Duru Ulusoy
"Mom, I'm heading out." I opened the door and slipped on my shoes, and my mother's voice came from behind me.
"Where to?"
I slung my bag over my shoulder and turned to her.
"To the bookstore. Then I'll stop by Elif's. I promised her coffee last time, and it'd be rude if I didn't go again."
She looked me up and down and frowned.
"The neckline on that sweater is too low. You'll catch a cold."
I rolled my eyes, kissed her cheek, and muttered,
"Nothing's gonna happen. I've got a huge coat on. See you."
As I went down the stairs, she didn't miss the chance to shout after me.
"Don't be late!"
"Okay!"
Before I even stepped out of the apartment building, I put my headphones on. When I walked outside, the sun hit my face. I smiled, put on my sunglasses, and started toward the bookstore.
I knew the wide grin on my face was catching people's attention as they passed, but I couldn't have cared less. For the first time in a long time, I felt happy again.
Free.
Two days ago, Kerem had said he had work here, and that if I wanted, I could come with him and visit my family. At first, I wasn't sure if it was a good idea, but the moment I walked through the door and saw my parents, I knew I'd made the right call.
I'd missed them so much, and the change of scenery helped more than I expected. It actually pulled me out of the nightmares that had been hanging over me for days. Since I got home, I'd been sleeping like a baby every night.
As I passed a shop window, I caught my reflection—and behind it, the same two silhouettes. My brows pulled together. I would've checked the next window to make sure I wasn't imagining it, but I realized I'd already turned into the bookstore's street.
I could deal with it later.
The smell of dozens of old and new books tangled together the moment I walked in, and I smiled without meaning to. I greeted the girl at the register, made a bit of small talk, and pulled the books I needed to exchange out of my bag. Then I disappeared between the shelves.
I went through every section carefully, stacking the books that caught my eye in my arms. When I finally decided I couldn't carry any more, I went to my usual corner.
I took off my coat and bag, set them aside, and lowered myself to the floor with the pile of books. I leaned back comfortably, stretched my legs out, and picked up the top book. Then I slipped one earbud in and started skimming, calm music playing softly.
By the time I reached the fourth book, someone offered me a coffee. I took it and tasted it.
Perfect. Exactly the way I liked it.
I thanked them in a quiet voice and kept reading. A while later, I placed the book I planned to buy on top of the "yes" pile and reached for the next one, murmuring casually,
"How'd your meeting go?"
"Tense. Long. Boring. We had the second meeting, but they're still unsure about a few things." He let out a deep sigh. "So we're talking again tomorrow morning."
Then he added, "Rüzgar should've been the one dealing with these guys. I'm confident about everything else, but when it comes to patience, he's the best out of all of us."
I set the book in my lap aside and leaned back, turning to him.
"Then why didn't he come instead of you?"
He took a sip of his coffee. "He can't leave Izmir right now. There's another meeting—more important than this one—and the date isn't confirmed yet."
"What about Demir?" I asked.
"Demir usually handles our work with foreigners. Right now he's got an agreement on his hands—an English company, hotel construction." He paused. "If he closes it, it'll be a huge gain for us. So I couldn't send him here either."
My eyebrows lifted in surprise. "Demir is handling something that big?"
He answered with a small smile that said he understood my disbelief.
"Hard to believe, I know. But if you ever see Demir while he's working, you'll understand that his private life and his professional life are two completely different people."
He continued, "Everyone thinks Demir flirts with any woman he finds interesting, anytime, anywhere—and he does. But contrary to what people assume, he never brings that side of him into business. Most importantly, when it comes to persuading foreigners and getting them on board, nobody even comes close."
"So basically…" he started.
And while he talked, I found myself silently sighing.
He was sitting next to me in a suit that somehow made him look even more insanely attractive than the version of him I had in my head. A crisp white shirt that fit him perfectly. A slim black tie loosened at the collar. Dress pants that had no right making me feel this ridiculous.
He sat there relaxed, confident, smiling—talking to me about business.
And I still couldn't understand why a man who looked like a fashion icon was here in a messy little bookstore with me, instead of being somewhere expensive and polished with a woman who actually matched his level of elegance.
A hand waved in front of my face. I blinked and snapped out of it.
"What were you thinking about?" he asked. "You look confused."
Sometimes the way he could read me so easily was genuinely annoying. I understood Feyza and Mete's complaints about me way too well in that moment.
I couldn't say what I'd actually been thinking, so I went for a safer truth.
"It's nothing important. I just… got used to you guys living like lazy college students, same as us. It feels strange seeing and hearing you like this, all in business mode."
"Don't worry," he said. "In a few months, when you see us like this all the time, it won't feel that weird."
He smiled, took the free earbud from my headphones, and put it in his ear.
"Let's see what you're listening to."