She rolled her eyes. “I’m the head chef here.”
The guy pulled up his netbook. “Name.”
“Amelia Lawrence.”
He scrolled down the list. “Okay, you’re clear.”
Taking a deep breath, she repeated her internal mantra—she would not be irritated by the intrusion of people into her place of work.
There were cameras and lights and tripods and something that looked like a giant silver foil alien thing. Jeez, what a mess. Amelia wondered how they were going to get actual customers into the restaurant tonight.
She saw Flynn talking to some guy and went over to him. He looked up at her and smiled.
“Hey, Amelia. This is Paul Birch, the producer of the show they’re doing. Paul, this is Amelia Lawrence, head chef of Ninety-Two.”
Paul smiled and shook her hand. “Pleasure to meet you, Amelia.”
“Same here, Paul. We’re all very excited that you’re featuring Ninety-Two in your show.”
“Thanks. We’ve heard a lot of great things about the restaurant—and the food here. I’m looking forward to seeing what you cook up for us tonight.”
“I know you’re going to love it.”
Paul grinned at Flynn. “She’s confident. I like that.”
“She’s good at what she does,” Flynn said.
Paul’s phone buzzed. He looked at it. “I need to take this, so if you’ll excuse me for a minute.”
Paul stepped outside and Flynn turned to her.
“Exciting day, right?”
“Yes. Very exciting.”
“I really want to kiss you right now.”
Her lips curved. “Probably not a good idea in front of the camera crew. They might be filming, and I don’t think you want that kind of exposure.”
“I don’t know. I wouldn’t mind.”
She laughed. “Time for me to get to work. I’ve got a big day ahead of me, and my team needs to make sure it all looks perfect.”
“Okay. I’ll see you soon.”
She walked away, her stomach already a jumbled knot of nerves. She hoped this went over well for Flynn and that she didn’t do anything to screw things up.
On her way into the kitchen she met Blaine Hurst, the director, who told her what time they were going to start the shoot.
“We’ll interview Flynn about the restaurant, then move into the kitchen to film you and your crew preparing the meal.”
She had been informed in advance that’s how it was going to work. She wasn’t thrilled that she was going to be on camera, but since it was all part of the deal, and all for Flynn and Ninety-Two, she accepted it.
She nodded. “I’ll need to do my prep in advance. That way when you’re set to film, my team will have everything ready to go.”
“Great,” Blaine said. “Thanks for being so cooperative, and so coolheaded about it all.”
She smiled at him. “We do have our customers coming in tonight as well, so we’re prepping to feed them, too. This is just a little addition to our typical evening.”
Blaine smiled. “I like you, Amelia.”
She laughed. “I’m glad to hear that. Let’s hope it stays that way, Blaine.”
She hurried off to meet with her staff and battle plan for tonight’s event.
THIRTY
It was chaos, but at least it was organized chaos. The restaurant was quickly filling with customers. Flynn had closed the restaurant tonight to the public and invited some of the regulars who came in all the time, making it a VIP event. Since there was filming involved, everyone would have to sign a release and he wanted to make sure his regulars were okay with that, so he’d put that on the invitations.
He wanted the evening to be fun. God, he hoped it was going to be fun. Plus, tonight’s meals were on the house.
Once the restaurant was full, the cameras were turned on him and he did his spiel about why he’d wanted to open Ninety-Two. He hoped he hadn’t sounded like an asshole when he talked about his love for cooking and how involved he was with the restaurant. The cooking show host—Ray—was a big name who had several shows and restaurants of his own. He asked Flynn why he hadn’t put his name on the restaurant, and Flynn explained that he wanted the draw to be about the food and not his name. Hopefully he hadn’t insulted the host by saying that, but it was the truth.
After the interview, Ray moved into the kitchen and it was time for Amelia and her crew to shine. Flynn stayed back while Amelia showed off her and her team’s skills in preparing the sea bass, lobster risotto and snap peas. He’d argued with her about fixing the Cassidy, the signature dish he’d created, but she’d told him customers loved it, she thought it was an elegant dish and she felt it would present well for television.
In the end, he’d capitulated because she was the chef and she could decide what would be served.
* * *
He watched her prepare the dish, though he was watching Amelia play to the cameras more than anything.
“We call this dish the ‘Cassidy’ in honor of Flynn Cassidy, the owner of Ninety-Two. It’s a pan-seared sea bass, accompanied by a lobster risotto and crisp snap peas.”
As Amelia moved around the kitchen, Flynn noticed she was relaxed and natural with the camera in her face. She showed no sign of nervousness and reacted to the camera—and to Ray—as if she was cooking for one of her friends. Amelia and Ray chatted amiably about cooking, about her background in cooking, the ingredients and Amelia’s cooking process. Flynn couldn’t be more proud of her. They only had to do a couple of takes until the director called for a final cut.
It had been perfect. He was so proud of her. Everyone stepped out so Amelia and her staff could continue cooking the rest of the meals for the customers.
“She’s good,” Paul said as he moved up beside Flynn.
Flynn smiled and nodded. “Yes, she is. She’s an excellent chef.”
“She’s more than that. She’s a natural in front of the cameras.”
Flynn couldn’t be more relieved hearing the producer’s praise. “She’ll be happy to hear that. She was nervous about tonight.”
“She shouldn’t be. Blaine said she did great.”
“Good.”
Dinner turned out perfectly, and the crew ate as well. He knew Amelia would make sure everyone had a meal, so that didn’t surprise him.
He hadn’t had a chance to talk to her yet because she was busy and he’d made sure to stop by all the tables to see how his customers enjoyed the meal. They all seemed to have a great time and didn’t mind at all being filmed, which was a relief for Flynn.