My Turkish Heart

Chapter 11

He tried calling Izzy, but no answer and he had no clue which hotel they checked into this morning for the rest of their stay. It drove him crazy to just sit there and do nothing, but he had back to back meetings with his Father present that he couldn't leave. Every minute felt like an eternity to him as he kept checking his phone. The meetings kept dragging on and he could barely focus on business, the only thoughts he could spare was fixed on her. He wondered how much her feelings have changed towards him now, but if he could just see her and explain she might understand. As the last meeting concluded, he couldn't leave the room fast enough. He called Yildiz Bey and asked him where he dropped off the ladies earlier. After he got the directions he hopped into his car and drove like a maniac to get there. When he arrived he saw Rachel outside getting street food, he parked his car and came over to her.

"Hey Rachel, where's Izzy?? I really need to talk to her and explain"

"Explain what exactly Burak Bey? The fact that you misled her or that you lied?"

"It's really not what you think! I really need to see her please!"

"She doesn't want to see you and I don't blame her"

"Offf..! Rachel, please I'm begging you! Tell me where she is"

"She doesn't want to see you! Unless you need to speak about business, please leave!"

Izzy was walking back from the store, when she saw Rachel talking to Burak. She froze, but didn't want him to see her and out of panic she turned down a side street. Her heart was pounding in her chest, as she really couldn't face him. Izzy wasn't sure which feeling was stronger, the anger or the disappointment, but either made her feel bad.

She thought the coast was clear after waiting for 20 minutes, but as she walked out her eyes met his. Burak was standing on the same spot by himself just waiting to see her. He leaped forward and rushed towards her, Izzy wanted to make a run for it, but seemed senseless.

"Izzy please! Let me explain"

"Explain what exactly Burak?! Oh sorry, Burak Bey!"

"I didn't mean for it to happen like this or for you to find out this way"

" Mean for what exactly? Lying to me about being an assistant, fooling me with who you are in public, or allowing me to be the toy for the CEO to spend his free time with. Which part are you referring to?"

He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration of how he could explain.

"Izzy, I never meant for you to get hurt. I swear, it was not my intention! I just wasn't sure if you would have done so many things with me or be yourself if I told you who I really was, so I lied. I wanted you to see me without the reputation, money, business status, family.. I just wanted to be Burak with you"

She shut her eyes tightly to not cry in front of him.

" I'm glad I could be your entertainment whilst I was here, but hopefully you will find a new toy suitable for your needs. I'm not made for your world. I"m a plain and simple girl from Cape Town"

He tried to interrupt her, but she looked so hurt that he could only let her finish.

"Right now the only thing connecting us is work. So if it's not work related then I'm not interested in any other explanations.."

"You weren't just entertainment for me I swear! Izzy..."

Before he could finish, she put up her hand in protest and he stopped.

"Thank you for the business opportunity Burak Bey. Take care.."

He could hear the tremble in her voice trying to control her emotions as she spoke. It hurt him to see her in this state because of him. As he tried to grab her hand, she moved it out of his reach and walked away. Burak cursed himself for causing her that much pain as he watched her get further away from him until he could no longer see her.

Later that evening Rachel tried to persuade Izzy to join her on a night out on the town, but Izzy wasn't keen. She had a few friends in Istanbul that she wanted Izzy to meet, but persuaded Rachel to meet up with them alone. As she sat alone in the suite, she typed in Burak's name on her phone. There it was, all the information on Burak; family's wealth and status, women he had been associated with, business success,etc. All the news on him made her queasy as she put her phone down on the bed and sank to the floor. She sat on the floor leaning against her bed with her hands in her hair.

"I feel so stupid... How could I let my guard down?! I came here for work not to have a romantic fling.."

She gave herself a pep talk, but her mood was still off. At this moment she finally realized that her feelings towards him had grown stronger. Izzy grabbed the pillow and stuffed her face in it. The sounds of Rachel stumbling in woke Izzy up. She had fallen asleep on the floor in that position. After putting Rachel to bed she saw the messages on her phone from Burak. A sharp pain was felt in her chest as she remembered everything again.

Why can't I just forget about it? Why does it suck so badly?.. Why do I feel so silly and insecure about it all..she thought as she sulked.

Her thoughts went wild trying to find the right answers. By morning she was all rung out by all the thoughts that she felt like she needed 2 Turkish coffees to get through the day. Rachel was up and running even with a bad hangover.

"Rach, are you even human? You are functioning like normal even after a late night out and a hangover"

"Iz, once you have kids, trust me you can thrive on little sleep. Now get your butt up! Time to go shopping!"

"Ugh...Rach can't you go alone? I still feel zombie like"

"Uhmm NO! We are only here in Istanbul once in a lifetime, so we are going shopping. Also I won't allow you to mope over him for the rest of the trip"

She pulled the blankets off of Izzy and pulled her up.

"Let's go Missy!"

They spent the day shopping, from the Mall of Istanbul to the Grand Bazaar. Izzy wasn't much of a shopper and loved meaningful souvenirs, but Rachel was a shopaholic.

As they returned to the hotel, there was a knock at the door. It was one of the hotel staff members that had told them that a special dinner was prepared for them downstairs. They both seemed surprised, but Rachel received an email earlier that day of the contract being in full effect from today on-wards, so they assumed the company arranged it as a celebration for both of them. Izzy felt a bit unsure whether it was a trap from Burak,but Rachel assured her that the dinner was for two and that she shouldn't worry. They washed up and got dressed for dinner. It was an intimate setting in the restaurant with Izzy's favorite flowers on display and expensive champagne. Everything tasted delicious and the girls had a great time. When the desserts arrived, Izzy sat stunned looking at hers. It was a mini cake with the words "I'm sorry" written with icing.