for the event as well.” Eve tossed
the bag with the lingerie on a shelf under the register.
Allison’s lips puckered in confusion.
“She’s vying for the event too?”
“ Evidently.” She paced
behind the counter.
“ Maybe she’s a Daniela
Rossi fan too,” her barista offered. “Maybe she didn’t know you
were trying to get the event here.”
Eve gave her a flat look.
“ You can’t seriously think
she’s doing it on purpose?”
“ I wouldn’t have thought
that before, but she instructed that boy to hand out flyers for her
store to my customers. How can I not think she’s trying to drive me
out of business?”
“ No one is that
bitchy.”
“ She was. At the risk of
sounding like a conspiracy theorist, what if she’s behind the bad
Yelp reviews?”
“ Then she’d be seriously
addled.”
“ Yeah.” Eve remembered the
distant, cold way the woman had treated her and shuddered. “I need
to talk to her.”
“ Yes you do.” Allison
looked at the time. “They open at noon, don’t they? Why don’t I
stay a little later today so you can go see her?”
“ Thanks, Allison.” She
hugged her friend. “What would I do without you?”
“ Don’t imagine doomsday
scenarios.” She grinned. “Now are you going to show me what you got
from Olivia?”
Not wanting the customers to see, she
made Allison crouch behind the counter to look inside the bag.
“It’s awesome on,” she whispered.
“ I can tell,” Allison
whispered back, touching the satin. “Which one are you wearing
tonight?”
“ I don’t know. Maybe the
bustier.”
“ Your man is going to
swallow his tongue when he sees you in it.”
“ He’s not going to see me
in this tonight.” At Allison’s disbelieving look, she amended her
statement with, “Probably not.”
“ Keep telling yourself
that.” Her barista frowned. “Why are we whispering?”
“ We didn’t want to attract
attention.”
“ Right. Hiding behind the
counter and whispering isn’t suspicious at all.”
At noon, Eve reluctantly went across
the street to confront the ice queen who ran the
teashop.
The store was open, so Eve walked in
for the first time ever, wanting to scope out her competition.
There were a few tables already filled, not surprisingly with
women. Quaint, she decided, taking in the doilies and Victorian
furnishings. Perfect for a teahouse, not so fitting for Daniela
Rossi. Surprising that Carmen would consider this place. It had a
different feel than Daniela’s casual modern style.
She felt a prickling up the back of
her neck. Turning around she saw the owner, Margaret, headed toward
her.
She didn’t look happy.
She did look imposing. She was already
tall, but she had on Ferragamo pumps and her hair was piled into a
twist that added to her stature. She wore a Chanel-type suit and
was fingering the luxurious strand of pearls around her
neck.
“ Can I help you?” the woman
asked coldly, looking down her nose.
Eve mentally girded herself and pasted
a smile on her face. Honey, not vinegar. “We met last week. I own
Grounds for Thought?”
The ice queen didn’t even
blink.
She cleared her throat. “I understand
you’re bidding to have Daniela Rossi’s cookbook launch party
here.”
Margaret simply raised her
brow.
Eve pictured a grudge match between
this woman and her father. Normally she’d have bet on her dad, but
Margaret was scary. “You know that I’m also in the pool to host the
party, right?”
“ Your point?”
“ Well, first you were
passing out flyers practically in the doorway to my café, and then
this. It seems like there’s something more going on, and I wanted
to get it out in the open and maybe work through it.”
Margaret’s back stiffened even more
and her expression chilled, if that was possible. “Are you accusing
me of something?”
“ Should I accuse you of
anything? It’s awfully coincidental, but I don’t know why you’d
have it out for me. Our businesses don’t
the bag with the lingerie on a shelf under the register.
Allison’s lips puckered in confusion.
“She’s vying for the event too?”
“ Evidently.” She paced
behind the counter.
“ Maybe she’s a Daniela
Rossi fan too,” her barista offered. “Maybe she didn’t know you
were trying to get the event here.”
Eve gave her a flat look.
“ You can’t seriously think
she’s doing it on purpose?”
“ I wouldn’t have thought
that before, but she instructed that boy to hand out flyers for her
store to my customers. How can I not think she’s trying to drive me
out of business?”
“ No one is that
bitchy.”
“ She was. At the risk of
sounding like a conspiracy theorist, what if she’s behind the bad
Yelp reviews?”
“ Then she’d be seriously
addled.”
“ Yeah.” Eve remembered the
distant, cold way the woman had treated her and shuddered. “I need
to talk to her.”
“ Yes you do.” Allison
looked at the time. “They open at noon, don’t they? Why don’t I
stay a little later today so you can go see her?”
“ Thanks, Allison.” She
hugged her friend. “What would I do without you?”
“ Don’t imagine doomsday
scenarios.” She grinned. “Now are you going to show me what you got
from Olivia?”
Not wanting the customers to see, she
made Allison crouch behind the counter to look inside the bag.
“It’s awesome on,” she whispered.
“ I can tell,” Allison
whispered back, touching the satin. “Which one are you wearing
tonight?”
“ I don’t know. Maybe the
bustier.”
“ Your man is going to
swallow his tongue when he sees you in it.”
“ He’s not going to see me
in this tonight.” At Allison’s disbelieving look, she amended her
statement with, “Probably not.”
“ Keep telling yourself
that.” Her barista frowned. “Why are we whispering?”
“ We didn’t want to attract
attention.”
“ Right. Hiding behind the
counter and whispering isn’t suspicious at all.”
At noon, Eve reluctantly went across
the street to confront the ice queen who ran the
teashop.
The store was open, so Eve walked in
for the first time ever, wanting to scope out her competition.
There were a few tables already filled, not surprisingly with
women. Quaint, she decided, taking in the doilies and Victorian
furnishings. Perfect for a teahouse, not so fitting for Daniela
Rossi. Surprising that Carmen would consider this place. It had a
different feel than Daniela’s casual modern style.
She felt a prickling up the back of
her neck. Turning around she saw the owner, Margaret, headed toward
her.
She didn’t look happy.
She did look imposing. She was already
tall, but she had on Ferragamo pumps and her hair was piled into a
twist that added to her stature. She wore a Chanel-type suit and
was fingering the luxurious strand of pearls around her
neck.
“ Can I help you?” the woman
asked coldly, looking down her nose.
Eve mentally girded herself and pasted
a smile on her face. Honey, not vinegar. “We met last week. I own
Grounds for Thought?”
The ice queen didn’t even
blink.
She cleared her throat. “I understand
you’re bidding to have Daniela Rossi’s cookbook launch party
here.”
Margaret simply raised her
brow.
Eve pictured a grudge match between
this woman and her father. Normally she’d have bet on her dad, but
Margaret was scary. “You know that I’m also in the pool to host the
party, right?”
“ Your point?”
“ Well, first you were
passing out flyers practically in the doorway to my café, and then
this. It seems like there’s something more going on, and I wanted
to get it out in the open and maybe work through it.”
Margaret’s back stiffened even more
and her expression chilled, if that was possible. “Are you accusing
me of something?”
“ Should I accuse you of
anything? It’s awfully coincidental, but I don’t know why you’d
have it out for me. Our businesses don’t
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