Page 59 of Under the Table

God, why did she keep doing this to herself?

Why did she keep making the same mistake over and over again?

First Leanne, and now Hope?

One night was all it’d be, and she’d have to accept that. Because Rex was right. Hope wouldn’t give up what she already had for Angelica, and Angelica wouldn’t force her to make that choice.

Not now. Not ever.

Chapter

Twenty

“Ultimately, the work we did here will go on into the future,” Hope said directly into the camera. Angelica stood next to her, shoulder to shoulder in the middle of the full dining room. The dinner service that night had gone off without a hitch, mostly. The problems that had arisen were small enough that they could be handled, and Paris had been working on them, which was nice to see.

“The hotel staff are back on track with their tasks and roles.” Angelica folded her hands together in front of her as she stared at the camera, saying the line she had memorized only minutes before.

“And we think that Opal Oasis stands a fantastic chance of thriving into the future.” Hope grinned at the camera, her eyes crinkling in the corners.

Rex was behind the monitors somewhere, watching everything, but she was facing the black box of doom that she’d come to hate. It was much easier to play off Angelica during a conversation than moments like this when they had to talk to an audience that wasn’t there yet.

But something had calmed in the last couple of days, not just in the hotel itself since Paris had turned around, but in herself.Hope had settled. She turned toward Angelica slightly, but still kept her eyes on the camera, tuning back into whatever Angelica was saying.

“We’re onto our next hotel to save. But don’t worry, we’ll check back with the Jordangers and Opal Oasis to see what progress they’ve made while we’re gone.” Angelica gave the camera a brilliant smile, one that Hope knew was as fake as they came but also would dazzle all those fans out there.

Her cheeks reddened just at the thought. Was Rex really right about how Angelica treated her? That there was a difference in their interactions as compared to how Angelica worked with everyone else? Hope hadn’t seen it. But then again, she hadn’t seen a lot that Rex was aware of. He was always more observant than she was about those kinds of things.

“And cut!” Rex called from behind the cameras.

Hope dragged in a deep breath, turning toward Angelica with her lips curled up and eyes alight. “That’s a wrap, isn’t it?” Hope said quietly.

“Should be,” Angelica said, her face tilted toward the ground and not making eye contact with Hope. “Rex will call it if it is.”

“Angel…” Hope frowned. Hope might be settled, but Angelica seemed even more unsettled than she had in all the time they’d spent together filming.

“That’s a wrap!” Rex yelled.

Angelica blinked hard and pulled away. She took an audible step backward before looking up into Hope’s eyes and letting that mask ofuntouchablefall into place. Hope hated seeing that. She reached forward and put her hand on Angelica’s elbow to pull her back.

“Can we talk a minute?” Hope asked, keeping her voice quieter than she normally would have. But they were both fully mic’d up still, so everyone who was on the other end of the camera could absolutely hear what either one of them had to say.

“Is this urgent?” Angelica answered, raising an eyebrow in Hope’s direction.

Hope wrinkled her nose, her gaze dropping to Angelica’s lips and then back up to her eyes. Where was this coldness coming from? She just wanted to have a simple conversation to resolve whatever was between them in this moment so they could get on with the work they needed to do. Then maybe they could talk more in depth later.

“You know, I think it is.” Hope nodded at her.

“Fine.” Angelica walked away.

Hope had to speed to catch up with her, pulling the microphone from the pack against her back. They walked from the dining area toward the office that Angelica had kept. Rex’s gaze burned into Hope’s back, and she knew he was fully aware that they were going off by themselves. What must he be thinking or wondering?

When they reached the office, Hope put her hands on her hips. “We need to find a way to keep working with each other.”

“I thought we were doing a fine job of that,” Angelica tossed over her shoulder. When she paused by the table, she flicked her hair over her shoulder and crossed her arms, leaning on one hip as she stared at Hope. “Or am I mistaken and our filming hasn’t gone well the rest of this week?”

“What’s wrong with you?” Hope furrowed her brow and stepped in closer. “Seriously, Angel. You don’t treat me like this.”

“I don’t?” Angelica raised an eyebrow at her, pulling away slightly.