My Turkish Heart

Chapter 10

It wasn't even 9am, when she heard a knock on the door. Her lack of sleep was really kicking in, as she struggled to even open her eyes. Sleepy and sluggish, she opened the door.

"You're still sleeping?!"

Rachel exclaimed loudly as she invited herself in.

"Rach, what are you doing here?"

"I took an earlier flight to surprise you. Didn't want you to be the only one having fun"

"You should have told me then I could have met you at the airport"

"No worries! But why are you looking like death? Is it because of too much fun or too little fun?"

"Just didn't sleep well last night. Anxious about the pitch" she lied.

" No, no! Work talk is for tomorrow. You're glad I came early now we can go get pampered and try to get those bags off your eyes"

Izzy sighed as she knew that sometimes Rachel was also too much mental admin for her to deal with. She got ready and they left for the Turkish Baths.

"So what's the tea on Burak Bey? Is he here, or not?"

His name alone gave Izzy knots in her stomach.

"Yeah, his here and works as an executive assistant for the company"

"Hmm, executive assistant? Must be paying well here that he could pay your bill"

"Maybe, I don't know"

Izzy wasn't in the mood to talk about him as it will remind her of the day before and she wanted to get the image out of her mind.

" What else??! Come on Iz! You spent a whole week alone here"

"There's not much to tell Rach. We hung out a few times and that was it. Nothing else"

Rachel's questioning was draining the little energy Izzy had left.

"Hanged out? Like what? Romantically, friends, what?"

"Rach come on! Feels like we're playing 50 questions right now. We're just friends and that's how it will stay"

"Jeez! This lack of sleep really affecting you now or are you moody because you miss Burak Bey?" she teased making kissing faces.

"He is my friend! I don't have time for a relationship now, need to focus on my career"

Izzy closed her eyes and rested her head against the backseat of the taxi.

"Iz, don't get me wrong, but you're young and beautiful. Yes, your career is important and after this contract is signed you might be venturing more abroad, but that doesn't mean that if love comes knocking at your door you should turn it down. Life is built on experiences. Good or bad, they all teach us a lesson in some way. Don't live with regrets like me... " she lagged off.

Rachel placed her head on Izzy's shoulder as the rest of the drive they were quiet until they arrived. The pampering had done them a world of good. They went to get some Turkish street food and some sweet treats before heading back to the hotel early.

Twas the night before the presentation and they wanted to ensure they could do a run through together before they went to bed.

The next morning they were up bright and early. Dressed to the nines and ready for business. They arrived at the company and were blown away by the size of it. Everyone was so friendly and they waited in the reception area until the boardroom was ready.

Meanwhile in Burak's office he was finding ways to not attend the presentation, but his excuses were moot once his Father the chairman arrived. He tried every trick in the book to make his Father attend with the rest of the board members, but his Father was adamant he be present. His stomach was in knots at the thought of facing Izzy, but he thought maybe if he sat on the sidelines and did not say much then she wouldn't find out the truth. The presentation was underway and Burak couldn't take his eyes off of Izzy. He studied every part of her and watched closely to her mouth as she presented each concept. She looked so professional, but she lit up when talking about the concepts she was more passionate about. Burak knew that he had started growing romantic feelings towards Izzy, but would she feel the same if she knew the truth? As the presentation ended, the chairman did the thanks on behalf of the company and Burak thought he was off the hook.

"Burak, are you not going to say something?"

Izzy and Rachel's eyes shifted to Burak in confusion of why the chairman asked him.

"Me? No... I have nothing to say"

"As CEO of this company, I expect you to say something to our guests" the chairman reprimanded.

And just like that he saw the expression on Izzy's face changing. It was like the twinkle in her eyes had just been smashed and her eyes conveyed the message to him.

"Yes please Burak Bey, we would love feedback from the CEO" Rachel emphasized his title even more.

He was at a loss of words watching Izzy who was staring down at her hands instead of looking at him. In the heat of the moment he said some mumbo jumbo just to keep everyone happy, but his mind and eyes were only on her. As they were wrapping up, Izzy whispered in Rachel's ear then left the room. Burak badly wanted to run after her, but the signing of contracts was being finalized. He sat there like a robot signing away whilst his heart had left the room with Izzy. No matter the cost he knew he needed to see her and rectify things. When everything was over and everyone got up to leave, Rachel came over to greet Burak.

"Business wise I'm really happy with you, but outside of that I'm not. Stay away from Izzy" she said sternly.