Chapter 37
Chapter
Thirty-Seven
“How would you rate the food here?” Hope leaned over the clean prep counter as she stared the head chef down.
She felt what Angelica had said in her bones.
She was exhausted with the way the first three seasons had been filmed, and while working on Chia Italia had been insane with her work schedule, it had been such a good reminder of what a good crew could actually do for a show.
And they just didn’t have it here. Not yet anyway.
“I think it’s not bad.” Chef Jenesis eyed Hope over, their cheeks pulling tight so Hope could see their high cheekbones and pursed lips.
“On a rating of zero to ten. Humor me.” Hope folded her hands together.
“Six.”
“Okay, I’ll give you that.” Hope straightened up her back and looked around the kitchen.
She enjoyed kitchens when they were quiet like this, right before the entire place broke out in rambunctious noise as prep began and slid into service when the shouts could be heard and the tone moved from joyful and teasing to serious and working.
“But I don’t think we can get it any higher, Chef.” Jenesis tangled their hands tightly together with a towel.
“Why’s that?” Hope furrowed her brow, now intrigued.
Had Jenesis picked up on something wrong in the kitchen that she had missed?
She had felt out of sorts since Angelica had thrown her to the wolves with the comment about Eva, and all of the emotional ups and downs the last few weeks had handed them.
“Because we don’t have a world-renowned chef.” Jenesis pointed at Hope. “And because we don’t have the funds to hire one. And because we’re not any different from the place down the block. I used to work there, and the recipes are the same. And I didn’t create them, but I can’t change them either.”
“Why can’t you change them?” Hope canted her head to the side, trying to soften her question to get an actual answer. It was rare that someone they worked with was actually forthcoming and helpful during filming.
“Because it’s the town. It’s what we do here and how we survive. We’re here for the tourists.”
“That doesn’t mean the food has to be subpar.” Hope stood up straight and squared her shoulders looking around. “If the highest goal is mediocrity, then no one will ever thrive into whatever could potentially be.”
Jenesis rolled their eyes and laughed lightly. “You don’t have to tell me that twice.”
“So why haven’t you done it, then?” Hope stared at them, keeping her eyes glued to the chef in front of her, someone who was fully capable of raising standards and following through on those steps.
“Daph and Frannie.” Jenesis winced. “Partly.” They rolled their eyes as if realizing just forcing the blame on someone else wasn’t going to cut it right now. “The other part is me. I haven’t had the motivation to do it. I don’t see the point.”
“Why not?” Hope wanted a genuine answer.
It was important to her. Because this could be the key to figuring out the issues under the surface.
They could fix branding and finances all they wanted, but they couldn’t set up a hotel or restaurant for success until they figured out the problems that weren’t so easily seen.
Jenesis shook their head, braids flying out to the sides. “I’m not sure on that one.”
“Think about it, would you?” Hope gave them a small smile. “Until then, show me what you’ve got. You prepare what you think are your best dishes, and I’ll prepare some and we can taste test and compare.”
“Deal.” Jenesis smiled broadly.
Hope was fairly certain she was about to eat some good food.
They stood together at the prep table, chattering randomly about the hotel and other things, spending an hour preparing the meals they were planning on making.
Once they had the dishes done, they laid them out on the prep table and stared at them in awe.
“Ready to dive in?” Hope asked.
“Yes, Chef!” Jenesis answered.
Everyone in the room tasted each of the dishes, humming and moaning over the food in their mouths. They moved around dishes, picking out which ones they liked best so they could rework the menu. Standing with her hands on her hips, Hope surveyed the results and grinned.
“I think we did good work,” Jenesis answered.
“We did,” Hope agreed. She grinned broadly at Jenesis. “Oh, I think I forgot to tell you that we’re going to be looking into doing an event going forward. Think Oktoberfest but just for Mondial.”
“That sounds interesting.” Jenesis pursed their lips, pulling them to one side. “Would we host it here? Would we do a special menu for that week to build out the branding?”
Hope paused. “What are your ideas for a special menu?”
“I suppose that would depend on the theme.” Jenesis again pressed their lips together hard. “Like if we were to go full-on Bavarian, we could serve the food like bar wenches, or on swords—that’s always an experience.”
“But why just do that for only one week?” Hope tapped her finger against her lips in thought. “Hold on, I need to talk to Ange.” Without another word, Hope left the kitchen and walked straight out of the dining room into the hotel. She had to talk to Ange immediately.
While Jenesis might not have done it on purpose, she might have just solved their entire problem.
When she reached reception, Angelica was bent over the desk and pointing at something on the computer to show Frannie.
Hope walked directly to the other side of the reception desk and grabbed Angelica’s wrist hard.
“We need to talk. Right now.” She pulled hard, not giving Angelica a choice.
She walked straight toward the back office, wrenched open the door and froze.
Daph was sitting on the table they’d had discussions at earlier, pants down around her ankles, and Timothy pressed against her.
Daph paled, and Timothy jerked back. Hope spun around and slammed the door behind her, gripping the doorknob hard.
“I…” She was at a complete loss for words.
