Page 48 of Culinary Chaos

Angelica ground her teeth together, not sure how to entertain that conversation. She hadn’t expected this at all, and to go from Nova’s anger to Hope’s tenderness to Rex’s outrage was throwing her for a loop.

“For what exactly?”

Rex snorted, wildly shaking his head. “We depend on this job. And if you can’t see that, if you can’t respect it, then you shouldn’t be a producer on it.”

“I’m trying to save this show any more belittlement or ostracizing. I won’t let us fail because Nova and John refuse to listen to us, because if they fail, then we fail.”

“No, we won’t.” Rex shook his head. “Maybe you haven’t gotten it yet, but this show that we’re making isn’t about fixing fucking hotels. It’s about drama and entertainment. It’s about finding the market audience and making sure they’re satisfied, which is something that we can do whether or not John and Nova actually follow through with whatyouthink they should be doing.”

Angelica’s back went up. She knew what he was talking about. She’d done the research right along with Josef from day one when she entered into the conversation, and well before she decided which type of role she was going to take on the show. She wasn’t an idiot. But that didn’t mean that she still didn’t care about her work and the fact that she wanted to save the livelihoods of the people who worked at this hotel.

She did care.

Even if she didn’t want them to know that.

“So you should apologize to all of us.”

“Rex,” Hope tried to interrupt.

“No, I’m not staying quiet this time.” Rex crossed his arms and gave Angelica a hard stare. “You can start with apologizing to Hope.”

Angelica looked from him to Hope, who seemed as though she was drowning in embarrassment. This wasn’t going to be easy to navigate, and it was a huge part of why she’d been so unsure about Hope being on the show in the first place. This was playing favorites, and Angelica had no desire to dip her toes into those waters. She’d done it before, and someone always ended up hurt.

Or was this because Hope had told him about last night?

Angelica locked her eyes on Hope’s face, trying to discern if she had spilled the beans about that awkward kiss in the hallway. She wouldn’t have told him, would she? And if she did, how the hell could Rex be taking Hope’s side? Surely, he’d find what Hope had done despicable, unless Hope had lied.

Sliding her tongue across her lips, Angelica focused back on the problem at hand. Navigate this and she could figure out the rest later.

“I’m sorry… Rex.” Angelica focused on him, putting everything she had into this apology because she wasn’t entirely sure what exactly he was looking for or what he knew. “I should have consulted with the other producers before making such a wild threat, but I stand by what I said to John. I will pull us from this hotel if it’s not a good fit for us or them. I won’t tangle the threads of our livelihoods with the failures of theirs. And I’ll protect all the people who work on this show, and as much as I can, I’ll protect the people who work at Chateau Orleans.”

Rex’s jaw dropped.

He hadn’t expected an actual apology, had he? And while she was genuine in what she’d said, she had also meant the last part more than anything. This wasn’t just about the crew’s jobs.It was about everyone involved in the show, those they were helping and those who directly reported to her.

She turned to Hope, parting her lips, but Hope put her hand up to stop her.

“Don’t…” Hope said softly. “I don’t need an apology.”

Angelica pursed her lips, crossing her arms and turning back to Rex. “Satisfied?”

He didn’t answer.

Turning to Sy, Angelica made eye contact with him. “Did you get what you wanted on your camera?”

His face turned bright red.

“Good.” Angelica frowned, snagged her iPad and left the room. There was far more fighting and drama than there needed to be. And she needed a break from it. She could get some work done for a few minutes where no one would be able to find her, and then she could find herself back into the fray of the world they were filming.

“Angel—” Hope stopped short.

Angelica spun around, her eyes locking on Hope’s. “What?”

“He shouldn’t have done that.” Hope walked closer to her. The space between them never seemed to be enough lately. No matter how many steps she would have to take for Hope to touch her again, Angelica swore they were only standing inches apart.

“I’m tired of wives apologizing for the scruples of their husbands. Stop rescuing him.” Angelica turned again.

Hope snagged her wrist sharply and pulled her back around. Then she stepped away, putting that much-needed space between them. “He’s upset.”