Page 48 of Culinary Chaos (Hotel Bombshell #1)

Chapter

Thirty-Seven

H ope pressed the button on her mic pack before she stepped out the back door and slipped into the alley. She had her phone pressed to her ear. She hadn’t wanted to take the call, but she honestly couldn’t ignore Mary any longer.

“Hey. We’re in the middle of shooting. I can’t really talk right now.”

“I know. Can you manage to get away?”

“For a few minutes.” Hope rubbed her lips together nervously. “What’s up?”

“I’ve looked into getting you a new show and breaking the contract.

” Mary didn’t sound overly optimistic which put Hope deeper into the mood she’d already found herself in.

What the hell was she doing here anyway?

Everything about being in LA with Angelica had set her off on a downward spiral she hadn’t been expecting.

“And?” Hope asked, tired of waiting.

“It’s going to be rough. I can get you a new show, if you want. There’s several that are looking to cast. That’s not the issue.” Mary paused, again.

Hope wanted to growl and scream, but she somehow managed to hold it in. Though she wasn’t entirely sure how. She leaned against the brick wall and closed her eyes, waiting for Mary to start up again.

“It’s the contract.”

“I can’t get out of it?”

“Not unless production releases you from it.”

“Perfect,” Hope muttered, wincing. “They won’t let me out of that, I’m sure. Not without an actual reason other than I don’t want to do this job anymore. ”

“You got it, hon.” Mary tapped her nails against her desk, the tap-tap-tap echoing through the phone. “I can still work my magic and try to get you out of the contract if you’d like, but I want to know for sure that you want out before I do that. Because if they don’t let you out?—”

“It could make the next two years really rough.”

“If you’re lucky, that’s all it’ll be.” Mary sighed. “So take some time and think about it, all right? I want you to be sure that this is what you want. You’ve only been on the job a few months now. You might change your mind when you’re not locked into tiny spaces with the Ice Fairy.”

Hope frowned. “Ice Fairy?”

“Isn’t that what they call Angelica Shields?”

“Yeah but…” Hope clicked her tongue before continuing, “How do you know that?”

“Word gets around, Hope. Also think about that when it comes to your decision. I know this is your first foray out of the daytime cooking shows, and I don’t want you to ruin chances for future jobs if it’s something that you want going forward.”

“Yeah, thanks.” Hope had heard exactly what Mary wanted to tell her.

The back door to the kitchen opened, and Hope came face to face with Conrad. She looked at him, worry in her gaze before she finished up the call and ended it. Conrad stared at her with wide eyes and fear in his gaze.

“What are you doing out here?” Hope asked.

“I uh…” Conrad closed his mouth and then licked his lips. “I…”

“Conrad?” Hope asked, straightening up and pushing off the wall. “Aren’t you supposed to be in a meeting with Angelica?”

“I…”

Jesus, was he ever going to say anything other than that?

“I am,” he finally finished a sentence.

“So why aren’t you?” Hope asked, crossing her arms as she held tightly onto her phone.

Conrad wrinkled his face up like a toddler and then shuffled his feet into the gravel. Oh, now that was hilarious. Hope straightened herself up to her full height, putting on the best mom face. She was going to scold him come tomorrow depending on what he said.

“She….” He mumbled something so quiet that Hope couldn’t even hear him.

“What was that?” she asked, needing him to repeat it.

“She scares me,” he whispered.

Hope laughed. Full-on, body-shaking laughs. She could absolutely see why this scrawny man with no backbone would be scared to death of Angelica Shields, a woman so unapologetic about her behavior, a woman who could probably be accused of acting far more like a male CEO than a woman.

She had to wipe tears from the corners of her eyes before she could even manage to get herself together. “I’m not laughing at you, I promise. She can be quite formidable.”

“Is she always like that?” Conrad asked, not seeming offended by Hope’s reaction, which was probably a good thing.

