"That's why you're choosing."
The first customer arrived that afternoon.
He demanded champagne.
He insulted a receptionist.
He asked to see the car before anyone else.
Then he told Richard:
"I don't care what it costs."
Elena watched silently.
After ten minutes, she shook her head.
"No."
Adrian nodded.
The second customer arrived.
A famous actor.
He was polite.
Friendly.
He asked about the engineering.
He thanked the staff.
Elena liked him.
But when the conversation turned to customization, he said:
"I want the fastest version."
Elena asked:
"Why?"
He laughed.
"Because everyone will ask how fast it is."
She smiled.
"No."
The third customer was different.
He arrived in a modest electric sedan.
He wore a plain jacket.
He spent forty minutes talking to the mechanics.
He asked questions about battery degradation.
He asked about repairability.
He asked what happened if the car was damaged.
Then he asked:
"How many technicians can actually repair this?"
Elena smiled.
"All of them."
The man nodded.
"Good."
He looked at the X9.
"It's beautiful."
Elena asked:
"Would you buy it?"
He thought.
"Maybe."
"Why maybe?"
"Because I don't know whether I'm good enough to own it."
Elena was surprised.
"What does that mean?"
He smiled.
"A car like this deserves someone who respects it."
Elena looked at Adrian.
Adrian nodded.
The man became the first approved customer.
Not because he was the richest.
Because he understood responsibility.
Richard was furious.
"You can't replace me over one bad interaction."
Adrian looked at him.
"It wasn't one."
Richard's expression changed.
Adrian placed a file on the table.
Customer complaints.
Fourteen in the previous year.
Most mentioned Richard.
One customer had written:
He made my wife cry because she asked too many questions.