My Turkish Heart

Chapter 2

The nights leading up to the trip went by fleetingly.She packed her bags and set them by the doorway, so that she could grab and go in the morning.The road was hot and long, it felt like it would never end. Her road-trip snacks were almost halfway up, but her GPS showed she was close-by to her location.Eventually she arrived at the lodge around noon and was ready to cool down. The staff were so friendly and welcoming, within minutes she was settled into her suite. It was a beautiful Summer's day and the lodge had a great pool area with loungers all around and a cocktail bar. She planned to swim a few laps after her check in calls with Rachel and her parents. The swim was just what she needed and fortunately for Izzy she had the pool all to herself as the other guests had not checked in yet. After a couple of laps she grabbed a lounger and laid back to dry off a little. The heat had rocked her to sleep and before she knew it, she was napping alongside the pool. A dark shadow interrupted her sunbathing nap and the presence of a stranger awoke her instantly. She sat up straight in her lounger, head still in a daze from her nap.

" You shouldn't sunbathe like this. It's not good for your skin.. Oh! But I forget that women love to tan until they are burnt to show that they were on vacation." A husky voice said in a foreign accent.

Before Izzy could even register what he was saying or get a better look, he had walked away. Sitting stunned on the lounger, she tried to process what had just happened, as she felt the stinging sunburn on her legs. The pool area had become more lively since she arrived, guests were sunbathing whilst having cocktails. Feeling in a bit of a tizz, she took her belongings and went back to her room. Her room was like an oasis, very therapeutic with a good room temperature that eased her stinging sun-burnt body. She decided to take a cool shower and freshen up to get some food. Her mind wandered to the man at the pool and she angrily murmured to herself whilst rinsing off her hair.

"Who does he think he is walking up to me like that? Everyone else was sunbathing too..."

She protested to herself and then caught herself mid air debating this topic with herself.

Conversation over. I won't let some tourist dictate my rest time, let's focus on the reason why I'm here, she reminded herself.

By the time she was done detangling her curls, there wasn't much time left before the first launch of the event. She slipped into her halterneck dress and left for the venue. On arrival, Susan at the front table was waiting for her and briefed her on everything for the night. Rachel surprised Izzy sometimes at how well she would coordinate things, so that you always had an outsourced agent available at events out of town. After the briefing Izzy was shown to her seat, but her stomach was growling at this point.

Let's just make it through this then we can have a good meal, she thought.

She mindfully told herself to take her mind away from her hunger pangs. The first night of the launch was really interesting, but none of the influential people Izzy needed to see were there. Susan had told her the last night of the launch would be the grand finale with all the important guests for the brand. So she knew tonight was more the small fishes gathering information. The presentation was finally over and Izzy was starving at this point. She knew it wouldn't look good to leave immediately so she thought having a fruit cocktail would buy her some time to show face before bolting out the door. As she got up her halterneck tie of her dress felt a bit loose, spinning around to tie it quickly she bumped her elbow into someone behind her. As she turned around she had spilled some water on a handsome guy wearing a light blazer.

"I'm so sorry Sir! I did not know you were behind me" She said apologetically

"You again? Offf!" he sounded annoyed as he wiped the wet mark on his blazer.

"What do you mean, me again?" Izzy was puzzled as she did not recognize the man at all.

"Yeah, you were the one trying to burn yourself by the pool earlier to show off your vacation tan" He scoffed

"You were the obnoxious man that disturbed my nap? Now I feel a bit less sorry for spilling water on you"

Her words caught him in the throat as he had never met a woman who spoke to him so bluntly, like she did. He smirked at her, but she wasn't at all impressed by him.

"Excuse me sir" she said as she rolled her eyes and walked away.

She was planning to stay, but that encounter had put her off. Even his good looks annoyed her now, knowing how arrogant he was.Walking out of the venue she felt the ties of her dress slipping down, before she could tie it tighter she felt a swift gust of wind and someone grab her. A blazer was thrown around her and she was spun around and pulled towards his chest. She opened her eyes to look up at Mr Arrogant himself.

"What is your problem? Do you want to flash your new tan to everyone?" his tone sounded annoyed as he pulled her and the blazer tighter towards himself.

She stood breathless against his chest. Not being able to speak, just mesmerized by the instant heat of the moment. He stared down at her with a look she had never seen before from a man, it was both angry with a hint of seduction. Before she could get swept in the moment, he pulled the blazer tighter over her then yelled at her.

 "What is your problem lady? Do you need a babysitter?"

The annoyance in his eyes grew more, which repelled Izzy. She took a step back, tied her dress tighter then threw his blazer back at him.

"Thanks, but I don't need your rescuing"

Izzy walked away and forgot even which way she was going. She had always encountered weird problems on trips, but she never met anyone who got under her skin as much as this guy.