Hope shrugged. She’d seen an entirely different side to Angelica Shields, but she was also damn sure that not many people saw it. In fact, she would almost bet her small fortune that the number of people who did could be counted on two hands, and maybe just one.

“She’s mostly like that.” It was the only answer Hope could give that wasn’t a lie but also didn’t expose the truth of who Angelica was. “What is it about her that scares you?”

“There’s no bending. Like… it’s her way or the highway.”

“She knows what she’s doing when it comes to this business.

And she’s damn good at it.” Hope rolled her shoulders and closed her eyes, letting the sun brush across her skin.

She really needed to get back into the kitchen, but it felt so good to be out here and to have a tiny break. Even if her break had been interrupted.

“Yeah, but… she scares me.”

Hope chuckled this time. “So you’re hiding out down here?”

“Yeah, for a little bit anyway.” Conrad frowned.

“It’s a good thing I like you.” Hope reached behind her back to turn her mic pack on. “Let’s go back inside. You can help learn how to do dishes properly.”

“What?” Conrad looked offended now. “Why would I do that?”

“Because as an owner and manager, it’s a decently good practice to know what you’re doing in all areas of your business.

And, it’ll give you something to do down here instead of just skulking in a corner.

” Hope reached for the back door and held it open, waiting for Conrad to walk inside in front of her.

She wasn’t going to let him escape for any longer.

They were here to be productive after all.

Conrad walked ahead of her, and she set him up on the dishes station.

She made eye contact with Kyle, who looked confused, and she shrugged at him slightly before saying she’d talk to him in a minute.

Conrad was lucky that he’d hired a competent chef, because the kitchen wasn’t a total disaster.

All Hope had really done was tighten up policies and help them to up the quality of the food to a whole new level.

They’d officially be in five-star restaurant range now.

Wiping her hands on the towel hooked in her waist, she walked over to Kyle. “He’s hiding from Ange.”

“Who wouldn’t?” Kyle laughed, and immediately, Hope hated that he did. Why was everyone so damn mean about her? Didn’t they realize that that attitude was what put Angelica on the outs of absolutely everything?

“I’m going to go talk to Rex and see if he can send her down here to fetch her owner.” Hope flashed Kyle a smile and walked out. He could film without her for a bit. It wasn’t like they had much more to discuss anyway.

She made her way up to the reception desk where Angelica was stationed, giving more training to the staff there. They made eyes across the large lobby, and Angelica seemed confused and then concerned. Rex caught sight of her and turned a camera onto Hope.

Perfect.

That wasn’t exactly what she wanted, but she didn’t really have another choice either, did she? They were mic’d up for a reason. This was a reality television show. Hope would just have to be very careful with what she said and how she said it.

“Got a minute?” Hope asked.

Angelica nodded. “Yeah.” She gave a few more commands to the staff before walking around the counter so that she and Hope were face-to-face. “What’s wrong?”

“I found your missing owner.”

“Conrad.” Angelica sighed heavily, glancing at the reception staff before stepping farther away from them. The cameras followed. “Where is he?”

“He’s doing dishes in the kitchen.” Hope crossed her arms, barely containing the smile on her lips. “I told him if he was going to hide out in my kitchen, then he needed to be useful.”

Angelica snorted, her lips twitching into a barely there smile. She shook her head. “Damn, that’s good.”

Hope hummed briefly before looking over at the reception staff again. “How’s it going up here?”

“Could be better. They’ll get there, eventually. It’s more just herding cats, and apparently one slipped out the back door while I wasn’t looking.”

“Yeah.” Hope locked her gaze onto Angelica’s blue eyes. She looked worn out and tired, perhaps stressed, but in a way that Hope hadn’t seen on her since New Orleans. She wanted to help, but she wasn’t exactly sure how to do that. “People do that when they’re scared.”

“Scared?” Angelica frowned. “Scared of what?”

“Hard work, I think. Competence.” Maybe that would tip Angelica off enough to get her to understand what Hope wasn’t saying.

