Chapter 42
Chapter
Forty-Two
“We’re glad you could meet with us today.” Josef raised his eyebrows in her direction as he swept his hand out in front of him.
Hope was used to coming down to the studio.
She’d spent a lot of time there because of her daytime show and other shows she’d made guest appearances on.
But she’d never been called down for a meeting quite like this.
One where she wasn’t told what it was about.
One where she felt on the defensive as soon as the invitation had come across her email.
“Yeah, sure.” Hope flashed Josef a smile and stepped fully into the conference room.
She sat down at one of the empty chairs and straightened her shoulders. If this was about her contract, then her agent and manager would be there. If this was about post-production, then either Angelica, Rex, or one person from the production team would be able to deal with it.
But right now she was staring at the faces of six other people—three producers and four studio execs.
And her nerves were shooting through the roof. Something wasn’t right about this meeting. And she was damn sure that she was going to end up on the shit end of the stick.
They’d only been back in Los Angeles for a few days, and Rex had dived straight into edits and postproduction.
They hadn’t had much time to deal with that during filming this go around since they’d shortened the time they had to film.
Which ultimately had probably been for the better.
She couldn’t imagine spending another week with Angelica.
Not after that last argument.
They both needed their space. And they both needed time to lick their wounds, because damn, those wounds were deep. But the radio silence from everyone had been jarring. Even after filming ended last season it hadn’t quite been this bad.
“We called you in here today to do a formal evaluation on filming, expectations, and realities for season two. That way when we dive into season three we can be a bit more prepared to adjust and fix the problems that arise,” Logan said in his best professional voice.
She’d known Logan for years now, and she could honestly say she’d never seen him so stiff during a conversation like this. Then again, she wasn’t sure what like this meant since they hadn’t really explained what this meeting was about or why it was happening the way it was.
“So this is a meeting between production and studio to make sure everything is going well?” she asked, needing to clarify for her own mental sanity.
“Yes.” Logan smiled at her, seemingly glad that she’d understood.
“Forgive me, but if this is a meeting of production and studio, why isn’t Ms. Shields here as a part of the conversation?” Hope wrung her hands together under the table.
“Ange was unavailable to join us today,” Josef answered, but he didn’t look at her.
She wondered if she’d be able to tell if he was lying. They knew each other well enough by now, didn’t they? Hope clenched her teeth together and the tension in her shoulders made them ache.
“What do we need to discuss, then?” Hope was coming in hot. She wasn’t going to let them pull one over on her.
“Overall, how do you think filming went this season?”
“Fine,” Hope said, keeping her answers short and sweet.
“Any areas we can improve on?” Logan asked.
She looked directly at Josef. Getting him off location would be a start, but she didn’t exactly feel comfortable saying that in a room full of people she didn’t know well.
And kicking Josef off might ruin the next season.
Or hell, stating out loud how she really felt about him might just put her on the hit list with Angelica, and she really didn’t want that to happen.
“None that immediately jump out at me,” Hope answered. Maybe she could make this the shortest meeting in history. That’d at least free up her afternoon so she could attempt to spend some time with Rex today.
“What about Ange?” Josef asked, this time looking directly at her.
“What about Ange?” Hope threw back at him. She wasn’t going to take the bait, and she certainly wasn’t going to throw Angelica under the bus—whatever bus they’d found for her.
“Was her behavior… appropriate?” Josef asked.
Hope tensed immediately. That conversation they’d had in her office nearly a year ago about Angelica’s history with Josef, the way he’d strong-armed her into breaking up with Leanne and blackmailed her into thinking that she was the root cause for all the problems on the show came running straight back to her.
This man wasn’t her friend.
He wasn’t anyone’s friend.
And she’d best remember that right now, because he was on the attack. She’d known that the moment she stepped into the room, but she’d wrongly assumed that she was the one under fire. Angelica wasn’t here because she hadn’t been invited to the meeting.
She was the target.
Hope swallowed the sudden lump in her throat and wet her lips. She breathed deeply, readying herself for a fight she never thought she’d have to have. “Angelica Shields is one of the most professional women that I know. She’s a damn hard worker, never stops. And she’s brilliant.”
She let those words linger in the room, wanting Josef to understand exactly where she was coming from and what she thought about the entire situation that Josef was trying to fabricate. Because she wouldn’t stand for lies. Not now. Not ever.
“But has she made any advances toward you?” Logan asked, though he didn’t seem all that comfortable about it.
“Why would you ask that?”
“There have been reports—” Josef started.
“One report,” Logan corrected, side-eyeing Josef. “There was one report of an argument between the two of you when you were in San Diego.”
“Oh.” Hope frowned. If anything, it was in reference to that last night there, and the last time that Hope had actually seen Angelica. “It’s no secret that Ange and I have had our differences, and that those often result in loud verbal arguments.”
Logan turned a look on Josef that said nothing other than told you so. Which told Hope exactly what she needed to know.
“Please don’t hold back,” Josef said, steering the conversation.
“Please tell us if she crossed any boundary lines with you or if she made any sexual advances toward you. She has a history of this, and we want to be certain that our show represents the best, and that we keep the environment as healthy as possible.”
Hope snorted. She hadn’t been able to stop herself. She covered her face, embarrassment seeping into her before she let it go. She wouldn’t let that take over her. “That’s rich coming from you.”
“Excuse me?” Josef furrowed his brow.
“You might not realize, but Rachel is my best friend. She might be my big sister, but she’s always been my best friend.
