Penny's bad day gets worse

"Are you drunk?" said the blonde woman who had blocked Penny's fall. "Are you stoned? Are you so incompetent that you can't even do a simple task like standing still without falling over? This job I gave you isn't rocket science, you know? I have a good mind to fire you here and now and send you home. Better yet, I'll send you home right now at your own expense and keep your clothes so that you have to go home naked. How would you like that?"

"Please don't fire me," said Penny. "I need this job. I can't make rent this month without it."

"You should have thought of that before you started goofing off on the job," said the angry blonde. "I don't know why Barry picked you to begin with."

"That's right," said Penny. "It wasn't you who chose me to work here. It was your boyfriend Barry."

The blonde snorted. "You idiot. Barry's not my boyfriend. He's my -- Oh, why am I explaining myself to you? You're just the hired help."

"And you're not the one who hired me so why should I listen to you?" asked Penny.

The blonde just stared at Penny.

"Yes, that's right," said Penny. "You have no real power over me because you're not the one who picked me to come here in the first place. So why don't you let me alone and give me a chance to do my job? I promise there'll be no more screw-ups on my end."

Again the blonde just stared at Penny.

"Besides, it would be too late to find a replacement for me at this time." said Penny. "In fact, if I left right now, you might have to fill in for me. And something tells me that you'd rather not do that."

Judging from the expression on her face, the blonde was still angry but she said not one more word to Penny. Instead she quietly left the room.

Good, thought Penny. Now things should improve around here.

Penny was still surprised she had found the nerve to speak to the blonde woman the way she had done but now that it was over, she was glad that she did. Now all she had to do was stand quietly and hope that nothing worse happened.

xxx

Meanwhile, in another part of the house, the blonde woman was talking to one of the maids.

"Magda, do you still have the clothes that the statue girl wore on her way here?" she asked.

"Yes, Mistress," said Magda.

"Kindly get rid of them please," said the blonde woman. "Immediately. And have someone tow that old car that someone parked a few yard away from the front gate. That thing is an eyesore and I really don't want to see it there when our guests start to arrive this evening."

"Yes, Mistress," said Magda.