‘Wow. I love it in here. It’s like a posh salon for doggies.’
Marcus threw his head back and laughed. ‘I’m glad it’s had that effect on your first-time viewing. That’s exactly the reaction I want to elicit the first time potential new clients walk into here. I want them to be bedazzled and want to book an appointment there and then.’
A deep and meaty bark from the corner of the room startled Georgina and she almost spilt Marcus’s tea. She quickly placed it down and looked in the direction from where the bark had come from. There was a St Bernard sitting down and staring at her, his tail wagging ten-to-the-dozen as he vied for her attention. ‘There you go Marcus.’
‘Thanks Georgina.’
Georgina walked towards the dog and squinted her eyes as she dropped her head to one side. ‘Fernando? Is that you?’
Marcus nodded. ‘Yes it is. It’s Declan’s pet. He’s waiting to have his nails clipped. I’m also expecting another seven dogs before the end of the day.’
Georgina went down on her hunches and fussed Fernando. He gave her a big sloppy lick on the side of her face. ‘Thanks for that buddy. Good job I didn’t bother applying make-up today.’ Marcus laughed. Georgina looked back over her shoulder at him. ‘You’re going to be shattered later.’
Marcus nodded in agreement. ‘I am shattered come the end ofeveryday. I’m at the stage where I need to get help.’
Georgina’s ears picked up. ‘Help? As in hired help?’
Marcus nodded. ‘Yes. I already had an established clientele when I moved here from my previous premises, but now it’s practically doubled.’
‘Oh wow.’ Georgina pressed Marcus for more information. ‘And would the hired help need to have experience working with dogs?’
Marcus looked up towards the ceiling and pulled his bottom lip into his mouth as he thought about the question. ‘It would be great if they did, but not necessary, as I could train the new employee.’ He looked over to Georgina who was now back on her feet and facing him. ‘Why? Do you have someone in mind?’
She nodded enthusiastically. ‘Yes, I do. She would be perfect, but she may or may not be available for a couple of weeks.’
Marcus grimaced. ‘A couple of weeks, eh? I think I’d need someone sooner than that. Yes, thinking about it, there is a local dog competition in a month’s time, and I’d like to have my new assistant ready to tackle anything by then. I’m already receiving booking in advance for it.’ Georgina’s shoulders dropped and she looked down to the floor deflated. Her mind was working ten-to-the-dozen as she tried to make three different jobs and their rotas fit together in her mind, even though she didn’t know the working hour schedules for two of them yet. ‘Who do you have inmind?’ Marcus’s stopped what he was doing as he looked at her questioningly.
Georgina met Marcus’s gaze. ‘Me... Would the job be full time or parttime?’
She crossed her fingers behind her back hoping Marcus would say fulltime and she’d be able to drop the job at the petrol station, it would make her life so much easier.
Marcus’s brow lifted and he nodded with a smile. ‘Okay, I wasn’t expecting that answer, but it’s a pleasant surprise. Well, you appear to have a good temperament around dogs Georgina. The job would be parttime at first with a view to becoming a fulltime position. Would that be of interest to you? Are you currently working?’
Georgina decided not to mention the temporary arrangement answering phones at the garage, she knew it would just confuse things. ‘I have a parttime job at the petrol station. It’s mainly evening work, but there are a few daytime shifts as well. Would that be a problem?’
Marcus chewed on his bottom lip as he thought about it. He shook his head with a smile. ‘No. I dare say it wouldn’t. We can work around it.’ He held out a hand covered in shampoo lather. ‘Welcome to Ruff to Regal.’
Georgina lurched forward and grabbed Marcus’s hand, her mouth splitting into an enormous grin. ‘Thank you, Marcus. You won’t regret it.’
‘I know I won’t Georgina. If you have the same work ethic as your father Tom, I know you will be perfect for the position.’
Chapter five
Georgina walked back into Christine’s salon carrying two mugs of tea with a Cheshire-cat grin plastered on her face.
Christine was sitting down on the sofa in the waiting area. ‘You’ve been gone a while love. I thought you might have fallen down the plug hole.’
Georgina laughed softly. ‘Nothing like that. I saw Marcus in there. He looked flustered and I offered to make his tea for him. Now I’m glad I did, because I have just landed myself a parttime job working at Ruff to Regal.’
Christine’s face lit up. ‘Oh my goodness. That’s fantastic. I didn’t know he was looking to take on an employee.’
‘I think he literally only just decided to. I guess I was in the right place at the right time.’
‘Congratulations love. So does this mean you’ll no longer be working at the petrol station?’
Georgina shook her head. ‘Unfortunately, no. Like the petrol station, the position with Marcus is only parttime, so I need to keep both jobs. He did say it could become a fulltime position though.’
Christine nodded. ‘I wouldn’t be at all surprised. He’s getting busier and busier by the week.’
