'This one was good, Diana.'

'No, Jeana, look at this ring. This is better, see.'

Jeana puts on the ring and showed it off to the other girl. Diana held her hand and looked at the ring closely. Then, she picked up the other ring from the marble slab of the washbasin. The girls had begun to discuss when the door opened, and a young woman dressed in a chef's coat walked in. She had dry dough on her cheeks and forehead.

'Hey.' She smiled at the twin girls, Diana and Jeana smiled politely at her.

'Hi, Pooja.' The girls said in unison. They watched her wash her hands and face. Just then, the heavy wooden door of the posh ladies' room opened and another young woman wearing a lavender blouse and ink blue pencil skirt entered in a hurry.

'Ouch.' She yelped as she twisted her ankle and stumbled to her side. Quickly, she held the slab and prevented herself from falling.

'Woah, Anaya, slow down.' Pooja said looking at her concerned. Anaya huffed and nodded. She adjusted the crease of her skirt and turned to face the mirror. Pooja eyed her as she kept smiling while finding something in her chocolate brown leather handbag. The twin girls got busy with their ring. Anaya's gaze fell on Pooja's reflection, she frowned, Pooja raised her eyebrow. Anaya bit her smile and straightened.

'You are late.' Pooja pointed out. Anaya nodded and turned to face her friend.

'I had gone to the parlor and I had got this done.' She moved her hand behind her and held the tip of a Chinese chopstick. She smiled at her friend and pulled it out from her head. Her updo bun unfolded and her voluminous hair fell till her chest. Pooja blinked at her and then smiled.

'Liked it?' Anaya caressed her hair with her palms. Pooja smiled and leaned her hip against the slab.

'Waah! New haircut. Someone is full-on ready to impress.' Pooja winked. Anaya smiled turning to face the mirror. She combed her hair with her fingers.

'I was confused about what hairstyle to pick. Then, my hair-stylist suggested layered cut.' She ran her fingers through her light brown hair. Pooja eyed her hair as Anaya leaned close to the mirror and adjusted her tiny diamond nose-pin. She blinked at her reflection. Pooja grinned at her.

Anaya fished out a comb from inside her bag and began roughly combing her hair. She looked at Pooja's reflection and found her grinning. Anaya blushed looking away. She continued to comb her hair. Pooja moved her gaze from her friend and glanced at her watch.

'Uff.' – She slapped her forehead, Anaya frowned at her, - 'I am two minutes late for my shift.' She said and hurried walked out.

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Anaya kept muttering under her breath as she hurried through the lobby, the slippery tiles and the high heels added to her misery. Rashid Nawab Ali, her boss will be arriving any minute now and she always greets him at the entrance. As she passed by the reception, her feet slipped, and she fell backward. She yelped moving her arms out and grabbed the back collar of a lanky man standing at the reception.

'Oh.' The man gasped and turned around. Quickly, he grabbed her waist and she held his arms tightly. Anaya closed her eyes tightly, but the fearful expressions changed as she sniffed the familiar musky cologne. Slowly, she opened her eyes and her gaze met breathtakingly beautiful green eyes. As she stared dreamily into his eyes, he smiled at her. With the smile, Anaya felt her heart flutter. The man held her waist firmly and made her stand. Anaya looked away.

She tugged down the waistband of her skirt and adjusted the grease of her blouse.

'Are you okay?' The man asked. Anaya felt stupid for falling like a clumsy fool. She forced a smile, looked at him and nodded. Her face flushed. She looked up at him and noted that he too had changed his hairstyle. He tied his wavy mid-length hair in a half man-bun.

'Hey.' He snapped his fingers in front of her eyes, she snapped from her dream state and blinked at him. He smiled at her and Anaya felt weak in her knees, again.

'Oh! I am getting late. See you later, Anaya.' He said politely at her and Anaya grinned foolishly at him.

'Oh-oh-k-k, Gabin.' She replied fidgeting with her nails. Then, Gabin smiled at her and walked away. Anaya turned and watched him walking away. She admired at his broad shoulders moving as he walked calmly.

Gabin Fournier was the hottest chef at the hotel. He was handsome, speaks less, charming, calm person, also a brilliant chef. Almost all the ladies, including Anaya, had a soft corner for him.

▪⎯⎯⎯∞⎯⎯⎯▪

Anaya fixed her updo bun and waited at the entrance for her boss. Recently, she had paid so much on her hair and didn't want to keep it tied, rather she wanted to flaunt it. Especially in front of Gabin. But unfortunately, her boss Rashid was slightly old fashioned and preferred his employees to not overdress for work. And Anaya doesn't mind, she shared a more of the father-daughter equation with him rather than boss-employee.

A Mercedes-Benzes stopped at the main entrance. Sam got down from the driver's seat and hurried to the backseat. He opened the door and Rashid climbed down. He pulled his coat and buttoned one button of his coat. Sam picked his briefcase from the back seat and handed it to him.

Anaya carefully climbed the small fleets and hurried towards him.

'Good morning, sir.' She greeted him with a warm smile. Rashid looked at her and smiled.

'Good morning, Anaya.' He greeted her back. He clenched his briefcase tightly as he and Anaya walked together. After they entered the hotel, the receptionist and the workers on the way greeted him. Mechanically, he nodded at them. And all the while Anaya kept briefing him about the meetings, informing about things happening in the hotel. She had a tough time matching with Rashid's quick steps in her high heels and soon, had begun to slightly huff.

Finally, they reached the cabin and Anaya opened the door for him. Rashid entered first and she followed him.

Rashid's cabin was equivalent to a small suite. There was an L-shaped white sofa with a small glass coffee table. A long night lamp beside the sofa, a huge painting stuck to the wall above the sofa. It was a painting of running horses, white horses with a blue background. There is an aqua-blue fluffy rug under the coffee table and there was show-rack with few showpieces. They had more trophies and prizes.

Rashid walked towards his mahogany long table. He walked around the table, placed his briefcase on top of the glass table an sat on the tall revolving office chair.

'Sir, shall I get your green tea?' Anaya asked sweetly. Rashid looked up and nodded.

'Before you go, open the curtains and leave the note-pad here.' He tapped on the table. Anaya nodded and walked towards the table. She placed the notepad on the table, next to the laptop and walked towards the white and blue curtain. She pulled the strings and curtains opened revealing a large glass window letting bright sunlight illuminate the entire cabin. Anaya walked and stood in front of the glass window. From here, there was a breath-taking view of the beautiful Paris city. She inhaled deeply, a smile on her face. She took a moment to take in the view and then turned to face Rashid. He was busy with his laptop. She took his leave and walked out of the cabin.