Chapter 23
Chapter
Twenty-Three
“I’m making an executive decision.” Hope planted her hands on the steel counter and leaned over it, staring Trey and Enzo in the eye.
She had no doubt that they were ready for this transition and would also be somewhat resistant to it as well.
But she had to do what she had to do, and after talking with Angelica about a plan going forward, this was where they were.
“What’s that?” Trey finally asked, wiping his hands on a cloth and stepping closer to her.
“We’re getting rid of the menu.” Hope snagged one of the menus off the edge of the counter where she’d put it and threw it in the air over her shoulder. “It’s ridiculous and impossible to have a menu that large in a place like this.”
Trey’s jaw went slack. He shifted his gaze to Enzo and then grinned broadly. “You’re serious?”
“Absolutely.” Hope shook her head and laughed. “But that’s not the only executive decision I made. I need to see what you two are made of, what you can cook, what training you still need, and then we need to build a menu together. Okay?”
“All right.” Trey did seem a little nervous about that, but Hope couldn’t help it.
He should be. They needed to get this hotel under control, but it wouldn’t be that hard in the long run. Hope walked directly toward the walk-in and pulled out all of the items they were going to need. And then she laid them out on the counter for Trey and Enzo to look them over.
“We’re focusing on seafood. This is a beachy area, so we need to make sure everything is as fresh as it can be.
We’ll limit the menu to five items and two specials.
The specials will change every night. Don’t worry, I’ll help you with that and then we can work on a rotation schedule. Any questions?”
Hope paused. It was going to be a super long day of teaching, but she was ready for it. Because it would tell her exactly what steps she needed to take next and who specifically they needed to hire in order to get this place up to where it should be.
Trey shook his head.
“Right, so we’re going to make Florentine.
I want you to start with breaking down the flounder, so that we can fillet it for the meal.
We’re going to only bring in the flounder fresh for this dish, all right?
You can charge more, it does cost more, but if we can manage to get this one under control, then it won’t be difficult to elevate it. All right?”
“Yeah. Okay.”
She watched as Trey started to break down the whole flounder and tried not to cringe at his lack of skill.
This was something that would take practice.
She’d spent years in the bowels of a kitchen just breaking apart fish after fish, to the point that she knew exactly what to do now.
She gave him a few tips and glanced toward the dining room when she heard people talking out there.
“Do another one,” Hope said, touching Trey’s shoulder lightly. “I’ll be right back.”
Hope followed her instincts and walked out of the kitchen, pushing her way into the dining room. Lyric stood next to Cadence, their heads together, furtive whispers passing between them. Hope bit her lip, narrowed her gaze at them, and then chose to approach.
“What’s going on?” Hope asked, praying that some other kind of drama wouldn’t slap down on them and upset the delicate balance that they’d barely found.
But she was also pretty damn sure that was exactly what she was going to find.
Lyric straightened up immediately, like she’d been caught in the act. Her eyes widened, the color deepening, and her cheeks reddened. But she said nothing. Cadence crossed her arms over her chest and turned a glare onto Hope.
“What?” Hope asked, now immediately on the defensive.
“What’s wrong with Ange?” Cadence dropped that question in her lap like a live bomb.
Hope shook her head slowly. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
She could answer that question a million and one ways. Everyone had something wrong with them, and with their relationship, Hope had far more insight into what some of those problems were. But Cadence and Lyric seemed to be asking about something specific, something that they knew that Hope didn’t.
“Something’s going on with her,” Lyric said, her voice far softer and more concerning than Cadence’s. “I’ve never seen her quite like this before.”
“Well, it’s been really stressful…” Hope trailed off, looking over their heads to make sure that Angelica wasn’t suddenly going to appear and overhear this mini-intervention they were trying to have with her.
“No, this is more than that. Ms. Shields can handle stress. This is… something else.” Lyric shook her head, and her cheeks pinked. “I wasn’t sure if she’d told you…?”
Hope held her breath. This was what Angelica had wanted to avoid while on set, she was damn sure of that.
Now that their relationship was out in the open, people could play them against each other or for each other, but they all had to figure out how to navigate this new development.
And Hope was damn sure that Angelica wouldn’t want anyone in on her business—or at least what she’d perceive as her business.
And unfortunately, Hope hadn’t had much time with Angelica in the last few weeks.
They’d worked around each other, and then she’d hopped back to California for the weekend instead of spending it with Hope and Eva.
And Lyric was right, Angelica had been off her game since she’d come back. Or more precisely, since she’d left.
“I’m worried about her,” Lyric added, her voice still soft.
Hope had no doubt about that. Lyric wouldn’t be making a fuss about this if she didn’t think it was serious. And she knew where her place was. Not the confidante. Not the one Angelica would ever choose to lean on.
No. That was Hope.
And no one else.
And yet, Angelica wasn’t leaning on her.
“Chef?” Trey’s voice reached Hope’s ears. She turned around to find him standing there and waited for an explanation. “What do we do after we break down the fish?”
“Right. I’ll be there in a second.” Hope pressed her lips together and looked from Lyric to Cadence. “I’ll deal with it.”
“Deal with it?” Cadence asked. “You sound like you’re going to scold a toddler.”
It felt like that—a bit. They were in a relationship. They were serious. They were committed. And yet, Angelica was still choosing to pull away from her and not rely on Hope like she should. When the hell would that change?