It seemed to click, because in her gaze, Hope found recognition.

“Feel free to come get him when you’re ready. Just let him finish the dishes first.” Hope nodded and stepped backward.

“I’ll do that.”

Hope deliberately put distance between them, not just physical but emotional.

She needed to be on her own and figure out if this was really what she wanted or if it was something else entirely.

And being in close proximity to Angelica wasn’t helping her figure that out at all.

Angelica pulled her in, which scared her just as much as Angelica had Conrad. But for entirely different reasons.

She got back to the kitchen and picked up right where she left off. She was deep into changing up the menu completely while halfway supervising Conrad as he did dishes and one of the busboys continued to correct him when he screwed it up.

She set up a plate, cooking a few of the items on the menu so that the rest of the staff could try them out for a taste test and understand what to explain to customers.

But she set aside one small plate for Angelica.

It was normal to prepare food for the hotel manager to taste as well, so that she could approve it.

And Conrad wasn’t going to have any brain capacity for that right now, but Angelica would.

Everything was set up when Angelica arrived, a look of anger on her features. Hope raised her hand to get Angelica’s attention and beckoned her over. “Before you light into another unsuspecting—or perhaps in this case, suspecting—hotel owner, why don’t you try our new menu?”

Angelica froze, her gaze dropping from Hope’s face to the plate that Hope pushed gently closer to her.

“If you have a minute, that is.”

Surprise reflected in Angelica’s eyes, but she seemed to calm instantly.

Which probably meant she wasn’t that angry to begin with.

Hope pushed the plate forward a little more and then leaned on the counter with her elbow and rested her chin in her hand.

She had a smile on her face as she looked directly into Angelica’s eyes.

“Which do you want to try first? I promise I made them all with you in mind.” That was Hope’s way of letting Angelica know there were no nightshades in them. She’d spent hours researching that allergy one night, diving down the deep hole that was the Internet to discover as much as she could.

Angelica flicked her gaze toward Conrad, who stared at her like a teen who had missed curfew one too many times. Swallowing, Angelica folded her hands in front of her. “Is this a tactic?”

“Isn’t everything a tactic?” Hope responded, keeping her tone light and nodding toward Conrad so slightly that only Angelica—and the damn cameras—would be able to see. “I go into my best arguments when I have a full belly.”

Angelica hummed, her lips pursed, but she raised her eyebrows and nodded, finally. “What did you make me?”

Oh yes, Hope had definitely made this food for Angelica.

That sent a rush through her, a shiver of delight that she wanted to hold onto.

She explained each item on the plate, watching with rapt attention as Angelica tasted all of them.

She listened for the small noises of pleasure and acceptance.

Angelica finally looked at her with a smile.

“That last one was good.”

“It’s my favorite,” Hope said, straightening up. “Thank you for coming to my taste testing today. You’ve been most helpful.” She gave a little fake bow before she took the plate toward the sink. She clapped a hand on Conrad’s shoulder. “You’re up.”

He said nothing, but Hope turned around and crossed her arms, giving Angelica a half-amused look. Instead of leaving Conrad on his own, she followed him back to Angelica.

“I need to go through some retention strategies with you.”

“All right.” Conrad sighed, and Hope could tell he was still tense as fuck.

“I’ll meet you in the office in a minute.” Angelica hadn’t taken her eyes off Hope, not the entire time. When Conrad was gone, Angelica gave Hope a curious glance. “Trying to humanize me?”

“A little.” Hope laughed. “He’s scared to death of you.”

“Perfect. He should be.” Angelica nodded sharply and walked out of the kitchen.

Hope watched her go, the way she walked swiftly, her heels clacking each time she took a step, the movement of her slacks and jacket as they formed to her body exactly as they should.

The clearing of a throat caught her attention, and she shocked herself back into reality.

She was in a kitchen. There were cameras pointed at her.

They could see absolutely everything she’d been thinking, couldn’t they?

Fuck.