Page 8 of Barging In
He gave her free rein with the house, but she never imagined they would end up dating, let alone that it would become their first marital home.
When the secondary bedrooms remained empty year after year, their hopes quietly faded until the answer came: Drew was infertile.
The house they hoped to fill with children became a constant reminder of what was beyond their grasp.
Every quiet room echoed with absence. Drew decided there was no point keeping a family home without a family to fill it.
It had broken Victoria’s heart to leave.
Going on to maintain what was essentially a bachelor pad — when Drew wasn’t one — felt just as pointless to her.
His commute may have shortened, but hers had increased from a fifteen-minute walk to Camden Town to a forty- minute commute with a Tube change.
That was when he suggested she work for him directly rather than him employing her through her firm.
It would be cheaper for the business and end her commute.
He even suggested they could jog to the office together.
So, she handed in her notice but declined the jogging, not quite ready to join the midlife crisis her husband appeared to be having.
Refilling her glass from the fridge, she picked up her phone from the kitchen worktop and settled back in her chair. It was time to make a call that might offer a solution to her Clem’s Coffee Victoria was just delighted to escape London and its bright lights, noises, and fumes.
The distant chug of a narrowboat caught her ear, drawing her gaze as it came into view. The familiar flash of garish orange made her jaw tighten. As it passed, she hoped never to see it again.
Pulling the card Jasper gave her from her pocket, she scanned the QR code with her phone.
A total of seventy-seven Google reviews popped up, all of them five stars and all left in under a week!
It must be a new business, she decided, and with a quarter of them failing in the first year, perhaps the problem would resolve itself in time.
No business could be sustainable selling a few cakes and coffees.
Not that she could wait a year for Clem’s Coffee & Cakes to go bust. She’d be out of business herself by then.
The wharf had only managed forty-two reviews in the last year. With an average rating of 3.9, none of the reviews were as gushing as the ones she was reading now.
“Absolutely fantastic coffee and the best lemon drizzle I’ve ever tasted! You can tell everything is homemade with love. A real gem of a spot!” – Lisa T.
“Lovely little café boat with delicious bakes and great coffee. The brownies are next level! Friendly service and a beautiful setting by the canal.” – Melissa N.
“Clem’s cakes are divine, as is Clem! Perfect balance of flavour and texture. Highly recommend the blueberry muffins – still warm when I got it!” – Emma P.
“Great coffee, gorgeous cakes, and a charming atmosphere!” – Daniel W.
Victoria’s stomach felt sour, and she wished she hadn’t begun reading. The phone ringing brought a welcome interruption.
“So, no — there isn’t, basically,” Angela said as soon as Victoria answered. “It’s mostly about bridge access and usage.”
Victoria huffed. That wasn’t what she’d wanted to hear.
“Did we miss something?”Angela asked.
“No, don’t worry,” Victoria reassured her.“It’s nothing I can’t sort out. ”
A boat selling coffee and cake wasn’t something they could have foreseen.
Back then, they’d been too preoccupied with hammering out access rights to the bridge during negotiations for the site.
The seller owned it and the land opposite, along with the stretch of waterway and the towpath, so most of their legal energy had gone into that.
Without pedestrian access across the bridge, the business would have missed out on a lot of custom from the town.
“I heard from Julia that Drew has put the wharf on her monitoring list,” Angela said, her voice almost a whisper.
“Yes, but I’ll turn things around,” Victoria replied, hoping her tone at least sounded more confident than she felt. “Successful businesses aren’t made overnight.”
“True,” Angela agreed.
“Anyway, thanks for your help.”
“You’re welcome.”
They said their goodbyes and hung up.
Victoria felt a sharp pain in her hand before realising she was clenching her fist, her nails digging deep into her palm.
Did everyone know? It made sense that Julia knew because she was Drew’s number cruncher.
Victoria had never wanted to be on her list, especially with Drew giving her until the end of the summer to make some changes.
If she was on Julia’s radar, did that mean he had already made up his mind?
The thought that everyone at the office knew the wharf wasn’t thriving grated inside her.
It didn’t reflect well on her or her abilities.
She pushed the thought aside, though, to focus on the task at hand.
First thing in the morning, she needed to meet with Christine.
If there was nothing they could do legally, she’d find another way to boost sales.
The familiar sound of a chugging engine pulled her attention back to the canal. The ghastly orange narrowboat was back, having turned itself around, and was now blocking her view by mooring next door. Was this her new neighbour?
“Hell no,” Victoria growled.
This was war. Clem’s Coffee & Cakes had to go, and she already had an idea forming in her head. She needed to speak to Christine now.