Page 24 of Culinary Chaos (Hotel Bombshell #1)

Chapter

Eighteen

“ W alk with me,” Angelica said, locking her eyes on Hope’s.

The wrap party this time with the hotel staff and management and owners felt very different than when they were in Dallas. Even Angelica could figure that out. And she really didn’t want to stay there any longer than she had to.

“O…kay?” Hope asked, setting her glass of champagne down.

“We need to talk.” Angelica pressed her lips together hard and started to walk toward the door of the dining room.

She needed to escape this hotel as fast as she could.

She was tired of being here, tired of fighting battles she would never win, and tired of watching people refuse to dig themselves out of the holes they’d put themselves into.

She never wanted to come back here.

And with the way John and Nova were going, she probably never would. Unless she bought up the hotel herself and turned it around that way. She snorted at that thought. The last thing she needed was another hotel to manage—or own. She was still on a search for a replacement for Leanne.

Not that Leanne could ever be replaced.

Angelica walked swiftly, making her way down the hallway, away from the crowd of people, and into the hotel. Everything here was so quiet. All of the film crew were at the wrap party, as were most of the staff of the hotel anyway.

“Angel, hold up.”

Angelica froze. She turned slowly with wide eyes. Hope had meant to call her that. And it sent a thrill through her. A thrill that she really needed to avoid, because Angelica knew exactly what that meant.

“What are we talking about?” Hope sounded slightly out of breath, and her eyes were wide with fear. “Is something about my performance not good?”

“No,” Angelica said, her brain still not firing on all cylinders after the nickname was thrown at her. Her father had called her that as a kid, but he was the only one other than her little brother. In fact, they still called her that when they talked, which had become rarer by the day.

“Is this about…” Hope stepped in close so they were almost touching. She whispered, tilting her chin down, “…the kiss?”

“No.” That thrill was back. Angelica had to get rid of it.

She knew sneaking around in a relationship wasn’t the way to have a healthy relationship.

She would know. She’d done it with Leanne for over a year before they were finally discovered, and before everything fell apart from there.

“No, this isn’t about the kiss. This is about work. ”

“Oh. Okay.” Hope frowned slightly. “Then where are we going?”

Angelica lifted her head up, her eyes locking on Hope’s, and again all words left her lips. Why did that keep happening?

“Angel?”

She wanted to tell Hope to stop calling her that.

And at the same time, she wanted to tell Hope to never stop calling her that.

But she never corrected people when they called her a nickname, whether it was the shortened version of Angelica or whatever derogatory name they could come up with.

She wasn’t ever going to let it bother her to the point that she felt the need to do that.

But this time…she just might.

“Where do you want to talk?”

Being in a confined space with Hope probably wasn’t a good idea, but it wasn’t like Josef or Rex or Kyle would be joining them this time. They were still at the wrap party. “Did you want to stay at the party?” Angelica asked. Maybe that would be a way to avoid being in closed quarters.

Hope sighed. She looked over her shoulder in the direction they’d come from and then faced Angelica again. “No.”

Angelica dashed her tongue across her lips, still tasting the champagne that lingered there. She’d only had a sip or two before she’d abandoned the glass and decided she needed to leave. And talking with Hope about the next hotel was the easiest way to get out of there.

Still, she seemed unable to figure out what she should be doing next. Hope touched her elbow again, heat rushing from where her fingers brushed against Angelica’s arm all the way to her cheeks. “Are you feeling better?”

“What?” Angelica asked, surprise ringing in her voice.

“Are you feeling better? From the other day. I thought you were going to faint on me.”

“Oh, that.” Angelica brushed it off. “Yes, I’m better. That just happens sometimes.”

“When you forget to eat,” Hope said. She didn’t ask.

Angelica nodded slowly. “Yes.”

“And does that happen often?” Hope asked, tightening her grip on Angelica’s elbow.

She wanted to lie. Something about this made her want to hide the truth and bury it deep.

Because if she told Hope how often this really happened the concern would be too much to handle.

But she couldn’t lie. Normally she could skate around the truth, she could act in the ways people expected her too—the asshole boss or the demure woman—but not with Hope. She couldn’t pretend.

“Yes,” Angelica said the word softly.

