Blood in the Golden Palace

Chapter 4: Penny-1

Chapter 4: PennyANGELO DEROSSI

FLOOR MANAGER, GOLDEN PALACE

326-555-6485

Penny stared at the card as she wandered back up to her apartment. That afternoon hadn’t seemed real. Nothing about Angelo did. He was like some wild character, too perfect to be flesh and blood. Penny would be a fool if she didn’t acknowledge how fast her heart fluttered when she saw his smile earlier in the café. Thinking about a potential job at The Golden Palace, she wondered if it would be a problem to have such an attractive boss. Or one that would take time out of his busy schedule to give her a lift home. Or make small talk with her. Or call her pretty…

As she headed into her apartment, she chastised herself. Angelo was probably just being nice. Even if she found him head over heels attractive, that didn’t mean he thought the same way. A guy that good looking, that rich? He probably had girls lined up around the block. Penny was nothing special.

“Vivian?” Penny called, wandering inside. Silence answered her; Vivian was probably at the grocery store. She’d mentioned needing to go recently, and Penny wouldn’t protest. Stepping over the threshold, she noticed a small pile of mail on the kitchen counter. Dropping her bag, she thumbed through the letters. Junk mail, credit cards, take out menus, electric bill…and something else. Penny froze as those big red letters stared up at her, unyielding:

EVICTION WARNING.

Penny went to open the letter, only to find it already torn. Removing the contents, she read quickly.

To Vivian Michaels and Penelope Sweet,

It has been six months since your increase in rent, and to date, Palm Housing Inc. has not received adequate payment for your unit, #1242. A balance of $2,180 is due upon receipt of this notice, or you will be expected to vacate within thirty days. This is your only warning.

Palm Housing, LLC

Penny felt her stomach drop and she collapsed in one of the kitchen chairs. “Two grand…?” She racked her brains. Last she checked, she had about a hundred in savings and forty-one dollars in her checking account. Making a thousand dollars in a month on minimum wage was nearly impossible in this city. Not to mention all the rent and utilities due alongside their late balance. Reading and re-reading the letter again, all those warm and fuzzy feelings from the afternoon vanished in a puff of smoke.

“Penny?” Vivian’s voice broke her out of her haze and she turned. Vivian carried a small bundle of dollar store grocery bags, one of which had an empty change jar, no doubt the contents of which paid for their food for the week. “You’re home early, hon. You feeling okay…?”

Penny held up the letter, and Vivian’s face fell. “When were you going to tell me our rent increased?”

Vivian guiltily walked to the kitchen and set the groceries down. “I didn’t want you to worry about it. You’re still so young, and you work so hard.”

“Vivian.” Penny walked over to their kitchen with a concerned frown. “You’re on a fixed income. How were you planning to handle this on your own?”

“Well once I sell my work, I figured we’d have plenty of money. Besides, my grandson gave me this attorney’s email. I’ve been thinking about fighting the increase, you know.”

“Fight…? What are you talking about? Viv, rent increases are legal. We fight this, and we just accumulate more and more debt. No judge is going to side with us for something under five grand.”

“But it can’t hurt to try.”

“Yes, it can! It can hurt very, very much.” Penny pinched her nose and took a deep breath. “It’s fine. We’ll be fine.”

“That’s what I’m saying—”

“No.” Penny said pointedly. “We’ll be fine because I got a job offer.”

Vivian brightened and clutched a bag of discount bread to her chest. “You did!?”

“Kind of. Not really an offer offer, more like an offer for an interview.” Penny pulled out Angelo’s card and showed it to Vivian. “Apparently the Golden Palace is hiring. I might be able to moonlight as a server. Make a little extra for a while.”

“Oh…!” Vivian cooed over the card. “This is great, Penny! I hear that place pays real well.”

“Let’s hope. The boss already met me and he seems to like me well enough. Maybe if I work weekends cleaning up after the bartenders or bringing people their drinks, I can make enough to at least get us out of the hole. And then we’ll figure out where to go from there.”

“Oh bless you, baby.” Vivian kissed Penny’s cheek, and despite their predicament, Penny flashed her a smile. “You go relax, and I’ll start dinner.”

“Don’t blow up the kitchen.”

“I’ll do my best.”

* * * *

Penny spent the rest of the week anxiously counting down the hours to her next free day. The last thing she wanted was to show up for an interview sweaty and covered in flour. In the meantime, she managed to bargain with their landlord for an extra two weeks’ time on their late fee. It wasn’t ideal, but it was better than being homeless come next month. Fortunately, Thursdays were always free for her, so that Wednesday, she decided to take the opposite bus further into the city to wardrobe shop.

Bluntly put, she had no idea what to expect or how to present herself in her interview. While her experience told her it shouldn’t be different from any other, her gut told her otherwise. Additionally, Milo was more than willing to give her insight on the potential job that only made things worse. According to him, the Golden Palace was on the lookout for girls who could turn heads, but be professional. Evocative, but poised, sexy but untouchable. It was enough to make Penny’s head spin. Normally, she would resign herself to simply be honest and authentic, but normally, her entire living situation was not due to expire within two weeks. So, with a few recommendations from Daisy and Milo, Penny gathered up all her tips and headed to the nearest thrift store for a new-ish interview dress.

