Sonia may have been startled, but she didn't let it show. Kassadin was her guest for the next month, and the last thing she wanted was to offend him. While the Nova Corps would protect her from serious harm, life could get pretty difficult if Kassadin was displeased.
Her breathing slowed and became more controlled as she worked to calm her nerves.
"You just need to do what's expected of you, and I won't fault you over minor things," Harvey said while eating, casually glancing at Sonia. "No need to be so tense."
"...Understood, Mr. Kassadin," she replied, taking a deep breath and composing herself.
Harvey didn't say anything else, simply continuing his meal in silence. Sonia stood by, watching in awe as the mountain of food on the table vanished within minutes under Harvey's elegant, yet rapid, pace. The speed at which he devoured the dishes was beyond anything she could comprehend.
"Go ahead and bring me the next round—150 servings this time," Harvey said, taking a sip of the wine Sonia had poured earlier.
"Right away, sir," Sonia responded, snapping out of her daze. She quickly gathered the empty plates and moved to clear the table.
Before she left, Harvey addressed her again. "It seems like you'll be attending to me for the next month, so there are a few things I should mention."
"I don't have any particularly strange habits, but I do enjoy eating. On average, I'll have four to five meals a day, and I'll need at least 200 servings per meal."
"However, I'm not always around, so you won't need to prepare meals at set times. Just make sure the food's ready when I ask for it. As long as you handle that, I won't give you a hard time."
Sonia's professional demeanor stayed intact, though she couldn't help but wonder how on earth Kassadin maintained his figure despite eating so much. Nonetheless, she simply replied, "Understood, I'll remember that."
With that, she left to fetch the next batch of food.
Watching her leave, Harvey mused to himself, "Having someone to handle meals is convenient."
Back in New York, he hadn't considered hiring anyone to take care of him, mainly because it could attract unwanted attention. But now, here on Xandar, living under the guise of Kassadin, he could start thinking about hiring someone reliable to manage his day-to-day affairs.
For now, though, staying at the
Elite hotel meant he had attendants like Sonia to take care of him, and that was good enough.Meanwhile, Sonia had returned to the hotel's lavish dining area, where she swapped her cart for a larger one and began selecting more dishes from the extensive spread.
Kassadin, or rather Harvey, didn't seem to have any peculiar tastes other than an appetite for enormous quantities of food. So, Sonia focused on curating a variety of dishes that would offer him the best dining experience possible.
"Sonia, isn't your guest just one person?" the head chef asked as he noticed her piling up the cart with another massive round of food. "You're already back for more?"
"Yes, it's just one person," Sonia answered with her usual professional smile, even though she was internally still trying to process Harvey's impossible appetite. "He's quite fond of eating, and his appetite is... extraordinary."
She maintained her smile, even though the absurdity of the situation weighed heavily on her. After all, this wasn't the kind of thing you could casually talk about with colleagues. Workplaces, especially high-end establishments like this one, were rife with politics. One offhanded comment or a misplaced complaint could easily come back to bite her—possibly even costing her the job.
"Well, a good appetite is always a compliment to the chef," the head chef chuckled, pleased that his food was being enjoyed.
"Yes, your cooking must suit his palate very well," Sonia replied with a slightly forced smile. "Anyway, he's waiting for his next meal, so I'd better finish up here."
As she filled up the last of the cart, she glanced around to ensure everything was in order. Fortunately, the hotel had a rotating roster of fifty chefs at any given time, and they only worked seven days before a new shift took over. Otherwise, Sonia suspected that once the staff caught on to how much food Kassadin consumed, the chefs might not be as cheerful.
Even so, she knew it wouldn't be long before rumors began to spread among the kitchen staff. There was no way to hide the fact that her guest consumed more in a day than most would in a week.
"Anyway, I'll leave you to it," the chef said, smiling broadly. "Don't keep your guest waiting!"
"I won't," Sonia replied with a polite smile as she quickly loaded more food onto the cart.
As she wheeled the massive cart through the kitchen, she overheard some of the staff muttering quietly among themselves.
"Sonia, not to pry, but be careful. You've been here a while, and some things just shouldn't be done," one of the chefs whispered as she passed. "If the higher-ups find out you're sneaking food, they'll dock your pay."
"Thanks for the reminder, but I'm sticking to the rules," Sonia replied smoothly, though internally she couldn't help but feel frustrated by the situation. She knew better than anyone how ridiculous things were getting, but what could she do? Explaining it wouldn't help. For now, all she could do was keep her head down and push through.
With that, she left the kitchen, steering the cart back to Harvey's suite, hoping to avoid any further awkward conversations.