“Relax,” I said. “Nothing has happened yet. And I’m going to present a solution. I had my guy take a look at it and he said the car was a death trap and shouldn’t be on the road. He said you were lucky it didn’t blow up while you were driving.”
She paled and slumped back in her seat. “Really?”
“Really.”
She licked her lips. “Sorry I went off on you.”
“It was kind of cute.”
She side-eyed me. “Cute?”
“Yeah, you went all red and your nose scrunched up. For a second, I thought you might throw your coffee at me.”
“It crossed my mind.”
“Believe me, you’re not going to miss that car.”
Gabi stood beside me in the middle of the dealership lot with her mouth hanging open. “Jake, I can’t possibly accept this. This is too much!”
I’d driven her to my usual dealer where I often purchased and traded in cars. They always hooked me up with a deal there and offered great service, and today, we were there to buy Gabi a new car.
She was more than a little overwhelmed by the offer.
“Consider it part of your salary,” I said.
“My salary is already more than generous.”
“Okay, fine, consider it my way of making sure my greatest asset gets to work and back safely.”
She turned bright pink. “Jake, I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t have to say anything. Just tell me which one you like, and I’ll get them to grab the keys so we can take it for a spin. Any one you like. No limits.”
She chewed her bottom lip, and I watched her survey the lot of cars. Her gaze settled on a used model, a silver sedan, and she pointed at it. “What about that one?” It was almost identical to her old car.
“From this year,” I said. “No used. You’re getting brand new with all the safety features. Come on, let’s take a look around.”
She resisted. “I can lease my own car, you know. You don’t have to do this.”
“I know I don’t. I want to do this. There’s a difference. You deserve it, Gabi.”
She frowned.
I knew I wouldn’t change her mind until I got her behind the wheel of a car. Once she fell in love with one, she’d have a much harder time saying no. And even if she tried, I would bulldoze her. Plain and simple. I had the money to spend. It wouldn’t even make a dent in my funds. I wanted her to have this. I knew it was something she’d never splurge on for herself, hence the piece of shit she’d been driving around.
I saw her eyes linger on a yellow SUV.
A Lamborghini SUV.
The Urus. It was a two hundred and thirty thousand dollar car.
She quickly tore her gaze away and walked toward a more modest looking BMW sedan. It was glossy black, brand new, and gorgeous, but it didn’t light up her eyes the way the Lambo had.
“What about this one?” she asked.
I nodded as I looked it over. “Yeah, it’s alright.”
“Alright? It’s pretty darn beautiful.”