Surf Club - Angelo's
"It's so busy out there, does Lucas not need any help with anything?" Ricky asks as she walks into the office.
"No need, they've got a system going and it's actually a really smart one." Brax says. "Lucas came up with it and I haven't had one bad review yet. Check the website out, great reviews have been coming in all day." He says, turning the laptop screen towards her.
"These are amazing reviews." Ricky says as she glances between them.
"Lucas never mentioned he had put the website and the option to review on the numbered cards on the table, he did that himself. Even the staff are enjoying the shift, and you've heard Robert on a good day, let alone one of his bad days." Brax says.
"It used to annoy me because he won't quit no matter what!" She says.
"Not a single bad word has come out of his mouth in the time I spent out there during the dinner rush. And I came straight up here after talking to Casey." Brax says, still amazed by it. "I don't know how Kyle and Lucas come up with some of their ideas, but they always work."
"It's because they're smart kids." Ricky says. "Hey look at this review, 'Despite there being a wait for a table, it didn't matter as we were allowed to wait on the balcony with our drinks. The food came really quickly and tasted amazing, still piping hot. We weren't expecting it to arrive quickly or hot with the place being full, which just shows the commitment of the staff. I would recommend this restaurant to everyone I know if they were ever in the area!'"
"There's been a few like that." Brax says. "I never thought a restaurant I own would get good reviews like that."
"Just shows that people judge the place, not the owner." Ricky smiles. "How is this going to impact this ego of yours?" She jokes.
"I'm hardly letting it go to my head, not that it would be given a chance to. Have you seen Lucas?" Brax smirks.
"He did look extremely happy considering the place is packed." Ricky says.
"Cause I spoke to Kyle earlier and he wants Lucas to help him manage this place." Brax says.
"You asked Lucas to be manager?" Ricky asks.
"I said I would consider it if he carried on like that. He was so excited when Kyle said he'd be fine with it, practically begging him to accept the promotion. I couldn't say no to him. I don't know what's happening to me." Brax says.
"You're going soft." Ricky smiles.
"It's Lucas and Kyle's fault."
"How?"
"Have you tried saying no to them?" Brax asks. "I want what's best for my brothers, and those two show their feelings more than the others. I feel bad for upsetting them when that's the opposite to what I'm trying to do. I feel like this is good for them as well, they bounce off each other well. Kyle understood this system Lucas has going on straight away without any explanation. It was so weird."
"It must be the triplet bond becoming stronger. Like twin telepathy but for triplets." Ricky says.
"Maybe. It's creepy whatever it is." Brax says. "Did you see Casey up here on your way in?"
"Yep, he was with his date. I saw him smiling for the first time in what feels like forever." Ricky says. "Emily and the boys did good organising this for him."
"Don't speak too soon, it could just be an act."
"Really?" Ricky raises an eyebrow.
"He's hardly going to walk out in the middle of a date if he doesn't like it. Casey can be horrible when he wants, but not to the point of upsetting a girl he doesn't know when there's a chance they could bump into each other again." Brax says. "Did Kyle tell you him and Emily were going on a date tonight?"
"He mentioned something but he was in a rush." Ricky says.
"It's gone from Emily oversharing to Kyle oversharing. I think he's trying to catch me out."
"Catch you out how?" Ricky asks, interested in knowing how.
"He thinks I'm only giving Emily another chance because you want me to."
"Yeah but you wanted this as well so you wouldn't hurt Kyle's feelings by hating his girlfriend."
"I can still hate his girlfriend and give her a second chance." Brax says.
"You still hate Emily?"
"I never meant that I still hate her." Brax quickly says before getting a lecture from his fiancee. "He trusts her, so I've got to trust that he knows what he's doing. And she makes him so happy, even more than before. They may be acting like Brent never exists, but it's actually helping them through this."
"Well I'm glad you're coming to your senses that they can still be happy together." Ricky says. "If you don't need me to help out here, I'm going to head home. Are you coming?" She asks.
"I've got a few more things here to sort out first but don't wait around for me, I know how impatient you can get." Brax smirks.
"How about I make us a bolognese, or have you eaten already?" She asks.
"I haven't, your bolognese sounds great." He smiles, kissing her before she leaves.
"Hi Lucas." Brax hears Ricky say as she walks out of sight, the triplet walking to the door moments later.
"What's wrong?" Brax asks, not liking the look his brother held.
"We're running out of stock fast!" Lucas panics. "We weren't expecting it to be so busy, so Kyle didn't put extra down on the last order he made."
"Okay, I'll put an emergency order in. Make a list of the stock that is the lowest and bring it to me, do the rest after." Brax instructs.
"What about my system? I won't be able to watch the bar and do the stocktake. Robert's manning it now but he can't prepare drinks, take drinks to the tables and take money while I check the stock." Lucas says.
"Right, you carry on with what you were doing, I'll do the stock." Brax says, Lucas looking relieved. "Could you get the chefs to write down what they need while I get the order sheet?"
"I can do that." Lucas nods. "Thank you." He says before rushing out of sight.
Braxton House - the Flat
"We saw how busy Angelo's was, so went for dinner in Yabbie Creek instead. I've never seen it so busy there before." Heath says as Bianca helps Ricky with her bolognese. "How have they not called you and Kyle in to help out?"
"Because this system Lucas made up is really working." Ricky says. "I couldn't believe it either but the reviews on the website are amazing. I think this is going to be good for the business."
"That would help the other local businesses as well. If people recommend to all of their friends to visit Angelo's if they were on holiday here, it could boost profits everywhere." Bianca says.
"Do you think businesses would be able to cope?" Heath asks. "They're not exactly made for loads of people, just take the gym for example. We can't accommodate more people working out in the gym and I did notice it was busier in there today that we had to let Tyler do a bootcamp by himself just to cover everyone."
"You could create more outdoor workouts. That way people can exercise and get fresh air at the same time." Ricky says.
"We wouldn't be able to get the staff to cope with that." Heath shakes his head.
"If you took Tyler on as a full time trainer and hired one or two others, it's manageable."
"That means Tyler would need to get his certificate and that could take months, it did for me. I don't even think he wants a permanent job at the gym." Heath says.
"That would need to be something you discuss with him. It's possible for him to get it quicker if he really wanted it, plus it would be quicker for you to train him up on the job while getting his qualifications." Bianca says.
"It would make it a lot easier during times like this." Heath mutters to himself. "I'll go and talk to him about it now." He says, walking to the house.
"So how's the wedding conversations going?" Bianca asks now they were alone.
"We haven't had much chance to speak about it more with everything going on." Ricky says. "We've promised to make time once things have calmed down. We're not even in any rush, I'm enjoying this engagement first." She smiles.
"You've both gone a long time without it happening sooner."
"Growing up, it wasn't what we wanted. I started to want it more the older I got, but Brax didn't. I didn't let it come between us, I was happy as long as I could be with him. This is something I never thought would happen, but it feels more special knowing it has happened now." Ricky smiles.