Chapter 5
Chapter
Five
The humidity wasn’t something Angelica was used to.
And as much as she trusted Ansel to do her hair, the extra time he’d had to take that morning to put the curls in and set them was trying her patience.
She hadn’t seen nor talked to Hope since she’d left her office after their argument that had gone nowhere.
As much as she had appreciated Hope’s attempt to reconcile, it hadn’t been necessary. Angelica had put that behind her, and she wasn’t willing to look back just to make their days easier. It would be fine. It had to be.
Angelica stepped out of the staging area, her nose buried in her iPad, and ran firmly into a solid body.
Jarring a step backward, she looked up, her cheeks red and her heart racing.
Hope’s crystalline eyes stared right back at her, lips parted in surprise.
Her short hair was pressed down to her scalp and stuck up in random places at the crown of her head with a pure bedhead look, and fuck, it was doing things to Angelica’s insides that she wasn’t prepared for.
“You steady?” Hope asked, her hand on Angelica’s upper arm to keep her from falling over.
“Uh… yeah?” Angelica said, her voice barely above a whisper as she breathed out the words.
Concentrating was impossible. Not with Hope standing this close to her.
All she could smell was lilacs. All she could feel was Hope pressed against her, chest to chest. All she could do was breathe in and breathe out and stare directly into Hope’s eyes and curse herself for her own damn inability to keep her fucking hormones under control.
“Ange?” Hope asked, blinking as she seemed to move in impossibly close.
She wasn’t going to kiss her, was she?
“Yeah, I’m fine.” Angelica took a step back. She needed that damn space between them. She needed to be able to breathe again, and that certainly wasn’t going to happen with Hope standing that close to her. “I’m fine.”
“Are you sure? You’re shaking.”
“I’m fine,” Angelica repeated, hating that she couldn’t control herself in this moment. She was usually so damn good at it. “See you for introductions.”
Angelica stepped around Hope and into the hallway. She didn’t look behind her as she walked away. She needed to get her head on straight and make sure that she could keep herself under control for whatever was coming next.
She made it to the staging area and sat down, staring at her iPad.
Rex and Cadence were also sitting at the table, heads buried in something, but Angelica didn’t want to ask what.
Because she wouldn’t retain whatever they said.
And she wasn’t going to be able to engage if they had any questions for her.
“Hey boss.” Lyric slid into the room with a coffee in her hand. She set the cup in front of Angelica and smiled at her. “Did you want me to take some behind-the-scenes photos today?”
“Uh. Yes.” Angelica swallowed hard. She wasn’t prepared for the onslaught that would be social media now that they were back to filming.
It had been a storm each and every time they had finished wrapping, and last season, it had picked up well before they finished.
She imagined it would be the same this time around.
Angelica ran her fingers through her hair and then cringed when she knew that Ansel would yell at her for that, especially after he’d spent so much time perfecting it.
Taking the coffee, Angelica sipped it. She let the heat and the bitter flavors center her.
She had to keep her head on straight to make it through this season of filming.
Then she could be done. If Josef stayed on, she’d be done.
If they weren’t renewed, she’d be done. Because this wasn’t something that she was built for.
Three years of it had taught her that. She loved managing hotels, and she loved solving problems. But doing that in front of a camera where they were all about creating drama instead, where she had to stand across from the woman she loved and the woman she couldn’t have—it would all be too much.
“Boss?” Lyric’s voice reached her ears.
“Yes?” Angelica furrowed her brow as she looked up at Lyric. Had she missed something? Was Hope already distracting her so much that she couldn’t focus on the job that she needed to get done?
“Rex is trying to get your attention.” Lyric kept her voice soft, so quiet that Rex probably couldn’t hear her speak.
“Thanks,” Angelica mumbled as she turned to focus on Rex and Cadence. Then she just waited to see what they would say and where they would go with the conversation. She hadn’t paid enough attention to even know what they were talking about.
Hope stepped into the room, and the entire feel changed.
Or perhaps that was just Angelica. Because she was tense.
She was tight. And she was trying to watch every single step and every single thing that she said so as to avoid another dramatic exit like in San Diego.
Hope took the chair next to Angelica, sliding into place as she stared across the rectangular tables that had been put together to make the conference room functional for them.
