Chapter 23
Chapter
Twenty-Three
“Jess and Mel still want to fire Katherine.”
Angelica turned at Hope’s voice, glancing toward the camera that was still rolling. She’d been about to sit down, something she’d desperately wanted for the last hour as she stood over reception and talked with Jess and Mel about organization, promotions, and how to better train staff.
“I know they do,” Angelica answered, crossing her arms and putting as much weight on her good leg as possible.
The doctors hadn’t lied when they said she needed to ease into bearing weight on her leg again, but it was so hard to use her knee scooter in this hotel that she abandoned it more often than she should.
Lyric had actually brought it to her several times that day just to give her a break.
“What are we going to do about it?” Hope crossed her arms back, staring directly at Angelica as if she had all the answers to the asked and unasked questions.
Why did everyone always think that?
She didn’t know what to do all of the time, and lately, she’d felt more and more as though she didn’t have answers.
“I think they should fire her.” Leanne stepped into the conversation, putting herself almost directly in between Hope and Angelica.
Angelica looked at Leanne directly, realizing far too late that she was once again front and center of the camera, and she was using it to her advantage to create the tension and arguments that Josef was always looking for from Hope and Angelica.
She could do something about this.
She could make Leanne vanish from the show and no one would remember her. And she knew exactly how to do it too. Looking directly at Hope, Angelica made sure that they had eye contact when she said the next thing, because Hope had to understand where this was coming from.
“Why don’t you do your damn job? Then we won’t be standing here talking about problems that should have been solved days ago.”
The silence was deafening.
Hope’s lips parted, as if she’d been directly attacked.
Her eyes widened. Her jaw went slack. She hadn’t been expecting that, and Angelica had no way to even convey what had been about to happen.
Angelica stepped even closer to Hope, wrapping her fingers loosely around Hope’s wrist to keep them physically connected in case Leanne tried to pull anything else.
She didn’t look at Leanne. She didn’t even bother to act as though Leanne was standing right there.
Angelica looked straight at Hope, moving her body between the camera and Leanne to put herself front and center as that coal of jealousy burned faster and hotter.
She’d been thrown for a loop last week by Josef inviting Leanne onto the show to film.
But she wasn’t going to stand down anymore. Hope was right.
They’d built this show together.
And it was theirs.
No one else’s.
Angelica lowered her voice to nearly a growl, but she kept her hand light on Hope’s wrist, making sure the contrast of touch and tone was as obvious as she could make it. Because she didn’t want Hope to be hurt by this.
“I have my own problems to solve, Hope. Pull yourself together and figure out yours.”
Angelica turned on her good foot and spun around, leaving Hope behind her. It didn’t take long for Hope to snag her upper arm and jerk her back around, Leanne officially gone from the camera’s view entirely. Angelica had to hold back the sick sense of satisfaction that rolled through her.
“What the hell?” Hope furrowed her brow, trembling as she let go of Angelica and put a small amount of space between them.
“I don’t have time for this.” Angelica crossed her arms, keeping her tone the same as before, filled with a harsh reality that neither of them wanted to face.
“I have my own problems I need to solve to whip this place into shape and eliminate the debt. I’m creating programs and processes all at the same time.
You’re supposed to handle the kitchen, and if I have to remind you that you’re more than capable of that, then I will. ”
“I…” Hope stopped. She bit her lip and jerked slightly. “I don’t think firing Katherine is the answer to the problem.”
“What problem? This place is riddled with problems.” Angelica threw her hands up in the air defensively. “And here you are, trying to force me to solve your problems for you. Are you a chef or not?”
That should be reminiscent of past arguments they’d had. Hope should understand now, shouldn’t she?
“I don’t know what crawled up your ass today, Ange, but I deserve to be treated better.” Hope pointed at the ground, as if to make her point that much more poignant.
“Don’t we all.” Angelica’s voice was gravelly, filled with unshed emotion that she hadn’t intended to be there. But Hope was brushing up against the entire reason why she had to do this.
“Ange?”
“Do your job, Hope. I’m tired of doing it for you.” With a flick of her hair, Angelica walked away as quickly as she could.
She nodded to Rex and then disappeared into the small office in the back hallway. She shut the door, putting her hand to her chest and just breathed to center herself again. The knock wasn’t unexpected. She hadn’t seen him, but she knew he was around.
