Claudia Vargas steps into her new job, first one actually as a chef. Ever's. The curly hair girl scans the kitchen as she imagines herself running a place as her mother and grandfather did before her. Her smile widen. She cannot wait.

She changes into her uniform, smoothing out the apron and stands in her section, waiting for the commands. She looks around at the others, they're all so serious. She got lucky getting this job, they hired two new chefs last month. She was just happy to be here.

Claudia stayed quiet, she kept to herself. She did her things, fast and steady. She was skilled, yes, which made one of the chefs there very competitive. He always seemed to be quicker and in the game more than her. Which she took advantage of, she played in. Everyone in that kitchen knew the game they were playing. One of them will be on top.

Not only that Chef Carmy was a pain for her, her head chef Dean was aggressive, showing off. He was getting to her but she had to stay professional. He kept whispering that a child could cut faster than her and other things. He was nasty to her and nobody helped.

This went on for months, she made no friends and was being treated like shit by Dean. But she wanted to be here, she had to suck it up. Its her dream and she didn't want to give up because of him or because she had no friends, no excuses.

"The fuck is this?" Dean gets in her face as he looks at her dish that was ready to serve. "You think that imma send this to someone and have them eat this shit? You think that this is presentable?" He gets in her ear. The fellow chefs minded their business, but one chef on the other side of the table, peeks up, waiting for the moment. "Do it again. Dont fuck it up." He throws her plate to the trash.

"Dean, give her a chance." That chef that was listening steps in.

"Know your place Chef Luca." Dean eyes him down. "Chef Carmy, control him." Dean walks away. Claudia looks down and grabs her things to start all over.

She made it to the end. Everyone leaves and Claudia switched out to her normal clothes. She sits there for a while, contemplating. These were the worse months ever. She didn't want to go to her parents, they will tell her to leave but she didn't want to.

"Hi." She turns behind and sees one of the chefs she works with. "Im Carmy." He introduces himself. The competition.

"Claudia. Nice to meet you. Love your work by the way, they look amazing." Carmy nodded.

"Uh Thanks, same here." Things got quiet. "Oh, this is Luca." It was the guy she worked across the table with. He smiles at her, a few feet away from her.

"Um hi." She tucks her hair back.

"Luca, sorry i haven't introduced myself. Busy times." He reaches out for her to shake his hand.

"Claudia." She takes it.

"Welcome to Evers." He smiles.

"Sorry, i have to go. It was nice to meet you Claudia." Carmy shakes her hand and heads out, leaving Luca and Claudia behind.

"You been here for a while?" He sits on the bench with her, continuing their conversation.

"I started a month before you. So did Carmy." He says. "Hes really good." His accent was rough, yet smooth. His blue eyes, messy flowing hair. She hates to say it, but she had a crush on the fellow chefs. She didn't take her glances here and there when shes front of him. The man is beautiful.

"You have any problems here?"

"All the time, but thats the job." She nods. Luca looks at her. "Dean's a piece of shit, just try and ignore him."

"As if thats easy. Hes always breathing down my neck." She looks down. "Like whats up his ass you know?" Luca chuckles, making her do the same. He realizes the braces she had as she smiles. She immediately covers her mouth as he stared a bit too hard.

"Sorry, you just have a pretty smile." He looks away. Claudia didn't say anything but her blushing cheeks gave it all away. "Uh I gotta get going. See you later." Luca gets up.

"Yeah, see you tomorrow." They were awkward about it and Luca finally left. He closes his eyes, he ruined the moment. He had to be cringy about it. Listen, he isn't very good with the ladies, something that him and Carmy talked about. And he tried, really tried, to talk to Claudia. Shes a pretty girl, prettier than the girls at work. She seems sweet.

—

They were out walking by the lake after their shift, it was one of those nice summer nights in Chicago. Luca hasn't been in Chicago that long, so when Claudia said that she lived there for her entire life, he took the opportunity to ask her to take him out to see the beautiful city.

"There was no way you were that bad." Claudia laughs as Luca told her about his childhood, dine and dashing, disobeying his parents, total bad boy. She never guess that he would pull that.

"True story."

"But you get so flustered when you talk to me." She looks at him at the side glance, making Luca chuckle and smiling.

"Only for pretty girls like you." He sits up. Claudia smiles.

"How many girls fall for that line?" She frowns. Luca shakes his head as Claudia calls him out. She was kidding of course. "How you liking Chicago?" She changes the subject.

"Great. The best city i have been to. I like it here."

"My city." Claudia smiles as she sees the skyline from where they were sitting.

