Page 26 of Barging In
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Victoria said before realising itwas a good idea, albeit an impossible one. “What did you want, anyway?”
“I came to see if you wanted to go out for lunch today.”
She did, but she had too much on her mind to enjoy it. “Not today. I’m a little snowed under. I think I’ll work through it.”
“Okay, but make sure you eat something.”
She acknowledged him with a vague ‘mmm’, her eyes still fixed on the boat.
“You should follow her on Instagram,” Jasper quipped, heading for the door. “She puts a post up at the end of the day with a discount on any leftover cake. You might be able to bag that lemon drizzle at fifty per cent off!”
She turned, narrowed her eyes, and chucked her pen at him. Jasper skipped out the door, laughing.
Even so, Victoria thought, following Clem on her socials might not be such a bad idea. It was another way to monitor the competition, and she might even steal some of her marketing tactics. Clem clearly had a few up her sleeve.
The room felt suddenly empty, as did Victoria. Empty and frustrated. Why couldn’t she and Clem hold an adult conversation without sparks flying? Why did it have to be Clem who was lurking around her house at night to witness such things?
She pressed her hands to her stomach and swivelled her chair back to the window to watch the wharf’s comings and goings.
At least she had her jumper back; that was a small win. Still, she couldn’t help but wonder if it had been meant to soften the blow:Here’s your jumper back, and, by the way, your husband is having an affair.If so, it wasn’t necessary. She was no stranger to Drew’s antics; she just preferred not to think about them, let alone have someone shovethem in her face uninvited. It at least explained Clem’s restless manner when she had arrived. It couldn’t have been easy to come over to her office and tell a relative stranger such news.
Drew hadn’t mentioned he’d be staying at the house whilst she was at the spa. She realised she shouldn’t have told him she’d be away. The rules had been clear: No one else was to come to the house. That had been non-negotiable.
They got on well enough — were cordial, even — but she wasn’t foolish enough to believe she and her husband still loved each other. Not in the way they had when their lives were full of hope and ambition. A divorce would have made more sense, but with neither of them suggesting it, their marriage had settled into something more like a financial arrangement.
The rot solidified when he refused to relocate with her, saying he needed to be permanently based in London for work. Renovating the house was her domain, and he’d shown little interest in the wharf either once the apartments were finished and sold off. When he asked for an open marriage — logical, he’d said, given how much time they spent apart — she’d known their romantic relationship was over.
She suspected the only reason he hadn’t already filled the ground floor with apartments and sold them off, even with the lack of profit, was because it kept her out of London — out of the way so he could do whatever he wanted. So, she was sceptical about his threats, but she couldn’t rest on her laurels and potentially lose the place.
The wharf meant everything to her and to Jasper. It wasn’t simply a business; it was a dream they’d built from nothing but hope and a shared vision. She couldn’t imagine not working with him anymore. He was the onlyperson who understood her mission to create something lasting. He’d worked tirelessly alongside her to bring it to life.
Movement on the stern of Clem’s boat pulled Victoria from her thoughts. Clem was tying up a rubbish bag. She glanced towards the wharf, and their eyes seemed to meet. Victoria froze, hoping Clem was merely looking in her direction, not directly at her. Getting caught spying from the window wasn’t on her to-do list for the day, but the deliberate twist of Clem’s head and the intensity of her stare before turning back to the bin confirmed it: She’d been spotted.
Could this day get any worse?
Thankfully, it remained uneventful, and by the time Victoria arrived home later that afternoon, she mustered enough energy to scrub all surfaces, strip the sheets, and wash every glass like she was exorcising something.
She opened a bottle of wine and filled a glass, sinking into her chair. The calm they both brought her was much needed, but the moment she looked out her window, she remembered: Her view was now compromised, shifted by the arrival of a stranger; a woman who’d been in her life for less than a week and had already upended everything.
CHAPTER 8
Clem lifted a banana loaf out of the oven, followed by a ginger cake. Both felt heavier than usual. A restless night — courtesy of her run-in with Victoria the previous day — had left her mind whirring and her body achy. This morning, she felt well and truly pissed off with the world.
The galley wasn’t improving her mood either. The kitchen in her old flat hadn’t been large, but at least it was square, allowing her room to move. Florence offered no such luxury. Clem couldn’t even look in the oven head-on; it was all swivelling hips and shuffling, which had resulted in her bashing her elbow against the worktop. Despite trying hard to convince herself that there was plenty of space and that the whole idea hadn’t been a mistake, worry coursed through her.
Her gaze drifted to Victoria’s office window directly opposite — another worry. Why did every conversation with that woman feel like it was destined to escalate? Victoria was infuriating.Infuriating but also hot, a little voice in the back of her head teased. The thought onlyunsettled her further. As much as she wanted to push it away, the more the tingling in her gut pulled her towards it. As Clem restocked the paper cups and plastic lids beside the espresso machine, she decided a woman could be both attractive and infuriating.
Telling Victoria what she’d witnessed had brought her no peace. It stewed inside her and even made her feel sorry for her despite Victoria’s reaction. But really, what had Clem expected? Of course the woman was going to be defensive. It couldn’t have been easy hearing something like that from a stranger, especially not from one you’d already fought with. Still, something about Victoria’s reaction suggested the news hadn’t come as a complete surprise. Did she already suspect it?
Despite the aches, the gloom, and an anxious undertow holding her hostage, Clem soldiered on. She lifted the loaves out of their tins onto the cooling rack, untied her apron, and picked up her phone. It was time to do her usual checks on social media, post some cake photos, and look for any new reviews. The last item on her to-do list usually gave her a lift, so she started there. Three new written reviews popped up, making her feel better — until she saw they were all one-star. Her heart pounded as she began to read.
“Overrated and overpriced. Dry sponge and coffee that tastes like dishwater! No, thanks!” —Karen C.
“Stopped by on a rainy afternoon, hoping for a coffee and a good slice of cake. Got a bitter Americano and an overpriced sliver of cake with gritty icing. The owner looked annoyed that I was even there. Don’t waste your time or money here!” — Bob H.
“I really wanted to like this place, but unfortunately, it missedthe mark. The coffee was weak and bitter, and the ‘freshly baked’ cakes tasted like they’d been sitting out for days. I heard the café in the nearby wharf has much more to offer. Go there instead!” — Lee W.
“What the actual fuck? ‘Go there instead!’” Clem hissed. This was all she needed. Taking deep breaths, she tried to convince herself they didn’t matter, that they wouldn’t affect her. She had so many five-star reviews, these barely made a dent in her overall rating. Still.
