Employee of the Month

It was mid April, another rainy day, as Gwen went through the mail for the day. She was sorting it into piles so they could be given to her boss in order of importance. "Bill, bill, ah thank ya card from ah customer, 'nother bill, Oooohh~?" She perked as the next envelope only had her boss's name on the front; no address. She brought it under her nose to give it a sniff, getting a strong whiff of cologne. Gwen knew her boss was playing a game of old style courtship with a mystery bun. "I'll just save this for later," she giggled and tucked it away in the belt of her pants. The letter stuck out on both the top and bottom edge of her waistline; it wasn't hidden very well. So long as her boss didn't notice it, this was a good blackmail bargaining tool for later when she wanted time off.

Still giddy with herself, Gwen returned to sorting. "Ehh? The fuck is this thing?" She questioned, getting to the last piece of mail. The envelope was dark in color with shiny golden patterns on the edges. Flipping it over, the front only said the name of the shop Spider Silk Dresses in golden cursive. Now while Gwen was allowed to sort (and squirrel away) the mail, she wasn't allowed to open it. So she got up and yelled towards the back side of the shop, "Boss? Hey Boss!" She could hear the humming of the sewing machine going and opened her mouth with her hands cupped around the edge to help amplify her voice, "BOSS!"

"Hang on!" The humming was cut off leaving the shop oddly silent. "What is it Gwenie?" Her boss called back, sounding tired.

"We got ah weird bit of mail!"

"Weird mail? Murmur damn it, just bring it here." And so Gwen started towards the back of the shop, then she heard her boss yelling again, "Did you lock the door and put the 'back in five' sign out?"

Gwen groaned and turned back on her heel to do as she was told. "Course I did, what am I, stupid?"

That was still up for debate.

Gwen made her way past the display of example clothes and measuring/fitting room, into an area with bolts of fabric set up and some dress forms with clothing in different states of completion. Still past this area was her boss's word zone; a well lit area with two different sewing machines and a big table. Currently there was a rather gaudy piece of fabric with a mushroom pattern on the table. Gwen wrinkled her nose and pointed to the fabric. "Who's gettin' dat? So I know ta keep the fuck away from them."

She was met with an eye roll and the women at the sewing machine held out her hand. "We don't judge who orders what. Now the mail?"

"We don't judge to their face at least," Gwen grumbled and handed over the letter.

Her boss adjusted her half moon glasses on her nose as she looked over the envelop. Carefully she opened it and started to read. "AH!" She tossed it to the floor as if it had burned her. Just as quickly she scrambled to grab it again. Her eyes could be seen flicking back and forth as she re-read the letter.

Gwen raised an eyebrow at the action. "What is it, Boss?"

"It's...an invitation...to Angora's Gossamer Gala," her boss said slowly, unable to believe it herself.

"What's dat?" Gwen's tail swayed side to side as she questioned what the gala was. She wasn't that interested in all of this so she was picking at a hang nail.

She was met with a look of bewilderment and a groan. "It's the biggest party set up by Angora--you do know who that is, don't you Gwenie?"

Gwen scratched her head then knocked on it lightly with a fist. "That's...the prissy lookin' lady who runs Wonderland, right?" As she answered this she made a motioned to show Angora's clearly inferior breast size. "She's real important ta the city, right?"

"Yes! It's an honor to be invited....This means that she knows my shop exists!" Her boss looked to be glowing with excitement.

Now some may call Gwen stupid at times (and she was), but she had her moments when she could recognize something was important to another bun. "Wow, that's great Boss!" She cheered sincerely, "we're really makin' ah name for ourselves! What'cha gonna wear? It sounds like ya gotta be real fancy!"

That glow of excitement faded as reality set in for her boss. A gala happening...That meant old and new customers seeking out clothes for the party. The shop would be swamped! "I...can't go."

"What?" Gwen tilted head to the side, "why not? Ya was just sayin' it's ah big honor!"

"Think about it, Gwenie! I'll have so many customers seeking out clothes from me. I'll have no time to make an outfit of my own, let alone attend...Oh, but to refuse the invitation..." There was a beat of silence as her boss mulled her options over. She grabbed the invitation and looked over it again. "You can go, as a representative of the shop!"

"What?!" Gwen jumped back at the idea as if she was dodging an attack. "No, no, I an't got nothin' ta wear! And I don't wanna make ya make me ah new dress! That's just gonna put more work on ya." Gwen watched her boss get up and move through the store, looking at fabric and ribbon. It was at this point that Gwen knew she couldn't talk her way out of this. "At least make sure ya include my bangle! And I wanna be employee of the month! And-And I dun wanna wear red!" This last word was accompanied by a stomp of her foot.

Her boss walked past her, plucking the cologne soaked letter from Gwen's hem. A finger was wagged at her and a small 'tsk, tsk' sound followed. "We'll see, we'll see Gwenie."