Hollywood Zenith

Several large trucks were gathered outside the studio in the parking lot. They were food trucks preparing meals for hundreds of people.

Several chefs were moving frantically because of the heavy workload and the tight schedule. Different teams were cooking other dishes.

Burgers, fries and other fast food, and some refreshments were handmade from scratch. It was a big ask, but they were paid big money for their services.

" Shit! they are already coming out. We are still flipping patties over here." One of the chefs shouted.

" Don't worry. Beverages are ready; we could delay their appetite with it. John, Can I count on you? I have to look at other stations. Run it through the commander if you have any queries." A senior chef instructed several different cooking stations to maintain order.

" By the way, the commander is that lady over there, right? Isn't she too young for the post?"

" I don't know, we are hired to hand today. She may be young, but her management skills are good. But don't go calling her commander. I heard someone got fired when they called her that."

" Right, but I have never seen her do any work. That is why I was asking about it."

" Forget it. As long as everything is running smoothly. Look, that one is burning! Focus on work for now."

" Yeah, Go ahead. I will also increase my pace."

Several tents were placed for the customers, and Courtenay waited with her subordinates in one of them. This was not her plan, but Rothschild arranged it to celebrate the first day of shooting.

She had to make an appearance to keep the identity of Samuel hidden from the others. She had no control over it as the orders came from the top.

Soon, the production crew came out. Director Columbus, along with David and Ella, led a group of people straight toward the camp she was in.

" President, What a surprise. I didn't know you were visiting London." David said. He was a long-time acquaintance and worked with her for several years.

" Ah, David, It was a random occurrence. I wanted to drop by to see the progress.

Others also greeted her, after which David asked about the trucks.

" It seems awfully extravagant to hold such an event." As the executive producer, he was always worried about money. They were only beginning, and spending frivolously would hurt their pockets in the long run.

" Don't worry about it. You haven't changed one bit, always thinking about money. The higher-up arranged it."

David laughed awkwardly.

" Is that so? The company must have great expectations."

They mingled while other actors and guardians started to come out after changing. They were pleasantly surprised to find that the food was prepared for them.

Children were smiling gleefully, looking at a full-spread meal while engulfing various aromas from different stations. They began pulling their parents to visit them one by one.

It became like a small festival, and the previous tension of a long day of shooting disappeared from everyone's faces.

When Samuel and Amelia came out, they were also shocked by the scene. Seeing the bustling scene outside looked like a morning market where people would come to buy things for a low price, except in this market, everything was free.

" Aunt, did you know about this? Is it just I or that woman over there is the mother, right ?" Samuel pointed toward the commander-in-chief, who was constantly giving orders.

Amelia squinted her eyes and looked at the woman Samuel was pointing to. That was definitely Laura, in all-white chef's clothing with a big old hat. It was an unexpected situation as both of them were lost for words.

" Great, now how do we explain this? Why does she have to make my job more difficult?" She said in a frustrated tone.

" You know how she is. She must have prepared a good cover story. At least she has her disguise on." Nothing surprised him anymore.

At the same time, Laura spotted both of them and made her way toward them. She had a huge smile plastered on her face.

" Good, now that you are here. Come, you must be hungry. You have to try the small burgers."

" I think I am good. I want to stay in shape." Amelia said, declining her offer.

" Before that, mother, it is a surprise seeing you here. You could have told me in the morning."

" Then, it wouldn't be a surprise, would it?"

They went around different stalls to taste some of the food. They could skip most of the lines when the workers found that Laura was ordering food. She introduced some of the chefs to Samuel.

He was surprised that most people here were from high-end restaurants. Usually, to taste their cuisine, one had to pay a few hundred bucks, but here they were giving it for free.

" Maam, you have an adorable kid. Bring him over to my restaurant sometimes. I will prepare special meals for your family anytime."

" You have to visit mine first. We have the most famous patisserie in England. I know young master likes sweets."

" First, get a Micheline star, then talk about inviting them. You both are nothing compared to my diner. We have the Royal family as our patrons."

" That's not something to brag about. We all know how you got those stars."

" What does that suppose to mean?"

They were about to fight, but Laura mediated the situation.

" Will you keep fighting? The food will turn cold. I want my son to enjoy it hot." That made them shut up instantly. They didn't want to incur the wrath of the demoness. Some of them personally heard stories about the last guy that dared to do so.

They took a massive table at the back of the stand, where everyone began to pour out their version of street food. They looked like typical everyday food, but with the quality of chefs present here, nothing was ordinary.

One of the food trucks perfected the American-style version, glistening wings, stacked burgers and funky variations, including a spin on English brunch.

The falafel stall delivered on big flavours, with its soft and springy pittas full of flavourful layers; crispy hot falafel, cabbage salad, lashings of sauce and hummus.

Someone did the Malaysian style hot fresh nasi kerabu, a blue-hued rice salad topped with plenty of vegs and garnished with herbs, grated coconut, fish crackers and its spicy sambal.

The BBQ stall smoked some beef brisket, chimichurri chicken and dirty fries loaded with mac and cheese, pulled pork, mustard, pickles and crumbled sausage.

The last stall prepared some Mexican food; soft corn tortillas piled high with refried beans and tender pork shoulder or pieces of snapper fish topped with spicy jalapeño and guacamole.

Looking at the spread of vivid food was appetizing enough to make anyone drool over it. Other people also noticed the commotion, and soon Samuel was joined by Rupert and Emma, along with their family members. They were surprised to see Samuel's mother in chef's clothing; Samuel was quick to notice and began to clarify the situation.

" My mother runs a small business, a catering business. She was hired for today's job. Please join us; we couldn't possibly eat all this." The staff member responded swiftly and arranged several chairs around the table for the new guests.

" Ah, Everything looks delicious." Rupert was not shy about it as he quickly took a seat.

Emma also nodded and took a seat with her family. Both had their parents with them. They began to enjoy the food while talking about their first day of shooting. Three families got to know about each other before the big dogs came to the scene.

" I hope I am not interrupting," Courtenay asked. She visited their table along with the director, Columbus and her subordinates.

" No, I hope you are enjoying the food," Laura said with a soft smile that made Courteney tremble. She was still not used to this side of Laura. Courteney was from the era when Laura would run rampant across the globe.

" Y-yes, It is delicious. Good job." She maintained her composure, but Columbus caught it.

" President, Are you alright?"

" Yes, yes, I am fine. I am just tired."

" You should rest then; it must be hard running such a large company," Laura said from the side while sipping her drink.

Seeing Laura's frank attitude surprised everyone. It felt like they knew each other from somewhere.

" I will. But I have something important to discuss. It is good that we have your whole family here. The higher-up wants to do a press release. They are asking the main actors, the three of you."

" Press release? Isn't it too early?" Emma's mother asked.

" What can little kids talks about in front of all the reporters." Rupert's father was also concerned with the sudden request.

" I know you are worried. But it will be a quick session. You know that the book is very famous with that comes the responsibility to properly adapt it. We have to appease the book readers."

They were silent for a few seconds before Amelia chimed in.

" It might not be ideal, but we could screen the questions beforehand. Besides, in public space, they would not ask difficult questions."

" Our children are also smart. We should trust them but place an adult on the panel." Laura gave her suggestion.

" I will do it. You can trust me." Columbus offered.

The discussion went on for half an hour before everyone agreed. It will be a big deal for first-time actors to get public press. But they also knew that fame is not always good for kids; their whole life would change once they did the interview.

Courtenay scheduled a date for the interview before fleeing the scene. She was worried that she might wake up the sleeping giant by associating with Laura.

They had quite a history together, not necessarily a good one.