"Very beautiful." He stares at her. Claudia just kept smiling at the city, the lights, the stars. "Dia?" He whispers to her, making her snap out of her head. Dia? Cute name.

"Yeah?" She said so softly. Luca looks so hypnotized by her. The lights from the city glared her glasses, shining her honey brown eyes and the tint of her lips, that rosey lipgloss she always wears. Luca gets closer to her, looking at her lips and then at her eyes.

They didn't remember who went in, but the two kissed. Luca pulls her closer to him as Claudia ran her hands over his hair. They both fell deeply in love.

Luca loves the way she walks into a room, lighting up, the way she smiles, the way her nose scrunches up, and just the way she gets him so excited and flustered. No girl has ever made him feel that way. She made him so nervous and he was always smiling at her without realizing. This is the woman he wanted to keep. Shes the one. Shes so innocent and so beautiful. Luca can talk about her for hours if they allowed him. It was meant to be when she got to Evers.

Claudia knew her way around Luca. She loved messing with him, making him all nervous. He's gorgeous. How can she be with a man like that? Luca was the man of her dreams. She got lucky. The right man. So when she told her sister Mariah about him, she realized that she never fell for anyone this hard before. Hearing him gave her butterflies and have her blushing like crazy. She pictured her future with him, as crazy as it sounds. The way she smiles at him at work and getting distracted by him. That hair, those arms. God. She hated to say it but the things she will let him do to her.

—

Claudia and Luca held hands as they got off the station and head to work. She smiles, wrinkling up her nose as he made a gushing comment to her.

"Beautiful girl i ever laid eyes on." He said in his accent so charming. Her glasses went up and he kisses her nose.

"Shut up." She gets closer to him, wrapping her arm around him. They got inside and got their uniforms on and got ready. Claudia stays in her zone. But Carmy takes it as a sign that hes slow and picks up the pace. The energy was off, you can feel the unease between them. They went head to head and Carmy blows off steam as he cuts his finger as he cuts.

"Did i say to stop?" Dean comes over to her. Her stomach hurts. She couldn't stand him staring at her. She hated him. Her face frowns and the look made him laugh. "Oh so we're bitchy tonight? You think you are so tough huh? You will never make it big. You really think that you will be better? Fuck no."

"Fuck you." She whispers.

"Im sorry whats that?" He hums. "You are in my kitchen, be lucky that Terry owns this or you will out of here the day you stepped in here." Dean takes her plate, throws it away. "Again." He walks away. Claudia closes her eyes and tells herself to calm down. She clenches her jaw and fist. She did what he said. She started all over. Luca calls her but she ignored him, she didn't want him to get involved.

—

Claudia rented out a kitchen in this restaurant downtown. Her dad got it off Groupon and gifted it to her as she had a small kitchen in her apartment. She sets up her stuff in the kitchen, she small knife set, the food and goes to work.

It was a shared kitchen, big enough for maybe three people to some in. So when another person came, she just minded her business as she continued to work on that stupid dish that Dean always hated her for.

"Mind if I put my music on?" He tells her. Claudia looks up to see the man across from her. "I like to use the music to inspire me, but also to block my thoughts."

"Uh sure." She freezes as she realizes that Anthony Bourdain was in front of her. Act cool she repeated. "All yours." He smiles at her.

"How long have you been cooking for...?" He wanted her to tell him her name.

"Claudia, Claudia Vargas." He sets up his ingredients.

"Very nice to meet you, Claudia. So?"

"A year, but started working as a chef 6 months ago."

"You like it?"

"I have some thoughts." Vienna by Billy Joel played as she finishes her plate. She looks at it. Not good enough she can hear Deans voice in her head.

"Hey hey." Bourdain stops her as she was going to throw away the plate she made. "Whats wrong with it?"

"Its not good enough." She sighs. He takes the plate and looks at it.

"Looks good to me."

"Its not good enough."

"May i?" He takes out a fork and tastes it. He looks at her. Its sucks. She knows it. And for her to make the disgusting plate to a FAMOUS chef, is embarrassing. "This is fucking amazing."

"What?" She frowns.

"The meat is tender, but not undercooked. The seasoning is perfect. The sauce is very sweet and goes well together with the meat." He takes another bite. "Says who?"

"Nobody." She wipes her hands on the towel she had on her apron. "An asshole chef i work with."

"Asshole." He repeats. Bourdain saw something in her. From when he came in, when he saw her. The way she was so happy and relaxed as she cooked, she loves what she does. He saw him. She's passionate. I mean who comes to a kitchen and cooks for the hell of it? Shes dedicated.He takes some stuff to her table and stands there.

"Show me what you got kid." He crosses his arms.

