Chapter 5

"Ok...sooo...One grilled Seabass, two scallops and 2 stuffed quails, light on the cream to Table 5...one lamb loin with side of polenta and one aglio olio, no parsley for table 8...two caprese, one calamari for table 4 aaand Simmy get the dessert cart ready for table 10..." NK shouted as the waiters came in one after the other to post the orders on the kitchen wall.

Khushi looked with absolute glee, as pots bubbled and meats sizzled on the grill, leaving a heavenly smell of good food being cooked in the kitchen. Her senses were in an overload as she took in all the hustle and bustle of a typical busy Saturday night, when things go absolutely mental in the kitchen!

She smiled as some of the cute waiters, bought in the used plates and dishes and transferred them onto the large table next to her washing station. She quickly picked them up with her gloved hands and after scraping off the leftovers, dropped them in the soapy water bath that was refreshed every few minutes for rinsing.

After that she picked up each of the plates and let them go through a jet stream of hot water before placing them into the readied laser dish washers that did their job in 10 minutes tops, before the freshly cleaned, gleaming and dried dishes were then piled into the nearby stacker, ready to be used again by the plating staff.

She felt exhausted with the constant pick up and wash that she had been doing since the evening service started, her arms hurt terribly even after a week of the same routine, but she will slowly getting used to it.

The only respite she got during such a busy night was when the machines were running to full capacity and she could take a break till the next lot was prepped and ready to be washed.

She heard the dish washer ping, brining her out of her thoughts, as she quickly took off her gloves and opened up the steamy door of the machine. She carefully placed the freshly washed and dried china into the stacker and went back to draining and then refreshing the soapy rinsing water for the next lot, once again donning the huge yellow gloves.

"Ooh...Khushi...here, try this..." one of the line cooks offered, holding out a spoon of red wine reduction for the lamb.  She tasted it and smiled at the expectant face  "Its good, but I think a pinch of nutmeg will bring in that perfect warmth to the sauce and go very nicely with the lamb" she said as he gave her a thumbs up. She loved giving her little suggestions and the cooks always indulged her with whatever they were making.

She looked on with a smile as NK came sauntering towards her after making sure everyone was doing their tasks at hand "Well, maybe you do have a little chef inside you KG! Mind you, that is ASR's recipe and he also puts in a bit of nutmeg, so you were spot on! You should totally cook for all of us sometime" he said as Khushi nodded enthusiastically "Know what? Cook us lunch on Monday...I'll ask Madhu to help you out...let's see how good you are" he said as Khushi nearly jumped in joy

Madhu, another one of the three line cooks, usually cooked a simple lunch for all of them after they finished the noon service, it was usually some rice and curry or a pasta and if they were lucky, NK or sometimes even ASR would cook for them if they are free and not busy with other things; Though she had never sampled ASR's food, she loved NK's style of cooking and was a huge fan already!

She saw NK go back to his supervision while she rotated her neck about to get the cricks out. It had been nearly a week since that fiasco with ASR had happened and luckily she had not really had a run-in with him since.

She had made it a point to stay away from anywhere and everywhere he was and as it is, he had been too busy with some other work the entire week, hardly venturing into the kitchen unless there was a new recipe being planned or some celebrity had requested his specialty, which he had to unfortunately oblige.

The only time she had seen him cooking had been magical! It made her toes curl and heart beat faster, as he sliced and diced and sprinkled and stirred...his entire focus was on the food and he did everything himself...right from prepping the meat  to giving the finishing touches...she was sometimes so mesmerized in the act that she lost herself completely to the magic of it all..ahh Food P*orn!

Luckily for her, he too did not get in her way or it would be more apt to say that he treated her as if she did not exist! But she had sometimes seen him looking at her as she worked her ass off doing the dishes, probably waiting for her to make one mistake, so that he could rain his wrath on her!

Oh well, ignoring suited her best actually. She was learning a lot about professional cooking and had no complaints whatsoever! She smiled as she thought about the meal she was asked to cook by NK for all of them...What should she make? Maybe something Indian? Or Mexican...or...

