Cheers for reviews and follows
The next few chapters will be jumping ahead in time
3 Months later mid November
It was Friday the day before Penny was due to open her store, everything was ready and she and Raj had done extensive advertising to get people to notice, Penny herself had appeared in adverts on the HSN and Entertainment tonight and also the director of web show that she was appearing in had agreed to have adverts at the beginning and end of the show, they had also decided not to have a press day but to just open the store at 9am on Saturday morning
Raj had also paid for a billboard poster in Beverley Hills and for Radio Ads and she had roped in Amy and Bernadette as well as Natasha and Alex to deliver leaflets advertising her store to the more affluent areas of Los Angeles. They had hired the necessary amount of staff and Natasha and Alex were trained up ready to be managers and the plan for Saturday was that they would both work on Saturday along with Penny to get a feel for the job, Penny had also managed to hire four ladies who had worked in Personal shopping for a long time and some more experienced retail staff and she was feeling confident everything would work out well
Friday evening everybody was due at 4a for their regular Chinese food and vintage video game night and when they all got there only Sheldon and Amy were missing
'Where are Sheldon and Amy? Asked Raj
'They said they would be here soon, they were being very mysterious about it all and asked me to picked up all the food' said Leonard
'Penny are you all ready for your store opening? Asked Bernadette
'Yes and I have something to ask you all when they get here' said Penny
'Can't you tell us now? Asked Bernadette
Just as Penny was about to answer, Sheldon and Amy walked in along with Daisy who upon spotting Cinnamon in her bed went and sat down next to her
'Hi everybody sorry we are late, we had some business to attend to' said Amy
'What sort of business? Asked Penny curiously
'I will let Sheldon tell you all seeing as it involves him' said Amy
'Ok the only person that knows I was planning to do this was Leonard but he didn't know when, today I passed my driving test and Amy and I were just out buying a car for myself' said Sheldon
'I thought you said you were too evolved for driving? Asked Howard
'Yes I did but circumstances change and I am thinking about the future as well and I don't want to rely on people anymore' said Sheldon
'Well I think congratulations are in order anyway, so here's to Sheldon' said Leonard as he raised a glass which everybody followed
'Penny didn't you have something to ask us all? Asked Bernadette
'Yes, as you all know tomorrow is the opening of my new store and I would like if you can to come and see it now it's all finished' asked Penny
There was a general moan from all the men in the group except for Raj but Amy and Bernadette said yes as Natasha and Alex would be working anyway
'If you guys don't want to go why don't you go play paintball instead? Asked Amy
'Oh that's a good idea' said Sheldon as Amy's Skype on her laptop which was in her bedroom started to ring so she went to answer it and returned with her laptop in her arms
'Sheldon I wont be able to come paint ball as I am going to the store for the opening' said Raj
'We may as well go Sunday as planned then' said Sheldon as he noticed Amy walking back into the living room
'Sheldon I have somebody for you' said Amy not showing him the screen
'Who is it? Asked Sheldon
'It's your mother Shelley' said Mary from the laptop, Amy then gave the laptop to Sheldon
'Hi Mom how are you?
'Oh I'm fine, I tried to ring your Skype but I got no answer' said Mary
'That's because my laptop is switched off' replied Sheldon
'Well it's a good job Amy's was on then, now have you been to church this year?
'No mom I haven't' said Sheldon waiting for the inevitable speech
'Well then why don't you and your little girlfriend come here to Texas for Christmas and we can go to church together, your Meemaw misses you Sheldon and wouldn't you like to do that Amy?
