Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
I stewed on the matter for the rest of the day and had to take a couple of hours out to read Bad Men to try to cheer myself up, which didn’t exactly help me with my preparations for the Blind Date with a Book night.
It took several attempts for me to wrap the books, and then when I’d finished, I couldn’t remember whether I’d put the necessary two copies of each in the pile so had to unwrap them all and start again.
As the allotted hour arrived, I set up the lemonade table, added a sign stating that it was for the use of bookshop guests only and then I stood behind it, nervously staring straight ahead, waiting for the influx.
The reason I was staring straight ahead was that I was painfully conscious of Jack standing behind a similar table outside the Jericho Wine Barge, only that one was set up with ice buckets and bottles with condensation gathering on the glass.
I tried to tell myself that the book lovers wouldn’t allow themselves to get distracted by the sight of chilled wine, but I couldn’t help worrying my set-up looked painfully amateur in comparison with the sophisticated offering from my neighbour.
I’d hoped I’d enjoy the evening more this time round as it was the second time I was running the event and I knew what I was doing, but I felt even more on edge than previously.
It wasn’t helped by the fact that an hour into the Blind Date with a Book night, the shop was empty and nearly half the brown paper parcels were still lying unclaimed.
And I had a very good idea why. I glared at the Jericho Wine Barge, which was sitting low in the water as a vast number of guests laughed and enjoyed themselves on board.
The atmosphere was buzzing, beautiful people casually sipping on their drinks, everything as flawless as if a commercial for the perfect summer night out in Oxford was being filmed.
Even the blind daters who’d stayed loyal to my event were glancing enviously across, clearly debating joining in themselves.
I was blowed if I was going to let Jack steal any more of my customers.
I needed them to spend their money on my books, not his expensive wines.
I quickly checked around my guests, encouraging them to have a proper browse in the bookshop, then headed across to the Jericho Wine Barge, weaving my way among the crowd, trying to look for likely book lovers who’d got diverted by my competitive neighbour.
‘Decided to join us after all?’ said Jack, materialising at my side and putting a glass of Prosecco in my hand before I could say anything.
‘You’re very welcome here.’ The genuine tone of his voice rather took the wind out of my sails.
He proffered a plate of plump olives, their centres stuffed with what looked like feta cheese.
‘Erm, no, thanks. I’m not here to socialise, and I’m not hungry,’ I said, as my stomach made a vocal growl. I hoped the hubbub from his guests had prevented him from hearing it, but apparently not.
‘Can I tempt you with these instead perhaps?’ he suggested, his eyes sparkling with amusement as he put the olives down and offered me a bowl filled with crisps which were undoubtedly of the fancy artisan variety.
‘It’s important to keep your energy up when you’re running an event.
They’re salt and vinegar flavour. Or sea salt and cider vinegar if we’re being strictly accurate,’ he added.
He helped himself to a handful. ‘Yum. They still taste delicious, despite the pretentious branding.’
He wafted them towards me, the sharp vinegary scent making me feel even hungrier.
I begrudgingly accepted a couple. I couldn’t actually remember when I’d last eaten.
‘Go on then. Thanks,’ I muttered.
‘My pleasure. You’re doing me a favour, in truth. I fear I’ve rather over-catered. But I suppose it’s better to have too much rather than too little.’
‘Is that why you’ve been stealing my guests?’ I asked, determined to stop him distracting me any further.
Jack laughed. ‘I haven’t stolen any guests.’
‘How come my boat is practically empty then?’ I hit back.
He gave me what I guess was meant to be a sympathetic look, which riled me still further.
I didn’t need to be patronised by him feeling sorry for me.
‘I’m sorry if that’s the case,’ he said.
‘But if they happened to end up here instead of in your bookshop, then that was their choice. They’re grown adults with free will after all. ’
He made it sound so reasonable that I felt even more frustrated.
‘I know that, but you promised me your event was an invitation only affair. Why did you let them in if they didn’t have a ticket?’
He shrugged. ‘I was feeling generous. They seemed very keen to join the fun, and at the end of the day, I’m a businessman. I’ve got to be pragmatic about these things, as I’m sure you understand. I would expect you to do the same in my position.’
‘You could at least have pointed them in my direction.’
‘How do you know I didn’t?’ he asked. Again, with that oh so reasonable tone.
I wasn’t going to let him get away with gaslighting me into thinking that nothing was going on here.
I’d had it with men messing with me. First Liam ghosting my best friend and having a problematic relationship with consumer standards, and now Jack being unbearably infuriating. Again.
