Page 28 of Barging In
She removed her apron and stepped outside. Max was sitting on his chair, so she called over to him.
“I’m going to be a bit late opening. Could you keep an eye out for any customers, please? Let them know I’ll be back soon.”
He jumped to his feet. “Better still, I can open up for you.”
Grabbing a sign propped against a plant pot on the top of his boat —Vinyl Bought— he flipped it and placed it on his chair. The reverse read,Pay at Clem’s Coffee & Cakes, with an arrow pointing her way. He picked up his card reader from a nearby table and was beside her in a shot.
Clem blinked, taken aback by how prepared he was.
“What? I miss making coffee.” He squinted at her, giving her a once-over. “Are you okay?”
Clem clenched her jaw and rolled her eyes. How was she supposed to answer that?
“What’s she done now?” Max tutted, resting his hands on his hips.
“Who?”
Max tilted his head towards the wharf. “Madame Corset.”
“How did you?—?”
He lifted an eyebrow. “I can see the steam coming out of your ears, and you’re physically shaking. Only one person has been causing these emotions in you since you got here.”
Shit, he was right. She was shaking.
“She left some bad reviews and tried to get me kicked off my pitch,” Clem admitted.
“Ouch! What a bitch. Blocking your sign is one thing, but bad-mouthing you and trying to get you moved? That’s harsh. Go kick her pert butt.”
Clem’s eyebrows shot up.
Max shrugged. “I might be gay, but I’m not blind. She has a great arse.”
A laugh escaped Clem before she could stop it. It bubbled up through the thick layer of her anger despite her attempts to hold it back. She shook her head at him, trying to look disapproving but failing.
“What?” he called out. “Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed.”
Clem ignored him and strode across the bridge, annoyed at Max for making her laugh and even more so at herself for thinking about Victoria’s bum. Damn Max for putting that image in her mind. She clenched her fist, trying to summon her anger back. It came easily. Thewoman was completely out of order, and this was the final straw.
She followed the route she had taken yesterday, giving a polite nod to the woman at the reception desk but not stopping. She knew exactly where she was going. As she passed through the café, she couldn’t help admiring it again; it was such a charming, inviting space. She could think of so many uses for it. Shame it belonged to someone so determined to make herself unlikeable.
Victoria’s door was ajar. Clem didn’t hesitate before marching straight in. If the door hadn’t been, she would have thrown it open. Or kicked it, the same way she’d kicked that boy’s shin at school.
“Clem, how can I help you?” Victoria said, drawing herself upright in her chair.
“Help me?” Clem growled. “You’ve done enough of that already — like helping me get moved off my trading spot. You do realise you don’t own the waterways, right? The towpath and traders have nothing to do with you or your precious wharf.”
Victoria just blinked at her, so Clem decided to carry on whilst she had steam behind her.
“How dare you. I’m trying to make a living. I can’t help it if people prefer my cakes to yours. If you want to compete, then compete, but play fair. Don’t stoop to underhanded tactics to get me moved on. And those bad reviews—” She shook her head, seething. “This is how you repay me for warning you about your sleazy husband? I wish I hadn’t bothered.”
Victoria’s eyebrows arched. Without a word, she stood, walked around her desk, and shut the door. Clem stiffened, instinctively taking a step back.
Victoria pulled the visitor chair out. “Sit.”
Clem stared at her, unsure what was coming next.
“Now,” Victoria said — not loudly, but with a quiet authority that had Clem sitting before she knew she had done.
