“I’m pregnant, but I’d like to still work here for as long as possible, really,” Penny said with a nervous smile. She didn’t think it was going to go well for her since she had called in the day before, and she didn’t think her boss was going to be too happy with the news of the baby.

To her surprise, he seemed to be very supportive.

“I’d love for you to work here as long as you can in good health. I don’t want you to feel like you have to push yourself or anything, however. I want what’s best for you and the baby both.” He smiled, and she looked at him in shock. It was the nicest he had ever been to her, and she didn’t know what to say. It was the completely opposite reaction she thought she was going to get, and she wasn’t sure if he was being genuine.

“Are you sure?” she asked uncertainly.

“Of course. You’re going to need the money, and I can sure use the help around here,” he said with a smile. She thanked him, but she didn’t know what else to say. It was so out of character for him, she didn’t know how to handle it.

“Are you able to work tonight? Can you take over now?” Doug asked. She looked around.

“Oh, I suppose I could. I wasn’t sure if you were going to want me in here on such short notice, but I can. You’re right about me needing the money. I didn’t want to take yesterday off, but I was just feeling like shit,” Penny said with a weak smile.

“Of course, of course, take it easy as best you can. In fact, why don’t you take the corner on the far end of the place? You know that one never gets very loud.” He smiled, and Penny looked at him with wide eyes once more. This was so out of character, she didn’t know if she should thank him or ask him what was really going on. But, feeling as she was, she was smart enough not to question her good fortune and his gracious mood.

She didn’t want to say anything that would piss him off and cause him to change his mind. The easier her night could be, the more she was going to embrace it.

“I’ll get right to work,” she said with a bright smile, grabbing one of the aprons. “Who knows how long this is going to fit me anyway?”

She tied it on, slipping out of her office and for the first time wondering if there really was something of a friendship between them. It wouldn’t be entirely impossible, but there had been so many times when she thought that he hated her, she would be more surprised by it than she could say.

She headed out into the main area of the club and stopped, glancing around to see if there was anything else she could be doing while she waited for someone to come take her table. She decided to help Angie out with the bar glasses, and the two of them were soon chatting away.

“How are things going with Chase?” Angie asked, wiggling her eyebrows with a giggle.

“What? How do you know about that?” Penny asked.

“Everyone knows,” Angie said with a laugh. “So, tell me! How are things going?”

“I suppose you can say they are going well,” Penny said uncertainly. She didn’t want to go into too many details about it, not wanting the other waitresses to get in on the gossip. She knew that it didn’t take much for the others to come flocking around, and she didn’t want the fact she was pregnant to be spread around the nightclub yet.

“I’m happy, he’s happy, and I guess right now that’s all that matters,” Penny said, trying to change the subject to something else. She didn’t know what else to say, but the way Angie looked at her made her feel rather uncomfortable. Suddenly, a group of men came in and took a seat at her table, and Penny excused herself.

She recognized them as friends of Doug, but she didn’t point that out to any of them. She didn’t want to get on too familiar of terms with him, and she worried the more she did, the harder it would be for her to get out of there when it was time for her to leave. She was going to go on maternity leave, and she knew Doug hated it when people quit, no matter what the reason. No matter how nice he was being today, that could all change tomorrow.

The night started out smoothly enough, but it wasn’t long before things started to go downhill. The men were far too grabby, touching her when she tried to get their orders, making her uncomfortable every time she came around. When one finally slipped a twenty-dollar bill down her shirt, she gave them all a look, then she went to complain to Doug.

“I saw what happened, and I’m far from happy about it,” Doug said coldly.

“Do you want me to tell them to leave?” Penny asked.

“No, I think the problem is you,” Doug replied in a clipped tone.

“What the hell are you talking about?” she shot back in shock, her hands flying to her hips. “You saw what they just did to me!”

“I saw you flirting with them! They are men, Penny, what the fuck do you think they are going to do when you are behaving like that in front of them? You are practically begging them to grab you every chance they get,” Doug snapped.

Penny laughed in disbelief as she shook her head. She couldn’t believe he was going to do this now, and she was slowly beginning to suspect that he might have set this up on purpose.

What better way to fire her than to get rid of her for behaving inappropriately with the clients?

“You have nothing on me, because I’ve never done anything like that with anyone!” she said, throwing her hands in the air. “I want you to report those men or I’m going to do it myself!”

“You’ll do no such thing,” he replied sharply. “If you are going to report this nightclub, then I will be more than happy to present the proof that you are the one who is engaging with the customers, and you aren’t going to turn that around on me.”

“What the hell are you talking about? That’s never happened here with me, and you know it!” Penny snapped. She knew Doug could be difficult, but this was getting out of hand. She wanted proof, and she was convinced that he didn’t have any.

“Alright, you want proof, well here’s your proof!” he snapped back at her. He turned on the security camera and punched in a few letters on his keyboard. She crossed her arms, waiting for something to come up for her to argue with. She didn’t know what he possibly thought he could have on her, but it was evidently something.

Suddenly, her face changed as she saw her and Chase kissing outside the doors of the bathroom, right before he pulled her inside and out of view.

“Do you want to tell me what was going on in there?” Doug asked, his face smug. Penny’s face told him everything, and he laughed.

“Yeah, I didn’t think so. But, as you can see, that is more than enough proof for what I’m saying to stand. If you want to take this to court, we can go ahead with that, but you are going to get laughed right out of the room.” Doug crossed his arms and gave her a smirk, and she shook her head.

“This is bullshit,” she snapped as she turned around and headed for the door.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Doug asked, stopping her. She turned around.

“I’m going to go finish this fucking shift so I can get home,” she snapped back.

Doug laughed and shook his head, causing her to turn back around and cross her arms, waiting for him to explain himself once more. She hated it when he dragged things out like this, but she knew that he enjoyed doing it, and he was going to milk this up as much as he could.

He liked having all the power and information, and until he finished, she was going to be stuck there waiting for him.

“What’s so funny?” she asked impatiently. She wasn’t going to stand there and be laughed at, and if he wasn’t going to tell her, then she was just going to go home.

“You’re crazy if you think you’re going back out there after what you just tried to pull with me!” he snapped. She had been smirking, waiting for him to antagonize her, but the smile faded with his words.

“What are you talking about?” she asked, this time her tone meeker than it was before.

“I mean, Ms. Connor, that you’re not going back out into that lobby. You’re fired. Effective immediately.”