Chapter 39
Chapter
Thirty-Nine
“This is all your fault!” Alexis’s voice charged through the lobby.
Angelica froze, tingles racing up her spine as her stomach dropped.
“My fault!” Mark yelled back, his voice booming far louder than Alexis could probably ever achieve. “You’re the one who’s putting the employees right in the middle of us. This isn’t a me problem.”
Walking toward the argument when every instinct told her to walk away, Angelica clenched her jaw and held her iPad close to her side. The last thing she wanted was to get caught in the middle of an argument that wasn’t going to end.
“You told Pria that she could take next week off. You know she can’t do that. Olivia is already taking off that week, but you didn’t bother to even look! You just made decisions without even communicating.” Alexis threw her hands up in the air and jerked her head forward.
Angelica knew exactly what they were arguing about.
It had been a kerfuffle earlier in the day, one she’d been annoyed with but it had ultimately reached a resolution.
It just meant that Alexis was going to have to work a few extra shifts that week, which was probably why she was throwing such a fit now.
But… it proved her point.
The two of them were the problem.
“We can’t force our employees to work! Olivia was going to leave either way. So we could either approve the vacation or deal with callouts later on.” Mark glared at Alexis.
“You’re such a bastard.”
Angelica’s eyebrows rose immediately. She hadn’t seen them fall into outright name calling yet, though she’d had no doubt it was within both of their capabilities.
“And you’re a bitch. Downright mean, angry bitch.”
“All right!” Angelica clapped her hands loudly. “Both of you can shut up.”
Mark turned on her first, surprise in his gaze. Alexis, however, didn’t quite give her the same impression. Then again, she’d probably seen Angelica approaching them.
“I have every right to tell him to shut up.” Alexis pointed a finger in Mark’s direction.
Well, then, they weren’t going to just end this to end it. Angelica clenched a fist next to her side and then immediately loosened it. She needed to have control right now, and if her temper was triggered, it’d be the end of the argument in a flash. And no one would learn a lesson.
“You lost that privilege when you divorced.” The words left Angelica’s lips with a snap.
Alexis’s jaw shut tightly, the muscles in her cheeks tensing. “He’s wrong.”
“You two don’t communicate, at all. In fact, you both intentionally screw up communicating with each other for the very purpose of creating conflict.
Both of you.” Angelica pointed between them.
“And here you are having a full-on argument that’s just short of throwing punches in the middle of the lobby.
And you want me to tell you that he’s in the wrong?
” Angelica glared at her. “You’re both idiots! ”
Angelica’s voice ricocheted through the lobby.
Suddenly everything was far quieter than it should be.
She had no doubt that every single eye in the lobby was focused on the three of them, on the fact that Angelica hadn’t managed to keep her temper in check, and they were now wondering just how bad this was going to get.
“Ange?” Eva’s small voice reached Angelica’s ears.
Spinning around, Angelica’s stomach plummeted. “Eva!”
What the hell had she done? Eva looked devastated and wary all at the same time.
Tears filled her eyes, and her cheeks were red.
Angelica took a step forward, a hand outstretched as if she was going to wrap Eva in a hug and try to make her forget everything she’d just witnessed.
But Eva jerked a step backward. She lifted her chin up in defiance.
Angelica looked around wildly for Rex.
Where the fuck is he?
“Eva… what are you doing here?” Angelica asked, still darting her gaze around for Rex or Hope or anyone who could deal with this. She wasn’t a parent. She didn’t understand how to do this. Her heart raced wildly.
Eva’s face tightened, and she shook her head.
“Eva…” Angelica trailed off, really not sure where to go from here.
Bending down as low to the ground as she could manage with her boot still on and her body still stiff, Angelica put her hands in front of her and looked directly at Eva.
“Eva, talk to me,” she said in her gentlest tone possible.
Eva stepped in closer, looking over Angelica’s shoulder before focusing her gaze back on Angelica’s face. “You were yelling,” she whispered.
Angelica nodded and put her hands in her lap. If she stayed in this squatting position much longer, she might fall over and not be able to get up. “I was.”
“You were scary,” Eva whispered even quieter.
“Yeah, I was,” Angelica agreed. This had to be the right thing to do, wasn’t it? She had no clue.
“Why were you yelling?”
“I lost my temper.” Angelica bit her lip and then moved to hold her hand out to Eva, hoping that she’d see the olive branch for only that. “It happens sometimes when I can’t control my reactions.”
“Yeah, me too.” Eva’s lips quirked up slightly to the side, the first sign that Angelica was actually making a dent. “Mom and Dad, too.”
“Your mom’s got quite the temper.” Angelica smiled at her, eyes crinkling in the corners. “I’ve been on the wrong end of it several times. To be fair, she’s been on the wrong end of mine as well.”
“You yelled at Mom?”
“Yeah, I have. Though not recently.” Angelica’s heart thundered. That was probably the wrong thing to tell Eva, but she’d wanted to be as honest as she could. Perhaps this was just too much information for Eva’s little brain to comprehend.
“Why would you yell at her?”
“I was frustrated and lost my temper.” The details at this point weren’t important. Angelica moved to squeeze Eva’s shoulder. “I need to stand up, Eva. Squatting is really hard on my leg.”
“Are you hurting?” Eva’s eyebrows rose in concern.
Angelica shook her head. “No, but I will be if I don’t get moving.”
Standing up, she stayed close and looked over her shoulder to Mark and Alexis who were staring at her like she had ten heads. Of course they would. They probably hadn’t seen someone have a compassionate bone in decades at this point.