Second Chance Thrift was a bit of a haunt of hers. Other than her gaudy silver slip (which she managed to grab off the sale rack), Penny couldn’t recall a time when she bought something totally new for her closet. She never minded, though, especially when her shopping trips lead her to the used bookshelf near the back. The shop itself was reasonably sized, with plenty of cluttered racks full of mothy-smelling department throwaways. The floors were plain, concrete slabs, scuffed up by years of wear and tear. If you were lucky, you could avoid occasional surprises like gum or spilled soda at your feet. Today was slow, and Penny was thankful for a distinct lack of crowds; too many people always made shopping a hassle.

She strolled down a rack of dresses, picking a few sensible choices for the changing room. A black pencil dress with capped sleeves, a denim day dress that was probably from someone’s closet in the nineties, a respectable shift skirt and blouse combo, and last but not least, a lovely pink number with a knee length hem and yellow sunflowers painted on one side. It didn’t exactly scream “interview,” but Penny couldn’t help but recall Angelo’s smooth voice from the other day.

“Pretty girls in pretty dresses…could always use more of those.”

Penny’s stomach did a flip and she held it up to her shoulders, glancing at a mirror. Even from just a cursory glance, it looked exactly her size. Giddy, she wandered over to the changing room, which was little more than a corner with a thick curtain, and stepped inside.

First, the black dress, which made her feel like a stuffed sausage. The denim day dress was itchy in all the worst places, and the blouse, upon further inspection, was terribly see-through. And so, she tried on the pink and sunflower piece. It slid over her shoulders with ease, and fell down her legs like a waterfall. The other choices pushed aside, Penny twirled in the mirror, watching the tiered layers of her skirt float like flower petals. It was light and airy, and although it wasn’t exactly a dress perfect for mid-January, she knew just the sweater and leggings to offset the cold. She ran her hands down the sides, only to notice something at the hip.

The dress had pockets. f*****g sold.

After stopping in at the register, Penny walked out with an old grocery bag holding her prize. She ran her fingers through the cotton fabric, wondering if Angelo would like it. In the back of her head, a little voice continued to scold her for being so excited. After all, if she ended up getting this job, the last thing she needed was to go goo-goo over the boss. Still, what could a little indulgence hurt now and again? Reaching the bus stop, she sat down and checked her phone. A few spam notifications, some emails, nothing major. As she scrolled mindlessly, she felt something shift in her back pocket. Reaching back, she removed Angelo’s’ business card.

Would it be rude to just drop in without notice? Perhaps she should text him…? But, upon further consideration, this could also be the business landline. A place that big probably still needed one. Penny wondered instead if she should call. She began to dial the numbers, but stopped. What if calling a day ahead was annoying? Then again, it seemed like the responsible option. That nasty little voice returned with a vengeance, tormenting her with the idea that he might not even remember the offer. Angelo DeRossi seemed like a very busy individual, with nearly no time to spare for minimum wage part timers. Penny started to delete the number, but stopped before reaching the end.

This is so stupid. It’s a job interview. I should call. Penny went back to dialing in the number.

“Penny?”

She paused, a few numbers away from completing her call, and looked up. Arm in a sling with a healing cut on his lip, David stood at the same bus stop, and stared at Penny in shock. Penny stood, her phone call forgotten.

“David? Oh my God. What happened to you?”

David pulled away before Penny could reach out and touch her. “Are you f*****g serious right now? You’re gonna sit there and act like you don’t know?”

“Don’t know what?” A look of disgust curled over David’s face, and he turned to leave. Penny followed. “David? David, wait!” Getting out in front of him, she held out her arms to block his path.

“Get out of my way, Penny.”

“I don’t understand. Who did this?”

David scoffed in anger, but after a moment, he realized that Penny was telling the truth. “You really don’t know…”

“Of course not. Are you all right? Do you need a hospital? Should we call the police?”

David paled. “Christ, no, are you serious? I don’t need to end up dead…”

“Dead? You’re scaring me.”

“Yeah, well, maybe you should be scared.”

“What are you talking about?”

David sucked the top of his teeth, clearly debating whether or not he should spill. “All right,” he finally said. “That ‘friend’ of yours? He made it real clear that you didn’t want me around. In fact, he made it so clear that he had his group of goons take me down to a*****e room and kick the living s**t out of me.”

“What…?” Penny could barely believe what she was hearing. “I…No. No, Angelo wouldn’t do that.”

“Are you shitting me?” David sneered. “Don’t tell me you’re this naive.”

Penny clutched the business card tight in her hand. “I’m not I…No, there’s no way—”

“Sure there is. You know how? Because the owner of that s**t hole is a f*****g criminal. Probably a mob boss, if I’m being real.”

“No…you…You’re just angry. You’re jealous because I wouldn’t…because I didn’t want…”

“Oh yeah, that’s it. I broke my own arm out of jealousy.”

“You’re lying!” Penny suddenly accused. “No, there’s no way. Maybe some of his bouncers were rough with you, but he’s not the kind of guy to hurt someone like this!”

“And what kind of guy is he, Penny? Huh? Answer me that.”