she’d taught Katie and the kids at the pool party, she had parents from all over the city wanting information about Pirouette. Their interest list was well over three hundred clients already and they hadn’t even had the Open House.
It was truly a dream come true.
She and Alima couldn’t have done it without all the support from the important people in their lives. May and her father had worked with her and Alima to set up the studio’s books, establish their minimum price point, work out the number of classes they could offer based on space and available timing, draft the legal contracts and employment agreements they needed, create the company’s policies and procedures, and the numerous other tasks a business owner had to handle.
Danny designed the company’s logo and established its branding, as well as connected Jasmine with a friend who built the studio’s website and started their social media accounts. Jasmine contracted with that same friend to manage the accounts until she could afford an office manager, something she hoped to do within another few weeks if everything went according to plan.
Sierra had blown up a few of the images she’d taken of Jasmine during the photo shoot they’d had a couple months ago so Jasmine could hang the photos around the studio. They had turned out simply stunning, if Jasmine did say so herself. Sierra’s work behind a camera was unmatched.
Everly offered suggestions on how to stock the locked medical cabinet Will installed in the staff break room. They now had plenty of ice packs, ACE bandages, Band-Aids, knee braces, and ointments to treat any minor injuries that might happen on site.
Alima’s parents had proven supportive, as well. They were happy their daughter was choosing to do something that contributed to the betterment of others. They offered to fund up to five scholarships a year for kids who couldn’t afford the fees, and they were sharing the name of the studio with everyone they knew.
And then there was Jasmine’s new family…Frank and Will.
Besides the unbelievable job they had done in creating the studio and the money they had invested in things she needed to get started, they had already done a competitive analysis targeting the other studios within a ten-mile radius, noting things like their rates, the number of awards they’d won, their annual enrollment, how much they paid their instructors, their course offerings, and more. They shared everything they had learned with her and May so they could keep it all in mind as they developed her business plan.
There was no way to thank them all properly for everything they had done. Jasmine would owe them for the rest of her life.
For the moment, however, her focus needed to be on Katie.
“How was school today?” she asked as she wrapped a hair tie around Katie’s bun.
“Good.”
It had been two and a half months since Katie started talking again. Between her work with Gareth and the speech therapy she had been receiving through the private school Will had enrolled her in, she was now speaking more than she was signing.
That didn’t mean she had become chatty, though.
“I’m glad,” she said, smiling at Katie in the mirror over the row of vanities lining one wall of the dressing area. “What was the favorite thing you did today?”
“Making crafts.”
“What kind?”
“It’s a surprise.”
Jasmine smiled again. “For your dad?”
“And you.”
Touched, she leaned down to place a kiss on Katie’s head. “That’s so sweet. Thanks for thinking of me.”
“‘Course. I love you.”
Jasmine’s throat tightened. Katie hadn’t ever said that before. She said it so naturally now that it was obvious she’d felt that way for a long time.
“I love you too, sweetie,” she managed to say in a normal voice. “I can’t wait to see what you did.”
Stepping back, she patted Katie’s shoulders and said, “I think you’re good to go. You ready to express yourself without words?”
Katie smiled and nodded.
“Let’s go.”
They headed out to the main instruction room. It was the only space they hadn’t yet used for a lesson, largely because it felt like overkill using it with just the two of them. Jasmine wanted to make sure it was ready for the Open House though.
Alima’s voice floated into the empty space from the outer office off the lobby where she was making the phone calls needed to confirm everything for the Open House. Without anyone else in the building, sound carried almost too well. Jasmine walked over to the sound system for the room and switched it on. The