Page 47 of Culinary Chaos
An asshole.
Jerkface.
Motherfucking entitled.
Digging his own grave and yours too.
“…delicate,” Nova finally finished. “He’s not used to being confronted like that.”
Angelica had no doubt about that last part. Men in general weren’t used to being put on the spot and challenged, especially by a woman who was a foot shorter than them and blonde with a decent bust. They looked at her and saw someone who wasn’t competent even if she was the smartest person in the room—something she’d never apologize for.
“I’ll pull the plug on this episode if I have to,” Angelica said, keeping her voice firm. She hadn’t missed Rex raising a scared eyebrow at her or that he turned on the second camera, no doubt filming this interaction. Good for him. This might be the best gold mine that they had the entire time they were here. “I don’t take threats lightly, and John won’t bully me into doing what he wants. We’ve seen what happens when he’s left in charge.”
“He gets things done.”
“He lets things disintegrate around him. The issue with this hotel isn’t staff. It isn’t management. It’s you and John. It’s the fact that you two don’t know what you’re doing, and you refuse to admit that you need help, that you need training, and that you can’t do this on your own. Isn’t that why you applied in the first place? Because you knew you needed something to change?”
Nova nodded slowly, her lips slightly parted as she pushed a strand of her mousy brown hair behind her ear. “But John?—”
“John is being a bully because he doesn’t like being told what to do. And if he’s going to continue to pull the shit that he pulled yesterday, then I’ll walk away. I have no patience when asked for my expertise to then not be listened to, and there are plenty of other hotels that Chef Lawrence and I can assist with. Ones that would be willing and thankful for our help.”
“But John—” Nova started again.
Angelica held her hand up, stopping her in her tracks. “If you’re going to find another excuse for his behavior, then I don’t want to hear it. I’ve heard it all before, and I’m over it. You can either accept our help or not. I’ll give you until the end of the day to let me know. Thank you.” Angelica stood up at that point, her shoulders straightening. She gave Nova a hard stare, waiting for her to get up and walk out of the room.
She hesitated, no doubt struggling to figure out exactly what Angelica had meant, and perhaps finally hearing the dismissal. But she did get out. She scoffed as she walked by Angelica, rolling her eyes. Angelica crossed her arms and sighed heavily as soon as the door was shut. She hated days like these—ones where it felt like the whiplash of emotions was never going to end or that every two seconds there was some other kind of drama.
The door opened sharply.
Angelica froze.
She wasn’t back. Was she?
Hope stepped through, her gaze flicking from Angelica to Rex and the cameras and back to Angelica. Was that fear? Guilt ate through Angelica’s stomach briefly before she managed to get ahold of it. She had nothing to feel guilty for. She’d done nothing wrong. Hope had been the one to initiate that kiss, andAngelica had just been on the receiving end of it. And she’d put a stop to it before it went any further.
“Oh, I didn’t realize you were filming,” Hope said, nervously biting her lip.
It had been adorable when Ansel had scolded her for it. Angelica shook her head. “I think we’re finished.” She looked to Rex who nodded but stayed silent. “What did you need?”
“You uh… left this.” Hope whispered those last two words as she stepped closer to Angelica.
The iPad was held tightly in her hand as she thrust it in Angelica’s direction.
How the hell had Angelica managed to forget about that? She lived by that thing, and yet she hadn’t even thought of it once.
“Thanks.” Angelica swallowed the sudden lump in her throat, reaching for the iPad. She maneuvered her hands strategically so that she didn’t touch Hope’s fingers or accidentally brush against her in any way.
“What did she want?” Hope asked, looking toward the door and indicating Nova.
Angelica let out a small chuckle. “To try and get me to apologize to John is my guess.” She put the iPad onto the table and straightened up to focus on Hope. She seemed so nervous to be in this room, so different from the way she’d been that morning in the elevator. Had Angelica scolded her too much? She really should have been more careful in what she said and how she said it.
“I don’t think he’s the one who deserves an apology.” Rex’s voice shocked through the room.
Angelica’s spine straightened instantly, not expecting the attack to come from him of all people. He hadn’t even been there. He hadn’t even been the one to witness what Angelica had said, though she suspected it had gone through the crew like wildfire.
“Excuse me?” Angelica asked, turning toward Rex and the one lone crew member who seemed to shuffle his feet and want to disappear.
“You owe an apology to me, to Hope, to Sy.” He threw his thumb over his shoulder. “To every single one of the crew.”
