“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 chiseled 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?”

Sofia groaned and responded in an ominous tone, “She wants you back to work in three days. So, you have time to rest up yourself. Perhaps we could go for a small holiday along the coast. What do you think?”

“Hmm... Where would we stay?” Claudia inquired slowly.

Hunger pangs assailed Claudia, and she asked Sofia if she could ask for her breakfast; she had not eaten for more than twenty-four hours. Sofia left the room briefly to request a meal for her, and then she returned to Claudia’s side and continued to discuss plans for the following day once Claudia was declared fit to leave the hospital.

The morning sunlight wafted into the room, and as Sofia left her friend to get to work, Amando Violante was at the hospital reception desk. Sofia espied the profile of a classically handsome, tall, dark-haired man leaning indolently against the desk while waiting. When he turned, he saw the blonde woman looking at him. His clothes fit snugly into his muscled frame in a casual white shirt and black jeans. She felt a flutter in her tummy as their eyes clashed. Sofia wondered who he was since he exuded authority and sheer charisma. Sofia nodded in acknowledgement to him and continued walking to get her ditzy head back to work.

The nurse informed Amando that Claudia Sequeira had regained consciousness and that the doctor would check her soon before recommending her release from the hospital. Amando felt relieved; he had wondered last night after discussions with his father if he should check for himself. They decided that it would be reasonable for him to show interest in the situation. It was not that he was attracted to her, he reasoned to himself.

As he walked into the room, he saw the girl brushing her long mahogany hair. Was that her natural hair colour? Her reddish-brown locks enhanced her attractive face against tanned skin. Claudia’s head swung around to see who came into her room and was amazed that the big boss Amando Violante was in her room right now. Was she seeing things? Her mind must have conjured him up.

Then he broke the lengthy silence by greeting her, “Good morning… how are you this morning?” he lightly enquired.

As Amando looked at the girl fully in the face and took in the picture she made, he realised that she was not only attractive, but she was not a slip of a girl for the sheets delineated into her figure. Obviously, he saw for himself that she was tall in his kitchen. But her uniform made her look bulky and without any figure.

Bluntly, he asked her, “Why did you faint in the restaurant? What’s wrong with you?”

 It was not his business to pry, but he was here already and could find out what happened. His staff tried to elucidate the events before their own eyes, making Amando uneasy.

Claudia shifted uncomfortably under her sheets as the silvery penetrating gaze of Amando took stock of her fully and completely. She said in an unsteady voice, “I work nights and days… and I was doing double time… to enter the interview.” Claudia shrugged her shoulders and looked away from his handsome countenance. His good looks affected her equilibrium, and she tried to steady her nerves. Was this an effect of over-exhaustion? Or was it just an aftershock of this man’s presence close to her?

“I came to ensure that you are alive and recovering….” Amando said brusquely, although his eyes appreciatively took in the abundance of her torso as she leaned across the bed to put down her brush. She was apportioned evenly for her height.

“Why are you staring at me?” Claudia sharply asked him. She was not going to meekly allow him to stare and ridicule her body while she was at his mercy. She grew up with that torment at school and had learnt to stand up for herself.

Amando looked away briefly before capturing her stare for stare. His grey eyes bored into her brown gaze. A sizzling of electricity emanated between them. He felt the chemistry between them, but adamantly he scolded himself for deviating from his mantra. Never get involved with the staff or customers. But then she was neither. He saw Claudia close her eyes and turn away from him. Exhaustion retook its merry toll on Claudia and assailed her in that split second. The fright and fight seeped out of her body, leaving her numb and unmovable. Just then, the heart rate monitor bleeped loudly, and Claudia dropped her head as she felt the same pain across her forehead. Amando quickly hit the emergency button, and in a flash, a nurse came in and started to check on her vitals before making an alarm call.

Disconcerted, Amando left but waited outside to demand what suddenly happened just now. He was not the cause of her momentary lapse. Castigating himself, he controlled his idiotic thoughts. As the doctor hurried into Claudia’s room, his concern grew as more nurses, and a gurney pelted down the hallway. But they did not enter Claudia’s room.

He calmed himself down and decided that he would find the underlying cause of everything for the last time. His staff liked him, but he overhead that the new chef was not impressed with how he managed the whole situation. Did he know the girl and was looking out for her best interests by making him liable? He damn well will fight back hard to regain some respectability for the business; he would not tolerate any chef de cuisine to dethrone Violante’s good name. The food business was his father’s and grandfather’s industry originating from one flourishing restaurant in Portugal and Violante’s now became a part of Santa Cruz’s food culture. But although the business was second in line on his daily schedule, Amando knew that reputation in this business came before a sales fall.

Amando was about to stalk out when the nurse came out with the doctor. As they approached the reception station, Amando vaulted upright. While the doctor made his report, he raised his head just as he felt someone’s watchful look upon him. A flicker of recognition transpired between the two men.

“Oh, my goodness! Amando Violante! How long has it been?” Dr Ricardo Alvarez exclaimed in rapid Portuguese. Ricardo and Amando were college friends, sharing a dorm and a fraternity. It was prescient that despite Amando studying medicine, he would still follow into his father’s footsteps by taking over the helm to lead Violante’s Restaurant in the state's top ten.

 And here both stood facing each other, one for the living and the other for the dead. Amando Violante was a renowned pathologist with the Portugal government. Though highly valuable to his country, he had to relocate to the United States of America due to his father’s ailing health, for his family had migrated to California when a recession had hit Europe. They had settled in Santa Cruz ten years ago. But Amando followed them a mere five years after which had passed quickly for him while he assisted with managing the family’s business. Apart from the family-run business, Amando was retained by the Santa Cruz Forensics department for his expertise.

“It certainly has been over a decade since we last corresponded!” Amando said sardonically. Finally, Amando knew that there was someone who could bring some balm to his troubled thoughts. Amando quickly filled Ricardo on the details of the whole situation at bay. As Amando spoke, Ricardo’s face became shuttered and bland. Amando rounded up his almost one-sided conversation. “Can you please tell me what is happening with Claudia Sequeira?”

“Amando, I really would help where I can, but with her agreement, we still have to carry out further tests at this stage,” Ricardo apologetically told him.

“The sooner, the better, Ricardo, because between the family business and my work commitments, I don’t have time to waste right now,” Amando solemnly declared.