‘The same reason I know you set the Boating Association inspector on me,’ I said indignantly. When I’d stepped foot on the Jericho Wine Barge, I’d had no intention of confronting Jack with my suspicions, but he’d been so nonchalant about the idea of stealing my guests that I couldn’t help myself.
Jack frowned in what looked like confusion. ‘I’m sorry, I don’t have the faintest clue what you’re talking about,’ he said.
‘I think you do,’ I hit back.
He shook his head. ‘I promise you I don’t.’
‘Think harder,’ I suggested.
He helped himself to another couple of crisps and crunched them thoughtfully.
‘Nope, I’ve wracked my brains, but none of this makes any sense. Are you accusing me of conducting some kind of dirty tricks campaign? Why on earth would I do something like that?’ I nearly applauded his performance of the blameless innocent.
‘Ever since you arrived, I’ve been beset with problems, and it can’t be a coincidence.
I know you’ve got designs on my mooring.
Fine, everyone has a right to be ambitious.
But to be so underhand in the way you go about it?
’ I shook my head in disgust. ‘I suppose I should be flattered you’re so threatened by my business that you think this is the only way you can go about defeating me.
I’ve lived and worked on this canal for over a year and never experienced any issues.
Then you come along and suddenly it’s all kicking off: my cable’s disappeared and the Boating Association’s told I have the incorrect licence. What else am I supposed to think?’
I’d managed to keep my voice steady throughout my speech, painfully aware that we were in public and there were potential Bookship customers among this crowd.
But it had been an effort, and I could feel the betraying stress tears forming in my eyes.
The last thing I wanted was to give him the satisfaction of making me cry.
I took a sip of Prosecco to try to conceal my emotion, then choked as the bubbles went the wrong way down my throat.
At least it gave me an excuse for crying, I thought dimly, as I struggled to regain control of myself.
Jack patted me firmly between my shoulders and magicked a glass of water out of somewhere. He watched me as I drank it, his palm still resting steadily on my back.
‘Feeling better?’
I wasn’t sure if he was asking me about the choking or getting the accusation out of my system.
In truth saying the words out loud hadn’t made me feel better at all.
Although this conclusion seemed to be the only logical explanation for the challenges I was facing, was I completely certain that Jack was responsible for it all?
I’d watched his expression throughout my speech, seeing it change from disbelief to the outright indignation of the falsely accused.
I tried to remind myself that he used to work in the city in a highly competitive environment where he’d have been accustomed to playing mind games in order to get ahead.
Pretending not to know what I was talking about would come easily to him.
He was acting this way in order to keep me off my guard, and to manipulate me into feeling exactly as I did right now – guilty that I’d made such a ridiculous accusation against him.
‘I’ll feel better when you stop messing around and putting my livelihood at risk,’ I tried one last time, belatedly taking a step back.
Jack’s hand fell back to his side and he flexed it slightly before he spoke. ‘You’ve obviously been having a tough time of it lately. I think I know where this is all coming from.’
‘You know because you did it,’ I snapped back.
‘I didn’t. But I can see that someone else is pulling the strings here, so there’s not much point in me defending myself.’
‘If it’s Liam you’re referring to as “pulling the strings”, then I’d really rather you left him out of this. I’ve had enough of the pair of you. And I’m perfectly capable of coming to my own conclusions about people, and it would be respectful if you would acknowledge that.’
‘I apologise. I fully appreciate you’re a woman who knows her own mind.
Even if it is mistaken in this instance.
I’m sorry you’ve been experiencing such trials.
I can’t imagine how frustrating and worrying it must have been to have those things happen.
But I would like to tell you once and for all that I am not behind your troubles.
Frankly I wouldn’t need to descend to such petty depths.
If I wanted to expand into your mooring space, which for the record I don’t, I would do it in a much more professional manner than you’re giving me credit for having. ’
I sucked in an angry breath. ‘You wouldn’t know the meaning of the word if I opened up a dictionary and showed you the definition.
You might be professional on land, but when it comes to canal life, you don’t have a clue.
You may think you rule the waterway with your fancy boat – which you clearly paid far too much for, by the way – but you’re the epitome of the phrase “all the gear and no idea”.
You don’t have a clue what it takes to look after a narrowboat, and you’ve only set up business here because you think it’ll give you a cutesy USP which will make you stand out from the million and one other bars which are already in Oxford.
Well, I’ve got news for you. The novelty will soon wear off, and the customers will move on to the next trendy venue, and then what will you do?
Hopefully you’ll go back to the city where you belong and leave the Oxford Canal to those of us who really love it and who actually deserve to be here. ’
I slammed my water glass down on the bar top and stormed out, shaking all over, angry as much at myself as at Jack for the way I’d lost control.