Page 102 of No Holds Barred

“I’ll help you find it.” Hope teased again. “And our wayward owners.”

“I’d rather find the iPad,” Angelica mumbled under her breath as they walked out of the office. It was going to be a hell of a day, wasn’t it?

Chapter

Thirty-Two

“The problem is that your chefs don’t know how to cook as upscale as what you’re looking for.” Hope put her hands on her hips as she stared at Wylde and resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She was tired of having this conversation, but she was finally having it with the right person. Despite the amount of time it took her to track Wylde down.

“So teach them.” Wylde put their hands on their hips and stared directly into Hope’s eyes.

Sighing, Hope nodded. “Well, yes, that’s my intention, but they need more training than I can manage in a week, so you need to come up with a plan to encourage that training to continue.”

“We’ll see.” Wylde stared at her hard, still not giving much in terms of conversation.

It was making filming extremely difficult, and it wasn’t just Wylde. It was Maggie and Kaidee as well. All three of the owners seemed to be tight-lipped and less than interested in conversation or improvements or really anything to do with the film crew.

“Right, so I’m going to go train your chef.” Hope pointed toward the kitchen, if only to escape this disaster of a shoot.

She flicked her gaze over Wylde’s shoulder to Cadence and raised an annoyed eyebrow at her. Something was seriously off in this hotel. Stepping into the kitchen was like a breath of fresh air because everything seemed to be normal and functioning in here. They just needed to level up—that was it.

Hope lost herself in teaching two new dishes, stepping around Cadence and the rest of the crew as they filmed what they could. Finally, Hope checked the time and started to make a small meal for Angelica. It was time they got back to that tradition, and she enjoyed it.

She finished up the plate and wiped down the edges of it before finally straightening her back. Hope sighed and flicked another look to Cadence. “What’s up with this place?”

“I don’t know, but it gives me the creeps,” Cadence murmured under her breath.

“Same.” Hope let out a nervous laugh. “Did Ange find her iPad yet?”

“Nope. And that’s not the only thing missing.”

“What?” Hope shook her head, surprised. “What else is missing?”

“Maddie’s engagement ring.” Cadence lowered her voice again. “And just small things here and there, valuable things.”

“What the heck?” Hope furrowed her brow.

“I don’t know.” Cadence was whispering so quietly that Hope had to lean in to hear her better. “But I don’t think it’s a coincidence.”

“No, I don’t either. We’ve been in so many hotels, and while things go missing sometimes, it’s never this much in such a short period of time.” Hope bit her lip. “Give me some time. Let’s see what I can come up with.”

Taking the plate for Angelica, Hope took her time walking toward reception to deliver it. She set it down in front of Angelica, who looked as annoyed as Hope was. “What’s wrong?”

“Do you know how difficult it is to film when all I get are two- or three-word answers?” Angelica crossed her arms in a pout.

Chuckling lightly, Hope nodded. “Yeah, I think I do. Question—find your iPad yet?”

“No,” Angelica’s pout deepened, and Hope was fairly certain it was just for her. No one else would be able to pull that from her.

“Anything else missing?”

Angelica cocked her head to the side at that. “No.”

“Other people are missing things.” Hope looked to Rex to see if he was picking this up on camera. “I want to question people.”

“You do?” Angelica raised an eyebrow and turned even closer to Hope. “You think we have a theft ring going on here?”

“I think we might.”