Eight
Angelica satat the conference room table, scrolling through the script for that day. She had so much to memorize still, so much to remember to say and do throughout the day. Adding this layer on top of her actual job during filming was becoming more than she could handle, and quickly.
The crew worked around her as they set up for the start of the day. Angelica barely paid them any attention as she squinted at the iPad screen and glowered. She hated this. It wasn’t how she wanted to grow the show or to film. It made it too impersonal and too structured. Which she realized was rich coming from her, but she’d found she enjoyed tackling the problems as they arose rather than manufacturing them.
Her phone buzzed two seconds before the notification popped through on her iPad. Josef’s name scrolled across the top of the screen, and her stomach clenched instantly. Ignoring it would be the better choice. But she was working on building a case against him with her lawyers, which meant she had to know what he was saying and what he was attempting to do.
Glancing furtively around the room, Angelica paused to see if anyone else was paying attention to her. They were alldistracted. She held her breath as she tapped the notification on her iPad with her pointer finger and waited.
Josef
It’s not too late to admit you were wrong.
Angelica clenched her jaw tightly. She’d been wrong on more than one occasion, and she typically admitted it—eventually. Still, she wasn’t entirely sure what Josef’s point was with that text. But then a second text came through.
The video.
She sighed heavily, tapping on the screen to play it. She’d seen it a hundred times over by now. But she couldn’t resist watching it again, as if just one more time would change what she saw. But it didn’t.
Hope and her, in the hallway in New Orleans. The way Hope practically lunged at her, lips connecting. Angelica’s moment of hesitation before she slammed her hands into Hope’s shoulders and pushed her back, dropping her iPad in the process. Hope had to return that iPad the next day. The video was silent, no sound, no recording of what they were talking about, and Angelica couldn’t honestly even remember what had spurred on that fit of anger. Last year she might have been able to recall, but after everything had changed in their relationship, she hadn’t held onto that memory anymore.
She had new ones to fill her mind and heart with.
“What’s that?” Florence’s voice echoed through the room.
Angelica immediately closed out of the video and the app. She bit her lip and shook her head. “It’s nothing to worry about.” Which was probably the biggest lie she’d ever told. She had so much fear when it came to Josef and exactly what he was capable of. But so far, all he’d done was send this video to her—twice now. And months apart.
She had no doubt that he knew they were filming again, which would only stir up his anger toward her again. But if they could make it through this season without incident, she was certain Josef would back off and leave her alone.
“Ange…” Florence sat next to her, tapping the top of the table. “It seems to be bothering you.”
Furrowing her brow, Angelica lifted her gaze to meet Florence’s. Maybe they had just gotten off on the wrong foot while they were here, and they could get along if they tried hard enough, but Florence made it damn near impossible sometimes. And this moment was one of them.
“Even if it is bothering me, what makes you think that I’d talk to you about it?” Angelica clenched her jaw tightly, her molars squeaking suddenly before she let up on the tension.
“I don’t think you would.” Florence gave Angelica a soft smile, one that transformed her into another person altogether, someone who seemed less harsh and rigid than before. Still, Angelica wasn’t going to trust her on anything. Not if she had the choice. “But, if you want someone to talk to, I’m here to listen.”
Angelica paused briefly before she nodded, but barely. Was this what it was like to have a showrunner who actually cared about the people on the show? She wasn’t sure if the tension in her chest was that, or all the secrets she felt compelled to keep, or the fact that the weight of Josef’s threats was still so heavy. Either way, she could deal with it. Because she had no other choice.
“I want you to sit down with Colm about the repairs that need to be made to the hotel and exactly how those repairs will begin. We’ll start with reception, but he’s going to have to bankroll the rest of them.” Florence pulled out her own notepad to take notes. “I sent you over a script for that last night.”
“And I received it.” Angelica tightened again.
Silence fell between them. Angelica kept it, even though it was awkward and wrought with tension. She had zero desire to give in to whatever demands Florence was going to put on her. And she didn’t want to like her.
“Have I done something?” Florence asked.
Angelica nearly winced. But she managed to catch it in time, dropping her gaze down to her iPad and skimming the script that was in front of her now.
“Ange?” Florence pressed again. “We were fine in Los Angeles.”
Were they, though? Angelica bit the inside of her cheek, sorting through what to say. Finally looking up at Florence, she shook her head slowly. “I have nothing against you.”
And that was the truth. Angelica wasn’t going to lie about that. But Florence still made her uncomfortable in a way she hadn’t expected, and she clearly needed to figure out how to deal with that.
“Morning!” Hope chimed as she stepped into the conference room.
Angelica’s shoulders tensed sharply. She met Hope’s gaze, one filled with sunshine and curiosity, and said nothing.
