Chapter 32
Chapter
Thirty-Two
“The problem is that your chefs don’t know how to cook as upscale as what you’re looking for.
” Hope put her hands on her hips as she stared at Wylde and resisted the urge to roll her eyes.
She was tired of having this conversation, but she was finally having it with the right person.
Despite the amount of time it took her to track Wylde down.
“So teach them.” Wylde put their hands on their hips and stared directly into Hope’s eyes.
Sighing, Hope nodded. “Well, yes, that’s my intention, but they need more training than I can manage in a week, so you need to come up with a plan to encourage that training to continue.”
“We’ll see.” Wylde stared at her hard, still not giving much in terms of conversation.
It was making filming extremely difficult, and it wasn’t just Wylde. It was Maggie and Kaidee as well. All three of the owners seemed to be tight-lipped and less than interested in conversation or improvements or really anything to do with the film crew.
“Right, so I’m going to go train your chef.” Hope pointed toward the kitchen, if only to escape this disaster of a shoot.
She flicked her gaze over Wylde’s shoulder to Cadence and raised an annoyed eyebrow at her. Something was seriously off in this hotel. Stepping into the kitchen was like a breath of fresh air because everything seemed to be normal and functioning in here. They just needed to level up—that was it.
Hope lost herself in teaching two new dishes, stepping around Cadence and the rest of the crew as they filmed what they could. Finally, Hope checked the time and started to make a small meal for Angelica. It was time they got back to that tradition, and she enjoyed it.
She finished up the plate and wiped down the edges of it before finally straightening her back. Hope sighed and flicked another look to Cadence. “What’s up with this place?”
“I don’t know, but it gives me the creeps,” Cadence murmured under her breath.
“Same.” Hope let out a nervous laugh. “Did Ange find her iPad yet?”
“Nope. And that’s not the only thing missing.”
“What?” Hope shook her head, surprised. “What else is missing?”
“Maddie’s engagement ring.” Cadence lowered her voice again. “And just small things here and there, valuable things.”
“What the heck?” Hope furrowed her brow.
“I don’t know.” Cadence was whispering so quietly that Hope had to lean in to hear her better. “But I don’t think it’s a coincidence.”
“No, I don’t either. We’ve been in so many hotels, and while things go missing sometimes, it’s never this much in such a short period of time.” Hope bit her lip. “Give me some time. Let’s see what I can come up with.”
Taking the plate for Angelica, Hope took her time walking toward reception to deliver it. She set it down in front of Angelica, who looked as annoyed as Hope was. “What’s wrong?”
“Do you know how difficult it is to film when all I get are two- or three-word answers?” Angelica crossed her arms in a pout.
Chuckling lightly, Hope nodded. “Yeah, I think I do. Question—find your iPad yet?”
“No,” Angelica’s pout deepened, and Hope was fairly certain it was just for her. No one else would be able to pull that from her.
“Anything else missing?”
Angelica cocked her head to the side at that. “No.”
“Other people are missing things.” Hope looked to Rex to see if he was picking this up on camera. “I want to question people.”
“You do?” Angelica raised an eyebrow and turned even closer to Hope. “You think we have a theft ring going on here?”
“I think we might.”
“Well, then. Who do you want to start with?” Hope bumped her shoulder into Angelica’s in a hint of a flirt before she faltered. Rex was right there. What the hell was she thinking?
Angelica’s lips thinned into a line. No doubt she’d had the same thought. “I’ll take management. They tend to be my forte.”
“Deal.” Hope stepped away, putting space between herself and Angelica if only to keep the reminder that they needed to be professional. “I’ll start with the kitchen and move my way to the front-end staff.”
“Sounds—”
“You two shouldn’t be chummy. You promised me disagreement!” Josef barged into the conversation, pointing his finger at both of them. “This isn’t going to get those ratings up.”
Hope’s jaw dropped, but she immediately shifted to put herself slightly between Josef and Angelica. “We can create argument.”
“Can you?” Josef glared, his beady eyes boring straight into Hope. “Because after three years of this, I’m not sure that you can.”
“Josef.” Logan’s voice cut through the din. “Remember what we talked about.”
Talked about? Had Logan actually stood up and had a conversation with Josef?
That was only going to set him off even more than usual.
Hope stayed put, keeping herself right between Angelica and Josef because if he was going to take his anger out on someone, it was going to be Angelica.
She was always at the center of his ire.
Josef growled and spun around. “You can try to put a stranglehold on me, Logan, but I know what’s best for the show.”
“You might.” Logan put his hands out to his side. “But you don’t know what’s best for our stars.” Logan looked directly at Hope.
This was why she’d called him in here. This was why he’d needed to come all this way, because if anyone was going to tame Josef, then it was going to be Logan.
Rex stepped into view and held his hand out as if to guide Angelica in a certain direction. “Ange, why there’s Maggie, why don’t we go film that scene with her?”
Angelica looked at the plate of food in front of her and then Hope. “Yes, before we lose her again.”
Rex put his hand against the small of Angelica’s back as he moved her from Josef’s immediate line of sight and into the back office.
A flare of jealousy panged in Hope’s heart.
Rex would have done that for her at one point, but not now.
But she was glad he was doing it for Angelica at least. She needed someone on set other than Hope to protect her from all of this drama.
“You promised me drama, Hope. I’m going to hold you to that.” Josef pointed at her. “You and Ange agreed.”
