Page 9 of No Holds Barred

“Yeah. Sounds like a plan.”

“Good.” Angelica did note that. There. They had one argument planned and set. Angelica looked back up to Cadence. “Anything else?”

“Oh uh… No. It was just a thought.” Cadence squinted at Angelica and then shifted her gaze to Hope.

If Cadence had doubts before, she’d have none after this season of filming. She was astute, Angelica had to hand it to her, but also the crush she’d harbored on Angelica probably made her far more in tune to these types of things than the typical male in the room with them.

“Boston is going to be another problem…”

Angelica focused on work, pushing through the meeting as quickly as she could. Two hours later, she was closing up her iPad and turned around to find Hope still standing in her office. Her heart stuttered, but she managed to keep herself in check as she stood near her desk.

“Was there something else you needed to discuss?”

“You and I need to talk,” Hope said, walking forward. “We need…” Hope sighed heavily, her shoulders coming up in a sign of tension that Angelica deeply understood.

“I have another meeting, Hope. I can’t continue with this right now.”

“Ange…” Hope’s face fell.

“No, Hope. I’m not going to do this right now.” Angelica picked up her iPad. “I’m already late.” She nodded at Hope and walked out, leaving her there. She’d seen the message fromLyric that she had the car ready, and the escape was absolutely necessary. She wasn’t prepared to have a conversation about them, about what they were going to do next.

Because it would hurt too damn much.

And she hadn’t built up enough walls.

Today proved that.

Angelica slipped into the passenger seat and smiled at Lyric. “Ready whenever you are.”

Chapter

Four

Two weeks.

Two weeks of calls, emails, texts, and Angelica had flat out ignored all of them.

What the hell was her problem?

Hope breathed out slowly, staring at the front of the main hotel that Angelica managed. She’d worked herself up into a rage that she hadn’t been able to hold back any longer, and instead of sitting in her office at her restaurant spewing anger on people who didn’t deserve a damn second of it, Hope had gotten in her car and driven here.

But now what?

Go in there and throw a fit in front of Angelica?

Or hold in her anger until the next time they saw each other, which would probably be on set?

Fuck that.

Hope wrenched open the door and stepped out into the bright sunlight that Orange County always offered. She hiked up her purse higher on her shoulders and glowered as she walked into the main building. She knew the way by heart now. And she knew how to avoid Angelica’s guard of a secretary by just flying right by her.

She flung open Angelica’s office door as the secretary followed her, loudly protesting. Hope clenched her jaw, finding Lyric sitting across from Angelica and pointing to something on her iPad before she sat back in her seat with a smile on her lips that vanished almost instantly. “Hi Hope!”

Hope faced down Angelica, ignoring Lyric. She’d feel bad about that later, but she wasn’t here to make niceties. “You’re just going to ignore me now?”

“I’m so sorry, Ms. Shields. She walked right past me.”

“I have no doubts about that.” Angelica sighed heavily and nodded to her secretary in a dismissal. “Thank you, Mrs. van Driel. I can handle this from here.”