“Look, I’m just happy that I don’t have to deal with her ass. Moving to Charlotte was the best life decision that my father ever forced me to make. Oh, and finding this shop to work on my business plan was the best thing too,” I said with a smile.
Elica tapped her middle and thumb finger together. “You damn right it was. God saw fit to bring two of the baddest thick, smart business chicks together. Girl, we’re gonna have a full house tonight for ourRead & Speakevent this month. You’re still coming, right?”
Once a month, she held the event that started at six o’clock. People came and read the book of the month in silence. At nine, the author of that book came up to answer questions. The people loved it, andCaffeine & Bent Pagesmade so much money on food and drink sales. A year and a half ago, she got her liquor license.
“You already know I’m going to be here. I intentionally didn’t read the last four chapters to have something to read. You better have my beanbag cubby reserved, Elica.” I pointed my finger at her.
Her café was two stories, and she had private cubbies that you could reserve for a nominal fee during these events. Some were one-person cubbies, and others were for more than one person. I loved to read in the private cubby.
She slapped my finger down. “Shut up. Your normal cubby is reserved.”
“Oh, I have a new fur client tomorrow. He is the cutest boxer named Frack. I can’t wait to meet him.” Excitement filled my chest. I loved my fur babies.
Elica laughed. “I swear, you be like fuck the owner. It’s all about the fur babies.”
“Because it is, duh. I didn’t startGorjess Pupsfor the owners. I started it to keep my fur babies happy. The owners just happen to be an extension of the fur babies,” I said with raised shoulders.
Elica told me that she wouldn’t play with me. I was happy that she wouldn’t because I wasn’t playing. In life, I'd had many disappointments, but my fur babies never disappointed me. When I left Macon, I made sure I brought my babies Tookie and Cookie with me. When it came to dogs, I was a Labrador fan. Tookie was a handsome, black male lab. Cookie was a beautiful, chocolate female lab.
The first year ofGorjess Pupswas touch and go. In my second year, one of theCougarwives came into Elica’s place, and she referred my business for her Yorkie. She had me come the very next day. I did such an amazing job that she referred me to all her friends. Before I knew it, I had a booked calendar. Since then, God had truly blessed my business. Last year, I was able to buy a brand-new trailer with the works.
“Well, make sure you share your location with me. You know I don’t give a damn about them fur babies or them people. I’ll shoot all of them behind you,” Elica said.
I smiled. I knew she would because I would do the same for her. God shined a bright light on me the day we met.
Gorjess Pups . . .
I had everything ready to go! I took a step back to gaze at my grooming trailer with admiration. It was so beautiful. The guy that I hired to wrap it did an amazing job. My trailer was pulled by an F-150 V8 that had an identical wrap to my trailer. The best thing about my truck and trailer was that they were both paid off.
Two years ago, the executor of my estate suggested that I invest some of my money so that my money could make money. I did just that, and it proved to be an amazing idea. It allowed me to pay off my main big ticket items for my business to lower my overhead.
I wiped my uniform down with my hands. I wore a simple logo T-shirt and khaki pants with slip resistant wet shoes. My hair was always up in a ponytail when I worked, and I wore an apron over my uniform. I glanced down at my watch.Let me get there.
My client Frack lived in Ballantyne, a neighborhood in Charlotte, North Carolina, with his owner Jessop Wilson. Based on the address and my internet search, Frack lived a great life. At least he’d better. From where I lived in the Myers Park area to his house, it took about forty minutes. When I had an appointment, Tookie and Cookie went to daycare. Dog socialization was important.
The ride to Frack was smooth with no traffic. I was so pleased to see that he had a roundabout driveway. That meant that I didn’t have to park on the curb or be in the way on his driveway.In some neighborhoods, people got annoyed when I parked on the curb. They fussed, but days later, I received requests for appointments.
Before I went to the front door to introduce myself to the owner, I went into my trailer to turn on the air conditioning to a comfortable temperature and grabbed my tablet. It was no fun to work in a trailer that was overheated. I took the short steps to the front door, then rang the camera doorbell.
It didn’t take long for the door to open. When it did, I was met by an excited, beautiful boxer. I bent down with a wide smile. “You must be Frack. Hi, handsome. It is so nice to formally meet you.” I made the sign for him to sit a few times, then asked him if he could sit. When he did, I took his paw and shook it.
“Wow, you really love dogs?” a voice said above me. When I took the time to look up, he wore a wide smile. “I’m Jessop.”
I stood up, reached in my pocket to pull out hand sanitizer, then put some in my hands. You would be surprised how many of my clients’ owners didn’t deal directly with their dogs. It was sickening. I stuck my hand out to him after I finished. “Hi, Jessop, how are you? I’m Gorjess.”
He shook my hand. “I’m good. How about you come in so we can get started.”
“That would be nice.” I looked down. “Come on, Frack.”
I followed Jessop and Frack followed me. My daddy told me when I was younger that I was like a dog whisperer. I had not met a dog yet that didn’t like me. When we got to what I assumed was the living room, there were two more men there. “Oh, hello, I’m Gorjess.”
The extremely attractive one mumbled “yes you are.”He stood, walked toward me, then extended his hand.
“What’s up? I’m Solomon, but everyone calls me Sol. This is my cousin, Issac.”
His cousin was next to shake my hand. They both were attractive. I could tell that they had something other than black in their blood, but I wasn’t sure of exactly what. I didn’t want to assume. If I had to guess, it would be Polynesian.Gorjess, focus. You are not here for this.“It is nice to meet you both.”
I pivoted on my heel to face Jessop. “Where would you like to sit to go over the final contract? I know you requested certain services, but it’s standard practice that I do a consultation with the babies to make sure they are getting exactly what they need.”
