Page 41 of Under the Table

He hadn’t said a word the entire time she was walking through. Hope rolled her shoulders and straightened her back, frowning. “It’s not great. Not unfixable, but it’s going to cost a pretty penny.”

“Ange isn’t going to be happy about that.”

“No, she isn’t,” Hope agreed, sliding the phone into her back pocket. “Is she done filming for the day?”

Rex nodded. “She finished a couple of hours before you.”

“She in the conference room?”

“Don’t know. Why?”

“I need to talk to her about this.” Hope furrowed her brow at him. “Think you can handle putting Eva down tonight?”

“Yeah.”

Hope nodded. “I don’t know how long it’s going to take us to figure this one out, but I’ve got the list started and then we can get people in here. But we can’t operate the kitchen until some of these issues are fixed. Which is going to be the bigger problem, I think. And the Jordangers aren’t going to like that.”

“No, they won’t.” Rex leaned in and pressed a kiss to Hope’s lips. “I’m exhausted after today, so I might be crashed out when you get back.”

“I’ll be quiet.” She smiled at him before stepping around the kitchen counter and through the doors to the dining room. She should probably check in there to see how bad it was too, and the bar area. Sighing heavily, Hope pulled out her phone and prepared to make a few more lists before she went to find Angelica.

She checked the time and cringed. She’d spent way too long checking on the rest of the hotel. Hitting the button for Angelica’s floor, she rolled her shoulders and hoped that she was still awake so they could talk before the morning. Then again, she was fairly certain Angelica didn’t actually sleep. She just worked nonstop. Smirking at that thought, Hope stepped off the elevator and walked down the hallway.

Closing her fist, Hope rapped her knuckles against the door. It didn’t take long for Angelica to undo the locks and slide the heavy door open.

Hope froze. Angelica wasn’t in her usual pantsuit or skirt or dress. Instead, she was dressed down in leggings and a loose, flowing tank top with a sports bra underneath it. The white of the sports bra was a stark contrast to the deep sapphire blue of the shirt, which set off her eyes. Her hair was pulled away from her face, but loose curls were down around the sides of her face.

“Did you need something?” Angelica asked.

“Uh… yeah. Do you have a minute?” Hope swallowed the sudden lump in her throat, trying to wet her parched mouth. What was it that this woman had on her?

“I was just about to go out for a run.” Angelica pointed toward the hallway. “Can this wait until the morning?”

“Not really, no.” Hope bit her lower lip, still trying to figure out exactly what she was doing and where she needed to go from here.

“Fine.” Angelica held the door open a little wider, and Hope stepped inside.

She was instantly hit with Angelica’s scent, and it overwhelmed her. The blankets on the bed were rumpled slightly, and the chair at the desk was pulled out. Hope couldn’t breathe. Her head spun, and she could barely keep herself upright. The sound of the door clanging shut shot through her entire body with a shock.

“What did you need to talk about?”

“I uh…” Hope froze. She stared down into Angelica’s eyes, unable to move and barely able to think. This was so much worse than the bar at the airport, and that had been bad enough. In fact, now that she was thinking about it, all she could feel was Angelica’s body pressed against hers.

“Hope…” Angelica sighed. “We really should talk about this. We need to put some boundaries in place.”

“Yes, we do,” Hope quickly agreed, nodding. “We need to stop running around like horny teenagers.”

“Well, I don’t think it’s quite that bad, but yes. We need to make sure that we keep everything professional.” Angelica clenched her fists at her sides, her eyes still locked on Hope’s eyes.

But why the hell were they standing so close? Hope couldn’t breathe in without Angelica being right there, filling every single one of her senses. She shifted slightly closer, almost able to feel the warmth of Angelica’s body in hers. If only they were touching like they had been at the airport.

“Yes, we do need to keep it professional. So many people rely on us.” Hope said the words, and she truly believed in them. But it was still damn hard to want to put any effort into them. Not when Angelica was within reach.

“I’m your boss, technically. And we need to maintain an appropriate front and keep our hands to ourselves.” Angelica’s entire body listed forward so slightly.

“Right. Agreed. I’m really glad we’re having this conversation now because it’s been weighing on me.” Hope’s heart hammered, her knees were like jelly.

“Yes, it’s been weighing on me too.” Angelica nodded, blinking her agreement at the same time. “We really should have talked about this sooner.”