Chapter 36
Chapter
Thirty-Six
“There’s nothing unique here.” Angelica leaned over the reception desk made of a deep and well-worn wood. It looked like it was something straight out of a beer garden bar in a basement.
Hope leaned over from the opposite direction, letting her gaze drop down to Angelica’s chest before flicking it back up to meet Angelica’s eyes. Angelica loved it when she did that. Because it told her exactly what Hope was thinking about in that moment.
“You’re right. Everything in this town looks like it’s cookie cutter and just like the next thing on the block.” Hope trailed her finger over Angelica’s folded hands.
Angelica shivered at the touch. Normally she’d pull away, but she didn’t this time. She was enjoying the physical connection, and again, what was the point of trying to hide it? Angelica dashed her tongue against her lips and looked at Hope again.
“Any ideas on how to make this place stand out? Because I’m pretty sure they’re struggling because they just don’t have a niche within their niche.” Angelica looked around. “The inside is gorgeous, everything is stunning and fresh and new and clean. But there’s something missing, something—”
“Pizzaz,” Hope said, her eyes lighting up. “They’re missing a flair, a sparkle.”
Angelica’s lips pulled upward in a half smile. “Yeah, that. How do we get that? Because Helen, Georgia, isn’t a place that was ever on my map before now, and I can see why. This isn’t someplace that I’d think of visiting despite my Germanic roots.”
“You’re German?” Hope’s eyes widened. “How did I not know that?”
“It’s never come up in conversation before.” Angelica stood back up, once again looking around. “I don’t think changing the aesthetic in here is the way to go, but we do have to figure out how to make it unique, or at least how to draw people here when there isn’t a huge draw at all.”
“What are you thinking? I can see those wheels turning.” Hope put her hands on her hips and surveyed the lobby with Angelica, but she already knew where the conversation was going. They’d discussed and planned and plotted everything out already.
“What if we set up our own event for them? Something that could be an annual event and draw people in, make a spectacle of everything, hit the media and socials hard.” Saying the word socials felt so foreign to her vocabulary, but it was the easiest way to explain it, and the majority of their audience would know what she meant by it.
“Like a spring Oktoberfest?” Hope asked, chiming in right when she was supposed to.
“Yes.” Angelica leaned in, excited. They hadn’t scripted any of this out, but the conversation was working so smoothly.
“But what will it be?” Hope asked.
And this was where they’d fallen down. Because they hadn’t quite figured out how to make any of this unique yet. Angelica hummed, biting her lip and shaking her head. “I don’t know yet. I was hoping you’d have some idea on that.”
“I don’t.” Hope sighed heavily, her shoulders rolling forward in disappointment.
“Let’s see if Daph and Frannie have any ideas, shall we?
” Angelica didn’t really want to bring anyone else into this conversation.
She was quite enjoying the banter with Hope more than she’d expected.
This was what they’d missed all season, and they needed to bring it back into every episode going forward.
“Yes, let’s do that.”
“And cut!” Rex shouted the word.
Instantly, Angelica relaxed but she didn’t move away from Hope, because she still wanted to maintain that closeness. She reached behind her and turned her microphone off and then looked toward Hope. “Got a minute?”
“Sure?” Hope furrowed her brow in confusion. “Is this a serious conversation?”
“A bit.” Angelica waited for Hope to turn her microphone off and then nodded toward the back office.
They’d find a place to have a conversation there, one that wouldn’t have prying eyes or ears.
Angelica slid into one of the seats and waited for Hope to mimic her pose.
“If more days go like today—and maybe yesterday—then I can actually see myself doing this next season.”
Hope’s smile faltered.
A pit formed in Angelica’s stomach, and for the first time since she’d started this conversation, she wasn’t entirely sure that she wanted to have it again. She’d started it before, but they’d never finished it, because Angelica didn’t have an answer then. And she still didn’t really have one now.
“That was fun,” Hope said, tentatively.
“It was.” Angelica nodded. “But without that, I’m not sure I’m cut out for this. Harassment, politics, navigating filming and people and expectations…”
“It’s a lot,” Hope agreed. She canted her head at Angelica. “But it’s not anything you’re not already used to dealing with.”
“It’s a completely different environment.” Angelica would take that one to her grave if she had to. “And it’s been four years, Hope, and I’m still not used to it.”
“I’m not sure if we can count the first three, honestly.” Hope tapped her fingers on the top of the table. “Look, I don’t want to persuade you one way or the other, but I do want to say this one thing, okay?”
“Yeah, sure.” Angelica waved Hope on to continue. She was genuinely curious, and Hope had loads more experience in this type of business than she did.
“I’ve been around this business for a while, nearly fifteen years now. God, I can’t believe it’s been that long.” Hope folded her hands together, brushing one thumb over the next. “I’ve done three shows total now, and this one has been the hardest to find a rhythm and routine in.”
Angelica swallowed that thought down.
“I think it’s in part due to the design of the show, with so much moving around, and so much change every week. But I also strongly suspect that a huge part of it is because of Josef. And I mean that honestly. I don’t think it’s because of your personality and mine clashing in the beginning.”
