Original subtitles

Well, we're moving on up. We're moving on up.

nothing like you.

I went shopping last night.

Now that I'm an executive, I figured I better start dressing like one.

Well, you've been an executive for two days now.

How does it feel?

I still can't believe it. I wonder if I died and this is heaven.

No, can't be.

The space is large, it's real.

You are the executive housekeeper of the St. Frederick Hotel.

Yeah, and you know, this is the kind of job I've always wanted.

I mean, I'm dealing with interesting people.

Yeah, like dry cleaners, for instance.

Making good money.

Well, you should. I mean, it's your job to make sure that the sheets and towels

in hotels are sparkling clean.

Yeah, and making challenging decisions.

Like, uh, who gets the hotel's cleaning account?

You're being too subtle.

Why don't you try skywriting?

Oh, by the way, we'll be making a decision on that contract today.

Oh. But I gotta tell you, Mr. Jefferson, some of those bids are pretty close.

They are?

Yeah. Oh, I'll make you some more coffee. Oh, don't be silly. I'll make

got a long day ahead of you. Sit down.

Oh, where will I find the coffee? On the bottom shelf above the sink.

Want me to give you a boost?

Oh, that must be Angie.

Angie? One of the maids at the hotel.

I met her two years ago at one of the Mays Union meetings, and now we're

together. Oh, small world, isn't it?

Yeah, if you don't have to clean it.

Hi, Angie.

Oh, wee girl, that is some outfit.

Diana Ross, move over.

Oh, Miss Jefferson, this is Angie Houston.

Hello, Angie. Hi, Miss Jefferson.

And Angie, Miss Jefferson is the best boss anybody could ever have.

Oh, I don't think that's true.

I think Florence is the best boss anybody could ever have.

Oh, Angie.

Miss Jefferson, yesterday Florence held a meeting with all of us maids, and she

told us that we would all be treated with respect.

She said more, but I couldn't make it out because everybody was screaming,

Hallelujah!

Oh, Angie, we better get going before the boss starts screaming.

Florence, you're the boss, remember?

Nice meeting you, Miss Jefferson.

Same here, Angie.

Did you hear that, Miss Jefferson? She called me boss.

How come it sounds so good on me and so bad on Mr. Jefferson?

Well,

I better go get changed for work.

Okay. Like they say, another day, another penny.

Uh, that's another dollar.

Honey, speak for yourself.

I'll see you later.

Oh, good morning, Florence.

Oh, hi, Betty. How you doing this morning?

Ja, at my age, any day that I wake up and don't hear harps playing, I'm doing

fine.

Oh, I see I got Angie on my floor again today.

Oh, yeah. Ain't she great?

Yeah. Great at getting out of the... folks to do her work for.

What? Now, don't get me wrong, Florence. I like Angie, but she's got more

excuses for getting out of work than my old man's got for getting out of loving.

Are we talking about the same Angie?

Yeah.

Yesterday, I went into this room where she's supposed to be cleaning, and there

she was, laid up on the bed, looking at the young and the restless.

Maybe you should have a talk with her. I tried.

She won't listen to me.

Okay. I'll have a talk with her.

Good. Oh, and Florence, we are all very happy to have you here.

Thanks, Betty. Of course not.

After that last bozo we had, we happy to have anybody here.

Oh, Florence, you should have seen little Ray when I dropped him off at

today. Well, I bought him a new briefcase, and when he went to class

that, he looked just like a little congressman.

Yeah? Well, in that case, all he needs for his little briefcase is a little

bribe.

See you later, Florence. Oh, Angie, just a minute.

I want to talk to you.

I was just talking to Betty, and she told... And she told you about me

television in one of the rooms, huh?

Well, you... Yeah. Hold it, Florence. Say no more. I get the message.

Good. No more soap operas. From now on, I'm going to be the hardest working maid

you got, if for no other reason than to make you look good as a new executive

housekeeper, honey.

Thanks, Angela.

All right.

Hope I wasn't too hard on her.

Am I interrupting anything?

Of course not. Well, I should be. A little something called work.

Florence, are you aware that rooms 211 through 224 haven't been cleaned yet

today?

No, Lion. Ah, then you're probably also unaware that occupying those rooms are

some very important kangaroos.

Kangaroos? Well, no wonder those rooms need cleaning.

Florence, which one of the maids was assigned to clean those rooms?

Ah, let's see.

Angie Houston.

Well, you had any complaints about her before?

Well, I had a little talk with Angie this morning, and she's promised to do a

good job from now on. Oh, how nice.

Well, I want you to talk to her again and tell her that if she messes up one

more time, she is fired.

Gone 86.

Hi, Chief.

Earl, don't you know how to knock?

Sure.

Like that, Chief.