When she opened the door, coming face to face with Josef and the shit-eating grin on his face, she knew she’d done the right thing. Mostly. Warning Hope verbally would have been the best way to go about this, but she hadn’t had a chance to do that.
“That was brilliant!” Josef clapped his hands together as he stepped into the office with her. “That’s the old Ange that we need back. The one who fights for what’s hers.”
Angelica hummed an acknowledgement. He wasn’t wrong about that.
She hadn’t been fighting, not since this season started.
She’d been resigned to the fact that she wouldn’t be around for season four.
But with Leanne there, with talking to Hope—she wanted this.
As much as she’d wanted it before they’d begun filming season one.
This was her show, and she wasn’t going to hand it over to anyone else.
“What got into you out there?” Josef asked, that same glint of glee in his gaze.
“Nothing.” Angelica gave him a tight smile. “Just doing my job. I believe we’ve wrapped for the day?”
“Yeah. I think Rex said something to that effect.”
“Good. I need to rest my leg.” Angelica nodded at him and walked out of the office. Leaving him standing there felt good. She was so tired of playing games, of not having what she felt was rightfully hers.
She made her way to her room, unlocking the door and stepping inside. Before she could even get it shut, there was a loud slap of a hand against it.
“What the hell was that?” Hope’s anger ripped through each word.
“I’m sorry.” Angelica shook her head, relaxing her shoulders. “There wasn’t time to tell you beforehand.”
“Before? Before you ripped me a new asshole on camera?”
Angelica frowned. It hadn’t been that bad.
She held the door open wider and nodded for Hope to come inside.
With the door shut, Angelica undid the buttons on her jacket and pulled it off instantly.
While the bruise on the back of her arm no longer hurt—it just looked horrendous—the cuts from the airbag itself still stung enough that she wanted to relieve the irritation.
“Ange?”
“You shouldn’t give up this show so easily.” Angelica’s voice rang through the room as she tossed her jacket onto the corner of her bed. “You shouldn’t give up this show because of me.”
“I-I’m not.” Hope frowned. “What are you going on about?”
Angelica sighed heavily. “If you want this show, if you want to be here for the next season—whether I am or not—then you should fight for it.”
“I told you that I don’t want to do this without you.”
“Hope.” Angelica sighed heavily. “You can’t hinge your involvement here on me.”
“Sure I can.” Hope grabbed both of Angelica’s hands, holding her delicately.
“And I will. Because I’ve thought about it, and this show is you and me together.
And I don’t want to film with anyone else.
I have other offers, other shows I can work on if I don’t do Hotel Bombshell, but I know for a fact that I won’t do it without you. ”
Angelica’s lower lip quivered. “I’m so tired of being denied what’s mine.”
“I’m not sure I follow.” Hope squeezed her hands, but she didn’t let go. How did they always seem to end up touching like this?
“Josef. Leanne. All of it. I’m so tired of not having what’s mine.
” What she didn’t add in was “you.” Because she couldn’t deny it after the last few weeks.
She’d never stopped thinking about Hope.
She’d never stopped dreaming about their relationship and the what-ifs.
She’d fully put those thoughts to the side, but why?
Why did she have to?
Why hadn’t she fought?
“For years, when I was younger, I was told that I couldn’t do it.
I couldn’t be a good manager, that I was too young to be in leadership, that I was too pretty to be taken seriously.
And now that I’m fifty-seven, it’s the same fucking line.
I’m too old to be in the spotlight. I’m too icy and brittle to be taken seriously.
I’m too bossy, too mean, too whatever reason they can find.
I don’t care, Hope.” Angelica breathed heavily, the pent-up emotion and frustration coming to the surface in a way she’d never allowed it before.
“I still don’t understand.”
“Leanne’s here to replace me. By her own admission and by Josef’s. But I don’t want her to. This is my show. I worked my ass off to get where I am, and I’m not going to let her take that from me because they’ve labeled me out-of-date.”
Hope snorted lightly, her lips quirking upward into a quick smile. “You’re not out-of-date—or expired for that matter.”
“Shut up, Hope.” Angelica stared down at their joined hands. Why was she holding back still? Lifting her gaze, she locked her eyes on Hope’s and settled. “Hope?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m sorry.”
Hope tensed. “For yelling at me?”