Sudden decisions

16 - Surprising move

Sanem

'I have a plan, I intend to solve this in my own way'.
I would have liked the chance to explain my plan to him, I would have liked to anticipate that I intend to leave the agency and then Istanbul, but the ringing of his phone prevented me once again from having my say on what my future should be.
I remain silent, staring out the window as Miss Deren's anxious voice predicts financial disaster and certain bankruptcy for Can if the problem of printing posters for a new advertising campaign is not resolved soon. I am frustrated, I must admit, it seems to me that my opinion on this damned engagement is superfluous to everyone, first to my parents and now to Can who continues to state categorically that the day after tomorrow he will come to my house to ask for my hand in marriage.

I get out as soon as the jeep stops in front of the entrance to the agency and at a brisk pace I enter the building ready to carry out my plan. I leave my things in the changing room and, before heading to the food court to prepare my first pot of coffee of the day, I pass by Mr Emre's office to talk to him. He hasn't arrived yet so I deal with distributing the coffee and mail to the clerks then head back to check on him. He has arrived and is sitting at his desk already engrossed in his work; I knock on the glass door and enter at his nod of the hand inviting me to sit down.
Ours will not be an easy meeting, I am aware of that. I sit down on the small chair in front of his desk and decide to get straight to the point.
'Emre bay, I have decided to leave the agency'.
I see a flash of surprise in his gaze.
"What do you mean leave the agency?"
"I am in such a situation that I have decided to leave Istanbul. As soon as the mandatory notice period is over, I plan to move elsewhere. Don't worry about the money you lent me, I will work hard and pay you back everything as soon as possible."

He takes a pen in front of him and turns it over in his hands thoughtfully for a few moments before raising a serious look at me again . "You know what I asked you to do in exchange for that money. I am not a bank, I don't give out loans normally. I was paying for a job that you apparently no longer intend to do.

The icy tone in which he spoke sent a chill down my spine. "I know we had an agreement, I'm sorry, but I cannot continue doing what you asked me to do. As I told you, I have to leave Istanbul, but even if I didn't, I realised that I am not capable of lying and spying. It has never been in my nature and in any case I truly believe you are mistaken about Mr Can's intentions regarding the agency. As far as I can see he is working hard to make things work, I can't believe he is only doing it for his own interests.

A bitter smile draws on his face. "Sanem, you are too naive. You are unable to recognise the rot under Can's beautiful façade, we'll talk about it when your sister and all the guys in the agency find themselves out of work, you'll see. At that point you will be partly to blame, too, for not helping me to stop him".

I don't like the way he represents Can. I stand up decisively. "I may be naive Emre bay, but I have always trusted my instincts in the past and will continue to do so. My impression is that Can bay is not as ruthless a person as you represent her. You are brothers, try to talk openly, without subterfuge or deception. I will not say anything about your suspicions or what you have asked me to do on your behalf. I truly believe that things can work out between you if you have the courage to speak openly'.

Now the bitter smile becomes an almost evil grimace.
"Of course you won't say anything, of that I am more than sure. How could you justify your machinations and all the lies you've been telling since the first moment you met him? It would not be easy at all."

His words sound a lot like a threat, I am aware of that, I would like to counter that maybe the one who would come off worse would be him who ordered me to do such things to you, but Cey Cey's voice from the office door prevents me from doing so.
"Saneeeem, Saneeeem. Blessed girl come, hurry up. Miss Deren is looking for you, she's screaming like crazy, come before she has a hissy fit."

I cast one last glance at Emre bay and uncomfortably turn to follow Cey Cey out of the office thinking that this man is proving to be very different from what I thought he was. Perhaps if my instincts were ever wrong it was in judging him and not his brother.

Miss Deren is more than a little hysterical when I enter her office, with her usual brusque manner ordering me to go to a print shop and wait for temporary prints to replace those not delivered by the previous supplier.

She yells at me, in her shrill voice more than usual: "Stay there until they are ready, even if it has to be night, tamam, it's ok?"

I nod, suppressing the urge to snap back at her and point out that there is a way and a way of saying things, but I know it's futile. I am about to leave and soon Miss Deren's anguish will no longer be my problem.

I retrieve my bag from the cloakroom and passing Can's office I see that he is not at his desk, probably busy in the main meeting room in the meeting set for today with a new client.

I leave the agency and get into a taxi sighing mentally preparing myself for a long wait. Why I have to wait there all day is a complete mystery, all thanks to Miss Deren's endless anxiety.

I enter the large building housing the print shop and tell the reception desk that I have arrived and will wait for the proof prints requested by Fikri Harika in the morning to be ready. A voice behind me startles me.
"Sanem?"
Turning around I am confronted by the smiling face of the owner, Mr Akif, Can's friend whom I met when I stayed here all night with him to print the proofs for the airline presentation.

"Hello, Mr Akif right?"

He smiles. "What Mr, I am Akif and that's it. Come let's have tea, Can he not come?"

I follow him smiling towards the small lounge in the corner of the lobby where, shortly after we are seated, a girl comes to serve us two cups of tea.

"Are you here for the prints Can asked me for this morning?"

I nod as I take the first sip.

"Yes, they are very urgent. Miss Deren is expecting them soon."

I see him nod as he laughs heartily.

" Deren is always the same, anxiety is eating her up..."

A voice behind my back rebukes him.

"Akif, will you stop badmouthing my co-workers?"

I turn sharply and find myself in front of Can who smiles at his friend hurrying to go and hug him.

"Can abi, brother, you here too? Then these prints must really be urgent?"

Can smiles as he sits next to me on the small sofa.

"Let's say the excuse is the prints."

He leans over to pick up the cup placed in front of me on the low table to take a sip of my tea. I have to admit I was taken aback at the provision and definitely struck by the intimacy of that gesture, which, in fact, is nothing compared to what he does next. I watch in dismay as he takes my hand, brings it to his lips, directing me an intense look, then turns to his friend.

"I came for another reason actually."

He gives me a look again that I would dare to call languid as he continues to hold my hand in his and then turns back to his friend as he puts an arm around my shoulders to draw me against him.

"I came here especially to ask you to be with me on Thursday night, together with Metin, to go and ask for this beautiful girl's hand"