Chapter 3
From Carrie’s smug expression, I could tell she’d been feeding Louis a steady stream of lies about me.
Using him to do her dirty work – she’d really perfected that manipulation.
Judging by Louis’s attitude, I knew no amount of explanation would help. Why waste my breath?
“Just name your price. I’ll pay whatever damage there is.”
Louis seemed caught off guard by my directness, his eyes flickering with surprise.
“Pay? You think you can actually afford it?”
“This Ferrari was my eighteenth birthday gift from my father. One of only three in the world, the only one in America.”
C
“A single scratch on this car is worth more than your entire existence. What exactly are you planning to pay with?”
I raised an eyebrow, a slight smile playing at my lips.
“Mr. Johnson, just name your price. Whether I can afford it is my problem.”
“Ten million!”
Before Louis could respond, Carrie jumped in with her demand.
The entire front end is crushed. No American shop can handle this – it’ll have to be shipped back to Italy for factory repairs.”
The crowd collectively gasped.
Even Louis looked startled by the figure.
‘Carrie, that car cost me just over ten million when I bought it. A bumper repair shouldn’t cost that much.”
Carrie waved her hand dismissively.
No, Mr. Johnson. You’re thinking too narrowly.”
This wasn’t just any car – it was a gift from your father on your eighteenth birthday. The sentimental value alone is priceless.”
Ten million is us being generous.”
Louis considered her words, nodding slowly as if they made perfect sense.
Fine! Ten million it is. Deal!”
I didn’t give them a second to reconsider and answered immediately.
Every eye in the crowd was now locked on me. Some thought I was bluffing, others suspected I was playing a deeper game, and the rest were just waiting for the show to crash and burn.
But none of their opinions mattered to me.
What mattered was that my vehicle had also been damaged.
Pentagon Princess
0.7%
While not as severely as the Ferrari, there were still noticeable scratches along the rear panel.
If this had been some ordinary American sedan, Carrie’s reckless driving would have totaled it completely.
“Now that we’ve settled your car, shouldn’t we discuss mine?”
My tone shifted, and I couldn’t help but smile slightly.
“Mine’s domestic, so at least we won’t need to ship it overseas for repairs.”
Laughter erupted from the crowd immediately.
Led by Carrie, her little fan club pointed at me with undisguised contempt.
“This chick must be completely delusional. How much could some basic Chevy possibly be worth? I’ll just write you a check for a
brand new one right now.”
‘Can you believe it? Someone actually drove a Chevy to meet their billionaire fiancé. Talk about embarrassing.”
I swept my gaze across the crowd, my voice cutting through their mockery.
Everyone, while this may just be a Chevy, do you see that special code embedded on the upper right corner of the windshield?”
Before bedtime-or, hell, before your grandparents drop dead-give them a call and ask them what a Chevy Suburban with those
numbers really mean.”
