Chapter 15
Chapter
Fifteen
“What do you want for the hotel?” Angelica asked, facing Ashlee from where she was sitting at the desk in the small office. Rex had put her behind it to keep her foot out of the shot. They wanted to avoid showing just how injured she was if they could manage it.
Ashlee bit her lip nervously and shook her head, but that was the only answer she gave.
Angelica sighed. Was this because Ashlee wasn’t comfortable having a conversation with her or was it because she genuinely didn’t know the answer? Angelica twiddled the stylus between her fingers as she looked Ashlee over and debated the best way to get her question answered.
“I think what Ange means is, in five years, where do you want to see the hotel?” Leanne chimed in, her voice much softer than Angelica’s had been.
Ashlee’s eyes lit up. “Oh! I uh… I don’t know.” She faced Angelica again. “I guess just profitable.”
Oh, how had Ashlee ended up in this position?
“Ashlee,” Angelica softened her voice to match Leanne’s a bit better. It was clear Ashlee needed to have a gentle hand. “How did you end up owning The Godfrey?”
Leanne jumped in again. “I don’t see how that’s relevant.”
“It’s relevant,” Angelica fired back, sending Leanne a glare. She hated being questioned, and she really despised being questioned by Leanne of all people. She flicked her gaze to Rex, wondering if he was picking up on this tension. “Ashlee?”
“Oh um…”
God, this woman couldn’t ever just say a sentence full out, could she? Angelica clenched her jaw to hold in her frustration.
“I uh… Daddy told me that I needed to do something, so I bought a hotel.”
Angelica nearly choked. She flicked her gaze directly to Leanne, trying to figure out if they’d both just heard the exact same thing. Leanne’s widened eyes told her that she had, and that neither one of them had been expecting it.
“Hold on, let’s stay right here for a second.
Your father told you that you needed to do something…
like a job?” Angelica pressed her hand flat against the desk, her heart hammering.
She couldn’t imagine anyone in her life just telling her that she needed to work.
As soon as she’d been allowed, she’d been working.
She was ten when she started babysitting, twelve when she started doing other odd jobs.
“Yeah.” Ashlee’s cheeks pinked like she was embarrassed. “I uh… I went to college and got a business degree, but then I didn’t do anything after that. Daddy gave me an ultimatum, so when I saw this place was for sale, I thought sure, why not?”
Angelica tensed. “You bought a hotel on a whim.”
“Well, Daddy bought it for me.”
“Oh my God.” Angelica blew out a breath and pinched the bridge of her nose. “What other jobs have you worked before this one?”
Ashlee shook her head.
“None?” Angelica’s head was about to blow. Handing a toddler a hotel and the money to drive it into disaster with no training? It was a miracle she hadn’t blown it to the point of putting it under already.
“None,” Ashlee squeaked out.
“I… I’m speechless. I don’t even know what to say to that.” Angelica flicked her gaze to Leanne who just stared at Ashlee wide-eyed and confused.
“Me either,” Leanne murmured.
The silence in the room was pregnant, but Angelica wasn’t entirely sure how to break it. She finally looked directly at Rex and said, “I think I need a break.”
“Uh… okay?” He waved to Angelica to let her know that they’d do what she needed.
This wasn’t what Angelica had been expecting. She wasn’t prepared for this. “Ashlee, can you go get your front-end manager for me.”
“Yeah.” Ashlee skittered out of the room.
Leanne moved her chair and sat much closer to Angelica. “What the hell do you do with that? It took you years to train me. You can’t train her in a week.”
“I know,” Angelica hissed out the words. “And even you still could use some training.”
Leanne scoffed. “I don’t need training.”
“Of course you do.” Angelica rolled her eyes, and she flicked her gaze up to Sy only to realize belatedly that he hadn’t stopped filming.
Of course. But she wasn’t about to yell at him either.
She didn’t have the energy for it. “Everyone needs continual training, and considering you weren’t hired for your last position, now might be the time to self-evaluate and figure out where you can grow and learn. ”
Leanne’s face pinched hard.
Hope walked toward them, and Angelica couldn’t stop the smile from lighting up her face as Hope came into the room. She pointed over her shoulder and toward the door. “Is there a reason Ashlee’s crying?”
“Crying?” Angelica jerked hard. She hadn’t said anything mean. She’d actually been quite kind in her response, although she was a bit abrupt.
“Yeah, she’s sitting behind reception.” Hope furrowed her brow and then looked toward Leanne.
