cat wants company while eating

Stinky, one of my cats at work, is starting up with a behavior she has
shown on & off over the last few years. She likes to eat in her own
little "safe zone" at the back of the basement, where her bed & cat
furniture is.

I'll bring her food back there and she starts eating. I return to my
office and a few minutes later she comes in, screaming at me. If I
ignore her, she'll come over and put her paws on my leg and scream some
more. She'll continue to do this until I get up. She then heads back
to her safe area, looking back to make sure I'm following her. Once
there, she goes to her bowl and waits for me to squat/kneel down and
she finishes eating her food.

She seems to want me to be near her while she eats. She doesn't want
me to pet her, just watch while she eats. She does eat about half of
the food on her own before she comes to get me. I am usually not the
first person to get here in the morning, and other people usually give
her breakfast. She has no problem eating it all on her own and she
doesn't "ask" anyone else to watch her eat, just me. She does it every
day when I feed her dinner. Today I got to work early and she came to
get me after eating about 3/4 of her food.

--
Liz