Both Hope and Rex sat at her conference table, and Angelica froze.
Was this actually the first time the three of them had been in a room together since the premiere disaster? Angelica clenched her jaw. And that had been in this very office. She’d dragged both Rex and Hope down here to let them have it out without others around to witness it because Rex had pulled what no ex should pull. He’d brought the nanny as his date for the event. Rebound at its finest, and anyone could have called that.
They all sat in silence, awkwardly staring at each other as the two exes flanked either side of her. So much for using Rex as a bit of a shield today. Angelica had hoped that might be a possibility. Instead, she looked from one to the other and then toward the door. Cadence and Josef could show up at any point, and she’d be happy with that.
That would be a tension she understood, one she knew how to deal with.
Hope was the first one to break the silence, which didn’t surprise anyone. “Ange, we should probably talk after this.”
“I…” Angelica looked directly into Hope’s crystalline eyes. Her heart shuddered, the pain building so quickly and consuming her. She had to swallow it down. She had to shove it away and put it back into the box it came in. Why had she touched Hope like that? As though the intimacy and connection between them hadn’t been broken? Angelica inwardly cringed, trying to breathe in without smelling Hope’s unique scent, without remembering the way they’d stared longingly into each other’s eyes only seconds ago.
“Hey there, friends!” Cadence slid into the room like she owned it before stopping suddenly. She looked around the conference table, her gaze lingering on each one of them curiously. “Who died?”
“Excuse me?” Rex choked out the words.
“Either someone died, or there’s something going on that I don’t know about.” She pointed at all of them and pursed her lips before tapping her finger against them. “Hmm, I think there’s something going on here under the table.”
Hope choked.
Angelica held her breath, assessing the situation quickly. Decisive action was one thing that she was known for, and it was about damn time. “Cadence, why don’t you take a seat?”
It sounded like Angelica was going to tell her what had happened, but like hell she was. It was just a way to break Cadence’s focus.
“We’re here to discuss filming for this upcoming season.” Angelica pulled her iPad closer to her, not looking at Hope. If she did that, then Cadence would surely see what Angelica didn’t want her to. She was too adept at doing that. “We’ll primarily be on the East Coast this year, which will limit the trips we can take back home to work on other business.” Angelica looked at Hope then, making sure that she was understood.
The silence reverberated through the room, and Cadence still looked between each of them. They were going to have to up the ante on the masks they wore if they were going to make it through the next four months.
Angelica checked the time, wishing that Josef would show up already, maybe even Logan, just so they could get through this meeting as quickly as possible and end it straightaway. Angelica tossed her hair over her shoulder and lowered her chin to look at her iPad as Cadence reached for the small snacks that Lyric had set in the room.
This wasn’t going to be a short meeting, unfortunately.
“Ange.” Josef’s loud tenor tones reverberated through the room.
Angelica tensed, but she was glad he was here. Any buffer that she could find, she’d take. He plopped down between Hope and Cadence.
“Logan’s not coming today.”
Angelica frowned. She’d wanted him here so he could witness how Josef treated her. He’d had so many questions during the break, and he’d promised they’d be watching Josef closely, but it seemed as though that wasn’t actually going to happen.
“Like I was saying before you came in,” Angelica started, “we’ll primarily be on the East Coast, so there won’t be as many trips back to Los Angeles while we film. We’ll be heading to Maine first, and the problem there is the kitchen primarily and updates to the hotel itself. It’s like walking into the eighties.”
Rex snorted. “Yeah, it is.”
Angelica shot him a look, but she quirked her lips up slightly. They could manage this, couldn’t they? It might take a bit of time to get used to how they were all going to interact, but they could find a way to work together for the next four months without causing too much drama or hurt. The stark difference between Hope and Rex now compared to the end of season two wasalready obvious. They had definitely talked and worked on some of their problems.
“I’ll be heading a renovation of the main hotel, at least a light renovation of the rooms but a major overhaul of reception, and Hope, I’ll need you to focus on the kitchens because I won’t have time for them,” Angelica said, not looking in Hope’s direction. She wasn’t ready to risk that yet.
This would give them a break from each other, a separation that they’d both no doubt need in order to survive the first episode. Shooting that first episode was always like pouring a cold bucket of chaos over them, and Angelica wanted to make the transition as smooth as possible this time around. They had their crew together, so they all knew how each other worked. It should be easier this time around.
“Don’t forget that we need to keep the tension high,” Josef chimed in. “Season four renewal depends on us knocking this one out of the ballpark.” He laughed boisterously, but his gaze was hard as it landed on Angelica. “I expect you and Hope to deliver on that.”
Angelica hummed, but she didn’t say anything. Cadence’s gaze bounced between all of them. Angelica had no doubt that she was drowning in the dynamics that she had been previously unaware of.
“I’m sure Hope and I can find something to argue about in Maine.” Angelica made a note of that, though it wasn’t one that she intended on going back to. Josef could fuck himself for all she cared. If she only had one more season of working with him, then she’d be in bliss at the end of filming. Whatever was happening next, she needed to separate herself from him for her own mental health.
“Budgetary conflicts always seem to be a hit on social media for you two,” Cadence chimed in, looking directly at Angelica.
“Sure. We can do that. Hope?” Angelica faced Hope, looking for confirmation and forgetting how damn sexy she was with that new haircut of hers. It was as if she’d come fully into herself with it, as if it rounded out the edges that she’d had before trying to fit into a box that she didn’t measure up to. But with this… fuck, Angelica was in over her head.
