Hope you enjoyed the last chapter

Tuesday morning

Penny woke up early excited to go and view the store available, noticing it was very warm outside and she also wanted to dress appropriately she wore a black skirt with a red blouse and her trusty 4 inch heels, putting a Penny Blossom in hair for luck, she also had a large leather wallet with her ideas and plans in

Because she was feeling excited and nervous, she made herself a small breakfast of scrambled egg and toast with tea and finished off getting ready to go out

Raj arrived to pick Penny up at 8am and they drove to Rodeo Drive to meet the realtor agent at the available store unit

Parking at a nearby Car Park, they met the realtor agent outside the store, Penny felt intimidated by the whippet thin lady with perfect hair but that soon went, when the lady addressed them

'Hello my name is Esther and I am here to show this store today' said Esther shaking both their hands

'Hi I am Raj, we spoke on the phone yesterday and this is Penny my business partner' said Raj

Esther looked at Penny for a long time trying to figure where she knew her from

'Sorry to be so rude for staring at you like that, but have you recently been on television? I'm sure I know you from somewhere' said Esther to Penny

'Yes I am currently on the HSN advertising my Penny Blossom flowers' said Penny pointing out the item in her hair

'Oh of course, you were very convincing and I have bought a couple for myself and my daughter, is that what you are going to do here? Asked Esther opening up the store and letting them in

'Well we have plans to stock clothing and accessories with the Penny Blossom flower printed onto everything, like an exclusive range' said Penny opening her leather wallet and showing Esther her ideas and plans

'That looks very interesting and it's good to see young designers making a name for themselves' said Esther

'Thank you' said Penny noticing for the first time just how big the floor space was and started to get excited again

'Right now let me show you everything in the store, it is only one floor but the floor space is around 2000 sq feet, all the clothing rails and shelves have been left in place from the last occupier, there are dressing rooms towards the back as well and behind that a staff area with 2 offices and a kitchen and bathroom, also if you are going into the business of having personal shoppers, there is a small waiting area for them over here' said Esther showing them around

Penny noticed how clean and fresh everything looked

'Has it recently been painted? Asked Penny looking to Esther

'Yes, the last occupier left 2 weeks ago so I organised a quick clean up to make it look attractive for potential new occupiers' said Esther

Esther left them alone to walk around themselves and went to the back of the store to make a call leaving Penny delighted with the amount of space and looking at Raj hopefully

'Raj this place is perfect and I really want us to have it' said Penny

'Its ok I like it too and I agree with how good it will be for the business, having an exclusive address will only draw in the customers' said Raj

Just then Esther returned from her phone call

'Have you decided yet? Because I have other people coming to see later on' said Esther

'Yes we want to rent it from you' said Raj

'Ok do you have a specific time plan for how long you plan to stay here? Asked Esther

'Well if we are successful then a very long time' laughed Penny

'I was wondering how much this particular store would go on the market for? Asked Raj

'Well because it is on Rodeo Drive its very expensive, there were units for sale around $50 million dollars last year but this one last sold for $25 million and that was five years ago' said Esther

'Raj you were right that we couldn't afford to buy then' said Penny

'Well I have an agreement here for you if you would like to go through it, as long as you are happy to pay the $30,000 a month rent' said Esther

'Yes I have a trust fund and I am using some of that to pay for 1 years rent upfront and then after that we should be making enough money to pay the rent from any profits we make' said Raj

'Well I can see how keen you both are and I will accept a years rent in advance if that is what you would like to do, the bank details are also on the form so you will need to fill those in and you should have the keys once the money has been transferred and your details are on our system' said Esther

'Thank you so much' said Penny

'Well I hope I get an invite to the opening, I would be very interested in buying something from you' said Esther

'Oh of course' said Penny

After the paperwork had been signed Esther told Raj she would be in contact as soon as possible to meet up with the keys and they left the building

Penny took Raj down Rodeo Drive to some of the more upmarket shops which had personal shoppers to show him how she wanted her store to look

'You see how some of the smaller items are displayed, they are all in glass cabinets that you cant touch, whilst I wouldn't go that far I would like people to able to touch and feel the items and I do like how the clothes on the rails are separate from each other, not touching' said Penny writing stuff down in her notebook

'Were you planning to do Men's stuff as well Penny? Asked Raj noticing the men's section

'Oh I hadn't thought about that, what do you think? Asked Penny

'Well I would buy a shirt with a Penny Blossom on it and maybe a tie as well'

'You are right, but I think we need to start small and see how successful we are with the women's section for now' said Penny

'You know if we are successful then we could rent another store just for the men items but that's a long way down the line yet' said Raj

It was nearing lunchtime so they found an Italian restaurant ordered lunch and carried on discussing plans

'Penny have you thought about whether you will open weekends? Most of these stores do' said Raj

'Yes I think I will open all day Saturday and then Sunday but not all day' said Penny

'You said Alex was interested in working at the weekends, you will probably need her to go on the managerial training course as well' said Raj taking a bite of his pasta Bolognese

'Oh yes of course, I think we will need to hire around 10 staff, if we go by how long we will be open for throughout the day' said Penny

'Ok that's another thing we can talk about as well, once everything is confirmed' said Raj

Later the same day

Amy and Sheldon had arrived at the vets to pick up Daisy after her operation and when she was brought out to them in the waiting area, the little puppy recognised them from the day before and wagged her tail excitedly and jumped about in Amy's arms

'Have you got a name for her yet? So we can update our details on the micro chip website' Asked the Vet?

