Page 13 of Culinary Chaos

Angelica stopped at a door and held it open. Hope stepped inside and froze. It was a conference room, the large table in the center of it littered with papers and folders, binders and more. Hope jumped when the door clicked shut loudly.

“I thought we could talk about next week.”

“Next week,” Hope repeated, wishing that she’d heard incorrectly. Her brain wasn’t ready for this kind of conversation yet. She’d barely managed to catch her breath with arriving here and now Angelica wanted to talk business? She hadn’t even done the homework she knew she needed to do. She’d been so focused on finishing up the season of her cooking show in record time, having smooshed together the last few days of filming just so she could arrive here a day after everyone else.

“We need to come up with a plan.” Angelica slid into the chair she’d clearly decided was hers and started moving papers around. “So we know how we’re going to tackle the problems here.”

Hope’s heart sank. “Can we do that in the morning?”

“Unfortunately, we can’t.” Angelica held her hand out, indicating the seat next to hers. “I’ve been going over the cost analysis, and the restaurant is way over budget.”

“They don’t have a budget,” Hope mumbled as she stashed her suitcase against the wall, dropped her backpack next to it, and then slid into the chair that Angelica had offered her moments before.

“They say they do.” Angelica flicked her gaze to Hope before focusing back on the paperwork in front of her.

“They don’t.” Hope sighed heavily, picking up a piece of paper at random and narrowing her gaze at it as she tried to read it. “They’re bleeding money. So while they might have a budget for the sake of having a budget, absolutely no one in that kitchen is following it.”

Angelica took the paper from Hope’s fingers and set it down. “That’s the cost analysis for reception.”

“Oh.” Hope’s cheeks burned, and she slipped her hands into her lap and folded them together. “Do you have anything to eat in this makeshift office?” Hope looked around but found nothing.

Angelica wrinkled her nose and shook her head, then she checked the time on her phone before setting it down. “I forgot about dinner.”

“F-forgot?” Hope turned to her sharply. “How do you just forget about dinner? About a meal?”

“Not everyone thinks about food all the time.” Angelica’s voice dropped low and quiet. Was she ashamed by that fact? Did she think she should be thinking about it?

Hope thought about food the majority of the time, but she was a chef. She lived and breathed food. It was her passion, and she wouldn’t have it any other way. She also fully understood that the majority of people in the world weren’t like that. But surely they didn’t just forget to eat meals.

“I suppose it’s too late to get something from the kitchen to test it out.” Angelica looked directly at her, her eyes wide, but her face in a slight grimace.

Now what wasthatall about?

Hope hated that she was struggling to read her. She was typically fairly skilled at working out what people hated and loved. It was the key to working in a kitchen and the rapid-fire nature of the environment. They had to work together as a team. Which meant communication and understanding was key to functionality.

Perhaps Angelica worked differently.

“I wouldn’t touch that kitchen until I can get my hands on it and figure out what’s going on in there.” Hope crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at Angelica. “That is what we’re here for, isn’t it?”

What happened to the flirty attitude she’d had when they first met? Hope missed it. She wanted it back. That was so much easier than whatever this was.

“It is.” Angelica seemed pleased with Hope’s response.

“Pizza?” Hope snagged her phone and immediately opened DoorDash. “We both need energy if you’re going to keep me up all night.” There, that was much closer to the tone of conversation that Hope wanted for them. Keep it light and they’d make it through this first hotel fix. But if she let the weight of the job bring her down then she wouldn’t survive even the first one.

“Sure.”

“What do you want on it?” Hope was already flipping through the food chains. She wanted something greasy, something familiar, and something that would fill her belly.

“Cheese is fine.”

“Just cheese?” Hope questioned. “No meat? No veg?”

“Just cheese.” Angelica pulled her computer over and woke the screen up. She was typing furiously on it and ignoring Hope. What was this all about? As much as Hope wanted to know, she wasn’t willing to pry. At least not yet. She needed to have more mutual respect and understanding with Angelica to begin to dig deeper into her personality.

Angelica hadn’t been joking when she’d said “icy” during the photo shoot. She was a completely different person here than she had been that day. The contrast was stark. And Hope wasn’t sure that she liked it. She wanted the woman from before back —the bombshell who slid into fun like she was made for it.

“Ordered.” Hope also sent a text to Rex, letting him know she was at the hotel but that she’d been pulled into an unofficial-official meeting with Angelica and it’d be a late night.