Once Ella was back on the floor she flitted between her tables, taking down orders and serving drinks. She never knew work could actually be so enjoyable. Apart from a couple of tables, the restaurant was actually full. Everyone had come together to support Flynn, the restaurant looked busy and the atmosphere was jolly.

Nancy directed the team as the food began to make its way to the customers and the camera was rolling inside the restaurant. For the next five minutes everything went swimmingly, with a mouth-watering aroma from Gianni’s delightful dishes wafting through the restaurant and The Lakehouse looking very much alive.

Hearing a tut from the next table, Ella looked over towards Tiffany, who promptly scrawled something on her notepad then tapped her watch. ‘Have they gone to France to crush the grapes to produce my Chablis?’ She turned towards Ella, who quickly looked over towards the bar. Amy had put the drinks order in and Ella the food order, but they both must have automatically assumed the other one would have served the drink from the bar.

Facing a stony-looking Tiffany, Ella hitched the biggest smile on her face and collected Tiffany’s drink before placing it on the table. ‘I’m so sorry for the delay, and I have to say, I’ve just been admiring your handbag, it really does match your suit. You have exquisite style. You must turn heads wherever you go.’

For a split second Tiffany looked perplexed, maybe she wasn’t used to people being nice to her? After the initial shock had worn off, she brushed the lapel of her jacket and said, ‘What, this old thing?’ but Ella could tell that Tiffany was secretly delighted. She thanked Ella for the Chablis without making any further fuss.

‘You’ve got her eating out of your hand – good work,’ whispered Callie as she walked past carrying a tray of drinks. ‘Management team next for you.’ She winked.

‘Kill them with kindness,’ replied Ella, but thinking about what Callie had just said. She knew that Callie was only joking but it definitely gave her food for thought. Why couldn’t she work her way up to the management team? There was absolutely nothing stopping her from reaching the top if that’s what she decided she wanted to do.

Ella quickly returned to the kitchen. There was something smelling delicious as she walked up to the serving pass but the atmosphere felt charged and reminded Ella of the programmes she’d watched on TV. The sous chef and kitchen assistants were running around preparing meals so fast that Ella felt dizzy watching them. Gianni was shouting orders and everyone else looked frazzled and this was only at the start of the shift. Ella handed over another order when she spotted Amy.

‘Is that Tiffany’s food? We left her drink on the bar by mistake, but I think I’ve smoothed the way.’