So lost she was in her thoughts, that she did not realize when she picked up a huge casserole filled to its brim with soapy water mixed with the remains of a Malaysian curry and also did not notice one of the waiter's hands wobbling with the dishes piled high on his arms till it was too late and in an attempt to not collide into him, she moved suddenly, spilling all the remains on the unfortunate person on her right.

Before she could register what had happened, the entire kitchen that was noisy as a fish market, had suddenly gone pin-drop silent with their eyes rounded in horror. It was only then she noticed, that the waiter had successfully kept his plates down and was now slowly walking backwards while the casserole in her hand was smashed into pieces at her feet, where there was another pair of feet; or to be precise, ASR's feet in his favorite white jordans.

As her eyes travelled along the long powerful legs, to the equally powerfully body clad in a black chef's uniform which was now soiled with a sickly orange curry mix, they met angry brown eyes that shot daggers at her. Before she could utter a word, ASR turned around and went out of the kitchen towards his cabin, his body stiffening with every step he took.

Khushi looked on in shock as everyone looked at her with various levels of pity and sympathy, before going back to what they were doing "KG...go and say sorry...Now!...don't just stand there like a statue...move!" NK said as Khushi nodded before taking off her wet apron and gloves and running out of the kitchen

As she reached his office, she got dead scared of going in; if she knocked, he will probably swing the door other way round which would hit her face, thereby bruising it. Best to just walk in and apologize...yes! she thought as she pushed open the door and walked in gingerly making her way to his cabin, when he suddenly walked out...shirtless

OMFG...Khushi thought as her eyebrows rose and her eyes glued onto the bronzed body in front of her...are those even real? she thought as she squinted her eyes to look at the perfect set of abs he was in the process of wiping down...no its can't be, she wondered, itching to touch them as she heard him angrily clear his throat

"Ms Gupta, if you are done ogling me, please state your purpose of coming in barging into my office, without knocking..." he asked her icily as Khushi felt her cheeks flame in mortification...what the hell was she doing?...she quickly looked down and then back at him as he folded his arms across his chest

Dammit! As if those abs weren't enough, now she would again foolishly stare at his biceps and broad shoulders...why can't she control her eyes...keep looking at his face...or his shoes...white jordans with sprinkles of orange goo... "Have you gone deaf or mute?" ASR asked her as she shook her head and started walking backwards towards the door

"I..I'm sorry sir...you...you don't have any shhshirt on...so" she said as he walked towards her in anger "And whose fault is that? If you were not so busy daydreaming and trying to be super woman, I would still have my uniform on...now please leave so that I can change in peace" he said as Khushi nodded and turned away

As she reached for the door handle she stopped and once again faced him "I'm really sorry sir...I can wash your uniform and bring it or I'll get it dry-cleaned" she said as he looked at her mockingly "I don't need a dish washer to wash or dry clean my clothes. Just get back to your work and remember I'm keeping a close watch on you...One more such act and you are out...and the cost for that broken dish will be taken out of your salary" he said as Khushi nodded slowly and walked out leaving Arnav staring at the door after she left

The first time she spoke to him, she was so full of spunk. No one had ever answered him back like that and it had surprised him but had also felt strange. He knew she did not know who he was and maybe that's why she was free to reprimand him...but then when she came to know, she turned into just another one of the people who worked for him...scared and fearful...but he knew there was more to her sudden acceptance of defeat

It left him disappointed but also curious and so, very much against his will, he let her keep the job to observe her, but due to his busy schedule he hardly got to observe her much, though whenever he did, she seemed to be doing her job very well. He could not belittle her even if he wanted to, and then today; today when she finally slipped up, he had the chance to show her, her place again...but when he saw her looking at him dazedly, he couldn't...

It amused him and also flattered him at the way she was looking at him...something stirred within him as her eyes appraised his body, making him go hot all over...when he could not take her scrutiny anymore, he brought her back with more harsh words to once again ridicule her...hoping to maybe see her spunky streak, but was left disappointed to find her backing away

He shook his head as he wondered why she was affecting him so much? Who was she, but just a small employee in his restaurant! He should not waste a minute more on her and concentrate on more important things...like getting his Delhi branch settled. With that thought in mind he pulled over a fresh uniform and went back to work.