Wearing Number Eight: For Arda

[The Journey]

To say that the journey to Turkey was miserable would be an understatement. Her woes started with the task of choosing what to pack. Her entire wardrobe was left scattered across her room, and she ended up just filling her biggest suitcase with enough clothes to last a month. Half of which weren't even work appropriate. The ride to the airport had been bumpy, and so had the plane ride itself. She'd never experienced so much turbulence. Neither had the newborn baby next to her, who screamed in her ear the entirety of the ten hour flight.

When she had finally landed, it was with enough time to catch the last few minutes of Turkey's match against the Netherlands. She watched them lose in overtime in a dingy airport bar.

She currently laid face down in her hotel bed.

The first happy hour was tonight. And she'd have to put on her work clothes, her work face, her work personality, and go mingle with a bunch of Turkish guys. Who probably had just lost a ton of money betting on their team. She let out a deep sigh into the hard hotel bed.

When the car dropped her off outside of the restaurant, she instantly recognized the face of her boss, Candice, mingling with a group of five suited men. One of them in particular stood out amongst the crowd. His dark blue suit was cropped perfectly to his tall, muscular body. He didn't wear a tie, but instead left his undershirt open, exposing his tan chest. His dark black hair was slicked back, not a single strand out of place.

"There she is!" Candice yelled across the group, opening her arms to embrace Mikaela. "Nice outfit." Candice whispered into her ear, sending her a wink as they pulled apart.

Candice had made it clear to Mikaela from the beginning that the main reason she wanted her on this account was because she thought she would be able to 'woo' the men with her looks. As offended as Mikaela had been at the time, she didn't dare turn down the opportunity. And when the men around her made no effort to disguise their eyes wandering over body, she felt a sudden power wash over her. If Candice wanted her to impress these men, then not only would she do it, but she'd be the best at it. She'd opted for a tight black dress that hugged her curves in all the right places. The slit up the side exposed her toned long legs, that she'd paired with black heels. She'd placed a small blue pin in her long golden hair that perfectly complimented her deep blue eyes. According to Candice, the men here liked blonds, so Mikaela had postponed her haircut appointment last month, and opted to let her flowing curls grow long, with the last of them coming to almost her hips.

"Hi." She batted her lashes at the man in the dark blue suit. He took her hand, placing a light kiss on it, whilst maintaining eye contact with her.

"You must be Mikaela. It Is my pleasure to meet you. My name is Zeki."

"Nice to meet you, Zeki." She blushed at his gaze. His blue eyes were piercing. And he was attractive, even if he was almost twice her age. He carried himself with a suave confidence she was immediately drawn to.

"Our booth is ready!" Candice clasped her hands together, before leading them over to a booth suited in the far corner of the restaurant. Zeki motioned for Mikaela to skoot in first, before he sat next to her in the booth. He had cornered her, shutting her off from the rest of the group, but she didn't completely mind it. Now there was only one man she needed to entertain, instead of five. And he was the one she cared about the most. She recognized his name. She'd studied all of her client counterparts, and Zeki was the one in charge. The man with the money.

"Did you watch the last game?" He smiled at her, motioning for the waiter to fetch them water.

"I caught only the last few minutes after getting off the plane. They fought hard. You must be very proud of them." The waiter set out two bottled waters next to them, pouring into their tall glasses.

"Yes. We had a wealth of talent on the team this year. But even still, they exceeded the expectations of us all."

She twirled her hair, catching his eye. "I think the world likes to root for the underdog. And they most certainly like to bet on them."

He laughed. "Already talking business I see?" She gave him a sheepish smile. "We will have plenty of time for that the rest of this week. Tell me, is this your first time in Turkey?"

"It is." She didn't bother to hide the excitement in her voice. "I hope I get to see some of it in whatever downtime we have."

"What are your plans after this meeting?"

"To be honest, I'd like to get some rest." She laughed lightly, hoping he didn't mean to ask her out afterwards. There were certain lines she'd draw when it came to wooing these clients. And late night rendezvous was one of them. "I'm excited to be in Turkey, but I need some sleep after a long day of travel if I'm going to be functioning for the rest of the trip."

He nodded in agreement, sipping his water slowly. "Thursday night we'll go out with the players." He flashed another smile at her. "So rest up."

Her face paled. "The players?" She stuttered.

"Oh yes." A mischievous smile spread across his lips. "They always love meeting some of our business partners. Especially the Americans."

She was at a loss for what to say, panic spreading through her body. "You're not telling me all twenty six of them are going to come out with us?"

"No, no, just a few." He swirled his water glass as she let out a breath. "Some of them are interested in investments. Ways to make money outside of just their football career. Particularly the younger ones."

The image of Arda flashed in her mind. She pressed the water glass to her lips. "I didn't realize they'd be back so soon."

He nodded to her, a mischievous glint still shining in his eyes. "They might be not in the best of moods, but it'll make for an interesting night."

Mikaela gave him a forced smile, swallowing the lump in her throat. 

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