So I know what happened with Annalise. I know that you gave her the key to the golf cart, that you encouraged her to just try it out and see what it felt like.
I know that you told her, and I quote, It’s exactly like your sister’s video game Mario Kart. You can’t crash it!”
Hope crossed her arms and glared at Josef.
“You want to talk about creating a safe and good environment to work in? Let’s talk about the fact that last season, you took a failed inspection report, changed the date and time on it, and gave it to Ange as though I had failed it and told her to go yell at me like she meant it.
” Hope had no idea if that was what Josef had said, but she did know that he’d been behind it all.
“If it wasn’t for Ange’s quick thinking in showing me the unaltered sheet in the back, I would have been completely thrown for a loop when she came in there.
You created drama. You manufactured it. You.
You’re the reason our show’s filming environment sucks. And you know how I know?”
She was on a roll now, and she wasn’t going to stop. Hope leaned forward, pressing her elbows into the table.
“I know because for two whole episodes this season you weren’t there.
And nothing went wrong. Nothing was over the top bad.
Nothing was out of control. We all were calm and peaceful despite the drama that we were walking into.
Because you weren’t there. The rest of the team was the same as before.
So if you want to know where the problem is, Josef, you need to look in the fucking mirror. ”
Hope stood up, the chair she’d been sitting in screeched as she push back. Then she suddenly leaned over the table again just to make her point.
“And keep in mind that you wouldn’t have this show without Angelica Shields.
I’m far more replaceable than she is, trust me on that.
The only thing you needed from me was my name and my audience.
But Angelica is the real brains behind the operation.
She’s the one handling every single part of a hotel, including the restaurant. And it’d do you good to remember that.”
She looked at each person still sitting at the table, sizing them up.
She wasn’t going to stand for this. She wouldn’t let Josef bully her into turning on Angelica.
It didn’t matter if they’d broken up. It didn’t matter if her life was completely in shambles right now.
She wouldn’t stand for the injustice that Josef wanted to commit.
Hope walked out of the room, slamming the door behind her.
She’d never been to a more ridiculous meeting in her life. As soon as she got to her car and behind the wheel, she called Angelica. She had to be warned. The phone rang through her car’s speakers as she waited for Angelica to answer, but instead, it went to voicemail.
Of course it would.
After their argument, it shouldn’t surprise her that Angelica wouldn’t want to talk to her. Biting her tongue, Hope waited for the voicemail to beep so she could leave a message.
“Angel, I don’t know if you know what’s going on, but I just got called into a meeting with all the head honchos, and they’re coming after you. I don’t know what you did to piss them off, but they’re asking questions that they shouldn’t know anything about.”
Hope stopped.
What the hell should she say next?
“So uh… I just thought you should uh… know about that. And maybe you uh… can do something?”
God, why did she sound like such a fool now?
“Anyway.” She paused, trying to come up with words, trying to figure out what to even say. Instead, she jammed her thumb into the end call button on her steering wheel.
She squinted into the sunlight as soon as she got to the street and pulled out onto it. What in God’s green earth was going on? She hit a button on her phone and said, “Call Rachel.”
It didn’t take long for the call to connect and start ringing.
“Hello?” Rachel’s voice was a warm welcome, despite the fact that Hope hadn’t actually expected her to answer, much like Angelica.
“Look, I know you’re still pissed at me, but I do need to talk to you.”
The silence was loud.
“Rach, come on.”
“What?” Rachel’s snapped out.
“I know you don’t get it, I know you don’t like it, but I need you to give me a straight answer. Did you tell anyone—and I mean anyone—about Ange and me?” Hope held her breath, praying that she wasn’t overthinking this.
“Hope—”
“I’m serious. This can have consequences so far-reaching that you can’t even comprehend them. Please tell me that you didn’t say anything.” Hope’s heart raced as panic swelled in her chest.
“I didn’t say anything,” Rachel finally murmured. “Just to you, Rex, and Ange.”
“Ange? You talked to Ange about it?”
“I did.” Rachel sighed heavily. “I know I’ve been an ass, Hope, but you have to understand that what you’re doing was a shock to me. Out of all of my baby sisters, you’re not the one I expected to be the cheater.”
“No, that’d be Isabel, obviously.”
“Right?” Rachel laughed. “But no, I haven’t talked to anyone about it.”
“I need you to keep it a secret. This could easily ruin both of our careers if it gets out, and I can’t have that on my conscience. Ange doesn’t deserve it.”
“All right.”
Hope sighed in relief. She pulled onto the freeway to start her drive home, knowing full well that Rex wouldn’t be back until very late that night. He had been home less and less lately, and she wasn’t even sure how to confront him about it yet.
“And for the record, Rach, we’re not together anymore.”
“What?”
“We broke up.” Hope choked back the sob that wanted to break loose.
“In San Diego, actually. You were right. I needed to make a choice, and I did.” Though she still wasn’t sure that she agreed with the choice she’d made.
The work she had to do on her marriage, the lengths she was going to have to go to revive what she and Rex once had, were going to be extreme.
But she was willing to do it. For him. For them. For their family.
“I want to say good for you, but I don’t imagine you’re feeling quite up to that yet.”
“No. I’m not. And thanks for respecting that.” Hope winced at the unintentional anger in her voice. “I know I need to work on my relationship with you, too, but right now, I need time to focus on Rex.”
“Yeah, you do. And you’ve got it. I’m not going anywhere.”
Hope’s lips quirked upward slightly. “Thanks, Sis.”
“I love you,” Rachel said.
“Love you too.”