She swallowed. ‘Yes, I deserved that for rather a patronising metaphor. I am sorry, I meant it to be a joke.’ ‘There’s no piano upstairs,’ he said, more like himself. ‘The … floors need to be laid first.’ ‘But this floor looks new.’ ‘It is,’ she said, confused. ‘I see. Anyway, I’d better go, the Christmas orders are coming in already.’
He eviscerated a living opponent
Genius
