He saw her come in to the buffet breakfast area with her friend. She was wearing her pyjamas; no doubt the ones she'd gone to bed with the previous night. It looked a little ruffled. She was in an avid conversation with her friend and didn't notice him looking at her. She looked to be in her early 30s, an endearing childlike innocence in her stance and behaviour. Being a chef in a 5-star hotel didn't allow him time to socialize. He was away from family; he hardly had any; just his sister who lived in another country. Always passionate about his profession which demanded most of his time, he'd never bothered with finding himself a companion. Looking at this girl was the most attraction he had felt in a long time. He wanted to know more about the girl than the fact that she was wearing a dark blue coordinated pyjama set, and she looked like a visitor, not from this part of the country, and that she has a hearty laugh. He walked swiftly to where they stood now, about to take their plates, and stood to face them. He said the first thing that came to his mind.

"Vegetarian or non-vegetarian, ma'am?"

Her friend responded. "Vegetarian" And then, she added "We eat eggs though".

He pointed them to the vegetarian dishes on the buffet, even though they were clearly marked, and then felt sheepish. Duh!

And then he mumbled something about contacting him if they needed anything and walked away.

He needed a new game plan. Being the head of service for the day came along with perks. He would be the one to instruct the service plan for the day. He assembled the waiters and told them "Table no. 8 (he had noticed which table she sat at from the corner of his eyes) has special guests. Make sure you offer the best service to them".

Arpita rolled her eyes. "We didn't have any such guests coming in today. If we did, they'd have briefed us during the all hands. What game are you playing, Pradeep?" She teased.

"I'll tell you later. Now, please?" He almost folded his hands. The rest of the crew agreed and decided to take turns to go to Table no. 8 and keep the guests entertained and well fed.

Manish went and asked them for their beverage preference. Both of them ordered coffee. Pradeep stood at his station at the entrance of the buffet hall from where he had partial view of what was happening inside. He peered at her from behind a column. It was as if she felt someone's eyes on her that she looked up at the exact moment. The stare was so engaging that neither of them looked away for a couple of seconds. Her face then broke into a warm smile and her face registered recognition. He almost thumped his heart with his fist. Uff, I am a goner.

Suhana went next and offered hot jalebis to her. She took just one and smiled at Suhana and thanked her. After a little while, Pradeep decided to spring to action. He wanted to be near her. I should be taking matters to my hands.

He got a couple of local dishes, prepared fresh, on to a plate and went by their table. This was the first time he was doing this; getting dishes to the guests before checking with them what they'd like. To be fair, this is the first time I've been this mesmerized by someone. He put the plate on their table and when they looked up in surprise, he said "You should try these, ma'am. Local favourites. You'd like them" and before they had a chance to say anything to him, he left. Why can’t I seem to get in more than a few words out of my mouth when I am near her?

Arpita then went and asked them if they needed anything else. It seemed like they didn't need anything else at that time, so she just filled their glasses with water and went to Pradeep's station.

"Chef, what's happening? Care to fill me in?"

Pradeep's face went slightly crimson and he just smiled, not saying anything.

"Ok, this is officially the weirdest side of you I've ever seen. I think you seem to have developed a little crush on someone at Table no. 8." She probed further.

"I'll tell you everything later. Just, for now, please.....". Before he could complete his sentence, other guests were coming in to the buffet area and he had to tend to them. He walked around with them, all the while keeping an eye on the girl in her pyjamas, who was now intently watching something on the TV.

He deliberately went to Table no. 9 and struck up a conversation with the two elderly gentlemen on that table, just so he could have an unabashed view of her. All the time that he was talking to them, his attention was focused on the way she chewed her food, the way she spoke to her friend, the way she laughed, the way she too seemed to be aware of his presence, the way she sipped coffee, the way she kept taming her unruly hair, the way she smiled warmly at anyone offering her anything, her sandals, her sighs while enjoying food. When he couldn't take it anymore and longed to be near her again, he left all inhibitions and sneaked in between her and her friend. The friend was startled but she didn’t seem surprised; was she expecting him to come near her?

"Ma'am, what else can I get for you?" He asked her with his crooked smile.

"Ummm. Maybe that one" she pointed to a dish. And then he asked her friend and she said she wanted the same thing. He went back to the kitchen and asked the Chef to make the items fresh. He foresaw the entire cook and set it up on two plates himself, along with some accompaniments and took them to her table.

She smiled warmly as Pradeep went near her table with the plates.

“Thank you so much” she said. “You’ve been taking very good care of us”. Pradeep’s heart swelled with pride.

“It’s our duty, ma’am. Hope you’re enjoying your stay with us.” He said and quickly exited.

Her breakfast was coming to an end. He began to think how he could see her again. He knew she was staying in a room on the 8th floor as they'd given their room number when they entered the buffet area. But looking guests up was unethical and impossible even. The management never gave those details to anybody. Socializing with guests was also frowned upon. He wasn’t even sure whether it was her last day there or whether she’d come back from breakfast the next morning. He was in a dilemma. Before he could think of what to do next, he saw them approach the exit of the buffet hall.

Both of them smiled at Pradeep and got in to the lift and went away before he got a chance to say anything. He was crushed. He was angry. He was beyond frustrated.

He was unable to process his feelings and was wondering what to do next, when he saw the lift doors open and there she was. She walked up to him and said "Hi. When do you get off your shift?".