Page 35 of No Holds Barred

Rex nodded at her but didn’t say anything else.

Hope walked through the hallway, her jeans pulling tight against her body as she went. Nerves flared in her belly and clawed at her. Why the hell was she nervous? She shouldn’t be. She was the one who had the most power in the conversation that was about to happen. Hell, she didn’t even know what Josef had hired this person to do. It could simply be to push Angelica around in a wheelchair.

She snorted at that thought.

He’d never be so kind.

Hope stepped into the room and found a younger woman sitting on the table, legs crossed, a pencil skirt pulling up over her knee. Her hair was a dyed deep red at the bottom, but her roots and halfway down was a deep black. Her oxford shirt was unbuttoned enough that Hope could make out the swell of her breasts.

“Hello,” Hope said, her voice dipping low before it rose up in more of a question.

“Oh hi!” The woman’s eyes lit up as Hope entered, her lips curling up to the side. “You’re Hope Lawrence.”

“I am.” Hope smiled at her, holding out her hand. This woman was young, but she was pretty. It seemed she was Josef’s type to a T. “And you are…?”

“I’m Leanne Coates.”

Hope’s entire heart sank. Cold rushed through her. And she was damn sure her face grimaced. But the bile that swirled in her belly was more than she could handle. “I’m sorry, did you say Leanne?”

“Yeah!” Leanne answered with a bubbly tone to her voice. “I used to work with Ange in Los Angeles.”

Hope nodded. She knew that. She also knew that Angelica had loved Leanne, that she’d asked Leanne to take a different job in order for Angelica to have the show because they were secretly in a relationship and Leanne had told her no. Leanne had told her that their relationship wasn’t worth it. Biting her lip, Hope tried to push a smile toward her lips.

No one knew who Leanne was except Josef.

This was pure punishment for Angelica’s car accident.

“And Josef brought you in to help out?” Hope asked, already knowing the answer before she asked it, but it was polite.

“He did. He said that Ange was in a car accident. I tried to call her, but she didn’t answer.”

“She’s taking some time to recover.” Hope would defend Angelica any way possible in this circumstance, and she wouldn’t put up with Josef’s crap either. Who even knew if Leanne actually tried to call Angelica or if she’d just thought surprise was the best course of action? “I’m sorry, but what exactly did Josef say you were here to help with?”

“He said I’d be taking over for Angelica while she’s out. Since she trained me and I know how she works and her style, it’ll be easy for me to step into her shoes—well, figuratively speaking. I never really understood how she managed to work so many hours.”

“Right.” Hope nodded slowly. Her knees started to shake, her fingers trembling. But was it anger? Or was it simply the cruel injustice of everything Josef was setting Angelica up for? And Hope still didn’t know what to say to her.

And fuck was she young. She had to be younger than Hope.

Angelica really did have a type, didn’t she?

Hope clenched her hands into fists and looked around the room, trying to figure out the best way to get out of this conversation.

“Oh, um, I didn’t mean to interrupt anything.”

Ashlee.

Hope spun around, her eyes locking on the young woman, and she grinned a little too ferociously. She was the perfect distraction that she needed in order to stay in this room and not immediately run out and call Angelica and let her in on what was happening.

“You’re not interrupting anything.” Hope held her hand out toward the table. “Come sit down, we’ll start in a minute. I just want to make sure the directors are here before we get started.”

Hope stepped out of the room and let the cold air hit her face. She took three deep breaths before she scanned the lobby for Rex. Instead, her eyes landed on Cadence.

Perfect.

Racing in her direction, Hope snagged Cadence’s arm and tugged her toward the small conference room. “We need to talk about filming this week, and then you and I need to talk after about something personal.”

“Okay?” Cadence asked, curious. “Shouldn’t Rex?—”