Perfect Enough

Chapter Nineteen – Sophia

Chapter Nineteen

SOPHIA

The young woman sitting across from me wore such a wide grin, her dimples were on full display. Her light brown eyes also seemed to shimmer. Either she was desperate for someone to hire, or she was genuinely a super upbeat person. Her ponytail even bounced around as she spoke. I instantly liked her.

“Josh told me you’re looking for a career change,” Haven Larson said as she leaned back in her chair and stroked the golden retriever sitting next to her.

Glancing at the chocolate lab beside me , I found myself doing the same thing. “I am. I’ve been dancing for as long as I can remember. I majored in dance, but I also do all of our accounting for the dance studio, as well as all of the ordering, class schedules, and social media accounts. I pretty much run the studio as well as dance.”

Haven still wore a smile. “And you know what it is that I do?”

It was my turn to smile. “Josh told me a little bit about it, yes. You own a bus, pick up pups daily, and take them for hikes.”

“That’s part of it. Let me tell you a little about myself and my plans.”

I hadn’t asked Josh, but Haven looked to be about the same age as me. From what Josh did tell me, Haven has had a dog-walking business since high school. I was dying to hear more about her future plans and if they included dogs. “I’d love that,” I said, excited to hear all about both. I wasn’t sure why, but I suspected the woman sitting across from me had big plans, and I suddenly wanted to be a part of them.

“I started my dog-walking business when I was in high school. I’ve always been a lover of dogs. All animals, really. I mainly started it to earn money to help my parents and maybe put some away for college. It was pretty clear college wasn’t in my plans, so I started saving as much as I could. My love for it also grew more and more, so I took classes on training dogs, then dog behavior, and so on. A few clients started asking me to help their dogs with basic training—sit, stay, and down. I really loved it, but it was clear to me training was not something I was in love with. Just being with the dogs is what made me the happiest.

“Then, instead of just going for short walks a couple times a day, I thought of picking up the dogs and taking them for more of an off-leash adventure. Hiking up into the mountains or to a lake. My parents helped me the best they could to buy an SUV, and I would pick them up in the mornings, and we’d go off on our adventures. A year or so later, I saw this couple on social media who’d bought a bus, and they’d pick up the dogs in that and take them off leash, and I thought, what a great idea. So, I saved up, traded the SUV in and bought my bus and signed up even more clients.”

“Do you go every day?” I asked.

“Yes, except for the weekends. My client list is growing fast, though, and I recently started doing two groups. My morning pups, and my afternoon pups. I hired someone to help me, Owen Williams. He drives the bus, and he also has much more experience training dogs, including the fancy degrees and whatnot, so I hope to expand the business to offer official training soon through Owen. He’s a great guy and I think you’d like him.”

“That sounds exciting.”

A wide smile appeared on her lovely face again, and she suddenly got very giddy. “That’s not the most exciting part. My grandmother left me a trust fund, it’s not a whole lot of money, but with what I saved and what she left me, as well as some investors who are on board, I think I can make my next adventure a reality. I got the trust fund a year ago when I turned twenty-one. I’ve spent the better half of this year getting a business plan together, meeting with potential investors, and I hired an architect just yesterday! It’s Rose Robinson, actually. Josh’s sister. She’s expecting another baby in April, and I was worried she wouldn’t want to take on this project, but she did! The best part, she’s doing it all for a super big discount. She’s an animal lover as well.”

I smiled. “What’s the project?”

“I want to open—a dog park!”

I stared at her, waiting for more. When she didn’t say anything else, I asked, “A dog park?”

She giggled. “Not just any dog park, Sophia. The dog park to end all dog parks.”

Laughing, I said, “What makes it stand out from all the other dog parks?”

“Well, first, Hamilton only has one dog park. It’s a nice park, but we can offer much more.”

“Such as?” I asked, genuinely curious. Her excitement was infectious.

Haven bounced in her seat. “Okay, first, it will be a members-only dog park. People will have the option of buying a daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly pass. If people are willing to spend money on a park, they tend to take care of it more, from what I’ve researched.”

I nodded. “That makes sense.”

“There will be two parks. One for larger dogs and one for the smaller pups. There will be a few dog washing stations in an area close to the exit, so when you leave, if your pup gets too dirty, you can wash them off for free right there.”

“That’s a great idea.”

She beamed. “A friend of mine owns a pet grooming business, and she has a mobile unit that she said she’d bring out and park for a half day each week, a full day…whatever makes sense…and offer grooming for pups who play at the park. They’ll get a pup park discount on the grooming as well.”