"Mr. Bourdain, i cant do that-" She stumbles on her words, playing with the towel in her hand.

"Call me Anthony." He smiles. "Show me what you got." He repeats again. Claudia scuffs and takes his food he brought and thinks about for a moment. What to make? What to make?

She started to make pasta from scratch, the meat, the sauce, something that Anthony would like. But she came up with one. Pasta With Uni and Caviar. She was fast, but persistent. She knew what to do. Her hands were like one step ahead of her. Anthony stands there, studying her. The music kept her on her feet, Anthony stayed quiet, acted like a ghost, trying not to ruin her rhythm.

"Give it a try." She places the caviar on top and slides it to Anthony. Wow. He looks at her. She has talent. She's given a gift. "So?"

"You made it better than i did." She smiles. "Why did you want to be a chef?"

"My mother, she wanted to be one but with me and my sister, she barely had the time and just her so happy as she cooked made me feel so good. Like i saw her for who she is, doing what she loved. And then her father, my grandfather, he was also a chef back in Mexico. He loved cooking and sadly passed away. So pretty much, why i want to be a chef is because i want people to know that i'm good enough and love my food."

"How do you feel about working at Belle Halles with me?" Claudias shocked. What the actual fuck? How is the possible? Anthony Bourdain, here, and asking her to work with him? It has to be a dream. "You have talent kid. Dont waste it."

"Sir-" He gives her a look. "Anthony." She smiles. "I would love to but this job, cant." She shuts down. Anthony hands her a paper.

"In case you change your mind." She sees his number. "I will make sure you have a spot. Ill will." Anthony smiles. "Nice to meet you Claudia, hope to see you soon." She waves at him as he gets his things and left. She looks down at the paper and smiles. Shes good enough. She felt seen.

—

Another rushed night. Claudia was getting stressed and on her last straw. Dean yelling at her was not making it better. She was trying but to him, not hard enough.

"Fuck you are so slow!" Dean yells at her. "Pathetic! You are pathetic! You are useless!"

"Hey!" Luca yells at him to stop. "Mind giving her some credit? You haven't done nothing." He's up in his face. Dean laughs at him.

"Seriously? Boyfriend wants to defend you? You can't handle the heat! You will never be seen!" Dean ignores Luca. The kitchen was in full alert. Everyone was tensed and ready to fight. "You are a fucking nobody." Claudia grabs her cutting board and slaps Dean with it. He falls down.

"Fuck you!" She struggled to take off her apron and shirt. "I quit!" She tosses her shit to Dean. "Im someone! When you are degrading and being a piece of shit here, im going to be out there making my way to the top! When you see me, ill be in magazines, shows! Fuck you!" She walks out. Terry follows her, telling her to reconsider and well, she had already made up her mind.

—

Claudia lays in Luca's arms as they watched TV. She hasn't worked in a month and well, she made a call.

"I called Bourdain." She tells him. Luca looks at her. "Im heading to New York in two weeks." She finally says. Luca lets go of her.

"Really?" She nods. He hugs her. Happy for her. "You're lucky, you're going to do great."

"You know if have to move to New York right?"

"We can make it work." He smiles. That smile made her feel assured. She kisses him. "Or i can even go with you." She laughs.

"Dont to that."

"Okay fine." He holds her hand. "We'll be alright."

"I love you." She drops the bomb. She waits for him to say something.

"I fucking love you." He kisses her again. "You're going to be amazing."

—

Claudia moved New York, working with Bourdain was a dream. They were glue. If you see Anthony, there Claudia was. If you see Claudia, there was Anthony behind. They worked that kitchen floor. They owned it. She really looked up to the man.

They made dishes together, smoked in the kitchen even though they weren't supposed to, drink on the floor. Man it was what she dreamed and hoped for. This is what she wanted.

Anthony was so right about her. He was happy to given her the chance, happy to meet her. It was gods plan. He looks at her as if shes his daughter. He cared for her. Anthony loved having her around. She was sassy but also kind. His ying to her yang. They were unstoppable together.

"You must be the boyfriend." Anthony said to Luca as he came to visit her.

"Luca sir."

"Anthony." They shook hands. Claudia smiles at her boys. "Shes an amazing chef you know."

"I know. Shes the best." Luca gives the compliment. "Just the best." Claudia and Anthony stood there in their uniforms, smoking.

"You are lucky to have her." He shakes his shoulders.

"Stop it Tony." Claudia starts to get red.

"Claud..." He sings. The three ate in the kitchen as Luca and Claudia talked mostly. "You got a good one." He whispers to Claudia as he saw how much in love she was in with Luca.