Yeah, like that, Earl.

Florence. Johnston, right?

Right. Right.

You want to know how I knew her name, Chief?

You saw her nameplate.

No, I never even noticed that.

Well, how did you know her name, Earl?

I met her yesterday.

Earl, why did you come barging in here anyway, huh?

I just wanted to tell you not to worry, Chief, that New York's number one house

detective has solved the case. Oh, did we hire that guy from the Waldorf? Huh?

Hey, Chief.

Okay, Earl, okay. What case is it this time?

Okay. The case of the missing tips.

Ah. Missing tips?

Oh, yeah. You see, for the past couple of months, some of the maids have been

complaining about tips that the guests say they left, but the maids can't find.

So, what's been happening to the tips, Earl?

Okay.

Someone's been stealing them.

Who?

One of the maids, Angie Houston.

Angie Houston, are you sure?

Oh, yeah. You see, I observed her entering and leaving room 317.

So?

So, Miss Houston isn't assigned to clean room 317.

So? So, I walked up to her and I asked her if she could give me a $5 bill for

five ones.

So? So, she gave me this.

You'll notice the bill has a blue mark in the corner.

So?

So it's a specially marked bill I left on the pillow in room 317 as bait.

Oh, I see. And Miss Houston took the bait.

Hey, that's good, Chief.

Now, I think we can handle this.

Right, Chief.

Oh, by the way, Chief, I found out how that pole in the parking garage got

How? Okay.

A car ran into it.

Well?

Oh, Lyle, I really can't believe Angie's been stealing tips. I have the proof

right here. Yeah, but... Stealing is grounds for dismissal. Yeah, but... So

Miss Houston into your office and fire her immediately.

Yeah, but Lyle...

Me? Fire her? I've never fired anybody before, especially not a friend.

I don't even know if I can do that kind of thing. Florence, you're an executive

now, and you just have to realize that firing people is part of your job.

And I like to think of it as one of the fringe benefits.

Well, Florence, I bailed you out with the kangaroos who complained about

work.

Oh, and how did you do that, Lyle?

Well,

I personally delivered a bottle of champagne to each of them.

Really? Mm -hmm.

I did that two hours ago.

Oh. Well, was yours domestic or imported?

Domestic. Ha -ha.

Well, now that you've fired Angie, we won't be having any more problems with

kangaroos.

Uh, Lyle... Well, you did fire her, didn't you?

Well...

I thought I'd let her finish out the day.

Oh, how admirable.

I mean, in fact, why stop there? I mean, let's give her a gold watch and a going

-away party.

Oh, excuse me.

It's about the cleaning contracts. I narrowed down the bids to those who do

quality work, then I looked to see which one had the lowest bid, and...

Oh, Lord, don't tell me. Mr.

Jefferson's bid wasn't the lowest. You told me. Are you sure?

I double -checked all my figures. See for yourself.

Blue Sky Cleaners is the lowest bid.

Oh, how am I going to tell Mr. Jefferson he didn't get the account?

Well, you can always... No, no, no, hold it, hold it, hold it.

I mean, you're an executive at this hotel, and you can't tell some cleaner

bid was too high?

But, Lyle, you don't understand. He's a friend. Oh, I understand, all right.

There are a lot of things about this job you can't do. Oh, but Mr. Block...

Elena, why don't you go sit at your desk before we find someone to sit there for

you?

Oh, and another thing.

Contact Angie Houston and tell her that Florence would love to see her

immediately. Yes, sir.

Florence, you may not realize this, but...

I'm a very understanding man.

And I understand what you're going through.

You do? Oh, of course.

Now, it's hard for you to fire Angie Houston because she's a friend, right?

Right. And it's hard for you to tell this Jefferson fellow he didn't get the

cleaning contract because he's a friend, too, right?

Right.

Yeah, well, tough noogies.

What? Florence, you're too soft.

I mean, if you want to make it to the top, you've got to be hard as a rock.

cold, ruthless, a mean, lean, executive machine.

I don't want to be like that. Oh, well, then maybe you don't want to be an

executive. Well, maybe I don't. And maybe you made a mistake taking this

Maybe I did. Maybe you'd be happier somewhere else.

Ain't no maybe about that.

Maybe I should tell Mr. Claymore how you feel.

Maybe you should.

I mean, he will be so disappointed to hear this, as I am.

Well, I guess I won't be needing this anymore.

Florence, Angie's on her way down.

Well, I just might not be here when she gets here.

What do you mean?

I mean, maybe... Mr. Block is right. Maybe I do belong behind a vacuum

instead of a desk. Oh, but Florence... Hey, Florence!

Elena!

How's it going?

Not too well.

Florence!

