Another Kind Of Promise

Chapter Twenty One

      The meeting hadn't gotten started yet when Sanem came in, " Sorry, hope I'm not interrupting anything." She spoke softly. 

      Can smiled and stood, " No, we are still waiting on Mr. Sahin. Come in." Sanem came in closer to Can. " I'm taking a taxi home, just wanted to let you know." 

      Metin stood, " Sanem....it's good to see you, it's been a long time." He replied, extending his hand. Sanem smiled and nodded, " Metin, yes it has been." She accepted his hand, giving him a firm handshake. 

      Metin wrinkled up his forehead, " So you won't be working on this campaign"? He asked. Can felt a twinge of anger stab him in the gut, " No, this campaign will be handled by Deren. She is our senior campaign director you know. " He snipped, trying not to sound irritated. 

      Metin nodded, " I see. That's great, I know this campaign will be awesome." He said, giving Deren a wink. Sanem patted Can on the arm, " I'm heading out. See you at home. Emi will be home shortly and I need to be there." Sanem smiled, giving him a hug.

      " Metin, nice to see you again." She said with a wave as she turned to leave. Then she stopped and looked back at him, " Oh how is your wife, and your daughter. I hope they are fine." She asked. 

      Metin smiled, " Melike and Alara are both fine, very well in fact. Thanks for asking."  He said, his face immediately took on a glow of love just mentioning their names. " Melike still works with me in the office and Alara is away at school." He added, his eyes sparkling as he talked about them.

      Sanem couldn't help but see the love that he had for his wife and daughter. She knew right then that they had nothing to fear from Metin, as far as his feelings for her.  She breathed a sigh of relief...

      Sanem nodded and smiled at Metin, " I would love to meet them one day. Maybe one day soon." She replied, as she started out the door. Metin nodded in agreement, " I would like that, and I know that Mel would like it too." 

      Can followed Sanem out into the hallway, " See, he's harmless. It's obvious he loves his wife very much, so relax." Sanem said quietly, wrapping her arms around his neck. She playfully planted a dozen or so kisses on his face before she finally stopped on his lips. It was an easy kiss at first, but in seconds it intensified into a demanding and desired filled kiss. 

      He surrounded her small body tightly with his arms, not wanting to let her go. When they finally broke the kiss they were both almost breathless, " Ok,... hold that thought my love, and try not to be too late getting home." Sanem whispered, laying her head on his chest and breathing heavy.

      Can kisses the top of her head, " I will be home as soon as possible. If I had my way, I would cancel this meeting right now and take you home." He told her, his hands sliding down the curve of her back and coming to rest firmly on her bottom. 

      Sanem slapped at his hands, " Can, someone is going to see us." She scolded, quickly looking around the deserted office space. " Just hurry home...." She ordered, giggling as she wiggled out of his arms and headed down the long hallway to the door. She smiled as she felt his eyes on her, watching her, as she walked away...  " Yes, hurry home...I'll be waiting for you." She thought as she hailed a taxi...

      The meeting was going very well. About a hour into the meeting, the contract was signed and Deren was giving them the first drafts of a couple of ideas she had for the campaign. " This is going to be great, I can feel it." Mr. Sahin said, reaching out to shake Derens hand.

      A phone call interrupted him, " Oh sorry, it's my wife, I need to take this." He explained, as he excused himself to the other side of the room. They could tell the conversation was not a pleasant one as they watched him pace the floor back and forth, before hanging up and returning back to the meeting. 

      " Can, Ms.Deren....I'm sorry but I have to go. Can we continue this meeting in a day or two." He asked, visibly shaken from the call. Can stood, " Of course. I hope it's nothing serious. Is there anything we can do to help?" He said, seeing the concern on Mr. Sahin face.

      He held up his hand, " No, but thank you for the offer. I don't know if you have kids or not Can, but sometimes I wish I didn't. My son,...I send him to the finest boarding school in Turkey, the very one he wanted to go to. And all he does is screw up." He huffed, running his hands forcefully through his hair. 

      " It seems that him and a couple of his buddies decided to sneak out of school and go to a basketball game at one of the other schools, a rival school, and cause a little havoc." He told them. 

      Can and Metin immediately looked at each other, trying desperately to hold in their laughter. " Well maybe it's not so bad Sahin. Boys will be boys, so they say." Metin replied, glancing at Can.

       Mr. Sahin rushed out in a hurry, not at all seeing the humor of the situation. Can and Metin held on until they were sure he was gone before bursting into laughter. " How many times had we done that?" Metin asked Can, slapping him on the shoulder. 

      Can leaned back in his chair, reminiscing about their days of boarding school, " Well let me see if I can count that high." He joked. " But we always had Akif as our cover. He was always the one to cover our tracks." They laughed, " Wish he was here right now." Metin said, becoming a bit  somber..

      Can cleared his throat, " Yes, Akif was always the smart one. I'm not sure if I would call them the, the good old days, but we did have fun...and we had each other." He said shifting in his chair uncomfortably.

      Metin nodded, " That we did....we had each other, along with all those promises we made." His voice sounding heavy with regret.

      They said they're good nights, making plans to meet again in a couple of days to finalize the meeting. Can watched as Metin walked away, feeling all those mixed feelings of betrayal and hurt, but along with those, he also missed the brother that had meant so much to him.

      He thought back on all the times that the three of them had sat huddled together at night, each of them so homesick they could barely breathe.....but neither of them willing to admit it. How dependent they were on one another...... 

      He gathered his things and headed out, with that thought of his wife waiting for him at home. He had made so many promises in his lifetime.... But the promise he made to himself of not walking away from Sanem all those years ago, was probably the most important one of his life.

      All those times that Metin and Akif had helped him through when he wasn't sure if he could make it or not.....

      All the promises of sticking together, no matter what....All those promises of growing old together and raising their families as family.... 

      He wanted them to mean something.....He wanted those promises back...