'Yes we are going to call her Daisy' said Amy

'That's very nice, the operation went well and you wont need to be bring her back as the stitches are dissolvable and will go within a week or so, also you will need to bring her back for a booster injection when she is a year old, we would usually do it at 6 months but as she had everything done yesterday, she can afford to wait a while' said the Vet

'Thank you' said Sheldon

'She may be a little hungry but just feed her small amounts for the rest of the day and make sure water is available at all times for her' said the Vet

Amy and Sheldon left the vets with the puppy walking on the harness lead they had got and the puppy was happily sniffing all the plants and flowers alongside the road towards their car

They arrived back at their apartment block shortly after 4pm and went to their apartment where Leonard was, Raj was also there playing video games with him

'Hi Raj, here is our little Daisy' said Amy unhooking her from the harness and letting her free, Daisy wandered around the apartment and found her doggie bed which was by the right hand side of Leonard's armchair and rolled around in it

'She is lovely, I brought Cinnamon as well' said Raj indicating the sleeping dog on the sofa in between Leonard and Raj

'Ok lets introduce them' said Amy as Raj woke Cinnamon up and put her on the floor where Daisy now was, the two dogs sniffed each other and then raced towards the kitchen chasing each other around the kitchen bench and the rest of the apartment before they both stopped exhausted as they both got into Daisy's bed and curled up together

'Well I think that was successful' said Sheldon watching them

'Raj I forgot to ask, how was the viewing today? Asked Amy

'Yes it was very good, we will be renting the store and funny enough the realtor had seen Penny on the HSN and had bought a couple of blossoms, also I gave Penny the idea of also storing men's clothes as well but that will only come to fruition if we are successful' aid Raj

'Do you know how long before you can get into the shop and open? Asked Sheldon

'Well I have paid a years rent in advance so hopefully this week and I have to sort out suppliers, so probably about a month and that will give Penny time to train her staff and her sister' said Raj

'Where's Penny now? Asked Amy

'She said something about going up to 5B and making sure it was ready for her sister' said Raj

'Ok, Sheldon will you be ok to watch Daisy while I go and see her?

'Yes of course, she's happily sleeping right now so I don't think she will be any bother' said Sheldon

After knocking at Penny's and getting no answer, Amy walked up the stairs to 5b, the door was slightly ajar and Amy noticed Penny in the kitchen putting food away in the fridge and cupboards

'Hi bestie, how are things going?

'Hi Ames, everything is ok, I just stopped off at the store to get some essentials in for Natasha, she doesn't have any money and I have enquired about getting her a waitress job at the cheesecake factory and they have agreed to give her a job until we can start full time at the store'

'Ok do you want a hand putting things away?

'No its ok, I have a lot of nervous energy at the moment and I am trying to keep busy, though if you could take all the bedding stuff into the bedroom and make the bed up, that would be helpful' said Penny indicating more bags lined up in front of the bedroom door

'Congratulations on the store by the way, Raj just told me' said Amy

'Thank you Amy, I will take you to show it once it is all fitted out, I need to find out if Alex is serious about working there as well because she will have to go on a managerial course if she is going to manage the store at the weekend' said Penny

'Well I will invite her over tomorrow then when your sister comes for dinner and you can talk to her about it' said Amy reaching to pick up the bags

'Good idea, let me help you make the bed up, I'm nearly done here anyway' said Penny

'I wonder why everything was left? It's good though but usually the apartments are left empty' said Amy as they made quick work of making the bed up

'I have no idea but Steve said the last tenant has left the state anyway, he changed the locks as well so is there no chance of them coming back' said Penny

'What time is Natasha coming tomorrow? Asked Amy

'She's landing at 11am at LAX so I will bring her back here and help her get settled' said Penny

'Ok well I won't be in until at least 6pm because of leaving work early today to collect Daisy' said Amy

'Oh yes Daisy, let me come down with you and see her, I can finish up the little bits left over later, you know we had German Shepherds as guard dogs on our farm back home in Nebraska, they were definitely not petting dogs' said Penny as they left the apartment and went back down to 4a

'I don't think we will use Daisy as a guard dog, we want her to be a loving pet' said Amy as she opened the door to Cinnamon and Daisy barking at each other playfully and chasing each other around again

'Wow it's like a whirlwind of dogs in here' said Penny

'Yes I agree, Daisy come here' said Amy as the puppy stopped what she was doing and turned to Amy and ran towards her