“That’s another great idea. Kill two birds with one stone.”

Haven nodded. “Yes! There will be lots of seating for dog owners as well, with some covered areas for shade. I’d also like to have a large outdoor TV for people while they’re sipping their favorite drink at the bar for humans.”

“A bar?” I asked. “Wow, now that could be fun.”

She laughed and jumped in her seat again. “I know! Of course, we’ll have to limit drinks because the last thing we want is for people to get smashed and not take care of their fur babies. That bit of advice was from the lawyer I hired.”

“Smart advice.”

“I thought so as well. Owen suggested a restaurant, but getting a liquor license is going to be a lot already, and I don’t want to deal with all the other rules and regulations that come along with a restaurant.”

“You could hire one of those food trucks to come for lunch or something. Or you could even rent them space to park full time, if it’s profitable for them to do so.”

Her eyes went wide. “Sophia, that’s a great idea! I can’t believe I didn’t think of it myself. We could start with just a few days a week and see how that goes.”

I smiled. “Glad to help. Another question I have, what about kids? I can see them running around now and the dogs going insane.”

“From my research and experience of dog parks, not a lot of kiddos are there. Don’t get me wrong, there are kids, but it’s mostly adults who bring their dogs, or as I like to say, their pup kids. Plus, it’s a membership or private dog park, so we can make rules for that. Not saying no kids, but rules in place so that the kids behave and don’t run around and rile up the dogs. Does that make sense?”

I nodded. “Completely.”

“So, you’re probably wondering what I would need you for.”

“It’s been swirling around in my mind, yes.”

She laughed again, and I realized I loved the sound of it. It was one of those belly-type laughs, not fake at all or simply to appease others, but a genuine laugh . The more I spoke with Haven, the more I liked her and could see myself working for her.

“I can’t keep up with everything on the admin side, like scheduling for the bus adventures and the dozens of details involved with this new project. I’m pretty good with numbers, but Josh mentioned you also had a degree in accounting? I could use help in that area, especially as we get the dog park up and running. I’d like to hire a few park monitors for its open hours, as well. I really want the park to be safe for both humans and dogs.”

“I think it’s smart to have monitors. And yes, I did get degrees in both dance and accounting. I know they’re two very different things, but my mother and father owned the studio, and they each handled one aspect—creative and financial. My goal was to be able to do both, which I did. I’m very comfortable with accounting.”

Haven clapped. “That’s awesome! What do you want to ask about the job?”

I drew in a breath and slowly let it out. “Let’s see. Well…can I go on some of the bus adventures with you?”

She grinned. “Yes! If that’s something you’d like to do, absolutely.”

“I would love to do that.” I looked up in thought. “So, basically, you’re looking for kind of an overall assistant with the business and someone to do the accounting?”

“Yep. Unless you want to be a partner.” She laughed.

My brows rose. A partner? I couldn’t help but wonder if she was kidding. She’d mentioned investors…so maybe she would be up for a partner. I did have some money saved up, plus what I would get from the sale of the studio. “Are you serious?”

Her smile faded into a look of surprise. “Is that something you’d want to do? Owen doesn’t want to invest in the dog park, because he’d like to grow his training business. I would love a partner who shares the same vision and excitement for this as I do. I have two other investors, but they would like to remain silent.”

“I think it’s something I would like to think about, and I’m looking for a career change. Once my mother sells the studio, I’ll have a portion of the proceeds from the sale, and I’m trying to figure out what I want to do with my life.”

“You don’t want to open your own studio?” Haven asked.

I shook my head. “I’d like to step away from dance for a bit. It’s been my passion for so long, but I need a change. I need to breathe life into something new. If you wouldn’t mind going over your business plan, and maybe we can set up a meeting with the other investors, and if you wouldn’t mind, my lawyer. But please know that I understand this should be something you think about as well. We just met, and I’m basically offering to partner with you.”

Reaching for my hand, she squeezed it. “I love this idea, and I don’t mind setting up the meeting at all. This is a huge investment in both money and time and yes, we did just meet, but I know I like you already.”

Smiling, I returned the squeeze. “Then what’s our next step?”

“A normal person would say we should meet with the lawyer, but I think the first step needs to be you meeting the dogs. Are you free Friday to join us on the bus?”

A bubble of excitement nearly burst free as I nodded and replied, “I’m free Friday, yes! Tell me where and what time, and I’ll be there.”

“This is our bus!” Haven said as she opened her arms to indicate the blue bus parked outside the coffee shop where she’d told me to meet her. Painted in white on both sides of the bus was ‘The Ruff Ride’.

