Page 49 of Under the Table

“The renovation that was done on the kitchen last year isn’t up to code.”

Angelica’s jaw dropped slightly. She went from looking at Hope to looking around the kitchen. “What do you mean?”

Hope sighed heavily, crossing her arms as she straightened her back. She could do this. She could focus on work, and they could get this done. She’d have time to panic and digest whatever this was later.

“The hood for the stove isn’t in the right spot.” Hope pointed to it.

Angelica narrowed her eyes at Hope before turning and stepping toward the stove. She said nothing, just looked.

“The drains aren’t proper under the sinks. There’s too much splash back, so that won’t pass code either.” Hope followed her, ignoring the cameras that she knew were tracking their every move. She couldn’t let the outside world see this pain she was carrying. If the viewers caught sight, then it could send them on a downward spiral of chaos.

“The floor kick boards aren’t throughout the kitchen.” Hope was on a roll now. She could do this, and she could make it damn good.

“What do you mean?” Angelica’s voice reached her ears.

Hope’s lips pulled into a quirk. Surely Angelica wasn’t so fine that she didn’t know what Hope was talking about. Hope touched her upper arm and turned her toward one of the cooking stations. She squatted down, not caring that it was going to have an issue with the cameras. That was their problem, not hers.

“See this?” Hope pointed to the white trim on the wall that met the floor. “See how it doesn’t go the length of the wall?”

“Oh.” Angelica’s brow drew together, and she turned to look at Hope.

Hope had to resist the urge to reach over and push the damning curl of hair out of her face and behind her ear. No, they couldn’t be doing that in front of the cameras. Not at all.

“There’s also an issue with the lighting.” Hope stood up and held out her hand automatically for Angelica to take it andhelped her to stand up. Angelica stepped in close, the scent of her shampoo reaching Hope’s nose. She sighed into that, remembering the way it had surrounded them last night. “There uh… the lighting is uh…”

“Wrong?” Angelica supplied, taking a step away and putting breathable air between them.

Hope couldn’t have thanked her more for that. She needed it more than she could have put into words.

“Hope?” Angelica asked, teasing her back into reality. “The lights?”

“Right. There’s not enough lighting.” Hope pointed upward. “It’s too dark in here, which can cause a lot of accidents.”

“So the renovation that the Jordangers said was done?—”

“Wasn’t to any code that I know.” Hope put her hands on her hips and looked directly at Angelica, still maintaining that precious space between them. “And I don’t know how they passed inspection unless they had someone who wasn’t really looking.”

“They might as well have.” Angelica pursed her lips. “Is there anything else?”

“I made a list.” Thank God for that. Hope could rely on it the next time they had to talk more details because she was still struggling to make her brain think the way it should.

“Forward it to me. Then we can talk later about what needs to be done.”

“Ange, we can’t cook in this kitchen.”

Angelica stopped in her escape, a look of surprise crossing her features. “But they’ve been cooking in here?—”

“They have, but they shouldn’t be.” Hope shook her head, eyes wide. She had to make Angelica understand this because clearly it wasn’t getting through her thick skull. “Unlike working at reception or housekeeping, there are certain standards thatneed to happen in this kitchen in order for it to be safe, not just for the staff but for customers to eat.”

Angelica jerked her head slightly, the curls at her shoulders bobbing with the move. Hope was sure that no one else would even notice it, but it was a look that said,do you really think I’m that stupid?But Hope wasn’t over explaining for Angelica’s benefit. It was for the cameras, but it was also for her. Keeping Angelica here just a little while longer, making sure that the right work was done now so they wouldn’t have to spend so much time confined together later—this was all self-preservation. Pure and simple.

“We have to shut the restaurant down until these are fixed.” Hope was putting her foot down.

“Do you know how much revenue we’ll lose if we do that?”

“Yes.” Hope didn’t, but if she was forced to give an estimate under duress, she could probably figure it out quickly enough. “But it’s that or someone might die if they eat the wrong thing.”

Angelica sighed heavily. “Budget. Make one, and schedule people in to fix the issues.”