“No, you’re not. I’m not saying you need to be, either. But you do need to know exactly who you are and what you want to become in order to market yourself and make a profit.” Angelica glanced down at the iPad she hadn’t even touched during this conversation. A notification popped up on the screen—an email from her family.
Again.
Her stomach twisted sharply.
They wouldn’t ever stop, would they?
She closed the iPad and focused on the Borjeses. “So, do you want to take me up on the offer to help with branding? Or do you want to continue to spin your wheels and get nowhere?”
She wasn’t even sure why she was asking that question. They’d listen to her for the next week because they’d applied to be on the show, and then everything else was out of her hands. What they did was their own choice, and they would be responsible for their mistakes. But she also knew that Rex and Florence and Logan would be looking for those questions for the trailers and promotion, for the transitions when editing, and because it made it seem like Joy and Ross actually had a choice in what was happening here.
Even if they didn’t.
“Well?” Angelica asked when they hadn’t answered.
“Yes,” Joy and Ross said at the same time.
“Good.”
Chapter
Twenty-Three
“I’m making an executive decision.”Hope planted her hands on the steel counter and leaned over it, staring Trey and Enzo in the eye. She had no doubt that they were ready for this transition and would also be somewhat resistant to it as well. But she had to do what she had to do, and after talking with Angelica about a plan going forward, this was where they were.
“What’s that?” Trey finally asked, wiping his hands on a cloth and stepping closer to her.
“We’re getting rid of the menu.” Hope snagged one of the menus off the edge of the counter where she’d put it and threw it in the air over her shoulder. “It’s ridiculous and impossible to have a menuthatlarge in a place like this.”
Trey’s jaw went slack. He shifted his gaze to Enzo and then grinned broadly. “You’re serious?”
“Absolutely.” Hope shook her head and laughed. “But that’s not the only executive decision I made. I need to see what you two are made of, what you can cook, what training you still need, and then we need to build a menu together. Okay?”
“All right.” Trey did seem a little nervous about that, but Hope couldn’t help it.
He should be. They needed to get this hotel under control, but it wouldn’t be that hard in the long run. Hope walked directly toward the walk-in and pulled out all of the items they were going to need. And then she laid them out on the counter for Trey and Enzo to look them over.
“We’re focusing on seafood. This is a beachy area, so we need to make sure everything is as fresh as it can be. We’ll limit the menu to five items and two specials. The specials will change every night. Don’t worry, I’ll help you with that and then we can work on a rotation schedule. Any questions?”
Hope paused. It was going to be a super long day of teaching, but she was ready for it. Because it would tell her exactly what steps she needed to take next and who specifically they needed to hire in order to get this place up to where it should be.
Trey shook his head.
“Right, so we’re going to make Florentine. I want you to start with breaking down the flounder, so that we can fillet it for the meal. We’re going to only bring in the flounder fresh for this dish, all right? You can charge more, it does cost more, but if we can manage to get this one under control, then it won’t be difficult to elevate it. All right?”
“Yeah. Okay.”
She watched as Trey started to break down the whole flounder and tried not to cringe at his lack of skill. This was something that would take practice. She’d spent years in the bowels of a kitchen just breaking apart fish after fish, to the point that she knew exactly what to do now. She gave him a few tips and glanced toward the dining room when she heard people talking out there.
“Do another one,” Hope said, touching Trey’s shoulder lightly. “I’ll be right back.”
Hope followed her instincts and walked out of the kitchen, pushing her way into the dining room. Lyric stood next toCadence, their heads together, furtive whispers passing between them. Hope bit her lip, narrowed her gaze at them, and then chose to approach.
“What’s going on?” Hope asked, praying that some other kind of drama wouldn’t slap down on them and upset the delicate balance that they’d barely found.
But she was also pretty damn sure that was exactly what she was going to find.
Lyric straightened up immediately, like she’d been caught in the act. Her eyes widened, the color deepening, and her cheeks reddened. But she said nothing. Cadence crossed her arms over her chest and turned a glare onto Hope.
