#MidWeekTease Where Bryony meets Lottie and wonders what the woman is on about.

Hi all, welcome to #MidWeekTease again.

This week I'm teasing from my still as yet unnamed, coverless (but not for much longer) chick lit, written as Katy Lilley

Where Bryony meets the unlovely Lottie... (who is the heroine in my next chick lit book, just contracted by Manatee Books)

~~~She made her coffee and ate a few mouthfuls of salad. All she needed was grotty Lottie to come in, and her day of harpies and nasties would be complete. Please, no.

It looked as if her plea would be answered. For the rest of the afternoon, she had a steady stream of customers. None were local, but all were pleasant. Several bought, some said they’d be back, and a couple admitted freely they were just passing the time until their husbands finished playing golf. Such a change from her earlier non-customers. All in all, she thought it had been a successful day. Five minutes before she was due to turn the sign from ‘open’ to ‘closed’, her day took a turn for the worse. Lottie Botte—it had to be her, she was the female equivalent of Dario—swanned in and glared when she saw Bryony.

 ‘You,’ she said, in a voice to cut ice. ‘You’re that woman who bought Cliff Cottage and gazumped my brother. You were pointed out to me. What are you doing here?’

Definitely Lottie. Bryony decided she’d had enough of being portrayed as a femme fatale or seducer of innocents, so she might as well act the part. ‘Plotting to seduce your brother, what else? Corrupt him and get him to be my slave.’ And if Lottie thought that remotely likely she was stupider than Bryony thought possible. ‘Have him on his knees, begging for my attention.’

‘What a vile thing to say,’ Lottie shouted. Her hands were clenched so tightly her knuckles were white. ‘How dare you? He’s too good for you. I’ll tell him how horrible you are, and he’ll hound you out, you wait and see.’

 Bryony yawned. It was that or giggle. Talk about a second rate actress from an old ‘B’ film like her gran had talked about. It was pathetic.

 Lottie shook with temper. ‘We don’t need the likes of you around here.’

 What on earth does she think I am? A serial seducer of innocents...and not so innocents?

‘Tough, honey, I’m here to stay.’ Probably not a good idea to inflame her further, but Bryony was unrepentant. The day had been on the up until Lottie arrived.

‘You, you, hussy. Keep away from my brother, he’s too good for you, too kind and, loving and loyal and...’

 Bryony saw red. Enough was enough. ‘Careful, Mrs Bott-ee.’ She said the name with exaggerated emphasis on purpose. ‘You’re beginning to make it sound incestuous. You don’t want people getting the wrong idea.’

 Lottie went red, white and red again.

 Oh God, I hope I haven’t given her heart failure. She might be annoying and like a stuck record, but Bryony didn’t want to cause the woman any harm. Just to get her to shut up and go away.~~~

catch all the other #MidWeekTease posts here

Happy reading,

love Raven x