Hope managed to hold her tongue on commenting back, but she did shoot Lyric a look. Because, of the two of them, Lyric would at least understand exactly what Hope was about to face. Rolling her shoulders, she dropped them down and headed back into the kitchen.
“Pop a skillet on and put some oil and butter in it!” Hope shouted the command into the kitchen and waited for Trey to snap to attention.
It didn’t take long.
She pulled over the bell peppers she’d brought out and immediately started chopping them and working on a plan to get Angelica to talk, to do anything that would get her moving in the direction they both knew she needed to go.
Because Cadence and Lyric were right—she couldn’t keep closing everyone off.
“We’re going to cook down the peppers and garlic, add in the spinach and then cheese when it’s wilted. Then we’ll sauté the fish and put it all together. All right?” Hope glanced up to make eye contact with Trey. It was now or never.
She resisted the urge to look at the camera, all the tension from that short interval riding in the center of her shoulders. She’d take this plate up to Angelica and use it as an excuse to get her alone in a room for a few minutes, and then they could have it out.
Well, hopefully it wouldn’t turn into an argument, but Hope was pretty sure it would.
They were both stressed and Angelica was probably going to pop.
It was her preferred method of avoidance too.
Hope slid the food into the skillet and watched as Trey deftly moved everything around and prepared the rest. She let him work, seeing if he’d remember the instructions she’d given him already.
He seemed to.
They just had to work on his technique with the fish, because the fillets he brought over to sauté looked like they’d been ripped apart with his bare hands instead of sliced with a knife. Hope didn’t say anything about it, though. He didn’t need another correction but rather a compliment.
She stayed next to him as they finished the meal and then plated it.
“I want you to cook twenty more of these for the crew and for Joy and Ross. Plate them exactly like this. Enzo?”
“Yes, Chef?” Enzo came over to her, ducking his chin like he’d done something wrong.
“I want you to inspect every single plate.” Hope put her hands on her hips. “And if it’s not perfect, I want you to send it back.”
“Got it.”
“Good.” She nodded at him and took the one plate they’d finished making. She said nothing as she left the kitchen and walked out into the dining room, making eye contact with Cadence and Lyric as she walked past them.
Hope kept silent, but it was obvious where she was headed. Who else would bring the Ice Fairy a plate of food when she was in a particular mood? No one would be brave enough to do that. She walked through the back hallway toward reception, hoping that Angelica would be there.
And sure enough, she was bent over a computer with a line in the center of her forehead, and tension in her shoulders.
“Take a break,” Hope said, making her tone of voice as soft and gentle as possible. Angelica needed to see this as an olive branch, not as an attack, which would be difficult right now. “I was teaching Trey how to make fish Florentine and thought we could both use a meal to fill our bellies.”
Angelica flicked her hair over her shoulder and looked up before eyeing the plate and standing straight. “Do you think I haven’t eaten today?”
That was a trap. Right?
Hope was damn sure that if she said yes, she’d end up in trouble and if she said no that she would end up in another line of questioning. “I honestly hadn’t thought about it.”
At least that much was truth. But it also filled in even more of the gap that was pushing them apart.
Last season, and the season before, Hope would always make sure that Angelica had food at the ready because she typically forgot to eat.
But Hope hadn’t been a good girlfriend in that regard, so it wasn’t odd that Angelica would be poking at her for doing it now.
“Break time,” Hope said a bit more firmly, cocking her head to the side and staring down into Angelica’s baby blue eyes. “Come on.”
Angelica glanced up to see Rex standing there with his arms crossed and giving her a hard stare. At least he seemed to have Hope’s back this time. There had been a time when Hope would have questioned that. But not now. Not with the way they’d proven themselves over the intervening months.
Angelica did take a step away from reception, but she started toward the small staging area. Hope’s stomach clenched tight with nerves. She put her free hand on the small of Angelica’s back and started to guide her toward the elevator.
“No, this is just for you and me,” she whispered it into Angelica’s ear. “We’ll finish filming later. I promise.”
Angelica paused, her lips parted, and Hope could see the objection in her eyes.
“Please,” Hope whispered.
“We’re pretty much wrapped for the day, Ange.” Rex stepped closer, keeping his arms crossed and looking at both of them. “So you don’t need to come back.”
Angelica shook her head. “We have several scenes we need to film still.”
“There’s always tomorrow.” Rex looked from Angelica to Hope and then back again.
And Hope saw everything she needed to know in that glance. This was for the crew, not just for Angelica. Whatever was going on was pushing beyond just herself and into those around her, and it had clearly been a struggle for them to get things done that day.
“See?” Hope said. “We can eat it upstairs together.”
Angelica hummed, but it wasn’t the pleased little hum that Hope would prefer to hear. Hope pushed her slightly toward the elevator and then walked with her until they reached it. They were silent as they stood next to each other, riding up the three floors.
When they stepped out, Hope paused. She hadn’t actually been to Angelica’s room yet this trip.
And something about that felt so wrong. What were they even doing?
If they couldn’t be in a relationship for over half the year while they were filming, they why were they even together?
Keeping that thought to herself, she followed Angelica to her room and waited as she keyed herself in.
Once the door was shut, Hope tensed.
Angelica spun on her, eyes wild with anger. “I can’t believe you did that!”