“Are we going to discuss introductions?” Hope asked.
“Yes.” Rex nodded at her, his cheeks reddening slightly.
Was he having as much issue with this as Angelica was?
That’d at least be something. “We want Angelica to go first this time around, see if that adds a change to it. We’ll try it several different ways, but Cadence had the suggestion of playing up what we can use in reels on social media. ”
“Reels?” Angelica asked, raising an eyebrow. She vaguely remembered some talk about that, but honestly, it was hard for her to comprehend. And no matter how hard she tried to understand social media—which wasn’t that hard—it seemed impossible.
“Short videos.” Cadence nodded firmly. “If we can give them something they can easily tear apart, then I think it’ll add to the virality of the reels that we have, which will improve how the show does.”
Angelica narrowed her gaze in confusion.
“She means that it’ll help blast the show into social media and blow it up so hopefully we can increase ratings when the episodes release.” Rex’s explanation didn’t feel like mansplaining. Which was saying something.
“All right,” Angelica said, not quite sure what she was agreeing to, but she’d do whatever they wanted at this point.
Hope furrowed her brow in Angelica’s direction, confused. Not quite sure what she’d just agreed to, Angelica brushed it off, figuring they’d deal with it later if it was an issue. She looked to Hope. “I think we’re supposed to meet with the LoSapios in a few minutes.”
“Right. So we’re shooting that first?” Hope asked.
“Yes. Then introductions.” Angelica opened her iPad to double check her times and make sure that she wasn’t completely off base.
Her entire stomach was in knots, and she wasn’t sure that she could manage to drink the coffee Lyric had brought her.
She glanced at it, her stomach roiled, and she decided against it.
That would be a bad idea.
“Who’s filming this?” Angelica asked, looking directly at Rex.
“We both are. So we can figure out how we work.” Rex didn’t seem pleased by that response, but Angelica wasn’t going to push it either. There were a lot of interpersonal changes that needed to be handled this season, and she had to work hard to navigate them just like everyone else.
“Everything’s set up, whenever you’re ready.” Cadence looked directly at Angelica, as if she’d figured out who was actually in charge here.
Angelica nodded, slipping out from her chair. “Main office?”
“Yep!” Cadence followed her, only a step behind and right over Angelica’s shoulders. “Sy is already setting the LoSapios up and giving them the rundown of what will be discussed in this meeting.”
“Good.” Angelica clenched the iPad tightly in her fingers.
She wasn’t used to someone being physically this close to her, and the only other person who had dared to do that was Hope.
Angelica looked over her shoulder and smiled at Cadence.
“We’ll see what Ali and Melissa have to say about the disaster they’ve created. Shall we?”
Hope’s scoff was loud enough to catch Angelica’s attention.
She turned even more to look behind her, finding Rex and Hope eyeing her and Cadence curiously.
Though Hope looked far more ticked off than Rex did.
He just seemed… embarrassed? Angelica wasn’t sure if that was the right way to put that, but she’d stick with it for now.
The office was painted a light sage green, and the furniture in there looked to be updated. Which was a stark contrast from the rest of the hotel. Ali and Melissa sat by the desk with Sy standing next to them and talking. Angelica smiled as she walked in and extended her hand.
“Morning. I’m Angelica Shields.”
“Oh my God!” Ali stood up immediately, walking straight to Angelica and covering her hand. “Oh my God! I can’t believe it’s actually you, and you’re actually here. Do you know what you’ve done for queer women on screen? You’ve made it so natural. So perfect.”
Angelica’s lips parted in shock, and she shook Ali’s hand, pulling her fingers free as soon as was reasonably acceptable. “I’m not sure I know what you’re talking about, but this is Chef Hope Lawrence.”
That was an escape she would use any time that she could.
Ali moved directly to Hope, shaking her hand with the same enthusiasm.
Angelica smiled at Melissa, who seemed far more controlled and wary of the entire situation.
Angelica held her hand out to Melissa and introduced herself, seeing where they were going to stand on this one.
She seemed pleasant enough, at least for now.
After everyone was seated, lighting checked, sound checked, and the whole world smashed into one tiny office, Rex finally called action, and they were ready to film their first scene of the third season.