“We did agree.” Hope bit the inside of her cheek. “I’ll talk to her again and find something we can argue about this episode. All right? But if we’re doing this, then it’ll be consensual on all sides.”
As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she halted. Nothing up until now had been fully consensual, had it? That first kiss in New Orleans? The stolen kisses in Angelica’s office in Los Angeles? The first time they’d had sex in Kansas City? None of it.
It couldn’t be.
Too many lies were shared, too many times they’d each held back from actually talking about what the problems were and what they were feeling and what they struggled with. But now… God, it had to be different this time, right? Hope bit her lip and locked her eyes on Josef.
“Yeah, I’ll talk to her. But first I have some interviews to get done.”
“Interviews?” Josef said confused.
“Uh… yeah. Just to check in with the staff.” Hope flashed him the most brilliant smile that she could manage.
If there was one thing for certain, she wanted to keep Josef off his game, and she wasn’t going to share anything with him that she didn’t have to.
Hope smiled at Logan as she stepped to the side, snagging the untouched plate of food and taking it with her.
She’d have to try harder next time.
Scurrying, Hope made her way back to the kitchen.
This was her place of safety. This was her place to hide away from the world out there, the world that was filled with chaos and hardship and questions she wasn’t sure she wanted to ask.
Because she’d almost outed herself and Angelica.
She’d almost let the world know everything that they were trying to keep hidden.
And Angelica was right.
They’d barely just started a true consensual relationship.
“Hey, Patrick, got a second?” Hope waved down one of the sous chefs as she stepped into the kitchen and nodded toward Cadence so she’d know that she’d want to get this on camera.
“Yes, Chef?”
She smiled at that. There was nothing like being in the kitchen and having “yes, chef” called to her. It was exactly what she needed in order to remember who she was, and how damn hard she’d worked to get to where she was now.
“I’ve got a question for you—well, several really.” Hope leaned on the prep counter and stared down at her hands. She didn’t want him to feel nervous about this. She wanted him comfortable, ready to share in the story that he was hopefully ready to tell.
“You got it.” Patrick smiled at her and wiped his hands clean on a towel before tossing it over his shoulder. “Hit me.”
Hope grinned at him. “Tell me what’s going on here.”
Patrick narrowed his gaze at her and shook his head. “I’m not sure I understand.”
“Something is going on at Riverside Plaza. I think it’s something out there.
I think the kitchens are safe from it, not sure on that one yet, but something is going on.
” Hope folded her hands together and looked Patrick directly in the eye, his light brown eyes that were full of youth but not so much innocence.
Patrick sighed, his gaze flitting around the room. “Nothing’s going on.”
“I’ve been in many hotels in my life, staying in them and fixing them up.” Hope paused, giving Patrick enough time to absorb that information and realize that she wasn’t going to back down from this line of questioning. “What’s going on here?”
The noises in the kitchen were loud. Chefs calling orders, pots and pans crashing against each other, plates rattling, voices chattering. Patrick held his breath. Hope could see it. His cheeks turned red before he sucked in a gasp. “I don’t know what happens in the hotel, Chef.”
“But in the kitchen?” Hope asked. “Is everything above board?”
“Yes, Chef.”
“And elsewhere in the hotel?” Hope prodded. Patrick had to know something. Someone in this kitchen had to know something. Because as separate as the two were, they were also so intertwined that it was impossible to separate them.
“I don’t know, Chef.” Patrick’s cheeks reddened. “I don’t know.”
“Have you heard rumors? Gossip?” Hope looked around the kitchen, realizing far too late just how close they were standing and how odd it’d look to anyone else nearby.
“Nothing, Chef.”
“All right. I’ll take you at your word on that.” Hope straightened up. “But if you do hear anything, let me know first thing.”
“Yes, Chef.” Patrick skittered off exactly like she’d expected him to.
She stayed right where she was, observing everyone in the kitchen.
Who could she pick on next to talk to? And then who would she set her sights on as soon as she worked through the staff here?
She was already creating a mental list. She snorted lightly—she probably sounded far more like Angelica in this moment than she should.
A burst of flames from the stove caught her attention as a rattled noise whooshed through the kitchen. “Shit.”
Hope snagged a large pot as she rushed toward the stove. Turning it over, she set it on the fire to snuff it out. Clenching her jaw, Hope looked around to see what else was wrong. But nothing was.
“You good?” she asked everyone.
“I burned my hand.” Brianna held her hand tightly.
“Right.” Hope led her by the arm over to the sink and stuck it under cold water to ease the burn. “Keep it there, it’s going to get cold.”
“Not my first rodeo, Chef.” Brianna breathed deeply and gritted her teeth.
Hope had to hand it to her for that. She was strong. As much as she wanted to work her way through the rest of the staff, she had to focus on this right now. She was just about to step back to get some ice when Brianna grabbed her arm tightly and pulled her back.
“You need to talk to Cole.”
“What?” Hope wrinkled her brow in confusion.
“Cole. He works housekeeping.”
“Right.” Hope bit her lip. “Thanks.”
Stepping away, she went to grab the ice to set on Brianna’s hand before she wrote up the report and sent Brianna off to the doctor. Hope filed away as much information as she could while she kept the kitchen running.
They might have this mystery solved before the end of the night, if she was lucky.
If not, then at least by the end of the week.
Maybe there was hope for Angelica’s iPad yet.