Mr. Jefferson, if you're here to talk about the cleaning contract, you might

well talk to Elena.

What? But you're the executive housekeeper.

Not anymore, I'm not.

What? Florence is thinking of quitting.

Quitting? But Florence, I thought you said you loved your job here.

Well, I do, but I don't like some of the things I gotta do.

She has to fire one of the maids.

Well, that ain't no big deal.

Just call in your office and say you're fired.

But she's a friend.

Well, then say you're fired friend.

Well, firing Angie ain't the only thing I got to do. I also got to tell one of

my very best friends he didn't get the cleaning contract.

No problem. You just sit him down here.

Mr. Jefferson. I wish there was something I could do, but blue sky

in with a bid lower than yours.

Excuse me a minute, Elena.

Okay, I'm leaving.

But please, just promise me you won't start throwing things.

Hey, come on, Elena.

Do I look like that kind of a guy?

Okay, I promise.

Florence, please.

What's up, Mr. Jefferson?

Okay, I'm braced.

Pretty please?

Now, see, I can't go around hurting people like this all my life.

I mean, I know how much you cared about that contract.

Well, damn right I care about the contract.

See? But not as much as I care about you.

What? Me and Weezy were talking about you last night. I mean, she misses you,

but she's real proud of you.

She thinks that you can do anything you want if you set your mind to it.

What do you think?

Florence, you may not have noticed, but I'm not the easiest person in the world

to work for.

No.

It's true.

Now, look, if you can put up with me for six years, you can do anything.

Mr.

Jefferson, you said it all.

Excuse me, Florence.

Angie's here to see you.

Should I send her in?

Why not?

I mean, I am the executive housekeeper.

Okay.

Hey, thanks, Mr. Jefferson.

Don't mention it, Florence. I'll see you tonight.

Oh, you know, I think I'll rush home tonight and cook you and Miss Jefferson

big dinner just like I used to.

Oh, come on, Florence. I've had a bad enough day already.

Oh, girl, I just love what you've done with this office.

Now, what do you want to talk to me about?

Um, Angie, I might as well come right to the point. I hear you've been stealing

tips.

Who told you that?

Doesn't matter who told me. Is it true?

Well, sure.

You mean you admit it?

Sure.

I don't understand.

Let's not beat around the bush. I know what you're going to say.

You do?

Sure.

Okay, how much do you want?

What? How about 40 %?

Angie! All right, all right, 50%. Angie, we're talking about stealing.

Oh, come on, Lauren.

Oh, come on, nothing. You've been stealing tips from the maids. I can't

get away with that.

Hey, look, Florence, I know you gotta make a good impression on Whitey, but

could level with me. I mean, after all, we are sisters.

Well, maybe in your book. But where I come from, sisters don't go around

each other off.

So,

um, what are you saying?

I'm saying you're... I'm saying you're... I'm saying

you're fired.

You heard me.

aren't you?

Yes, I am.

Oh, wow.

Florence, you are a trip.

I mean, honey, you are really a trip.

Now, look, Angela. Who do you think you're fooling sitting behind that desk?

You ain't nothing but a maid, just like me.

So while you're sitting there gloating over what a hot number you think you

why don't you try remembering that, honey, you are still black.

Hold it a little bit.

hard as you have, but I never took nothing that didn't belong to me. So

running down no guilt trip on me. Because in the black race I belong to,

-achievement comes in way ahead of stealing.

You know, baby, I bet you would have changed your tune if I had offered you

huh? Well, I'll just take 100 % for the maids who earned it.

as you want.

And if I have to fire you again, it's going to hurt you far worse than it does

me. Because you are going to be the only person standing in the unemployment

line with a mop for a tail.

Florence,

are you all right?

I will be as soon as my blood stops boiling.

I'm so glad you're staying.

I am, too.

Florence!

Oh, hi, Mr. Claymore. How are you? Hello, Mr. Claymore. Hello, Elena.

Florence, Lyle came to me a few minutes ago.

He was in a very good mood. I should have known then something was wrong.

He told me you said you weren't happy here.

Why, Mr. Claymore, I'm very happy here.

But I thought you were going to quit.

Quit? Why in the world would I quit, Lyle?

Hold it, Florence.

Did you fire Angie Houston?

Yes.

Well, did you take care of the cleaning contract?

Yes.

Good.

Oh, I knew my instinct was right.

She's a real gem, huh, Lyle?

Oh, yes, sir, sir, yes.

Keep up the good work, Florence.

You made a fool out of me.

Oh, go on, Lyle. You deserve the credit for all that.

Lawrence, today you got lucky.

But one of these days, your luck is going to run out, and when it does,

me when I gloat. Oh, Lyle.

Let me show you something I learned from my last employer. Yeah? What's that?

Hmm.