Hope seemed stunned by the fact that Angelica hadn’t hidden from the truth. “Have you eaten today?”

Angelica had to pause at that. She couldn’t honestly remember.

She searched through the entire day, each step she took, each meeting she’d had, all the calls and texts and emails she’d dealt with.

She couldn’t remember a pause beyond that morning for hair and makeup so they could do some pickups before filming wrapped.

“I had a croissant.”

“When we were in makeup?” Hope asked, her eyebrows rising nearly to her hairline.

“Yeah,” Angelica said on a sigh.

“Jesus, Angel.” Hope let go of Angelica’s arm before shaking her head. “Let’s get dinner.”

“Here?” The last thing Angelica wanted to do was go back down to the dining room and be surrounded by all those people.

“Fuck no.” Hope smiled at her, sweetly. She looked around before nodding her head toward the front doors. “Let’s go.”

The walk was short and silent. Hope didn’t even ask where Angelica wanted to eat that time or what kind of food she wanted.

She just led the way down the street, across another one, and turned left.

They landed themselves at a little restaurant that barely had ten tables in it.

Angelica looked around, trying to figure out exactly what kind of food it was, but she honestly had no idea.

“It’s American food,” Hope finally said as she stepped up to the counter to order. “I need something good and greasy to fill my belly. And I figured it was the easiest thing to feed you and get you what you need.”

“Which is what?” Angelica asked, intrigued now.

They looked like such an odd couple here.

Angelica in her professional work clothes, the skirt that ended just above her knees, black nylons that she hated putting on but would wear because they fit the image she was trying to create, and the red shirt that didn’t form to her figure.

She’d chosen less of those as the week had gone on, not wanting to encourage John’s misogynistic ways any further.

And then there was Hope—in tight jeans that formed to her plump ass and wide hips, the tight olive-green tank top that pressed against her skin in the way that Angelica hadn’t quite done when they’d kissed.

Fuck.

This wasn’t about the kiss.

Angelica banished that thought from her brain and looked up at the menu that was handwritten on a sandwich board on the counter. Hope had already ordered, and it was her turn. “Uh… I’ll just take a burger with only cheese.”

The waitstaff gave her an odd look, but Hope seemed pleased that she was at least ordering something. Hope paid, and they found their way to a small table in the back corner of the small restaurant.

“You need to eat more,” Hope said.

“So I’ve been told.” Angelica shifted uncomfortably in the seat. She needed to get better control of herself. She needed to understand what the hell was going on between them so that she could control it.

“What did we need to discuss…about work?” Hope leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms.

Angelica paused. What had they needed to discuss exactly? Because she wasn’t even sure that she could remember. This distraction was awful. But perhaps that’s all it was, a distraction from the chaos and pain of her breakup with Leanne. She had to think quickly.

“We’re going to Colorado next. I was thinking we could leave early.”

“To get the hell out of here?” Hope chuckled lightly. “Because if that’s the real reason for leaving early, I’m there.”

Angelica’s lips curled upward, her eyes alight. “That’s at least part of it.”

“What’s the other part?”

“I need to go check on one of my hotels next week, in between prep and filming. The sooner we can get to Colorado to do prep, the more time I’ll have to be able to do that check in.

” Angelica crossed her legs and started to relax.

This was so reminiscent of that first dinner they’d shared in New Orleans.

Not all work, but some play and personal in there as well.

It was comforting. Perhaps they were more on equal footing than Angelica had originally thought.

“What’s wrong with your hotel?”

“Nothing’s wrong with it.” Angelica canted her head to the side. “Unlike John and Nova, I know what I’m doing.”

“Then why the mid-filming check?”

Angelica sighed slightly, wetting her lips as their food was set in front of them.

“My hotel manager recently resigned, remember? She’s had her last day, and I want to make sure the assistant hotel manager isn’t overwhelmed with the duties.

That’s easier to find out when I’m there in person.

It’ll also give me a chance to do three in-person interviews. ”

“In person? Does that mean you almost have a replacement?”

Angelica smiled. “Perhaps. Though I’m picky about those who work for me.”

Oh God, they were back to that insane flirting, and Angelica was the one who was starting it. She really needed to get a grip on herself.

“Then I take it as high praise that you’ve hired me.”