“Why don’t you tell us the story of this hotel, how you acquired it, and what your hopes and dreams are for it?” Angelica opened her iPad to take notes.
But she wasn’t greeted with a story. She was thrown into absolute silence. She was waiting to write, but nothing was being said. Looking up, she met Melissa’s hardened gaze and then Ali’s wide eyes.
“No? Do you want to just shut this place down today and be done with it?”
“No,” Ali finally said, shaking her head vehemently. She glanced around the room nervously. Perhaps it was the cameras finally being on that was throwing her off her game.
Angelica glanced at Hope, trying to figure out what she was missing and how they were going to smooth this over into useable footage, but Hope was still glowering in the corner. Angelica clenched her jaw and focused back on the LoSapios. “Did you buy the hotel when you two met?”
“I owned it,” Melissa said, her voice gruff. She tossed Ali an exasperated look as she finally spoke. “Actually, I was in the process of renovating it when it came up for sale, and so I bought it.”
“You were renovating it?” Angelica’s eyebrows raised up. “Did you work in construction?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Melissa nodded firmly, her jaw tightening. “Women can do that.”
“I didn’t say they couldn’t.” Angelica flicked a glance to Hope, begging for some help in this situation. “How did you and Ali meet?” Perhaps that was the way to get them talking. But from how talkative Ali had been when they’d entered the room, Angelica was shocked to find her quiet now.
Melissa looked at Ali, as if expecting her to speak.
So it wasn’t just Angelica who was being thrown off by the situation, which was good to know.
Angelica crossed her legs, the edge of her short skirt riding up higher than she wanted it to, but she refused to pull it down.
Hope’s gaze landed on her knee and then dragged upward, throwing Angelica’s body into a tailspin of what-ifs.
Fuck.
She really had to stop that.
Melissa sighed heavily and dragged her fingers through her dark hair, which had random strands of gray splattered throughout it. “Ali was my realtor for the deal.”
“Oh.” Angelica was surprised by that. She didn’t remember seeing it anywhere in the files she’d combed through to prepare for this episode.
Then again, that was probably years ago and they might not have thought it was pertinent information.
“So you were renovating the hotel, thought it’d be a good idea to buy it.
Did you have any experience in management before? ”
Melissa shook her head. “No. But Ali did.”
“It’s how we met,” Ali said, her voice wavering nervously.
Angelica nodded at her. “What all have you two done to the hotel over the years?”
That was the right question to ask. Melissa launched into details about how she’d renovated the rooms and the main reception area several times over the last twenty years that she’d owned the hotel.
She’d added in the restaurant five years ago, but it had never made a profit.
Ali was relatively quiet except for a few comments about comparable hotels in the area and her ideas on making the place better.
“Why don’t you show us both around, and then we can figure out a plan of action?
All right?” Angelica shifted, planting both her feet onto the floor as if she was going to stand up.
Hope eyed her curiously. “Ali, you can show Chef Lawrence the kitchens while Melissa and I go through the main part of the hotel.” She had a feeling that pairing off would be better.
It’d get the work done faster, that was for sure, but it would also perhaps make Ali stop drooling and be able to focus.
If not, then they could rejoin later and reshoot that.
As everyone was leaving the room, Hope crossed her arms and eyed Angelica.
“I’m not sure splitting up is a good idea,” Hope said, locking her gaze on Angelica.
“Why’s that?” Angelica held her iPad to her side, ready to stand her ground on her decisions.
“Because where’s the tension between us if we’re not in the same room?”
Angelica sighed, pressing her lips into a thin line.
She looked around to see if anyone was watching them before she stepped in slightly closer and lowered her voice.
“Tension can be manufactured, Hope. You know that as well as I do. And adding in miscommunication because you have conversations with Ali and I have conversations with Melissa that neither one of us know about will only add to the conflict. Don’t you think? ”
Hope’s lips parted, her gaze dropping down to Angelica’s mouth before she flicked her eyes back up. “Fine.”
“Good.” Angelica’s voice was sharp and to the point. She walked out of the small office and met up with Melissa near the reception desk. She looked to Rex and nodded at him. “Are we ready?”
“Whenever you are,” he answered. “Cadence is just waiting on Hope.”
Angelica hummed, and then turned to Melissa. It was time to focus on work and nothing else.