'Well it would be nice of course but Sheldon what do you think? Asked Amy
'Ok mom I will let you know when we are coming' said Sheldon
'Good now how about the rest of you, what are you all doing? Asked Mary to rest of the group
'Hi Mrs Cooper, I am flying my parents and brother here from Nebraska and putting them up in a hotel and they will stay for 2 weeks' said Penny
'Penny I hope you will save me one of your gorgeous dresses I see you are selling'
'Oh of course, Sheldon can bring it with him when he comes' said Penny as Sheldon scowled at her
'Why have I got to bring it, why can't you send it by courier' asked Sheldon
'Because you are going anyway' said Penny
The rest of the group then told Mary what they were doing apart from Leonard
'Leonard are you going to see your family? Asked Mary
'No not since my parents split up they both try to guilt trip me into spending time with them and I cant be bothered with all that, so I will be spending Christmas with Howard and Bernadette said Leonard
'Well if you like you have an invitation from me to come with Sheldon and Amy to Texas and experience a Christmas you will never forget' said Mary
'Well that's very nice of you Mrs Cooper, I will let you know in due course' said Leonard
'That's fine Leonard you are Sheldon's best friend after all' said Mary
'Mom we also have Daisy to think of, would you be ok with us bringing her? Asked Sheldon as he called Daisy over to the laptop
'Oh isn't she gorgeous, hello Daisy' said Mary to the dog, Daisy just looked around confused
'Of course you can bring her that's not a problem' said Mary
'Actually if you like I can look after her' said Raj 'She and Cinnamon get on so well together'
'We will see, I am not going to make a decision now' said Amy
'Oh mom by the way I passed my driving test today and I bought a car'
'Well done darlin, you can drive us around when you get here then' said Mary
'Sure' said Sheldon
'Now I have to go but lots of love to you and remember Jesus loves you all' said Mary as she signed off
'Well that was interesting' commented Penny adding 'Sheldon I think you may have missed a hint from your mom that she wants a dress for Christmas'
'Oh, well how was I to know that? Asked Sheldon
'Don't worry I will find out what sort of dress she wants and then I will send it gift wrapped by courier from of both of us' said Amy
'Amy that's great thank you, but also how am I going to get out of going to church, I hate church' said Sheldon folding his arms and pouting
'Oh Sheldon you will be fine, you don't have to do anything when you are there, just showing up for your mother will please her' said Amy
'Amy you do realise also when we get there, we will have to sleep in separate rooms, whilst my mother accepts our relationship, in her words "there will be no sinning under my roof" going on' said Sheldon
'Well technically we haven't actually sinned yet but that's ok, I will respect your mother's wishes' said Amy
'Thank you Amy'
'Sheldon I will let you know about coming to Texas but if I don't come then I will be happy to look after Daisy' said Leonard
'Very well, now that's out the way, I think we can get to playing some games' said Sheldon
The girls decided not to play and went over to the kitchen area with their food and chatted about the store
'Penny how are you feeling about tomorrow? Asked Amy
'Very excited and going from the emails we have received from people saying that they will be visiting the store this weekend I am expecting to be very busy which will stop me worrying so much' said Penny
'What's to worry about, you have hired all the right people and you have all the stock, you will be a success Penny' said Bernadette
'I hope so because Raj has put a lot of money into this project and I want it work for him as well as me'
'It will work Penny, Raj would not of invested in this if he didn't think it would' said Natasha
'Ok I get it, I need to stop worrying! Alex and Natasha remember you need to be at the store for 830am, I just want us to be as ready as we can be'
'Sure, is Raj going to be there for the opening as well? Asked Alex
'Yes but probably not going to be there all day like us' said Penny
Saturday Morning
Penny was the first to arrive at the store shortly before 8am, she knew things would be ok but she also couldn't help worrying, she checked the stock room to make sure they had plenty of stock and also she made sure the order book was at the tills, she knew people would probably want things altering and she had set up a contract with the seamstress company to do that
By 830am all the staff had arrived and everybody was chatting excitedly, Raj had also turned up as well, they could also see that there was a few people outside the store ready to come in as the doors opened
A 9am Penny opened the doors to the store and welcomed the first customers
'Hello and welcome to "Penny for your thoughts" if you would like any help please ask any of us here' said Penny finishing with a wide smile as she stepped aside to let people in