“Well, it seems the Ice Fairy strikes again.” Leanne sent Angelica a glare that would rival one of her own. “Always tearing people down instead of building them up, aren’t you?”
“I think that’s a bit uncalled for,” Hope said, stepping deeper into the office. She took the seat that Ashlee had vacated and flicked her gaze between Angelica and Leanne.
Angelica wasn’t exactly sure what to say in response. Leanne seemed to be doing that to her more and more, or perhaps it was just that she couldn’t find the will to try. “I didn’t think I said anything that would be cruel enough to make her cry.”
“You were horrible,” Leanne fired back. “I should know. I’ve been on the receiving end of your cold stoicism. Haven’t you?” Leanne faced Hope, as if expecting her to agree.
Angelica knew that Hope could. She’d been cold to Hope before, and it hadn’t even been that long. Hardly more than a week ago. Angelica ran her fingers through her hair and clenched her jaw hard. “Ashlee told us that she has no prior work experience.”
“What?” Hope’s jaw dropped. “None?”
“None,” Angelica confirmed. “I asked her to get the front manager for me because I need to figure out how this place hasn’t been run into the ground in the last year.”
“It’s a miracle it hasn’t,” Hope agreed.
Leanne snorted. “And you think you can figure that all out with one conversation?”
Angelica opened her mouth to answer, but Hope jumped in first.
“It’s a good place to start, don’t you think?” Hope eyed Leanne hard. “Because sitting on our hands and doing nothing isn’t going to help Ashlee learn the skills she needs in order to manage this hotel.”
Angelica couldn’t argue with Hope there. And honestly, it felt good not to have to defend herself. She couldn’t remember the last time that had happened.
“Ashlee needs to ditch this place with someone who can actually run it.” Leanne’s voice ripped through the room.
“No, she doesn’t,” Angelica answered, her voice sharp. “What she needs is someone who can sit with her patiently and teach her what she needs to know and give her the skills she needs. It’s my job to figure out what those are.”
Angelica looked up and winced. Ashlee stood in the doorway, the front manager half a step behind her. Angelica waved both of them in to sit down, but Ashlee’s eyes were red, and Angelica feared she would burst into another round of tears.
“Can we talk to Marian alone for a minute, and then we’ll call you back in?” Angelica asked.
“Yeah,” Ashlee squeaked the word out and then skittered away.
“Hope?” Angelica said. “Would you mind?”
“No, I’m on it.” Though she didn’t stand up immediately, once again sending Leanne a glare that Angelica deeply admired.
As soon as she was gone, Leanne focused on Angelica. “You could learn a lesson or two as well.”
“I’m sure I could.” Angelica sighed and focused on Marian. “Can you tell me, succinctly, how it is that you think this place has managed to keep running in the last year?”
Marian’s jaw dropped before she closed it. “Ashlee’s a very sweet girl.”
That was it exactly, wasn’t it? She was so young, but it wasn’t her age that made her young. It was her innocence, her lack of leadership, the fact that she was devoid of the necessary skills to hold the position that she had.
“Her father keeps putting money into it, I think. But I don’t think he’s doing that anymore.”
“Right.” Angelica should have figured that one out. Anyone who could buy a hotel on a whim would probably be able to afford to keep it afloat for a while too. She sighed. “What do you see as the major issues here?”
“Communication?” Marian said it like it was a question.
“Is that what you actually think is the problem or is it something else?” Angelica dug in deeper. Already her body was weary from sitting in this position for so long, and the aches were starting to cloud her mind. But she needed to stay focused.
“No,” Marian whispered. “Ashlee’s so sweet, but she doesn’t know how to be a boss at all. She can’t balance the books. She doesn’t know how to hold the line on guests when they’re being dicks. And she can’t for the life of her figure out how to manage people.”
That was what Angelica had suspected after learning about Ashlee’s lack of training. “Thank you, Marian.”
Marian skittered off. Angelica folded her hands, the pain moving from her ankle up her leg and into her backside. God, she hated this.
“She’s going to run this into the ground.” Leanne snapped her fingers like she owned the joint.
“Yes, she will,” Angelica agreed. “I’m going to need to talk to her, but I need a minute right now.” Angelica shifted on the hard chair, wincing as she went. She shouldn’t be here working. She should be flat on her back in bed. She didn’t have the willpower to deal with Leanne’s antics.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Just… the painkillers are wearing off.” Angelica bit her lip and looked around to see if Lyric was nearby, but she couldn’t find her. Sliding her phone in front of her, she sent off a quick text. She needed to get more drugs in her system sooner rather than later.
