Letters to the Editor
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Is she your boss or your client?
From your letter it's difficult to tell if you are actually an employee or an independent contractor. When you say she "outsources" her interior design to you, it sounds like you are a freelancer working on a per project basis. If that is true, she is actually your client, not your boss. The worst case scenerio is that she simply won't outsource any more work to you and you'll have to find other sources of income. But that's not the same as being fired. Freelancers usually have many clients and it's not unusual to lose one every now and then. Painful, yes, but not the same as being fired. The problem is whether you can use her as a reference. If the quality of your work has been good, you might want to put the question to her directly. Tell her you are expanding your freelance business and ask if you can use her as a reference. This might even make her rethink her reaction. After all, if you really are a good designer, she won't want to lose you and may overlook your outburst.
I think the problem here may be that you were thinking of her as a boss all along and not a client. Anyone who has done freelance work knows that some clients can be unpredictable, tempermental and ready to change their plans at the drop of a hat. Yes, you're working for her, but you're also working for youself. The key is to a good freelancer-client relationship is in very, very good communication. Don't wait for a client to get in touch. Let them know you want to be kept in the loop. And draw up a contract to make sure that you will be paid if you do X amount of work on a project even if the client changes her mind and decides she doesn't want it. And oh, by the way, use seperate email accounts for business and pleasure, that should go a long way towards solving your problem too.