And she’d best remember that right now, because he was on the attack. She’d known that the moment she stepped into the room, but she’d wrongly assumed that she was the one underfire. Angelica wasn’t here because she hadn’t been invited to the meeting.
She was the target.
Hope swallowed the sudden lump in her throat and wet her lips. She breathed deeply, readying herself for a fight she never thought she’d have to have. “Angelica Shields is one of the most professional women that I know. She’s a damn hard worker, never stops. And she’s brilliant.”
She let those words linger in the room, wanting Josef to understand exactly where she was coming from and what she thought about the entire situation that Josef was trying to fabricate. Because she wouldn’t stand for lies. Not now. Not ever.
“But has she made any advances toward you?” Logan asked, though he didn’t seem all that comfortable about it.
“Why would you ask that?”
“There have been reports—” Josef started.
“One report,” Logan corrected, side-eyeing Josef. “There was one report of an argument between the two of you when you were in San Diego.”
“Oh.” Hope frowned. If anything, it was in reference to that last night there, and the last time that Hope had actually seen Angelica. “It’s no secret that Ange and I have had our differences, and that those often result in loud verbal arguments.”
Logan turned a look on Josef that said nothing other thantold you so. Which told Hope exactly what she needed to know.
“Please don’t hold back,” Josef said, steering the conversation. “Please tell us if she crossed any boundary lines with you or if she made any sexual advances toward you. She has a history of this, and we want to be certain that our show represents the best, and that we keep the environment as healthy as possible.”
Hope snorted. She hadn’t been able to stop herself. She covered her face, embarrassment seeping into her before she let it go. She wouldn’t let that take over her. “That’s rich coming from you.”
“Excuse me?” Josef furrowed his brow.
“You might not realize, but Rachel is my best friend. She might be my big sister, but she’s always been my best friend. So I know what happened with Annalise. I know that you gave her the key to the golf cart, that you encouraged her to just try it out and see what it felt like. I know that you told her, and I quote,It’s exactly like your sister’s video game Mario Kart. You can’t crash it!”
Hope crossed her arms and glared at Josef.
“You want to talk about creating a safe and good environment to work in? Let’s talk about the fact that last season, you took a failed inspection report, changed the date and time on it, and gave it to Ange as though I had failed it and told her to go yell at me like she meant it.” Hope had no idea if that was what Josef had said, but she did know that he’d been behind it all. “If it wasn’t for Ange’s quick thinking in showing me the unaltered sheet in the back, I would have been completely thrown for a loop when she came in there. You created drama.Youmanufactured it.You. You’re the reason our show’s filming environment sucks. And you know how I know?”
She was on a roll now, and she wasn’t going to stop. Hope leaned forward, pressing her elbows into the table.
“I know because for two whole episodes this season you weren’t there. And nothing went wrong. Nothing was over the top bad. Nothing was out of control. We all were calm and peaceful despite the drama that we were walking into. Becauseyouweren’t there. The rest of the team was the same as before. So if you want to know where the problem is, Josef, you need to look in the fucking mirror.”
Hope stood up, the chair she’d been sitting in screeched as she push back. Then she suddenly leaned over the table again just to make her point.
“And keep in mind that you wouldn’t have this show without Angelica Shields. I’m far more replaceable than she is, trust me on that. The only thing you needed from me was my name and my audience. But Angelica is the real brains behind the operation. She’s the one handling every single part of a hotel,includingthe restaurant. And it’d do you good to remember that.”
She looked at each person still sitting at the table, sizing them up. She wasn’t going to stand for this. She wouldn’t let Josef bully her into turning on Angelica. It didn’t matter if they’d broken up. It didn’t matter if her life was completely in shambles right now. She wouldn’t stand for the injustice that Josef wanted to commit.
Hope walked out of the room, slamming the door behind her.
She’d never been to a more ridiculous meeting in her life. As soon as she got to her car and behind the wheel, she called Angelica. She had to be warned. The phone rang through her car’s speakers as she waited for Angelica to answer, but instead, it went to voicemail.
Of course it would.
After their argument, it shouldn’t surprise her that Angelica wouldn’t want to talk to her. Biting her tongue, Hope waited for the voicemail to beep so she could leave a message.
“Angel, I don’t know if you know what’s going on, but I just got called into a meeting with all the head honchos, and they’re coming after you. I don’t know what you did to piss them off, but they’re asking questions that they shouldn’t know anything about.”
Hope stopped.
What the hell should she say next?
“So uh… I just thought you should uh… know about that. And maybe you uh… can do something?”
God, why did she sound like such a fool now?