A gentleman who appeared to be a few years older than me stepped out of the bus. He was tall, well built, and cute, with dark blonde hair, hazel eyes, and a killer smile.

“This is Owen Williams. Owen this is Sophia Montgomery.”

Owen reached for my hand and shook it. “It’s nice to meet you, Sophia.”

“Likewise,” I said with a smile.

Haven was grinning and I wanted to ask Owen if she was always this damn happy. I had a feeling she was.

“Let’s go inside, and I’ll give you a quick tour before we pick up our AM pups.”

Once inside the bus, I saw that each seat had a set of straps with a hook. “I take it you hook the dogs in?”

“Yes, each dog knows where they sit, and they’ll jump right up and into their seats.”

I laughed, and Haven raised a brow. “You’ll soon see. Back here is the treat bucket. After we do our off-leash walks, each pup gets a treat.”

I nodded.

“That’s it. Let’s go get our pups! Friday is our light day and we have less pups.”

Haven wasn’t kidding when she said each dog knew where to sit. A couple of the dogs were waiting in their front yards for the bus, and when the doors opened, they ran in, jumped in their seats, and anxiously waited to be buckled in. Of course, every single one had to briefly stop and sniff me first. Newcomer and all. They had picked up five dogs, which was light according to Haven. They normally had around nine to twelve Owen had told me.

Once we got to the area where Haven was taking the dogs for a walk, she pulled out a vest-type backpack that had all these connectors attached to it and leashes.

“This is how we start when there’s a risk of other people being here. Once we get down the trailhead some, I’ll take them off the leashes. The most important part of this is being able to recall every single dog if there is someone else on the path. Most of them will poop and I’ll collect it all and leave it here to throw out on the way out.”

Staring at her, I asked, “You’re going to latch all five dogs onto you at one time? Aren’t you afraid they’ll all take off running with you attached?”

She laughed. “Trust me, they all listen very well. And five is nothing. Ready?”

Nodding, I helped her get the pups off the bus and on to her impressive leash belt. Each dog listened like little angels. About a hundred yards down the trail, after Haven finally let the five dogs off their leashes, they all went in different directions. How she managed to find all the poop was beyond me. It was clear this wasn’t her first time.

“You’re not afraid one will run away?”

She shook her head. “See the German shorthair? He has an e-collar on because if one of them is going to bolt, it would be that one, but he isn’t a bolter. It took him a few weeks to learn he needed to stay with the group. Right here?” She held up what looked like a small remote. “This is the buzzer. It vibrates, so if he’s wandering off, I just give him a buzz and he comes back.”

Monty, the black lab with more energy than the Energizer bunny, ran past me for what had to be the tenth time since we’d taken him off his leash.

“Is he always so full of energy?” I asked Haven, who looked up at me from where she was squatting down, petting a chocolate lab. He had gray around his mouth and was clearly loving the one-on-one attention. I couldn’t for the life of me remember his name.

“Monty? Yes. He just turned one, so he’s still in his puppy phase. Old Duke here, though, is thirteen, and he likes his walks to be less of a chaotic scene. But don’t let his age fool you. He still has some pep in his step. He just likes to save it until it’s time to get back on the bus.”

Old Duke! That’s what it was.

“Really?” I asked as I stepped out of the way for Piper, a golden retriever, and Lou, another golden. They were chasing each other and living their best lives.

Haven stood, and Duke started to make his way over to the creek, where all four other dogs were now playing. Duke, Monty, Lucy, Piper, and Lou decided to dip into the water. Duke barely got in, while Monty did a full-on dive, along with Piper and Lou. Lucy walked in just enough to get her chest wet.

Haven turned to face me and asked, “So, what do you think?”

“I think you have the coolest job in the world.”

She smiled. “The dogs all seem to love you, which is great.”

At that moment, Duke came up and sat down on my foot. He looked up at me as if to say, “Pet me, please.” I did as his eyes beckoned.

“You do this how many days a week?”

“I started off only doing it a few times, but I’m Monday through Friday now. Of course, if the dog park goes well, I’ll have to drop the number of days until I can find reliable people to be at the park. I really enjoy this time with the dogs.”

“Will you keep doing the off-leash adventures?”

She smiled wide. “You couldn’t drag me away from this. I love it.”

Looking out over the vast forest, I smiled. “Would you mind if I rode along for your PM crew?”

“The more the merrier!” Haven said as she took out a dog whistle and whistled, and I jumped, my hand over my heart. “Monty, do not hump Lou!”

Laughing, I followed the five dogs and Haven as we walked down the path. This was going to be an adventure of a lifetime.