Claudia
That hateful man, how could he?
I may have inadvertently given Amando Violante ammunition due to my stupid perfectionism. I suffered the consequences of my foolishness at his own hands.
I keep struggling to make ends meet, and as he professes, this loan is out of his heart’s kindness! All he has ever done is give me another complication.
I must play smart and show him I am not attracted to him. He could even use my attraction to him against me, and I will not stand for that.
Amando
Vacancy: Executive Chef for hire!!
After her interview, she dared to faint in my restaurant!
In my interview with the beautiful Sou Chef Claudia Sequiera, I decided to get her out of my kitchen. She would be a great distraction for the staff and me. So, I got rid of her.
But I underestimated the lovely young lady. If she wants to play a game, so can I. And I will ensure that she plays my game too. Let us see who the winner in both games will be.
But I will pay her hospital fees, so she is at a disadvantage. Try to sue me, lady. Game on.
Claudia
That hateful man, how could he?
I may have inadvertently given Amando Violante ammunition due to my stupid perfectionism. I suffered the consequences of my foolishness at his own hands.
I keep struggling to make ends meet, and as he professes, this loan is out of his heart’s kindness! All he has ever done is give me another complication.
I must play smart and show him I am not attracted to him. He could even use my attraction to him against me, and I will not stand for that.
Amando
Vacancy: Executive Chef for hire!!
After her interview, she dared to faint in my restaurant!
In my interview with the beautiful Sou Chef Claudia Sequiera, I decided to get her out of my kitchen. She would be a great distraction for the staff and me. So, I got rid of her.
But I underestimated the lovely young lady. If she wants to play a game, so can I. And I will ensure that she plays my game too. Let us see who the winner in both games will be.
But I will pay her hospital fees, so she is at a disadvantage. Try to sue me, lady. Game on.
“I am sorry I have to cut you out of the competition,” Amando said in a bald tone at the last female contestant. “Your dish was seasoned sufficiently, and the taste was good; however, there was a hair on the plate, and that’s not acceptable at this level of the competition. I have to terminate your continued participation.”
This was a competition for high stakes. The winner would become the privileged Executive Chef of the up-and-coming family-owned Violante’s of Santa Cruz, California.
The girl’s youthful skin glistened with health, and she had to be very young—younger than Amando’s youngest brother, who recently turned twenty-seven. She bowed her head and slumped her shoulders in defeat, then turned and left the kitchen, only stopping to pick up her knapsack from the competitors’ lounging area before walking right out of the restaurant. Amando watched her retreat briefly, then turned to the remaining two male competitors to set up the final cut of the competition.
Fierce heat, passion and sweat emanated from the last two standing opponents. Amando Violante the co-owner, and restaurant manager, watched them like a hawk and called the final round of the competition. “Last test! You must create your dessert from the ingredients set before you. Your time begins now!”
 The opponents heckled each other, then got serious for the last test of their skills. One of the stations caught fire as one of the interviewees poured wine into an overheated pan, causing the flames to catch onto the cloth he held in his hand. One of the hovering staff members quickly plunged into action to douse the fire before he attended to the burnt participant.
As the havoc on that station ended, the interview test resumed. Amando breathed a sigh of relief; he needed to hire a superb and professionally creative chef to bring Violante into the top five restaurants of Santa Cruz. His father was unable to perform cooking duties, and Amando did not have the culinary skills like his father, but he knew how to manage people and what tasted good and appealing.
The battle was ferocious and inspiring for the men. As the final second was announced, Amando called out, “Time is up! All hands up! Bring your dishes up front now!”
Claudia moved swiftly to get out of that hateful man’s restaurant. Her burnished mahogany hair so supple as it flowed behind her. Despite being overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of good looks Amando Violante possessed, Claudia kept her head in the game. His dark brown hair with a hint of grey at his temples swept away from his broad forehead. He was six feet four inches of raw masculinity; his physique was evident in his khaki trousers and brown shirt that was opened rakishly, displaying a hint of dark curly hair. His face chiselled squarely into high cheek bones and a hawk-like straight nose, ending with his arrogant chin. His handsome features distracted her, and his deep penetrating grey eyes took in everything while she worked feverishly to complete her course. It was possible that her hair did escape from her scarf and a whisper of mahogany floated unbeknownst to her to the plate.
Suddenly, a zenith of pain lanced across her forehead as she was about to exit the door. Nearly doubling over, she was a hair’s breadth away from exiting as she lost consciousness and she felled lifeless to the ground. Restaurant employees witnessed her collapse; one quickly ran over and saw to his horror the girl was unconscious and unmoving. He alerted another staff member to call the emergency number for the proximal hospital.
