Page 9 of Culinary Chaos

Angelica: The shoot.

Hope rolled her eyes and groaned. This woman didn’t understand a request for more information when it hit her square over the head, did she? Hope walked directly toward her kitchen, needing a snack as much as Eva had.

Hope: What specifically about the shoot?

Three little dots appeared on Hope’s phone before they vanished. Then again. She frowned as she reached into the fridge to grab some leftovers from the dishes she’d made that morning during the shoot. What was Angelica avoiding?

Angelica: Something came up. We can talk when you arrive.

Was that the end of it? Really? Hope took a bite of food, not tasting it as she stared at her phone. Was she even supposed to respond to that? She shook her head, closed her phone, and pocketed it. All it meant was that she could actually relax tonight like she wanted. A few hours off work before she dove deep into it again in the morning. This was perfect.

Episode One

DALLAS, TEXAS - MATLOCK MANOR

Chapter

Four

“How was your flight, Ms. Shields?” Lyric asked as she pulled away from the curb.

“Good.” Angelica had her face down and focused on her phone. She had a slew of emails, phone calls, and texts that she needed to answer. Luckily, Lyric understood how she worked and wouldn’t be offended if Angelica didn’t give Lyric her full attention.

One of the emails was titled “resignation.” Angelica’s stomach dropped. She clenched her jaw as she glanced at the name and sighed. She’d known it was likely coming, but ultimately she still didn’t like it. She opened the email to find a very formal letter. Resignation effective in two weeks, at her star hotel. It’d been six months since she’d stepped foot inside that hotel, but she was still in regular contact with her managers.

Everything there was going well, so she hadn’t seen a need.

Angelica closed her eyes and sighed. The last thing she wanted to do was hire a new manager while she was in the throes of filming a brand-new show. How would she even manage it? She’d be flying back and forth any chance she got, and she’d have to temporarily bump up the pay of the assistant manager who was going to take on a lot of the tasks and work in the meantime.

Fuck, this was just a mess.

“Ms. Shields?” Lyric asked.

“I’m sorry, what?” Angelica drew her gaze back to Lyric as she got onto the highway.

“Were you able to eat dinner? Did you want to stop and get something before we head to the hotel?” Lyric’s gaze met Angelica’s in the rearview mirror for a brief second before she focused back on the road in front of her.

“No, let’s just go to the hotel. I don’t have much of an appetite after this email.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Angelica read the email over again. Leanne had wanted more responsibility, but Angelica hadn’t given it to her. Her curse of micromanaging and control was coming back to haunt her now. Especially because she really didn’t have anyone set up who could do the interviews for her. She brushed her thumb and forefinger over her lips and looked out the window.

“Everything all right?” Lyric asked.

“Just got a letter of resignation. I don’t suppose you have work experience in hotel management, do you?”

Lyric laughed. “You know I don’t.”

“Pity. I could use a hard worker like you in all parts of my life.”

“You have me,” Lyric answered, her voice far softer than it had been before.

Angelica would have to watch out for that one. She’d pegged that Lyric was queer, and she’d pegged that Lyric had a crush on her. But she’d never made a move in that direction. Then again, in the last six months, she hadn’t exactly been looking for romance since her forced breakup.

But this resignation sealed the deal on that, didn’t it?

Leanne wasn’t just leaving her life as her girlfriend, she was leaving her world as a business. Who was she kidding?This resignation wasn’t because Leanne had wanted more responsibility. It was because Angelica had ended it swiftly, and she’d broken both of them in the process.