“Well, hello to you, too,” Joanna said, doing absolutely nothing to hide her grin.

Addison’s eyes turned into slits as she charged up the stairs. “What the fuck have you done to my house?”

“Oh that,” Joanna said with a wave of her hand. “I gave it a trim.”

By the time Addison reached Joanna, the veins in her neck had swelled to their extreme. “I never gave you permission—”

“Oh, did I forget to tell you? That whole permission thing just doesn’t work for me,” Joanna said, letting out a snort as she eyeballed Addison. “Sorry.”

Addison’s eyes darkened, and as she moved to within a hairsbreadth of Joanna, her neck corded. “I should smack that supercilious grin right off your face.”

Joanna took a step backward and crossed her arms. “You do, and you’ll have a hell of a lot more to pay for than just home repair.”

“You are a bitch!”

“Look who’s talking.”

“I’ve been trying my best to be—”

“Your best?” Joanna shouted, closing the gap between them again. “I have news for you, Addison, you wouldn’t know best if it came up and slapped you in the face. The ivy’s gone and all your huffing and puffing isn’t going to bring it back. So, why don’t you do us both a favor and just sod the fuck off?”

Joanna wasn’t surprised when Addison continued to glare back at her, so shooting the woman one last cold look, Joanna turned on her heel and headed to her bedroom.

“Oh, no you don’t,” Addison said, running to catch up.

Just as Joanna opened her bedroom door, Addison grabbed her by the arm and spun her around. “Don’t you walk away from me!”

Joanna pulled herself free. “I’ll damn well do as I please. You don’t own me, and you sure as hell don’t scare me. You’re nothing but a pompous, obnoxious, spoiled cow that’s used to getting her own way. Well, I have news for you, Addison, if you want your own way, go tell your slag. She’s paid to listen, and I’m sure she’s more than willing to do whatever you’d like, but there’s not enough money in the world to make me do the same!”

“If I’m not mistaken, I bought you as well,” Addison said, giving Joanna a dismissive glance. “Although I must say, the price was outrageously high for something so cheap.”

The sound of the stinging slap Joanna gave Addison echoed down the hallway.

“If you want cheap, go fuck your whore!” Joanna screamed, and placing her hand on Addison’s chest, Joanna shoved her as hard as she could into the corridor before slamming the door in her face.