“And then not clashing,” Angelica teased, her eyes lighting up with the comment. They were relaxing and this was exactly how she wanted filming to be.
“Yes, and then clashing again,” Hope pointed out.
Angelica would take that. It was true. “We haven’t had an easy go of it.”
“We haven’t.” Hope sent her a sad smile. “Mostly because of our own choices and mistakes.”
“Fair.”
“But in all the shows I’ve been on, there is a time that it takes to find a rhythm, and we haven’t actually found one yet. I think we might, with FloRo.”
“You do?” Angelica was surprised by that. Because all she’d seen so far was Florence pushing buttons in ways that Angelica didn’t enjoy or think was necessary at all. Even Hope had run into that, and now she was defending her? That’s what Angelica didn’t understand.
“I do.” Hope sighed heavily. “But you have to give her a chance.”
“I have to…” Angelica hardened at that. “I don’t have to do anything that I don’t want to.”
“True.” Hope frowned. “But if you don’t give her a chance, then you’ll never know, and you’ll give up before you can find out if this is something that you might really enjoy.
Based on how the conversation with Logan went last night, do you really think that she’s out to get you?
That she’s trying to hurt you and this show?
Or do you think she’s trying to find the best compromise that she can in order to make this show a success? ”
Angelica hated to admit it, but she was pretty sure that Hope was right. Still, she wasn’t sure if she had the energy to wait out those adjustments anymore. Not with the ones she was already going to have to face when she went back to Los Angeles and the sale of the Kartalis’ franchise.
“I’ll give her the rest of this season.”
“Fair,” Hope said with a smile.
“One more thing before Frannie and Daph come in here…”
“What’s that?”
“You should know that Eva proposed we get married.” Angelica held her breath.
“What?” Hope squeaked.
The door to the office opened. “You ready?” Rex asked.
“Yes, we are,” Angelica answered, shifting in her seat so that they could start the next scene they had to film. At the very least, they could get this done for the day. Though she knew without a doubt that Hope was reeling from that bomb she’d dropped. And she’d hear all about it later.
Once everyone was seated, and microphones had been turned back on and checked, Angelica waited for the signal to start.
Hope was right. Thus far, during this episode, everything did seem to be going smoothly.
Then again, she could think of a time or two in the last few seasons when she’d been lulled into that false sense of security as well.
“Daph, Frannie, you have a lovely hotel here. I’ve never seen a town quite like this one,” Angelica started, trying to ease from small talk into the hard work that needed to be done quickly.
“We are unique,” Daph answered, the dimples on the sides of her cheeks showing up.
“But how is this hotel unique from the rest of Helen?” Angelica threw that question out there as quickly as she could. She didn’t want to pussyfoot around and wait until she had to drag the answers out of them. She wanted to get into the details of the job and get everything moving.
“Helen, Georgia, is unique,” Frannie answered.
“I get that,” Angelica started again. She was going to have to rephrase the question to get an actual answer, wasn’t she? “But how is Mondial any different from any of the other hotels in town?”
“I’m not sure I understand.” Daph shook her head, the soft curls of hair brushing at her cheeks. “We’re unique just because we’re here.”
“Yes, you are,” Angelica agreed. Perhaps the softer approach really wasn’t going to work on this one. She shot Hope a glance, begging for her to step in and help a little.
“Take the restaurant for example. The food you serve here is the same food you can get anywhere else. It’s the classic Oktoberfest German cuisine. It’s no different.” Hope put her hand in one place on the table and then moved it. “You could go here and get the exact same thing.”
“That’s just how it is in Helen,” Frannie defended.
“That’s not, because other hotels aren’t struggling like this one,” Angelica interjected.
“I’ve run the comps, and you’re not the only one struggling, but you certainly are the one who’s struggling the most. And I think that’s for several reasons, but it doesn’t solve the bigger issue of how we attract people to come here as guests. ”
“Normally I’d suggest offering a different kind of cuisine altogether, but with the theme of Helen…” Hope put her hands out around her as if to encompass the entire town, “I’m not sure that’d really be accepted either.”
“It probably wouldn’t,” Daph mumbled. “We’ve tried to add other things to our menu before, and it just hasn’t worked.”
Angelica hummed. She’d leave that conversation to Hope since that was her area of expertise. But she had the same questions for the rest of the hotel, and it seemed as if no one had any ideas for potential solutions.
“This is the main problem that we’re going to have to solve throughout this week.
” Angelica shifted the topic of conversation because they weren’t getting anywhere.
“Because we have to find a way to make Mondial niche within the niche that already exists here. All right? But for now, let’s focus on the things that we know we can adjust for improvement. ”
“Okay,” Daph said, her lips curling upward in a smile. She seemed eager to get to work. Which was a good thing, because it was a massive change from Theo, who just seemed apathetic about work in general. Angelica really had very little hope for his continued success.
“Let’s start with reception…” Angelica pulled up her iPad and started to run through everything that she knew and ask questions about the things she didn’t. They still had some time to resolve the problems. At least for now.