Page 28 of Culinary Chaos

That was exactly what she wanted to do.

“The Matlocks seem to be enjoying themselves,” Hope commented, leaving the thoughts of Angelica behind—hopefully.

“They do,” Rex said. “I’m glad, because they were tough nuggets to crack in the beginning. Angelica had so many meetings with them to try and convince them that this was in their best interest.”

“Really?” Hope was surprised by that.

“Yeah.”

“They applied for the program though.”

“They did. That doesn’t mean people are willing to take the line ofyou’re wrong, and I’m rightwhich is the only line thatAngelica will be delivering during the course of the show. You too, for that matter. It’s just easier to prove that you’re right than it is for her.”

“Why’s that?” Hope hadn’t thought of it like that before.

“Your product is tangible.” Rex slid his arm around Hope’s waist and tugged her in to kiss her cheek. “You definitely have the easier, and sexier job.” He laughed as he said the last part. “I wouldn’t have you any other way.”

Hope smiled at him. But now she had even more to think about than before. Just what had she missed in the last two weeks? She was willing to bet it was a whole lot more than she thought possible.

Chapter

Ten

“Ah, her majesty finally decides to grace us with her presence.” Josef’s voice rang through the room, and if it had been anyone else saying it, she might have snarked something off in his direction.

Angelica’s chest tightened with tension. She was the last to arrive, and Hope, Rex, Josef, and Kyle were already seated around the large conference table that she’d dared to call home for the last two weeks. She nodded toward Josef but ignored the others as she slid into one of the empty seats and set her iPad in front of her, pulling out the pen so she could take whatever notes she needed.

She wasn’t in charge of this meeting. And to be on the other side of the table with it, the one who had to evaluate instead of listen, was odd for her. Not that she couldn’t do it, but she wasn’t used to it. Angelica clenched her jaw and flicked her gaze toward Hope. Was she feeling the same in this? Or was she protected because of Rex while Angelica was left entirely out on her own?

“Now we can really get started,” Josef said, pulling over a piece of paper. “Angelica and I thought it’d be a good idea to review and evaluate with just a few of you before we put out an evaluation to the entire crew.”

At least he’d kept her name in that and didn’t entirely take the credit for this idea. She always worked her best to make sure communication lines were as open as possible with her employees. Not that it always worked well, but at least it was an attempt.

“So that’s why you’ve been invited to this meeting. How do you think this first episode of filming went?”

The question nearly died as soon as he asked it. It was such a cold open to conversation and discussion. Angelica’s own tension rose again, and she could feel the room tense and barely breathe. Everyone flicked their gaze toward her, but she couldn’t figure out if they were looking at her because they were scared of what she’d say and do or because they wanted and needed her to take control of the situation.

Rex and Hope stared at each other, then Hope dared to look directly at Angelica. Those blue eyes were so captivating, and Angelica couldn’t force herself to look away—at least not immediately. Hope’s lips pressed tightly together and pulled to one side before she broke their gaze and focused back on Josef, saying nothing.

Since when was Hope the silent type?

In the short time that Angelica had known her, that woman had always been willing to share her opinion, and never held back. Angelica shifted slightly in the chair, the discomfort of the silence settling into her body in a way it hadn’t in a very long time.

“No one?” Josef asked. “Nothing?”

“Ask something specific,” Angelica fired back, flicking her gaze to him. “Did the schedule work? Was there enough prep time and closing time? Did we shoot enough scenes? Was there enough work to be done or not enough? What is missing from the show? What did we stumble on that we need to capitalize on?”

Josef squinted at her before brushing his hand out in front of him, indicating that he wanted her to continue.

She should have just stayed silent. Angelica sighed lightly, holding back as much frustration as she possibly could. “What did we discover this week that we need to do more of?” That was as good a place to start as any.

“You and I need to do more prep together,” Hope jumped in, pointing at Angelica and then herself. “We didn’t have enough time for that with this first one, but we need to make sure that we have it for the next week.”

“The one we start tomorrow, you mean?” Angelica raised an eyebrow in Hope’s direction.

“Yes.”

“Fine.” Angelica put the electronic pencil to her iPad and wrote down the note. It wasn’t that she was opposed to Hope’s idea, or even disagreed with it, but it was the fact that she was now going to have to somehow schedule that time into her already busy calendar when they were traveling tomorrow to New Orleans for their next shoot.