As Amando brought the final verdict on the competition and called to order his Executive Chef, another commotion outside of the kitchen ensued. Bursting into the kitchen, Alonzo, his head waiter, said sharply, “Sir, the last girl of the interview just passed out cold, and we called for an ambulance. She looks very sickly. Should we go through her stuff to alert someone?” Amando shook his head in disapproval and informed him that was the hospital's duty.
His staff though efficient, tended to go beyond their duties which turned out to be a balance between the positive and the negative. He saw the shock on Alonzo’s face at his decision. What was wrong with Alonzo? When would he ever learn never to get too involved with people’s lives? Being friendly to people was important, especially to get continuous business. After all, their income was dependent on the customers. But that distractingly pretty girl dared to faint before she exited the premises. His eyes kept roving to her as he observed them working methodically and quickly. Their eyes met a few times, and he would look away, not giving away his thoughts or expression.
The staff outside kept trying to rouse the girl but to no avail. She was comatose and lay there like a corpse. The ambulance came within minutes and whisked her away to the hospital, albeit still unconscious. The medics went through personal belongings to snuff out a number to alert the family.
Sofia was Claudia’s friend in Chestnut. She was now at the hospital, waiting to be allowed to see her friend. She remembered how hard and furious Claudia was working up to the pinnacle of the long-ending competitions. She knew it was exhaustion and endless hours in the kitchen that deprived her of vitality, especially after participating in three other competitions and three catering events.
Claudia came around after almost sixteen hours in the hospital. Only to see Sofia slumped in a chair, snoring softly as she slept. Sofia was a natural blonde with sun-kissed highlights and a pretty face, while Claudia’s hair was a natural burnished deep mahogany colour. Her face was rounded with high puffy cheeks that held character and medium brown eyes. Her friend stirred to get comfortable and shot up abruptly. Sofia’s blue eyes widened as she saw Claudia awake and staring at her.
Claudia gave Sofia a faintly, sheepish smile. Sofia shook her head and asked, “How do you feel? You were out cold for sixteen hours flat.”
Claudia was stunned at that news. No wonder she blacked out: exhaustion and the countless hours of perfecting several dishes all culminated in her near demise. Claudia was not skinny or slim like Sofia but had robust and Amazonian proportions to fill her tall frame of five feet nine inches. She reckoned that her body became her enemy. She had lost weight during the period of preparation for three consecutive competitions while managing her tight work schedule at the catering company; she was part-time employed as Chef de partie.
Claudia murmured, “I’m okay, I think. Did you call Melinda?”
Kicked out of the cooking competition that she has prepared for months to be a part of, Sous Chef Claudia Sequiera turns to leave. This competition, to become the next Executive Chef of the illustrious family-owned Violante's of Santa Cruz, meant everything to her. And now she's leaving with nothing. So gracefully and with her head bowed low she leaves in defeat. But just as she's about to leave she experiences a sharp head pain and loses consciousness. Only to find herself, 16 hours later, in the hospital. Along with her best friend Sofia Duquesne (who is a junior lawyer) asleep in a chair by her side. Claudia realizes she hasn't eaten in 24 hours. Out of the goodness of his heart or the fear of being sued, Amando Violante (co-owner of Violante's) comes to visit her in her hospital room. He's only here to make sure that she's okay. But neither one of them can deny the sizzling electricity simmering just beneath the surface, threatening to engulf both of them in flames.
Chef for Violante: All it takes is one Chef by Saira Musa is a scintillating, sensual romp through the lives of Amando Violante and Claudia Sequiera. Due to the exhaustion, sleep deprivation, weight loss, and daytime fatigue that Claudia has been diagnosed with and her unexpected hospitalization; she finds herself in debt. Amando in his kindness offers to pay her fees, if she will just sign a brief form in agreement of this. But Claudia fails to read the fine print and finds herself elbows deep in a situation that is way more than she bargained for.
In a world where romance can sometimes be a tad bit less than romantic, it's refreshing to read a clean romance that brings "sexy back." Author Saira Musa has managed to combine her love of the food networking channel and steamy romances into an amusing, entertaining, and stimulating trilogy. Readers are treated to that push and pull fight between two individuals trying desperately to deny what is between them, even as it subtly cumulates into a heated passionate love neither can deny.
Even though this is a short story, Musa has managed to create lovable characters that we can root for. She has even given them depth and dimension with the back stories that she unveils around them with each word, interaction, and thought. I give Chief for Violante: All it takes is one Chef by Saira Musa 5 out of 5 stars. For all the true romance lovers who long for their own tall, dark, and handsome man with a muscled, chisled body and raw masculinity oozing from every pore.
Word to the wise: make sure to always read the fine print before signing any documents.