Page 17 of Barging In
“I didn’t tell her to put it near Clem’s sign. That was all Christine’s doing,” she quickly clarified.
Jasper shook his head. His silence was more unsettling than anything he could have said.
A few minutes later, they pulled into the driveway of Victoria’s house.
“Did your handbag get wet?” Jasper asked as they stepped out of the car.
“No, thankfully I dropped it,” Victoria replied, grateful for small mercies as she fumbled through her bag for her keys.
“In the tussle?” Jasper asked dryly, covering his smirking lips with his hand.
“Yes,” Victoria hissed, not bothering to meet his gaze as she pushed open the front door.
“Well, if a shower doesn’t get the smell out, at least the spa tomorrow will help clean your pores — if they let you in. I’ve been looking forward to it for weeks, and I’mprepared to go in alone, even if it is your birthday present.”
Victoria glared at Jasper as he made his way inside.
“You’d do the same,” he teased, grinning back at her.
“Make yourself useful and fix me something hot to drink,” Victoria instructed as she slipped out of her wet trainers, leaving them on the doorstep.
“Tea, I think,” Jasper said, disappearing into the kitchen.
Victoria gave a hum of agreement as she made her way to the boot room. Stripping off everything but her underwear, she shoved it all in the washing machine, trying not to gag at the stench.
Fifteen minutes later, washed and clothed, she joined Jasper by the large conservatory window, collecting a mug of tea from beside the kettle.
“Better?” Jasper asked.
“Much,” she replied, taking a sip of the warm liquid before noticing a sweet taste. Jasper must have added sugar for the shock.
“Have I told you how much I adore the view from here?” he said as he gazed out at her garden.
“Wait until this afternoon when an orange boat turns up to ruin it.” Victoria groaned.
Jasper turned sharply to look at her. “Seriously? Clem’s boat?”
“The one and only. Her parents own the house next door.”
His jaw worked silently for a few seconds. “Can you just moor a narrowboat at the end of your garden?”
“Yes,” Victoria confirmed with a nod. “It’s a private mooring. You need permission, but plenty of people have them. Apparently, she’s not content with mooring outside my office window; I must tolerate it at home, too. It’sbeyond the pale.” She huffed and then gulped the rest of her tea. “We should get back.”
By the time they returned to the wharf, the news had already spread amongst the staff. Christine was the first to appear in her office.
“Did you block Clem’s sign with ours?” Victoria immediately demanded.
Christine’s eyes darted around the room. “How was I to know it would start World War III?”
“What did you think would happen? I asked you to come up with an offer and put a board on the towpath. Not block the competition,” Victoria snapped.
“It kind of worked,” Christine reasoned. “We were busy early on, but then it died off.”
“Because she retaliated and did the same to us,” Victoria shot back. “We have no legal standing to move her. Assuming she has the correct permits, then she has every right to be there. We need to come up with some other tactics to win back business.”
Christine’s eyes lit up. “Leave it with me. I might have an idea.”
“It had better be an improvement on your last one!” Victoria yelled.
