Page 99 of Under the Table

“They love her,” Hope replied. “And they’re not going to stop loving her.”

“Love comes at a cost.” Angelica breathed deeply, steeling herself. “And sometimes that cost is unavoidable.”

“Spoken from experience?” But was Angelica talking about her father or someone else? Hope wanted to ask, but she couldn’t find the words, and Angelica didn’t answer her. Hope wanted to know more. She wanted to know everything she could about Angelica, but a barrier had grown between them in the last few days, and she didn’t know how to break it down. Or if Angelica even wanted her to.

Hope pulled back from Angelica, silence filling the space between them. Hope waited for Angelica to say something, anything, but she didn’t. She remained quiet. Hope went to take Angelica’s hand, but the door opened and Rex stepped inside.

He seemed stressed.

“Lisa and Sydney want to talk to you,” he said. “And they want it on camera.”

“Naturally,” Angelica muttered under her breath. She closed up her iPad and slid the chair back so she could stand up and walk out.

Hope looked over at Rex as he held the door, their eyes locking. He seemed betrayed almost, as if something she’d done had stabbed him in the heart and twisted hard. She was about to ask him what was wrong, but he walked out, letting the door shut behind him.

Sighing, Hope closed her eyes and hung her head.

What the hell was she supposed to do now?

Chapter

Thirty-Three

“What do we do now?” Sydney said, his face slack and pale.

Angelica swallowed the raw emotion Hope had just pulled out of her and sat down across from them in the main office. “I did mean to talk with you before I fired her.”

“We understand what happened,” Lisa chimed in, covering Sydney’s hand with her own and lacing their fingers together. “We’re not surprised. Her behavior toward you was atrocious. I’ve never seen her act like that before.”

“I was her biggest threat, because she knew that I wasn’t going to stand back and let her walk all over me.” At least Angelica hoped that was why Kayla had pulled out all the punches at the start of the argument. The name calling and tearing down had been a bit much, but nothing that Angelica hadn’t handled before. “As for what to do now, there’s several things that need to happen.”

“We’ll do anything, really.” Lisa frowned.

“You need to start with rebuilding the environment. Kayla did a lot of damage with the current employees who are here. They saw her behavior and your lack of response to it, and that’s divisive. I’d suggest being honest with them.” Angelica lookedfrom Sydney to Lisa, testing to see if they were ready for this conversation and the answers she was going to give them. They both seemed open to it, so she forged on. “You need to admit that you were wrong. I think they’ll understand.”

Sydney shook his head, covering his face with his hands and rubbing his cheeks hard. “I really didn’t want it to come to this.”

“I don’t think anyone doubts that,” Angelica answered. She ignored the fact that Rex pushed the camera in closer toward her, making sure to get the close up. Some days she really hated being on a set. She’d much rather handle this situation in privacy, where everyone could deal with their emotions and the repercussions of drama on their own.

But they were here for the drama.

At least, that’s what Josef constantly reminded her of.

Sydney groaned and dropped his hands to the table, finding Lisa’s and squeezing hers again. “Where did we go wrong with her?”

Angelica kept her mouth shut. Parenting conversations weren’t something she often participated in. She held silent while Lisa shook her head, her eyes watering.

“I don’t think we did anything wrong. I think she fell into drinking and addiction, and we need to admit that as much as she does.”

Angelica would have applauded Lisa for saying that out loud if she’d thought it’d do any good. Instead, she stayed still.

“You’d tell us we should have fired her months ago.”

“From a business perspective, yes.” Angelica lifted her chin, glancing around the room. Her eyes locked on Rex as he stood in the far back corner. “But I’m not cold enough not to understand that family comes first in many ways, and that when you mix family with business, the complications are endless.”

Rex’s eyes widened in surprise, but she didn’t keep her gaze on him. She looked back to Sydney and Lisa. She should haveknown better than to start a relationship—or whatever they hell they were calling it—with Hope. It wasn’t a relationship. Hope was still married to Rex, and she wasn’t looking to leave him any time soon.

And Angelica wanted more.