Page 81 of No Holds Barred

“Yes, ma’am,” Mel murmured, looking furtively toward Jess.

“Katherine, I’d like to talk with you and Ange a minute, alone.” Hope looked directly at the others. Her voice was much softer than it had been when she was talking to Angelica, but that was to be expected. The heat of the moment was done.

Mel and Jess disappeared, but Leanne continued to stay put.

Angelica waited to see if Hope would say something else because she’d made it very clear who she wanted to stay for this particular meeting. Then again, Leanne never quite listened,did she? Josef crossed his arms and glared at Angelica as they waited.

Finally, Hope gave up. “Katherine, I’d like to offer to train you.”

“What?” Katherine said, her voice thick with emotion.

“You’d have to move, but I suspect that won’t be too much of a problem now since you no longer have a job. I’m sorry about that. I do wish they’d made a different decision.”

“They didn’t see beyond themselves,” Angelica added in, keeping her voice gentler than she typically would. “And that’s their fault, not yours. Lack of imagination will kill any business.”

Katherine nodded, but then she shook her head. “I’m not sure that I understand.”

“I’ll give you the training that you need at one of my restaurants?—”

“Mountain View,” Angelica said, jumping in. “She should go to Mountain View.”

Hope furrowed her brow, but she didn’t immediately object either. “We can discuss where later, and see what suits you best, but if you’d like to get proper training, I’ll provide it. You have the skills, and you’re willing to work hard to learn them. I think you just need the chance.”

“Are you serious?” Katherine asked.

“Yes,” Hope answered.

“Thank you!” Katherine flung her arms around Hope’s neck and squeezed her tightly. Never had Angelica been happier that she was sitting on the opposite side of the picnic table, so she wasn’t the one to receive that hug.

After a few more minutes and some plans in place, Katherine skittered off. Hope turned on Angelica then.

“Mountain View? I don’t run the restaurant there.”

“No, you don’t. But you know it and how it works.” Angelica clenched her jaw tightly. “And I suspect that what Katherine needs isn’t just on-the-job training but a support system.”

Hope’s lips parted in surprise, but then she nodded. “And Tatum would be perfect for that.”

“Yes.”

“Tatum?” Leanne asked.

Angelica resisted the urge to roll her eyes, but barely. Instead, she just ignored Leanne. “Think about it and let me know. I can talk to Tatum whenever timelines match up.”

“Good.” Hope shifted. “On that note, I need to check on the kitchen and dinner prep.”

Angelica sighed, watching as Hope walked off and she was left with Leanne. Rex called cut somewhere along the way, but she didn’t want to leave just yet. She was exhausted. It had been a whirlwind of a week between filming, confessions with Hope, and then dealing with the annoyance that was Leanne.

“That was uncalled for,” Josef’s voice startled Angelica.

She jerked slightly. “Excuse me?”

“You cut Leanne out of every second of that conversation. How is she supposed to establish herself as a manager on this show if you keep shutting her down and pushing her out every two seconds?” Josef leaned over the table to get into Angelica’s face.

But she’d been there more than once with him, and she knew how to handle it at this point. Push back just enough to get him riled up, and then he’d race off to throw his fit somewhere else and she’d find the backlash and retaliation later.

“She’s not a manager on this show, Josef.”

“She is!” He raised his voice. “She’ll be the manager next season.”