If You Tell Me To Stay

Chapter 17

Previously:

Sanem hung up and pulled up her message thread with Can, grinning from ear to ear.

<<Getting closer to figuring it out.>>

<<Tickets to something in Silveri>>

Sanem thought she better add <<Oh, and don't blame Leyla.>>

Can looked down at his phone, hearing it ping three times. He read Sanem's messages. How? How did she get all that? He simply shook his head and responded

<<You're going to make for one hell of journalist.>>

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Sanem walked home after letting a very appreciative team leave early. She took a relaxing hot shower, changed her clothes, and reapplied her scented cream. She sat at her little desk, trying to gain all the courage she could. She held her phone in her hand with Aziz's name on the screen.

"Okay, here we go." She said out loud and hit the call button.

"Hello Sanem. Everything alright?"

"Yes. Everything's great. I just wanted to talk with you about something. Is now a good time?"

"Of course. You know you can call anytime."

Sanem smiled. Aziz really did feel like family. "Thanks. Well, you remember me mentioning a man named Can? My first night here, he checked on me and helped me out."

"Yes, I remember. What about him?"

"He's been helping me fix up the house and we've been hanging out a lot and uh..." Aziz, ever patient, just waited for her to continue. Sanem let out a breath, "He asked me out. On a date. Like an official date." She paused again.

"And I'm guessing you said yes. Hence the phone call."

"Oh, yes. I said yes. Uhh..." Sanem fidgeted in her seat. Why am I so nervous? It feels like I am telling my parents, not my pretend uncle.

"Sanem. I can feel your nerves from here. Calm down. I am not forbidding you from dating. I want you to have a full a life as you can."

Sanem let out another breath, this time in relief. "Thanks Aziz."

"What was his name again?"

"Can."

"Can what?"

"Can Divit.... Why?"

"Why do you think? I'm doing a background check on him."

"Aziz!" Sanem scolded.

"Hey now. Sanem, you may not be my actual niece, but you do feel like family. Family protect one another. I have access to his history and I am damn sure going to use it."

"Aziz..." It was hard to be mad at him, now that he called her family after she was just thinking the same thing. "You really don't have to. He's a good man." But she could hear his keyboard clicking as he typed.

"Hmm.. I think I agree with you. There is certainly a lot of information about him. But I see here he has a clean record. Except for a little arrest in Indonesia."

Sanem chuckled, "Yes, he already told me about that."

"Good, so he's honest."

"Yes. Honest, smart, kind, and has been really good to me. I think you would like him."