salute [h.s]

the one with the sneaky neighbour

"Piper, we need to have a word."

She'd taken two steps through her front door before Clive had come running down to greet her. And while she desperately wished she could slam the door in his face, he'd already stuck his foot by the frame to stop her, anticipating her reactions before they came.

"What do you want?" she grumbled as she dumped her bag down and spun around to face him.

Unsurprisingly, he was in his dressing gown, slippers on his feet and newspaper tucked into the pocket of his gown. She had no idea what Clive got up to during the day but it certainly wasn't work. She was tempted to tell him to get a life.

"The front door buzzer is broken," Clive informed her. She rolled her eyes.

"Thanks for the update but I already knew that. So nice of you to drop by. Goodbye."

He curled his hand around the door and pushed back hard when she tried to shut it. For someone who sat around in his robe all day, he was surprisingly strong and Piper was forced to let him have his say.

"I've asked Curtis to fix it but he says we have to pay for it so I need £100 from you by next week."

"£100? You've got to be kidding me!" Judging by the way Clive rolled his eyes, he wasn't kidding at all. "I haven't got that kind of money. Need I remind you that I'm a telemarketer."

"Yeah but you just got that cheque in the mail, the one from the government from your taxes."

"I need that for – hang on." Piper narrowed her eyes at Clive, sucking in a long breath and trying not to scream at him. "How did you know about that?"

Clive's expression flattened in an attempt not to incriminate himself, his lips pressing tightly together. He seemed to be considering what to do next.

"Nice chatting, Piper," he said as he turned on his heel and began jogging up the steps to his own flat. Piper was quick to follow, taking the steps two at a time.

"How do you know about that, Clive?" she shouted after him as she loped up the steps. "How did you know about that?" He'd slipped into his flat and just before she could follow, he slammed the door in her face. She beat against it with her fist, the banging making Bertie bark. "How did you know about that, you bloody wanker?!?!"