Page 23 of Culinary Chaos

But did she really mean it?

“How lonely for you.”

Angelica hated pity. But Hope didn’t sound like she was pitying her. Instead, it felt like an honest statement. This was Angelica’s life, however. She’d go from place to place, fixing up hotels, never buying one, and she worked hard. There had only been two points in her life when she regretted her life choices, and this wouldn’t be one of them.

“Why are you really here, Hope?” Angelica asked, softening her tone. Perhaps that was the way to get under this woman’s skin to get the answers she sought.

Hope’s lips quirked upward, her eyes crinkling at the sides as she smiled. “You and I need to make a truce.”

“A truce?” Angelica raised her eyebrows in surprise. “I didn’t realize we were at war.”

“War?” Hope giggled, and the sound lit up the room. “Maybe just a little battle.”

Angelica found herself smiling, just barely, but still. She settled into her seat, canting her head and waiting for Hope to continue. She needed way more of an explanation if they were going to figure out what they were doing next.

Hope nodded toward the food. “Do you want a snack?”

“Is this how you wave the white flag?” Angelica leaned forward and snagged a piece of pita bread, popping it between her lips. Her stomach rumbled quietly, reminding her that she hadn’t eaten in a long time. In fact, she couldn’t remember when. She needed to be better about that, especially since she’d been pulling such long days lately.

“White flag or not, we deserve to eat like queens.” Hope winked as she grabbed a small morsel of cheese. She bit into it, humming as she chewed.

Angelica was completely entranced. She couldn’t not watch the lines of Hope’s jaw, her lips, the way she breathed, the flutter of her eyelashes as if this was the best thing she’d ever eaten. The dry pita bread had nothing on whatever Hope was tasting.

Were they queens? Did they rule over their spaces with an iron fist? Or did they share the burden together? Angelica wasn’t sure, and she didn’t know which choice would be better.

“I have a lot of work to get done, as you can see.” That was her way of trying to kick Hope out of the office, but it didn’t seemto be working. Hope just stared back at her, unwilling to budge from her seat.

“You asked me to solve the budgeting issue with the restaurant.”

“And have you?” Angelica asked, now curious. Perhaps there was an actual reason that Hope was there.

“Maybe.” Hope stole another piece of cheese. “Please eat. Otherwise it’s all going to go to waste.”

Angelica glanced at the plate again. What harm could it do? She scooted her chair slightly closer so she could reach easier.

“I thought we could go through my numbers to see if I’m way off base or not.”

That caught Angelica’s attention. Hope wanted to work with her? Then again, that would just be more work for her in the long run. Still, something about Hope continued to draw her in, despite the fact that she should know better.

“Did you bring them?” What the hell was she doing? Angelica cursed her inability to hold her tongue and continue to push Hope away. This was the last thing she needed, and it was a direct contradiction to what she’d just told Hope.

“As it happens, I did.” Hope grinned again, leaning forward. “Would you like to see them?”

Angelica breathed in deeply before letting it out slowly. That was a trick question, wasn’t it? “Only if you want to show me.”

“Oh, I do.” Hope laughed lightly as she moved an iPad over in front of her.

When had she brought that in? Surely, Angelica had been paying attention, right? She cringed as she slowly ate a piece of cheese, barely tasting it. Hope scooted her chair closer to Angelica’s, inch by painful inch, until their arms brushed. Angelica had to hold her breath for a second and move away slightly.

“I scratched the budget that the Matlocks provided, mostly. I spent all of last night going through a cost analysis of what they were doing. Here’s a more accurate representation of how much they were losing.” Hope flicked through a screen, the graph and the numbers covered in red.

“Fuck,” Angelica murmured under her breath. “That’s bad.”

“It’s really bad. They were bleeding, you were right.” Hope moved to the bottom of the screen and switched tabs. “Here’s what I think I can do.”

Angelica chewed on the inside of her cheek as she scanned the budget. “You’re eliminating two full-time people.”

“I am, including Antonio.” Hope sighed heavily. “I’ll help them hire a new chef in the next month, and loan them one of mine in the meantime. I’ve already lined that up.”