It was the first trip overseas for Julie and her daughter. Isabelle had sent Quizzical to the UK to toughen up with KHS, and ever since a lot of cross communication had resulted in many future plans between the stables. To solidify some agreements and check up on Quizzical, Julie had been chosen to fly over. Despite being able to sleep in, Julie had been up at the crack of dawn from routine. Getting her teenager off on an all day bus tour with some old family friends of her husband's, Julie took a taxi out to KHS, as she didn't trust herself to try and drive on the opposite side of everything. Armed with papers, folders, pens, her camera (Isabelle wanted pictures of everything), and peppermints, Julie fumbled out of the cab, hoping she wasn't late.

The first sign Arthur got of his approaching visitor was his dog barking and rushing off down a driveway. This, of course, led to him rushing out of the building in a frantic attempt to pull the animal back. He didn't want another incident in which the stupid thing ended up getting hit by a car.

Thankfully, he managed to grab the Labrador before anything terrible happened. Scolding his dog in a voice that sounded more amused than angry, he held onto his collar as he watched the car pull up. Who was this, then? It took him a moment to work it out but the second he did a grin broke out across his face.

"Ah! Julie, right? Hello!" Arthur greeted, bouncing over to her, hand outstretched for an eager handshake. At their feet, the dog excitedly rushed around, happy to see a new far. "You're early! I wasn't expecting you for another, oh-" He glanced down at a battered watch on his wrist, the glass on the face cracked from being accidentally dropped one too many times in the past. "Another couple of hours or so? Peter's out with Quizzical right now. You want a cup of tea while you wait for them to get back?"

Julie was pleasantly surprised how friendly Arthur was, and shook his hand with the same enthusiasm she was given. "I'm so happy to meet you, Mr. Saxon." The dog was even more excited, and Julie vigorously rubbed his neck and shoulder in hello. "Hello to you, sweetheart!" Some people might have been overwhelmed from the rambunctious animal, but Julie was so accustomed to the brood of golden retrievers at REI, not to mention unruly racehorses, that it was par for the day for her. Relieved she wasn't late, she almost apologized for being early, then realized it really wasn't the fault of either of them. An official time hadn't been arranged, just the day.

"I'm just glad you weren't waiting for me. I'd actually love see him working out, if he's close enough? Otherwise I don't mind waiting. A cup of tea sounds lovely, as long as I'm not putting you out. If you're busy at the moment I can also wander around, if you need some time." Julie couldn't help looking around at everything, and was glad she'd chosen a pair of nice jeans to go with her dressier blouse. She wanted to represent REI well, but this was still a horse farm, and she was prepared to get a little dirty if she needed to.

"I'm going to be honest with you, mate, I'm not entirely sure where Peter's gone with him," Arthur admitted, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly for a moment, before quickly adding: "Don't worry, though! Peter knows what he's doing. He'd a brilliant man. Very Irish, though, so don't worry if you can't understand a word he says when he comes back. I know people struggle with his accent sometimes." And now he was rambling. Arthur had a habit of doing that when he was nervous, and showing somebody their horses that he was leasing was definitely something that made him feel that way (not that he had any reason to, of course).

"Let me put the kettle on for you," he then said, motioning for Julie to follow him as he started making his way towards the small outbuilding he had set aside for his office. There was a kettle in there and countless mugs - Arthur finding it easier to have such things on hand than to trek back to the house every time he wanted a cuppa. "If Peter's not back with Quizzical by then, you can come check on the yearlings with me, if you want? I promised Holly I'd make sure none of them were getting into trouble around now."

Giving him an encouraging smile, Julie could tell she'd caught Arthur a bit off guard. It seemed the place was a little shorthanded, and she didn't want Arthur to feel that she was interrogating him. Horse racing was an unpredictable industry, to say the least. She was usually organized to a fault, but she had ample patience for those who weren't. As a mother of a teenager, patience was always key. Following Arthur, she couldn't help but compare his office to her daughter's bedroom. She was positive he knew exactly where everything was, even if nothing was where it was supposed to be. She lost count of the sporadic cups, mulling over their random themes and placements.

"I'd love to get a look at your yearlings! We've had a few yearling surprises I wouldn't mind giving you the exclusive on. We've seen in the news your stable recently doubled in the sale about a month back, I'm sure you're probably overwhelmed with the new stock right now. Isabelle always keeps us hopping with some of the new projects she comes home with at some of the oddest times." Julie gave Arthur a wry smile, rolling her eyes for a moment.