Neil and Mi Rae were currently slogging away in the kitchen.Neil had almost cut off his fingers multiple times and Mi Rae had almost thrown the boiled noodles on Pierre's when he had deemed them inedible.She had no idea why a french looking chef was teaching her oriental cooking!And so she imagined his head being thrown into the water as she waited for it to boil so that she could cook her noodles again!And because she was irritated she threw the senior partner's head into the boiling water as well.Ofcourse this was only in her imagination as she did not have such s.a.d.i.s.tic tendencies in real life.But she'd enjoy watching these things in her real life.Thinking about the senior partners bought to the fore the thoughts that she had been ignoring.She had really resigned!And that too in such a way!Now she had no option but to start her own practice!She dare not return to them with her tail tucked between her legs!She will need that investment as soon as possible..

As the water continued to boil,Neil saw Mi Rae lost in her dreamland and picking up the noodles,he added them to the water.He then gave her a light poke on her waist causing her to jump,startled..He then said in a serious tone,"Mi Rae,I know you do not wish to leave my company so soon but I am really hungry and those noodles are not going to cook themselves.Wake up my sleeping beauty and let's finish up so that we can escape this h.e.l.l.."

Mi Rae looked on blankly at Neil and then as if on automation moved her hand towards the bowl of noodles which was empty.By now the noodles had turned just right and Neil took them from the stove and seived them.

They then had to wait for Pierre to return so he started to munch on the red chillies peppers placed on the side as a snack.Mi Rae stared at him as he munched on the chillies as if they were chips.Seeing her look,he offered some to her but she shook her head in denial and protested,"How can you eat those so casually?Are they not spicy?"

"Of course they are..and that is why I love them!"

"I thought you loved sweet food."

"Ms Mi Rae,I love food.All kinds.Each flavor needs to be appreciated and savored."

"Ahhh!","Mi Rae nodded as if understanding him.But of course she did not.For her food was only about survival.As long as it was edible,she would eat it but she would not eat raw chillies even if it was the last available thing on earth.

Just then Neil came forward and held a chilli to her lips offering it to her to take a bite.Before she could open her mouth,to refuse ofcourse,a click of a camera was heard and then Pierre clapped!"Wow,what a gorgeous couple you are!And that shot was straight out of a fantasy..like the serpent tempting Eve to take a taste of the forbidden fruit!"Pierre then turned to his a.s.sistant who was standing there with a camera and asked if he the picture had come out good.The a.s.sistant nodded and held up his digital camera to show.Neil pulled down his hand and wondered,"why did people always get the wrong impression about them?" However his next thought was cut short when the a.s.sistant continued,"Yes they would make great models for the cla.s.ses like today's where we teach that red chilli is an aphrodisiac and how it works.And we can even highlight this cla.s.s using these pictures!"

Neil who had been enjoying eating until now felt as if he had swallowed the wrong way and started to cough..In between coughs he asked,"Chilli is a what?"

The a.s.sistant picked up a gla.s.s of water and pa.s.sing it to Neil explained,"Chilli pepper has an oil like substance called capsaicin which results in an endorphin high which works as an aphordisiac."

By now Neil's face had turned purple and with a thump kept aside the bowl of chilli peppers and the gla.s.s of water.Glaring at Pierre,he asked,"What is going on?Why have these been placed here?""

Pierre frowned and then explained,"Well,what is going on is that these red chilli peppers are the highlight of our today's and next cla.s.s.Since we are focusing on increasing intimacy between couples by using aphrodisiacs.As today we are doing the basics we are going to use chillies at the end.For the next cla.s.s we are going to merge two aphrodisiacs-avocado and red chillies!If you are worried about your pictures really being used,we will definitely not do that without your consent."Then looking at the boiled soup and noodles he clapped dramatically and said,"You have both done really well!Wonderful!Come come let me teach you to a.s.semble these and our staff has already prepared some entrees for you and the candle lit table is ready!"

Mi Rae perfunctorily followed Pierre as he showed the motions but inside she was wrapping her head around the problematic thing she had committed to.

Neil,on the other hand did not even bother to follow Pierre.He was too busy planning and choosing the best method to dispose off his once best friend.