Chapter 26 #2
“I don’t need you to defend it.” Rex slid his hand to her neck and the back of her head, tilting her head so she was looking up at him. “I don’t understand it. But I can honor it. I think she needs you tonight.”
Hope stilled. Cold washed through her followed closely by a gentle warmth and heat. This was the wonderful, kind, and loving man she’d fallen in love with. And it was amazing to see him again. “Wh-what do you mean?”
“Ange has had a rough week, and I imagine it was tougher than she let on.” Rex bent down and pressed his lips against Hope’s.
“Stay with her tonight if you want to,” he whispered against her mouth.
“I’ll take a turn reading Eva her fairytales.
Though I won’t do the voices right and she’ll complain, just so you know. ”
Hope laughed lightly. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah. I’m sure.”
She surged forward and kissed him hard. “I love you.”
Rex hummed an answer.
“Tell Eva I love her too.”
“Will do.” He watched her until she got in the elevator.
Hope pressed the button for Angelica’s floor and then waited impatiently.
He had set the bar high on spouses, that was for sure.
She’d never met someone so kind and loving as him, and she was glad that he was getting back to that unique part of himself.
When she reached Angelica’s door, Hope knocked gently.
It didn’t take long, but Angelica opened the door.
“Can I come in?” Hope asked.
“Yeah.” Angelica’s voice sounded so small. God, Hope needed to fix that. So much had gone wrong in the last week, and they just needed to talk about it all and get back on track. She could do this. For them.
As soon as the door was shut, Hope stilled. “Angel… are you okay?”
Angelica stopped walking back toward the bedroom area and stayed in the hallway. She’d already discarded the blazer she’d been wearing all day, the spaghetti straps of her red blouse highlighting her shoulders.
“I will be,” Angelica finally answered as she leaned against the wall to pull off the heels. Without them, she was so much shorter than Hope. “That was…” Angelica swallowed before she stood up straight. “I never expected Rex to do something like that.”
“Once he gets his head out of his ass, he’s a really good guy.”
“Yeah.” Angelica sighed heavily, straightening up to look Hope over. “Are you okay?”
Hope nodded. How could she not be? She hadn’t been the one to endure any of that. Angelica had borne the brunt of it all. Hope stepped closer, needing Angelica to hear what she had to say. “You’re not like him at all.”
“Hope.” Angelica rolled her eyes and tossed her shoes to the floor with a clatter. “You’re not the first employee that I’ve crossed this line with. You know that. There’s a pattern. There’s a history. There’s—”
The knock echoed through the room loudly. Angelica visibly jumped, and so did Hope. She hadn’t expected anything like this.
“Ange, it’s me.” Josef’s voice leached through the doorway.
Angelica’s lips parted in surprise. Hope pointed toward the bathroom and mouthed, “I’ll go in here.”
She shut the door as Angelica answered the main room door. “What?” Angelica barked.
“You weren’t answering your phone,” Josef’s said, his voice muffled slightly.
Hope stood in the center of the bathroom, her heart pounding. She didn’t want to make any noise, scared that if Josef figured out that she was in here that it’d make everything unravel around them.
“I’m busy,” Angelica said sharply. That was a dismissal if Hope had ever heard one.
“I wanted to see if you were okay.”
Hope’s lips quirked up a half-smile. Maybe Josef wasn’t all that bad under his layers of jerk. He and Angelica did have a long history of working together, so maybe he was finally coming to his senses about what an asshole he’d been.
“You’re choosing to believe my accusations now instead of when I initially made them?
” Angelica wasn’t going to let him get away with this, and Hope was here for it.
She wished she could be standing right next to her, providing as much support as Angelica would allow her to.
“You’re better than this Josef, and Simone would be ashamed to see you this week. ”
“You’re right.” Josef’s voice was a whole lot softer than Hope expected. She leaned forward on her toes, making sure that she heard everything going on out there. “She would be. I’m sorry.”
