Page 73 of No Holds Barred

“I don’t have time for this.” Angelica crossed her arms, keeping her tone the same as before, filled with a harsh reality that neither of them wanted to face. “I have my own problems I need to solve to whip this place into shape and eliminate the debt. I’m creating programs and processes all at the same time. You’re supposed to handle the kitchen, and if I have to remind you that you’re more than capable of that, then I will.”

“I…” Hope stopped. She bit her lip and jerked slightly. “I don’t think firing Katherine is the answer to the problem.”

“What problem? This place is riddled with problems.” Angelica threw her hands up in the air defensively. “And here you are, trying to force me to solve your problems for you. Are you a chef or not?”

That should be reminiscent of past arguments they’d had. Hope should understand now, shouldn’t she?

“I don’t know what crawled up your ass today, Ange, but I deserve to be treated better.” Hope pointed at the ground, as if to make her point that much more poignant.

“Don’t we all.” Angelica’s voice was gravelly, filled with unshed emotion that she hadn’t intended to be there. But Hope was brushing up against the entire reason why she had to do this.

“Ange?”

“Do your job, Hope. I’m tired of doing it for you.” With a flick of her hair, Angelica walked away as quickly as she could.

She nodded to Rex and then disappeared into the small office in the back hallway. She shut the door, putting her hand to her chest and just breathed to center herself again. The knock wasn’t unexpected. She hadn’t seen him, but she knew he was around.

When she opened the door, coming face to face with Josef and the shit-eating grin on his face, she knew she’d done the right thing. Mostly. Warning Hope verbally would have been the best way to go about this, but she hadn’t had a chance to do that.

“That was brilliant!” Josef clapped his hands together as he stepped into the office with her. “That’s the old Ange that we need back. The one who fights for what’s hers.”

Angelica hummed an acknowledgement. He wasn’t wrong about that. She hadn’t been fighting, not since this season started. She’d been resigned to the fact that she wouldn’t be around for season four. But with Leanne there, with talking to Hope—she wanted this. As much as she’d wanted it before they’d begun filming season one. This was her show, and she wasn’t going to hand it over to anyone else.

“What got into you out there?” Josef asked, that same glint of glee in his gaze.

“Nothing.” Angelica gave him a tight smile. “Just doing my job. I believe we’ve wrapped for the day?”

“Yeah. I think Rex said something to that effect.”

“Good. I need to rest my leg.” Angelica nodded at him and walked out of the office. Leaving him standing there felt good.She was so tired of playing games, of not having what she felt was rightfully hers.

She made her way to her room, unlocking the door and stepping inside. Before she could even get it shut, there was a loud slap of a hand against it.

“What the hell was that?” Hope’s anger ripped through each word.

“I’m sorry.” Angelica shook her head, relaxing her shoulders. “There wasn’t time to tell you beforehand.”

“Before? Before you ripped me a new asshole on camera?”

Angelica frowned. It hadn’t been that bad. She held the door open wider and nodded for Hope to come inside. With the door shut, Angelica undid the buttons on her jacket and pulled it off instantly. While the bruise on the back of her arm no longer hurt—it just looked horrendous—the cuts from the airbag itself still stung enough that she wanted to relieve the irritation.

“Ange?”

“You shouldn’t give up this show so easily.” Angelica’s voice rang through the room as she tossed her jacket onto the corner of her bed. “You shouldn’t give up this show because of me.”

“I-I’m not.” Hope frowned. “What are you going on about?”

Angelica sighed heavily. “If you want this show, if you want to be here for the next season—whether I am or not—then you should fight for it.”

“I told you that I don’t want to do this without you.”

“Hope.” Angelica sighed heavily. “You can’t hinge your involvement here on me.”

“Sure I can.” Hope grabbed both of Angelica’s hands, holding her delicately. “And I will. Because I’ve thought about it, and this show is you and me together. And I don’t want to film with anyone else. I have other offers, other shows I can work on if I don’t do Hotel Bombshell, but I know for a fact that I won’t do it without you.”

Angelica’s lower lip quivered. “I’m so tired of being denied what’s mine.”

“I’m not sure I follow.” Hope squeezed her hands, but she didn’t let go. How did they always seem to end up touching like this?