Page 79 of No Holds Barred

Angelica laughed. “Next week, you’re all mine. Do you understand?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Hope pulled Angelica in, kissing her deeply. She trusted that they’d be back here, together, entwined. She wasn’t going to hold back again, and she knew that Angelica wouldn’t either. With one last kiss, Hope slipped out of the bed and slowly dressed while they talked about filming tomorrow and where exactly they could make conflict out of thin air.

Chapter

Twenty-Five

Angelica looked directly across the picnic table to meet Mel’s gaze. She folded her hands in front of her, glad to be sitting for this scene, and pushing down the anticipation that had been built up over this conversation. All day, she’d been playing tag with Mel and Jess to gain their trust so they could talk out the problem with Katherine.

And she’d left Hope to do the same with Katherine.

But now they were all sitting at the table, all five of them. Angelica was just about to start the conversation when Leanne stepped into her view.

“Hey, what’s going on?”

Angelica paused, flicking her gaze from Leanne to Hope and back again. They’d specifically tried to keep Leanne out of this conversation. Everyone had, actually, from Rex to Cadence to Hope. But here she was, as if she knew exactly where to find them. Angelica shifted slightly, catching sight of Josef over Leanne’s shoulder.

So he’d found out and sent Leanne out here to do her thing.

To intervene.

Perfect.

“We were just about to discuss Katherine’s position at The Dorset.” Angelica kept her body rigid, but unfortunately there was space for Leanne on the other side of Hope, which meant that she was likely going to sit down and join them for this.

But at least Hope knew what to expect this time when Angelica took a hard line with her.

As expected, Leanne slipped into the only seat left. Angelica pursed her lips and looked to Rex who shook his head at her in disbelief. It seemed no one knew who was in charge this season, and that was causing more issues than ever. Then again, had they ever really known? Josef had thrown enough curveballs to keep everyone on their toes.

“Mel, let’s start with you, what are your thoughts on Katherine’s position?”

Mel sighed heavily, and she refused to look at Katherine. She turned her entire body toward Angelica so that she was only looking at her. “We need someone who’s trained and who has the skills to keep up with the demand.”

“I can do that!” Katherine squeaked out.

Angelica put her hand up to stop Katherine from talking. “You’ll have your chance to speak in a minute. I promise.”

“While Katherine is skilled in what she knows, she doesn’t know how to cook anything not on the menu. And we need more than just six dishes if we’re going to grow.” Mel stared down at the tabletop. “So my vote is to fire her.”

“Is this survivor?” Hope hissed the words. “What, are you just going to vote her off the island? Out of the mountains?”

Angelica whipped her head up, looking directly in Hope’s eyes. She hadn’t expected that. Then again, perhaps she should have. They’d talked, albeit briefly last night, about once again causing tension that would get Josef’s attention, and that’s exactly what Hope was doing, but this was also just Hope—support the underdog no matter what. Well, as long as they were willing to support themselves.

“It’s a conversation about the future of the hotel.” Angelica clenched her teeth, keeping her tone tight. She focused on Hope, standing her ground.

“Future of the hotel?” Hope’s eyebrows rose and her eyes widened. “Don’t you mean Katherine’s future? What the hell is she supposed to do if they cast her out like last night’s leftovers?”

Oh, Hope was pulling out all the stops for this one, wasn’t she?

“I don’t think that’s what Ange meant,” Leanne’s voice was softer this time, less curious, and far more surprised.

Perhaps this little plan of theirs was working.

“I meant what I said.” Angelica didn’t even bother to look at Leanne. She kept her entire focus on Hope, playing up that connection and that intensity for the screen. Fans would eat it up as soon as they got hold of it, and she could only hope that Lyric was taking photos somewhere. “This hotel can’t survive if Katherine stays here in her current position.”

She’d just given them the out they needed if they wanted to take it, but Mel and Jess had already made their decision, and they hadn’t been able to see beyond the fact that they felt betrayed by Katherine’s lies. And on one level, Angelica couldn’t blame them for that. On another, she knew there was always another option.