The silence was loud. But Hope knew Angelica well enough by this point to know that she wasn’t going to give an inch.
“I should have believed you. I did believe you, I just didn’t know what to do about it.”
Angelica scoffed. “Be a man instead of a coward.”
“I will. Next time. I promise.”
“There shouldn’t be a next time.” Angelica’s words echoed Hope’s sentiments.
“And there won’t be, not on my watch,” Josef retorted.
“Your words are hollow,” Angelica answered. “Did you want something else or are we done here?”
“Filming, tomorrow.” Josef paused.
God, Hope wished she could see what was going on out there, how Angelica was holding herself, the kinds of glares she was giving him, the way Josef was cowering hopefully. God, what would a man like him look like when groveling?
“Do you want to finish the episode or walk away?” Josef’s words reached Hope’s ears and dragged her attention back to the conversation. He’d said he wouldn’t do it without Angelica’s approval, and he’d meant it. That did win him some points.
“Finish it,” Angelica said without taking a moment to think. “I’m not losing any more time and energy on that bastard.”
“Call time is eight tomorrow then.”
“Fine.”
“Ange…”
Hope lifted up on her toes, trying to hear everything.
“I really am sorry.” Neither one of them said anything else.
The main door shut loudly, and the bathroom door opened. Angelica stood on the other side, staring at Hope. Her cheeks were pale, the color completely gone, but she didn’t look angry. She looked beaten.
“Angel…”
“I’m going to say this once.” Angelica put her hand out in front of her and lifted her gaze to meet Hope’s. “I still believe that opening a marriage after infidelity is an end to a marriage.”
Hope’s heart panged with hurt. Cold rushed through her.
“I am your boss, and you have to understand that this isn’t uncomplicated. You need to respect that.” Angelica stepped closer, her eyes locking on Hope’s. “I look at men like Julian and I see myself in them, no matter how hard I try to look the other way, because I should be better than that.”
“You are,” Hope whispered.
“No, in this way, I’m not.” Angelica reached for the tie of Hope’s apron and pulled her a step closer.
Hope’s heart raced. Her lips parted. What the hell was going on?
“But there’s something about you, Hope,” Angelica whispered, pulling the ties of Hope’s apron.
“Something about who I am with you that makes me want to try this.”
Hope surged forward, pressing their mouths together. Angelica hummed as she reached up and massaged her fingers into the back of Hope’s neck, pulling her down and even closer than they were before. Hope pulled away slightly, closing her eyes and breathing in this sudden change.
“Angel… are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“But tonight?” Hope asked, just wanting to be certain. The hot and cold from Angelica was nearly too much. It sent her into a spiral of confusion. “After everything that happened this week—”
“I need good touch.” Angelica skimmed her hand down the front of Hope’s chest before flittering her fingers back up to the snaps on her chef’s jacket. “Healthy touch. Pleasurable touch.”
Hope shivered. She caught Angelica’s hand and clasped it in her own. “And what about tomorrow?”
Angelica didn’t make eye contact, but her cheeks reddened. “Tomorrow is a different day.”
“Yeah,” Hope agreed. “But what about tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow we figure out tomorrow.”
“But is tomorrow a possibility?” Hope curled a lock of Angelica’s hair around her finger and tugged gently. “Because I want it to be.”
Angelica raised up on her toes and kissed Hope hard. Hope nearly stumbled into her just trying to hold on and keep herself upright. Angelica pressed against her, arching her back and holding onto Hope tightly. Her mouth moved against Hope’s provocatively.
Hope broke the kiss and pressed their foreheads together. “Angel…”
“Yes, yes, there’s a possibility.” She kissed Hope again. “Right now I want to take a shower and erase everything from this day.”
“Okay.” Hope sighed, the yo-yoing nearly too much.
Angelica stepped back, sliding her blouse over her head and dropping it at her feet. “Join me?”