Angelica cocked her head to the side, her lips pulling tight. Cadence wasn’t wrong that she could use a break. But she also didn’t exactly want to leave more work for later either. “Why would I take my break with you?”
“Hmm…” Cadence leaned over the table, closing the cover on the iPad Angelica had been working on and grinning at her from ear to ear. “Because I won’t try anything with you, though I will outrageously flirt with you. Because you’re sexy, let’s make that very clear, and I’ll flirt with anyone who will give me the time of day. But because you need a break and I have a feeling that no one else on this set is willing to take that break with you—or perhaps it’s that you won’t allow it.”
Angelica pursed her lips, an eyebrow raised—she was intrigued. She couldn’t deny that. She turned her head to the side and stared directly into Cadence’s eyes. “What’s a break?”
“Oh, now we’re talking. Come on! Let me show you how it’s really done!” Cadence stood up straight and planted her hands on her hips as she waited for Angelica to follow suit.
The temptation was there. Angelica just wasn’t sure if she wanted to grasp it or not. She had spent so much time isolated and alone, and Cadence had called her right out for that. Last season, she would have spent time with Hope, but that was impossible this season. Rex? Out of the question. Lyric? Too many entanglements.
Perhaps Hope had been right when she’d told Angelica that not having friends in the workplace wasn’t going to be to her benefit. Angelica slowed her breathing and nodded. “All right. But you’re driving.”
“Yes!” Cadence punched her fist up in the air. “I didn’t honestly think you’d agree. And definitely not so easily. I didn’t even have to get to the second point of my argument.”
“Which was?” Angelica slid her iPad into her hand as she stood up.
“That a woman like you deserves to be wined and dined.”
Chuckling, Angelica shook her head. “Where are we going?”
“Uh… as much as I love how sexy you are in this getup”—Cadence waved her hand up and down Angelica’s body—“I do think you’ll stand out if you don’t dress down. And the last thing I want tonight is attention drawn to us.”
Angelica’s lips pulled up to one side. She stepped in closer to Cadence and lowered her voice. “Getting out of these clothes is one thing you won’t have to fight me on.”
“Oh, we’re spicy today.” Cadence laughed.
Angelica’s cheeks heated, but she walked out of the staging area and went straight toward her room. Doubts bombardedher almost instantly, but she didn’t give them any airtime. She knocked them down one right after the other. It had been a long month of preparation and the start of filming, and Cadence was right, she deserved—and needed—a break.
Slipping into running clothes, because they were the only casual wear she had, Angelica slipped her phone into her pocket, put on her smartwatch, and pulled her hair up into a high ponytail at the back of her head. She was curious to see what Cadence would say when she saw her like this.
She didn’t have to wait long, because when she opened the door to her room, Cadence was leaning against the opposite wall with one foot planted up against it and her phone in front of her face. That was until she locked her eyes on Angelica and immediately dropped it.
“Holy fuck,” Cadence murmured. “You don’t do anything by halves, do you?”
“Excuse me?” Angelica asked, a lighter tease in her tone.
“You’re sexy in a dress, in a pantsuit, in running clothes—” Cadence waved her hand up and down Angelica’s body again. “Don’t get me wrong, I know nothing will ever happen between us, but holy fuck, a woman can dream, right?”
Angelica smiled, the flush rising to her cheeks and filling her body. It felt good to be openly admired, even if they both understood the rules and that they wouldn’t be broken. Cadence straightened up, standing in front of Angelica and humming like she was eating something that tasted delicious.
“All right. Lyric insisted that I feed you before I give you alcohol. Some rule she has.”
“Rule?” Angelica frowned. She’d never heard of any rule before, but then again, she wouldn’t be surprised if Lyric did have something like that. Or if Hope had put her onto the fact that Angelica hadn’t been eating much lately.
“Yeah.” Cadence shrugged slightly. “Don’t ask. She’s a force to be reckoned with when she wants. So, greasy food and beer is what’s on the menu.”
“All right.” Angelica walked toward the elevator with Cadence in step next to her.
It didn’t take them long to get wherever they were going, and Angelica was glad to finally be in the noisy bar and away from the set itself. She hadn’t realized just how much she needed to get away from all those people—Hope included.
They ordered food and beer and then waited in awkward silence. Angelica wasn’t built for small talk, and Cadence didn’t seem to know what to say to her now that they were out of the work environment. Angelica held her breath, looking around the dark, grungy, and definite dive bar that Cadence had brought her to.
Cadence caught her attention when the waitress brought their drink orders. “I know the work environment is brutal right now, and I’m not entirely sure what’s going on between you and Hope, but know this, Ange… you do have a friend in me. And I’ll have your back, no matter what.”
Angelica breathed slowly, the musky scent of an old bar, the piercing scent of cheap beer. She wanted to take Cadence up on her offer. She wanted at least one ally while they were filming this season, especially if it was going to be her last. It’d make this season easier if she had that. Raising her glass, she waited for Cadence to chink them together in a cheers.
But she said nothing as she sipped the cold beer and let it fill her body.
“So what did happen between you and Hope?”