“Where’s your dad?” Angelica asked.
Eva shook her head. “I was looking for him.”
“Nanny?”
“She’s sick. That’s why I had to find Dad.”
“Right.” Angelica put her hand on Eva’s shoulder and started to walk toward the cameras. She flicked her gaze directly at the camera, and then down to the floor as she walked. Behind the camera was no one except Sy.
Frowning, Angelica kept walking with Eva right next to her. As much as she needed to get back to filming, Eva had to be her priority right now. Because this girl didn’t need to witness anything beyond what she’d already seen. She needed to be cared for.
“Where’s Rex?” Angelica asked Sy.
“I think he’s in with Logan.”
Angelica’s heart sank. That meant that Logan really was interviewing every single member of the crew, and for some stupid reason, he’d chosen this particular moment to interview Rex, which was the worst possible time.
“Ms. Shields?” Lyric stepped in close. “What can I do?”
Relief flooded Angelica’s chest. “Can you take Eva to Hope?”
“No!” Eva gripped onto Angelica’s hand tightly, her head shaking.
When Angelica looked down, all she saw was fear in her eyes. What the hell was going on with this kid lately? What was she so scared of? Because she and Lyric had known each other for three years now, and they should be fine together. Angelica brushed her free hand over Eva’s.
“Lyric can take you,” Angelica said.
“No, I don’t want to go with her.” Eva’s eyes watered again.
How had they gone from Angelica being scary for yelling at someone to being Eva’s lifeline? The flip was astounding.
“I have to film, Eva.” Angelica bent down, squatting again but not releasing Eva’s hand. But she needed to be able to look into Eva’s eyes to talk to her.
“So does Mom.”
“Yeah, but she’s your mom.” Angelica furrowed her brow. “What’s going on?”
Eva shook her head, her lips sealed tightly. All right, well Angelica wasn’t going to be able to negotiate with an eight-year-old today. Perhaps tomorrow they could get something out of her. Rolling her shoulders, Angelica stood back up and looked to Lyric.
“Why don’t you go check on Eva’s nanny? Eva said she was unwell.
” Angelica dashed her tongue across her lips, the decision already made.
She wasn’t going to force Eva to be on her own with anyone she didn’t want to be.
But she really couldn’t be wandering around the hotel or the set without supervision. It was so dangerous.
As Lyric left, Angelica took Eva by the hand and walked toward the restaurant. Hope wasn’t going to be pleased. Hell, the producer side of Angelica wasn’t happy about the situation at all. But this wasn’t something that could wait. It needed to be dealt with immediately.
When they entered the kitchen, Cadence put her hand up to stop Angelica in her tracks. “What’s going on?”
“Family emergency,” Angelica murmured, keeping her voice down so it wouldn’t be picked up by a microphone.
Hope was leaning over the prep counter, talking to one of the sous chefs. Her gaze flicked up to meet Angelica’s, a curious and alarmed expression as she looked down and saw Eva standing right in front of Angelica, who had a hand on the top of her shoulder to keep her in place.
“Let her finish this up, but I really need her in here today,” Cadence responded.
“I can’t help what I can’t help.” Angelica clenched her jaw and tapped Eva lightly before bending down and whispering in her ear. “Your mom’s just going to finish up and then we’ll talk to her.”
They didn’t have to wait long. Hope clearly was concerned because she finished up the conversation and signaled to Cadence that she wanted to end the scene. She didn’t stop as she walked toward them.
“What’s wrong?” Hope asked.
“Rex is in an interview with Logan, and apparently your nanny is sick. I sent Lyric to check on her. Eva wandered into the lobby.” Angelica let go of Eva’s shoulder as she stepped forward to wrap her arms around Hope’s waist.
They were attached at the hip this episode, weren’t they?
Angelica would bet a million dollars that it had everything to do with San Diego. Eva was a sensitive kid, and she was particularly in tune with the emotions of everyone around her. Which made her an easy target for anxiety.
“I’ll leave you to it then,” Angelica said as she stepped back.
“Angel…” Hope trailed off, trying to step forward, but Eva’s weight prevented her from going far. “Honey, give me a second.” But Eva didn’t budge. “Eva, let me talk to Ange for a minute, okay?”
“It’s fine.” Angelica put her hand out in front of her, eyeing Hope seriously. “We don’t need to talk right now.”
“But—” Hope stopped, her face falling.
They were in the same boat, but so far apart that they just couldn’t see each other. Or rather, they could see each other, but that was it. Angelica pushed her lips together and pulled them up to the side, shaking her head. Her curls flung around her shoulders.
“We can’t talk right now, Hope. You need to take care of Eva.
” Angelica breathed deeply, hoping that it would be enough to get through Hope’s thick skull that this was out of their control.
As much as Angelica wanted to spend more time with Hope, to stay cuddled in her arms, to kiss her, to talk with her—this wasn’t the time.
And they both had to accept that. “I need to deal with Mark and Alexis anyway. They’re…
having another fight in front of staff.”
“Perfect,” Hope muttered.
“You’re telling me.” Angelica glanced down at Eva. “You listen to your mom, okay? I’ll see you soon.” She smiled at the girl and then walked away. The last thing she needed was to screw that up again. Because she’d very nearly lost whatever credibility she had with Eva to begin with.
But for now she just had to go back to Mark and Alexis.
The couple that never should have been.
The couple that really shouldn’t be working together.
Ever.