As if anticipating Gabe was being triggered, Yun shot him a “be nice” look. Not that he needed it. He didn’t care what a crotchety, old jeweler thought of him. What he cared about was figuring out if Yun was on to something here. His pulse was racing as he took in the building’s features: thick molding, newer windows, hardwood flooring that had just enough dings and stains to add a touch of character and forgiveness to the possibility of countless paws traversing it day in and day out.

Olivia was quiet, taking everything in, as was Yun, though her eyes were big in that way they got when she was plotting out graphs and flow charts in her head. Not that Gabe blamed her. His mind was racing too. He’d never been one to brag about his imagination, but he had easy visuals of customers seated with their pets near the windows up front, fresh, bright coats of paint refreshing the muted burgundy walls, blown-up pictures of clients’ pets decorating the place, and a registration counter in place of the main display case. And they could have fun going all out to make it as welcoming as the shelter.

“What’s the square footage?” he asked Ava.

“Just over two thousand square feet. Yun said your current place is a little under thirteen hundred?”

“Yeah.”

“There are two rooms behind this one that could be used for appointments, and another two in back that could be converted into pre-op and op rooms,” Yun said.

About ready to pace the room in excitement, Gabe remembered he’d been tasked with coming across as skeptical, so he folded his arms over his chest instead. “What are your thoughts about all this space up front?”

“It’s a lot of space for a waiting room and reception area,” Yun agreed, “but we could build out another two appointment rooms along the side here. Three even, if we keep them on the small side.”

“Yeah, or we could keep it to two and save room to separate out the dogs and cats as they’re waiting.”

Noticing Yun was starting to glow with excitement, he shot her a look. Mr. Bouchard wasn’t just listening as he hung behind the counters, seemingly doing inventory of his stock. He kept throwing suspicious glances in their direction. “Just keep in mind, all that costs money,” Gabe added. “Might not be feasible to do all that work when the place you looked at yesterday wouldn’t require half the up-front investment.”

As if she couldn’t decipher whether or not he was bluffing, Yun frowned, her eyebrows knotting into peaks. “I swear, Gabe, sometimes you forget to see the possibilities.”

“I see possibilities; this place is a diamond in the rough. The question is how much are you willing to spend to get it into the shape that would work for us?”