
Even from above, Margaret could recognize the aggression in Tyler's posture.
His shoulders were tense.
His face was flushed.
He was speaking directly into her father's face.
Margaret ended the call.
"Excuse me," she told the regional director.
"Is something wrong?"
"Possibly."
She walked toward the door.
Downstairs, Tyler laughed when Samuel lifted the phone to his ear again.
"Well? Did you call somebody to come rescue you?"
Samuel placed the device against his cheek.
"I've already spoken to the person I needed."
Tyler shook his head.
"People like you always think knowing someone makes you special."
Samuel lowered the phone.
"No," he replied. "People become special through the way they treat others."
Tyler gave a loud, cruel laugh.
"That's adorable."
At that moment, the upstairs glass door opened.
Margaret stepped onto the landing.
She saw the employees gathered around the perimeter of the showroom.
She saw the elderly couple standing motionless beside the display sedan.
And she saw Tyler laughing at her father.
Margaret descended the staircase.
Each step echoed across the marble.
The receptionist noticed her first.
She stood abruptly.
"Good morning, Ms. Bennett."
Tyler did not turn.
He was too busy enjoying his own performance.
"Maybe you should try the bus station," he told Samuel. "At least there you won't have to pretend you can afford something."
A woman's voice interrupted him.
"Mr. Grant."
Tyler turned.
His face changed immediately.
"Ms. Bennett!"
Margaret continued walking.
She wore a charcoal business suit and carried no handbag or briefcase.
Her expression was controlled, but her eyes were cold.
"Would you repeat what you just said?"
Tyler forced a smile.
"Of course. I was just helping this gentleman understand our inventory."
Margaret looked toward Samuel.
"Dad, are you all right?"
The word struck Tyler like a physical blow.
Dad.
For a moment, he thought he had misheard.
Samuel nodded.
"I'm fine, sweetheart."
The receptionist placed a hand over her mouth.
The technicians exchanged shocked glances.
Tyler's smile disappeared.
Margaret stopped beside her father.
Then she looked directly at the salesman.
"This gentleman is Samuel Bennett."
Tyler swallowed.
"Yes, ma'am. He told me his name."
Margaret continued.
"He founded the company."
Tyler's face went pale.
"He purchased this land before you were born."
A terrible silence spread across the showroom.
Margaret gestured toward the enormous silver letters visible beyond the glass entrance.
"And his name is the one on the building."
Tyler opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
Samuel looked at the young man.
"I tried to tell you I knew something about these cars."
The salesman's lips moved.
"Mr. Bennett, I—I didn't realize—"
Margaret interrupted.
"Didn't realize what?"
Tyler glanced helplessly between father and daughter.
"I didn't know who he was."
Margaret took one step closer.
"And would that have made the way you treated him acceptable?"
"No, ma'am."
"Then why did you do it?"
Tyler looked toward the employees.
His humiliation was now public.
The same audience he had gathered through his shouting was witnessing his collapse.
"I misunderstood the situation."
Samuel spoke quietly.
"No, son. You understood exactly what you thought the situation was."