'Well you can tell who her mummy is' said Sheldon as Penny bent down to play with the puppy and Cinnamon wandered over and wanted attention as well

After a few more minutes of rough and tumble with each other Amy broke them up

'Ok Daisy needs to rest a little bit she shouldn't be overexerting herself on her first day here' said Amy

'Your right Amy, Cinnamon come here' said Raj and the little Yorkie jumped back onto the settee next to him while Raj carried on playing his video game

Wednesday

Penny arrived at LAX in plenty of time and was waiting in the arrivals hall for her sister when she spotted her sister dressed in Jeans and a lurid Pink top with a trolley loaded up with several cases

'Hey sis, so glad to see you' said Penny as she gave Natasha a big hug

'Its not like you can miss me in this get up' laughed Natasha

'Come on lets get you to your new home' said Penny

They arrived at the apartment block shortly after midday and noticed there was two workmen fixing the elevator

'Oh thank goodness for that, it's been broken since before I moved in' said Penny as they started walking up the stairs with all the luggage

'You moved in ages ago, how comes they are just fixing it now? Asked Natasha

'Oh my neighbour Sheldon complained and the landlord said he didn't bother fixing it because nobody complained, which is a useless excuse if you ask me' said Penny

'With all this stuff we are carrying it would have been very useful' said Natasha

'I would ask the guys to help but they are at work' said Penny as they finally reached 5b,

'Here is your key, if you would like to do the honours' said Penny handing Natasha the key

Natasha opened up the door and was pleasantly surprised

'Its very colourful and I see it smells nice and clean' said Natasha

'Yes I had a quick run round this morning and I have stocked the fridge and cupboards with any essentials you may need and also you have a temporary job at the cheesecake factory starting on Friday if you want to earn a bit of money before starting at the store' said Penny

'Yes I can do that, have you arranged the training course yet? Asked Natasha as they both sat down on the settee

'No not yet, I have not had time, one other thing as you wont get paid from the Cheesecake Factory until Friday next week here is $1000 to tide you over until then' said Penny handing over the money to her sister

'Penny! I can't accept that, you and Raj have already done so much for me, what with him paying for the rent for 3 months'

'Natasha how else are you going to live with no money?' asked Penny quite reasonably

'Are you sure?

'Yes we have already had thousands of orders come in for the Penny Blossoms so I can use some of my own profit to do this

'Ok thank you'

'No problem, by the way we are having dinner with all my friends tonight'

'Ok, are you still seeing Leonard?

Penny looked stricken for a moment but it was enough for Natasha to notice

'Penny what's wrong? I'm sorry if I upset you' said Natasha as she put her arms around her sister

'No its ok, we have split up and it was all my fault' said Penny as she told Natasha the whole story

'The fact that they all want to stay friends with you despite what happened says a lot about how they value your friendship Penny' said Natasha

'Yes well Leonard is taking a lot longer to get around but we can at least be in the same room together and exchange pleasantries now and Amy still thinks of me as her bestie and I know I will never do something so stupid ever again' said Penny

Penny helped Natasha unpack her things and by the end of the afternoon they apartment was looking much more how Natasha liked it, Penny also took Natasha to the Cheesecake factory for a quick interview with the manager who agreed to give her the Friday evening shift for her first shift and the same on Saturday and Sunday

At 6pm they walked down to 4a where all her friends had just arrived and Penny introduced her sister to everybody

'Everybody this is Natasha' said Penny as she pointed out everybody to Natasha

'Penny do you think you could bring your armchair over, we have run out of seating here' said Amy

'Sure' said Penny as she quickly went and brought the chair over and sat next to Alex, whilst everybody acquainted themselves with Natasha

Raj had brought Cinnamon with him again and she and Daisy were playing together in the hallway by the bedrooms

'Alex are you definitely sure you want to work for me? Because if you are then I will need to include you on a managerial training course because I want you to manage the store at weekends and we will be offering Personal Shopper service' said Penny

'Yes I am very sure, I have always been interested in fashion and I wont let you down' said Alex

'Ok the next few weeks will be busy so I hope that Sheldon will be able to give you some time off to attend the course' said Penny, hoping Sheldon would hear

'Of course I will give her the time off, she has holiday due so she can use it out of that' said Sheldon

'Thank you, also Alex do you know anybody that wants to work in fashion?

'Yes my cousin works at Macys and I could ask her if you like? Said Alex

'Yes sure, thank you' said Penny as her phoned started to ring she noticed it was her manager so went to her own apartment to take the call where it was quieter

She came back a few minutes later after she has asked her manager to hire a publicist and explained the reasons why

The rest of the evening was a success and when the group heard that Natasha was working at the cheesecake on Friday they decided that they would help her out by going on Friday instead of having Chinese Food and vintage video game night

Next chapter will include the opening of the store and other things

Though it may take a few days