Lyric popped in within seconds with a bottle of pills and a bottle of water. Angelica restrained herself from a shout of acclamation, but fuck—she’d never been happier to see Lyric. She took the pills without question and then relaxed back, waiting for them to start to take effect.
“Ange, if you need to work a shorter day, Leanne can take over for you.” Josef’s voice hit her ears suddenly.
Angelica tensed. She clenched her jaw and shook her head slowly. “No. I’m doing good, thank you.”
Like hell would she let him tell her that she needed to stop working, and the suggestion that Leanne could just step in for her added insult to injury. As if she would ever allow that. Angelica shifted to sit up straighter, a challenge to Josef and his meddling.
“Leanne is more than capable—”
“Josef, I’m fine.” Angelica wasn’t going to let him push her on this one.
“Leanne, would you give us a minute?” Josef continued to stare at Angelica, his dark eyes beady and locked on her face.
Fuck, she was in for it now. And there was no way she could escape because she was locked in place behind the desk without her knee scooter to get her out.
“Ange, you need to get your shit together and admit that you can’t do this.” Josef leaned over the desk, forcing Angelica into an even smaller spot.
Intimidation at its finest.
“I can do my job, Josef. I don’t need you to tell me that I can’t.”
“You’re popping pills like an addict.”
“Hardly.” Angelica picked up the bottle of water to drink some more of it. Though it was going straight to her head and making her dizzy. She was certain that was because her mini-breakfast with Hope had been rudely interrupted and she hadn’t finished it. “You hired her to come in here… why?”
Josef narrowed his gaze. “Because you need help.”
“No, I don’t. And you didn’t exactly ask me about it. I talked to Logan, and you didn’t mention it to him either. Where’s this coming from in the budget?” Angelica put the water bottle down a little harder than she’d anticipated.
“I’m sure we can find a way to pay for Leanne being here, even if we have to dock your salary to pay for a substitute.”
“What?” Angelica’s eyes went wide. “Good luck trying that one.”
Josef pressed his lips into a thin line and rolled his eyes. “She’s perfect for the job, Ange. You can’t deny it. You trained her to be the best of the best, and she’s exactly what we need. Better than you, maybe.”
“Better than me?” Angelica nodded slowly. “Leanne isn’t better than me. I trained her, remember? I know exactly where she’ll fail you, and it won’t be anywhere that you’re expecting to happen.”
“Her chemistry with Hope is off the charts. Even better than yours.” Josef raised an eyebrow at her and crossed his arms as he stood up straight. “The two of them can’t stop arguing or throwing digs at each other. They’re going to make this episode the hottest episode of the season.”
Angelica clenched her jaw hard, grinding her molars together. They hadn’t anticipated that when they’d talked last night, but at least Angelica had a better idea of what Josef was hoping for in the long term.
“If you’re not careful, she’ll replace you entirely, and we’ll keep her on for season four instead of you.”
“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” Angelica fired back, hating that was her only rebuttal.
He wasn’t wrong. Leanne was much younger than Angelica, nearly twenty-five years.
She took care of her looks, and she wasn’t afraid of wearing sexier outfits that showed off her assets, exactly like Josef wanted Angelica to do.
Which she couldn’t right now, at least not without showing off her leg locked in a cast.
“I would.” Josef laughed loudly. “At least I’d be able to manage her.”
“You might think that,” Angelica said on a sigh. “I’d beg to differ.”
Angelica looked over Josef’s shoulder to find Hope standing in the doorway listening in. She closed her mouth, letting Josef say whatever he was going to say. Because she knew then that none of it was true. And he was going to say it anyway.
“She’s got so much on you, Ange. She’s just waiting to replace you.”
“I’d like to see her try.” Angelica hardened her gaze as she looked at him directly. “If you’ll excuse me, Josef, I have a job I need to do.”
He turned around, finding Rex, Hope, and Sy staring at him with jaws dropped. “None of you can deny it either.” He flipped his hand up before he stalked out of the room.
When all of them entered, Angelica held her hand up and shook her head. “I don’t want to hear anything. I want to finish this shoot, eat some lunch”—she said that directly to Hope—“and finish out the day as quickly as possible.”
“You got it, boss,” Sy said with a wink. “We’ve got you.”
“Thank you.”