couple things Jasmine didn’t already have on her wish list, like the staff lockers.
“That’s an excellent suggestion,” she said.
She pulled out her phone and typed a note into the list she was sharing with Frank via an app he and Will used for projects. Even typing “staff lockers” had a mix of excitement and fear rushing through her.
She was going to have a staff.
“This break room is more decked out than my kitchen,” Alima said, opening the door to the stainless-steel fridge and sighing in envy.
“Right?” Jasmine grinned and shook her head. Will had completely outdone himself.
“Have you decided what types of classes you want to offer?” Alima asked.
“I’ve been working on a business plan with my sister, but I would love to get your thoughts on it if you have time. Don’t get me wrong, May is great about understanding the policies and procedures involved in running a company, but she doesn’t have the background in dance education that we do.”
“Count me in. This is seriously fun.”
Jasmine saw her own excitement reflected in Alima’s dark eyes. A thought occurred to her.
“Have you ever considered going into instruction?”
“Me?” Alima held a hand to her chest as though caught off-guard by the question. “I honestly haven’t.”
“Why not?”
She shrugged. “I guess I thought since I wasn’t good enough to get a job as a professional dancer that I wasn’t qualified to teach anyone else. Maybe that sounds silly.”
Jasmine didn’t think it sounded silly at all.
“I think you’d make an excellent teacher,” she told her friend. “And I think you’d like it a lot more than managing the office at your uncle’s dental practice.”
Alima gasped in mock insult. “What? And leave the unending sound of pneumatic tools and suction devices?” Her expression eased into more serious lines. “Jasmine, are you offering me a job?”
“I’m offering you the potential of one. As you can see, I don’t have anything off the ground yet, but I could sure use the support of a talented, highly organized friend.” When Alima just stood and stared at her, she went on, “I imagine it’ll be a lot of long hours at first, and we’ll probably be handling the jobs of five people, but—”
Alima took two long, graceful strides over to her and threw her arms around her. “I’d love to.”
Unexpected tears stung Jasmine’s eyes. She returned the hug, eternally grateful that Alima had taken it upon herself to speak to her at that months-ago audition. Knowing she would also be a part of this eased some of Jasmine’s strain over starting a new business.
“What’s all this?” came Frank’s voice from the doorway.
Jasmine finally released Alima and used the tip of her finger to dab at her eyes. She saw Alima doing the same.
“This is supposed to be a fun day,” he said.
“It is,” Jasmine said. “Alima just agreed to work with me.”
“That’s excellent news,” her father said from just behind Frank.
Katie stood between them. She had bonded almost immediately with her father, who tended to talk to kids like they were adults. Katie responded well to that, which Jasmine reasoned may have been why Katie warmed to her so quickly when they first met.
Her father had also formed a quick kinship with Frank, something that still struck her as amusing. Her father was a stereotypical Asian scholar. He was five-foot-eight if he was wearing shoes, a slender, well-kempt, and precise man who preferred to wear pressed slacks regardless of the time of year. His one concession to the Atlanta summer heat was wearing short-sleeved collared shirts.
Frank, on the other hand, matched Will’s height at six-three. He was well-muscled from years of hard labor with a softness around his middle that revealed his penchant for enjoying a few beers in the evening. His full beard, sleeveless plaid shirt, and well-worn jeans gave him the look of a cheerful lumberjack.
They couldn’t be more different, yet from the moment they’d shaken hands during Jasmine’s introduction outside the studio and walked inside to begin discussing business plans, they’d acted like old friends.
Apparently having two children in love with each other was enough commonality to overcome everything else.
“We’re both very excited,” Jasmine said. “I think you should chat with Alima about the bookkeeping side of things at some point, Bàba. She’s got a great head for that stuff. It might help keep all your hairs from turning gray.”
“You are rather hopeless,” he said in his pragmatic way.
They all laughed.
“I’d be happy to do that,” Alima said.
Jasmine enjoyed her enthusiasm. “We’re just about done,