Page 87 of No Holds Barred

“Good. Just be careful. Josef has it out for you, and I never fully understood why.”

Angelica sighed, pursed her lips, and then sat back in the chair. “Because he knows that I’m smarter and better than him at this job, and he’s scared of what that means. So instead of using my expertise, he’s making me the pariah so he can retain control. And he’s not above using everything he has in his arsenal against me. Friendship be damned with him, that’s what I’ve learned.”

“What do you mean everything?”

“If he were to find out about last season, with Hope? He’d absolutely use that against me, and he’d crush her just to make sure that it happened.” Angelica crossed her arms and nodded toward the door when she heard Leanne’s voice. “I won’t let that happen if I can avoid it.”

“I’m the only one who knows,” Rex confirmed. “I never told anyone.”

“Thank you. I appreciate that.” She hadn’t been looking for confirmation, but it was nice to have anyway.

“I like my job, Ange. And while I was nervous about what this season would bring, I don’t want to give this up. I want to be here next season, and I want this show that we’ve built from the ground up to still be around. We’re making something good here, something that people are connecting with. Yeah, I know that the majority of it is you and Hope, it’s that chemistry that the two of you have, but it’s more than that. We’re a family here, whether you want to admit that or not.”

“What do you mean?” Angelica furrowed her brow at him.

Rex sighed. “Look around at the crew, Ange. It’s mostly the same people, and when we spend such an intense time together, the relationships built during filming aren’t ever going to end. I’m happy for you, and for Hope, and for whatever that means, and I’ll figure that out for myself if it continues, but what happens here affects everyone. You can’t separate yourself from it.”

Angelica tensed. Was that a warning or just a deep understanding? She couldn’t quite tell, and had he said that to her last year, she would have taken it as a warning, as a threat, but now it felt different.

“Be careful, Ange. I’d hate for you to get hurt.” Rex moved his legs to the side of his chair and stood up. He looked down at her, dark brown eyes wide as he locked his gaze on hers. “And you’re supposed to be filming a scene with Katherine and Hope out at the picnic table. I’m doing final interviews with Jess and Mel this morning.”

“Right.” Angelica’s cheeks burned. “Thank you.”

He nodded at her.

“I mean that, Rex. Thank you. I do appreciate it.”

“Don’t fuck it up. She’s a good woman, and she deserves happiness.” Rex shoved his hands into his pockets and walked out of the dining room.

Angelica sat in her seat, staring after him. This season was full of surprises—more than she had ever expected.

Hope: You coming?

Angelica pursed her lips at her phone and then smiled at it. That conversation with Rex meant more than she’d thought it would. It was permission and acceptance, none of which she thought she’d needed, but she had. Typing up a quick response, Angelica finally moved so that she could walk out to the picnic table to meet up with Hope. It was time they get to work.

“So you’ll pick her up from the airport?” Angelica held her phone to her ear while the wrap party continued in the dining room. She had stepped out to make this phone call, one that she didn’t want to wait on, and it was the only time that Tatum had been available.

“Yes, I’ll be there personally.”

“Good.” Angelica’s lips curled upward into a smile. “Thank you, Tatum.”

“Anytime, you know that.” He always was so sweet. “Ange?”

“Yeah?” Angelica paused in her attempt to end the phone call and get back to work. While the wrap party wasn’t something she necessarily enjoyed, she did want to make sure that she was present for it.

“I want to ask you again if you’ll seriously consider buying Mountain View West. I know you won’t have an answer for me right away, but please, seriously consider it.”

Angelica froze. She glanced back toward the dining room filled with crew and people from the hotel, minus Katherine because Jess and Mel had refused to let her back into the hotel after firing her. Angelica hadn’t been too pleased about that, but she’d let it slide knowing that Katherine was going to be in a much more supportive environment soon.

“You know that’s not in my long-term plans, Tatum.”

“It wasn’t.” Tatum’s voice was still the calm and steady tone that she’d come to expect from him. “But that doesn’t mean it can’t be.”

“Tatum…” She had to seriously think about it, she had to finally figure out why she was holding back on this. Because he wasn’t buying thethat’s not the way I workline any longer. And it was probably because of situations like this, where she acted far more like owner than manager. Which was very true of the hotels she managed in Los Angeles and San Francisco as well. “I told you before that I’d think about it.”

“And it’s been long enough that I’d like an update about what you’re thinking.”

Angelica scoffed, which made Tatum chuckle. She did have a soft spot for him. She always did. He reminded her of Christian, of the relationship they used to have when he was younger, before their parents got in the way of them being siblings. That’s exactly what this was.