Angelica chuckled. She lifted a hand to her lips and covered her mouth, shaking her head back and forth. Hope looked over her shoulder, finding Rex and Sy standing right there with camera in hand.
“I don’t even know what to do with that,” Hope murmured.
“Don’t you?” Angelica responded. “I suggest we let them be for now, let them panic in their own right, and then we’ll deal with the situation later.”
“Are you sure?” Hope asked.
“Oh yes, I don’t want to walk into that room again right now. Do you?” Angelica reached for Hope’s other hand and squeezed her fingers. “Besides, it wasn’t that long ago that we were sneaking around. Hmm?”
Hope’s jaw dropped. Had Angelica really just said that? On an open microphone? She looked at Rex who just shrugged and said nothing, but the camera was still pointed at them. “Come here.”
Pulling Angelica again, Hope made for a second room, one that she knew would be open and clear without people in it. She pushed the door open hard and then leaned against it so that Sy could still catch everything on camera.
“I was talking to Jenesis about the event, and they asked if we would do a special menu and then threw out a suggestion, and it got me thinking, what if we made this hotel an entire experience?”
Angelica frowned, a deep line forming in the center of her forehead. “Every hotel is an experience. That’s the point. Curate an experience.”
“Well, yes, we always talk about that, but what if we make it a special, unique experience. Come here, and it’s like going back in time and experiencing true Bavarian culture for a few hours at dinner and then throughout your entire stay.
What if we make it fun, games, fake accents, little moments here and there that show off the culture in a way that no one else is doing.
” Hope couldn’t stop grinning, and she didn’t want to let go of Angelica’s hands either.
They stood so close together, completely focused on this exact moment in time.
And she was ready to hang on every single word that Angelica said.
“You mean like Magic Time Machine or something?”
Hope could hear the disgust in Angelica’s voice.
And she immediately wanted to take that away.
“Yes. They understand and know the niche, and they have built a niche within a niche. They have a full-on experience, and people will pay for it. If we do something similar and use the niche that we already have, then we can bring this place back to life.”
Angelica stilled. Hope’s gaze dropped to her chest, the rise and fall of it as she breathed steadily.
The silence was deafening, but she knew it was a good thing.
Because it meant that Angelica was thinking.
It meant that she might actually be thinking this was a real possibility even if it wasn’t a fully fleshed out plan.
“I don’t know enough about the culture at the moment to pull this off,” Angelica answered.
“That’s what research is for.” Hope’s eyes widened. “Which we can do quickly enough. I promise. And the people here have lived and worked here for years, so they know what’s what.”
“This is going to completely change all of the plans that we had in place. You realize that, right?”
Hope swore that with just that one question, she knew that Angelica was going to agree to this. Because she wasn’t throwing out counterarguments, she was saying how hard this was going to be, that it was going to mean work, which yes, they all knew.
Angelica sighed heavily, pulling Hope a little closer with just a simple added pressure against her hands. “We’ll go to that event for research, and to show what we hope it’ll be like here when we’re done with it.”
Hope stuttered. Event? She’d nearly forgotten that they were supposed to head out there tonight and attend. Ansel had been hard at work on their costumes all day and deciding how their hair was going to be done up. He’d already given them the rundown.
“O-of course,” Hope answered.
“Good.” Angelica moved in quickly, planting their lips together. The kiss was quick, meant for connection rather than pleasure.
When she pulled away, Hope was stunned. Never before had Angelica been so open with physical affection.
And as much as Hope loved it, it also felt strangely out of place.
And she hated that Rex had to witness it.
She’d always wanted to protect him from having to witness any part of their relationship.
It was the simplest thing that she could do to honor how much she loved him. Because she did still love him.
And it was just respectful.
Yet, kissing Angelica now seemed to seal a deal that they had long been aiming for.
“Hope?” Angelica asked, as if Hope had missed something.
“Sorry.” Hope shook the cobwebs from her head. “Research this afternoon, and we can do a planning session this evening.”
“In the morning,” Angelica corrected.
“Right, morning.” Hope rolled her shoulders, squeezed Angelica’s fingers, and then stepped back. She needed to put some space between them. “I need to get back to cooking. I’ll talk to Jenesis about potential menu ideas going forward.”
“Perfect.” Angelica tossed her a brilliant smile. And then she walked away.
Sy followed her, but Rex stayed quietly behind. Hope moved to stand next to him, shoulder to shoulder, as they watched them go.
“I’m so sorry,” Hope murmured.
“Don’t be,” Rex said, but his voice was gruff with emotion. She’d recognize that move any day. “You’re together. You can’t hold back because of me.”
As much as she hated to admit it, he was right. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“I’m good, Hope. I promise.” He bumped her shoulder lightly. “I think you should worry about what you’re going to say to Daph and Timothy instead.”
“Shit.” Hope stilled herself. “I need to go remind Ange that we have to have that conversation.”
“Yeah, you do.” Rex chuckled. “So glad it’s not me. Doing it now?”
“Ugh, yeah, probably.”
“I’ve got you covered.”
Hope tossed him an annoyed look before walking away to find Angelica. It was time to scold the horny couple.