A few minutes later Penny was watching a lady who was absorbed in the smell and feel of some of the silk dresses, then a few minutes later she was then approached by the lady who wanted her as own Personal Shopper and not wanting to lose a customer even though she wasn't a Personal Shopper, she showed the lady to the waiting area got Alex to make her a drink and went and asked Christine who was the most experienced Personal Shopper assistant to accompany her
Some time later the lady left the shop in possession of a leather bag, 2 silk dresses and a skirt suit, she also promised to come back in the future
By the end of the first day they had quite a few sales and Penny was frequently being asked by customers to be their Personal Shopper which she had done happily, but which made her think about something and called for a meeting with the staff at the end of the day
'As you know I will only be able to be here at the most 3 days a week, now it seems a few people are asking me to be their personal shopper and that's fine but if people come in when I am not here, then I need you all to give them an appointment for the days I can be here or ask if they would be happy to see our other Personal Shoppers, these people are our most important customers and we cannot risk losing them' said Penny
'How do you think the first day went? Asked Natasha
'Oh I thought it went very well, I think out of the two of you only Alex works tomorrow, I will be here as well and Natasha you will need a day off before you start on Monday for the week'
'Are you planning to be open all day tomorrow? Asked Alex unsure
'I was going to open the same hours as today but I think if we open at 10 and finish at 4 that will be enough for opening weekend and I would like to thank you all for your hard work today' said Penny
Penny found she was enjoying working at the store, even though it wasn't in her original plan for her to work, so she was fitting it in around her webs show and on the Friday 2 weeks later, she had a meeting at 6pm at the Olive Garden with her manager Claire who looked after her acting and professional career
'Penny we have had requests for you to go on talk shows and also have some of your creations to go on the catwalk, how would you feel about that?
'Which talk shows have asked for me and why would they want me?
'Well the David Letterman show and Craig Ferguson show, their publicists have described you as the up and coming designer and actress of the year'
Penny started laughing at that
'Sorry but are you being serious? Asked Penny when she had recovered from laughing
'Yes, you have also been mentioned a lot in all the fashion magazines and you are all over their forums, have you not been taking much notice of these things?
'No, I have been very busy, but I would like to go on one of the talk shows and I presume they will be using Models for my clothing range?
'Yes but the catwalk thing isn't until January anyway, so if you like we can get planning for that but also what chat show do you want to go on?
'The Craig Ferguson I think, that will also wait until after Christmas, I am much too busy at the moment'
'Ok that's fine I shall let them know and get back to you, I have to go now as I have another client to see'
Penny arrived back at her apartment later that after her meeting then remembering it was vintage video game night went over to 4a and joined the group
'Hi everybody, I have some news that you all may like to hear' said Penny
'What sort of news? Asked Amy
'Well apparently I am the talk of the fashion world and I have been asked for some of my creations to be modelled on the catwalk to which I have agreed and also I have been asked to go on a talk show, a talk show can you believe it! Said Penny excitedly
'Oh well done, which talk show? Asked Bernadette
'Craig Ferguson's but I have asked them all to hold back until the New Year, I have far too much to do before Christmas' said Penny
'Oh talking of Christmas Penny, have you decided when you will be open? So I can put it on the website? Asked Raj
'Yes I have been thinking about that, we will be closed on Christmas Eve and reopen on Dec 27 and I will need to sort out who wants to work when' said Penny
'Well the University is closed at Christmas I will be able to work whatever days you would like me to' said Alex
'Penny even though our family will be here, I can work as well' said Natasha
'Thanks you guys, also I will try and get you all tickets for the chat show I am appearing on' said Penny
'Leonard by the way we will be leaving Daisy here when we go to Texas, I don't think its fair to put her through the flight and we will be gone only for a week' said Amy
'How does your mom feel about you staying such a short time Sheldon? Asked Leonard
'She is just happy to see us so doesn't mind too much, what I do mind is being unable to have Amy by my side at night but I will have to put up with it I guess' said Sheldon
'We can have plenty of opportunity to sneak off if we get the need Sheldon' said Amy kissing him passionately in front of everybody
'Oh get a room' said the group laughingly
Next Chapter will include Christmas and Penny's talk show interview
